Tried Stone

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: " Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone… 
Isaiah 28:16

Rocks differ from one another in color, hardness, and composition. However, even the same variety of rock from the same quarry can vary in quality. Unseen hairline cracks within a big block of stone can eventually break it apart once it is part of a load-bearing wall. For that reason, the huge building blocks that were to be used in the Temple were shaped in one place and then transported many miles to the construction site. The movement over dirt roads would jostle and vibrate the heavy stones enough that the inferior building material would never survive the journey. Each block that made it through this testing was considered a tried stone.

When Christ came to this world 2,000 years ago, He didn’t arrive untested. Many times before, God had physically manifested Himself to His people. The second person of the Trinity was in the burning bush before Moses, appeared as the Commander of the LORD’s army to Joshua, and protected Shadrach and crew in the fiery furnace as the Son of God.

Before the Jewish leaders rejected Him as their Messiah, He demonstrated His power and authority to them. He did things that only the LORD’s anointed could do; the lame walked, the blind could see, and the dead came to life again (Matthew 11:5). But it wasn’t just his works that proved that He was the Christ. Other witnesses that bore witness of the Son of God were John the Baptist, God the Father, and scripture itself (John 5:36-47).

The Lord Jesus became the cornerstone and sure foundation of the assembly of God’s people. He came not just stating His claim, but proving to those who had ears to hear that He was the precious and Tried Stone that Isaiah prophesied would come. 

Pierced (One)

And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."
John 19:37

Being pierced with a sword or a spear is not a natural way to die. Certainly in ancient times it was common during a war, but 2,000 years ago was the era of the “Pax Romana” (Roman peace). The Roman empire had conquered all its enemies, so there was no more war. Even criminals who were put to death by crucifixion died over a period of several days or had their legs broken to speed up the process. It was very unusual that Jesus of Nazareth was pierced with a spear.

However, the prophet Zachariah foretold that the inhabitants of Jerusalem would look on their Messiah “whom they pierced” (Zachariah 12:10). King David prophesied similarly when he wrote of Christ: “They pierced My hands and My feet” (Psalm 22:16).

So why is this title important? Who cares if the Lord was pierced or not? This name of Christ matters, because God saw fit to give us the details of the Savior’s death over 1,000 years before the Savior died. It proved that God foreknew what was going to happen and that Jesus wasn’t victimized because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Jewish leaders should have known scripture and seen the manner of death of the LORD’s Anointed. After the fact, they should have repented in sackcloth and ashes, but instead they bribed the guards to lie about the resurrection.

On the final Day of Judgment, all the Christ-rejecters that ever lived will stand before the Great White Throne. As their sentences are being read, they will see the hands and feet of the Pierced One and begin to tremble. 

Root of Jesse

And again, Isaiah says: " There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope."
Romans 15:12

When pioneers came to Kansas before the Civil War, they found a treeless prairie with a rugged climate. Summer days often got 110 degrees in the shade, making the ground as hard as rock and with only 20 inches of rain each year, grass was the only thing that grew there.

Today, people have transformed portions of the state into lush gardens and orchards, but to do this, ground water had to be pumped up for vegetation and the soil enriched. Even so, the land has never forgotten its roots. What it once was will return to being grasslands again, if the gardeners ever stop their hard work.

Buffalo grass keeps creeping into cultivated areas and pushes out the flowers and vegetables. The prairie grass sends out runners in all directions and then puts in a 10 inch woody root that goes straight down. It’s not enough to pull out the grass from the garden, the root needs to come out also. If some of that root breaks off below the surface, native grass will come up again just a little later.

Isaiah 11:10 prophesies that the Messiah would come from the Root of Jesse and that the Gentiles would seek Him. According to scripture, the Messiah was David’s son, but Jesse was David’s father, making the LORD’s anointed from Jesse’s root.

Not much is said about Jesse, but it is known that he had eight sons and Samuel the prophet thought that each of them had king-like characteristics. Jesse must have been a good parent and role model, because he taught his boys the fear of the LORD.

It’s not directly mentioned in scripture, but there must have been something in Jesse’s life that reflected a desire to have the one true God known by even the pagans. Apart from the genealogies of Jesus, the only mention of him in the New Testament is in the title of Christ, Root of Jesse, who would reign over the Gentiles. Jesse raised up good sons for the glory of God and out of that hearty root even descended the LORD of glory.

Our Hope

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.
1 Timothy 1:1

Words like automobiles seem to wear out and lose their value over time. The modern definition of “hope” is very different from what it used to mean when the Bible was being written. Today, the term conveys wishful thinking, the desire for a certain thing to happen or wanting circumstances to change. One could say “I hope I win the lottery” or “Let’s hope that no one is hurt in the tornado.” People today hope for things that have no guarantee and usually the odds are greatly against getting what is hoped for.

Biblical hope is practically the opposite of contemporary hope, because it’s a sure thing. It is a feeling of trust based on the promises of God and is the object of long term faith. True hope is extreme confidence that everything God said will happen, will happen. This hope allows a Christian to remain strong in his faith even though some promises are not fulfilled in his lifetime.

“Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” (Romans 8:23-25).

Jesus Christ is Our Hope and all His promises are good as gold. Salvation from the power of sin and the immediate self-destruction begins now, but much of what we have to look forward to is future (i.e. home in heaven, glorified body, beholding the glory of God, etc.). Jesus said that there will be trials and persecutions and they certainly have come and they give credence that the rest of His promises will also be fulfilled. If Christ came to this world to die in our place, all the other promises are not that hard for Him to perform (Romans 8:32), so the Lord becomes Our Hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). 

