In a previous column, we focused on some powerful red-letter words of Jesus which are featured in the red-letter edition of our Bible. Today we will consider several more of these life-giving, life-changing words.

When Jesus was 12 years old, He accompanied Joseph and His mother, Mary, to the Feast of Passover at the temple in Jerusalem a distance of about 68 miles from their home in Nazareth (Luke 2). As the family was returning to Nazareth, they discovered that Jesus was not with them. A terrified Joseph and Mary returned to Jerusalem and began their frantic search for Jesus. After three days, they found Him in the temple with the doctors of the Law, “both hearing them, and asking them questions,” (Verse 46). Upon quizzing Him as to why He had brought such anguish upon them, we have the first recorded words in the Bible of Jesus as a human being on earth, “Wist (or know) ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?”

We have heard it said that God is in the soul-saving business which is the spiritual life-giving business. Before meeting the Savior, each of us was spiritually “dead in trespasses and sins,” (Ephesians 2:1), and in need life-giving salvation.

Jesus spoke in John 6:38, 40, “For I came down from Heaven not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him may have everlasting life.” Hebrews 10:7 records Jesus’ declaration, “Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God.” The will of God is made perfectly clear to us in II Peter 2: 9, “The Lord…is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Jesus emphasized again His determination to fulfill the will of His Father in John 4:34, “My meat (purpose, passion) is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.”

In Luke 19:10 Jesus described His mission on earth, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” John summarizes God’s plan of redemption for lost mankind in I John 4:14, “The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” Jesus said in John 10:17-18, “Therefore doth my Father love Me, because I lay down my life. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.” The writer of Hebrews 12:2 described it in these words, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; Who for the joy (of “bringing many sons into glory,” Ch. 2, V. 10) that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame.”

The promise of Jesus in John 10:28 is, “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish.” But Jesus was not concerned only with the “Sweet By and By,” for He tells us in John 10:10, “I am come that they (whosoever will) might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” We have another glorious promise of Jesus from Hebrews 12:5, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” His presence is with us as His children, and the Bible assures us His presence brings us “fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore,” for the here and now as well as eternity. He provided for our physical needs as seen in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things (day to day necessities) shall be added unto you.”

Resurrection of our bodies from the grave is another event of which Jesus wanted to assure us as found in John 6:40, “Every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” The song by Jack and Gail Toney expresses it so well: “I will rise up to meet Him in the sky, on that homecoming morning by and by. When the trumpet of God begins to sound, I will rise up from the grave to meet the Lamb.”

Finally, again Jesus speaks His words of promise to us in John 14:2-3 about our future, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” The precious, life-giving words of Jesus have provided everything we need for life, death and forever after.

— Randy Zinn is pastor of Russell Missionary Baptist Church, Russell, Ark.; formerly of Okmulgee.