The Wednesday Word: ONCE Part 1

The book of Hebrews demonstrates the superiority of the Lord Jesus over the Old Covenant. In fact, Hebrews makes it very clear that the Old Covenant has been done away. Because of the sufficiency and finality of Christ’s sacrifice, the Old Testament priesthood has been abolished. When we comprehend the teachings of Hebrews, we realize, among other things, that there can be no priesthood in existence today which is qualified to make sacrifices for sin. Why not? Simply because there is no need for one. Those, such as the Roman Communion, who claim to be able to offer sin-forgiving sacrifices declare themselves and their followers separate from the New Covenant. Why? Because in the New Covenant there is but one priest who has offered Himself once for sin. Christ Jesus is that priest and His work of dealing with our sins is finished.

Let’s look at this more closely and consider 4 instances in the Book of Hebrews where the word ONCE is applied to Christ and the Finished Work.

1) He offered Himself Once; Hebrews 7:26-27.

2) He entered in Once into the holy place; Hebrews 9:12.

3) He appeared Once in the end of the world to put away sin. Hebrews 9:26.

4) He was Once offered to bear the sins of many. Hebrews 9:26.

1) Hebrews 7:26-27

For such a high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once when he offered up himself.

He offered Himself!

How many times did He offer Himself?

Once!

And who was this who offered Himself once?

He was God-clothed with a human body. No wonder then He only had to offer Himself once!

God didn’t send a mighty angel to save us.

God didn’t send a mighty army to rescue us.

God didn’t send a mighty man to speak for us.

He came Himself.

But why did He come to offer Himself? He did so because of our sin. Sin cannot be tolerated by a just and holy God because sin is contrary to His perfect, sinless nature.

Sin had caused a fatal separation between God and man. Man’s rebellion required propitiation, atonement reconciliation and payment. So, God came as one of us and offered Himself! How many times did He do this? He did this ONCE!

This is what we celebrate at the Communion Table. The bread and the wine represent His body and blood given as payment for our sins. When we come to the ‘Table’, we come, not to sacrifice Him again for our sins, but to remember Him and what He has already done about our sins.

Jesus offered Himself. No Old Testament priest could ever have, even for a moment, thought of doing that. The Old Testament priest knew he was a sinner and he, as such, needed an offering to be made for his own sins. He would never have thought of making himself the actual offering.

It was an impossibility for the Old Testament priests to offer themselves up to God for the sins of the people. They could not even atone for their own sins much less for those of the people.

But Jesus Christ “offered Himself” and did it ONCE

This is a magnificent arrangement. Jesus who is our one, true Mediator, reconciled us to God by the sacrifice of Himself.

Indeed, so immense was this sacrifice that it is sufficient for eternity. What need then do we have for Christ to be offered again and again as the Roman Communion teaches?

He offered Himself ONCE!

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com   

To be continued.

The Wednesday Word: Jesus the Least

“Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”  (Matthew 11:11).

In my early years as a Christian, I was taught that this verse demonstrated that the weakest believer in the New Covenant was greater than John the Baptist. In other words, I was told, for example, that old Maggie Murphy, a wee woman who most days neither knew if she was saved nor lost was greater than the final prophet of the Old Covenant. Poor wee Maggie Murphy didn’t know the difference between predestination and a bar of soap but, according to the prevalent theory, Maggie was greater than the one who was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb and who faithfully prepared the way of the Lord. I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t get my head around that.

Then one day, I believe God opened my eyes. Who was the least in the Kingdom when this was spoken? Think about it. The least in the Kingdom was none other than the Lord Jesus Himself. To this point, He had, with success, spent His earthly life making Himself the least and the last.

Consider this:

He made Himself the least when He was born to an unwed Jewish teenager.

He made Himself the least when He allowed His first bed to be a feeding trough for cattle.

He made Himself the least when He lived in obscurity for 30 years avoiding recognition.

He made Himself the least as He worked quietly at the carpenter’s bench.

He made Himself the least when, for that entire time, He refused to vaunt His divine attributes.

No one could have guessed that He was God in human flesh appearing for he made Himself the least. As we read in Philippians; “….Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).