Fairer than Men

You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore God has blessed You forever.
Psalm 45:2

This somewhat obscure title comes from a glorious Messianic Psalm full of the names of Christ. Monikers like “King,” “Mighty One,” “Majesty,” and “Anointed” clearly establish that, in context, this title, refers to the Son of God. Now, the job is to understand what it means.

The phrase “fairer than men” refers to physical attractiveness. Other translations render this: “You are the most excellent of men”(NIV), “You are the most handsome of all” (NLT), and “Thou art beautiful above the sons of men” (Douay). That is an interesting concept, because the Bible also says, “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” (Isaiah 53:2,3).

Jesus was torn up after the crucifixion. His face was so beaten and swollen that scripture says, “So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men” (Isaiah 52:14). The bottom line is it wasn’t his facial features that attracted people to the Lord, but His handsome character and the beauty of His love and grace.

That's the first level of interpretation, now I’d like to apply a rather “outside the box” application to the phrase “fairer than men.” I’ve often heard people complain that “life isn’t fair”, and even “God isn’t fair.” That may be true in a lot of ways. Bad people often exploit good people, the most qualified don’t always get the job and cancer afflicts both young and old. However, if God isn’t fair, He’s certainly much fairer than men.

People tend to be nasty, vindictive, and unforgiving. They remember wrongs done years ago and then bring them up just to hurt. Jesus doesn’t give us what we deserve. Praise the Lord!! We deserve death and hell, but He gives us instead forgiveness, fellowship, and healing of the soul. Thank God that Jesus isn’t fair and yet, He is always Fairer than Men.

Deliverer

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer…
Psalm 18:2*

Cowboys, such a big part of my childhood in the 1950’s, have almost disappeared from the American entertainment culture. If I mention such cowboy icons as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and Hoppalong Cassidy to a young person today, I just get stares. Back then, television and movies were all family oriented and all the best programs were westerns.

One theme that I’ve seen repeated many times in “cowboy pictures” is the last minute rescue by the army. Story lines would vary slightly, but towards the end of the episode, the hero with a small band of companions would be surrounded and outnumbered 100 to 1 by a tribe of renegade Indians. When things were hopeless and the movie star had only two bullets in his gun, you’d hear a bugle call and hundreds of blue-shirted soldiers would ride over the hill on their horses to save the day. That led to the expression “Here comes the cavalry!” which was commonly used to apply to any unexpected solution to a difficult problem.

King David was a warrior and he could defend himself well from the top of a mighty rock or a strong fortress, but he also knew that sometimes the battle became so overwhelming that the only thing that could help was reinforcements. God was not only David’s strength and shield, He was his Deliverer.

Life gets rough and often nothing seems to go right. Smart people have insurance policies for those hard times. However, experienced people also know that sometimes even the best contingency plans don’t work and things can still continue to fall apart. It’s at those times you feel helpless and say “Lord, please help me out of this mess! --Just one more time!” The only thing that can turn hopelessness around is a Deliverer.

The Apostle Paul was referring to Christ while he was quoting from the Old Testament: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins" (Romans 11:26,27). When troubles look their darkest, we can cry out to God and Jesus will come charging down from heaven to deliver us one more time.

*see also Psalm 40:17, 70:5, 144:2 plus five other verses

Glory of the LORD

The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Isaiah 40:5*

God is Spirit and therefore He’s invisible to His human creation. However, the presence of the Almighty was both seen and felt as the “appearance of fire” (Ezekiel 1:27). When Ezekiel was called to be a prophet, he had an encounter with living creatures that brought him to the throne of God. He saw a man on the throne with “the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD” (Ezekiel 1:28). Here the pre-incarnate Christ is revealed.

The Prophet Ezekiel uses this title more than any other book written in the Bible (nine times). His vision of the man on the throne of God in chapters 1 and 8 parallels the vision of the Apostle John in Revelation chapter 1 of the glorified Savior. In both cases, His thighs and feet looked like glowing metal and His face shone brightly. The one called the Glory of the LORD and the Son of God are one and the same.

The Glory of the LORD did not always have the appearance of a man, but just having a visible presence qualifies Him as the second person of the Trinity. The Glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:16), filled both the Tabernacle and the Temple (Exodus 40:35; 1 Kings 8:11) and seen by the shepherds the day Christ was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:9).

For most of His life, Jesus’ glory was hidden from view of everyone but the Father. However, it did burst out at the Transfiguration: “and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:2). Peter described that scene by saying “We […] were eyewitnesses of His majesty (2 Peter 1:16). The Apostle Paul wasn’t with the other to see the glorified Christ on the mountain, but he saw Him with the eyes of faith; “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the LORD, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

*see all Isaiah 35:2; 60:1 and also 34 other verses

Firstborn over all Creation

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Colossians 1:15

Long, long ago… there wasn’t even a galaxy far, far away. There was nothing as we know it now, not a planet, not a star, not a constellation. But there was God and He had His own separate dimension filled with Living Creatures, Cherubim, Seraphim, and a whole host of angels. There was a celestial city where the throne of God was placed, but nothing more than that has been revealed.

