"He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs." ( Hebrews 1:3-4 )
Recently after I hung up from a call with my oldest man child, I was left pondering over the words I used to respond to some biblical questions we were mulling over in our conversation. And a truth began to set in that I hadn't thought of before:
My Bible teachers rarely use the name "Jesus."
Let me explain:
It started with Sinclair Ferguson's "Things Unseen" podcast - I've recommended Dr. Ferguson's five minute morning devotional before in my blog and still emphatically do! Let me tell you that Dr. Ferguson can pack some enormous amounts of biblical wisdom into those brief five minute lessons. I usually end up listening to them over and over.
But this seasoned, beloved Scottish pastor and theologian, almost always uses the words, "the Lord Jesus" when referring to Jesus.
It dawned on me that all of them are that way. I don't know why I didn't see this before. It's never just "Jesus," but it's "the Lord Jesus Christ" or "Christ," or "Christ Jesus," "Lord," or "Lord Christ." And furthermore, on the phone, I had caught myself doing it with Johnny. I kept saying, "in Christ" when identifying myself. I couldn't remember ever doing that before.
The first thing to note is that it appears, whether we realize it or not, we are indeed influenced deeply by what we surround ourselves with. It shouldn't surprise me. After all, we've been told this since we were young children.
Then I became curious as to what the writers of the New Testament called Jesus. I had never stopped to think about this as I read through the books of the Bible. I'm sure that this information is a quick Google search, but I had a desire to see it for myself. So I conducted my own word investigation.
We must examine the Scriptures to see if our experience matches the Bible. I was very sure it would because these teachers had earned my trust beforehand, but still, we must be like the noble Bereans in Acts 17 who checked out what the Apostle Paul was teaching them to see if it indeed measured up to the Word of God.
Never bend the Bible to match your experience; that's dangerous and how false teachings get started. Many a false doctrine and religion as well as cults began when someone had a vision or a visitation outside of the closed, canonical Word of God.
In the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we see Jesus mostly called "Jesus" or "Jesus of Nazareth" because in Bible days people were often associated with where they grew up or currently lived.
In the opening lines of the Book of John, the disciple and apostle calls Jesus "the Word" three times, which could be pointing to the Trinity. He then calls him "the true light." Continuing in the first chapter, John the Baptist sees Jesus coming toward him and says, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
But what I was concentrating on was how they addressed him.
I know this might get confusing, and rightfully so, because to pin point the name of Jesus is an impossible task for his name is infinite because he is the infinite One, and his name is who He is in all of his infinite glory. This assignment is bigger than me, for sure, but this is what I am getting at:
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record Jesus asking his disciples, "Who do you say I am?" after he asks them who do people say that I am to which they reply that people say Jesus is John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
"But who do you say that I am?"
Peter responds in all three gospel accounts: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." ( Matthew 16 ) "You are the Christ." ( Mark 8 ) "The Christ of God." ( Luke 9 ) "Christ" is the Greek word "Christos" meaning "Anointed One." It is the equivalent of the Hebrew word "Messiah."
And Jesus tells Peter that God has revealed that truth to him.
In my own personal research from Romans to Revelation, it wasn't until I got to the book of 1 Thessalonians that I found the name "Jesus" used by itself without Christ or Lord attached to it, and it was apparent in context why Paul used it in this way.
Have you ever wondered why God wouldn't let Moses lead the Israelites into the Promised Land? I have. I mean, he just committed one, seemingly little sin, and God refused to budge and let him take the people all the way into the land "flowing with milk and honey" after all that he had already done! The baby years, the burning bush, miracles in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the manna and quail, the wilderness years.
Moses is so epic. He was such a devout, patient leader of the often rebellious people, from the amazing birth story when his brave mother constructed a little ark to save his life, then rescued by Pharaoh's daughter as she discovered him floating in the Nile, the meeting with God on Mount Sinai as God spoke with him and gave him the Ten Commandments "inscribed by the finger of God" on the stone tablets.
And that last fact is why.
Moses, as grand as his story may be, was the lawgiver.
And the law can only take us so far. It is God's standard - it's what he requires and requires to be kept perfectly, which no one can do. One sin has the power to destroy us. Moses's sin against God reveals sin's power. ( Romans 3, Psalm 14, Psalm 53 )
Think about this: The human condition of being born sinners, ending in death, spiritually and physically, came into God's perfect creation because of just one sin committed by our first parents. One sin separated all of mankind from God. Ponder this. That demonstrates the power of sin, and more importantly, the holiness of God.
No matter how grand we think we are, we are all born sinners and without hope. Since the law is the standard that must be kept perfectly, and there's no way we can achieve this, it was impossible for Moses to take the people into the Promised Land.
So, who did?
Joshua.
Remember him? Marching the children of Israel around Jericho seven times and blowing trumpets before the walls fell down? Joshua stepped into Moses's shoes after he died. Joshua or Yehoshua means "God is deliverance" or "Yahweh is salvation."
Joshua and Jesus are the same name in different languages.
Joshua the leader of the Israelites was a type and shadow of the Joshua to come. Our Redeemer. Jesus was fully God and fully man. Our only hope. One of us, but also God, the second person of the God Head, and the only One worthy enough to sacrifice himself for the sins of his people and ransom their lives out of slavery.
Only Jesus Christ the Son of the living God can lead his sheep into heaven. He is the only Way. This story isn't just beautiful; it's true.
"Jesus" was a common name in biblical days, and Jesus took that common name as one of his people. But what isn't so common is that he was also given the name that is above every name: "Jesus Christ" ( the anointed One, Messiah, Savior, Lord ) after he was crucified for the sins of the world and raised from the dead to new life!
So now, along with Peter, and all of our brothers and sisters, we can say, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
And on that rock, our Lord Jesus Christ is building his church. ( Matthew 16:18 )
💜
Happy Thanksgiving!
To be continued.
No comments:
Post a Comment