The Wednesday Word ~ 26 October, 2022 A.D.

 Jesus the Precious One: Part II 

 

“Unto you therefore which believe He is precious” (1 Peter 2:7). Jesus is precious.  We especially see that His preciousness shone out in its brilliance from the darkness of Calvary. Watch it stand out in the placard of accusation Pilate attached to the cross, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS." (Matthew 27: 37). What stunningly instructive words are the first three words … "THIS IS JESUS.” They compel us to look at our God hanging on the cross with men hurling their fury at Him. ‘This is Jesus!’ But when we look again, we see that He is not a pathetic victim. He is the Lord Jesus, the Victorious King.  He’s the King of the Jews, yes, but He’s much more.  Consider how, at the Incarnation, we discovered that He was the Saviour King.  The angel said, "Thou shalt call His Name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). Then, after His birth, Wise Men arrived inquiring “Where is He who is born King of the Jews?  He was and is the King. So according to the angel and the Wise Men Jesus is both the Saviour and the King When we fast forward to the cross, Christ again displays Himself to be both Saviour and King. As Saviour, He was punished for the accumulated sins of His people. As King, He decided who would live or die. Remember, there were also two thieves being executed on that day when the young Prince of Glory was crucified. To one Christ gave life, to the other, by His silence, Christ gave death.  Life and death are the prerogatives of a King. He is precious. Then consider how as the sovereign King He died.  He simply bowed his head and dismissed His Spirit … how majestic!  If you doubt the majesty of this act, just try it for yourself. And no, I’m not talking about suicide. Just simply, from where you are sitting, dismiss your spirit.  Just try to die.  Outside of taking your own life, you can’t instantly will yourself to die.  None of us can.  But in His majesty, Christ not only chose how He should die, but whether or not to die at all.  He is precious! The cross did not kill Him; the nails did not kill Him. He died by an act of His will.  In John 10:18, Jesus clearly taught, “No man takes my life from me. I have power to lay it down and power to take it up.” And there, at the cross, He voluntarily laid down His life and deliberately died for us. He is precious. Before he was saved, Martin Luther, when visiting the city of Rome, began to climb Pilate’s staircase on his hands and knees.  The Pope had said that if anyone crawled up these steps they would get closer to God and forgiveness of sins would be obtained.  So, Luther, the good catholic monk, imprisoned by legalism, began to climb. Suddenly, he was arrested by the words “The Just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17).  He saw the truth of this scripture and instantly rose up and fled from the place.  From that hour on, his motto was “Faith alone, in Christ alone, without works of our own justify a sinner before God.  Indeed, from that time on the Lord Jesus became precious to him. What manner of man is this man Jesus?  He is amazing!  He is precious! That precious Saviour is now the center of the glory of God; and in a day to come, He shall be confessed by every tongue in the universe.  All will declare Him to be Lord. “Jesus is Precious says the wordWhat comfort does this truth afford?And those who in his name believeWith joy this precious truth receive. And that’s the Gospel Truth!


-preacher Miles McKee

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