December 18: THE GIFT

And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6b

Our heavenly Father sent His Son into the world to launch the ultimate rescue mission. He entered enemy territory as a little baby who grew in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52), was baptized to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15), rose above temptation by the power of the written word, saying to Satan, “It is written…” (Matthew 4:4,7,10), pursued a ministry of healing, preaching, and teaching while training His disciples to live by His words, suffered rejection and the cruelest of deaths on a cross, and arose from the dead. Forty days later the great commission was issued, prefaced by:

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18)

A beautiful ceremony of all authority was formally presented to the Son of God on the day that He arose from death. As a man, He had overcome all temptation by the written word. The treatment that He received in the agonizing hours before He laid down His life was the ultimate test, yet He never lashed out at His enemies. Satan tried every possible way to destroy His loyalty to His heavenly Father, yet even as He was being tortured, He did not sin. The burden of sin that He bore was ours, and the death He died was the second death (Revelation 2:11) of total separation from God. It was this separation—when God turned away—that broke the heart of Jesus. Jesus died of a broken heart. The second death is the permanent death from which there is no resurrection. But it could not hold Jesus permanently due to His own sinless record. This sinless record is the robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10), The Gift, offered to each of us.

Just before this heavenly ceremony* the risen Jesus said to [Mary], “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” (John 20:17)

Jesus was back that same day and entered through closed doors to greet His frightened disciples. The Prince of Peace calmly said, “Peace be with you.” (v.19) And this time He was not in a hurry to leave. Eight days later, He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” (v.27)

The ultimate rescue operation is still underway. Every day people are born and people die. They are suffering in sin and error. Their suffering is great. Jesus deeply feels their every struggle and sorrow (see Matthew 25:34-40). Do we believe that we are commissioned to carry on this rescue operation? Do we believe that our Commander in Chief is worthy of every descriptive word in our opening verse? Do we heed the wonderful counsel of the Wonderful Counselor?

Jesus said: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

* For details of the setting and ceremony of this moving event, see Revelation 4&5.