The Bible explains that Jesus Christ is not only the mediator between God the Father and mankind (Med. 7-8), but also God’s promised Messiah.
The Hebrew word ‘messiah’ means ‘anointed one’.
In Old Testament times, Israel’s kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil as a sign that they were chosen by God to be his special servants.
They were all forerunners and ‘prophetic illustrations’ of God’s promised ‘ultimate Messiah’.
Israel’s prophets foresaw the coming of this messianic Servant of God who would not be anointed with oil but with God’s own holy Spirit!
During Jesus’ first public appearance in the synagogue (i.e. a Jewish place of worship), he read the following passage from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah who had lived ca. 700 years before: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.” (Luke 4, verses 18-19).
Then Luke continues his report of this historic event by saying “He (Jesus) rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue stared at him intently. Then he said, "This Scripture has come true today before your very eyes!” (Luke 4,20-21).
In other words, Jesus acknowledged there and then that he was God’s promised ultimate Messiah, anointed with God’s Spirit!
The prophet Isaiah had prophesied elsewhere about him with the following words: “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. He will delight in obeying the LORD.” (Isaiah 11,2-3)
As the New Testament was originally written in Greek, it translated the word ‘Messiah’ with the Greek term ‘Christos’, which we change into our English word ‘Christ’.
Andreas, one of the followers of John the Baptist, told his brother Simon Peter: “We have found the Messiah! (which is translated, the Christ).” (John 1, verse 41).
So ‘Christ’ is not Jesus' surname, but his title.
If we want to understand why Andreas was so excited about his discovery concerning Jesus, we need to know what the comprehensive mission of God’s ultimate and Spirit-anointed Messiah would be. Well, that will be our next theme.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
8. JESUS CHRIST: THE ONLY MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MAN (b)
Last time we saw that the Bible clearly states that Jesus Christ is the only mediator who is able to represent God to men and men to God. Indeed, he is capable to do so in a very special way because he himself is the Son of God and the Son of Man (Med. 2-4).
As the Son of God, he showed us during his life on earth what God the Father ‘looks like’. He said: “When you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me.” (John 12,45).
The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in the Greek city of Colosse:“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.” and “God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ.” (Colossians 1,15 and 19)
As the Son of Man, and because of his sacrificial death for us (Med.5), he is now able to represent us in heaven before God’s judgement seat.
In Hebrews 9,24 we read that “Christ has ... entered ... into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”
The apostle John reassures us by saying: “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.” (1 John 2,1).
And in Hebrews 7, verse 25 we are comforted with the following words: “He is ... able to save to the uttermost those who come to God (the Father) through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
Finally, the apostle Paul encourages us by saying: “ What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us.” (Romans 8,31-34)
It is a wonderful thing to know that we have ‘our man’ in heaven who speaks up for us before God’s throne, as the apostle Paul says: “There is ... one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” ( 1 Timothy 2,5)
As the Son of God, he showed us during his life on earth what God the Father ‘looks like’. He said: “When you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me.” (John 12,45).
The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in the Greek city of Colosse:“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.” and “God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ.” (Colossians 1,15 and 19)
As the Son of Man, and because of his sacrificial death for us (Med.5), he is now able to represent us in heaven before God’s judgement seat.
In Hebrews 9,24 we read that “Christ has ... entered ... into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”
The apostle John reassures us by saying: “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.” (1 John 2,1).
And in Hebrews 7, verse 25 we are comforted with the following words: “He is ... able to save to the uttermost those who come to God (the Father) through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
Finally, the apostle Paul encourages us by saying: “ What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us.” (Romans 8,31-34)
It is a wonderful thing to know that we have ‘our man’ in heaven who speaks up for us before God’s throne, as the apostle Paul says: “There is ... one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” ( 1 Timothy 2,5)
Friday, February 12, 2010
7. JESUS CHRIST: THE ONLY MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MAN (a)
The Bible clearly states that Jesus Christ, being Son of God and Son of Man (Med. 2-4), is the only mediator between God the Father and mankind.
