New blog post - Christ the spotless Nazarite (2b)

I have been enjoying this mini study so much recently, so I have decided to add some more thoughts to this subject - remember we were looking at the Nazarite condition that stipulated that he must abstain from touching that which came from the vine. Wine and the fruit of the vine speaks primarily in the scriptures of joy.

You may recall that last time in my blog post here in early February we were thinking about how there is very little said about the Lord Jesus in relation to joy in the scriptures. This is for good reason as it was prophesied that he would be characterised by sorrow and grief whilst down here, and not by joy. Let me balance my comments however by making it clear that I don't believe the Lord appeared to be down-hearted or unhappy, no that's not what I am saying. I am simply looking at what the scriptures tell us prophetically regarding his character and drawing some thoughts from this. Let's be clear that his character was of course wonderfully and perfectly balanced and even, of course we believe that. However his earthly service down here was not for pleasure or enjoyment or marked by levity, the scriptures tell us so! We can think of how he brought so much joy to others though, at all stages of his life, and we do praise God afresh that he was wiling to be the "man of sorrows" and "bear our griefs and carry our sorrows" so that our "joy might be full"!

However, I have been thinking recently that there are three things I believe spoken of in the scriptures that bring joy to the heart of the Lord Jesus, and I share them here for our mutual encouragement and to warm our hearts towards the Saviour.

When a sinner repents (Luke 15:7-10)

"there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth"

How wonderful to think that when we repented of our sin and trusted Christ as our Saviour there was joy in the very presence of God and his angels in heaven! Something that undoubtedly also brought joy to the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ!

A life of faithful and fruitful service (Matthew 25:21-23)

"thou hast been faithful over a few things... enter thou into the joy of thy Lord"

Again, we marvel that ever our contribution and service down here should ever bring joy to the Lord! But this is the truth of it, there is joy for Him at the end of a life of faithful and loyal service and surely this should encourage us in our lives for Him, no matter how meagre or paltry our service may seem to us, it brings pleasure, glory and joy to the heart of God!

My third and final example comes from Hebrews 12:2

"Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame." (NLT)

I have quoted the New Living Translation here as it seems to more accurately convey the meaning here but the Amplified also says "he for the joy (of obtaining the prize...)" so we must ask ourselves; what is the prize he endured to obtain? What is the joy that awaits him?

Fellow believers, I believe that this is you and I. We are the prize and the joy for which he was prepared to endure the cross of Calvary, wonderful thought! I refer you to Isaiah 53:11 "he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied" or as the New Living Translation puts it; "when he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied."

I thought of the lovely words of that great hymn;

He and I in that bright glory,

One deep joy shall share,

Mine to be forever with him,

His that I am there.

Surely this should move our hearts to give thanks and worship Him? Consider that there is joy for the Saviour the day we came to know him as Saviour; he has joy as a life of faithful service for him is reviewed; and as he looks over the countless myriads of souls in heaven in his presence, ransomed and bought by his precious blood at Calvary, yes there is joy too and satisfaction for his soul! The soul that was poured out unto death, the man of sorrows who was acquainted with grief in his life on earth obtains much joy from the sinner that repents and believes on Him, this is a wonder indeed!

I trust these simple thoughts will compliment and complete the previous post and that we will all enjoy them and be encouraged as we continue to worship and serve our great Saviour.

Yours in Christ, Mark

"Sorrow"

It has been an interesting study recently to look at the subject of sorrow in the scriptures. Don't worry, it's not too depressing! In fact the opposite is true, it has been a thrill to look into the scriptures and see a nice little study there to build some thoughts around. I've referred to 3 main references, but I am sure that you can develop these thoughts and refer to other different scriptures if you care to.

The Origin of Sorrow - Genesis 3:16,17

"Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow... And unto Adam he said... cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life"

Here we have the first mention of sorrow in the Bible, and it is here that we read of it's origin. It is inextricably linked with sin! Here we read about the fall, when man brought sin into the world and death by sin. But Adam also brought something else into the world - sorrow. God had created the world free from sorrow, it was never meant to be here! But now God addresses both man and the woman and informs them that sorrow will mark their lives from now on, because they had sinned. The word sorrow means "worry, labour, pain" what an awful combination! I am sure we can all testify to the awful nature of sorrow, I am sure that we have all felt it touch our lives at some point, some of us more than most. If only Adam could have known the awful ramifications of his actions, not just for himself but for the generations to come - the affliction of sin, the burden of sorrow, and the end result for all - death. Of course death itself brings sorrow, and we will lose loved ones, those that are dear to us and we feel the pain and sorrow and loss that this brings. For the believer we lift ourselves with the fresh reminder of 1 Thessalonians 4, that we sorrow not as others which have no hope, for we know that they are absent from the body, present with the Lord. Praise God!

The Man of Sorrows - Isaiah 53:3

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief"

Of course we can't think about sorrow without thinking about the Lord Jesus as the man of sorrows. Here in the Old Testament the word sorrow means, "anguish, grief and pain". Remember that the Saviour came to where we were - lost in ruin and in sin. He came to save us, to deal with the question of sin and to provide for us a way of salvation. We remember that in his life he was marked by sorrow, bearing the hatred and mocking of men. In order to save us he must be despised and rejected - the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief! But more than this, the next verse in Isaiah 53 would tell us that he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows - here we must surely picture Calvary specifically! We remember that in death too he was associated with sorrow, for he bore our sorrows and sin on that cross. The scriptures would tell us that he bore our sin in his own body on the tree, and the waves and billows of divine judgement passed over his holy soul at that place. Is it any wonder that we can apply the words of Jeremiah in Lamentations 1:12 "Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow" What sorrow was his! Surely there has been none like it before or since. Surely this encourages us as we pass through this world bearing the sorrows of our experience, that the Lord Jesus has been here and knew what it was to feel such great sorrow:

"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15)

The End of Sorrow - Revelation 21:4

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away"

How wonderful to learn that there is a place where there will be no more sorrow! Even greater to learn that it is also the place where we are going to be one day as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has been preparing a place for us that will be completely free from sorrow, sin and suffering - all those things that were brought into the world by sin! How lovely that the Lord sees fit to reverse those awful effects of the fall, and gives us a place of eternal rest completely opposite to our experience upon this sin blighted earth - Heaven will be a haven, free of sorrow!

But also consider this, that it must be a joyous place for the Saviour as well. He was received up into heaven when he left this earth, he passed into the glory and perfect bliss of heaven where there is no more sorrow and suffering for the man of sorrows, only glory, praise and honour! What an awesome prospect awaits us all when we go to be with him... we recall the words of the Psalmist "in thy presence is fullness of joy..."

" 'Midst the darkness, storm, and sorrow,
One bright gleam I see;
Well I know the blessed morrow
Christ will come for me...

He and I, in that bright glory,
One deep joy shall share—
Mine, to be forever with Him;
His, that I am there."

Yours in Christ, Mark