Why Should We Listen to Christ?

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters–one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no-one except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

Matthew 17:1-13

“Hear him!” That is the command that is given by the Father in this great scene of transfiguration. Several years ago 150 million people tuned into their radios and television to listen to the verdict of the O.J. Simpson trial. We were told that classes were even suspended and businesses came to a halt on this occasion. One hundred and fifty million people thought it was extremely important for them to hear this verdict.

But there was another verdict of supreme and cosmic significance which was given around two thousand years ago on the Mount of Transfiguration, and it is the will of God the Father that all the world’s people hear it. What was this verdict? It was what God said concerning Jesus Christ. Two thousand years ago God spoke from heaven and said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” In other words, God was saying that there is one to whom all the world must listen, and that one is God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

When he issued this verdict, God was making a declaration for all generations, including our own. We must listen to God’s Son, Jesus Christ. First, then, let us examine the words of the Father; second, let us examine the words of the Son; and third, let us examine the words of the Holy Spirit.

Background of the Transfiguration

God the Father made this great declaration within the context of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ, an event which gives us a preview of the glory of Jesus Christ. Peter wrote about the transfiguration in 2 Peter 1:16-18. There he said, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” The scene of transfiguration was a time in which God the Father was glorifying his beloved Son.

Just before the transfiguration Jesus and his disciples traveled from Galilee to Caesarea Philippi. There Peter told Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). This revelation of who Jesus truly is was given to Peter by God the Father. In response to Peter’s confession, Jesus told his disciples that he was soon going to go to Jerusalem to suffer many things and be killed, but on the third day he would be raised to life again. All of these things were eternally ordained by God, and Jesus knew they were God’s will for him.

But Peter could not bear the thought of a suffering Messiah. We read that he rebelled against God’s plan and rebuked Jesus for speaking about his death. Jesus, in turn, rebuked Peter and said his disciples must deny themselves, take up the cross daily and follow him to death, losing their lives in order to gain them when he returns in power and great glory. Then Jesus did something to encourage his disciples. In Matthew 17 we read that Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a high mountain and gave them a preview of the glory that was to follow his suffering on the cross.

Now, we do not know which mountain Jesus and his disciples went to. It was certainly not Mount Tabor, even though there is a fourth-century tradition which names Mount Tabor as the Mount of Transfiguration. Why? Mount Tabor is not very high and it is southwest of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus and his disciples were already in the north of Israel in Caesarea Philippi when the transfiguration occurred. Also, there was a fortified city on top of Mount Tabor during Jesus’ time; thus, it was not the lonely spot the Bible describes. Some people have suggested that Jesus took his disciples to a spur on the snow-capped, nine-thousand-foot high Mount Hermon, which lies just north of Caesarea Philippi. Others have suggested Jabel Jarmuk, which is a four-thousand-foot high mountain which dominates northern Galilee.

The truth is, the Bible does not give us the name of the mountain where this great transfiguration took place. But we do know that the four men ascended the mountain in the evening, and in his account Luke says they went for the purpose of prayer (Luke 9:28). Once they had climbed the mountain, the disciples went to sleep and Jesus was transfigured.

What Is Transfiguration?

What was the transfiguration? It was a brief time in which Jesus’ whole body was allowed to shine with the light and refulgence of its heavenly divinity. Jesus is God, and during the transfiguration his inner divine glory began to irradiate his whole appearance. Luke says a change of appearance came over him and “his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.”

While Jesus was in this state, Moses and Elijah appeared in glory and talked with him. Moses and Elijah represent the promises of the Old Testament–the Law and the Prophets. Luke tells us they were discussing Jesus’ departure, meaning his death, or exodus, with him. Just as Moses led God’s people out of Egypt, Jesus, by his death, would lead his people out of slavery to sin, Satan, and death. This is the great exodus, the great deliverance, to which all other exoduses pointed.

Matthew says Jesus’ face “shone like the sun.” In the book of Exodus we read that whenever Moses met with God, his face shone for a brief time afterwards with the reflected glory of God. But here the face of Jesus, the Son of God, was shining, not with reflected glory but with his own glory. Why? Moses was but a sinful man; Jesus is the God of glory himself.

