Getting to Know Jesus by Name #31: The Head of the Body, the Church

 Colossians 1:17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 

This is one of Paul's favorite pictures - and names - for Christ: He is the Head - "the place of leadership, honor or command."*  He is Head of the Church: "The Whole Body of Christians; the called out ones; all those who were called by and to Christ in the fellowship of His salvation of all times."  Not only has He created everything else and keeps it together, He has created the church, keeping it together throughout history into eternity.  We wonder at the marvels of His physical creation and how He holds it all together, but when we stop and think that He can bring together and keep together a people, with all of our quirks, struggles, and failures, all over the world through all of time - that is especially amazing. He is worthy to be honored, worshipped, and trusted at all times.  May we obey His every command today.

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #30: Guardian of Your Souls

I Peter 2:21 For you have been called for this purpose, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you would follow in His steps, 22 He who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; 23 and while being abusively insulted, He did not insult in return; while suffering, He did not threaten, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed. 25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

How do you respond to that name: Guardian? In our culture, it may lead to a sense of resistance and even rebellion.  But it should not. A Guardian is "Someone or Something that watches or protects something; one who guards; one who has the care of the person or property of another." There is not sense of domineering or control, as much as protection and care.  When we talk about the Soul, we mean "The spiritual part of a person that give life to the body and lasts forever." The fact that we have a Guardian and have a Soul means that our lives have purpose, direction, a plan, and a path to follow. Our Guardian helps keep us on the path, just like the Good Shepherd that He is.

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus) 

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #29: Great Shepherd

Hebrews 13:20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus is The Great Shepherd. We saw two days ago the extensive nature of this verb Great:  "Elaborate, ample: predominant; remarkable in magnitude, degree or effectiveness; eminent, distinguished, chief or preeminent over others; grand, markedly superior in character or quality; noble; remarkably skilled."* We now add that great picture of a Shepherd: "one who tends, guides and guards, a pastor."  This picture of God as a Shepherd is found throughout the Old Testament, but here it clearly is ascribed to His Son, Jesus, as the one Who laid down His life, Who is always there to guide and protect, making sure the well-being of His sheep is always His job.  There is none better to Whom we can trust with our souls. 

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #28: Great High Priest

Hebrews 4:14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Jesus is our Great High Priest.  The High Priest had "special authority to lead or perform religious ceremonies."*  Once a year the high priest would offer sacrifice on behalf of all of God's people.  The emphasis in Hebrews is on how in everything Christ did, it was superior.  His sacrifice was once for all time.  He also is the greater High Priest, because He passed through the heavens, on His way from and back to heaven.  He is the Greatest High Priest, being God Himself, and, on the other side of things, He has lived here among us so He can completely understand us as He stands before the Father on our behalf. If you haven't noticed yet, every Name of Jesus tells us something not only about Him, buy also ourselves. His names mean something about our response.  Our response to our Great High Priest should be to come before Him often with our requests, ready to receive the mercy and grace we need and only He can offer. 

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #27: Great God

 

Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Yesterday, we looked at Jesus Christ as The Good Teacher; today we consider Him as Our Great God.  The word "great" has been over-used and abused in our language so much that we have switched to words like "awesome" or "fantastic", only to use and abuse them as well. The word great has as big of a meaning as we imagine as a child: "Elaborate, ample: predominant; remarkable in magnitude, degree or effectiveness; eminent, distinguished, chief or preeminent over others; grand, markedly superior in character or quality; noble; remarkably skilled."*  He is the best in every way for every day and for eternity.  As the best, He deserves our best.  Because of how great He is, and the great salvation He has provided, and the great future He is preparing for us, we should be saying no to a lot and yes to Him. His greatness should overshadow every thought, word, and action to make them worthy of His greatness.

