JESUS WAS A COUNSELOR=+
by=+
Ivan H. French=++

One of the names given to our Lord in Isaiah 9:6 is
"Counselor."  Because of the perfection of His person, we
would expect Him to be the perfect counselor, and this is
the portrait of Him in the New Testament.=++

In Him "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"
(Col. 2:3).  He can be counted on, therefore, to counsel
according to absolute truth.=++

He "knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of
man:  for he knew what was in man" (John 2:24, 25).  Because
of His perfect knowledge of human character and need, He
could apply His flawless knowledge to each individual case. 
All of His recorded encounters bear clear evidence that He
did so.=++

To Nicodemus, the earnest, searching Pharisee, Jesus said
that he must not rely upon his religious position or
trappings but get to the root of his spiritual need. 
"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again
he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).  Nicodemus did
not understand his real need, and Jesus revealed it to
him.=++

To the woman He met at Sychar's well, Jesus administered
shocking counsel when He said, ". . . thou hast had five
husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband"
(John 4:18).  She realized that she was being confronted by
One who knew all about her.  He had graciously and tactfully
led her to this point in the conversation; nevertheless, it
was a jarring revelation to her that she must repent of her
sin and forsake it.  There must be a change in her life. 
She must set her course in a new direction.=++

To the man who wanted Jesus to be the arbiter in his
financial affairs, He spoke plainly by precept and by
parable that the focus of his life was all wrong:  "Take
heed and beware of covetousness:  for a man's life
consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he
possesseth (Luke 12:15).=++

To the adulterous woman, Jesus was gentle and courteous.  He
knew the conditions that had brought about her sinful
lifestyle.  Nevertheless, His word to her was clear-cut and
distinct:  ". . . go, and sin no more" (John 8:11).=++

Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, was a fine man in many
ways, but he was experiencing the crushing blow of a great
sorrow:  his only daughter was dying.  This drove him to
seek out Jesus.  He wanted Jesus to come and heal his little
girl.  An interruption arose and they were delayed in their
journey.  When a messenger came to tell Jairus that his
daughter was already dead, as quick as a flash Jesus turned
to him and said, "Fear not, believe only, and she shall be
made whole" (Luke 8:50).  Jairus had displayed an imperfect
faith in coming to Jesus.  Jesus did not despise that.  Now,
the master Counselor would lead the good man on to a deeper,
more vibrant trust in Him, not by criticizing his small
faith but by nourishing and challenging it.=++

A Jewish lawyer (one who was an expert in Old Testament law
and tradition) came to Jesus, not to seek advice, but to
trap Jesus into saying something that could be proven false. 
In response to the lawyer's question, "Who is my neighbor?"
Jesus told the well-known story of the Good Samaritan.  When
the lawyer correctly identified the Samaritan as the true
neighbor of the injured man, Jesus said to him, "Go thou and
do likewise!" (Luke 10:37).=++

Jesus, the all-wise Counselor, dealt with each individual on
the basis of that person's need.  But in each case, the goal
of the counsel was the same:  You must change.  Sometimes it
was a change of attitude that was needed, sometimes a change
of direction of the life, sometimes a call to faith or an
enlargement of faith already present in imperfect form.  But
always, it was change!=++

The word to today's believer is "He that saith he abideth in
Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked" (1
John 2:6).  The true Christian will seek to pattern his life
and labors after the conduct of the Lord Jesus.  This means,
then, that whether we are informal or professional
counselors, we shall be always trying to call others to
change along the lines of truth and Christ-likeness.=++

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