Just and the Justifier

To demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:26

          Many years ago my family lived in a small Quichua village in Ecuador SA. Our house was separated from a Christian school by a short path that ran about 500 feet through the jungle. I’d make the trip from home to school several times a day and even our two year old son, Stephen, would often go back and forth.

         
         Once as I was studying in my office, I heard my son give off a horrifying scream, I instantly knew what was happening. Ants!!

         

I ran as fast as I could and saw him standing in a swarm of army ants. I picked him up and immediately started ripping off his clothes as I ran back to the house. As soon as I touched my son, the ants started biting me too, but that didn’t matter. Those ants could kill a toddler, but I planned on hurting them more than they hurt me. We bathed my boy in cold water and then he cried himself to sleep, but he was safe.

         

The next day, I went out with a five gallon can of gasoline and poured the liquid down every ant hill I could find around our house. When I lit one hill, I could hear the flames moving back and forth under the ground and then a plume of flame would shoot up from another entrance. I could hear the fire working its destruction under my feet. I know that I killed hundreds of thousands, if not millions of ants that day, but I felt no remorse and no pity. Those ants had attacked and could have killed my son! They tried to hurt me! They were not going to hurt my family again. What I did was just.

         

My justice protected my loved ones, but nearly wiped out the offending creatures. If I had love for the ants and could speak their language, maybe I could have warned them of the fiery judgment that was coming. If I could have saved them from their destruction, I would have been their justifier, because I would have given them a way to escape. Of course, that part didn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean that what I did wasn’t just.

         

The Lord Jesus Christ is both Just and the Justifier of the believers. He not only has judged sin, but has also taken that judgment on Himself so that His people can escape the wrath of God to come. 

God Manifested in the Flesh

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.
1 Timothy 3:16

Without controversy, without argument, without doubt the mystery surrounding God's nature and outworkings are deep, very deep. This having been said, the above verse sums up with the greatest economy of words the mission of Christ to our planet.

First off, God was manifested in flesh; the invisible God took on human form. Jesus was and is the eternal Creator in a package of skin, muscle, blood, and bone.

Next point states that he was Justified in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit confirmed, revealed, and celebrated who Christ was. Those who approached the Savior in faith heard that still, small voice within them saying “This is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Then, He was seen by angels. They had observed the Master since the beginning of time, but this time they weren't looking up at Him as the Great God of the Universe, they were gazing down at Planet Earth to see God's grace and mercy revealed.

Preached among the Gentiles? Yes, preached to the whole world. This God manifested in flesh and the grace that brought Him here was too great for just one nation or people. He had to be preached to all.

The result of that was that He was believed on in the world. “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8). The answer is yes.

Finally, God Manifested in Flesh was raised up in glory to resume His daily running of everything that is matter and energy. We can't see Him now nor can we physically hear or touch Him. But one day real soon, He will come to earth again and then people will say, there He is, God Manifested in the Flesh. 

Gentle and Lowly in Heart

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:28-29

Jesus could walk on water and after His resurrection, He could even go right through a locked door. He fed 5,000 men from a little boy's lunch box, calmed storms, cured incurable diseases, and raised the dead. With superpowers like that, you'd have expected both D.C. and Marvel to offer Jesus His own comic book series. Christ could have been the quintessential superhero, but He had one problem – marketing.

When Jesus healed the leper, He told the man not to tell anyone. He could have flown, turned rocks into bread, or jumped from tall buildings, but He wouldn't do any of it. True, Christ fed 5,000 poor people in the desert, but He never advertised this. He could have gotten government subsidies if he fed 5,000 soldiers or bureaucrats. The man of God lacked a public relations agent.

His power over death and disease could have made Him millions and when you factor in His ability to bring peace to a troubled heart, He could have had the world come knocking at His door.

