Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries
"What's My Line?"
Aug. 20, 2018
Jesus said to him, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
~ John 14:6 (ESV)
Years ago, there was a program on TV called, What's My Line?
The premise of What's My Line? was for a group of well-educated panelists to ask an individual a series of questions and try to guess what he, or she, did for a living.
What's My Line? was so popular that it holds the record for being the longest-running prime-time game show in TV history. Amazingly, if you stumped the panel you walked away with $50!
As I was working on this devotion, I began to wonder what would happen if 2,000 years ago Jesus had appeared on What's My Line? The panelists would have gone nuts trying to figure out who Jesus was, and what He did.
Think about it. The first panelist might have asked, "Jesus, are you younger than the age of 50?"
To that Jesus might have replied, "I was born in Bethlehem during the days of Quirinius and Caesar Augustus, but I was already very old when I was born."
Asking more questions wouldn't have helped. For example, if someone had asked, "Jesus, are you in the food-service business?"
He could have replied, "Well, I have fed thousands of people with a few loaves and fish but, no, food service is not my occupation."
"Do you work in the medical field?"
"Good question," Jesus might have replied. "Many who have met Me might think so. The reports are consistent: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised. But in truth, I have to admit medicine isn't My major line of work."
The more I thought about Jesus appearing on What's My Line? the more I had to laugh. Those poor panelists would never have figured Him out, would have never guessed Jesus' job.
We shouldn't be surprised.
After all, nobody before His birth, and nobody since His ascension into heaven, has ever done the job Jesus did. He is unique, One of a kind. Because He is so special, even those closest to Him often were confused. When Jesus asked the disciples, "Who do people say I am?" there were a lot of answers brought forward (see Matthew 16:13-20).
When Jesus rephrased His question, making it more personal, "And who do you think I am?" Peter got it right when he said, "We think You're the Christ, that is the promised Savior, the Son of God." Of course, Peter got it right only because the answer had been given to Him by the Heavenly Father. On his own, Peter would have missed by a mile.
There were a few others who managed get a glimpse into the true nature of the Savior and His work. One of Jesus' friends, a lady by the name of Martha, got it right when she said, "I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world" (John 11: 27b). Now, I don't know how much Martha had figured out on her own. I do know Jesus gave her a giant clue when He told her, "I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die" (see John 11:25-26).
This leads me to say: if you ever run into someone who wants to know what Jesus's main job was, the Savior's answer says it all: He is God's truth who shows sinners the way to eternal Life.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, while the world constantly refines and redefines You, let me see and worship You as the one-and-only Winner of salvation for lost and condemned souls. In Your Name I ask it. Amen.
Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
Years ago, there was a program on TV called, What's My Line?
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