And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he
would not see death before he had seen The Lord’s Christ.
Luke 2:26
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
Luke 9:20
These two slightly different titles are actually one and the same. Jesus is the Lord’s Christ/the Christ of God. Many Christians like to think that Jesus belongs to them. He came to save them. He died on the cross for them and God gave His Son as a gift to them. No one can take that present away from them. He is “their personal Savior.”
Although these statements may be true, this line of thinking also misses a major truth. Jesus was the Lord’s Christ, and He was under orders from the Godhead to save Adam’s sinful race. The Savior saves sinners because it’s in His job description. It is not because people are worthy of salvation or deserving of God’s grace; we’re not.
Redemption, justification, and sanctification are all God-things, and it’s Jesus who does it, because He is the Christ of God. Christ is the God-Man, but it is not His humanity that saves mankind, it’s His deity.
Simeon was a devout and righteous man who waited for the “Consolation of Israel.” His faith and faithfulness set Him apart from the thousands of other Temple-goers around him, so God gave him a special promise: He was to see the Lord’s Christ. When baby Jesus was eight days old, God directed the old man to the newborn, and Simeon held God’s Messiah in his hands.
One time, the Lord Jesus was alone with His disciples and He asked them who they thought He was. Peter answered without hesitation: The Christ of God.
Every man, woman, and child must search out for themselves who Jesus is. The right answer leads to eternal life. The wrong answers mean hell.
February 29