God Gives His Verdict

When the sleeping disciples woke up and saw the glorious transfigured Christ conversing with Moses and Elijah, they were amazed. Peter, as was his custom, began to speak without thought. “Lord,” he said, “It is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters–one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter was enjoying this atmosphere of glory, grandeur, and wonder and no doubt he wanted to stay on the mountain permanently. Why? Peter still was refusing to embrace the divine necessity of Christ’s suffering. He preferred basking in the glory of God on the mountaintop to going down to Jerusalem with Jesus and embarking on a life which would lead also to his own death.

All of a sudden, Matthew says, the cloud of God’s presence overshadowed everyone on the mountain and the voice of God the Father came out of the cloud. Now, this was not the first time the Father had certified and honored his Son publicly. He did so at Christ’s baptism, where a voice from heaven declared, “This is my Son whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” But in this situation, as Jesus Christ was contemplating the necessity of the suffering he would undergo for our salvation, the Father appeared to encourage him.

What did the disciples hear? “This is my Son, whom I love,” or as Luke writes, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen.” Those are the same words the Father spoke at Jesus’ baptism. But then God added something to this proclamation: “Listen to him!”

What was God saying? He was telling the disciples, in essence, “Stop talking about building shelters and not going to Jerusalem. That is pure nonsense. Why do you think you can tell me how I should do my work of redeeming you? You should listen to my Son for your own eternal salvation! Don’t give me suggestions as to how I must do my work of salvation. Listen to Jesus!” This is good counsel for us too.

After hearing these words, the disciples fell face down, terrified at the presence of such holiness and deity. This is similar to an experience John had much later in his life, as we read in Revelation 1:17-18. Having seen the resurrected Christ in all his glory, John wrote, “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.'”

In the presence of Christ’s deity and holiness, James, Peter, and John fell down. Why? Because they were sinful. No one can be in the presence of deity and not be terrified. We should display a similar sense of reverence whenever we come to the house of God.

The Cross Precedes Glory

At this point Jesus left Moses and Elijah, approached the terrified disciples, touched them and said, “Don’t be afraid!” The very purpose of the coming of Jesus Christ to this planet Earth is to deliver us from all fear, and Jesus knew he would soon be going to Jerusalem to deliver his disciples from their fear of death by his own death. Therefore, “Don’t be afraid!” was a word of encouragement to the disciples from God himself. Through his transfiguration Jesus was encouraging his disciples by revealing himself as glorious to them. The appearance of Moses and Elijah, as well as the words of God the Father concerning his Son, was also designed to encourage the disciples.

In effect, Jesus was telling his disciples, “Don’t you know that the Christ must be killed and raised up for the salvation of his people? You cannot remain here in glory. You have to get out and face reality, but don’t be afraid of it. You must deny yourself, take up the cross and follow me. You must lose your life before you can come to experience glory and life forevermore.”

The disciples had to realize that glory would come after the death of Christ, not before. In Hebrews 12:2 we read, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The event of transfiguration gave to the disciples and Jesus, and gives now to us, a foretaste of the joy of glory that awaits those who obey God.

This understanding of the transfiguration helped the disciples to face the hardships of the days ahead. And it is this understanding of the glory that is to come and the fact that Jesus Christ is coming again in his kingdom with great power and glory which ought to motivate us as we take up the cross and follow Christ. Transfiguration, therefore, tells us of the joy that follows the cross for Jesus as well as for all his disciples.

The Eleventh Commandment

Do you remember the instruction God the Father gave? “Hear ye him!” Now, we must realize that those words are not a suggestion. In the Greek it is a present active imperative verb, meaning it is a commandment. He who gave us the Ten Commandments, which we broke completely, was giving another command: “Hear my Son!” In other words, “Believe in Jesus! Trust in him! Have faith in him!”

Why should we listen to Jesus? Because he alone can forgive all our sins. He can do so because Jesus alone took our sins upon himself and removed them once and for all in his death on the cross. Therefore, God the Father says to all generations, “Hear ye him!” This is the eleventh commandment.

What Does the Transfiguration Teach Us?

We learn many things from this scene of transfiguration. First, it tells us the living and the dead are one in Christ. The disciples saw Moses and Elijah in glory with Jesus, and from this we can conclude that all who die in Christ, as well as all who remain alive in Christ, are one in Christ.

