Plan Two: The Fear of the Lord Is…Exemplo

THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS JESUS’ GREATEST DELIGHT

If Jesus reviewed His time on earth, excluding the resurrection, what do you suppose His top highlights would have been? What brought Him the greatest joy? Was it the look on His disciples’ faces as they found one loaf of bread after another in their baskets when feeding the 5,000? Or was it the time He scared the wits out of them as He walked toward them on the water during a storm? Certainly, raising Lazarus from the dead would rank right at the top. Or perhaps the deep theological discussion He had with the woman at the well in Samaria? We don’t have to guess the answer. Scripture tells us where Jesus found his greatest delight. We can see the words in a prophecy that Jesus fulfilled…words uttered 700 years before Jesus was even born:

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:1-3)

The prophet Isaiah, speaking of the Messiah, wrote that one of His greatest joys and delights would be the fear of the Lord. Fearing His heavenly Abba was not something that Jesus did begrudgingly; it was something he enjoyed and one thing that brought Him great pleasure. Fearing Abba brought Him more happiness than walking on water, giving sight to the blind, raising the dead, or feeding 5,000 people. He conveyed this delightful relationship with His heavenly Father through his teachings, parables, and prayers.

God’s favor rests on those who fear Him, and Jesus took great delight in the fear of God. Likewise, God delights in those who have chosen to fear, honor, and reverence Him, and His favor rests upon them.