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Month: April 2012

Suffering Servant or Conquering King

Posted on by Bob Christopher

Jesus wasn’t the Messiah the Jewish leadership was looking for. Nothing about Him met their vision of the one who was to be their king.

  • He was born in a cave with a manger for His bed.
  • He grew up in Nazareth, and can anything good come from there.
  • He was the son of a carpenter.
  • During His earthly ministry, He didn’t have a place to lay His head.
  • On the day all Jewish eyes were on Him, He rode into town on a borrowed donkey.
  • He was crucified on a cross as a common criminal.

This is hardly the picture of a conquering king. Suffering servant seems to be the most likely description for Jesus. Then you read His words: “Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” Luke 24:26
Jesus suffered in His body, as Peter wrote. He suffered death.
The way of suffering was actually His path to victory for you and me. Consider these verses.

  • Hebrews 2:14-15  Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death–that is, the devil– and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
  • Romans 6:6  For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin–
  • 1 Corinthians 1:18  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.

Yes, Jesus was the suffering servant. His love for us marched Him to the cross where He served us to the fullest extent. In His suffering, however, He conquered Satan, sin and death, ending their rule and reign in our lives. This makes Him a conquering king.
The day you believed, your conquering King made His triumphal entry into your heart, where He rules and reigns today.

The Real Enemy

Posted on by Bob Christopher

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” from The Art of War
Why was the Jewish leadership during the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry so troubled by Him? Why did they reject Him as their Messiah?
His claims were clear. His miracles provided sufficient evidence that He was indeed the Messiah. But neither of these convinced the Jewish leadership. To them, Jesus was an imposter. He was not fulfilling their job description for Messiah. He had to go.
What was their problem? They did not know the enemy.
Their Messiah was to sweep in, knock Caesar off his throne, defeat the evil Roman Empire and establish Israel as the pre-eminent nation in the world. But Rome was not the enemy. Their enemy, a trio of adversaries to be exact, was far more sinister and cunning. Satan, sin and death comprised this axis of evil and it was them that Jesus came to defeat.
The Jewish leadership of Jesus’ day missed this critical truth. They missed it because they did not know themselves. They were blind to their lost condition, the fact they were dead in sin like everyone else in the world.
They needed a savior and redeemer. They needed a deliverer. They needed a king who knew the enemy and could defeat him at every turn. They needed Jesus. As to the art of war, none can compare to Him. In one crushing blow He defeated Satan, sin and death.

  • As for Satan and his band of demons, Jesus “disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:15 (NIV)
  • As for sin, Jesus “appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Hebrews 9:26 (NIV)
  • As for death, Jesus “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel…” 2 Timothy 1:10 (ESV)

Jesus knew the enemy, the real enemy of our souls. Jesus’ work through His death and resurrection brought the dominion of Satan, sin and death to end for us. Makes me wonder. Should we look at the cross as the work of a suffering servant, or of that as a conquering king? We’ll take a look at that question next time.
For now, I’ll end with this. Recognizing the real enemy of our soul’s frees us to rejoice in Christ’s victory at the cross and to live as more than conquerors in our daily lives.

What Happens When He Calls Your Name?

Posted on by Bob Christopher

Mary went to the tomb early in the morning. It was still dark. She was surprised by what she saw. The stone had been rolled away and Jesus’ body was gone.
She thought that someone had taken it. She ran to tell the disciples. Peter and John ran to the tomb to see. When they arrived, it was just as Mary said. The tomb was empty. Peter and John left while Mary stayed.
She wept outside the tomb. She did peer in and encountered two angels. They asked why she was crying. She told them the same thing she told the disciples, “They have taken my Lord away.”
She turned from the tomb and saw someone in the garden. Mary thought it was the gardener. He asked her who she was looking for. She thought this man may have taken the body. And then a single word from Him changed everything for her.
“Mary.”
The mention of her name penetrated the clutter and confusion in her mind. She recognized Him. Jesus was alive!
She wanted to cling to Him, but He had other things to do. She returned to the disciples with the good news, “I have seen the Lord!”
How personal the Lord is that He would call Mary by name. But isn’t that what He does with each of us? We do not have the privilege of hearing Him face to face like Mary did. But through His Spirit He calls us out individually. He speaks our name.
When He does, our confusion disperses and we know. He is alive. It is that moment everything changes. Like Mary, we become witnesses of the most significant event that has ever occurred, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Every day, Jesus tenderly calls out the names of others in this world. He uses our voices to do so. When a person responds, they are added to that great chorus of believers declaring the greatest news of all, “He is alive!”

Do this in Remembrance

Posted on by Bob Christopher

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body.”
Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.
This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Matthew 26:26-28

Tonight and tomorrow many churches will host services to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Metro Bible fellowship, our local church, will meet tonight to remember the Lord’s death. It is my favorite service of the year. The music, the Scriptures that tell the story of Jesus is final hours and participation in the Lord’s Supper provides an experience of the love of God that is deeply moving.
I know many of you will be participating in services either tonight or tomorrow which is Good Friday. No doubt that you will share in the Lord’s Supper as well. As you do, remember all that Christ has accomplished for you.
When you eat of the bread, remember the day you first trusted Jesus as Savior and Lord. That was the day you were added to the body of Christ. When Jesus was alive, the body of Christ was in singular form. He occupied the body God had prepared for him as a sin offering. Today, His body has a new form. It is made up you believers throughout the world. As Paul wrote, “Now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it.” Remember that you belong to Christ.
When you drink of the cup, you remember that this cup represents the New Covenant in which you live today. Jesus’s death brought an end to the old covenant, fulfilling it in every detail. His death also ushered in the New Covenant. In this new covenant, God remembers your sins no more and where these have been forgiven there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Remember that you are a forgiven person.
These are the truths that will help you celebrate the Lord’s Supper with a heart full of joy and thankfulness.