In the verses above, Jesus offers rest to the weary and heavy laden. He offers His yoke to pull the load and supports His claims by saying “I am gentle and lowly in heart.” What kind of self-affirmation is this? No modern faith healer or tel-evangelist would ever come across so weak! And there you have the answer: The Savior of the World knew who He was, so He never needed to promote Himself. The miracles He did validated what He said, so that everyone who believed would receive His promises.

In a world full of make believe superheroes and superpowers there is still one who can do so much more and for real and He is Gentle and Lowly in Heart.

Prince of Life

But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
Acts 3:14-15

After Peter and John healed the lame man at the gate of the temple, a crowd formed, so Peter saw that it was a great opportunity to preach. Only a few months had gone by since Christ's crucifixion and the events were on everyone's minds. Peter clearly placed the guilt of rejected the Messiah on those temple goers, noting the irony that they chose a murderer to be granted life, but delivered the Prince of Life to be murdered.

Contrasting Barabbas with Jesus shows the ends of the human spectrum. Matthew calls the criminal a"notorious prisoner"; Mark says he committed "murder and rebellion", while John just notes he was a "robber". On the other hand, the Prince of Life was viewed by His enemies as a political threat and they saw that as much worse than someone who just went around stirring up trouble and killing people.

Our sinful nature can justify any form of deviant behavior. Psychologists have been shocked to discover that most criminals in prison have an extremely high self-esteems. They feel pretty good about themselves and have reasons for doing the terrible things they have done. Others, of course, buy into their lies, so every year the really notorious bad guys are acquitted of their crimes, if they have powerful lawyers and a high profile case.

When the human heart rejects the Savior and justifies its evil deeds, the trial of Jesus occurs all over again with the same results. The guilty are exonerated and the Prince of Life is condemned.

Curse

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree").
Galatians 3:13

If there is any title of the Lord Jesus that truly belongs in the “Who'd a thunk it” file, it would have to be “Curse.” Stranger yet, this is not a title given to the Savior by His enemies; it's one that He chose for Himself. But how is it that He who brought blessing into the world has become a curse?

It all has to do with substitution. We were cursed, so Christ took our place in order to redeem us from the curse of the law.

When the children of Israel came into the promised land half of the tribes stood on Mount Gerizin and the other half on Mount Ebal. A blessing and a curse was set before the nation. Those on Mt. Gerazin read from Deuteronomy about the blessings that result from obeying God. The people on Mount Ebal listed the terrible things that result from breaking the law; this is the curse of the law.

The Bible tells us that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We're all under the curse of the law and the only way to turn that around is to exchange our curse for His blessing. Christ was sinless, so he gave us his blessing and took on himself our curse.

When Adam and Eve sinned, God cursed the ground and it produced thorns and thistles. It was no coincidence that on the day of His death, Christ was given a crown of thorns.

In crucifixion, the Savior was lifted up for all to see and so the curse of Deuteronomy 21:23 fell on Him: “ for he who is hanged is accursed of God.” While Jesus was dying, His critics came to mock Him. They spit on, taunted, and cursed the spotless Lamb of God. Even so He blessed His enemies by saying “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34) It's strange, but Christ could not have blessed us, if He first was not made a Curse. 

Propitiation for Our Sins

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
1 John 2:2*

Propitiation – now that's a mouthful. The term is used four times in scripture and yet probably not one in 100 Christians can give an understandable definition of the word. I've heard preachers try to explain what it means for over forty years and have never gotten a definition that I like; they're either too simplified or too complicated.

As a Bible teacher, I pride myself in making the difficult easy to understand. I have for years sought to explain this word, but haven't found an answer that is short and to-the-point. However, I can make it simple.

In the Old Testament, there were many different kinds of sacrifices that were used for different reasons and at different times. Once a year a ram was sanctified on the Day of Atonement for the sins of the nation of Israel. The High Priest sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice of the mercy seat which was on top of the ark of the covenant; this atoned for the peoples sin for one year.

Actually the term “mercy seat” is more a description of what the cover of the ark was, and not a true translation of the Hebrew word ("Kapporet"). A literal translation would be “propitiatory” or “place of propitiation.” Therefore, the blood of the ram was the propitiation and the mercy seat (propitiatory) was where it was placed.

