“He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” Isaiah 53:3
A homeless Stranger amongst us came, To this land of death and mourning; He walked in a path of sorrow and shame Through insult and hate and scorning,
A man of sorrows, of toil and tears, An outcast man and lonely; But he looked at me and through endless years, Him must I love, him only.
+++May
Whittle Moody, 1916
I came across this little poem recently while
reading a book about Lilias Trotter. I tried to find it online and found that
it’s really only the first verse of a hymn which was probably sung at Dwight
Moody’s gatherings in the early part of the 20th century. Lilias Trotter attended these
gatherings and was deeply affected by them. It must have been songs and
thoughts like these which caused her to make the unlikely decision to turn her
back on an artistic career for the very long and unglamorous life that she had
ministering to Muslims in Africa.
This week we too reflect on such things and the meaning they have for us. We remember that the one who saved us and loved us once walked a lonely and excruciating road to the cross, “through insult and hate and scorning.” With loud cries and tears, he cried out to his father in heaven and his father heard him because of his “reverent submission.” He was saved out of the depths of death, and became “the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” (Hebrews 5:7-9)
Man of sorrows, what a name.
As May Moody wrote so long ago, HimmustIlove, himonly.
Weddings are one of the most wonderful events. Just the idea of having
two people love each other so much that they want to share life together is a
wonderful thing. But just think about the event itself–the beautiful wedding
dress, the lovely bride, and the dashing groom. And the delicious feast at the
end. The joyful attitude of a wedding is intoxicating.
As much fun as earthly weddings are, Jesus promises that His wedding
feast will be the best. Why? For He is the Bridegroom and His Church is the
bride. What is the wedding dress? The church is clothed in Christ’s
righteousness. And to top it all off: this wedding feast will take place in
Heaven.
Jesus loved His church so much, He shared life with her. And he promises
the wedding feast will be the best day of our lives, for there we will have no
sin. In Revelation it says, “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let
us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has
come, and his bride has made herself ready.Fine linen, bright and clean, was
given her to wear.”
Jesus is the Bridegroom. And while we wait for His return, He gave us a love letter, His Word, that we might be reminded of Him daily. He has promised His bride (the Church) life with Him forever. And Jesus never breaks His promises. This wedding feast will come to pass.
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” Genesis 49:10
On Sunday, April 6th, 1862 the Union soldiers were still cooking their breakfasts when they heard shots in the distance. Camped out near Shiloh Meeting House, the open field was only supposed to serve as a pit stop on the trek down to the Confederate rail center in Corinth, Mississippi. However, a patrol of Union troops stumbled upon 35,000 Confederate soldiers on the outskirts of the Union camp and one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War ensued. With over 100,000 troops engaged and over 20,000 casualties by the end of the fighting, the Battle at Shiloh was the bloodiest occurrence on American soil up to that point in the country’s history.
At the center of all the fighting stood the small Shiloh Meeting House. The Messianic use of Shiloh, meaning “he to whom it belongs,” is found only once in Scripture, in Jacob’s blessing to his sons in Genesis 49. While Shiloh was also a town in Ephraim, the term is alone used with prophetic connotation by Jacob. In blessing his son Judah, Jacob declares that Judah’s tribe will hold the scepter until “he to whom it belongs” comes.
Christ, we know now, is the one to whom it belongs.
But it is not just the scepter that is Christ’s. We know from Colossians that all the world was created in and through him. Christ is Shiloh, he to whom it all belongs. I am often left wondering, however, whether Christ would still claim it? In a world where the events, such as the one at Shiloh, Tennessee, have become common place, why would a perfect God choose acknowledge ownership over such a messy reality?
In the incarnation, we are given the answer. Christ, in the incarnation, comes and shows, in taking on human flesh and human nature, in taking on our sin through his own suffering and death, that it all belongs to him.
In the incarnation, Christ claimed every moment from Jacob’s death to a spring morning in Tennessee and beyond. In the incarnation, God, in Christ, surveys all of creation and declares “…this is mine.”
“Through the tender mercy of our God . . . the dayspring from on high has visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,” – Luke 1:78-79
The name of Jesus we consider today is the name ‘Dayspring’. That is a quaint, old-timey word which really simply means “dawn” or “sunrise.” But, what an interesting name for Jesus.
