The Bible Edge
Everyone needs an Edge, Believers can have a Bible Edge
John 2:5
His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
Mary, the mother of Jesus was a great woman. In our series of “Life Lessons Learned from Great People” it would be remiss not to consider her words in John 2:5. There she said, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. She is speaking of course of her first-born Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. During this month in this series, we will speak of her again but for today, the lesson of lessons from this dear lady to all the world.
She may have been speaking to the servants at a wedding, but her words have echoed through time and memorial. It has been said that “The whole Bible was not written to you, but the whole Bible was written for you.” What better advice can one give than that which she gave at that wedding so many years ago?
Jesus spoke on this theme; the theme of doing whatsoever things He says. For example, in Luke 6:46 Christ said to those gathered together to hear His Word: And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? He is called Lord, and rightly so, but a Lord is to be obeyed. Doing that which He says is proving to all that He is Lord of the person who obeys. In John 14:15 Jesus takes this thing of obeying Him farther. There He said, If ye love me, keep my commandments. This is a step further. Once He is chosen to be the Lord of a person’s life, they should do the things He says out of obedience to His authority. But once He is chosen to be loved, He will be obeyed in all He says as an outpouring of that love.
Mary taught this. She did not go into the detail that Jesus did concerning this theme of obedience, she just put it out there for any and all to consider. Frankly, she probably did not know that which Jesus would do at the wedding, she just knew that He would do something to alleviate the need they faced. The word she used Whatsoever is an open-ended type of word. It is interesting that Jesus used that same word when giving the Great commission in Matthew 28:20, there He stated: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Believers in Christ are to evangelize the lost by preaching/teaching the Gospel, baptize converts that have received the Gospel, and teach these to observe all things whatsoever that He has commanded. Whatsoever means whatever, or anything, or all, or everything.
In an age wherein it seems that so many want to “pick and choose” the teachings of Christ that they will obey it is a throwback to a less confusing and perhaps simpler time to simply choose to obey whatsoever He says. Mary taught it, may we need to heed it. After all, obeying Jesus with a “whatsoever” mindset is an edge in life, a Bible Edge that brings rewards now and forever.
William T. Howe, Ph.D.
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