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #27: Good Teacher

Mark 10:17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Just observing the way Jesus dealt with people, we could well say Jesus is more than Good Teacher; He is a great teacher.  By using self-examining questions Jesus was able to bring the truth out, even when it hurt. His teaching, and asking questions brought people face-to-face with the truth.  But the name Good Teacher has to do with much more than how effective He was as an educator.  The term Good refers to "one of favorable character or tendency; of high quality; true honorable, virtuous, right; commendable, kind, benevolent; competent, skillful.", which Teacher is simply: "one whose occupation is to instruct."* In other words, the title emphasizes much more strongly Christ's character than His job.  That's why Jesus replied the way He did. He did not ask "Why do you call me teacher?"  Rather, He does his teaching, drawing the conclusion that if  He is that Good, He must be God, which, in fact, He really is." May He teach us well today, even if it hurts.  

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #26: Gentle

Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

We are very familiar with Jesus' "I AM" statements in John. We find some in the other gospels as well. Here Jesus says I am Gentle. The word means: "having or showing a kind nature; not hard or violent; not hard or forceful; not severe, rough."*  In other words, being gentle is described mostly by its antonyms - what He is not.  Jesus did not come to beat up and intimidate sinners, though He did not give them a free pass.  He did not make anyone follow after Him, though He gave everyone reason to want to.  By saying He is Gentle, Jesus is not saying He is an easy pushover, but that He does make it as easy as possible to choose what is right, even if it seems hard, because He is sharing the yoke with us.  

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #24: Friend

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 

In the upper room, Jesus proclaimed to His disciples something they already knew to be true: He referred to them as friends.  It was not that they had  been such great friends, but that He had chosen them as such.  A Friend is: "one attached to another by affection or esteem."*  It's not just the way you feel about that person, but also how you choose to treat that person.  Jesus showed and told his followers how He felt about them: He told them important things His Father had told Him; He allowed them to do things with Him; ultimately, He laid down His life for them.  There is indeed no better friend than Jesus. 

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #23: Faithful and True

 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. 

Throughout The Revelation we find characters and descriptions which require identification, as to whether it refers to an angel, a human personality, or some other being.  When we are introduced to the rider called Faithful and True, John continues on with the description to make it clear we are talking about Jesus Christ, The Word of God. As often is the case with Christ, it is hard to tell if these two terms describe Him or if He defines them.  Faithful is a word full of meaning: "Deserving trust; keeping your promises or doing what you are supposed to do; true, just, certain; worthy to be believed; loyal; conscientious.", while True has an equally broad range of meaning: "steadfast; loyal; honest; just; truthful; ideal; essential; consistent; legitimate; rightful; accurate."*  Simply put, Christ is the one we can depend on to always be there and always do what is right. He is the most consistent reality there is.  He truly is worthy of our trust.

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #22: Expected One

Matthew 11:2 Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Jesus is the Expected One. During advent we often sing that song: "Come, Thou Long-expected Jesus," indicating that for centuries people had been waiting for the Messiah to come.  John the Baptist wanted to know for sure; did he need to wait any longer?" It is an appropriate name for us to use for Christ - not so much to describe Him, but to indicate the lifestyle we should have in our relationship with Him. "Expect" means "To anticipate or look forward to the coming or occurrence of; await."* We know Christ came, and we say we believe He is coming again, but do we look forward in anticipation of His coming.  Is it more than wanted all our pain and struggles to be over with - to just be done with it all, or is our lifestyle one of actively expecting Him to come and wanting to see and talk with Him?

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #21: Exact Representation

Hebrews 1:1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

The New American Standard Bible translates the phrase in verse 3 as "exact representation." Exact means "fully and correctly complete or accurate," while a representation is a "the fact or action of one person standing for another so as to have the rights and obligations of the person represented; to serve as the counterpart or image of."* The picture here is clear: When you see Jesus, you see God; when you hear Jesus you hear God; when Jesus does something it is on behalf of God, and the promises he makes and the actions He takes God is obligated to make good on.  If we want to know God better or know His will, go to Jesus.  When we put our trust in Christ as the One Who died for our forgiveness; God will surely do so. 