Many of us seldom see the sunrise – especially this time of year. But for others – those who work the night shift, farmers up doing chores before first light, or soldiers standing guard through a long, creepy night – the dawn is a most welcome sight. Everything changes when the sun comes up. It brings warmth from the cold; breadth of understanding for we can see what’s around us; and often, unspeakable beauty spread across the sky. No wonder sunrise is many people’s favorite time of the day.
So, when the old Jewish priest Zechariah was told by an angel that he would have a son (John the Baptist), he sees in that announcement an even greater good news. If God was giving him a son as a forerunner; that meant the full sunrise of God’s plan was about to dawn. Actually, Zechariah didn’t make this up; he was referring to God’s ancient promise of a Messiah, given through Isaiah:
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” – Isaiah 9:2
And Jesus’ coming has proven to be nothing less than a new dawn: suddenly, the Old Testament prophecies make more sense; God’s unfolding plans are more obvious, and the beauty of God’s grace suddenly shines everywhere. Suddenly there is hope where there was only despair; understanding where confusion had reigned; and good news of God’s grace that eclipses all the rigors of the law. Surely a new dawn has come, for Jesus, the Light of the World, has dawned upon those sitting in darkness and despair.
May you feel the warmth and see the beauty of God’s Sunrise, during these days of Holy Week.
The
essence of childhood is being hungry. Most people won’t admit to it, but have
you ever stopped to think how many times you told your mother, “Mom, but I’m starving!” As children, we need those
nutrients to help us grow, and as we grow, we need food. That’s why many
memories of places are, “I remember being really hungry there.”
In
our spiritual life as children of God, much of our story is being hungry, too.
But not for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but for Christ and His Word. As
we grow in our faith, we grow hungry for fulfillment. Jesus tells us that those
who don’t know Him are starving for want of food–Him–the Bread of Life.
This is why Jesus is everything we need. He is our food, our life, our
hope in the face of starvation. He can satisfy any need with Himself and He
will give it. He says, “Anyone who comes to Me, I will in no wise cast
out.” Those who try to satisfied
there hunger with things of this world are never satisfied. And if they don’t
go to Him, they will die of spiritual starvation. This is why we so desperately
need our Savior for He is our Bread of Life, always there to fill us, if we
just go to Him. Praise His name!
“I hunger and I thirst; Jesus my Manna be, Ye living waters burst, out of the rock for me. Thou bruised and broken Bread; my lifelong needs supply, As living souls are fed, O feed me, or I die.”
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” John 12: 14-15
by Emily Gibson
Today, Palm Sunday, is a day of dissonance and dichotomy in the church year, very much like the donkey who figured as a central character that day. Sadly, a donkey gets no respect, then or now– for his plain and awkward looks, for his loud and inharmonious voice, for his apparent lack of strength — yet he was the chosen mode of transportation for a King riding to His death.
There was a motley parade to Jerusalem: cloaks and palms laid at the feet of the donkey bearing Jesus, the disorderly shouts of adoration and blessings, the rebuke of the Pharisees to quiet the people, His response that “even the stones will cry out” knowing what is to come.
But the welcoming crowd waving palm branches, shouting sweet hosannas and laying down their cloaks did not understand the fierce transformation to come – from King to common criminal – did not know within days they would be a mob shouting words of derision and rejection and condemnation.
The donkey knew because he had been derided, rejected and condemned himself, yet still kept serving. Just as he was given voice and understanding centuries before to protect Balaam from going the wrong way, he could have opened his mouth to tell them, suffering beatings for his effort. Instead, just as he bore the unborn Jesus to Bethlehem and stood over Him sleeping in the manger, just as he bore a mother and child all the way to Egypt to hide from Herod, the donkey would keep his secret well. Who, after all, would ever listen to a mere donkey when everyone was looking for their preferred image of a King?
We would do well to pay attention to this braying wisdom. The donkey knows. He bears the burden we have shirked. He treads with heavy heart over the palms and cloaks we lay down as our meaningless symbols of honor. He is servant to the Servant King.
A day of dichotomy — of honor and glory laid underfoot only to be stepped on. Of blessings and praise turning to curses. Of the beginning of the end becoming a new beginning for us all.
And so He wept, knowing all this. I suspect the donkey bearing Him wept as well, in his own simple, plain and honest way, and I’m quite sure he kept it as his special secret.
God’s covenant with His people is recorded early in history:
-the rainbow as a sign of His promise not to destroy the earth again, -a promise to Abraham to infinitely increase his descendants, -the renewal of the broken bond of fellowship with His idolatrous people, -a descendant of David would rule His people, including all nations.