At the starting point of time, God invented visible light and probably the whole electromagnetic spectrum with radio waves, X-waves, and gamma radiation. Our universe then officially started. The Creator went on to make solids, liquids, and gases and formed them in a myriad of different ways, making Stars, galaxies, and nebuli. He must have had fun making whole new worlds, because He made so many.

The Almighty is not matter or energy, but He played with them. Often when He approached His creation on earth He would dress Himself in light and people would refer to that as the Glory of the LORD. After designing and constructing the male human prototype and his female companion model, God put on physical form, so He could walk and talk with mankind.

God was never created and Jesus was over all Creation long before He was born in Bethlehem. The title Firstborn refers to chronological order. By Christ “all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17). In short, the Son of God is the Firstborn of all Creation.

False witnesses try to confuse Christians by saying that this title means that Jesus was the first creature God created. Nothing can be further from the truth, because the Lord Jesus is God. His deity is obvious when the whole section is read in context (Colossians 1:9-18) and the conclusion is “that in all things He may have the preeminence.”

Forerunner

Where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 6:20

The word “Forerunner” brings to mind images of the Ford Model-T or the Commodore computer. They were cutting edge innovations in their day, but gave rise to bigger and better things. That is certainly not the case in today’s title.

A better definition is the one who goes on before to prepare the way for others to follow. Christ has paved the way for His church in many ways. He is the Firstfruits, the Firstborn over all creation, and a Guide even to Death. In each case, the Lord Jesus has gone before His people to pioneer the way for them.

In the verse above, Christ became our Forerunner in His capacity of High Priest. Since we have both the nature and practice of sinners, we are in no way ready to come into the presence of a Holy God. He is a Consuming Fire (Hebrews 12:29), so we would not even come close to Him, much less have fellowship with the Almighty. As "Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek", He atones for our sins, makes the substitutionary offering, and intercedes for us. None of these things could we do for ourselves.

The Savior got everything ready for us to go to heaven. He gave us citizenship in heaven by taking our sinful nature and making us holy even as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). He went to Mount Calvary and offered Himself as Propitiation, so our debt of sin could be paid (Hebrews 2:17). As Great High Priest, Jesus has passed through the heavens ahead of us to intercede for us, knowing full well our weaknesses, and then allows us to approach the throne of grace boldly to obtain mercy in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Alexander Pope was first to coin the phrase “fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” If that’s the case, then a wise man is one who follows Christ Jesus as his Forerunner.

Before all Things

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
Colossians 1:15,17

Big things, little things, fat things, skinny things, things that wiggle and squirm; the Lord Jesus made them all. Whether by chronological order or by importance, Christ is before them all.

How did God work up to creating a universe from nothing? Did He start with an atom or a star? Since neither existed before creation, the LORD might have started with the idea and then applied the physics. But gravity and laws of physics didn’t exist either, so maybe He invented those first. Did He make a rough draft of the solar systems or did he experiment with gravity to get the mass to distance ratio just right?

One thing for sure, He had plenty of time to work get it right. Eternity before creation is just as long as “forevermore” will be after the earth melts with a fervent heat.

Before the universe began, God created the angels and heavenly host, as well as establishing His eternal throne. Lucifer and a band of renegade angels rebelled against the Almighty and they were cast out of heaven. Oh yes, there’s at least one other thing that happened before all things, my name was written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Ephesians 1:4). Thank you, Jesus.

As firstborn over all creation, Christ was there before all things were made (Colossians 1:15). “All things were created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16). He assembled the atoms, and in Him “all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17 NIV).

As the blessed and only Potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus outranks everyone. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a president or pope, seraph or cherub, powers or archangels, God the Son is before all things. It doesn’t matter what that something is. It can be life or death, angels or principalities or powers, things present or things to come, height or depth or any created thing (Romans 8:38-39): The Lord is Before All Things. 

God-Who-Forgives

You answered them, O LORD our God; You were to them God-Who-Forgives, Though You took vengeance on their deeds.
Psalm 99:8

Although this is an Old Testament verse, God-who-forgives is very clearly a title of Christ. Of the 98 times the word “forgive” appears in scripture, only 43 of those are in the Old Testament. Sometimes the Old Testament talks about one person forgiving another, such as in the case of Joseph’s brothers asking him to forgive them (Genesis 50:17). But most often it is used referring to the sin offering and temple sacrifice. In these cases God’s forgiveness seems very conditional: “…So the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him” (Leviticus 4:31).

Of the 55 times that “forgive” occurs in the New Testament, 41 are directly the words of the Savior. Jesus put a tremendous emphasis on forgiving and being forgiven. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).

The Son of God freely forgave those who came to Him. “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you" (Matthew 9:2). Regarding the sinful woman who came in the Pharisee’s house to wash the Lord’s feet, He said concerning her, “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much” (Luke 7:47).

The gospel of Christ Jesus is the message of the God-Who-Forgives. Paul certainly preached it: “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

The Apostle John also preached it: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9), because Jesus is the God-Who-Forgives.

Lord of the Sabbath

Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."
Mark 2:28*

When the Lord’s disciples passed a grain field on the Sabbath day, some of His disciples plucked a few heads of grain and started to eat. Actually, the corners of the fields were left unharvested for this very purpose but that didn’t stop the fault-finders who were watching and waiting for Jesus to make a misstep.

According to the Pharisees, the disciples broke the law, the fourth commandment to be exact, and since these were the Rabbi’s followers, they said He was responsible for their behavior.

