¹⁴ “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

We have seen that Jesus is “the Word” of God. In fact, at His second coming, He is pictured as riding on a white horse, “clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God” (Rev 19:13). But, the picture continues, “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations …” (Rev 19:15). This odd imagery is designed to depict the judgment of Christ on those who rebel against God. As the living Word of God, Jesus speaks words that carry great weight. This was true when He lived on earth among His disciples.

The spoken word that came from the Living Word is indeed powerful. In Christian history, the phrase “Word of God” has become synonymous with the Bible, the Holy Scriptures (both Old and New Testaments). Two reasons have caused this: 1) The Bible is “God-breathed,” that is, it is inspired by God Himself (2 Tim 3:16). Secondly, the Bible as a whole tells us about Jesus Christ, the Living Word. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus demonstrated this truth. As Luke describes the event, “Beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He [i.e. Jesus] explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27).

Jesus gave a summary of the weight of His words when He said, “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day” (John 12:48). In fact, this is what separated the true disciples from the “Sunday-disciples.” When the multitude of disciples stopped following Jesus because of His requirement for full-out commitment, only the twelve remained. Peter spoke on behalf of the others when he said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life” (John 6:68). He got it. He understood that Jesus was the Word, and that His message and teachings were all about eternal life. This answers the questions that philosophers from the earliest times have asked. “What is life all about? What is our purpose? Why do we exist?” As the popular Christian saying of the 1970’s put it, “Jesus is the answer!”

And the disciples would be well equipped by the teachings of Christ for life without His physical presence. They would be able to wield, “The word of God [which] is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12).

Lord, thank You for Your Word, by which You guide me as I live for You.