“Lord, may we submit to Your Word. Really believe Your Word. Act upon Your Word. And preach Your Word to people, and to do whatever you would tell us. Amen.”
NASB: "Whatever He says to you, do it." (John 2:5).
NIV: "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:5).
KJV: “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” (John 2:5).
NKJV: “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (John 2:5).
ESV: "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:5).
These are the renderings of the verse in the Gospel of John. This is the statement of the mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary. She does not point to herself but she points solely to her Son. This excludes coming to her to get to Christ. Christ is the only way to God the Father. To use this story as a basis for Romish doctrine is contrary to the sacred text of Scripture. She said to do whatever He tells you. We are told in the New Testament that older woman ought to teach what is good. Mary is an example of teaching what is good. What she taught which is clearly seen in this little verse is profound, divine and explicit. What did John the Baptist do in his ministry? He pointed to Christ. John 1:36 says, “and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" (NASB). Sound teachers of the pure sacred faith point to Christ as the only way to God. John and Mary taught this and all of Scripture speaks to it. What was the declaration by God the Father? Was it to go to Mary, or was it directed to His Son? Mark 9:7 says, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!" John and Mary pointed to Christ as was the design of God the Father. God the Father declared “LISTEN TO HIM!” Have you listened to Christ as God commands? Do you do what He commands, and have you believed the gospel, and walked in obedience? How many of us have failed to listen to Christ? How many of us have sinned in
His face and linger in our sin?
The Scripture says do whatever He tells you. She says do. This word refers to acting upon what the Lord Jesus Christ said. We must act upon what He said. Matthew 7:23-25 says, “Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” A person is considered a wise man who built his house on the rock. Storms came and it beat against the house, and it did not fall, because it has been built upon the rock. Who is the Rock? The Rock is none other then Jesus Christ our great Incarnate King and Master. Mary says what is consistent with the teaching of Christ. She was an example of believing what Christ taught. Christ pointed people to Himself. Christ did not say, “Go first to my mother.” No, He says “Come to Me” and “Continue in My Word.” How many people do not what He says? How many people tell others to act on what Jesus says, and do not act on what He says? They preach what they do not do. We must be consistent in our theology and we must be consistent with how we live our lives. Do you a life of consistent holiness and godliness? Are you a person who is blameless in doing what He commands? I do not mean sinless but like a person like Job. Would God say of you, “This man or woman is blameless. No one is like him or her in all the earth.” Are you a Job who is a godly man and who was a devote family man? Or are you a hypocrite of hypocrites? Do you put aside His commands? Can you say as Mary said do whatever He says and say it with a good and clear conscience?
Act on the Word of Christ
Do what He has set forth
Accomplish His will
At whatever the cost
His ways of telling us to act are righteous, good and holy. Paul says not to go beyond what is written. Mary said to do whatever He tells you. His Word is matchless and true. His Word is an eternal treasure and it is alive and active. When Mary says this it covers all of the divine Word. We are to do what He says. To reject and not to do what Christ says is rebellion against Him. Sinners tend to listen to worldly things. We love what man thinks regarding the things of God. We think man speaks the truth about the things of God but we are wholly wrong. Man goes to his priest for forgiveness; Eastern religious folk do meditation and yoga; Mormons do works of righteousness to attain to eternal life; Catholics do penance; Jehovah’s Witnesses go door-to-door; Homosexuals seek to justify for their sin that is unnatural--a life of lawlessness and tolerance; Literal Protestants reject the gospel; Freemasons do good works and serve Baal; all of which, if left till death, end in eternal death, the second death. Mary said do whatever He tells you. The Word of Christ is not merely the Words of Christ only. Some people think that the words of Christ in red in some Bible are only inspired. Some theologians do not like to use Bibles that have the words of Christ in red because they fear it gives the wrong impression. We recognize that all of His Word is precious, but so also is the Words of His apostles, and the Old Testament prophets. In the New Testament alone there are one thousand and fifty commands. How do you match up with His commands? Do you do whatever He commands? The Word of Christ, that is, the Holy Word in both Old and New Testaments, are pure, holy, undefiled, precious, eternal, stored in the heavens; forever written in heaven; life-changing, life-enabling; life-convicting; life-alternating; life-penetrating, without which no man would be born from above; no sinner convicted; no change kindled with divine fire; no word of the Lord; no hope for the hopeless; no