Jesus answered their theological argument by citing that even David technically broke the law when he ate the showbread that was meant only for priests to eat. God allowed David’s action in order to meet the greater human need of hunger. He then cited the principle “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). The point was clear; God gave this day of rest so people wouldn’t work themselves to death, not to make hoops for them to jump through.

After winning the debate against these Ph.D.’s of the law, Christ added that He was Lord of the Sabbath. That just added fuel to the fire and they were more determined to bring Him down. This time they planted a man with a withered hand in the synagogue to see if the Master would heal him.

Christ recognized the trap that was set for Him, but he went straight to the invalid and said, “Stretch out your hand” (Mark 3:5). The man was healed, the Pharisees were furious, but the Lord proved He really was the Lord of the Sabbath. His critics couldn’t cure the man if they tried every day for a full year, but Jesus restored the hand as good as the other even though His critics disapproved.

When people blindly follow rules, they feel that they are better than those who don’t. Here, men with academic titles even felt superior to the Lord of the Sabbath.

*also Matthew 12:8 and Luke 6:5

Lord of Sabaoth

Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
James 5:4*

The names of Christ can be a little confusing if one doesn’t expend some effort  to figure it out. For instance, a lot of people think that the title above is just another spelling for “Lord of the Sabbath” which is found three times in the gospels. That is certainly not the case.

Lord of Sabaoth has its root in the Hebrew name for God, "Yahweh Tsebaoth", which was transliterated into the Greek and then into English. An actual translation would be “Lord of Hosts” or “Lord Almighty.” This name emphasizes God’s absolute power over everything in both the physical and spiritual universe.

The verse above comes from a section where the Apostle James addresses rich believers in the church in very unflattering terms. When he reaches the point where he brings up the fact that they are defrauding their workers of their wages, he presents the Lord Jesus as the Lord of Sabaoth. Instead of using a title of Christ that might invoke thoughts of love and mercy, the apostle tries to show how serious the offence is. The Lord of hosts, the Lord Almighty is hearing the cries of the workers; they should consider this and tremble.

The only other reference to Lord of Sabaoth is found in Romans 9:29 where it is quoting Isaiah 1:9. That Old Testament verse reads “Unless the LORD of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah.”

Again the writer is trying to invoke the fear of God into the reader. Sometimes, even blood-bought Christians forget who the Lord Jesus is. He is not only our Savior, Redeemer, and friend; He is the Lord of Sabaoth, the Lord Almighty.

*see also Romans 9:29

  

True Bread from Heaven

Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
John 6:32

Jesus fed 5,000 people one afternoon because the crowd that came out to hear Him was hungry, and being the Creator, He had the power to make bread from thin air. The miracle didn’t go unnoticed and many decided to follow their leader to cash in on the free lunch. However, there was a problem; he was gone the next day and they took hours to find Him on the other side of the lake.

They wanted lunch, but since Jesus was a preacher, they would ask in a way that sounded spiritual: “Moses gave our ancestors bread from heaven in the wilderness for 40 years,” they said, “What can you do?” Some in the group were ready to make Him their King, if, in fact, He could provide them with a food entitlement program. However, by the time they got there, the cafeteria was closed.

Christ began His answer to them by declaring Himself the True Bread from Heaven. This was to distinguish Himself from the false bread from heaven (i.e. the manna that the Israelites ate). It’s doubtful that God made the angels bake sweet bread every morning and then beam it down to the Sinai desert. Like most of God’s miracles, there may have been some natural explanation for it, but what they missed was the true miracle of God’s provision.

The miracle the crowd missed the day before was not baskets of food in a barren place, but the Creator who came down from heaven and stood in front of them, providing for their need. The would-be Jesus groupies were hung up on the all-you-can-eat fish sandwiches they had eaten a day earlier and were clueless to the fact that they had before them the True Bread from Heaven. Jesus tried to direct their attention to the more important spiritual truth, but all they could think about was, “Feed us! Feed us!” That is so sad because they not only walked away hungry, they were also spiritually lost. 

Alive Forevermore

I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Revelation 1:18

I’m not really into computer games, but I do know people who are addicted to them. One particularly dangerous game is Candy Crush. The idea is that as candy appears on the screen, the good stuff is collected with a flick of the thumb without touching poison; that will kill you. But not to worry, you’re given five lives.

Technically, the game is free. The iPad app is free, playing time is free, and additional lives are free. The loophole comes in the fact that, if someone loses his five lives, there is a waiting period of one half an hour before he can get another life. Since lives come five at a time, that means being offline two and one half hours. That seems like an awful long time when a player is almost to the next level, so for just 99 cents automatically billed to the credit card, the gaming addict can continue without the distraction of returning to reality.

One man was billed $236 in one month for all those extra lives, and another man literally ruptured a tendon in his thumb for playing “Crush” non-stop for days at a time. (He needed surgery to regain use of his hand). People will pay a lot to continue to live just a little longer in their own fantasy world, but they always die again and again.

People would pay millions to get another physical life, if that was for sale, but they would still just die again another day.

Jesus lives and was dead. But that’s not the amazing part. He conquered death, drained it of its power, and is Alive Forevermore.

If medical science could stop the aging process and find a cure for every disease that exists, everyone would still die someday. The good news is that true life is not found in our feeble bodies; it’s found in our souls and spirits. Christ came to this world to bring us life in abundance. Eternal life begins now, gets better every day, and lasts forever. Even when the body breaks down and is buried, we, through the Savior, can be alive forevermore.

