Pearls of the Word

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Everyone who beholds the Son

by Jean-Louis Coraboeuf

"And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees [theoreo] the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:40).

The Greek verb theoreo is often translated as 'to behold' (NASB), but it also means 'to see' (NKJV), 'to look' (NIV), 'to contemplate' (Interlinear), and figuratively, to consider, to examine. In ancient Greece, the 'theore' was a person appointed by his country to go to another country to offer sacrifices to their gods.

In the mind of our heavenly Father, we must first focus our eyes on Jesus, the Son of God, so that our faith in Him takes birth in order to receive eternal life. This thought is accompanied by a promise of resurrection on the last day to live eternally with Jesus. Blessed is he who has part in this first resurrection! (Revelation 20:6).