Hail the King, the great Christ Jesus!
He came to us in a stable. He came in humbleness. That was the first thing He did. That is the first thing we should copy. He came ready to obey. He was committed to do and say whatever the Father wished. That was His next example. We should definitely copy that. He spoke only the truth. A holy truth, far beyond our capacity to comprehend. But still, we should only speak truth (in love) to the best of our ability. He feared nothing and no one. He always knew the right thing to say. He was intimate with those who wanted intimacy. He was kind to those who needed kindness. He was gentle to the hurting and loving to the poor. Yet His anger burned against the self-righteous. And He told us straight out Who He was.
From the scroll of Isaiah, Luke 4: 18-19 (ESV) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 4: 21 “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
He told us not to judge. Yet His judgment was true. He forgave sinners. He threw out demons with but a word. He healed the sick, raised the dead, cleansed the lepers, made the lame to run, and preached good news to the poor. And all of that was the least of what He did!
He came to bridge the gap (The Mediator). He came to fill the empty hole in us (The Holy Spirit). He came to restore the relationship between the Father and us. That was His purpose, and it came at the ultimate cost! Yet, His uncontainable love for us pushed past the pain He knew He would suffer to accomplish the task.
Jesus hung on the cross and the weight of all the world’s sin was laid on Him. Yet, what hurt the most was that His Father was unable to look at Him because He was covered in our sin. And the Father turned His back on His Son. How much pain do you think They both suffered?
The weight of our sin burst His heart and with His last breath, He called out “It is finished.” Who do you think He was telling that to? Certainly, not you and me. He was telling the Father, “I’ve done what You asked Me to do.” And that’s why He sits at the Father’s right hand!
Shame on me. Shame on us. Shame on our teachers and leaders. We do not honor Him nearly enough. Do you think our Sunday morning gatherings where we have coffees, sing a few songs, and visit, is enough reverence for the great Savior?
The world uses His name as a vulgar swear word. But is our respect for Him that much better? I must make a change. How about you?
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