Horn of Salvation

And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David.
Luke 1:69

The day John the Baptist was born, God gave his father, Zacharias the priest, a special prophesy that not only related to his son being chosen by God to be a “prophet of the highest” (Luke 1:76) but also of the coming Messiah. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the old man proclaimed that God had risen up the Horn of Salvation from the house of David.

The horn of a bull or ox was a well-established symbol of power in the Old Testament (see Deuteronomy 33:17; 1 Samuel 2:10; Psalm 75:10). The bronze altar had horns at its four corners representing God’s strength available in every direction. The false prophet Zedekiah made a set of iron horns to convince King Ahab to attack Ramoth Gilead saying, “Thus says the LORD: 'With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.'" (1 Kings 22:11). Truly the object lesson was impressive, but the message did not come from God, so Ahab was killed in battle just as the true prophet, Micaiah, predicted.

King David twice called the LORD the “Horn of my salvation" (2 Samuel 22:3; Psalm 18:2), because he realized that it was God who gave him his victories and delivered him from his enemies. The Horn of Salvation also refers to God’s mighty power to save a soul from sin and death and hell. Jesus, whose very name means Salvation, was God’s instrument for thrusting through and bringing down the stronghold of Satan.

Salvation seems so easy from the human viewpoint, even a little child can ask for and receive salvation. However, most people aren’t saved, because the enemies of God (the world, the flesh, and the devil) set up obstacles to faith to prevent them from ever being saved. The good news is that there is no force in the universe that can stand up to Jesus Christ when they are gored with the Horn of Salvation.

Stone Cut Out without Hands

You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
Daniel 2:34

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon struck terror in the hearts of his subjects and all those in the neighboring countries around him. His word was law and his laws weren’t always rational. One night the king had a disturbing dream, but by morning he couldn’t remember a thing, so he called all his wise men and magicians. “You guys are supposed to be smart,” Nebu said, “Tell me what my dream was!”

When no one in the national think tank could do what the king commanded, he went into a rage and ordered the execution of all his advisers. A young, Jewish captive, named Daniel, had just started interning for the wise men when he found out that he was also scheduled to die. Concerned about his future, Daniel asked God to fill him in on the dream, so that night, the Lord gave him the same vision as He gave to the king.

Daniel then related to Nebuchadnezzar what he saw in his dream. There was a huge statue made with parts of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay, but an even greater stone cut out without hands fell from heaven and ground down the awesome image into powder.

The king also heard the interpretation of the dream. Babylon was the golden head of the statue, which meant it was the richest and greatest. Lesser kingdoms would follow one after another and each would have less glory than the one it replaced. The young eunuch then explained the pulverizing stone: “Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold [---] the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this" (Daniel 2:45). All the great empires of the world will come to nothing by the power of God.

Egypt once ruled the world. Now, it’s a big sand box. Babylon the Great lies desolate and uninhabited in the desert. Greece is bankrupt, Rome is a tourist trap, and the Soviet Union has ceased to exist. Even the greatness and power of the United Sates is waning in the shadow of the Stone cut out without hands, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Surety of a Better Covenant

By so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
Hebrews 7:22

          “Better” is a key word in understanding the Epistle to the Hebrews. Although the words appear a total of 34 times in ten different New Testament books, it occurs 13 times in 12 verses in Hebrews. Here, Christ is presented as better than the angels and offers us a better hope, better promises, a better sacrifice, and a better resurrection. The Savior is also a surety of a better covenant, whatever that means.

          Let’s start with a better known word, covenant. The idea is an agreement or contract. The Old Testament was a pact between God and the descendants of Israel. In the arrangement, God would provide a land for their inheritance, protect them from their enemies, and bless them with prosperity. The Jewish people, for their part, promised to obey God’s law and worship Him at a designated place. However, in the end, they refused to do their part, so the whole agreement broke down.

          That’s when Christ came offering a better covenant based on better promises. This new deal was for everyone, not just the Jewish people. It allowed God to unilaterally take care of the sin problem by transforming the sinner into a child of God with changed actions and attitudes. All people had to do was believe that Christ conquered sin by dying on the cross. They needed to sign the contract by agreeing with God that what He said was true.

Now comes the part that few people understand. Jesus is the Surety of a Better Covenant. He’s the guarantee that the deal is going to go through. He’s the signing bonus, the proof that everything in the rest of the contract (i.e. eternal life, home in heaven, spiritual blessing, etc.) will be honored. The Savior already died on the cross for mankind’s sin; that was the hard part; all the rest is easy by comparison. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). Christ is faithful and true because He is the Surety of a Better Covenant.

Stone which the Builders Rejected

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
Psalm 118:22*

Builders are professionals who make their living putting houses and other structures together, so they are confident in their abilities and know-how. Once a contractor has built over one hundred homes, an architect’s blueprint can tend to be treated more like a guideline rather than a rigid plan of action. Some new innovation or out of the ordinary design might be overlooked or even rejected outright.

When Christ began His public ministry, the religious establishment of His day was well entrenched. They built the spiritual temple of God in the minds and lives of the Jewish people by using their own tradition and interpretations for mortar. The Lord Jesus challenged the status quo, and those in charge felt threatened. The rabbi from Nazareth was first ignored and then criticized; they debated and than threatened Him. When that didn’t make Him go away, they conspired to murder Him by falsely accusing Him of a capital crime. However, even after His death, He didn’t go away. Christ rose from the grave and became the Stone which the Builders Rejected.

