Consider Jesus, THE Apostle, the Sent One from heaven! In Him, holy brothers and sisters, we share in a heavenly calling (a calling from heaven, from a Personal Caller; and a calling to heaven!). God Incarnate, Jesus...Amazing!
“Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession...” Hebrews 3:1.
Sunday morning’s gathered worship time on December 6 included communion at Christmas time, and it was a sweet, strong experience. I pray that all of it was pleasing to our Lord!
The preaching and teaching was from Hebrews 1 and 2, a wonderful text to contemplate as we prepared to share around His table for communion. Statements like these leapt off the page as I called you to consider Jesus:
“Since therefore the children (the children God has given to Christ, Heb. 2:13) share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil…” (Heb. 2:14).
“But we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death…” (Heb. 2:9).
“For it was fitting that He (God) for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering…” (Heb. 2:10).
This is overwhelming for me. God’s Son, the Prince of heaven, the Co-Creator of all that is and the Mighty God (Isa. 9:6) took on flesh and blood—this is Christmas truth--so that “He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (2:17) by “tast[ing] death for everyone” (2:9) and suffering on behalf of those whom the Father sanctified (set apart) to be His brother (2:11), as the Offerer of the Blood Sacrifice God required to assuage His wrath against His people’s sins (propitiation). This is Communion truth.
Christ—humiliating Himself from the place of honor in the heavenlies! Christ—suffering unspeakably to prove perfection of His obedience and sacrifice! Christ—for the glory of His Father! (John 17:1)
Have you considered Jesus and the degree, breadth and depth of His sufferings for your sake? Horatius Bonar (1808-1889) helps us to appreciate the our Lord’s incarnational suffering:
“In person and in work, in life and in death, Jesus Christ is the sinner’s Substitute. His vicariousness is co-extensive with the sins and wants of those whom he represents, and covers all the different periods as well as the varied circumstances of their lives.
Jesus entered our world as the Substitute. ‘There was no room for [him] in the inn’ (Luke 2:7)—the inn of Bethlehem, the city of David, his own city. ‘Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor,’ Paul wrote of him (2 Cor. 8:9).
Jesus began his life in poverty and in banishment. He was not allowed to be born or to die as anything but an outcast man. ‘Outside the city’ (Heb. 13:12) was his position as he entered and as he left our earth. Man would not give a roof to shelter or a cradle to receive the helpless babe. It was as the Substitute that he was the outcast from the first moment of his birth. His vicarious life began in the manger. For what can this poverty mean, this rejection by man, this outcast condition, but that his sin-bearing had begun?”
Consider Jesus and all His suffering for your sake.
Most followers of Jesus Christ know this already, but I’ll say it— Christmas is a prime time for talking with other people about Jesus and sharing the gospel with them. All around us are those who are dead, lost, perishing, and hell-bound without Christ. So I encourage you to pray for and look for opportunities to speak of Him and His good news. And when you do, talk about His birth, life, substitutionary death, and resurrection. Yes, be sure to include His resurrection from the dead. Because a dead and buried Savior is no savior at all.
Michael Horton writes: “As a datable event in our history, the resurrection cannot be shoved into a closet of personal piety. Everyone has to deal with it. This isn’t just another religion story. It’s THE international headline.” And this from Zach Nielsen, a good, helpful encouragement: “As I have been sharing the gospel with different people lately I have been trying to land the plane right there: the resurrection of Jesus. Either it happened or it didn’t. If it did, this has radical implications on our lives; if it didn’t, Christianity is the biggest joke in history (“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile...” 1 Cor. 15:17). What we do with this issue in some ways is THE issue. Don’t delegate your witness to personal experience only, deal with the facts”-- including His resurrection!
The Baby born at Bethlehem and killed at Golgotha is alive today!
Christmas time began on Sunday, November 29, at RBBC—a time to consider Jesus together! Believer, I encourage you to stretch out your faith as you discover (or discover again) how amazingly great Jesus Christ is! He is God, the powerful, living Word of God and He is greater than the prophets of old. He is superior to the angels, the anointed Son of God. He is the Son of Man and far greater than Moses, and He is greater than the Old Testament priests, being the perfect High Priest. Also, He is the Glorious Mediator between God and mankind. He is supreme! Let us acclaim Him together as we gather this Christmas, and let us invite others to consider Him, too.
Invite men to Men’s Night Out on Dec. 5; bring friends and family to the Denver and the Mile High Orchestra Concert on Dec. 18; fill a pew with your circle of friends on Christmas Eve at Rocky; show the love of God in Christ by building bridges into the lives of others. And share the gospel of Jesus as you pray for opportunities to speak of Him.
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature!” (Hebrews 1:3) Let us magnify Him and make Him known!
Here is a great hymn to know and sing: "It Is Well with My Soul".