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #20: Eternal Life

 I John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

This last chapter of  John's letter of encouragement to fellow believers reminds us of a few things we know we have in Christ. He begins in verse 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. Then in verse 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. Next, in the two verses before ours: 18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. We know that because of Christ God hears us, answers our prayers, and protects us from the enemy. So these things we know are bookended by knowing that Jesus is Eternal life.  Diann Cotton says eternal life means: "having infinite duration, everlasting; having no beginning and no end in time; living forever, continuing without intermission; perpetual; valid or existing at all times; timeless."  (100 Days with Jesus) When Jesus gives us eternal life, He is giving us Himself; He is taking us along for the ride with Him, and He doesn't want to take any idols along.  If we truly believe He is Eternal and the source of true life, we don't need any of that other stuff. We need Him. 

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #19:Door

John 10: 7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 

The Door: "a usually swinging or sliding barrier by which an entry is closed and opened; a means of access."*  The Door is all about access - in this case, to God, His sheepfold, His green Pastures, His protection.  Jesus did not "swing or slide"; He stands firm to protect His sheep.  He also hung on the cross to give us access into God's presence in prayer, and ultimately, in eternity in His palace.  He keeps the bad out and let's the sheep in.  Our imaginations could run wild with pictures of drawbridges and "Get Smart" doorways, but the real picture is a living, breathing doorway Who died so I could come in. Thank you, Jesus.

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #18: Deliverer

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus is our Deliverer.  We are very aware of what a deliverer does. Think UPS, Amazon, Fedex, and countless other carriers and companies to bring things to us. But that is only half of the story: A deliverer is "one who sets free, who takes something or someone from one place to another."* God set free the people of Israel from the land of bondage and took them into the Promised Land. In Christ, God sets us free from sin and this present evil age, and death and hell in the age to come, and takes us into the presence of God. Like with the delivery systems mentioned earlier, there are a lot of "moving parts" to this whole process, but Christ is the great mover and deliverer. He gets things in motion and He delivers. 

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #17: Deity

 Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 

In this passage we have Christ referred as possessing the fullness of Deity.  This Greek word means: "Divine character or nature, especially that of the Supreme Being; divinity; One exalted or revered as supremely good or powerful."* In short: Jesus is God - the God.  He has all the character, power, and worthiness of the Supreme Being over all.  This was a term Paul's readers would fully comprehend: they would know he was saying Jesus Christ is God.  He was not just some great philosopher or teacher or trickster; He was no mere man. He has all we need; He is all we need; He deserves to be over all we are and have.  Let's treat Him that way. 

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #16: Cornerstone

Acts 4: 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Both Peter and Paul used this imagery of Jesus in a powerful way. A Cornerstone is: "a stone uniting two masonry walls at an intersection. Something at is essential, indispensable, basic, true: the chief foundation on which something is constructed or founded."*  This perfectly describes Christ as our solid foundation for faith, truth, and life.  God has set Him in place and put everything and everyone else around Him. He is not only our Solid Rock foundation, everything else lines up and falls in place in reference to Him.  When we trust in Him alone, everything will fall into place. If He is not in the cornerstone place in our lives, everything will fall apart.  

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #15: Jesus

 

Luke 2: 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
When we think about the name CONSOLATION, it may not seem that significant or even good.  We talk about people coming in second or third getting a "consolation prize." But to the people of Israel, the Consolation meant the comfort they were seeking, the long-desired peace of every person and nation.  It is specific and unique: no other comfort will be complete.  The Consolation of Christ kept people going while they waited for Him, and He keeps us going while we wait for Him to come again. 

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #14: Christ Jesus

Romans 8:34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?...37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We looked yesterday at the name Christ, Messiah, someone sent to deliver, but sometimes we find that name followed by Jesus, as opposed to the more common "Jesus Christ."  As se see above,  when joined together this way, there seems to be an emphasis not so much on His coming down to save as the fact that He now is there in heaven keeping us connected to God; He is the glue, the inside Man who protects us and guarantees nothing will separate us from God.  The One Who saved us is the One who keeps us.