This was certainly part of God’s plan all along to build a new spiritual temple made up of both Jews and Gentiles that are bonded together with the cement of grace and truth. Those religious master builders rejected and cast aside the most important piece of God’s design for the salvation of Adam’s race.

Among my collection of science toys is a set of 25 hardwood blocks that demonstrate the principle of the Roman arch. When properly assembled, it makes a bridge that can hold the weight of a 200 lb. man. There are six different shapes in the model, but only one stands out as unique from the rest: the keystone, which is shaped like a “home plate” in baseball. When the piece is put in its proper place, it becomes an architectural marvel. When taken away, everything falls apart, because it becomes the Stone which the Builders Rejected.

*see also Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7

Stronghold

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.*

Psalm 18:2

          King David was a man of war, so at times entire armies were out to get him, but he felt safety and security in the LORD. The many titles above showcase the defensive nature of God to protect and comfort His people. The shepherd-king felt strong, even invincible, knowing the Lord was his stronghold. 

          During the middle ages strongholds actually became an offensive weapon with the development of castles. If a nation wished to invade another, they would often build a fortress deep into enemy territory at some strategic crossroad or elevated checkpoint. Since fewer soldiers were needed to defend a stronghold than to attack it, the invaders could build two or three new castles while the enemy was busy with men and material besieging the first. Little by little a nation would be overrun.

          Satan builds strongholds of sin in the minds of men and women. Even Christians feel the effect of this evil influence that only becomes stronger the longer it is permitted to remain. The devil has many blueprints of internal fortresses of influence, just to mention a few: fear, anxiety, sexual impurity, addictions, bitterness, and deceit.

          Only Christ has  power enough to demolish them. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). Believers are given arms and armor to engage in spiritual warfare such as the word of God, faith, the gospel, truth, prayer, and assurance of Salvation. But more importantly than anything else, Christians must feel the comfort and security of their own strong tower.

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the believer’s fortress and rock in time of trouble. Church and Christian fellowship are certainly helpful but it’s only the Savior that will make the devil flee (James 4:7). The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.” (Nahum 1:7).

* Used 37 times in scriptures to refer to a fort and six times with spiritual significance.

Firstfruits

But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:20

          I really enjoy growing a garden and I’m not really sure even why. Most years, my actual harvest is miserable and the other years I get nothing at all. I’ve had my garden trampled down by boys playing hide-and-go-seek at night and normal 110 degree Kansas summers are very hard on vegetables. When I do get a tomato plant to flower and produce fruit, I do everything I can to see that it reaches maturity. I go out every day and watch the tiny ball slowly getting bigger, then finally turn pink. I know that soon and very soon, I’ll be able to pick and eat that very first tomato. I don’t even like tomatoes that much, but a harvest of satisfaction is more than the sum of my work, time, and anticipation. It is the thrill of watching life begin, grow and become fruitful.

          Over the years, I’ve been able to strike terror in the hearts of my sons, so they know that the very first red tomato is Papa’s. They can have any and all of the rest, but that first fruit is mine.

          When God brought the children of Israel into the Promised Land, He made it very clear to them that the Land was His. They could use and enjoy it, but they were to bring Him an offering of the firstfruits every year. God gave them the land, the rain, and the increase, so the first part of every harvest was God’s.

          It was an act of faith to give God the firstfruits because once given, there was no guarantee that the rest of the crop would be harvested. A hail storm or plague of locusts could destroy all the rest. However, obedience was the best guarantee of God’s blessing and to not give God His portion was stealing from the Almighty.

          Jesus is the Firstfruits of those who would be resurrected from the dead. Christ is dedicated to God and serves as a harbinger (promise of good things to come) for believers who are awaiting the resurrection from the dead and eternal life.

Lord of All

The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ --- He is Lord of all---
Acts 10:36

          “All” is such a little word, but it sure includes a lot of stuff. It has just three letters, one vowel, and one consonant, yet it contains everything out there (rocks, trees, butterflies, and bees; planets, people, pumpkins and peanuts; sun, moon, stars, and galaxies; matter, energy, ideas, and the vacuum of space). Come to think about it, “all” is actually a very big word and Jesus Christ is Lord of All.

          “Lord” is the chief, leader, president, king, emperor, potentate, jefe, head honcho, and person in charge. So if the Son of God is Lord of All, He’s over everywhere, everything, and everybody.

          Now that we know what the phrase means, we can analyze the verse above. The context reveals that this was part of a message given by the Apostle Peter in the house of a centurion named Cornelius. At that time, Jewish people and Gentiles didn’t mingle and accepting the other’s dinner invitation was unheard of. So Peter had to explain what was happening. Since Jesus is Lord of All, He’s not the God of the Jews only, but of everyone in the whole world. That meant that the apostle felt compelled to leave his comfort zone and share the Savior cross-culturally.

          Christ is not just the Redeemer of white, middle-class Americans, He came to seek and to save the lost no matter where they live. Arabs, Bedouins, China-men, Dutchmen, and Eskimos all need to know the good news of sins forgiven and eternal life through faith in Jesus. That’s hard because it is sooooo politically incorrect to share Christianity with the obviously non-Christian.

          We live at a time when Radical Islam makes no apologies for trying to convert everyone to their religion through murder and intimidation. I, therefore, shouldn’t feel guilty or amiss for wanting to win the world with the love of Christ who is Lord of All. 