When talking sacrifice, the propitiation is where the rubber meets the road; it's what makes a sacrifice work; it's what actually takes away the sin. In the case of Christ's sacrifice at Calvary for the sins of the Human race, the cross was the propitiatory and the Savior Himself the propitiation. It's not just the blood of Christ that saves us, but that He gave all of Himself without reserve to become the Propitiation for our sins. 

see also: Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 4:10.

Lord God Omnipotent

And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."
Revelation 19:6-7

Wow! One of the strongest and clearest titles of Christ's deity often goes unnoticed and therefore unused by a majority of Christians. Perhaps it's laziness for not taking time to understand the context that the casual reader assumes that the Name is given to God the Father when the verses clearly demonstrate that it belongs to God the Son.

The time-line falls just before the Millennial Kingdom begins. The Great Tribulation is over; Babylon the great has fallen and there is great rejoicing in heaven, because the King of kings is about to reign. The scene is reminiscent of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem just before His crucifixion. There is a huge multitude shouting praises and alleluias and the excitement is intense. But this time the crowd is not saying “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD”, but are acknowledging that the Messiah is the Lord God Omnipotent.

The rejoicing moves into the marriage of the Lamb. Here the church, the bride of Christ, has come to share in the celebration of the All-powerful One's victory over the devil, the world, and the beast. Millions of saints have suffered persecution, torture, and death throughout the two thousand years of church history. At this point it all makes sense; truth and justice overcome the forces of evil. Finally, finally, Jesus Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent reigns. 

He Who is to Come

John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne.
Revelation 1:4
And I heard the angel of the waters saying: "You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things”
Revelation 16:5

Jesus always was, always is, and always will be. That’s the main idea in these verses, but time lines are a little blurred when it comes to Him who is eternal. Christ existed before time was conceived and will be so even when every clock and calendar have melted away. Therefore things past and things future are written in the present tense in the book of Revelation.

The Apostle John had a vision of angels pouring out bowls of the wrath of God on planet Earth on the Day of Judgment and heard those same angels praising Him who is to be. This future event is so sure that it’s as if it already happened. It’s a done deal.

In the same way, the return of Christ is an absolute, because He said it would happen. “He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

The imminent return of Christ was constantly on the minds of the Apostles and the New Testament church. The church in Thessalonica even thought that they blinked and missed it. During each of the ten major persecutions of the Roman Empire, Christians expected the Lord to come at any moment. Then during the religious wars of the Reformation and now with Christians tortured and killed for their faith in the Middle East, true believers expect the King of kings to return soon and very soon.

In C.S. Lewis’ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, there is a dialogue between Aslan and Lucy:
“Do not look sad. We shall soon meet again,” says Aslan.

“Please, Aslan,” said Lucy, “What do you call soon?”

“I call all times soon,” said Aslan; and instantly he vanished away.

The same Jesus who is to be is also the one who is to come. 

He Who Was

John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace ...from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
Revelation 1:4

Jesus was a historical figure. The fact that He existed and was crucified by Pontius Pilate is almost universally accepted by all serious historians. Flavius Josephus mentioned Him in his Antiquities of the Jews written for the Emperor Domitian in AD 93 and the effect of Christ's life and teachings on the Roman Empire and Western Civilization are undeniable. Obviously Christ is He who was.

Yet there is great debate on exactly who He was. Many refused to believe that the founder of one of world's biggest religions was God incarnate, the Son of God, King of kings, or the High and Lofty One. So beginning in the 1700's, scholars have pursued “quests for the historical Jesus.” They discounted the thousands of ancient manuscripts of the New Testament as biased and unreliable to embrace any piece of secular commentary to form their opinion. Views of who Jesus really was range from heretic to healer to charismatic teacher, but none of these extra-biblical searches concluded that He was anyone capable of changing the known world or someone worthy to die for.

Herein lies the fallacy of their conclusions. Christ did change the world and millions of martyrs preferred death to denying their Lord of lords.

