"Fairer than...greater than...lower than...higher than..."

Just a few short thoughts on the subject of our Lord Jesus Christ and hopefully you will enjoy them as much as I have in recent days.

"My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever." Ps 45:2

It is always a good place to start at to consider the beauties of our Lord Jesus Christ, particular perhaps when we gather on a Lord's Day morning to remember and worship him. The verses above really capture the enthusiasm of the Psalmist as he considers his subject and tries to express his worship. His heart is overflowing, his tongue is eager to give voice to his thoughts, willingly and abundantly! Oh that we might be able to catch hold of that zeal!

Of course the Psalm is Messianic, that is a Psalm that speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ and surely as we consider him we would agree that he is fairer than all others we would care to consider. Think of the beauties of the Saviour that we see in the gospel records - his grace, compassion, holiness and purity, his wisdom and love  for those in need around him! His meekness and humility despite his rejection and sufferings... Surely his beauty surpasses all others, he is the altogether lovely one and the gospels bear record to his lovely character.

"Fairer than all the earth beside, chiefest of all unto thy bride,

Fullness divine in thee I see, beautiful man of Calvary!"

 

"...greater than the temple... than Jonas... than Solomon" Matthew 12

Our verses bring together that 3 fold cord, that wonderful trio of thoughts here in Matthew 12.

The temple - the temple system had failed at this stage, it merely represented empty ceremony, ritualism and was corrupt and ineffective and the Lord pronounced this diagnosis throughout his earthly ministry. It should be obvious to us that Christ is greater than the temple! Hebrews tells us of "a new and living way", "a better covenant" and "a greater and more perfect tabernacle". The temple was where the priests served, and Christ is indeed the greatest priest, for who better to represent man before God than a man who was God himself? This is an amazing truth, that the Son of God was also the Son of Man, God was manifest in the flesh!

Jonas - The reference to Jonah would surely remind us of a message and a messenger from God (as Jonah was a prophet) and Christ is surely greater! As we said in our previous point, who better to bring a message to men from God than God himself? Indeed the scriptures say "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us"

Solomon - The mighty and glorious king Solomon was the greatest king in Biblical history, God said there would be none like him, yet the Lord Jesus is greater than Solomon! The verses remind us of his rejection, as the Queen of the south (a gentile outsider) came to see Solomon if all that was said of him was true, and she saw and believed! The Jews of the day lived alongside the Saviour, he came unto his own, but his own received him not. They rejected him and despised him, they would not have this man to reign over them! How sad.

Thankfully scriptures such as 1 Tim 6:15 and throughout the book of the Revelation remind us that he is "King of Kings, and Lord of Lords" surely he is greater than Solomon, and will be universally proclaimed as such in a coming day (Phil 2:9-11)

"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." Heb 2:9

It is always worth remembering that the Lord's incarnation brought him lower than the angels, what a monumental stoop that must have been for Him who is "better than the angels"... I think that sometimes we forget this immense stoop to "lower than" so easily, possibly because we cannot fully understand what it means when the scripture says that "though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor". We have mentioned Philippians 2 already and this passage would also tell us much about that humbling downward stoop he took, in fact it mentions a 7 fold humbling in verses 7 and 8.

The verses tell us why he was incarnated, it was so that he might die. What a strange yet marvellous thought, that here was one who was born so that he might die! Even stranger still when we consider that he knew nothing of death from his position with his father God in eternity past. Yet he tasted death for every man, he knows all about the suffering of death, he went through it all, the agony and shame of it! What is more he bore the judgement for sin at the hands of a holy God, and forsaken he bore it alone.

"For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens" Heb 7:26

Praise God we can close our thoughts by considering the Lord Jesus in this way, as higher than the heavens. He has been down to the depths for us, but how good it is to know that he has been vindicated! God raised him from the dead and has exalted him above all others at his right hand, Philippians 2 follows the same theme; "wherefore God hath highly exalted him"

Praise God that we can sing the words of a hymn that is primarily taken up with his sorrows and sufferings;

"Now in heaven exalted high, Hallelujah! What a Saviour!"

