Consider Jesus...

...the High Priest and Apostle of our calling… ~ Hebrews 3:1

Matthew Henry’s commentary on this passage is challenging and thought provoking.

Consider…

…what He is in himself

…what He is to us

…what He will be to us hereafter and for ever

Consider Him, fix your thoughts upon him with the greatest attention, and act towards Him accordingly…

My thoughts and my heart wander…and this is reflected in my everyday actions towards Him and towards others.

Matthew Henry goes on to give us four mandates based on our need to consider Jesus as commanded in this verse:

1. Many that profess faith in Christ have not a due consideration for Him; He is not so much thought of as He deserves to be, and desires to be, by those that expect salvation from Him.

He both deserves and desires to be considered and thought of with great, high, and constant thoughts. But my thoughts are constantly drawn to things of no importance at all. How much time do I waste every day in consideration of things that don’t deserve it at all?

2. Close and serious consideration of Christ would be of great advantage to us to increase our acquaintance with Him, and to engage our love and our obedience to Him, and reliance on Him.

I do want to know Him and love Him more, I want to obey and rely on Him. So, here is the prescription…intentionally, and seriously thinking about Christ and His attributes daily.

3. Even those that are holy brethren, and partakers of the heavenly calling, have need to stir up one another to think more of Christ than they do, to have Him more in their minds; the best of His people think too seldom and too slightly of Him.

Do I stir up others to think great thoughts of Christ? And…do my Christian friends stir me up to think more of Christ? I must evaluate all my fellowship and relationship with other Christians in light of these two questions.

4. We must consider Christ as He is described to us in the scriptures, and form our apprehensions of him thence, not from any vain conceptions and fancies of our own.

Amen! “The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.” (Westminster Shorter Catchism) This is how I can really know and understand who Christ is…not by my own ideas of what He should be or do.