Sabbath Sanctuary: Crucible Hill; God Was In Christ

Lent is upon us. This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, and though my church does not follow the liturgy of the church, I love it and miss it; especially Ash Wednesday. 

The Lenten season has me reflecting on the death and resurrection and it has urged me to continue with my series on the Incarnation. How appropriate then that we examine the testimony of the prophets in the Old Testament who prophesied about His coming. Isaiah speaks about the coming Messiah more than any of the prophets.  

 Isaiah prophesies Jesus’ birth, but also foretells His Incarnation; “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel” (Is. 7:14). Matthew quotes this prophecy in his gospel in 1:23 to recognize Jesus as the One Isaiah spoke of dwelling with His people. Isaiah prophesied Jesus birth and His name, and each name describes His attributes:

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this (Is. 9:6-7).

Again, this is fulfilled in Matthew that Jesus is the long-awaited King, the rightful heir to David’s throne, the Ruler of God’s people.[1] 

Isaiah also prophesied about the suffering and death of Christ, the Man of Sorrows in Isaiah 53:

Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth (Is. 53:1-7 NKJV).

We reflect on Jesus, who walked up Crucible Hill, the Man of Sorrows, the Suffering Servant, who died on our behalf. He carries those things that hurt, the pain we suffer—He bore it all. He took upon Himself our sickness, our stress, our heartbreak—our sin.

 
The prophet Micah also prophesied the Incarnation. He warns Bethlehem of their coming deliverer and speaks of His pre-incarnational existence, “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity” (Mic. 5:2 NASB bold emphasis added). This is the strongest possible language concerning His pre-existence, “The plain antithesis…shows that the eternal generation of the Son is meant. The terms convey the strongest assertion of infinite duration of which the Hebrew language is capable.”[2] The prophets, through God’s Spirit, saw the coming of the Messiah. Matthew calls upon this prophetic verse to proclaim that Jesus is the fulfillment of this Messiah who existed with and came from the Father (Matt. 2:6).

Throughout the history of mankind, God has used numerous methods and mediums to communicate with His creation and to give them His message. The prophets gave us God’s words. But Jesus is the very Word of God. The book of Hebrews tells us that “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world” (Heb. 1: 1-2). This is just one more claim by Scripture to the deity of Jesus Christ.

I pray that you meditate on His Word during this season of Lent. Christ left the glory He shared with the Father, to suffer and die so that you are no longer captive to the power of sin. Meditate on what He sacrificed for and how much He loves you. His love is eternal.

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[1] Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum, and Charles L. Quarles, The Craddle, The Cross, And The Crown (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2009), 220.

[2] A.R. Fausset, David Brown, and Robert Jamieson, eds., Jamieson, Fausset & Brown’s Commentary On The Whole Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1961), 817.

 

Sabbath Sanctuary: Holy Saturday Why did Jesus have to die?

It sits nicely tucked away in its box—the bronzed cross that hung on my wall for many years as a symbol of blessing for my home. I packed it away after redecorating the place it hung and came across it this morning.

Remembering that His hands were pierced instead of mine.

Bronze represents judgment. Jesus took upon Himself the wrath due to me on the cross. A cross to bless my home came with a great price from God, who sent His Son. 

Yesterday, we remembered Christ and His crucifixion, His holy sacrifice for our filthiness and sin. Every sin I have committed, every idle word I have spoken, was nailed to the cross yesterday. There seems to be a void after the horrific crucifixion scene the previous day and the celebration of an empty grave on Sunday. Sabbath Saturday seemed quiet; the dust settling from the events and commotion of the traumatic events of the previous day, and a calm hush appeared to hold the city captive. It looked like everything was dead. Everything the disciples hoped for is gone—their dreams died and were buried with Jesus. The perceived injustice broke their hearts, and indeed, the question had to well in their minds—why did He have to die?

Many have asked this question through the centuries since He laid down His life for the world. It was foretold through the Old Testament: “They are striking the judge of Israel on the cheek with a rod. Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; One will come from you to be the ruler over Israel for Me. His origin is from antiquity, from eternity” {Micha 5:1a–2 HCSB}. This speaks to His eternal nature, the pre-existent Christ—the Lamb that was slain {Revelation 13:7-9}came in the flesh. Jesus told His disciples that everything written about Him in the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled {Lk. 24:44}.

“Christ has sinlessly borne the sins of the world. In His innocence, he has submitted first in the full waters of the Jordan and then in the bloody waters of the cross, to baptism for sin’s repentance becoming cursed for us in over us and save us from our sin.” [1]

Some argue that this sacrifice is cruel and sadistic, but they are misguided. It was a price motivated by the love and compassion of the only wise God. He could have chosen to leave us in our sins, awaiting judgment, displaying His perfect justice. He could have chosen to save no one. But God, in His love, chose to redeem us instead of leaving us to wallow in the mire.

Because He is holy and sin requires judgment, Christ’s atonement was necessary. Jesus prayed in the garden to let the cup of His death pass from Him {Matt. 26:39}, if only there was another way…but He always prayed according to Father’s will. This is evidence that Jesus couldn't avoid His death and the cup of His suffering if He was going to fulfill the Father’s purpose and redeem mankind.

“Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Hime, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him” {Isaiah 53:1-6 NASB}.

But this is not the end of the story. Friday happened, but Sunday is coming! The Suffering Servant is now the victorious King! 