We trust this post has been heart-warming and thought-provoking.

Yours in Christ, Mark

 

 

 

Some thoughts on "all things"

Dear fellow believers, I had been thinking a few weeks ago at the beginning of a New Year about the phrase "all things new". This phrase comes from Revelation 21 as the Lord announces the new heavens and the new earth after all prophecy has been fulfilled and the Lord brings in a new heavens and a new earth fit for the eternal state.

As we look around at the world around us, we can't help but contrast this wonderful prospect with the sin and misery that we see around us! Surely we can echo the words of the apostle: "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."

This sparked my interest in a short study of other mentions of "all things" and I found it most profitable.

Where to start then? I often find myself thinking this and end up starting at the beginning, common sense I suppose!

"All things were made by him" John 1:3

There are other scriptures as well which would testify to the creatorial power of our Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1 for example) and of course this would point us into the past, showing us that the Lord Jesus was there at the beginning, displaying his power and deity bringing all things into being. This would surely reinforce to us his eternal sonship, there was never a time when Christ was not there!

"They wondered every one at all things which Jesus did" Luke 9:43

This scripture would direct us not now into eternity past but to the time when he walked upon this earth and his earthly ministry. An alternative rendering would read as follows; "they were marvelling at everything he was doing" what a lovely thought this is! We remind our hearts that everything our Saviour did was incredible and amazing! He was so different to the men of the day, in fact he is unique, his actions, words and motives marked him out as special. He was the sinless, spotless Son of God, and  because this so evidently flowed out into his daily ministry, men were constantly marvelling at him. Here was God walking amongst them!

"He hath done all things well" Mark 7:37

Here is another statement regarding the Lord's earthly ministry, and really it means "commendably and nobly". How unlike men! How pure and refreshing it must have been to see the Lord at work, to witness his great love and compassion for the people of his day. As you read the gospel records you become acutely aware that the Saviour continually reached out and touched people's lives and made a life-changing impact! Of course this he still does today, through his so great salvation which is freely offered to all and has the power to change lives for all eternity.

"Behold we go up to Jerusalem and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished" Luke 18:31

It never ceases to amaze me when I remind myself that the Saviour knew "all things". He knew all that the prophets had written concerning his life and death, for he was the very Word that was made flesh. He knew the evil and wickedness in mens hearts and all that they were capable of and exactly their intentions toward him, and yet he came and allowed himself to be taken. Philippians 2 really brings this out:

"But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

We praise God that the Saviour was willing to go to that cross and endure all things and fulfil all things, despite knowing all that this would entail and mean for him. Because he did, we are saved!

"Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt" Mark 14:36

It is sobering and humbling to think again that all things were possible for God, but he spared not his own Son! That was one thing he would not do, as Romans tells us. He made the heavens and the earth, he is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-present, he cannot fail, he cannot lie but he would not spare his only beloved Son who was daily his delight the shame and suffering of Calvary. He bore the judgement for our sin, in his own body on the tree:

"Death and the curse were in our cup;

O Christ 'twas full for thee!

But thou hast drained the last dark drop;

'Tis empty now for me;

That bitter cup, love drank it up - 

Now blessings draught for me"

 

"He hath given all things into his hand" John 3:35, "He hath put all things under his feet" Ephesians 1:22

I realise that these statements were ever true of the Saviour, and in particular the Lord's words from John's Gospel were before the cross, but it is refreshing and encouraging to think about these in the present and future contexts. Today he sits at his Father's right hand and he is over and above all things, and he has been given all things into his hand. He who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death is now exalted higher than the heavens and is over all things! Hebrews reminds us that at present we don't yet see all things under him, so although God has given him this position we do not yet see him fully exercising it. But one day soon he will - God has decreed it and it is as certain as if it were a present reality! We have quoted from Philippians 2 already and it is good to read on in that chapter which tell us so much about the lowly place he took:

"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

"That in all things He might have the pre-eminence" Colossians 1:18

The Amplified version is good to refer to here: "so that he alone in everything and in every respect might occupy the chief place..." What powerful and challenging words! We have learned that he is over everything in terms of creation but now we are learning that he is over all the Church, and should be at the centre of everything we do.