salvation for the spiritual poor; no secure foundation for the hope of heaven: With the Word of the divine Lord Jesus Christ there is sure hope; true faith; lasting confidence; eternal treasures revealed, that await His people who live by faith. The Holy Word of Christ says, “The just shall live by faith.” Man changes this and perverts it. Man says, “We must fulfill my desire of satisfying my lustful desires.” He says, “No, its faith and works.” He loves to change the truth and engage in foolish ways of the spiritually destructive children that reside in hell. Do you think it is a small thing regarding this doctrine of faith alone? Do you think if you abandon it you will go through the pearly gates? All hope out side of the all-sufficient, divine, eternally exalted Christ, is foolishly hopeless; depraved speculations; hell-bound conjecture and spiritually harmful to its hearers. Do you love to do God’s Word? Are you a person who loves the words of the world: empty philosophy; secular humanism; worldly theologies and higher criticism? Have you embraced the cow of rebellion? Do you serve the god made with human hands? Do you practice your lawless deeds of sin, and reject His truth? What do you secretly think? If Christ saw your mind, what would He say? Would you say, “Surely this one does not do what I say”? Would He say, “This one tries to get out of what I say”? Or would He say, “Surely this one does whatever I say!”? What are you a picture of? Are you a picture of lawlessness, a devil or a saint who seeks to be holy? If you have bad thoughts and corrupt thinking, use the Word to counter those thoughts, and to change your thoughts. How you think determines how you live. Are you thinking God-exalting and God-pleasing ways to seek to honor Him? Again, are you a Christian that can say to the other because you yourself practice it, do whatever He tells you? Have you failed, and do you linger in your self-piety? Stand strong, and arise sinner, and fight the good fight for Jesus. Do not give up. Do whatever He says. Go to His Word and then, my friend, seek to practice His Word, for, are you the man who built His house on the rock? Do not build your house on sinking sand. Sinking sand is embracing a substitute besides Christ but turn to the Rock Who is Christ the Eternal Logos. Therefore do whatever He says!
Now we shall turn to the word whatever. This word encompasses anything Christ would say and anything Christ would command. Has He commanded you and have you accomplished what He commanded? Have you truly believed the Lord and have you truly repented? Have you loved your neighbor and have you obeyed His Ten Commandments? All of us have fallen short; we must fervently and faithfully repent.
In Matthew 5:19 it says, “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (NIV). Do what Christ says; practice and teach His commands, for they will be great in the kingdom of heaven! Mark 7:9 said about the leaders, “And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!” How many have put aside God’s commands and observe their own man-made traditions? John 14:15: "If you love me, you will obey what I command.” If you love Christ you will do what He says. Again we are faced with doing with what Christ said. John 14:21 says, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." Christ’s people will be loved by the Father and by the Son, and Christ will show Himself to them. The love of the Father and the Son cannot be divided or parted. It is perfect love. John 15:10 says, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.” John 15:12-15 says, "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." You are My friends if you do what I command you. "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
Whatever is Thy command, Oh Lord
Direct me to Thy ways
And cause me to do whatever Your Word is
So I may remain in Thy love
Let me do whatever Your command is
Let me continue in Your Word and show I love You
Have you turned to the right, or to the left? Should you not turn to Christ, and reach forward unto Him? What is the testimony of God the Father about His Son? Go to God the Father and see the wonders He says about His only Beloved Son. The Father declares of His Son something that is unlike sinners or sinful leaders of men. He declares that His Beloved Son is wholly and altogether pleasing to Him. Therefore His Son must be believed, trusted, embraced and, then, poor sinner, do not just hear His Word, but act by faith, and do His precious ways for it is the way of life. Turn, then, to God the Father, the only Holy Father that is, that was, and that ever shall be. Jesus said “Keep through Thine own Name.” God the Father is the only person in existence that should be called Holy Father. If God the Father is Holy, how much more should you listen to what He says, then depraved men? Do you turn to those who claim to be “Fathers” in Rome, or do you turn to the only Holy Father? Paul was the spiritual father of Timothy but he is not a priest in the Roman sense. Paul did not hear the confession of Timothy; Paul did not absolve sin; no, Paul was a man of faith but not the faith of Rome but of the Christian faith. All earthly fathers are imperfect, but God the Father is perfect. Earthly fathers will err and sin but the Father in heaven is a sinless and true God the Father. Turn, then, to Him to understand what you should do concerning His Son. God the Father bears testimony to His precious altogether perfect Son in Matt. 17:5.
