The King has come, and He has brought life and light to the whole world.
Come, let us adore Him!
A devotional blog from Forest Hill Presbyterian Church (PCA)
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 53 "But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." - Isaiah 53:5-6, ESV
Punished in Our Place
In Sid Fleischman's classic Newberry Award-winning novel, The Whipping Boy, Prince Horace is a spoiled brat who nevertheless cannot be physically punished for his numerous wrongs. Instead, Horace is given Jemmy, a "whipping boy," who is beaten every time Horace misbehaves. Readers feel the tension as Jemmy is beaten for Horace's crimes and feel a sense of justice when Horace is finally beaten when Jemmy is mistaken for the prince.
It is unfair that Jemmy should be punished for Horace's crimes. Many people have made the same "unfair" objection to the Christian Gospel.
The cry of "unfair" goes back to the Garden of Eden and the doctrine of original sin or inherited depravity. "In Adam's sin we sinned all" says the old Puritan Primer. Why should's Adam's sin count for all of humanity? Why should everyone be born corrupt because of one man's sin? That hardly seems fair! But would we have done anything different had we been in Adam's place? Hardly.
If it's unfair that we suffer a curse because of Adam's sin, it's also unfair that we should be counted as righteous because of Jesus' obedience. Some have said, "I never asked anyone to die for my sins." They seem ready to stand before God on their own two feet, ready to get what they deserve, to be treated fairly.
Yet what happens when we get what we deserve? What happens when God is fair and justice is consistently applied? We have all sinned against God Almighty. We have all openly, repeatedly, willfully rebelled against our rightful King. We have all habitually violated His good law, the law of love. Can we really handle getting what we deserve?
In The Whipping Boy, Prince Horace is never beaten because he's the prince. For us, God cannot give us what we deserve because we would all be condemned to eternal punishment. It's not that we deserve anything different, but we cannot handle the punishment we deserve. It would utterly undo us forever.
So Jesus willingly took our place. He obeyed perfectly for us. Then, He went to the cross to be cursed for us. When we consider Adam, we can say that would have done no different had we been in his place. But when we consider Jesus- the perfection of His life and the agony of His death- can we say that we would have done what He chose to do, if we were in His place? No!
Is the Gospel unfair? Yes! It is gloriously, wonderfully, and redemptively unfair! Fairness lands us all in hell forever. Unfair gives us the reward we did not earn for work we did not do and curses Jesus with the hell we deserve on the cross. This is not fair. This is love. It is wonderful beyond all words.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. - Isaiah 53:3, ESV
Man of Sorrows
Isaiah 53 is the high holy ground of the prophecies of the coming of Jesus. This marvelous chapter details the suffering of our servant Savior in beautiful detail. We learn clearly how He suffered, why He suffered and what His suffering accomplished. We will spend three days exploring this great chapter together.
When you are grieving, deep in sorrow, what do you want from others? Sympathy. Not empty sentiment or cliche answers, but real and deep sympathy, defined as "the fact or power of sharing the feelings of another, especially in sorrow or trouble; fellow feeling, compassion, or commiseration." (see Dictionary.com)
Sometimes in the depth of our grief, it seems like the person least able to sympathize with our sorrow is God. After all, God is enthroned in heaven, a place of sinless and painless perfection. How can He sympathize with us? Well, He can't, not really, not as God. Does that sound strange to you, to think that God does not sympathize with you in your sorrow?
This is part of the reason why God the Son had to take on a true human nature as Jesus of Nazareth. Goes became a man so He could sympathize with us. Jesus is the "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Think of the grief Jesus knew:
1. Jesus lost His earthly father, Joseph, sometime before His 30th birthday.
2. Jesus was rejected by the people of His hometown, His friends and neighbors, who thought He was insane and tried to kill Him.
3. Jesus was betrayed by one of His closest followers, as His so-called friend betrayed Him to His death for money.
4. Jesus was denied by another of His closest earthly friends.
5. Almost all of Jesus' followers abandoned Him when He was arrested.
6. Finally, God the Father turned His back on Jesus in wrath when Jesus was made sin for us.
So, whether you are grieving the loss of a loves one, feeling misunderstood and rejected, betrayed or abandoned, Jesus the Man of Sorrows sympathizes with your weakness. He has entered into your pain so He can offer your real sympathy in your loneliest times.
