Who Is He

O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble, Why should You be like a stranger in the land, And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
Jeremiah 14:8

Jeremiah was given a tough message to preach. God’s wrath was going to fall on what was left of Judah. The nation of Israel was already completely destroyed, and those in Jerusalem were soon to die of the sword, sickness, and hunger. On the one hand, 99.9% of the population was going to die, but the good news was that those who were dragged away into slavery would survive, prosper, and return to build Jerusalem up again.

God’s promises are a sure thing. When the exiles saw the completion of God’s judgment on the Jewish people in the Promised land, they chose to believe that the second part would be true also. God’s people set themselves apart from idolatry and clung to the Hope of Israel.

True hope is much more than wishful thinking. It is an expression of faith that is convinced of God’s predicted outcome, even when conventional wisdom would suggest otherwise. It is the belief that God’s Word is a sure thing even though the odds are stacked against you.

Today, Israel is surrounded by more than a billion enemies who have sworn to kill them. Those radicals live in the lands rich in petroleum, so they are able to buy bombs and weapons without hard work or a productive economy. The little land of Israel survives by selling fruit grown in the desert and by being on the cutting edge of technology. This is where the David and Goliath story began. But now, even the United States is turning its back on the apple of God’s eye, and odds have never been worse.

Jeremiah addressed the Hope of Israel as a person (i.e., the Savior). The problem is that Israel today has missed out on her Messiah and, with that denial, has also missed out on the hope God offers.

God has called on His people to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. As we do that, we also need to pray for great revival among the Jewish people that they will receive Yeshua as their Messiah and cling to the Hope of Israel.

 January 5 

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will
be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
John 10:9

Doors come in many shapes and sizes. It can be as simple as a slab of ice that covers the opening to an igloo, or an inlaid ivory and gold masterpiece before the throne room of the king. When all is said and done, a door is just a device that allows easy access to a place that was designed to keep other things out.

Some doors come equipped with locks or even armed guards to determine who can go in and who stays out. A bank would be worthless if everyone could go in and out anytime they wanted. Heaven has a Door. His name is Jesus. In Luke 16, Christ told a story about a very rich man (unlisted name) and a very, very poor man named Lazarus. Lazarus was a believer and the other guy wasn’t. In the end, they both died. After his fancy funeral, the soul of the billionaire was cast into Hades. Lazarus died full of sores on some side street; no one paid much attention. That is, no one except for Jesus.

When his body was cold, the angels of God carried his soul to paradise and he was cradled in Abraham’s bosom. When the rich man saw that, he wanted to go there too – Not Allowed! Then, he wanted that lowly Lazarus to bring him some water – Also not Allowed!

People don’t get to heaven just because they want in, or even because they think they deserve it. The bottom line of the story is explained in the chorus of the African-American spiritual, “Rock my Soul in the Bosom of Abraham.”

So high, you can’t get over it
So wide, you can’t get around it
So low, you can’t get under it
You gotta go through the Door.

 January 4 

Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
John 12:24

Now, is this a title, or is it a parable? It’s both. In context, this verse comes right after the triumphal entry. The Lord has just told His disciples that the hour had come for Him to be glorified. He had already told them that He was coming to Jerusalem to die, and they didn’t get it. He now tries to get through to them by saying that He is going to be like a grain of wheat.

Once a farmer sows his seed, there is no way to get it back. Wheat is just a fancy grass, and there’s a lot that can go wrong. If there’s too much or too little rain, it’s too hot or too cold, or there are too many bugs, it just won’t produce. That’s not even figuring in dust storms, hail, wheat rust, mildew, and rot. Hungry farmers throughout the centuries have learned not to plow the last of their grain into the ground. If they do, there’s no guarantee that they’ll have anything to eat later.

Most farmers I know are religious (I’m talking family farmers, not big corporations). They have to believe that there is a power greater than themselves that makes things to grow, and they trust Him to do His job if they do theirs. It takes a lot of faith to take tomorrow’s meal, bury it in the dirt, and pour water on it.

Christ somehow had to convince His disciples that the capital punishment He was about to receive was not just a senseless act of injustice. He was going to be glorified by it, and they were the ones that were going to benefit.

