Some "great's" - a short appreciation of Christ (part 1)

As we pass through this world we can easily get discouraged as we hear the name of the Lord Jesus blasphemed and the things of God mocked and ridiculed by men and women. We do well to remind our hearts that the one they pour scorn on is actually the Great One that the Word of God speaks about! Let us recall a few scriptures together and encourage ourselves and think on the greatness of our Saviour...

"for he shall be great" Luke 1:15

This verse takes us right back to his birth and his coming into the world, and right from the outset it was foretold that the little baby born to Mary would be 'great'. Usually it would be very hard to say that with any degree of confidence about a little baby, but we remember that he was a great person (God manifest in flesh), he had come from a great place (the glory and eternal bliss of heaven) with a great purpose (to save his people from their sins). Little wonder the angel would say "for he shall be great..."

"great multitudes" Matt 4:25

Matthews gospel is the gospel of the great multitude, the phrase is used seven times in Matthew and only on two other occasions elsewhere, both in Luke's gospel. It would tell us that during the Lord's earthly ministry there was a period of great popularity when "the common people heard him gladly" and the multitudes would press upon him. This was a feature of the Lord's earthly ministry, there were multitudes of people that had a need and they saw in the Lord Jesus one who could meet that need. We remember that multitudes of sick folk would press upon him, whether he was in a house, in the streets or by the seaside - they came to him from "every quarter" and he would bless their lives in ways which had not been possible before. What a gracious and compassionate man he was, he never turned anyone away! As a practical side note, compassion and grace are surely characteristics that should mark every believer in Christ for it so marked out our Saviour.

"a great storm... a great calm" Mark 4:37, 39

What a magnificent account we have here in this portion, where the Lord Jesus demonstrated his great power as the creator God in silencing the great storm in an instant! What a comfort for us to know that the one in whom we have put faith and trust in is the one who can transform a great storm into a great calm, with just the word of his mouth. Knowing that as the storms of life come hard against our lives we have a Saviour who could stand on the deck of that ship being ravaged by the wind, with the crashing waves and the violence of the sea and surveying all this could utter "Peace, be still" and instantly the storm is silenced and a great calm replaces the chaos and violence of the storm. The Saviour offers peace with God in salvation but we can also enjoy peace as believers on a daily basis I believe, through a close walk with him and an appreciation of our position in him.

I trust that as we have reviewed these first three of six "greats" in relation to the Lord Jesus that we have been encouraged this far. Tomorrow we will look at the final three I have in mind, and I trust that this will serve as an interesting and profitable mini study.

Yours in Christ, Mark.