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." - Hebrews 4:15-16
Lord Jesus, you know our sorrows and our pain. You have entered into our hurt, and You sympathize with us when we struggle. Let us always go to You for the mercy and grace we need. Amen.
The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. - Isaiah 50:5-6, ESV
Submitting to Disgrace
Today, we begin a series of devotions focused on prophecies that foretell Jesus as our suffering servant Savior.
So much of how we experience life depends on our expectations. Many people enter marriage expecting a fairy tale "happily ever after" life together. Paul Tripp wrote What Did You Expect? and recorded a video teaching series of the same title to help people deal with the reality of marriage after their expectations are tragically unmet. Marriage can be the most powerful way God shapes us to be more like Christ, but only if we expect a struggle and not a never-ending dream.
Israel's Messianic expectations were shaped largely by wishful thinking, based on national hopes more so than God's actual promises. They wanted national independence, economic prosperity and dominance over their neighboring nations. Thus, when they read promises of the Messiah, these were the promises they saw. The language of suffering and rejection in the Psalms and Isaiah were overlooked.
Yet God's plan for His Messiah was to grant victory only through suffering. Freedom would come only after the Messiah voluntarily submitted to humiliation and bondage. Here in Isaiah 50, the prophecy emphasizes the Messiah's willing obedience and His submission to the harsh treatment of His enemies.
Why did Jesus willingly submit to harsh treatment at the hands of Roman soldiers? He did so out of willing obedience to God the Father. The soldiers did not capture Jesus in the Garden. He willingly gave Himself into their hands. They did not force Him to submit to scourging by Roman whip. He gave them His back to beat. He did so because He sought to honor His Father and secure redemption for His people.
What Isaiah 50 foretells, Philippians 2:5-11 recalls from the other side of the cross: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (ESV)
Our Advent lesson for today is to shape our expectations by the word of God alone and not by our own wishful thinking, our own life ambitions. We must let God's word lead us in this Advent season and always!
Heavenly Father, Your ways are better than our ways. When we impose our expectations on You, we are asking for less and not more. Give us the grace to submit our life expectations to Your word alone. May Your Spirit help us understand and walk in the path of Your word. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Today's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 40:3-5 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” - Isaiah 40:3-5, ESV
The Voice in the Wilderness
I have a confession to make (after 25+ years): In high school, I had the bad habit of sometimes showing up at friends' houses unannounced. Once I got my driver's license and the use of a car, I would sometimes just drive to a friend's house and knock on the door and invite myself in. One of my good friends was my pastor's daughter, so one of the houses I would visit unannounced was my pastor's house. After I had done this 2-3 times, Pastor Don politely requested that I call first before just showing up unannounced.
In the ancient world, it was not unusual for even an overnight guest to arrive unannounced. After all, they had no phones and travel was unpredictable. Yet one kind of visitor would never arrive unannounced: a king. Sometimes kings might go in disguise to secretly explore or visit an area, but if a king was coming for an official visit, his coming was always announced ahead of time. After all, preparations had to be made.
When King Jesus came into the world, God foretold His coming centuries in advance. Yet God not only foretold His Son's coming but also the coming of the forerunner, the herald of His Son. We know the forerunner as John the Baptist, but in Isaiah 40, he is simply "a voice" which cries out a message of preparation.
John the Baptist's role was critical: he called people to repentance and to prepare their hearts for the coming of Messiah. He reminded them of God's holy standard for His people in justice and righteousness. The more people responded to John's message, the more prepared they would be for the coming of Jesus. Being prepared for Jesus meant being ready to see the glory of God in the flesh, which could only be seen by eyes of faith.
John was a faithful herald, a great forerunner. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, "Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) When crowds left him to follow Jesus, he said, "He must increase but I must decrease." (John 3:30) In the end, he was called to lay down his life in the cause of righteousness as he was beheaded by Herod Antipas.
May we learn today's Advent lesson from John the Baptist, the last great prophet before Christ. May we learn to stand for righteousness, to tell others the truth about Jesus, and be content to see Jesus become great, even while we become less and less. Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son into the world to be our Savior, and thank You for sending John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus. Thank You for his faithfulness as the forerunner. May we walk in his steps as herald and witnesses of the great King! In Jesus' name and for His glory we pray, Amen.