Turn now to the word He. Turn to Him and act upon what He has said.
Matthew 17:5 speaks of what God the Father declared, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" God the Father says He is wholly pleased with His Son. He is all-pleased with Him. Christ is altogether trustworthy. Man-made Jesus’ end in dust—in man’s depraved imaginations Jesus is the brother of Lucifer (Mormonism); a highly exalted angel (Jehovah’s Witnesses); insufficient to pay for the sins of His people (Romanism). God the Father says Listen to Him. He points to His only, true Son. Jesus is not the brother of Lucifer; He is one of kind; He is the agent of creation. Jesus is not a highly exalted angel; He is God Incarnate. Jesus is all-sufficient; you do not need purgatory with this Jesus. The Father says listen to Him for He speaks of the gospel for He is the Author of it, and He is the only Way to the streets of gold. Do you listen to the eternal Son of God, and do you love to listen to Him as commanded by the Father? Again we see in Luke 9:35 says of what God the Father said: "This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!" Jesus is the Chosen One not Mary. Therefore hearken to Him and heed His Words. Mary says what God the Father has declared. She teaches what are in conformity to the sacred pages of Scripture. You do not hear Mary saying, “You must go through me to get to my Son. I am the dispenser of all graces.” No, Mary says, do whatever He says. What does Christ say? He commands people at every time and everywhere to repent and believe on Him for eternal life. Jesus says of Himself that He alone is the Way to the Father. Jesus says “I am the sole Mediator between God and men and there are no other mediators.” The Word does not support other mediators and any other Redeemer in any other sense. Jesus says love one another. He says to love God with all our minds, strength and heart. He points people to Himself and to none other. Someone in the time of Jesus believed that it was proper to exalt Mary by calling her blessed, but Christ said blessed are they that hear the Word and keep it. Have you done what He has said? Do you hear or comprehend the Word, and do you keep His Word? If you do whatever He says, you will comprehend the Word and keep the Word. He commands us to understand for we see in Mark 7:14 speaks of Christ’s testimony of listening to Him: “After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand…” Jesus tells the crowd to listen to Him. He speaks to all of the people, and He commands their understanding. Jesus knows He is the one to listen to. He points people not to His mother to get to Him but to Himself for He is the Incarnate Way, and He is wholly matchless. If Jesus has commanded you to listen to Him, why do you not heed His command? Who is the One who hears the Word perfectly, and who is the One who keeps the Word perfectly? It is Christ alone; we cannot turn to Mary and say this of her. She prayed and declared she needed a Savior. Flee not to a sinner in need of a Savior but flee to the Perfect One who is nothing less then the Incarnate King. If you flee to Mary in prayer, your prayers will be wholly displeasing to God. He despises prayer to saints and Jesus Himself hates prayers to His prayer. People say, “Blessed are those who pray to your mother and say it.” Jesus says, “Rather, blessed are those who pray to Me, my Father and Spirit and do that alone.” When the Father commands His people to listen to His Son, and when Jesus commands people to hearken to Him and hear, He is not saying, “I am merely the Way to the Father but to get to Me you must go through my Mother.” No, it means, rather, go directly to Christ to get to the Father. Heed the words of none other as you would Christ the Eternal King.