Of course it is very easy for Christ to fall from pre-eminence, just take a look at wider Christendom where men have replaced Christ as the focal point. How sad should that be the case for us whether in our private lives or as a collective in our local churches. On the flip side it is probably very easy to give him the pre-eminence on a Sunday morning or even throughout the whole day, but may God help us to give him that rightful place all the time! I found this very challenging and readily acknowledge my own failing and weakness in this fundamental aspect of Christian living.

May God help us to ensure he is at the centre of our lives both privately and collectively and may he be the focus of all our activities for Him. May our testimonies and service be strengthened by this resolve!

Yours in Christ, Mark

 

 

 

 

"This man"

We gather every Lord's Day morning to remember the Lord Jesus and we realise that we are able to do this because he came into this world as an actual and real man. He was a physical man, one whose pathway we can trace, one whose words could be heard, his actions could be witnessed, and his impact and presence could be felt by the men of the day around him.

With this in mind we love what the scriptures have to tell us about "this man"...

"this man was the Son of God"

Although we delight in remembering the perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus, it is with fresh wonder that we remember that the man who stood before those people of the day, the one who walked amongst them and could be heard, touched and felt was the very Son of God! This is a truth that is often challenged in the world, but we must stand for the truth, that the man Jesus Christ is the Son of God!

"never man spake like this man"

Of course our Saviour was so different from all other people. He was unique, people had never met anyone like him before or since! We recall his words, and remark how they must have differentiated him from all other men. Even as we ourselves go about our daily lives, we can surely appreciate how wicked and filthy the conversation of this world is! How refreshing it must have been to hear the lovely words of the Saviour as he spoke! Words of grace, truth, wisdom, power, authority, compassion and love. His words bore all the characteristics of heaven and the Godhead.

"whence hath this man this wisdom or these mighty works?"

Our reference reminds us that not only were his words unique, but so were his deeds. He was characterised by wisdom and mighty works! Works that brought glory and pleasure to his father God, and that were motivated by mercy, grace and compassion. Man can often display mighty works of power, but rarely are they aligned with wisdom, and very rarely motivated by mercy, grace and compassion but often by self, greed or anger.

"I find no fault in this man... this man hath done nothing amiss"

We earlier commented on the perfect humanity of our Lord Jesus and we do well to reiterate that the Saviour was perfect! He was sinless, spotless, holy before God for he was God. We remember once again that he could not sin, neither could he be marred or tainted by it as he moved amongst the wickedness of this world. As his life came under constant scrutiny, there were those were caused to remark on his sinlessness.

"Morning by morning
Thou didst wake,
Amidst this poisoned air;
Yet no contagion touched Thy soul,
No sin disturbed Thy prayer"

"we will not have this man..."

But even as they witnessed this blessed one as he lived amongst them, a perfect man who lived a righteous and just life and who brought blessing to others, the verdict in the final analysis was "we will not have this man...". They rejected him! We remember that the prophets would speak of him saying that he would be despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. John would record that he came unto his own and his own received him not. How incredible that the very Son of God, he who was God manifest in flesh should ever taste rejection, hatred and cruelty at the hands of his creatures!

"but this man, having offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God"

We come to the cross, the place where he would give his life for us, the place of death. We thank God that we as believers are called to appreciate the tremendous truth of the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus at that cross, we have come into the good of that once and forever work! As the Saviour hung on that cross the world saw this as failure, they had defeated him, they were putting him to death on that cross. Of course this was not defeat though, this was victory, as the Lord completed the work that had been given him to do, to pay the price for sin and make a way of salvation. That work of his at Calvary is perfect and complete, it was a priestly work as he offered up a sinless spotless sacrifice that day, a sacrifice that fully dealt with sin, not just for a while but once and for all! The priest was not permitted to sit whilst he served, but the Lord Jesus had finished that work forever, so he sits now at the right hand of God.

We have such a wonderful Saviour that we should rejoice to praise and worship him! "This man" is our Saviour, and "this man" is our Lord. We trust these simple thoughts today will be  blessing to us all.

Yours in Christ,

Mark