Seeing Jesus - Mouth

	Jesus has the hands of a carpenter, a fisherman, a physician, a farmer, a teacher and a parent.  They reach down in love, out in support and up in praise.  His eyes look backward for lessons from the past.  They look forward with determination.  They always look with love.
	"He spoke another parable to them," we read in Matthew 13:33-35, "'The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened.' All these things Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable, so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 'I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.'"
	Let's devote our time today to the Master's mouth.  What do we find when we consider the mouth of Jesus?
	"For you have been called for this purpose," 1 Peter 2:21-24 states, "since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting {Himself} to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."
	Notice that certain things do not come out of the mouth of Jesus.  For example, we do not hear deceit, reviling or threatening from His lips.  What should this tell us about  our own mouths?
	"But I say to you, make no oath at all," Jesus instructs in Matthew 5:34-37, "either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes' {or} 'No, no'; and anything beyond these is of evil."
	Even the religious leaders of Jesus' day don't seem to understand the importance of speaking truthfully.  They have developed ways to take oaths deceitfully.
	"Woe to you, blind guides," the Lord observes in Matthew 23:16-22, "who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.'  You fools and blind men; which is more important, the gold, or the temple that sanctified the gold?  And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, {that} is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering upon it, he is obligated.'  You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering? Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears {both} by the altar and by everything on it.  And he who swears by the temple, swears {both} by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. And he who swears by heaven, swears {both} by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it."
	"With it we bless {our} Lord and Father;" James 3:9-12 says of the tongue, "and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come {both} blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.  Does a fountain send out from the same opening {both} fresh and bitter {water}?  Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Neither {can} salt water produce fresh."
	There are certain things which do not come out of the mouth of Jesus.  As His followers, we must learn to control the words which cross our lips.

	While Jesus knows to control what He says, He is still not afraid to speak up when necessary.
	"Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye?" Jesus asks in Luke 6:42. "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye."
	"Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him;" we find in Luke 11:37-41, "and He went in, and reclined {at the table.}  And when the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that He had not first ceremonially washed before the meal.  But the Lord said to him, 'Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.  You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also?  But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean for you."
	Jesus pronounces a woe on the Jewish leaders at least six times in the following verses.
	"When you see a cloud rising in the west," Jesus comments in Luke 12:54-57, "immediately you say, 'A shower is coming,' and so it turns out.  And when {you see} a south wind blowing, you say, 'It will be a hot day,' and it turns out {that way.} You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not analyze this present time?  And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right?"
	"You hypocrites," Jesus responds in the same passage when questioned about healing on the Sabbath, "does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall, and lead him away to water {him?}"
	Jesus is careful about what He says.  But He still speaks up when the situation calls for it.  We, too, should know when to speak up.
	"Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God," Peter and John answer the Jewish council in Acts 4:19-20, "you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard."
	"Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord," Paul points out in 2 Corinthians 5:11, "we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences."
	"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ," Paul writes in verse 20, "as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."
	"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth," Ephesians 4:29 commands, "but only such {a word} as is good for edification according to the need {of the moment,} that it may give grace to those who hear.
	"I solemnly charge {you} in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus," Paul instructs in 2 Timothy 4:1-5, "who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season {and} out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but {wanting} to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.  But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."
	"But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts," we are told in 1 Peter 3:15, "always {being} ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence."
	Jesus is able to control His mouth.  At the same time, He speaks up when necessary.  At all times, His mouth speaks the words of God.
	"And if anyone hears My sayings, and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world," the Master expresses in John 12:47-50.  "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.  For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak.  And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me."
	The words of Jesus are those of God.  We should carefully consider the source of our religious teaching.
	"And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses," the Apostle Paul urges in 2 Timothy  2:2, "these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also."
	"Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes," Paul stresses in 1 Corinthians 4:6, "that in us you might learn not to exceed what is written, in order that no one of you might become arrogant in behalf of one against the other."
	"So faith {comes} from hearing," Romans 10:17 states, "and hearing by the word of Christ."
	What do we see in the mouth of Jesus?  We see that certain things do not cross His lips.  What can we say about our own lips?  He is not afraid to speak out against religious error.  Can we say the same about ourselves?  He speaks only the words of God.  Do we even know what the words of God are?
	Why are we not more careful about our mouths?  Perhaps one final passage will help us place the proper importance on what we do...and don't...say.
	"You brood of vipers," Jesus says in Matthew 12:34-37, "how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.  The good man out of {his}  good treasure brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of {his} evil treasure brings forth what is evil.  And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." 
	Does this encourage us to speak, as well as obey, only the truth so that we may be free?

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."