Those who reject who Jesus says He was reject Him who was. World scholars never undertook quests to find the historical Buddha or historical Mohamed. Why would they? The leaders of these religions also discount the deity of Christ so they are basically in agreement.

The miraculous and supernatural aspects of the Lord Jesus can never be proved to someone who refuses to believe; and “historical facts” are really myths if they are written by critics of the Jewish Messiah or to counter the Christian faith.

The gospels declare the life and teachings of the Christ, He who was. Everyone either accepts Him or rejects Him. 

He who Is

John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne.
Revelation 1:4

In the introduction to the book of Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Apostle John begins with a benediction from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come. The blessing came from Jesus Christ who occupies all the aspects of the time-line

The title “He who is” is significant in two distinct ways. The first, in a very real sense, is a title of God. Yahweh told Moses that His name was “I am” (Exodus 3:14) and Jesus took this title for Himself on a number of occasions (John 8:24 and 58, 9:9, 18:5). Grammatically speaking, the term is given in the first person singular. The same term, to be referred to in the third person, would be “He is” or a more literary phrase “He who is.” John starts his book of Revelation focusing on Jesus Christ the Divine.

The name communicates the same message as “I am” which is that He is eternally present - always existing. His relationship with Abraham was as fresh and contemporary as it was with Moses or the Apostle Paul. Therefore, Christ’s role as He who is means that He is also there for me. The Savior doesn’t grow old or get too busy.

The second aspect of the title is the reality of the Son of God. Jesus is. He exists. He is here and now. He is real.

Too many people today regard Jesus as a myth. There are even theologians that don’t literally believe the miracles and stories of the gospels, so are prone to mix fiction with these facts. Christ takes on the person of a folk hero that is famous and interesting, but not real.

The Lord was not only a historical figure that lived and breathed 2,000 years ago, He is alive and well today. Believers still walk and talk with Him and can testify that He is real. In fact, just today I had a conversation with Him who is. 

Lord of Peace

Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.
2 Thessalonians 3:16

Stress-comes from rush hour traffic, crying babies, whining toddlers, ungrateful teenagers, and nagging spouses. It compounds as bills increase, the work-load becomes heavier, and the tyranny of the urgent becomes oppressive.

Anxiety - the fear of not knowing what comes next; the unease that stems from all the negatives of the status quo, and the worry that things won’t get better; they’ll only get worse. Oh-oh, here comes the panic attack.

Frustration - knowing what I want and not knowing how to get it. Sometimes it's even not knowing what I want, but knowing that, whatever it is, I don’t have it.

Depression - that sense of hopelessness, heaviness, and weariness and feeling all alone. It’s sitting for hours in a dark room and not doing anything except fighting a battle of ideas in the mind.

Nightly News - poor economy, unemployment, racial tensions, scandals, wars, terrorism, unrest in the Middle East, famines, epidemics, and this year’s storm of the century.

Humanity cries out for peace, but there is no peace. The world wants problems to go away, but that doesn’t bring peace because more problems just come to take their place.

Paul prayed that the Thessalonian church would experience the true peace that only the Lord of Peace could give. That peace would cover every category mentioned above and would last always.

The Lord Jesus wears many titles, but when all the little and big things of life get us down, we need to approach Him as the Lord of Peace. Christ gives peace to those who need it. He owns it. He’s the boss of peace. Where the Savior goes, peace has to follow.

So let stress, anxiety, frustration, and depression and the Nightly News be put on notice. If you all come around to bother us, we’re going to call directly on the Lord of Peace. 

Living Stone

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious.
1 Peter 2:4

How do you tell the difference between a living stone and a non-living stone? Ask it a question and if it doesn’t respond, assume it is dead.

Earth is a living sphere with organisms abounding on every square inch of the planet’s surface. Hundreds of millions of bacteria can live in a drop of water and scores of dust mites can fit on the head of a pin. Yet, if you add the weight of every whale, elephant, and insect and all of the other living things in the world, it would still be less than 1/1000th of 1% of earth’s total mass.