The transfiguration also tells us that the old and new covenants are inseparable. Moses and Elijah stood together with Jesus and discussed his exodus, meaning his death, which was for their own salvation as well as for ours. No doubt they were encouraged by the fact that Jesus Christ was setting his face toward Jerusalem, because the salvation of Moses, Elijah, and everyone else in the Old Testament depended on the stupendous work that Jesus Christ performed when he died on the cross.

What else does the transfiguration tell us? It tells us that the cross and the glory are of one. God himself planned these events–both the cross and the glory–in that order.

Not only that, the transfiguration tells us that the age to come already penetrated into this age in Jesus Christ. It tells us that our human nature has a destiny of glory, and that God has uttered his last word in Jesus Christ.

Finally, the transfiguration tells us that in Christ alone the Father is well pleased. That is the Father’s word; therefore, we must pay attention to it.

Why Listen to Jesus?

The verdict of God the Father was “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” Why should we listen to Jesus? I will give you some reasons.

1. We must listen to Jesus because he is greater than all other human beings who ever lived, including all the saints of the Old Testament. Peter wrongly thought that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah all stood on the same level. That is why he offered to build a build a shelter for each. But Jesus is greater than Moses, as we read in the book of Hebrews. Jesus is greater than Elijah. Jesus himself said he is greater than Jonah, Solomon, and the temple. So Moses, Elijah, Jonah and Solomon, and all the saints in the Old Testament, are all merely sinful people whom it pleased God to save through his Son. Moses could never deliver anybody from the slavery of sin, but Jesus does, as we read in John 8:36, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” We must, therefore, hear Jesus because he is greater than all the other human beings who have ever lived or will live on the face of the earth. Why? Jesus is God.
2. We must listen to Jesus because he is the eternal Son of God. Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God, Deity incarnate, the second Person of the Holy Trinity. He is from everlasting to everlasting and through him God created all things. In Hebrews 1:3 we read, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together,” we read in Colossians 1:17. And in Colossians 2:9 we read, “In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” Therefore, all must hear him. Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, and Hindus must hear him. Everyone must listen to Jesus!
3. We must listen to Jesus because he is the last word of God the Father and the prescription of God for all our ills. In Hebrews 1:1-2 we read, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” That is why we should not be listening to the philosophers, unbelieving theologians, politicians, and technocrats for our salvation. None of these people can save us from our sins. God’s last word is Jesus Christ, and in Hebrews 2:2 we read, “For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?” meaning the salvation preached by Jesus the Son of God. All the words of Moses and the prophets pointed to this Son. He is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. No other christs, gurus, rabbis, or sons will come. In Jesus Christ God the Father has spoken the last word for our salvation; therefore, we must hear him.
4. We must listen to Jesus because he is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 42:1-4 we read, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. . . In his law the islands will put their hope.” Jesus Christ is born of the Spirit, baptized in the Spirit, and anointed by the Spirit of the living God to be our Deliverer, Messiah, and King. It is he who took our infirmities and carried our sorrows. It is he who was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. It is upon him that the Father laid all our iniquities. Jesus is the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. He offered himself as a propitiatory sacrifice in behalf of us and by his death he turned away God’s wrath that was against us. We must hear him!
5. We must listen to Jesus because he alone is the Beloved of God. He was, we are told in John 1:18 in the bosom of the Father. No one else is so beloved and therefore chosen by God, and only in Jesus Christ can we become beloved of God. We are all guilty and bound for hell, and only by hearing and believing in him can we be saved from God’s wrath to come. (PGM) The flood of God’s wrath is about to be outpoured, and Jesus alone is the ark of God in whom we have safety. Now is the time of our salvation; therefore, we must hear him, enter into the ark and be saved forever.
