“And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”
(Matthew 7:28–29, ESV)
How do we view and respond to the Word of God? Matthew recorded that the crowd that gathered was astonished at Jesus’ teaching. The word translated astonished is ekplesso. The word means to strike out. Here, the crowd was stricken with Jesus’ teaching. Since this verb is in the perfect tense, it seems that the impact of the teaching on them lingered.
Matthew explains the reason for this astonishment. Jesus’ teaching had authority that was not evident in other teachers. Jesus’ teaching had authority that others did not because He was the King presenting the principles by which citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven were to operate. Jesus was no ordinary man. He who taught them was the incarnate God and thus He presented the very Words of God.
The question again is this. Does the Word of God strike us with a sense of awe, astonishment, and amazement? I remember when I first believed. I had this hunger and thirst for the Word. I read the Bible, would not miss a sermon, attended Sunday Bible class, and read Christian books with a deep hunger to know more. Why did I have this desire for spiritual things? I think there were two reasons. First, I was in awe of the Word of God. Second, I was starving spiritually.
I had presumed that every believer should have such a hunger and thirst for the Word of God. Yet I did not see it. However, later I understood as my own hunger for the Word of God waned. What had happened? I still had a desire for the Word. However, I had allowed other things to weave in, so that I lost my perspective. That initial awe of God’s Word had waned.
So, how do we fix this problem? What do we do when we who are Christians lose that astonishment of God’s Word? We must realize that the awe and resultant hunger is in the heart of every true believer. It comes when a person experiences the regenerative work of the Spirit of God, changing our nature to desire the things of God.
The steps to recover from one’s lethargy towards the Word of God are straightforward. First, we must understand that we should have a hunger and thirst for the Word. We desperately need the word of life. Second, if we do not have this hunger and thirst, we should confess it to God. Third, we need to examine and reestablish the priorities of our life for “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Most importantly, we need to reconsider the depth and authority of God’s Word in light of our own want.
Whether we are one month in the Lord or 50 years in the Lord, we still have a great depth of Scripture to explore. We ought to press to grasp the deeper things of God. We will not find these deeper things by investing in the things of the world. We will only find these deeper things by seeking God in His Word, the Scriptures.
Renewing the Heart 