He made Himself the least.

Consider the stunning truth of the Incarnation. God came here Himself!

Does this not amaze you? In Heaven, He had been enthroned in majesty and surrounded by at least 100 million worshiping angels (Revelation 5:11). Yet He made Himself the least.

Thunder, lightning and voices proceed from His throne (Revelation 4:5) …yet He made Himself the least.

He was the absolute sovereign and ruler of all things…yet He made Himself the least.

As we abide in Him, we will find a growing desire to also become the least. (Philippians 2;5). It should, therefore, be a foreign thing for the believer to join in conspiracies against the Pastor of the local church. How can a person who sees themselves as the least do that? Likewise, it should be an alien practice for the believer to jockey for political power within the Church assembly. After all, we are called to be followers of the One who didn’t try to promote Himself but made Himself the least.

Jesus was the least, yet He was greater than John the Baptist and the Old Covenant. He brought in better promises (Hebrews 8:6) a better hope (Hebrews 7:19), a better covenant (Hebrews 8:6) and a better sacrifice (Hebrews 9:23). To do this, He became the least. He was patient, kind and without envy. He did not seek His own way and was not easily provoked. He took the servant’s place, washed the disciple’s feet and did so because He was the least.

What Matthew 11:11 is telling us is that Jesus, not some stumbling, unstable saint, is greater than John the Baptist. The New Covenant is greater than the Old. In Christ Jesus, we see that the greatest became the least and has now again taken His place as the greatest of all.

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com    

The Wednesday Word: Another Look at the Saviour’s Birth

Just recently my good friend, S.J. from Kerrville, Texas sent me a delightful article from an unknown writer. It dealt with the birth of the Saviour and especially with the shepherds and the manger.

Here is the article,

“I bet you didn’t know the following about the manger that Jesus was laid in. Of course, mangers are animal feeding troughs but in ancient Israel they were made of stone – not what you would see in a modern-day nativity scene. Not comfortable, but great for protection. That’s why those who were experts in this matter, the priests, would put their newborn lambs in them for protection. But not just any lamb, the unblemished perfect lambs that were used in the sacrifice for sins. And Bethlehem, where Jesus was born was FAMOUS for their UNBLEMISHED LAMBS used for the sacrifice. These lambs had to be perfect so they would wrap them tightly in cloth and lie them in the manger to keep them safe. This is exactly why the only time mangers are mentioned in Jesus’ birth story it is being told to shepherds. In Luke 2 it says “This will be a sign for you, you will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger.” The shepherds would have understood this powerful parallel! THEY KNEW what the cloth and the manger meant! This baby would be THE PERFECT LAMB OF GOD! …. He wasn’t just a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger, He was GOD: perfect, sinless and Holy, humbling Himself to become the perfect sacrifice to reconcile us back to Himself!! THAT my friend, that Perfect Lamb, is WHY we celebrate Christmas.”

This article prompted me to think that the shepherds would have understood that they were being sent to the place where the sacrificial lambs were born. And where was that? These signs would have pointed the shepherds to the Tower of the Flock (Micah 4:8). The Tower of the Flock, locally known as Migdal-Eder, was, it is thought, located on the outskirts of Bethlehem and overlooked the fields in which the shepherds kept their flocks for the Temple. The bottom floor of this tower was used for the lambs that were dedicated to Temple sacrifice. When a ewe was about to give birth, it was taken to the tower. If it was without blemish, the new-born lamb was then swaddled and placed in a manger, a clean stone bed.

There was only one place in Bethlehem that had both a manger and swaddling clothes … the Tower of the Flock. The shepherds would have immediately recognized the signs. They would have no problem finding the babe since they knew exactly where He was.

How wonderful is it to know that the “Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) was laid in the exact spot where the sacrificial lambs for the Temple were placed!

As has been said, this new-born baby was THE PERFECT LAMB OF GOD without blemish or spot! He was the only one who could sacrifice His life for the sins of His people. He wasn’t merely a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger, He was God: holy, harmless and undefiled, come to rescue His people. (Hebrews 7:26).

This is heart-warming.