King of the Saints

They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!
Revelation 15:3

          Since Jesus is the blessed and only Potentate, King of kings, and Lord of lords, He rules over many diverse people and nations. He’s the King of Israel, King of Righteousness, King of Peace, and King over all the Earth. But there is one distinction that really gets me excited. Christ the Lord is King of the Saints; He’s going to be my monarch!

          When Christ was on earth, enemy soldiers gave Him a crown of thorns, mocked Him for being a king, and then spit on His face. Since then, He was caught up to glory and believers  through the centuries have also suffered abuse as they waited for the return of the King of the Saints.

          Ten terrible Roman persecutions fell on the faithful; some were crucified, some burned alive, and some fed to wild beasts. Still, they waited for their Lord’s return. The rise of Mohammed in the seventh century brought Jihad, beheadings, and slavery to Christians who longed for their coming King. Then the crusades, inquisition, and the rise of Communism brought more torture, imprisonment, and death for the saints. Still, they waited for their sovereign to come and bring peace.

          The signs of the Lord’s soon return are becoming more evident every day. Terrorism clearly demonstrates “wars and rumors of war” that fill every corner of the planet. Talk of a new world order as well as one global community and government prepares the way for the Anti-Christ and his minions.

          The good news is that this may be the last persecution. If the blood-bought disciples of Christ can overcome one more reign of terror, then it’s over. Jesus is coming and those who served and suffered for the Lord will reign with Him. Hallelujah!

          Even so come, O King of the Saints.

Lord God Almighty

They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: " Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!
Revelation 15:3*

Immediately after the miracle at the Red Sea, Moses and the children of Israel burst into song: “Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: " I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!” (Exodus 15:1). The singing goes on for 18 verses, so it’s unclear if they had a songwriter, if people made up verses as they went along, or if God directed the choir.

A similar songfest is scheduled in the not so distant future just as the Great Tribulation is coming to an end. All the emotion, thrill of triumph, and pride of victory that was heard in the song of Moses will be repeated here in the song of the Lamb. All those who endured and overcame the terrible persecutions of the Anti-Christ will be gathered on the glass sea before the throne of God to celebrate. Looking on at the praise service will be the seven judgment angels with the last bowls of wrath that will be poured out on earth.

The Lamb of God is being honored and worshiped as the glorified saints cry out “Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty!” Once again, the divine nature of the King of Saints is shouted out for all to hear.

This song of the Lamb inaugurates the beginning of the end. In the chapters that follow, all seven bowls of judgment reduce the world’s population to a small fraction. Babylon the Great falls and He who is called Faithful and True descends to Earth with the host of heaven to establish His kingdom.

That will be glorious. Hail King Jesus, King of kings, Lord of lords, and Lord God Almighty.

Lord and Savior

but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
2 Peter 3:18*

In studying the combined titles of Christ, word order is very important. Lord and Savior occurs four times in the New Testament and interestingly enough, all are found in 2 Peter. In the Old Testament, three times it says, “I, the LORD am your Savior” (Isaiah 43:3, 49:26, 60:16). Although exact wording varies slightly, there is an additional two times that says “I am the LORD, besides me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11;Hosea 13:4).

          It’s worth noting that the reverse order is not used even once, although the phrase is popular in personal evangelism. Frequently people are heard to say, “Just invite Jesus into your heart as Savior and Lord.” Although it might not be done consciously, the subliminal message that is communicated here is that Jesus is sought after as Savior and then somewhere down the line He may or may not become Lord. It can be argued that those who put the term Savior before Lord are not really shifting the spiritual emphasis. However, the part that is undeniable is that many sinners are eager to make Jesus their Savior (they don’t want to go to hell) without any intention of making Him their Lord.

          In one sense there is no chronological order to this title, because Jesus is both Lord and Savior at the same time, Christ instantly and automatically becomes the Savior of everyone who owns Him as Lord.

          As the Lord of lords, the Savior has power over sin and death and hell, so He can and will save every sinner that comes to Him. As Savior who came to suffer and die as a substitute for sinners, true faith demands that He is loved, cherished, and obeyed as Lord.

          That is why the two titles are actually one and Jesus is Lord and Savior.

*see also 2 Peter 1:11, 2:20, 3:2

True God

…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

          The Lord Jesus is the True God which is something that true believers already know. However, to even need a title like this concludes the existence of fake gods that would deceive people allowing them to usurp the position of the True God.

          In modern society it’s anathema (an evil) to suggest that someone else’s religion is really a lie. For many, it is preferable to allow someone to go to hell unchallenged, than to risk the chance of them becoming offended.

          Recently, a kindergarten student was sent home from class because he was having an asthma attack. Unfortunately, he died in the hospital a few hours later. Before school the next day, the principal called a teachers meeting to discuss talking points concerning discussing the child’s death with students. If a teacher was to be asked, “Is he in heaven now?” or other religious questions, teachers were instructed to say “something non-denominational” such as, “Everyone has different ideas and beliefs about what happens when we die. We don’t really know what 'Johnny' (not his real name) and his family believe, but he was a good person.”

          How sad! At a very teachable moment, Christian teachers are forbidden to discuss anything about heaven and faith with students. With many years of experience in public education, I’ve seen repeatedly that it’s only the Christian teachers that follow the rules and do what they are told to do. Many atheist and agnostic teachers do what they jolly well please and don’t follow guidelines that they don’t like. It is rules like these that try to discourage any discussion of the True God. The lie that anything anyone could ever choose to believe is valid has become the official doctrine of modern society. To believe that only the Lord Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life cannot be allowed or tolerated by the establishment, even if He is the True God. 