So Isaiah’s announcement that a virgin would bear a son whose name, Emmanuel, meaning “God with us” must have perplexed God’s people. God had already promised to be with His people, many times in many ways, and had proven His faithfulness over and over again.
Yet generations later, when a teenager is told she is with child by the Holy Spirit, and her betrothed husband plans to quietly divorce himself from their planned marriage, he is assured by the Lord in a dream about the true nature of this pregnancy.
Matthew reminds us of the Old Testament promise of a son to come, and suddenly it becomes clear: God will be living with us, as a man, born of woman. Emmanuel
There is no greater covenant than God walking alongside us, knowing us as son, brother, friend, teacher and in the ultimate bond with His people, dying in our place.
God with us, God in our place, God fulfilling His promises–always.
From the
beginning of history man wanted or looked for a priest, a mediator to God. The
Patriarch Job exclaimed, “There is no umpire between us who might lay his hand
upon us both.” { Job 9:33 } This universal desire resulted in many cultures in
a system or order of priests who men hoped would be able to mediate with God on
their behalf. Priesthood reached its height in Judaism but it failed tragically
and failed those who put their hope to it. It is only in Christ, the ideal High
Priest, that this deep and hidden yearning of the human heart finds complete
fulfillment.
Hebrews 5:12
sets out the necessary qualifications for a Jewish high Priest–{note the great
essentials.} Fellowship with man. Linked by a tie of common humanity. Taken
from among men. “We read, in no other way would he be able to have compassion”
on those he was able to represent. Look at the words “deal gently with”—this
expresses a gentle feeling toward the ignorant –not too lenient nor too severe.
The essence of sympathy and compassion that is the true priesthood. However
merely human qualities are not enough nor would they suffice. The authority had
to be from God. “Appointed” He cannot be self-appointed. Hebrews 5:4 “No man takes
this honor unto himself” His is a divine appointment. Does Christ satisfy the
requirements? Yes He does. In order to help us He had to become part of our
race, made in all things like unto His brethren, that he might be a merciful and
faithful high Priest in things pertaining to God. Hebrews 2:17. He came not as
king but as a workingman, in poverty and with cares, he knew popularity and
rejection. He was taken from among men. God said, thou art my son, Hebrews 5:5,
not self elected, but by God appointed.
Christ was
morally and spiritually qualified who “ever liveth to make intercession for us.
Hebrews 7:25-26. He conquered temptation and emerged sinless, exalted to God’s
right hand.
As high
Priest he is able to aid us in our weakness, in our human need not out mere
pity, but in costly propitiation for our sins. Christ also sympathizes in our
weakness, tempted yet without sin. NOTE he never sympathizes or condones with
our sin, only with our weakness. He always condemns sin which incurs judgment.
As our Advocate He keeps open the way of restoration of lost fellowship upon
our repentance and confession.
Christ as
priest has borne the penalty and judgment of our sins. He sympathizes with our
weakness enters into our experiences tempted yet without sin. Christ is able to
save those who come to God as He lives to make intercession for them.
Our high
Priest is able to save us completely, there is no sin from which He cannot
deliver. Jesus the same yesterday, today, forever. LOOK at Peter our omniscient
Lord said—Simon, Simon. Satan hath desired to have you—but I have prayed for
thee and so it is for us. Jesus claims justice for us because of His sacrifice
on Calvary. God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. I John 1:9. Christ
receives and presents our prayers to God.
Five bleeding wounds He bears, received on Calvary. They pour effectual prayers, they strongly plead for me. FORGIVE HIM, O FORGIVE THEY CRY. Nor let the ransomed sinner die. Charles Wesley
Lift up your
heads, O you gates! And be ye lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of
glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift
up your heads, o you gates! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this
King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.
What a name
for Jesus we have here in the Old Testament!!!
In the old days, when the King of England wished to enter the city of London through Temple Bar, the gate being closed against him, the herald advanced and demanded entrance. “Open the gate” shouted the herald “who is there?” questioned a voice from within. “This is the king of England!” answered the herald. The gate was at once opened, and the king passed, amid the acclamations of the people. But the custom was an old one and stretched back perhaps thousands of years before England was known under that name.
Jesus is our “King of glory.” He is our Lord, “strong and mighty in battle” We may apply it very fitly to Christ’s ascension to heaven after His life and suffering and death and resurrection here on earth. When Christ came to be born in Bethlehem He put aside the glory which He had before the world was, and though He was rich, for our sakes He became poor. As one of the old preachers said, Christ has gone to heaven as a victor, leading sin, Satan, death, hell, and all His enemies in triumph. Christ went back triumphant over sin and death. We might properly apply these words to the coming again if Christ at the second advent.
