He is Jealous For Me

“He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight
Of His wind and mercy”

– John Mark McMillan

Initially, it seems petty.

How could the creator of the universe be jealous?

“Jealous” makes me think of when I spend too much time with one of my kids and the others notice. Or, if someone else gets a new car and a better house. Desiring something I don’t have.

Jealousy is coveting.

God created me – being jealous for me seems beneath…His office? Maybe?

But, God’s jealousy is a major theme in the Old Testament.

Exodus 20:5, “You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God”

Deuteronomy 4:24, “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”

Psalm 78:58, “For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols.”

Jesus is jealous, too…

In a Messianic prophecy we read, “For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me (Psalm 69:9).” Jesus, and only Jesus, could have fulfilled this coming expectation of a jealous Messiah. In John 2:17 we read, “His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’” When Jesus saw that the people had filled the Temple with vendor booths, he decided it was time for a deed cleansing. He was jealous and Jesus is the fulfillment of the “jealous promise.”

How could Jesus be jealous for us?

If I am being honest, I would admit I am jealous for my own kids. Our summer has been a mess. Although we promised to slow down a bit over the break, we did the exact opposite. Instead, our summer was littered with farm camp, church camp, family visits, and vacation.

I have found myself jealous for their time. Not out of selfishness, but because I know my affection for them is the purest, my intentions and plans for them are untainted. I want them around my wife and me because we love them unconditionally. Only want what is best for them. And, can wait to see what their futures hold.

We are jealous for them.

Jesus is jealous for you.

“Greater love has no one than this,

that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

John 15:13