Resurrection and the Life

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
John 11:25

          Words reveal the soul of a culture or civilization. The more words that you have to describe things, the deeper and more complex a society can be. Both English and ancient Greek has tens of thousands of basic non-technical words, while the language of the jungle Quichua tribe has less than one thousand. Even so, in all of these languages there is a word for “resurrection”. It would seem that rising from the dead is basic to all human understanding. 

          Ancient Egyptians not only had this concept, they had a god of death, the afterlife, and resurrection (Osiris). Many people recognize Baal as a renowned Canaanite god, but don’t realize that he also was a god of dying and rising again. Greek mythology describes the resurrections of Achilles, Castor, and Hercules and both Eastern and animistic religions have resurrection stories.

          This is all made more interesting by the fact that none of these people groups have ever really experienced a real return from death. Jesus Christ is the one and only Resurrection and the life, so apart from Him, everything else is myth or wishful thinking.

          Human beings have a spirit; animals don’t. Hardwired into that spiritual consciousness is the desire for eternal life and resurrection from the dead. Apart from the Savior there is no hope or possibility to defeat death, even though billionaires today are investing their fortunes trying to do just that.

Simple faith in the only One who died and rose again can guarantee a believer's victory over sin and death because Christ promised: “And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:26).

          Jesus is alive and well and living within every true believer. The Apostle Paul wanted the reality of the resurrected Christ to affect everything he said and did. His credo was “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). To know the Lord Jesus is to know the Resurrection and the Life. 

Stone of Stumbling

He will be as a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Isaiah 8:14

          Wichita, Kansas was a wild west town that was settled in the area just north of where the Big and Little Arkansas rivers come together. Like most of Kansas this area is flat and since it lies between two rivers, the sandy ground is about 40 ft. deep on top of the bedrock. This was great for a pioneer settlement because it meant that the water table wasn’t deep and wells could be easily dug in the soft soil.

          The section of the city with these cowboy roots is called Old Town and we own a house there that is now 110 years old. It’s not on any historical register, but it is certainly on the city inspector’s radar for old buildings he wants to keep his eye on. On one such inspection every house on the block got a notice to repair their sidewalks. Shifting sands under the surface had made them buckle and the city declared them dangerous. They were stones of stumbling and the powers in charge told us to remove them.

          The Lord Jesus is and always has been a stumbling block to those who reject Him. They find Him offensive, distasteful, politically incorrect, and intolerable. They want Him gone from their sight and their hearing. They’ll use legal action if necessary to remove this nuisance.

          Churches and individual Christians are being sued in record numbers because enemies of the cross of Christ find it profitable to bring those who would desire to live godly to financial ruin. They want anything promoting the Savior removed from the public square. They won’t walk around it, they want Him totally out of sight, because Christ Jesus is their Stone of Stumbling.

*see also Romans 9:32,33; 1 Peter 2:8

Morning Star

And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
2 Peter 1:19

The lights of the big cities make even basic astronomy difficult to observe. For that reason, modern man knows less about the night sky than the average person did a century ago. One thing, however, is still readily visible even for the least experienced observer – the morning star.

Although three celestial bodies will share the title at different times during the year, a morning star is the last star to be still seen shining as the sun begins to rise. The brightest star in the heavens is Sirius, found in the constellation Canis Major, but in July and August it’s hailed as the morning star. The planets Venus and Mercury also compete for the title at other times during the year.

The Lord Jesus shines in the hearts of believers and that light has gone into very dark places. Its brilliance can be seen through depression and despair. Even during divorce or the loss of a loved one, the Savior can be seen. When other points of reference seem to disappear, our Morning Star still shines in His full glory.

Who is this, who comes to meet me,

                   On the desert way,

As the Morning Star foretelling

God’s unclouded day?

He it is who came to win me,

                   On the cross of shame;

In His glory well I know Him,

                   Evermore the same.

Gerhard Tersteegen 1697

*see also Revelation 2:28 and 22:16

Foolishness

But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,

1 Corinthians 1:23

          Have you ever noticed that many people don’t respond well to the gospel of Christ Jesus? The Apostle Paul observed “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). In other words, its folly, nonsense, insanity, irrational, idiocy, foolhardiness, silliness, indiscretion, imprudence, and dumpidity! – That’s OK, they’re allowed to think about Christ that way, but they are wrong.

          The ancient Greeks were renowned for their philosophy and intellectual debate. Even Paul was invited to speak at the prestigious Areopagus when the Stoics and Epicureans got wind that he espoused a new religion (Acts 12). People who don’t know the one, true God are usually on the lookout for new and improved gods. The apostle’s dissertation was going well until he got to the part about Christ’s resurrection from the dead. At this point some members of the intelligentsia started to mock him and others got up and left. They were too sophisticated to entertain thoughts that were illogical or supernatural. They deemed it foolishness.

God must just “roll His eyes” when He sees men and women who think that they are smarter than He is. “For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.’ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:19-22).

An awful lot of very smart people in this world believe that the only way to know anything in this world is through empirical research, deductive reasoning, or diagnostic analysis. Problem is, no one will find Christ or eternal life that way. The Savior is only experienced through faith, so He is considered as Foolishness to the academic elite. That’s too bad, because they will feel very foolish themselves at the Great White Throne of God.