In Mark 12:37 speaks of a “…large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.” The crowd enjoyed listening to Him. His people enjoy listening to Him. Those called according to His purpose, and the elect, love to hear Him. His people will not hear other Ways, but the Matchless Son of God. He was a great preacher, and this preacher was the only Way. Mary is not the way to Him; Jesus is the Way to the Father. We may approach Christ without going through Mary. We can go directly to Him. This Mary of Rome and this Jesus of Rome is not the Mary and Jesus neither of Scripture nor of biblical Christianity. Do you enjoy listening to the Father’s only Beloved Son? Have you hearkened to the Words of Christ? If you do not enjoy listening to the Word of Christ, examine yourself, and do not be deceived by the deceitfulness of sin. Hearken toward repentance and bearing fruits of repentance in your life. How many crowds merely hear the Words of Christ and say, “What a nice teaching” but do not manifest it in their lives. How many people call Him rich; and do not ask Him to be more like Him. How many people call Him a prophet, but do not need His words about His own testimony of Himself (that He is God Incarnate). How many people call Him genuine and true, but do not obey His teachings. How many people call Him a great teacher and yet do not do what He says. Mary says do whatever He says! Have you listened to Him to do whatever He says? Hear and do. Listen and act. Comprehend and practice. Submit and surrender to Him. Do as He says and walk the road toward heaven. Do what He says and do not turn to the right or to the left. Do what He says and live the Word. What a wonder it is when a true servant-friend of Christ hears the Word, enjoys the Word, is touched by the Word, and does what the Word says. Do not be like Herod who liked to listen to John the Baptist but did not heed what He said. What a great judgment awaited Herod who liked the words of John, and did not act on it. God’s great wrath is now actively on Herod in hell. What Herod heard, he is responsible for but he rejected the teaching of John. Enemies of Christ in John 10:20 were His enemies who did not say “we must listen to Him to live” but questioned why they should listen to Him at all: “Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?" Do you question why you should listen to Him? Do you say “He speaks kind words” but secretly say, “Why listen to Him?” Jesus warned His followers of the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod. But the Word and Teaching of Christ is pure and cannot be compared to Christ’s Word. In Luke 19:48 it says, “Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.” (NIV). In order for you to do whatever He says, do you hang on His every Word? Have you elevated a teacher to this level of spiritual credibility? Repent! But I am not saying that we should not trust reliable teachers of the Word. We should hear them and search the Scriptures to see if those things are so like was done to Paul. If the Bereans tested Paul, how much more should we test teachers of our day? Test them and turn to the Word. After turning to the Word, if true, then believe. Do you hang on every Word of Christ? Where have you fallen short, and where do you need grace to restrain you from sin, and where do you need grace to act on His commands? Hang, then, on His every Word. Trust His Word; depend on His Word; put your confidence on His Word; have you mind set upon it; be desperately abandoned to His Word, wholly set apart!
Luke 16:14 says of His enemies that when they listened to Him it did not end in belief but in scoffing, “Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him.”
John 10:20 speaks of His enemies who did not say “we must listen to Him” but questioned why they should listen to Him at all: “Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?"
Luke 2:46 speaks of Christ listening to teachers and learning from them. What a picture this is, and it shows us what we ought to do: listen to God’s teachers that He has appointed in our lives. “Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.” Do you listen to God’s appointed teachers in your life? Are you in a biblical, Christ-centered church that exalts Christ and preachers the gospel? Have you become distracted when you listen to teachers that God has put in your life? Do you ask your teachers sincere questions to gain knowledge? Do you value your learning? The people listened to Christ as Christ listened to the teachers in the temple. He is an example of how to learn, and He is the example of learning from Him. We learn abundantly from Christ, and we must submit to Him, and love what comes out of His mouth that is in His Word. Luke 5:1 speaks of a crowd listening to Christ. How many crowds do not hear Him yet listen? “Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret…” When Jesus speaks it is the Word of God. The Word of God is something that we must heed to. We must heed to the Word of God. Why have you not heeded Christ, and why have you not done what He said? He spoke the Word to you and you have hardened your hearts. Hearken to the gospel command and embrace His Word; hid in your heart and mediate on it, and practice it forthwith in your life! As went to the teachers, now, people go to Him. In Luke 21:38 says, “And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.”
Luke 15:1 speaks of sinners listening to Him: “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.” Are you coming near Christ and are you listening to Him? There is a song that says, “Drawer me nearer, nearer blessed Lord to the precious bleeding side…” Are you near to God? Do you go to Him on a regular basis and seek to get away from sin? Doesn’t sin become less when you draw nigh unto God? Luke 16: 31: "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'" Jesus said if they believed Me they would believe the Prophets but the fact was, they rejected the Prophets and rejected the words of Christ. Peter in Acts 2:22 speaks of listening to His words, he said “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” Listen to what? Its Peter’s message of Christ and the gospel. It’s the message of the cross which takes away the sin of His people. It was propitiated and expiated. Listening to the Word of Peter is hearing the Word of Christ.
Continue in the gospel, my friends in Christ, and remain in His love. Do whatever He tells you. Turn now to the words tells you. Christ tells all-the- world to repent and believe. He tells you what to believe and how to live. Hearken then to His matchless message of truth and grace. Why do so many hearken to the words of false teachers, and not unto Christ?
“Lord, may we do what Mary has said; that is, to do whatever He tells you. Let us not do what the Mary of this world has said which is none other then Satan. May we turn to Christ and go to Christ. There is no Mediator so great and so mighty as Jesus Christ. Amen.”