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com    

The Wednesday Word: Jesus, The Blessed Man!

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” (Psalms 1:1).

I was very much impressed when I read of Joseph Flacks, a Bible scholar of an earlier generation, recall his visit to Jerusalem. When in that ancient city, he was given the opportunity of addressing a gathering of Jewish men all of whom were presumably unconverted. For his text, Mr. Flacks took Psalm One. After reading the first verse he changed the tenses and read the same verse as follows, “Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of the scornful.”

He said to them, “Now, my brethren, who is this blessed man of whom the psalmist speaks? Notice, this blessed man is a man who never walked in the counsel of the ungodly, he never stood in the way of sinners, and he never sat in the seat of the scornful. He was an absolutely sinless man. Who is this blessed man?”

When no one answered, Joseph Flacks said, “Shall we say he is our great Father Abraham? Is it Father Abraham that the psalmist is speaking of here?”

One old Jewish man said, “No, no, it cannot be Abraham, for he denied his wife and lied about her.”

“Ah,” said Joseph Flacks, “it does not fit, does it? Abraham, although he was the father of the faithful, yet he was a sinner who needed to be justified by faith. But, my brethren, this refers to somebody; who is this man? Could it be our great lawgiver, Moses?”

“No, no,” they said, “it cannot be Moses. He killed a man and hid him in the sand.” Another added, “And he lost his temper by the water of Meribah.”

“Well,” Joseph Flacks said, “my brethren, who is it? There is a man in this psalm whom the Spirit of God is bringing before us. Could it be our great King David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, who perhaps wrote this Psalm?”

“No, no,” they cried, “David cannot be the blessed man for He committed adultery and had Uriah murdered.”

“Well,” he said, “who is it; to whom do these words refer?”

They were quiet for some little time and then one Jewish man arose and said, “My brethren, I have a little book here; it is called the New Testament. I have been reading it. If I believed this book, if I could be sure that it is true, I would say that the man of the first Psalm was Jesus of Nazareth.”

Another man got right up and said, “My brethren, the man of the First Psalm is Jesus of Nazareth. He is the only one who ever went through this world who never walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners.”

Then the man told how he had been brought to believe in Christ. Although he had hidden that fact in the past, he now openly confessed his faith.

Yes indeed, Jesus the Christ is the blessed man of Psalm 1. Our Saviour is completely sinless and therefore, entirely qualified to redeem us.

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com   

The Wednesday Word: Jesus, The Grace of God

Titus 2:11-14; For the grace of God that bringeth salvation …

As we wrote in a previous Wednesday Word, the Grace of God has appeared in the person of Jesus Christ, the eternal Word made flesh. Let’s face it, our Master is full of grace and truth, (John 1:14), and “of His fullness have all we received and grace upon grace.” (John 1:16). Literally we have received grace “piled upon” grace. In much the same way as the seashore is subject to the continual arrival of waves, so we have received and are receiving continual waves of grace in Christ Jesus.

Isn’t He wonderful?

Jesus is the grace of God in human form. When we say we are saved by grace, we are literally declaring that we are saved by someone else, the Lord Jesus Christ. As gospel believers, we consent and subscribe to the doing, dying and rising again of Christ as our only hope of salvation.

His works were perfect, His works were sufficient and by faith we take His work as our own.

When Christ manifests His grace. He manifests Himself.

Therefore, His grace is Glorious (Ephesians 1:6).

Abundant. (Acts 4:33).

Rich. (Ephesians 1:7).

Manifold (many-sided). (1 Peter 4:10).

Sufficient (there is never a shortage). (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Grace is a gift, and no one can earn a gift. Think about it, if we received a gift, it would cease to be a gift if we had to contribute, even just a little, to the purchase price. Similarly, if we had to do one thing to be saved … even as much as to raise our hand at the end of a meeting… we could say, “I did this or that, and in that way earned my salvation.” But this is not the gospel way! Grace is free. It is without works of any kind.