The disciples knew it was dangerous to go to Jerusalem, but He went anyway. He had to go; He had to die. If He didn’t go, there never would have been eternal life. He could never have provided for their spiritual sustenance. He first had to become a Grain of Wheat.

 January 3 

To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
Titus 1:4

In the 405 titles of Christ that I have found in the Bible, most occur only once or twice to emphasize some specific attribute of the Master. Some titles are repeated many times and are the most familiar. New titles are even made by linking shorter ones together in order to magnify the Lord’s greatness. Listed below are the top ten titles of Christ. – Please note that not included is Jesus’ Old Testament name (written YAH/ Yahweh/ Jehovah/ the LORD) which occurs over 6000 times.
Top Ten Titles in the New Testament:

1. Jesus – 986 times
2. Lord – 652 times
3. Christ – 529 times
4. Son of Man – 87 times
5. Son of God – 73 times
6. Teacher – 49 times
7. King – 38 times
8. Master – 36 times
9. Savior – 26 times
10. Lamb – 25 times

When Titus was sent as a missionary to Crete, Paul wrote to him a letter of encouragement giving him practical advice. Although Titus observed and followed Paul for many years as his disciple, he was also born and raised a pagan before converting to Christ. Paul repeated the basics of the gospel and the purpose of his mission to the Gentiles of that island nation. To do that the Apostle chose a name made up of four of the top ten titles of the Son of God. Titus was there to serve the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

 January 2 

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,”
says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:8

A long time ago, I was a senior in high school. Expectations and standards were much higher back then. This was probably never clearer than in gym class. For twelfth-grade boys, P.E. was every day and was called “commando class.” To just pass, everyone had to do 100 sit-ups, 100 push-ups, and 30 chin-ups. If you couldn’t do these, you’d have to try again the next day, and every day until the requirement could be checked off. But this was not the worst part. Everyone had to run one mile in six minutes or less!

Everyone hated the days scheduled for the mile run. That is, everyone but Jamal. He was on the school’s track and cross country teams and always went to the state championships. He ran a mile in 4 minutes 25 seconds and ran “for fun.” Every time they made us nerd students try to get our one-mile running requirement checked off, he would be there too. We would always get lapped by Jamal and were then really pushed to get our one mile done before he would do two. No one wanted that humiliation, so Jamal always became the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

As the firstborn over all creation, Christ is the Beginning of all things. “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17).

As Consuming Fire, Jesus will judge the living and the dead and bring human history to an end. This rebellious planet will melt away with a fervent heat and new heavens and a new earth will have to be created (2 Peter 3:10).

If  we look back at the very Beginning of time, the Lord Jesus is there, and when we, through the lens of prophecy, see the consummation of time, Christ is still creating at the very End.

 January 1

…but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
2 Peter 3:18*

In studying the combined titles of Christ, word order is very important. Lord and Savior only occurs four times in the New Testament and interestingly enough, all are found in 2 Peter. In the Old Testament, three times it says, “I, the LORD am your Savior” (Isaiah 43:3, 49:26, 60:16). Although exact wording varies slightly, there is an additional two times that says “I am the LORD, besides me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11;Hosea 13:4).

It’s worth noting that the reverse order is not used even once, although the phrase is popular in modern evangelism. Frequently people are heard to say, “Just invite Jesus into your heart as Savior and Lord.” Although it might not be done consciously, the subliminal message that is communicated here is that Jesus is sought after as Savior and then somewhere down the line He may or may not become Lord. It can be argued that those who put the term Savior before Lord are not really shifting the spiritual emphasis. However, the part that is undeniable is that many sinners are eager to make Jesus their Savior (they don’t want to go to hell) without any intention of making Him their Lord.

In one sense there is no chronological order to this title, because Jesus is both Lord and Savior. At the same time, Christ instantly and automatically becomes the Savior of everyone who owns Him as Lord.

As the Lord of lords, the Savior has power over sin and death and hell, so He can and will save every sinner that comes to Him. As Savior who came to suffer and die as a substitute for sinners, true faith demands that He be loved, cherished, and obeyed as Lord.

That is why the two titles are actually one and Jesus is Lord and Savior.

*see also 2 Peter 1:11, 2:20, 3:2

November 7