Show, Don't Tell

Psalm 89:8-9

“O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD?

Your faithfulness also surrounds You.

You rule the swelling of the sea;

When its waves rise, You still them.”

 I read this psalm this morning and immediately thought of Mark 4:36-41.

 “Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Hush, be still.’ And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They became very much afraid and said to one another, ‘Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?’” Mark 4:36-41

 My high school writing teacher had a list of writing rules on the board in her room, and the number one, most important rule was, “SHOW, don’t TELL!”  That was drilled into us writing students from day one in the class, and it has stuck with me forevermore, and it’s the measuring stick I still use to judge good storytelling and good writing.

What occurred to me this morning is that Jesus’s whole life and ministry, His death and His resurrection, are the ultimate show, don’t tell. I used to work with a lady who was a Jehovah’s Witness, and during several friendly conversations we had she would tell me, among other things, that Jesus never claimed to be God. I beg to differ! He did, indeed, claim to be God in every teaching, every sign and miracle, in every single fulfilled prophesy, in His death and resurrection, He absolutely did show us that He is the God who saves His people. He is the promised Messiah. Even on that boat, He was showing us that He is the Creator who rules even the wind and sea – and everything else.

The more you read the Bible with Jesus as the focal point, the more you see Him in all of it. We were studying Exodus a while back in Sunday school, and I was amazed at all the symbolism in the Tabernacle that so clearly points to Jesus. Someone in the class said, “God’s not just pragmatic,” and went on about how the people at the time didn’t know all that and didn’t understand it that way. Ok. I know they couldn’t yet see it, but they were responsible for what Moses told them about how to approach God. But here’s the thing. We DO see it from this side of the cross. We get to read Scripture from the point in redemptive history where God has placed us, and now, as a New Testament believer who has the privilege of holding the entire revealed Word of God in my hands, it is not wrong for me to look at the words of the Old Testament and be astounded and amazed at how perfectly they point to Jesus, astonished and amazed at how perfectly He fulfills it all, be awed and amazed to read this little verse in Psalms and see how Jesus SHOWED us who He is in everything He said and did. That, my friends, is beautiful and it filled me with wonder once again this morning.