Here’s another scripture that confirms once more that Jesus is the Grace of God. In Luke 14:10 we read, “The son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Think about it. What immense grace there is in that one verse. We were utterly lost sinners who could never find our way back to God. Let’s say it again, we were lost! (2 Corinthians 4:3). Unfortunately, that is a very unpalatable and distasteful truth for the average man or woman. We all, at times, like to think there is something we can do to help us save ourselves, whereas, according to God’s Word we are not only lost but also have no ability to remedy our condition. We were spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1).

The following story illustrates this truth well. Back in Ireland, a man who had been recently converted, stood up in a believer’s meeting to give his testimony. He told how the Lord had won his heart and had given him deliverance from the guilt of sin. Because of the blood of Christ, he now had a clean conscience before God. He spoke of the Lord Jesus and His work but said nothing of any efforts of his own.

The leader of the meeting was a legalist and when the man’s testimony was ended, he said, “Our brother has only told us of the Lord’s part in his salvation. When I was converted there was a whole lot I had to do for myself. I gave up smoking and drinking and things like that. After all, I couldn’t expect the Lord to save me until I had cleaned myself up. Brother, didn’t you do your part first before God did His?” The man was on his feet again in an instant and replied: “Yes, sir, I did my part. I didn’t tell you about my part, did I? Well, I did my part for more than thirty years, running away from God as fast as my sins could carry me. That was my part. And God chased after me till He ran me down. That was His part.”

Amen! Salvation is all of grace.

And Jesus is the Grace of God.

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com  

The Wednesday Word: Jesus the Least

“Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

(Matthew 11:11).

In my early years as a Christian, I was taught that this verse demonstrated that the weakest believer in the New Covenant was greater than John the Baptist. In other words, I was told, for example, that old Maggie Murphy, a wee woman who most days neither knew if she was saved nor lost was greater than the final prophet of the Old Covenant. Poor wee Maggie Murphy didn’t know the difference between predestination and a bar of soap but, according to the prevalent theory, Maggie was greater than the one who was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb and who faithfully prepared the way of the Lord. I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t get my head around that.

Then one day, I believe God opened my eyes. Who was the least in the Kingdom when this was spoken? Think about it. The least in the Kingdom was none other than the Lord Jesus Himself. To this point, He had, with success, spent His earthly life making Himself the least and the last.

Consider this:

He made Himself the least when He was born to an unwed Jewish teenager.

He made Himself the least when He allowed His first bed to be a feeding trough for cattle.

He made Himself the least when He lived in obscurity for 30 years avoiding recognition.

He made Himself the least as He worked quietly at the carpenter’s bench.

He made Himself the least when, for that entire time, He refused to vaunt His divine attributes.

No one could have guessed that He was God in human flesh appearing for he made Himself the least. As we read in Philippians; “….Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).

He made Himself the least.

Consider the stunning truth of the Incarnation. God came here Himself!

Does this not amaze you? In Heaven, He had been enthroned in majesty and surrounded by at least 100 million worshiping angels (Revelation 5:11). Yet He made Himself the least.

Thunder, lightning and voices proceed from His throne (Revelation 4:5) …yet He made Himself the least.

He was the absolute sovereign and ruler of all things…yet He made Himself the least.

As we abide in Him, we will find a growing desire to also become the least. (Philippians 2;5). It should, therefore, be a foreign thing for the believer to join in conspiracies against the Pastor of the local church. How can a person who sees themselves as the least do that? Likewise, it should be an alien practice for the believer to jockey for political power within the Church assembly. After all, we are called to be followers of the One who didn’t try to promote Himself but made Himself the least.

Jesus was the least, yet He was greater than John the Baptist and the Old Covenant. He brought in better promises (Hebrews 8:6) a better hope (Hebrews 7:19), a better covenant (Hebrews 8:6) and a better sacrifice (Hebrews 9:23). To do this, He became the least. He was patient, kind and without envy. He did not seek His own way and was not easily provoked. He took the servant’s place, washed the disciple’s feet and did so because He was the least.

What Matthew 11:11 is telling us is that Jesus, not some stumbling, unstable saint, is greater than John the Baptist. The New Covenant is greater than the Old. In Christ Jesus, we see that the greatest became the least and has now again taken His place as the greatest of all.

