Jesus Among the Worshippers

With a heart filled with appreciation and love, Jesus sings to the Father. You will find Jesus in the assembly of believers singing praises to God with a powerful voice! This is a man who used to preach to more than 20,000 people at once without a microphone, so indeed his voice booms in worship and song.

[Jesus said to God] I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises (Hebrews 2:12).

Jesus' expression of adoration to God through song shouldn’t be surprising to you as Jesus was known to sing with his Twelve Apostles. For him, worship was a great way to conclude a meeting. For example, he did it at the end of the Last Supper, the night before he was crucified. What a solemn moment that was!

When they [Jesus and the Twelve] had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:30).

Jesus enjoyed worship. Do you? Jesus would move among the throng of worshippers in the Temple and feel very much at home there. Do you feel at home in places of worship? Do you relish being in places where God is glorified? If so, you'll fit in well in the Kingdom.

Listen to Jesus speak through the psalmist:

I once enjoyed sweet fellowship [with a friend] at the House of God as we walked about among the worshipers (Psalm 55:14).

Jesus counts himself among the worshippers of God. Do you count him among them too? Do you count yourself among them? Jesus invites us to follow his example. His example is that of a worshipper of the One God. When asked what the greatest commandment is, he responded:

The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.(Mark 12:29-30; NKJV).

Commitment to Jewish Festivals

We know that Jesus as a baby, a boy, young man, and adult went to the Temple during the holidays to worship God. It was his consistent pattern of behavior. In fact, his commitment to worshipping God was extraordinary even from a young age. Even at 12 years old, Jesus had a passion for the celebration of faith and truth. He loved the Temple and the God who was worshipped there.

Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem… (Luke 2:41-43)

As a full-grown man, Jesus would go to the religious festivals—even if it cost him his life! Going to Jerusalem became dangerous for him once the Pharisees and Sadducees began to hate him. Having initiated a preaching ministry, with popular support but with opposition from his family and the religious leaders, participation in Jewish religious festivals became very risky for Jesus. But that didn’t stop him from worshipping in the Temple of Jerusalem!

… when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, ‘Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the World.’ For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

Therefore Jesus told them, ‘My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. The World cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.’ After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.

However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret (John 7:2-10).

Zeal for God’s House

We know that Jesus had an intense zeal for God’s House. His zeal made him very fervent for the worship of God. The apostles noticed his zeal—do you notice it? It’s a quality he will retain forever--especially during the Millennium. You’ll notice this zeal when you see Jesus leading in worship in the Temple once he returns in his Kingdom.

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.

So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the Temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, ‘Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s House into a market!’

His disciples remembered that it is written: ‘Zeal for your House will consume me’ (John 2:13-17).

The Prince of Worship

Our Lord Jesus, to be known as the Prince during the Millennium, will lead in worship to God in the Temple during that 1,000-year reign. Specifically, Jesus will lead worship to God on the Sabbaths, the new moons (every month), and the festivals. He will come in one gate of the Temple and go out another, moving among us in worship.

… the Prince shall come by way of the portico of the gate from the outside, and he shall stand at the doorframe of the gate and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his fellowship offerings, and he shall bow down at the threshold of the gate.

Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be closed until the evening. And the people of the land will bow down at the doorway of that gate on the Sabbaths and on the new moons before Yahweh.

And the burnt offering which the Prince will offer to Yahweh on the Sabbath day must be six male lambs without defect and a ram without defect…

And when the Prince comes, on the way of the portico of the gate he shall come and by this way he shall go out. And when the people of the land come before Yahweh at the festivals, the one coming by way of the gate of the north to bow down must go out by the way of the gate of the south… And the Prince will be in the midst of them; he will come in when they come in, and when they go out he will go out…

And when the Prince makes a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or a fellowship offering as a freewill offering to Yahweh, the gate facing east will be open for him (Ezekiel 36:2-4, 8-10, 12).

If you read on in Ezekiel 36, you’ll see that during worship, Jesus will distribute inheritances among those who have been resurrected and are serving God in the Kingdom with him. Jesus will be busy the other six days of the week governing the Kingdom. His role as worship leader is one day a week, with extended worship-leader roles during holidays.

Wow! It's going to be exciting. It will be a new world in which worship plays a central role. Religion will be more important than politics, economy, family life, entertainment, and even food!

Jesus the Composer

Have you heard of the Song of Moses and of the Lamb? Many churches sing it in Spanish. If you have heard it, did you know that it is a song that Jesus composed to God? From the title of the song, we know that Jesus sat down with Moses and composed this worship song to God.

... the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: ‘Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed’ (Revelation 15:3-4).

So Jesus composes worship music to God—that’s telling. But even more telling is what Jesus says about God in the song: ‘You alone are holy.’ Let’s assimilate that statement; let’s soak it in: Jesus teaches you and me to sing that only God the Father is holy! Can you sing that? Would you sing that?

Lots of very emotional “only you” language is used in Christian music nowadays, but listen closely to the lyrics and you’ll notice that the object of the “only you” songs is almost always Jesus and not the Father. Shall we say that these songs are “worship in truth”?

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth (John 3:24; NASB).

Is it possible that the popular "only you" songs of Christian singers were composed under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit if those songs contradict a song composed by Jesus himself? Of course not. There’s something wrong about the songs popular Christian singers are composing today if they say something contrary to what Jesus says.

Jesus sings that God alone is holy. Do you sing in that same vein? Do you treat the Father as the Only True God? What place does God have in your worship? He should have the central place. He should be the focus of your worship, just like he is (and always has been) for Jesus your Lord.

God: The Maximum Object of Worship

We welcome you to reflect upon five additional examples of Christian worship from the New Testament. Notice to whom the Early Church, Paul, and the apostle Jude direct glory and how they direct that glory. They all consistently give the honor and glory to the Father.

... they [the members of the primitive Church] raised their voices together in prayer to God. ‘Sovereign Lord,’ they said, ‘you made the heavens and the Earth and the sea, and everything in them’ (Acts 4:24).

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! ... To him be the glory forever! Amen (Romans 11:33,36).

To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen (Philippians 4:20).

Our final two examples give the honor to the Father in Jesus and through Jesus! What does it mean to give honor to God through Jesus? It means that as we look at the life of Jesus, we see that God marked it by giving Jesus the words to say, the actions to perform, and the life Jesus lived--because God resurrected Jesus.

We are supposed to honor God for what he has done in Christ.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21).

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen (Jude 24-25).

Can you say along with the apostle Jude ‘To the Only God our Savior be glory’ while you glorify the Father—or are you confused? Can you praise God for what he has done through Jesus? Do you access the Father through the grace that exists in Christ Jesus, or are you unsure of who to approach?

A true worshipper will worship God in spirit and in truth. A true worshipper will come to God through Christ. God seeks such people that they might worship him. Jesus said this to a woman confused about who to worship:

You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. But a time is coming, and even now has arrived, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:22-24; NASB).