Most everything around us is inert matter. Rock, sand, water, air, minerals, and magma are most of what this place is made of, and none of it is alive. Heaven is a different story. I imagine life to be everywhere, even in things that are quite dead down here. The old laws of physics and biology won’t apply in the New Jerusalem. After all, the Bible talks about living stones and living water.

Probably 99.999% of all preachers will tell you that the verse above is to be interpreted figuratively, meaning it’s an illustration to help us understand spiritual truth. Old Testament worship centered around the temple in Jerusalem that was built with massive, beautiful, quarried stones. Under the new covenant, the church is not a building or even an organization, but an organism. It’s believers are edified together as living stones on the foundation of Christ who is the principle Living Stone. The idea is to compare and contrast how things were before Christ died on the cross and the change that happened afterwards. It’s really not supposed to be taken literally.

However, if you want to have a little fun with it, think outside the box. John the Baptist preached that “God is able to rise up children of Abraham from [...] stones” (Matthew 3:9). If we’re supposed to take this power of God as literal, why can’t I, with my wild imagination, see Jesus in heaven somehow manifesting Himself as a real honest to goodness: Living Stone, with the beauty of a ruby, the luster of a diamond and the intricacies of marble. Wow!! that's no ordinary stone!

Ransom

“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

As long as there have been villains who are willing to kill and hurt innocents for profit, there have been wealthy people willing to pay the bad guys off so that it doesn’t happen. Since there is no standard rate for a kidnapping, the size of the ransom doesn’t depend on the value of the victim, as much as the bank account of the one paying the tab.

In 1932 Charles Lindbergh paid $50,000 to the kidnappers of his son, only to discover later that they murdered the boy even before the ransom was paid.

The ransom of Patty Hearst was $6 million in 1974. The enormity of the sum shocked many people, but 22 years later Hong Kong tycoon, Li Ku Shing, paid $134 million for the release of his son.

Historically, these prices are low. When Julius Cesar was 25 years old, he was captured by Sicilian pirates and ransomed for 8,522 pounds of silver. King Richard the Lion-Hearted was released by his captors after 65,000 pounds of silver was paid, the modern equivalent of $3.3 Billion. Atahualpa, emperor of the Incan Empire was strangled by Spanish Conquistadors after 13,000 pounds of gold and 26,000 pounds of silver were paid for his release (roughly $34 billion today).

But none of these compares to the ransom paid by Jesus Christ for the lost human race. There are no deeper pockets than those found on the Creator of the Stars. He could have made a solid gold planet or listed a galaxy on the real estate exchange, but none of these could ransom mankind” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

In giving the only thing in heaven that couldn’t be recreated, God overpaid for the deliverance of sinful man. Jesus paid it all and for all. He’s not only the ransom for many, He’s the ransom for all (1 Timothy 2:6). Not everyone is saved, because not everyone responds in faith to the salvation that is already paid for. What a pity!

Lawgiver

There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? 
James 4:12

At first glance, I’d put this name of Christ in my folder of “whoda thunk it” titles. After all, we’re now under grace and not under the law. This sounds more like the God of the Old Testament and not like Jesus Christ of the New.

At second glance, it’s my theology that needs reworking and not the classification of this title. There are not two Gods, one for each Testament. We don’t even have three which is how some people understand the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. There is one God who always existed and never changes. Anything different from that is just wrong.

Lawgiver is one name given to the LORD in the Old Testament: “For the LORD is our Judge, The LORD is our Lawgiver, The LORD is our King; He will save us” (Isaiah 33:22). The verse also mentions the LORD as Judge, King, and the one who saves. All these belong to Christ.

It’s true that grace is emphasized in the New Testament, but grace was shown all the through the Old Testament. (e,g. in Genesis 6:8 when it says “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD”).

