Passage of the Day - December 14, 2012

Matthew 2:1-2

2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ² “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

Revelation 19:11-16

¹¹ And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. ¹³ He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. ¹⁵ From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

One of the primary problems in Israel’s history is that they wanted to be ruled by a king.  God gave the nation of Israel His Law, but they would not obey it.  They rebelled against the word and will of God.  God sent them judges who God used to bail Israel out of the heaps of trouble they would get themselves into.  However, they eventually wanted to be like other nations and be ruled by a king.  God warned them against that, but the Israelites insisted.  God’s law wasn’t good enough.  God granted the people what they lusted for (always the most terrible judgment); He gave them a king.  As we know, Israel’s history of kings is abysmal at best.

Jesus Christ, the anointed King of the Jews and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is different.  He is not merely King; He is the Word of God.  He is the embodiment of God’s original intent.

This now concludes the discussion of how viewing Jesus as the Word of God brings to new life various passages of the Bible.  Tomorrow we will begin an investigation on baptism.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)