Initiator and Completer of Needful Tasks in a Timely Manner

All quotation are taken from the New King James Bible, unless otherwise stated.

The name of March is derived from that of the first month of the earliest Roman calendar, namely ‘Martius’. It, in turn, was named after the Roman god of war, ‘Mars’. He was the supposed ancestor of the Roman people through his fictitious sons, Romulus and Remus. The latter, incidentally, are credited in legend with the founding of Rome itself.

In addition, the month Martius marked the start of the season for warfare that ended in October. It is not surprising that this practice continues today in modern warfare. Does this suggest to you any biblical account? ‘It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem’, 2 Sam. 11. 1. Breaking with the normal custom of personally leading his troops in their military pursuits at this time of year freed this successful and popular king to have time on his hands. Sadly, on this occasion he committed two most grievous sins -first, adultery with Bathsheba, and second, arranging for the subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah the Hittite.

Contrast this with the members of the Godhead’s pattern of initiating and then completing needful and sometimes onerous tasks in a timely manner. In relation to the Lord’s coming to earth, Galatians chapter 4 reads, ‘But when the fullness of the time had come, God [the Father] sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons’, vv. 4, 5. Moreover, Isaiah states, ‘Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this’, 9. 7.

Once on earth, the Father’s Son busied Himself, taking the initiative and carrying out His Father’s directives/biddings from the age of twelve. We might recall that when Mary and Joseph were en route home from celebrating the Passover in Jerusalem with other Galilean worshippers, they could not find Jesus. Therefore, they returned, and they located Him in the temple interacting with the teachers of the law who were astonished at His spiritual acumen. Note that when questioned why He had not started on the way home with the rest of the family, He, even at the young age of twelve, knew and so declared that He was obliged to be engaged in His Father’s business, Luke 2. 49.

Soon after His baptism and undergoing a forty-day temptation in the Judean wilderness, our Lord is recorded as being in Jerusalem performing His first cleansing of the temple and meeting with Nicodemus. He was in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Upon witnessing the desecration of the temple caused by money-hungry folks merchandizing animals for sacrifice, our Lord took the initiative and then completed the onerous task of driving these sellers out with a handmade whip, John 2. 13-25. It is interesting to note that just a few days after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem and a few days before celebrating that Passover, our Lord again took the initiative to carry out a similar temple cleansing.

Mark chapter 1 verses 14 and 15 read, ‘Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel”’. Our Lord, motivated by His mission, said to the Twelve early along the journey, ‘Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth’, Mark 1. 38.¹ When He and the Twelve were in Sychar, Samaria, after He had just ministered to the woman drawing water who had married five husbands, Jesus said to the disciples, after going without eating, ‘My food [“meat” KJV] is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work’, John 4. 34. It could be rightly said that the fundamental mission of Christ’s time on earth was to fulfil the Godhead’s plan of providing salvation for the lost in a timely manner. The Lord put it succinctly, saying, ‘The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost’, Luke 19. 10.

There was only one instance, as recorded in Mark chapter 6 verses 7 to 13, where our Lord sent the disciples out by themselves, two by two, throughout the land, preaching ‘that people should repent’. But He Himself stayed behind where He was. He was testing them by this action, and, when they returned, He questioned them regarding their experiences.

On many occasions during His earthly ministry, Christ took the initiative to seek to forgive those whom the self-righteous leaders of the day shunned. In addition to the woman at the well and the Samaritans of her town, John 4. 39-41, He specifically sought out other outcasts of society. All through the Gospels, we see Jesus seeking to find and forgive the worst of sinners who had a repentant heart, Luke 15. 21, 22; cp. Isa. 57. 15. Additionally, the physical mission of Christ included taking the initiative of reaching out to the poor, delivering the captives, restoring sight to the blind, and lifting up the downtrodden - some actions considered unthinkable by the ‘religionists’ of that day.

Sometime during the middle of His three-year ministry, our Lord spoke to the Twelve some startling and sad words, as recorded in John chapter 6 verse 51, ‘I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world’. About the same time, He also said to them what is recorded in John chapter 7 verses 6 and 8; ‘My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready … You go up to this feast [of Passover]. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come’. Somewhat later he also said, as recorded in Luke chapter 9 verse 51, ‘Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up [into glory], that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem’. On His way there, He passed with His disciples through Jericho, Luke 19. It is interesting to note that Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector who was short in stature, climbed a sycamore tree to get a better view of our Lord. Our Lord saw him, took the initiative to order him down, and declared Himself a guest of this despised businessman. Zacchaeus responded to the gospel during Jesus’ visit, because Jesus announced, ‘Today salvation has come to this house … for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost’, vv. 9, 10. Our Lord satisfactorily initiated and completed His stated spiritual goal with Zacchaeus.

Just several days after triumphantly entering Jerusalem with His disciples, our Lord said to those disciples, ‘Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, “The Teacher says, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples”’, Matt. 26. 18. After overseeing its celebration and undertaking the humbling task of washing the feet of the disciples, our Lord instituted the Lord’s Supper with all except Judas Iscariot. Following this and instructing them regarding living without Him, John 15, 16, He began praying aloud to His Father, indicating that He had accomplished His earthly mission. This is commonly referred to today as His ‘intercessory prayer’. He declared to His Father, ‘I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do, John 17. 4.

After these activities, our Lord with His disciples, now eleven instead of twelve, initiated walking to the Garden of Gethsemane, John 18. Once in the garden, our Lord took Peter, James, and John along with Him to ‘watch’ and asked the others to engage in prayer. Our Lord then underwent that evening what could be described as ‘the extreme of mental agony’ as He verbally struggled with His Father’s will. He pleaded with Him, at three separate junctures, Matt. 26. 39, 42, 44, to remove the upcoming ‘cup’ of unmatched, excruciating suffering that He was about to endure. However, in the end, our Lord agreed to drink it, as it were, to its dregs.

He then found all eleven of His disciples dozing and roused them to accompany Him to face those coming to arrest Him. Jesus was determined to face the upcoming torturous events head-on. Mark chapter 14 verse 42 reads, ‘Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand’. The natural tendency when facing some upcoming unpleasant circumstances is to delay them as long as possible! Finally, in Romans chapter 5 verse 6, Paul presented the outcome by stating, ‘For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly’.

In conclusion, from boyhood throughout His entire ministry on earth, our Lord demonstrated a commitment to initiate and complete in a timely manner every needful task - whether onerous or not. He successfully carried out every one of them during His earthly mission at the right time and in a timely manner.