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com   

The Wednesday Word: Jesus Leaves us Speechless

“And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows;). How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter” (2 Corinthians 12: 3-4).

“Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

I am going to attempt to do the impossible. I will in these next few lines endeavour to speak about the unspeakable One, the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul had been transported to Paradise where he heard unspeakable words. He must have been overwhelmed with the reality of the invisible God made visible in the Lord Jesus. He was left speechless. There are many who think that the pinnacle of spirituality is to speak in tongues, but when Paul was confronted with the exalted Christ in His majesty, he couldn’t speak at all.

May we yet become speechless as we take time to meditate on the glory of God in the person of Christ. May we yet rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Peter 1:8).

Consider this, the Lord Jesus came that we who were dead in trespasses and sins might have life. (Ephesians 2:1). He is the beginning of life. He is the source of life. He is the giver of life. (See John 1:3-4). He is the bread of life (John 6:35). He is the water of life (John 4:13-14. He is the light of life (John 8:12). He is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6-7). He that rests on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

This leaves me speechless! What about you?

Jesus is the promised seed who bruised the serpent’s head. (Genesis 3:15). He is Abraham’s seed in whom all the nations are blessed. (Galatians 3:8). He is David’s seed, the Righteous Branch who reigns in wisdom. (Jeremiah 23:5). He is the elect of God. (Luke 23:25). He is the mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15; John 14:6). He is the rock of our salvation (Psalm 18:2; 1 Corinthians 10:4).

This leaves me speechless. What about you?

He is the Second Man, the Lord from heaven (1 Corinthians 15:47). He is the eternal word made flesh (John 1:14). He is the Last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45). He is the Faithful and True Witness, (Revelation 3:14), the Almighty who was and is and is to come (Revelation 1:8; Revelation 4:8).

This leaves me speechless! What about you?

He gives healing to the sick, sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and life to the dead. (Luke 7:21-22). He is the deliverer of those in bondage, the healer of the broken heart and the one who gives rest to the weary. (Matthew 11:22).

This leaves me speechless! What about you?

He is the champion. who never lost a battle (Hebrews 2:14-16), the lawyer who never lost a case (Hebrews 5:4-10), and the shepherd who never lost a sheep. (John 18:9).

This leaves me speechless! What about you?

He is the true Temple (John 1:14; 2:22), the true altar, (Hebrews 13:10) the offerer and the offering (Hebrews 9:14).

He is the slain lamb, (Revelation 5:10). He is the lamb without blemish and without spot (1Peter 1:18-19). He is the one who, by Himself, purged our sins (Hebrews 1:3), destroyed the devil (1 John 3:8), conquered death, rose from the grave, and ascended into glory (Acts 1:9).

This leaves me speechless! What about you?

He is our surety, (Hebrews 7:22): our ransom, (1Timothy 2:6), our apostle and High Priest (Hebrews 3:1). He is the God/Man, the exegesis of the Father (John 1:18), the brightness of the Father’s glory, (Hebrews 1:3) the one whom angels worship (Hebrews 1:6). He is the King of kings, the Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15), God manifest in the flesh (1Timothy 3:16) and the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 1:19).

This leaves me speechless! What about you?

It is no surprise that the hymn writer wrote,

“I stand amazed in the presence

Of Jesus the Nazarene,

And wonder how he could love me,

A sinner, condemned, unclean.”

May we yet become more and more astonished and amazed at the Lord Jesus. May we yet become speechless in His presence!

And that is the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com  

The Wednesday Word: Jesus the Precious One Part 5

“Unto you, therefore, which believe He is precious” (1 Peter 2:7).

As we read the Acts of the Apostles we see that power, forgiveness and salvation are related to the precious name of Jesus. Take, for example, in Acts 8 where we discover the story of Philip and the Eunuch. As you remember, Philip the Evangelist was instructed by the Angel of the Lord to go to Gaza where he encountered an Ethiopian sitting in his chariot reading the Scroll of Isaiah. Let’s take up this story from verse 32.

