My college roommate and I (both of us were Bible majors) used to play a game with each other. He had a small dry erase board that we attached to the front of our small refrigerator. Each day one of us would write a verse on the board. The challenge was for the other guy to figure out where that verse was in the Bible…without opening any books or using any other outside sources. The first question I would ask myself was, “Who does this sound like?”
In a similar fashion, I want to quote a verse and ask you of whom this verse is speaking. “As his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day.” Of whom is this verse speaking? Let me narrow it to two options—is this verse about Jesus or about Paul? Let me quote another verse: “There was a synagogue…as his custom was, [he] went in to them…for three Sabbaths…” Now, of whom is this verse speaking? Look at how these two verses are essentially identical—both mention a man’s custom of entering the synagogue on the Sabbath. You’ve probably already figured this out, but the first verse (Luke 4:16) is about Jesus and the second verse (Acts 17:2) is about Paul. Paul looked at what Jesus did and patterned himself after what Jesus did. He so closely resembled the life of Jesus, that when one reads these two verses, it is very difficult to tell the difference.
Brother or sister in Christ, I wonder, should not our lives do the same? When someone sees our lives, should they not be seeing Jesus? When one reads a verse about Jesus in the Bible, should they not also be reading a verse about us? Who are the following verses about—Jesus or us?
“And ____ went about all the cities…preaching the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 9:35). “____ said to them, ‘Come and see’” (John 1:39). “____ said, ‘I have come…not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me’” (John 6:38). “Seeing the people, ____ felt compassion for them” (Matt. 9:36). “When ____ saw her weeping…____ was deeply moved in spirit” (John 11:33). “____ continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12). “____ washed their feet” (John 13:12). “And being found in human form, ____ humbled himself by becoming obedient” (Phil. 2:8). “While being reviled, ____ did not revile in return” (1 Pet. 2:23). “____ loved righteousness and hated lawlessness” (Heb. 1:9). Could you put your name (along with His name) in the blanks?
After reading what the Bible said about Jesus, the Ethiopian eunuch said, “Does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” (Acts 8:34). After reading a verse in the Bible about Jesus, wouldn’t it be something if someone thought that verse was about one of us? May God help us “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29)!