6. We must listen to Jesus because he alone is the Redeemer. By nature we are slaves of sin and Satan. We need a kinsman, a relative, an older brother, who is able, ready and willing to buy us back from Satan’s slave market. Jesus alone is able to do this, and not only is he able, but he is also ready and willing. In fact, he has already redeemed us! On the cross he paid the price of our redemption, which Peter wrote about in 1 Peter 1:18-20, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver and gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” There is no other Redeemer who has paid the price for our salvation; therefore, we must hear him.
7. We must listen to Jesus because God the Father told us to. God’s words on the Mount of Transfiguration were not a suggestion but a commandment–the eleventh commandment–as I already said. We broke the Ten Commandments, but now God was giving another commandment, which is to hear his Son. Of all the people who ever lived, Jesus alone has received this highest testimony from God the Father who planned our salvation from all eternity. So when God tells us to listen, he is really saying, “Look to him and be saved, all the ends of the earth.”Did you know that God the Father is the great heavenly evangelist? In this passage he is exhorting us not to listen to the philosophers, politicians, technocrats and even the journalists of the world. When we listen to news reports, we must realize that we are not really hearing objective reporting; rather, each one is expressing his opinion. The Father is exhorting us, “Do not listen to others who pretend to save you. They are thieves, robbers, and liars. There is only one who can help you and save you–my Son, Jesus. Hear him!” There is no greater testimony than that which the Father gave concerning his Son.
8. We must listen to Jesus because he is the one in whom the Father was pleased. All have sinned, yet there is one who was born without sin and lived a life without sinning. This one’s passion was to please and glorify God and he alone did so. Where Adam failed miserably, the last Adam, Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, God/Man, succeeded. Therefore, God the Father is pleased to make him our mediator. We must hear him, because no one else can be our mediator except this one in whom the Father is well pleased.
9. We must listen to what Jesus Christ himself said. What are some of the things Jesus said about himself? In the gospels we read, “I am the Messiah.” and “I am the bread that gives you life.” In other places we find, “I am the eternal one,” “I am the light of the world,” “I am the resurrection and life,” and I “am the way, the truth and the life.” Jesus Christ alone is the Son of God.” I am! Jesus says. No one else. So hear ye him.What else did Jesus speak about? The gospel. Remember what Jesus told his disciples in Caesarea Philippi? In essence he told them, “You say I am the Christ, the Son of the living God? Peter, you are absolutely right, and because of that, I must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things, be killed, and be raised on the third day. Peter, do not reject this message, this good news, this gospel. If you do, you will be rejecting it at the cost of your own damnation. You must hear and believe, because salvation comes only through the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the one in whom God is well pleased.” So Jesus told his disciples to deny themselves, take up the cross, and follow him. He told them that if they lose their lives in this world, they will find them again in the kingdom of God that is coming.In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 we find the same gospel that Jesus himself spoke. There Paul wrote, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” That is the gospel! It doesn’t sound very sophisticated to modern people, but it is the gospel–that Christ died in your place that you may be saved–and we must pay heed to it.
10. We must listen to Jesus because there is no self-salvation. Not only is man born a sinner, but he is a sinner by choice and therefore he cannot save himself. I recently watched a television program showing a Hindu holy man who had seven feet of hair. This man was very proud of his piety, which he demonstrated by the length of his hair. Do you think that man’s piety would save him? No. Man cannot save himself, and that is why we must listen to Jesus.
11. We must listen to Jesus because he is coming again to judge. Let me assure you, the second coming of Christ is not a manmade story. God’s word tells us it is appointed for man once to die and then comes the judgment. The transfiguration of Christ gives us a preview of Christ’s future glory when he comes again as a glorious King to judge all who ever lived.

