Heb.3:1 – Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession: Jesus;

In this verse Paul is calling the Jewish Christians to stop and take another look at Jesus. By the time this letter to the Hebrews was written some thirty years had passed since those fiery days of Pentecost. Apparently, slowly but surely the Jerusalem Church had moved back to their legalistic ways before Christ and had become just a facade of the powerful church they had once been. Paul is calling them back to the former days of the power of God and he does this by simply telling them to consider Jesus. Jonathan Edwards wrote a letter to a grieving widow whose husband had been quite prominent in New England in those days. His word reminded me of Paul’s words telling this woman to consider Jesus. Here is a small excerpt from that letter.

“From a letter to Lady Mary Pepperrell:
Let us think, dear Madam, a little of the loveliness of our blessed Redeemer and his worthiness, that our whole soul should be swallowed up with love to him and delight in him, and that we should salve our hearts in him, rest in him, have sweet complacence and satisfaction of soul in his excellency and beauty whatever else we are deprived of. The Scripture assures us abundantly of his proper divinity, so that we consider him that came into the world in our nature and died for us, as truly possessed of all the fullness of that infinite glory of the Godhead, his infinite greatness and majesty, his infinite wisdom, his infinitely perfect holiness and purity, righteousness and goodness.”

I love this; consider Him Who came into the world and died for us even though He contained the fullness of the glory of God, consider His infinite greatness, His purity, His generosity, His power, and His sufficiency in all things. Consider Jesus who loves us and is seated at the Father’s side calling us near, praying for us, and pouring His Spirit on us again and again. Consider Him Who is more than enough, sufficient to sustain and empower us in whatever we face. He supplies all our need, forgives all of our sin, heals our diseases, delivers us from oppression and fear, and satisfies our hearts with His infinite goodness. The encouragement Edwards gave this grieving widow almost 300 years ago stands the test of time and applies to all of us; CONSIDER JESUS.