Jesus clearly taught that He didn’t come to undo the law, but fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). The Savior never sinned; He kept the whole law and taught His disciples to keep the law and not to sin (John 8:11). If we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) we’ll naturally want to do what is right, because God’s laws are written on our hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:10).

It’s dangerous to think that God’s laws are ever optional. Christ Jesus died on the cross to deliver us from the curse of the law, but He wrote every law in the Book. In the New Testament, He gave us New Commandments (John 13:34) and we’re told to fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). We’re not saved from the law; we’re saved from sin by the Lawgiver Himself.

Him who is True

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
1 John 5:20*

Many years ago, when I was suffering from a case of buyer’s remorse, a wise man told me, “Salesmen are a part of everyone’s practical education.” They teach you not to believe everything people say and or trust that they have your best interest at heart.

Over the years, I’ve been scammed by telemarketers and have bought things on the internet that weren’t as described. However, the worst are the “free downloads” for checking for computer viruses. With one click, I once added dozens of pop-ups, malware, and advertisements, but was told that I could get rid of them all for $29.99. The result of this practical education is that I never do business over the phone, nor do I download anything from the internet. It seems that you can’t trust anyone anymore.

Salesmen, politicians, advertisers, and even preachers often lie or twist the truth to gain advantage over people. At that point, I can only trust Him who is True. I can believe Christ’s promises and the Word of God. When I’m in doubt, I go over in my head what I know for sure.

I know for sure, sin is destructive. No good ever comes from pornography.

I know for sure, the love of money is the root of all evil. I don’t need get rich schemes.

I know for sure, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. I don’t need to glorify myself.

I know for sure, I should owe no one anything but love. I don’t want the loan “I deserve.”

I know for sure, trials and tribulations are part of the Christian life. I reject the health and wealth gospel.

Lord Jesus, you are the only One I can trust, because you are He who is True.

*see also Revelation 3:7

Glorious in Holiness

"Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?”
Exodus 15:11

After the children of Israel witnessed the total destruction of the Egyptian army, Moses led them in a song of triumph: “" I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!” Excitement and emotion filled the multitude of escaped slaves because they saw the power and glory of God.

The song continues for 18 verses in Exodus chapter 15. At verse 11, two questions are asked: “Who is like You among the gods?” and “Who is like You, glorious in holiness?”

To answer the first, Egypt had plenty of gods, even “puddy” cats were worshiped, but none of them could save the Egyptian army from the power of the living God. Nothing compares to the incomparable Creator of the universe.

The second question concerns God’s glorious holiness. Again, no comparison. Glory is a hard concept to define, but it is pretty easy to see the absence of it. Idols have no power, no splender, no supernatural qualities, and no glory. God’s glory was not just demonstrated in His power to defeat the ancient world’s number 1 superpower, He showed it in His holiness. He not only neutralized the bad guys, He obliterated them.

Christ is in all things the outshining of God’s glory. He was in the burning bush when Moses was commissioned and He was there when the waters of the Red Sea parted. John saw the glorified Lord as he was exiled on the Isle of Patmos and was overpowered by the vision. Certainly the Son of God is glorious in compassion, grace, might, and authority. But above all these, we must remember that He is Glorious in Holiness.

King of the Jews

Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" He answered and said to him, "It is as you say."
Mark 15:2

The Old Testament prophesied repeatedly that the Messiah would come to sit on the throne of Israel as a descendant of King David. For this reason, early Jewish scholars used “Son of David” as a Messianic title. The New Testament declares and affirms 17 times that Jesus was, in fact, the King of the Jews.

The wise men from the East sought the newborn King and even had a supernatural appearance of a star to confirm their faith assumptions, but they never actually saw the fulfillment of the title (Matthew 2:2).

Roman soldiers mocked the Savior and bowed the knee feigning honor and respect to the King of the Jews. However, their insincerity and unbelief didn’t annul that the title was correctly given (Matthew 27:29).

At His first coming, the chief priests and Jewish leaders rejected Him as their leader and delivered Him up to Roman authorities to be crucified. They protested when Pilate wrote on the sign posted at the cross that He was King of the Jews (John 19:21). They resembled the crowd in Jesus’ parable of the minas who said, “We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14).