“The place of the scripture which he was reading was this,

He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.” And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

The eunuch refers to Jesus as “some other man.” “Some other man” involves in its meaning “another kind of man.” Did this eunuch have some additional insight? He refers to Jesus as another kind of man! Another kind of man indeed! He was man as God intended man to be. He reveals man to God and God to man. He is the Precious One. He is the sinless, and glorious One. He is the Saving One, the only One who has resources in Himself to give life and to redeem. He is precious!

Notice how, in Isaiah 53:32, Christ does not open His mouth, and now in Acts 8:35 Philip opens his mouth on Christ’s behalf. As he opens his mouth, Philip proclaims Jesus. May we all, as Philip, be ready to open our mouths for the One who remained silent for us.

Satan hates and despises the name of Jesus. He loathes the mention of His name and wants men to detest and scorn the Saviour. He knows He cannot get that precious name to be forgotten so his strategy is to have that name relegated to an odious place amid the dunghills of humanity.

Many people hate the name of Jesus and use it as a swear word. Why do they not use the names Buddha, Krishna, or Allah as swear words? Why is it that in many languages they even use the lovely name of Jesus in its translated form, as an expletive? It’s because both Satan and many people hate that precious name.

Of all who hated that name of Jesus, there was perhaps none greater than Saul of Tarsus. He thought it right, “to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” (Acts 26: 9). There was a time when Jesus was not precious to Paul but one day the power resident in that precious name flooded his pharisaical heart, and do you remember what words transformed Him? They are words that will transform us. They were simple life-giving words. They were, “I am Jesus.” (Acts 9:5). Paul was confronted by the person of Jesus. From that point on, his life was revolutionized. The preciousness of that Name and the One who bore it were the constant joy and theme of his heart and testimony.

All through his ministry, Paul’s desire was that the affections of the believer should be preserved in pure and unadulterated loyalty to Christ Jesus. He writes in 2 Corinthians 11:32, “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” In 2 Corinthians 11:3, he writes, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

If Jesus has captivated your heart, He is precious to you.

Peter tells us that Jesus is precious, but he did not and could not tell us just how precious. None of us can compute the value of God’s unspeakable gift. We find it impossible to set forth the preciousness of the Lord Jesus in its fulness. But this we know, He is the Precious One.

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com  

The Wednesday Word: Jesus the Precious One Part 4

“Unto you, therefore, which believe He is precious.” (1 Peter 2:7).

The very name of Jesus is precious. His name was announced from heaven before His birth by Isaiah who wrote of Him saying; And His name shall be called wonderful, counselor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6).

As we have already mentioned, on an earlier occasion, His preciousness was announced by the angel who instructed concerning His name, “Call Him Jesus for He shall save His people”. Notice how His mission was bound up in His name. He was to save His people. That was His task. He was not to try to save His people or, by His work, make His people savable. No! He was called Jesus because He would most assuredly save His people.

He is precious!

To declare His name as being Jesus is to affirm that He saves. But what does He save from? He saves from both sin and sins!

“Brother Miles,” you say, “sin and sins …what’s the difference?” It’s like this, sin produces sins. We inherited the sin virus from Adam (Romans 5:12). It was planted in the human race by Adam’s fall and has polluted all of us. Sins are produced by sin. We read, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). Our sins are the fruit, but sin is the root.

Some years ago, a young fellow approached an elder Christian, complaining that, in spite of all his prayers and efforts, sins were continually creeping into his life and behaviour. The old elder replied, “On what tree do apples grow?” “Why, an apple tree,” said the astonished youth. The question seemed so ridiculously irrelevant. “And on what tree do plums grow?” “On a plum tree.” His astonishment deepened! “And on what tree do sins grow?” was the next question. There was a pause. Then, with a smile, he said, “On a sin tree, I should think.” “You are right, my lad,” said the elder. “That’s just where they do grow.”

Here’s the point. The sins that at times plague Christians are not little isolated bits of external evil implanted into us by the devil. Their cause is much deeper. They spring as fruit out of sin which is within us. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). So what did Jesus do? He dealt with sin and its power (Romans 6:6; Romans 8:3).

HE IS PRECIOUS!

Because of Calvary, we are now instructed to, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Romans 6:11-12.

