The other day, as I studied the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of Matthew, this topic came to me. Jesus is usually in the most unlikely places, like on the seashore in that account. This is why many believers spend time looking for Jesus in the wrong place. We assume He would be in the church building. But at some stage, He left the church building to go and heal.
That account shows us two immediate critical points. The first item to note is that God does occasionally visit churches as we see in the twelfth chapter. But for our discussion today, what is most significant to note is His activity in the church. He was there to do good as usual. He planned to heal a man who had a withered hand. However, the religious leaders were not happy with that plan and they threw a religious law at Jesus. He overruled them and still healed the man’s withered hand.
As per His mandate, Jesus went about doing good but the religious leaders would not let Him rest. They not only queried Him about the Law, they also plotted against Him. He soon left the synagogue and multitudes followed Him. Please find time to read it for yourself from Matthew 12:15. But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.
Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with you and I will tell you. You may have been attending church for a number of years and you are yet to see Jesus heal you. The pastors in Jesus’ time tried to block Him from healing the man with the withered hand.
Stop Looking For Jesus In The Wrong Place, That Is, Church
This they did with their several layers of laws and regulations. Perhaps this reminds you of your church – don’t do this, don’t do that, etc. Meanwhile, Jesus was anointed to do good and these pastors were blocking Him. He quickly departed from the church and took His activities outside the church building. The wise multitude followed Jesus out of the synagogue. Please be like them and from today, stop looking for Jesus in the wrong place.
As the pastors and priests have been questioning Jesus and trying to impose their own righteousness, Jesus left the church. He is no longer in the church. If you stay on in church, you may be looking for Jesus in the wrong place. This is similar to the birth of Jesus. He was not in the hotel but in the manger.
Am I saying you should stop going to church? Far from it. I love attending church and derive a lot of spiritual benefit from it. But I don’t go to church to look for Jesus. Instead, go there to worship Him and you may not know the difference until you understand Ephesians 2.22. It says that you are God’s dwelling place. So, as I allow God and Jesus to live in me, I am able to worship God in church. That is because He comes into the church in my body.
If it is a good church, we may have a few people who bring Jesus with them to church. Worship service in that church becomes powerfully anointed. On the contrary, if a lot of members come in looking for Jesus in the wrong place, sorry. You are on your own and you are not likely to find Him.
Too Many Regulations Drive Jesus From The Church
There are two critical conclusions of this account in the 12th Chapter of Matthew. First, stop looking for Jesus in the wrong place. Secondly, choose the church you attend with a lot of care so you are not wasting your time. But you may not know how to carefully choose your church until you read this next section.
The church from which Jesus departed had a lot of very learned pastors and priests (Pharisees and Scribes). There is nothing wrong with being learned unless you are using your knowledge to raise your profile, like these pastors. I am sure you know Pastors who claim you cannot be healed unless you come to them. They are using their God-given knowledge to build themselves up. Jesus quickly departs from such a place and you know them by the number of man-made regulations there are.
The more regulations in your church, the less likely it is that Jesus will be there. Jesus said of such churches and pastors in Mark 7:7-8. “And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men. The washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”
The Apostle Paul writing later about the same phenomenon told the church in Rome. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. You may be worshipping in such a church with such pastors.
Since they are not submitting to God’s righteousness, is He likely to be among them? Today, stop looking for Jesus in the wrong place. You have taken that point but you have another question.
Where Should You Go to Find Jesus?
There are two places where you can find Jesus readily. The very first place is in the bible. Okay, so you groan because you are too lazy to read your bible. Or, the minute you open your bible, you start feeling sleepy. You are not alone but you need to know that is the devil that makes you sleepy. He knows that once you know the truth of the word of God, it will make you free. You will be free from him and stop looking for Jesus in the wrong place.
So, he brings sleep to your eyes so you will not find Jesus, the living word of God. Don’t forget, the bible is the written Word about the living Word. The more of the bible you study, the more of Jesus you know. Sorry, but there is no shortcut. You just must resist the devil so that he can flee from you. But you can only do that after you submit to God. Read the sequence of victory in James 4:7.
The other place to find Jesus is where other Jesus-carriers are gathered together. Identify some today so you can stop looking for Jesus in the wrong place. And then, God will add you to a church, as the bible says. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Salvation happened somewhere other than the church and God added them to the church. I hope that, with this understanding, you will stop looking for Jesus in the wrong place.
Maranatha!