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. - Isaiah 11:2-3a, ESV
The Spirit and the Messiah
What could be wrong with my car now?? I shook my head in disgust and frustration, anxious about the high cost of repairing whatever had gone wrong. The car's engine sputtered and died and I drifted to a complete stop by the side of the road. I popped the hood and looked underneath, not that I knew what I was trying to see. Nothing was smoking or smelling bad. The car hadn't made any strange noises before it died. I closed the hood and got back into the car. That's when I saw the gas gauge: Empty.
A car can be in perfect mechanical condition, but it will not run without gas. Why did Jesus need to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Wasn't He perfect? Why did the Spirit descend on Him like a dove at His baptism? Was it just a public show of His status as Messiah? Well, the Spirit and the Father were both certainly publicly testifying. The descent of the Spirit was a direct and unmistakable fulfillment of the words of Isaiah 11. Yet, the Spirit also came upon Jesus because Jesus needed Him.
We must realize and remember that Jesus was both true God and true man. As Messiah, He represented us in His human flesh. "God cannot be tempted with evil," according to James 1:13, but Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, because He was a true man. The only way for any of us to resist temptation and glorify God in our lives is by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. He faced His temptations and trials in the Spirit's power. He overcame the devil's lies by the truth of God's word and the power of the Spirit. We have victory in the same way, for we need the same Spirit that Jesus needed - and even more so, for we are not perfect.
Isaiah 11 is a beautiful description of a life that fully manifests the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus was the perfect picture of a fruitful believer: one who walks by faith, who seeks the glory of God, who is filled with the Holy Spirit, and who walks in the path of God's Word. Thus, His ministry as Messiah began with the filling of the Spirit.
Yet Jesus is so much more than a mere man. His obedience does more than just exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, Ultimately, Jesus' obedience brings in the fullness of God's kingdom. God's blessings spread throughout all the earth in peace and prosperity for all, one Jesus returns to consummate the kingdom He is now advancing.
Today's Advent lesson is to thank God for anointing Jesus with the Holy Spirit and to realize how much we need the Spirit in our lives. We need Him more than we can ever know, and He is available to us with more power than we could realize. Heavenly Father, Your Spirit is a comforter, counselor and guide. He is our source of strength and our connection to You. He applies all the saving benefits of Jesus to us, just as He filled Jesus and empowered Him to please You perfectly. Thank You for Your Spirit. May we see more of His powerful presence in our lives. In Jesus' name, Amen.
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. - Isaiah 11:1, ESV
The Shoot from the Stump of Jesse
When is dead really dead? Some hard-core Marvel fans were upset when Agent Coulson was brought back from the dead to lead the team on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., feeling that it cheapened his death scene in Avengers. Some Star Wars fans (including me) likewise felt "cheated" when Darth Maul re-appeared alive in The Clone Wars after Obi-Wan cut him in two. These moves prompted some to ask, "How will we ever know if a character is truly dead?"
Sometimes everything looks over. Sometimes things look as finished as they can be, but they're not. In 586 BC, Jerusalem was leveled, the Temple completely destroyed, and all the inhabitants taken into exile. The dynasty of King David, the Son of Jesse, had ended after over 400 years on the throne. The family tree which had reigned so long was chopped down, destroyed. God had promised forever, an eternal kingship, but it looked as if His promises had failed.
Not so fast: 150 years earlier, the prophet Isaiah had foretold the destruction. He envisioned a time when Jesse's Tree would be a stump. God was not surprised by 586 BC. He had planned it. It was His work of judgment and discipline.
After the return to the Promised Land under Persian King Cyrus, many began to reflect more carefully on Isaiah's words, then 200 years old. They began to wonder if the time had come for the shoot to sprout. Some looked to Zerubbabel as the fulfillment of Isaiah 11:1, but he would not be. Instead, Zerubbabel would be used by God to point beyond himself to One who was yet to come, One whose coming was certain but still hundreds of years away.
The longer a stump sits idle, the more unlikely it seems that life would ever sprout forth. But God's promises only become more certain with the passing of time, for each passing day brings us closer to their fulfillment. So, after the stump sat dry and barren for almost 600 years, the smallest green shoot appeared, in a manger in Bethlehem. 14 generations after the Babylonian Exile had chopped down the Jesse Tree, life and hope come forth in the fulfillment of God's promise.