Jesus himself said, whilst on earth: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14,6)
Some time after Jesus’ enthronement in heaven (Med. 6), the apostles Peter and John were brought before the highest Jewish Council in Jerusalem. It was the same Council that had condemned Jesus to death only a few weeks before. There Peter testified to the pre-eminent position God the Father had given to his Son after his resurrection and heavenly enthronement: “Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name (i.e. Jesus Christ) under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4,12)
About the year A.D. 64, the apostle Paul wrote a letter to his co-worker Timothy, probably during his stay in Macedonia. In this pastoral letter Paul reminds Timothy that “there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.” (1 Timothy 2,5)
One of the practical consequences of Jesus Christ’ enthronement in heaven, after his sacrificial death and glorious resurrection, is that he has opened the way for us to meet God the Father personally. The apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesian Christians: “Through him (i.e. Jesus Christ) we ... have access to the Father ...” (Ephesians 2,18)
Jesus himself said, whilst on earth: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14,6)
Some time after Jesus’ enthronement in heaven (Med. 6), the apostles Peter and John were brought before the highest Jewish Council in Jerusalem. It was the same Council that had condemned Jesus to death only a few weeks before. There Peter testified to the pre-eminent position God the Father had given to his Son after his resurrection and heavenly enthronement: “Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name (i.e. Jesus Christ) under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4,12)
About the year A.D. 64, the apostle Paul wrote a letter to his co-worker Timothy, probably during his stay in Macedonia. In this pastoral letter Paul reminds Timothy that “there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.” (1 Timothy 2,5)
One of the practical consequences of Jesus Christ’ enthronement in heaven, after his sacrificial death and glorious resurrection, is that he has opened the way for us to meet God the Father personally. The apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesian Christians: “Through him (i.e. Jesus Christ) we ... have access to the Father ...” (Ephesians 2,18)
Friday, February 5, 2010
6. JESUS CHRIST: HIS RESURRECTION AND ENTHRONEMENT IN HEAVEN
From beginning to end, the Bible speaks about Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead! The prophet Isaiah had already foreseen this ca. 700 years before it actually happened: “... when his life is made an offering for sin, ... He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD's plan will prosper in his hands.” (Isaiah 53,10)
Not long before he dies, Jesus himself speaks about his upcoming resurrection: “When we get to Jerusalem," he said, "the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, whipped, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” (Matthew 20,18-19)
In his 'Pentecost message' the apostle Peter proclaims what happened to Jesus Christ after his agonising death: “God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life again, for death could not keep him in its grip.” (Acts 2,24)
And what happened to him after his astonishing resurrection? Like many authors of the Bible, the apostle Paul exults this moment in his letter to the Ephesian Christians: “(God the Father) raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come. And God has put all things under the authority of Christ...” (Ephesians 1,20-22).
In his letter to the Christians in Philippi, the apostle Paul wrote about Christ’s humble incarnation and sacrificial death (Philippians 2:6-8. See also Med. 4 & 5).
He continues by telling us how God the Father gloriously rewarded his Son’s obedience: “Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2,9-11).
So what are the practical consequences of Jesus Christ’s glorious resurrection and majestic enthronement in heaven? Let's look into this theme in the coming weeks.
All Bible verses are quoted from the ‘New Living Translation’.
Not long before he dies, Jesus himself speaks about his upcoming resurrection: “When we get to Jerusalem," he said, "the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, whipped, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” (Matthew 20,18-19)
In his 'Pentecost message' the apostle Peter proclaims what happened to Jesus Christ after his agonising death: “God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life again, for death could not keep him in its grip.” (Acts 2,24)
And what happened to him after his astonishing resurrection? Like many authors of the Bible, the apostle Paul exults this moment in his letter to the Ephesian Christians: “(God the Father) raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come. And God has put all things under the authority of Christ...” (Ephesians 1,20-22).
In his letter to the Christians in Philippi, the apostle Paul wrote about Christ’s humble incarnation and sacrificial death (Philippians 2:6-8. See also Med. 4 & 5).
He continues by telling us how God the Father gloriously rewarded his Son’s obedience: “Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2,9-11).
So what are the practical consequences of Jesus Christ’s glorious resurrection and majestic enthronement in heaven? Let's look into this theme in the coming weeks.
All Bible verses are quoted from the ‘New Living Translation’.
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