They were wrong. He was their king and will one day reign on the throne of David in Jerusalem and fulfill all the promises of God made to the Jewish people.

Most Christians are also wrong. It’s not all about us. The promises of an earthly kingdom centered in Jerusalem is for the Jewish people. True, there will be other kingdoms during the millennium all subject to the King of kings, but first and foremost, Jesus is the King of the Jews.

Refiner

"But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire And like launderers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.”
Malachi 3:2-3

Before the industrial revolution and mass production, everything was done in small home workshops. Every town would have had a blacksmith and all would have seen the refiner at work and would have understood the process.

Small furnaces would be dug into the earth and lined with bricks. Coal or very hard wood would fill the chamber along with silver ore. Air would constantly be pumped in at the base with to make the fire intense. In the fervent heat, impurities would be burnt off and the liquid metal would pool at the bottom of the furnace. A brick would be removed and the molten silver would pour out usually into molds. Ash floated as a powder over the glowing metal and tin or copper would separate from the precious elements.

Most people don't realize how intensive the work of the refiner was. Besides working the bellows almost non-stop, fuel would have to be added frequently to maintain the extreme temperature. Although the workshop would be hot, the refiner had to wear the ancient equivalent of long sleeves. The refining process throws off UV-radiant energy many times that of the sun. The whole process had to be repeated several times in order to get pure silver or gold.

The refining process is an illustration of God's discipline in the life of a believer. “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?” (Hebrews 12:7).

Too often we focus on what we have to suffer in order to be purified for Christ. The emphasis should be the effort, energy, and endurance the master puts into us to carry out His role of Refiner. 

Messiah

"Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. and after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined."
Daniel 9:25-26

Wonderful, powerful, significant verses! ...Yet they are unknown and unimportant to most Christians; what a pity!

The translators of the King James and New King James Versions saw the importance and translated the Hebrew word "Meshiach" as Messiah. They wanted everyone to know that this prophesy was about the Jewish Messiah; that is Christ. The 38 other times it appears in the Old Testament it was translated literally as “anointed.”

This prophesy is a time-line that begins with the “command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.” Jewish people in the 1^st century knew the day, month, and year it took place. Even our history books tell us that King Artaxerxes of Persia made that decree in 444 B.C.

Then comes two time periods: “seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.” The term “weeks” literally means “sevens” and is actually referring to weeks of years. So then “seven weeks” is actually 49 years and “sixty-two weeks” is actually 434 years.

Forty-nine years after the decree to rebuild, Nehemiah actually finished building the streets. 49+434=483 years. Exactly four-hundred eighty-three years to the day after Artaxerxes' command was March 30^th of 33 A.D. First century preachers did the math and believed that date to be the day  of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The anointed of God went to His own and His own received Him not. Four days later (April 3^rd) Christ was crucified - “cut off.” When early Jewish believers heard this, they also did the math and were convinced that Jesus was their Messiah. 

Guest

But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner."
Luke 19:7

Titles given by enemies and critics always give an interesting perspective to the character of Christ. Jesus invited Himself to Zaccheaus' house for dinner and the tax collector was thrilled. All the respectable folks in Jericho were indignant. How could someone who's spiritual be the guest of a sinner? The Lord came to earth to seek and save those who are lost (Luke 19:10). That's still what He does.

Jesus accepted lots of invitations and ate with friends, Pharisees, and fisherman. Christ told Zaccheaus that He'd have lunch with him, because He knew the little man was afraid to ask. It would be an honor and privilege to show hospitality to the Savior and the blessings would by far exceed the time, effort, and expense. The critics of Jesus missed out big-time.

Wow! Wouldn't it have been great if I could have taken in Jesus to spend the night, taken Him out to a nice restaurant, or even made Him a sandwich. Wait a minute! Wait a minute! I can still do that.