Our Advent lesson for today? For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed - Romans 13:11, ESV
Heavenly Father, we are closer now to our final salvation in Jesus than we ever have been. Your promises never fail. You sent Your Son, You brought us to faith in Him, and You will surely bring us home with Him when He comes again! Give us the persevering faith to cherish Your promises and to press on toward that coming day! In Jesus' name, Amen.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. - Isaiah 9:6-7, ESV
The All-Sufficient Promised One
As my kids have gotten older, their Christmas wish lists have gotten much more specific and expensive. Their expectations of the satisfaction they'll get from their Christmas presents have also risen. Yet, if we're honest, don't we all know that most Christmas presents end up under-performing? Very few gifts we receive in this life ever seem to live up to the expectations we have for them.
One Christmas gift is different and truly all-sufficient. In Isaiah 9:6-7, we see how all-sufficient, satisfying and comprehensive the gift of Jesus is, Specifically, Isaiah tells us six things about Jesus that we need to believe and live this Christmas season and always -
1. "The government will be on his shoulders." Is anyone else really frustrated by the state of affairs in our government and around the world? Is anyone else looking at potential leaders and saying, "Is this the best we have?" The government is on His shoulders. We're not supposed to look to Washington DC or the State House for our hope and our security. We're not supposed to put our hope in politics or allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by politics. We are to trust that Jesus is upholding the world and He knows what He's doing.
The government is on His shoulders and He can carry the load of the universe because of who He is "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." These are Jesus' throne names, His titles as the One on whose shoulders the government rests.
2. He is the Wonderful Counselor. Jesus doesn't need to take advice from pundits, pollsters and politicians because He is Wisdom. As such, He rules with wisdom and can counsel us with His perfect wisdom. If we need counsel and wisdom, we must seek it from Him. Through His Word, He who is Wisdom and the Wonderful Counselor tells us the truth that we most need to hear.
3. He is the Mighty God. This title reveals Jesus' power and strength. Just as He does not need advice from anyone, He also does not need help from anyone. He is all-powerful, eternally and infinitely strong. No one can defeat Him or challenge Him. Not only that, but "The LORD gives strength to his people (Ps. 29:11)." Yes, "the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people (Ps. 68:35)." When you are weak and come to the end of your own strength, you are in a good place. Look to Him in faith, in prayer, in praise, in expectant hope. He will strengthen your failing hands and empower you to do His work in His way.
4. He is our Everlasting Father. Our culture is being crushed under the weight of fatherlessness. So many children are growing up without a father. Even those who have fathers often suffer abuse and neglect at their hands. The Biblical idea of Father - one who loves, strengthens, supplies, protects, disciplines, instructs - is completely absent from many people's real life experience. In Jesus, we have One who is all of these things and more to a degree that no human father could ever hope to attain. You've never been truly fathered until you know Jesus as "Everlasting Father." He will teach you. He will provide for you. Yes, He will also discipline you in love for your own good. He will shows you how to walk in His footsteps and He will never leave you.
5. He is the Prince of Peace. Oh, when will we ever know true peace? The uprisings in the Middle East, known as "the Arab Spring," are quickly giving way to the rise of Islamic radicalism that threatens to deepen the hostile divide between nations. In our own lives, competing desires, conflicting agendas, confused ideas and frustrated hopes have left us without any peace. We cannot know peace apart from the Prince of Peace. Only when he truly rules our lives and we will our minds with His Word, our hearts with His desires and our lives with His priorities do we begin to see the fruit of peace in our lives. To search for peace anywhere else is simply to search in vain. 6. His rule will never end. Even the best human rulers eventually die and leave their kingdoms in the hands of others, who are usually not as good. Jesus is the best king and He rules forever!
Do you know this Jesus? He's so much more than the cute baby in the manger. He's more than a line in a familiar carol. he is the reigning King of kings and Lord of lords - Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Knowing Him and living life with Him is more important than baking that next batch of cookies or getting that great deal on the special present.
Our Advent lesson for today is to worship the greatest King. Get alone with Him. Get on your knees and in His word. Read and re-read the first two chapters of Matthew and Luke and then John 1. Fill your mind with the wonder of His coming and let His loving rule fill your life and draw you into His kingdom. I won't promise you that all your problems will disappear, but you will face them with the Mighty God ruling your heart as the Prince of Peace.
