Incomparable: 7 Days With JesusSample

Day 1: Somebody’s Perfect; The Moral Perfection of Jesus, Mark 7:37

Try to simply stand back and try to take in the overall reality of Jesus. His utter beauty. His true perfection.

He is altogether ideal.

This statement stands out most vividly to us when we consider how far short we fall of being ideal ourselves. We don’t have it together physically. We don’t have it together spiritually. We don’t have it together morally. Hardworking and well-meaning as we may be, we are still sinners—repeat offenders desperately in need of a Savior.

We wish it weren’t so. We try not to be. We feel the inner urge to do more and be more. To be different. To be better. Yet we consistently come up short, as does everyone else. People can be strong in certain areas, perhaps in several areas. We’re even strong in a few ourselves. But none of us is strong in everything. We each possess our weak areas.

Stop and wonder, then, that Jesus has no weak areas. He is perfect in every way.

The writers who prophesied about Him in the Old Testament saw Him as “fairer than the sons of men” (Ps. 45:2 nkjv). Israel’s Messiah, as envisioned in their minds under the inspiration of God’s Spirit, was to be a man of perfection, surpassing all other humans.

But then to actually meet Him when He came, to spend time with Him, and to realize He truly was perfection at every turn, that you could find nothing at which He didn’t excel . . . what an incomparable experience.

People followed Him without question because no matter what His physical appearance, His beauty was unmistakable. He possessed every grace, every virtue, in perfect tension and balance. Not one of them was missing. Think of that. We’ve never seen what sheer perfection looks like in a person. Perfect symmetry between the inner and the outer. Perfect alignment of heart and character. It’s almost impossible to envision such perfection. But there it is in Jesus.

He is not merely good; He is perfect.
He is not merely enough; He is everything.

He also kept the law of God perfectly. And let’s be sure we’re clear on what this means. Not only did He avoid committing even a single sin—an accomplishment that to our minds, knowing our struggles is remarkable enough—but the perfection of Jesus went beyond mere sin avoidance. He actively lived the whole standard of God’s law. None of it was for show. Everything He said and did was said and done with complete purity of motive. He fulfilled the law’s mandate every moment of every day and went beyond that to fulfill the spirit behind the law.

I think of that memorable verse in Micah 6:

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God? (v. 8 esv)

That’s a solid summary of what God’s law requires of us: perfect fairness and perfect love, delivered in perfect humility. That’s precisely what Jesus did every second of His earthly life—and He did it perfectly. People could be overheard saying, “He has done all things well” (Mark 7:37). They couldn’t help but notice.

So let us, too, pause to wonder at the perfection of Jesus.
He is not merely good; He is perfect.
He is not merely enough; He is everything.
He is not merely our Savior and Lord; He is our one priceless treasure.

We have in Him the most beautiful thing in all the world, the most desirable of all possessions—the most wonderful relationship a human being could ever possibly hope to have with anyone.

When we have Jesus, we have all we really need for time and eternity.

Look anywhere else to find perfection, and you will never find it. Look to any other person as a model of flawless loveliness, and you will inevitably be disappointed. Look to anything or anybody—your spouse, your home, your job, yourself—to provide unmitigated satisfaction, and while you may see a number of impressive, desirable qualities there, you’ll also see deficiencies that remind you they can never be everything you’ll ever need.

But look to Jesus, and He will exceed your highest hopes.
Look to Jesus, and He will surpass your expectations.
Look to Jesus, and you will find yourself in the presence of utter perfection.

Pray:

Oh, Father, words fail to express the wonder of who Jesus is. He is lovely, He is good. He is perfect in every way. I don’t have to look anywhere else, pursuing other things and other people, in hopes of being satisfied. In Him, I have all that I need. May my life reflect His beauty to a world that desperately needs to see Your glory and grace. AMEN.