Knowing Jesus More

A few days ago, the following memory popped up on Facebook from 2020: “As I was reading the last three chapters of Mark, I heard the Lord say, ‘Every time you read these (the gospels), you get to know Me better. ” I stopped reading for a moment and began to meditate on the statement and how The Word is Jesus in printed form. It is so easy to start reading somewhere in the gospels and read on autopilot because “we know” these stories already. The truth is that every time we read, we have an opportunity to see the story in a different light and see Jesus in a deeper way. There are four gospels with four perspectives on each event to help give us a more complete picture of the life and person of Jesus. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to never let the gospels become dull to you. Ask that the very life of Jesus that is inside you be renewed every time you read. In the back of most Bibles is a harmony of the gospels. Go story by story, read them in each book. Study them. Pray through them. Read the stories in different translations to help give you a fresh perspective. Let this Easter weekend bring about a fresh hunger for the story, the miracles, the life, death, resurrection, the life and second coming of the Lord Jesus.”

This week, I will finish a month of daily reading John 1-8, and start a month in John 9-16 on Saturday. The more I read the Gospels, the more of Jesus I know. It’s easy to start skimming because we know the stories, but I need to let the stories connect me to the person. When I read the Gospels, I get to walk with Jesus. When I read Hebrews, I see how Jesus is connected to God’s covenant with Israel, and when I read the Epistles, I see who I am in Christ. But when I read the Gospels, I get to see Jesus! I get to see His love, His example, I get to hear Him teach!

I recently read David Wilkerson’s book Hungry for More of Jesus, and I was hit with conviction and a longing to know Jesus more than I do. I am almost finished with the first ‘section’ of John when the Facebook memory I began this post with came up, and again, a deep desire to know Jesus more than I do.

Read and re-read the Gospels. Read a book in one sitting on the weekend. Divide them into sections and read each section daily for a month: Matthew 1-7, 8-14, 15-21, 22-28. Mark 1-8, 9-16. Luke 1-8, 9-16, 17-24. John 1-7, 8-14. 15-21. If you read in this way, you can spend an entire year immersed in the ministry of Jesus.

As I am reading through the Gospels, I am using J. C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels and John MacArthur’s New Testament Commentaries.

The truth is, as much as we know these stories, as I read each book in this way, I realize how much of the life of Jesus isn’t retained in my mind. I want to know Him, I want to be like Him. I want to be able to say as Paul did in 1 Corinthians 2:2 AMPC “For I resolved to know nothing (to be acquainted with nothing, to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, and to be conscious of nothing) among you except Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and Him crucified.”