" Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey." (Zech. 9:9)
Which Jesus do you serve?
Hello Saints,
To all of us who truly know Him, are we not longing for the day when righteousness and justice are the foundation of government, mercy and truth go before our rulers? (Ps. 89:14) Are we not tired of political scandals, cover-ups, injustice, lack of accountability, lying, stealing, deception, favoritism and greed in our ruling class? Is not the whole earth groaning under the mismanagement of elected bureaucratic oligarchs? Enough already with the empty promises! Enough already with the falsities and doublespeak! Enough already with the self-serving, self-indulgent leadership that neglect the working class and line the pockets of friends and family members! Come lead us O Righteous Shepherd!
Six weeks till Christmas. Can you put yourself in the shoes of the religious followers of Yahweh 2000 years ago, living under Roman occupation, reading the Old Testament Scriptures anticipating the arrival of the Deliverer, who would finally fulfill the prophecies of a coming righteous king that would lead His people into a land filled with justice and mercy, truth and righteousness. They had a picture, a presumptuous picture of what the Messiah would be like when He arrived to “clean house” and set up His rule, freeing His people from tyranny and injustice. They had a wrong picture! They missed the other scriptures that spoke of His meekness and compassion, of His suffering servant heart, who would come first to deliver His people from their sins. They wanted freedom without repentance. Why? Because if repentance comes first, one has to first admit he is wrong, even wronged God. You can’t put the cart before the horse. Religious people don’t see their own sin, they just want the prize of their faith without humility and surrender. They think they deserve it because of their own righteousness. Wrong!
Does it not amaze you that the glorious righteous promised Shepherd appears in a feeding trough behind a hotel, and the first people to hear of His arrival, and see Him in the flesh are lowly shepherds, not religious elites? Meek and mild, humble and gentle, God in the flesh arrives as the promised Shepherd of Ezekiel 34, to gather His sheep who have been mistreated and abused by “shepherds who cared for themselves, not the flock” (Ez. 34:8-10). Jesus came to gather His neglected sheep: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). Oh Friends, Jesus is indeed the promised Good Shepherd of John 10: “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young” (Isaiah 40:11). But if that is our only picture of Jesus, we are as guilty as the Pharisees – we are wrong!
We cannot pick and choose which Jesus we want to worship. If we choose one of the two camps for our Jesus: righteous ruling king or gentle shepherd, we will be guilty of creating a God according to our own desire. Jesus is not either/or; He is both/and. There is a move within “Progressive Christianity” to re-imagine a Jesus who does not flip tables because He is angry with religion that extorts money from the poor. There is a move to separate Jesus as righteous judge, from the compassionate sin-bearer and peacekeeper: “get rid of the judgment passages and pick the nice ones that make us feel good”. Lord have mercy! Which Jesus do you believe in!
There is only One! He is both Savior and Deliverer. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who will put everything under His feet, defeat every enemy and rule victoriously in truth and righteousness. Yes, He is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11), but He is the Ruler of whom Micah prophesied, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting." Therefore He shall give them up, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel. And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth” (Micah 5:2-4). At the end of the age, this King-Shepherd will prune His flock: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats (Matt. 25:31-32)”.
I don’t know about you, but I long for the day when our slain Shepherd-Lamb is finally ruling as Shepherd-King. He will forever be remembered and worshipped as both, who will one day prepare a table for us in the presence of our enemies, because they will be forever defeated, and He will be ruling in truth and righteousness!
- “For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes”(Rev. 7:17).
- “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.' Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him” (Psalm 2:6-12; Rev. 19).
Which Jesus are you serving (Read Revelation 19).
peace!
"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."
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