Calvin said “The Son of God, clothed with our flesh, has shown himself to be KING OF GLORY and LORD OF HOSTS, and he is not entered into his temple only by shadows and figures, but really and in very deed, that he might dwell in the midst of us. “
To the praise of His glorious name “THE KING OF GLORY!”
I’m thinking about the Incarnation in the context of Passover and Lent. At Christmas we read: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ, the Lord” (Luke 2:11). But Mary sings: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior….He has performed mighty deeds with His Arm” (Luke 1:46-51).
Isn’t Jesus the Arm of the Lord? (e.g., “With My great power and outstretched Arm I made the earth [and all in it]”(Jeremiah 27:5).) Isaiah says,“…[Yahweh] was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so His own Arm worked salvation for Him, and His own righteousness sustained Him“ [Yahweh incarnate?] (59:16). Isaiah anticipates Jesus’ crucifixion with “To whom has the Arm of the LORD been revealed?” (53:1), and John 12:38 quotes Isaiah 53:1 before His actual crucifixion. (I know, those caps aren’t in the NIV, the ESV, etc., but I think they should be.)
Mary and
Joseph were to call the baby born to her “Yeshua,” meaning “Yahweh saves”; Hallellujah means “Praise ye Yah(weh)” doesn’t
it? Do we hear “Yeshua” more often today because it conveys Jesus having the
name above all names, embodying
Yahweh, and accomplishing His purposes? Or because we hear more Messianic
believers speaking of Him?
The Samaritans said, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world” (John 4: 42). Still, Isaiah speaks of the LORD, Yahweh, being the Savior of Israel – The angel of His presence [Yeshua?] saved them (63:8-9).
Of
course! We worship a Triune God. He put on flesh and dwelt among us by His
Spirit!
I first
noticed in Titus that “God our Savior” and “Christ Jesus our Savior” alternate.
Yes, HE IS.
Deut. 32:15 “[Israel]…abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Savior.”
2 Sam. 22: 47 “The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God the Rock, my Savior.”
Psalms18:46, 24:5, 25:5, 27:9, 38:22, 42:5 & 11, 43:5, 65:5, 68:19, 79:9, 85:4, 89:2 = variations of “God my Savior,” “my Savior and my God,” “Help us/Restore us O God our Savior”
Isaiah 17:10 “You have forgotten God your Savior; not remembered the Rock, your fortress.”
43:3 “…I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”
43:11 “I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from Me there is no savior.” 45:15 “Truly You are a God who hides Himself, O God and Savior of Israel”
45:21b &
22 “…there is no God apart from Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is
none but Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth for I
am God, and there is no other.”
49:26 “Then all
mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer….”
51:5 “… My salvation is on the way, and My Arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to Me and wait in hope for My Arm….9a Awake, awake! Clothe yourself with strength, O Arm of the LORD.” Jesus became the sacrificial Lamb – slain for our sins:
52:10 “The LORD will lay bare His holy Arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.”
Haven’t they at least heard about it?
60:16 “Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior.”
Hosea13:4 “…I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt. You shall acknowledgeno God but me, no Savior except Me.”
Jesus is God – clothed in flesh to save us.
Micah 7:7 “But as for me…. I wait forGod my Savior; my God will hear me.”
Habakkuk 3:16-18 “…I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. … Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful inGod my Savior.”
Still to come: Isaiah 30:30 “…The LORD will make them see His Arm coming down with raging anger.”
But before that happens….
1Tim. 2:3 “God our Savior wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
Isn’t John 14:6-9 the logical conclusion? Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” When Philip asks Him “Lord, show us the Father…” Jesus answers: “Don’t you know Me…?”
Jesus says, “I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved” (John 10:9).
”…to
the only God our Savior be glory,
majesty, power and authority, through Jesus…”
(Jude 25).
When Jesus
gave up His Spirit, the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom (Matthew
27:51) thus opening the Holy of Holies so we can all come into the presence of
God.
John the
Baptist introduced Jesus by saying, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world!” (John 1:29). But Jesus also says of Himself, (John 10:14-15b)
“I am the good Shepherd [as in Psalm 23];… and I lay down My life for the sheep.”
Wiser Lake Chapel Advent and Lenten Reflections 