Today's scripture: John 12:12-19
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, a large crowd who had heard of the miracle of
Lazarus greeted Him with shouts of praise. "Hosanna! Blessed is He who
comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel."
The chief priests and Pharisees didn't acknowledge Jesus as Messiah or King.
No, instead it was the common man. Matthew Henry, one of my favorite
commentators, wrote:
They
were not the rulers, nor the great men, that went out to meet Christ, but the
commonalty; some would have called them a mob, a rabble: but Christ has chosen
the weak and foolish things (1Corinthians 1:27), and is honoured more by the multitude than by the
magnificence of his followers; for he values men by their souls, not their
names and titles of honour ... [The words they shouted are] quoted from Psalm118:25-26.
See how well acquainted these common people were with the scripture, and how
pertinently they apply it to the Messiah. High thoughts of Christ will be best
expressed in scripture-words. Now in their acclamations, They acknowledge our
Lord Jesus to be the king of Israel, that comes in the name of the Lord.
These common people had either seen and heard Jesus themselves or had heard of
Him through others. In both cases, they believed in Him. They knew prophecy,
and they believed Jesus was the promised Messiah, and they greeted Him appropriately.
We know Jesus was the Messiah promised to God's people. We know He is the
"Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). We
know He is the "way, the truth, and the life" and the only way of
salvation (John 14:6).
So we too should praise Him. In fact, we can greet Him each morning with
"Hosanna! Blessed are You, Lord Jesus!"
Today's scripture: John 7:40-53
The most critical decision a person can make is answering the question,
"Who is Jesus?"
Some people say He never existed, that He was just a myth. This just isn't
true. The Bible is one piece of evidence that Jesus did exist, and its historical
veracity has been proven. Secular historians, such as Josephus, also wrote of
Jesus as having lived. No one who does his homework can say Jesus didn't walk
this earth 2000 years ago.
Others say He was just a good man and teacher. And while He did exist, the stories
of His miracles are overblown. He never claimed to be God. He was merely a good
motivational speaker. Again, however, because the New Testament books were
written within just decades of Jesus' death and resurrection, many would have
been able to debunk those books if they weren't true. But nothing has been
written that says, "No, despite what those Christ-followers say, Jesus
didn't raise anyone from the dead. I was there."
In addition, according to tradition, the "inner circle"—Peter, James,
Thomas, et al—died martyrs' deaths as they proclaimed Jesus as God. Even John spent his final days in lonely exile writing the revelation of Jesus'
one-day triumphant return.
Finally, Jesus Himself said, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30).
Never did He claim to be just a prophet or just a teacher. He was God Himself.
And only He is the way to salvation (John 14:6). One of my favorite quotes about this comes from C.S. Lewis:
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the
really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus
as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the
one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of
things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a
lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he
would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and
is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up
for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his
feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing
nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to
us. He did not intend to.
The only conclusion one can come to is that Jesus is exactly who He says He is:
He is the Son of God who came to earth to provide salvation for anyone who
chooses to follow Him.
Not just a teacher. Not just a prophet. Not just a good man.
He was—He is—the Messiah. He is God Himself.
Today's scripture: John 1:29-34
"Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!"
I spent the weekend in the Oakland area of California. I presented at a
conference on Saturday, and then I drove about 20 miles to have dinner and
spend the night at my dad's. As I drove, I meandered through farm country and
passed by several sheep ranches. I was disappointed that there weren't any
fluffy little lambs bounding about.
Lambs are so cute, but when Christ is described as the "Lamb of God,"
the metaphor is anything but a cute fluffy lamb. According to a commentary by
Albert Barnes:
A 'lamb,' among the Jews, was killed and eaten at the Passover to commemorate
their deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 12:3-11). A
lamb was offered in the tabernacle, and afterward in the temple, every morning
and evening, as a part of the daily worship (Exodus29:38-39). The Messiah was predicted as a lamb led to the slaughter, to
show his patience in his sufferings, and readiness to die for man (Isaiah 53:7). A lamb, among the Jews, was also an emblem
of patience, meekness, gentleness. On 'all' these accounts, rather than on any
one of them alone, Jesus was called 'the Lamb.' He was innocent (1 Peter 2:23-25);
he was a sacrifice for sin the substance represented by the daily offering of
the lamb, and slain at the usual time of the evening sacrifice (Luke 23:44-46);
and he was what was represented by the Passover, turning away the anger of God,
and saving sinners by his blood from vengeance and eternal death (1 Corinthians 5:7). (Barnes' Notes on the Whole
Bible)
Our Savior, our Messiah, came to earth to shed His bled for us, to cover our
sin. He, the perfect, sinless Lamb, chose to suffer and die ... for us.
He is indeed the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."
Your sin. My sin.
How can we be anything but grateful? How can we do anything but surrender
everything to Him?