“He will divide the spoils with the strong. This means that we share in Christ’s inheritance. According to Paul, we co-heirs with Jesus cause we have been adopted into the family. We are God’s children. ‘Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if we indeed share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory’ {Rom. 8:15}.”[2]

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” {John 3:16}. But His justice required a way for our sins to be paid for, for He is a holy God and cannot allow sin to go unanswered. Paul tells us that was why God sent Christ to be the propitiation {Romans 3:25}, the only perfect sacrifice to pay for our sins. The love and justice of God were the ultimate cause of the atonement.

On this Sabbath, Passover, and Easter weekend, reflect on God’s holiness and justice and rest in His love, which chose to redeem you and make available His promises for your life. In His holiness, He saw your sin; in His justice, He provided the sacrifice through Christ; and because He loves you, He redeemed you.

Saturday is almost over…Sunday is Resurrection!

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[1] Alan E. Lewis, Between Cross And Resurrection: A Theology Of Holy Saturday (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001), 45.

[2] R.T. Kendall, Why Jesus Died: A Meditation Of Isaiah 53 (Oxford: Monarch Books, 2011), 185.

The Mystery of the Manger

Christmas is over and preparations for the New Year have begun. I determined this year to enjoy Christmas, so I have been a bit more contemplative regarding Christmas, regardless of my desire to move into the New Year. I would be remiss to ignore the significance of not only enjoying Christmas, but in keeping Christmas all year. One iconic symbol of Christmas has resonated with me this year—the manger.  There is more to this feeding trough than a makeshift cradle. What is the significance of the manger? Why a manger? 

It was a cold, dark night in Bethlehem. Four-hundred years of brass heavens created a desperation for a Word from God…just one Word. The silence from God’s Throne was deafening. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son {Gal. 4:4-7}, and gave not only a word, but The Word the world so desperately needed.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men {Luke 2: 10-14 KJV}.

Easton Bible Dictionary defines Manger (Luke 2:7, 12, 16): “The name (Gr. phatne, rendered “stall” in Luke 13:15) given to the place where the infant Redeemer was laid. It seems to have been a stall or crib for feeding cattle. Stables and mangers in our modern sense were in ancient times unknown in the East. The word here properly denotes “the ledge or projection in the end of the room used as a stall on which the hay or other food of the animals of travelers was placed.”

The Lord included the manger as a sign so the shepherds would know when they arrived, that they found the child of which God spoke. This intrigues me. Why did God give the manger as a sign concerning the holy Child?  Why did the Lord include the manger in this narrative? 

He was laid in a manger to show that he was available to all; born in a palace only a few could access Him. He came for all mankind. He had to come as a man to redeem man.

“He was laid in a manger to mark His identification with human suffering and wretchedness. The One born was “The Son of Man.” He had left the heights of Heaven’s glory and had descended to our level, and here we behold Him entering the human condition at its lowest point. Thus did the Man of Sorrows identify Himself with human suffering.” (A.W. Pink, Why Four Gospels?)

I love the book of Isaiah; it is full of prophetic passages concerning the Messiah. Jesus is the Man of Sorrows in chapter 53; God’s Suffering Servant.

Servanthood is what resonates with me when I contemplate the manger.  Jesus came to serve mankind. Imagine, the Creator of the Universe left the glory of heaven, and came to earth to serve His creation; His ungrateful, fallen, sinful, rebellious creation. We have lost all rights to be anything other than humble.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many {Mark 10:45 NASB}.

The church needs to return to serving. Not just serving inside the four walls of the church, but serving mankind. Serving for us self-centered creatures does not always come easily. We are pulled in many directions by people who need us. We are needed by our spouses, our children, and friends. The thought of serving and giving more of ourselves is daunting—whom else do I need to give myself to? We become drained and weary of always helping others. It is easy to tire of helping everyone else, having little time for ourselves; righteous indignation is tempting. Serving is not only helping our own and others, but that we keep the right attitude and do all things to the glory of God. Serving becomes wearisome when our attitudes have turned sour; serving becomes a burden. When this happens we need a paradigm shift. We need our hearts to be renewed by Him, and to hold His posture for serving. He came to serve mankind, and we thanked Him by scourging, beating, and nailing Him to tree, yet it did not sway Him from His purpose. Make it a priority to pray every day and ask whom He needs you to serve, and like Christ take on the nature of a servant; a humble servant. 

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name {Philippians 2:5-9 NASB}.

Christ came to serve mankind and to be all that we need. He is all we need. His humble arrival in a stable made Him accessible to all man-kind; to serve the broken, the discouraged, the discontented:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised {Luke 4:18 KJV}.

I love this prose of who Christ is to man-kind. He is the Great I AM; all we need He already is…

To the artist he is the One altogether lovely (Song of Sol. 5:16); To the architect he is the chief Cornerstone (1 Pet. 2:6); To the astronomer he is the Sun of righteousness (Mal. 4:2); To the baker he is the Bread of life (Jn. 6:35); To the banker he is the hidden treasure (Mt. 13:44); To the builder he is the sure foundation (Isa. 28:16); To the carpenter he is the door (Jn. 10:7); To the doctor he is the great Physician (Jer. 8:22); To the educator he is the new and living way (Heb. 10:20); To the farmer he is the sower and the Lord of harvest (Lk. 10:2). (Wilmington’s Guide to the Bible).

Let’s purpose to remember the manger all year, not just at Christmas. The mystery of the manger—that Christ came as a humble servant, and would suffer to reconcile humanity to the Father. We do not have the sins of the world on our shoulder as Christ did, but we need to take on the attitude of Christ and pray for a servant’s heart. The hurting, and broken, and lost are waiting for us. Many are looking to us for help, and we need to answer their cries.

For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God {Rom. 8:19

Remember, Jesus came as a humble servant and will return soon as the King of Kings; His reward is with Him. Let Him find us faithful.

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