The Answer to the Search
Scripture Reading — Psalm 53:1-3
We have [a high priest] who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
The philosopher Diogenes carried a lamp wherever he went, looking for an honest person. In the Bible, God conducts a similar search, looking for a good person.
First up, Noah. He is described as “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time” (Genesis 6:9). But Noah turns out to be pretty much like everyone else, with a heart that inclines to evil. Another candidate is David. He is described as “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). But David behaves pretty much like every other king, with a string of crimes on his record.
It’s a frustrating search, leading Psalm 53 to conclude: “There is no one who does good, not even one” (v. 3). And that conclusion never changes. Not until God looks down from heaven and sees Jesus.
Jesus is truly righteous, blameless even. Jesus shares God’s heart, and he lives a life that pleases God from beginning to end. We all sin every day, doing things we shouldn’t do—sometimes things we don’t even want to do. But Jesus did not sin. Not once. Not ever.
Diogenes carried his lamp in the fourth century B.C. If only he could have waited about 400 years. He would have found what he was looking for—and what God was looking for too.
Holy Jesus, the search is over. You are everything God wants. You are everything we need. You are wonderful in every way. Amen.
About the author — Bob Arbogast
Bob Arbogast is the pastor of Celebration Fellowship church in Ionia, Michigan. In his spare time, he plays guitar in a West Michigan blues band. He and his wife Jan have been married forty years and have three adult daughters. Bob has been praying the psalms since 2002.
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