On the cross, Jesus dealt with both sin and sins. Now may we, by faith, walk in that victory. I’m neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I will guarantee you this … the more precious Jesus becomes in our thinking, the more we will grow to hate sin and loathe the sins that it produces. “Unto you, therefore, which believe He is precious.” Yes indeed, His Name is precious.

If we could travel back through time to the days when Jesus walked the earth, we could hear the conversations of those whom He had helped. One man asks’’ “Who healed you?” The reply comes, “It was Jesus.” Another asks: “Who set you free from the demons?” “It was Jesus. “Who raised you from the dead?” “It was Jesus!”

What a precious name …Jesus. As the hymn writer sang, “How sweet the name of Jesus sounds In a believer’s ear! It soothes His sorrows, heals his wounds, And drives away his fears.” “Unto you, therefore, which believe He is precious”

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com    

The Wednesday Word: Jesus the Precious One Part 3

“Unto you, therefore, which believe He is precious” (1 Peter 2:7).

Yes indeed, Jesus is precious.

May we join John the Baptist in agreeing that we are unworthy to unloose the straps of His sandals.

May we continue to know more of His preciousness and our wretchedness.

May we know Him as our Prophet, Priest and King. May we love Him, glorify Him, worship Him and work for Him. He is of immense and incalculable worth. He is precious!

It is sad to say, however, that often our lives are focused on us and not on Him. Oh yes, we love Jesus, but we relegate Him to responsibilities of making us feel good and of sweeping up after us. But the Lord Jesus didn’t come here to make us feel good about ourselves. He came here to be Lord of All and Master of Everything.

“To you who believe He is precious.”

May I remind you, He is not only our redeemer, but He is the divine intention in human form. May we be reminded that all things shall be gathered under His headship, and He shall rule everything! (See Ephesians 1:10). Jesus has a right to be the center of everything and I mean everything. He is the Lord.

In Luke 2 we get a glimpse of Him as a boy of 12. There we find Him amongst the teachers in the Temple. The wisdom of the ages poured from their grizzled beards, but they were confounded by the questions of the young boy from Galilee.

Yet the Lord Christ was human, perfectly human. He was in some ways just the same as other boys of His age. If we could travel back in time to His boyhood days in Nazareth, we might hear things like Mary saying, “Jehesuah, run for water.” Or we might listen as one of the neighbours says, “Look there goes Jehesuah, Mary’s boy; He’s been a big help to his Mother since Joseph died

Or another asks, “Who’s that young boy?

The answer comes, “That’s Jehesuah, Mary’s boy, He’s so polite.”

But where is this same Jesus today?

Why He’s running the universe. Think of it … one of us is in charge. It’s Jesus up there … It’s not Napoleon, not Alexander the Great. It’s Jesus!

And He’s approachable, and He cares and He’s able to be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He is precious!

It’s Jesus the Nazarene up there, ruling and reigning and subduing all things unto Himself. He is the centre of everything … Look at Him now, Mary’s boy, Jesus of Nazareth seated in cosmic authority.

He is precious; He is everything that is glorious. We can never think highly enough of Him or speak well enough concerning Him but let us try, for “Unto us who believe He is precious.’

John Newton was a rough, dirty sailor with a foul mouth and an appetite for filthy living. He hated life and life hated him. He was captain of a slave ship and eventually became a slave himself. In due course, he escaped and was in a ship that hit an unmerciful storm and he ended up in the sea crying out “Lord Save me!”

The Lord saved him physically then saved him spiritually and made him into a great gospel preacher and hymn writer!

He preached for years and when he was well past his “retirement” age, he had to have an assistant stand in the pulpit with him on Sundays. He was nearly blind and spoke in whispers, but nothing could keep him from preaching while he still had breath.

One Sunday, while delivering his message he repeated the sentence: “Jesus Christ is precious.” His helper whispered to him: “But you have already said that twice.” Newton turned to his helper and said loudly, “Yes, I’ve said it twice, and I’m going to say it again.” The stones in the ancient sanctuary fairly shook as the grand old preacher said again: “Jesus Christ is precious!”

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com