The Bible tells us many things about the second coming of Christ. It says that Jesus is going to come personally with great glory and that he will not send an angel but that he himself will come into this planet. It tells us he is going to come bodily, meaning he is going to come in his physical, glorious body. And not only that, it tells us he is going to come visibly and every eye shall see him. Some will mourn while others will rejoice. Those who have listened to him will rejoice, but those who have turned a deaf ear to him will mourn. It also speaks about the time of his coming and reveals that Jesus will come suddenly when we least expect it. The Bible says he will come suddenly like a thief in the night. Not only that, it tells us that unlike his first coming, Jesus’s second coming is going to be glorious. Jesus is not going to come again as a little babe wrapped in swaddling clothes. Rather, he will come in great glory as King of kings and Lord of lords. And, finally, it tells us that Jesus is going to come as the Judge of all mankind. He will resurrect everyone, some for everlasting shame and some for everlasting life.

Paul wrote of Christ’s coming in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10: “All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.” You see, there is suffering now but glory later. Paul continues, “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.” Truly, Christ is coming!

And not only is Christ coming as Judge, but he is coming to be the Savior of those who have trusted in him. In the account of the transfiguration we read that Christ’s face shone like the sun, but in Matthew 13:43 Jesus makes this statement about Christians at the time of the second coming: “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

When will Christ come back? We do not know. Many in the history of the church right up through the present day have made fools of themselves by predicting years and months and times and hours. But the truth is, we do not know when the second coming of Christ will occur. What, then, should we do? We should listen to him and do what he wants. We must believe in the person and work of Jesus Christ today that we might be found in him. And as Jesus told his disciples, we must deny ourselves, take up the cross daily and follow him.

We Must Listen to Jesus!

Peter heard all that Jesus said and believed it. We see this demonstrated in what he declared in Acts 4:12 when he faced the Jewish rulers, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven,” means in this planet, “given to men by which we must be saved.” Peter heard this message, believed it, preached it and eventually was killed for it. But Peter also shall come with Christ when he returns in glory, and Peter’s face will shine like the sun on that day.

We must listen to Jesus! I counsel you to be like Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus to hear his words of life. About her Jesus spoke, “But one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part” (KJV). What is the one thing that is needful–the only thing that is essential, fundamental, and of supreme importance for you and me in this life? To hear Christ, the Son of God, and be saved. His word is spirit and his word is life.

Jesus said, “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” So I counsel you to hear him and be a wise person whom he will receive when he comes again. Otherwise, as we read in Matthew 7:23, he will say, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

In John 10:27 Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” And in Hebrews 3 and 4 the writer warns us, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” Let us listen to Jesus!

Let Us Hear the Holy Spirit

But now there is one question we must ask: How can we who are sinners, meaning people who are spiritually deaf, mute, and blind because of sin, hear Jesus? The answer is, we cannot, unless God recreates us. The Bible tells us that we are dead in trespasses and sins, and we can only hear if the Holy Spirit comes upon us and makes us alive. Only when God makes us alive can we hear and respond to him in faith. That is what is known as the effectual call of God.

In 1 Thessalonians 1:4,5 Paul says, “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words. . .” We must stop here and point out that the true gospel of Jesus Christ consists of words of propositional truth. It is not some kind of subjective mystic experience, although some people portray it as such. But when the gospel is preached, there is also another element at work. Paul says the gospel comes, “not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction.” Whenever I preach the gospel, the Holy Spirit is also working. Now, the Holy Spirit does not work in every listener’s heart. Those God has called will hear the gospel and respond to it, because God makes them able to respond through his mighty work in them. But others will merely hear and remain unchanged.

If the Spirit of the living God is speaking to you when you hear the gospel preaching, you should rejoice. You would not be able to hear anything unless God was working in you and causing his word to come to you with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction. Therefore, let us listen to the Holy Spirit! And when he speaks to us, may we say with Samuel, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” If we do this, when the Lord comes in his kingdom in great glory and power, he will say to us, “Thou good and faithful servant, enter into my eternal joy.” As we read in Revelation 22:17, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!'” Have You Listened To Christ?

To some God gives simply an external call. To such people God’s call sounds like thunder, as we read in John 12:29. There we read that God spoke to the Son, but the people only heard thunder. That is the external call. But if the Holy Spirit is at work in you when God speaks, you will hear the voice of the great shepherd, Jesus Christ. In John 10:27 we read, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Those who are foreloved and predestinated from all eternity will hear the voice of their shepherd, Jesus Christ, and follow him. To such people Jesus says, “Deny yourself, take up the cross daily, and follow me.”

What about you? Will you hear Christ’s voice and identify yourself as his sheep, as one of those whom Jesus Christ knows, meaning one of those whom he loves? We are told Christ loved us and gave himself for us. Will you follow this good shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep?

Praise God for sending his Son, Jesus Christ, as the Savior of the world, and for speaking to us God’s word, which is spirit and life. May God have mercy on all of us and may the Holy Spirit enable us to respond to the gospel and follow Christ. Then, although we may suffer and die for the gospel’s sake in this life, we shall rejoice, knowing that we will come back with Christ in great glory and power. And when we die Jesus will say to us, “Thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord.” Then our faces will shine like the sun and we will live permanently in a state of glory. There will be no more suffering, no more pain, no more crucifixion, no more tears and no more death. Our destiny shall be great glory if we listen to the Lord Jesus Christ and do his will every day of our lives. Amen.