Getting to Know Christ by Name #13: Christ

II Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 

The choice name for the Son of God in scripture is CHRIST: "A King who will be sent by God to save the Jews. A Person Who is expected to save people from a very bad situation."*  The term is Greek, used to translate the Hebrew Messiah - not only the word, but the picture.  Indeed Jesus Christ was not sent by God only to send the Jews, but all who would believe in Him.  God sent His Son for you and me, to bring us back into relationship with Him, and through Him to reconcile us to one another.  Praise God for Christ!

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #12: Chosen One

Luke 9:33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”

It was often at special visitations of men by God that He gave Names to them.  The transfiguration of Christ was such an event.  It was there that God said: "This is my CHOSEN ONE."  After all the dust was settled and Moses and Elijah heading home, Jesus alone was left.  The others were two great servants of God, but they were not His Son. Chosen, of course has the idea of: "One who is the object of choice or Divine favor; an elect person; selected to do or receive something special."*  Jesus is all of the above. We all know what it is like to be chosen, but rarely are we chosen as the only one.  This resonates with us so much we have mini-series about Jesus entitled: "The Chosen." He is the One and Only Son, designated to be our Savior, and to receive from His Father Gifts to give to us, especially the gift of Eternal Life.

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus.)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #11: Carpenter

Mark 6:2 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 

The Carpenter: one of many names Jesus was called: "a worker who builds or repairs wooden structures or their parts."* As such, Jesus probably also was somewhat of a blacksmith, so between the metal and the wood shavings, it was pretty dirty business.  When people called him this, it was intended to be an insult, but it does really show what He came to do. He was not afraid to get his hands dirty with Mankind. He "laid his hands on the sick" and did the dirty work of dealing with our sin.  That Jesus is The Carpenter is indeed a wonderful thing.  There is no better place to be than in the hands of the Master Craftsman, who is able and willing to deal with the dirty mess that we are.

Getting to Know Jesus # 10: Bright Morning Star

 Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.  ”17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price."

Here we have Jesus making one of those "I AM" statements.  We are very familiar with Him being referred to as a descendant of David, but here He adds The Bright Morning Star. This is a term used for a "bright planet or start in the eastern sky just before daybreak."*  As such, it is a sign of hope for a new day. It is a symbol and reminder of new life.  It makes us want to greet the day!  Our response should be like that of the Bride, saying "Come on! I cannot wait!"  May that be the kind of anticipation we have as we think about Christ coming back: "Come, Lord Jesus, Come."  May we look to Him as our bright morning star. 

(*Diann Cotton, 100 Days with Jesus.)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #9: Bridegroom

John 3:29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John the Baptist had done his job. He had been sent to prepare the way for and introduce the Bridegroom. The picture of a Bridegroom, of course, is of a man had just gotten married or was about to be married.*  Jesus later used this same imagery of Himself in Mark 2:

19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 

The Bridegroom has come to claim His Bride. His first coming was to propose to His Church. For those who have accepted His offer, He will come again to take us to our new home. How excite are we for Him to return? 

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #8: Bread of Life

 

John 6:32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

This passage takes place when the crowds had been tracking Jesus down, and when they finally found Him, they asked: "When did you get here and where did you come from?" Jesus then talks about the manna that God sent to the Israelites in the Old Testament as "bread from heaven."  It was not a gift from Moses, but from God.  In identifying Himself as "The Bread of Life", he is doing two things: First, He is saying "I came form God; He sent me from heaven." That tells us where He came from. It also tells us how important He is. Without the manna in the wilderness, the people of Israel would have died there. In the same way without "The Bread of Life", we shall surely die spiritually. Bread is much more than one kind of food; the term represents "food, sustenance,"* what we need to live. We need Jesus for life. Do we appreciate how vital He is to our very existence and for eternal life?

