Jesus Observed-Part II

What Did Jesus Do?

Look at the birds of the air…
Matthew 6.26

As one who on a regular basis rose early Jesus would have had ample opportunity to observe other who were early risers—the birds and the beasts. Just as Jesus had made a thorough and careful study of plants and trees (See WDJD for 4/25/10), the Lord also paid close attention to animals of the field and stream and air. We have to believe that when Jesus told people to watch the birds of the air He had already spent many hours listening and watching the creatures He had made to fill the skies.

Jesus knew the feeding habits of birds (Matthew 13.4), as well as their nesting practices (Matthew 13.32). But Jesus did more than scan the skies, He saw where foxes denned (Matthew 8.20).

While He would not have fed dogs while letting children go hungry (Matthew 15.26), probably more than one dog had lapped up the crumbs from His table. Yet Jesus would never had set what His Father had declared holy before dogs; He also warned others about exercising care over what they threw out for pigs (Matthew 7.6), a lesson neither about pigs nor pearls.

He was well acquainted with the ravenous appetites of wolves, and their liking for mutton (Luke 10.3). He cautioned His disciples to be as wise as crafty serpents while at the same time being as innocent as doves (Matthew 10.16). Not so much as one sparrow could fall from the sky without the Father’s notice (Matthew 10.29), and Jesus had just as much concern for the whole of Creation as His Father.

But it was not just the birds of the air that Jesus watched, He was familiar with barnyard fowls as well; Jesus had seen the protective ways of a hen towards her chicks, and had himself longed to safely gather the children of Jerusalem to Himself in the same manner (Matthew 23.37).

Jesus spent enough time on the water, and in the company of fishermen, to be well acquainted with the bounty of the sea. When He called them, the Lord commanded the Apostles to lay down their nets, but bring their fishing skills, for He would have them haul in souls for the kingdom of His Father (Matthew 4.19)

The schemes and threats of a “foxy” Herod the Lord dismissed, for the Lamb had work that must be accomplished before He made His final trip into Jerusalem (Luke 13.31-35). Perhaps there was no creature the Lord knew better than a lamb. Jesus knew perfectly well how helpless and lost sheep were without a good shepherd to guide and protect them (Matthew 9.36). Ironically, the Good Shepherd himself (John 10.14) had to be sacrificed, the Lamb of God slain, to save the sheep of His Father’s flock.

Whether beneath the waves, upon the ground, or in the air, all creatures great and small were carefully and thoroughly watched and understood by Jesus. Knowing their habits, and their habitats, Jesus both understood the ways of fish, beasts, and birds, and appreciated what they could teach men and women willing to learn from their example. In our busy world, growing more and more urban, where so much of the habitat of so many animals is shrinking away day by day, opportunities to observe and learn from the creatures who share the world with us grow fewer and fewer, and it is quite easy to ignore them altogether. Animals, whether of the seas, fields, or sky, were not created for the purpose of being on our dinner menus, God created plants for food for man and beast alike (See Genesis 1.29-30 for our vegetarian origins), and we would do well to observe and appreciate fish, beasts, and birds for their beauty, strength, industry and wisdom. That’s what Jesus did.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4