In His teaching about the end times, the Lord declared, “...for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in” (Matthew 25:35). He further explains this to mean: “inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40).

The rule of Saint Benedict states, “Let all guests be received as Christ.” That's profound and involves a lot more than just offering a bed and breakfast to some homeless guy. It means showing hospitality in the form of a living sacrifice. It's giving food, lodging, time, housework, honor, and respect to someone who wouldn't be able to reciprocate. It's showing love, concern, and praying for someone/anyone God sends my way. It's seeing Christ Jesus in that guest. 

Husband

For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.
Isaiah 54:5

Before there was ever sin in our world, God designed and instituted marriage. Two people, although the same species, are male and female, man and woman, and God made them Husband and Wife. This wasn't a marriage of convenience, but a carefully arranged union orchestrated by God since the whole human race would be produced from Adam and Eve's DNA.

The Jewish Talmud (the oral tradition and teaching of ancient rabbis) portrays a curious detail about the first marriage ceremony. According to the legend, God Himself braided Eve's hair and personally presented her to Adam. That would have been a nice touch that would have added to the specialness of the relationship.

Contrary to the politically correct notions of today, men and women are very different. They look, think, and act differently and part of the design for the continuance of the human race was different roles for husband and wife.

When Paul wrote to the Ephesian church, he gave God's orders for the Christian family. Addressing the men, he said, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” The Master shows Christian men a model of what a loving, caring husband should look like. He is always there to listen to us, provide our needs before we ask, and comfort us when we feel alone and weak.

Yahweh of the Old Testament took on Himself the role of the spouse of the children of Israel. In the New Testament, concerning the church, Christ clearly presents Himself as her Husband.

Chosen

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious.
1 Peter 2:4

The CEO of a multinational company has many complex and specialized jobs to do. He needs to have vision for building his corporation and the leadership skills to get it there. He must negotiate with clients, motivate employees, jump legal and political hurdles, and take educated risks. The success or failure of a big business depends on having the “right man” at the helm. For this reason, selection committees will often spend millions of dollars to screen all the candidates before that “right person” is finally chosen.

The hundreds of titles of Christ show just how complicated the job of God's Anointed really was. He had to be Savior, Redeemer, Advocate, and Friend. He came to destroy the works of the devil, console Israel, and willingly offer Himself as a substitute for sinful mankind. No one less than God Himself could be qualified for this position.

The Jewish religious leaders understood that their Messiah was singled out for His mission of redemption. Standing at the foot of the cross of Christ, the rulers of the Jews sneered at Jesus and said “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God" (Luke 23:35).

Only a very few of the titles of the Lord also apply to believers. This is one of them: “...just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, (Ephesians 1:4). How wonderful is that! Before the creation of all things, the Chosen one chose us to be His special people.

Lord of Lords

These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.
Revelation 17:14

Lord of lords. The idea is that Christ is the leader of all the world leaders, the boss of all the big bosses.

Actually, this title is true in two very different ways. The verse above demonstrates that Jesus is going to bring down all the proud and mighty demigods on earth. They will be brought low, broken, and forced to bow the knee before the Lord of lords.

The second application is better seen in Revelation 19:16: “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” The scene is after the battle of Armageddon and the Lord is ready to reign on earth with a newly appointed group of kings and lords and they're all good; they're the saints of God that suffered and even died for the name of Christ.

The millennial reign of the Lamb of God will be 1,000 years without war, injustice, and oppression. We would come to expect that, if Christ is in charge, but all the national and local administrators will also be holy and just. Coming from a day and age when the term “honest politician” is an oxymoron, it is hard to believe that they'll be public servants that actually serve the public.

Not everyone who is saved will reign with Christ. He gives that responsibility to those who showed themselves faithful in little. In the Parable of the Minas (Luke 19), the Lord said to the servant whose mina earned nine more, “Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.”

I take seriously the promises of Christ, so I want to be faithful to His will for me now, so that I can reign with Him in His kingdom. If He someday makes me a lord, let it be known that Christ is already my Lord of lords.