*(Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus #7: Blessed and Sovereign

I Timothy 6:13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

As Paul concludes his challenge to Timothy, he gives this solemn charge, this vow to keep, to maintain his testimony for Christ, just as Christ has maintained his testimony before Pilate, so that no shame will be brought to the name of the Blessed and Only Sovereign King.  As Diann Cotton points out in 100 Days with Jesus, this term "blessed" means "having a sacred nature; held in reverence; venerated; honored in worship."  Jesus is to be worshipped, not held in scorn because of our actions.  That name is joined with "only sovereign" - "one possessing supreme sovereignty", the one and only King.  We need to be living our lives as if Christ is our final authority.  Of course, this name, this title is surrounded above by other descriptions that are well worth meditating on one by one, as they together summarize how awesome our Lord and Savior really is.  Let's live that way today. 

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #6: Beloved Son

 

Mark 1:9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Jesus is God's Beloved Son.  At first glance, that just sounds like old King James English, but the term is significant.  It means: "Dearly loved, dear to the heart, very much loved."* The emphasis is on the fact that this Son was not some cheap, lowly-valued object that God sent on a sacrificial mission; this was God's most-valued possession and relationship.  He knows what it is to be loved, so when He gave Himself for us, and offers us the privilege of connection to the Father, He is also able to help us appreciate how much God the Father really does love us.  This is no shallow, rote statement; it is deeply meaningful: God loves us that much, to give His Beloved Son. Do we understand then how much He values us?

(*Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus.)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #5: Author and Perfecter of Faith

Hebrews 12: 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Today we consider Jesus as Author and Perfecter of our Faith.  The first term we are very familiar with. It means: "One that originates or creates."  The second is translated in other versions as "Finisher", and has the idea of one who brings to final form, refines, improves. Think of a metal worker who takes steel from the melting process all the way to the finished project.  In other words, our faith comes from Christ.  That's consistent with the picture in Ephesians 2: that in our salvation even the faith we have to trust Christ is a gift from Him.  Jesus completes what He begins.  When He came to earth He got the job done. He is still on the job as He sits at the right hand of God interceding for us, and He will finish the job when He returns for us and completes His refining process.  The only question is, will look to and trust in Him. 

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #4: AMEN

 Revelation 3:14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. 15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 

Jesus is here referred to as the AMEN.  We often associate that word with the end of a prayer or hymn, but it is a word deep with meaning: "So be it; truth; firmness; trust; confidence; fixed; sure."*  Whether we use it as a name for Christ or to end our prayer, we are saying that our confidence is in Christ: He is truth; we can be sure He hears us and cares and can do something; He is our firm foundation. We tend to be lukewarm, wishy-washy, fair-weathered friends, but not Christ: He is the One we can always count on. 

(*Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #3: Alpha and Omega

Revelation 21: 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

Jesus is the Alpha and Omega.  As many of you know Alpha is the first letter of the Greek letter and Omega is the last. So in English it is like our phrase "A to Z" and everything in between.  It means that He covers everything from the very beginning to the final conclusion, and He will be there even after that. He was there at creation, and He will be there at the culmination of all things.  As the closing statement says, that especially has to do with life. As John says in his prelude to His Gospel "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  Jesus was the light at the beginning and He is the light at the end of the tunnel, and He has everything we need in between.  

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #2: ALMIGHTY

 

7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Sometimes a name or characteristic is emphasized by placing it at the beginning of the statement, while others it is done so in a more dramatic fashion by putting it at the end. That is the case here. We will be looking at other names of Jesus in this passage later, but the one today is the last word: ALMIGHTY. Often, scribes and translators would put it in all capital letters to emphasize His greatness over all. The term means: "having absolute power over all, possessing relatively unlimited power, regarded as having greatest importance."* This name is emphasized in the context by the fact that when Christ returns, every eye will see Him and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. The final phrase right before this name emphasizes that He is the greatest before, during, and after all time. He is the greatest of all, over all, and for all time. 

(*100 Days with Jesus by Diann Cotton)

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #1: Advocate

Over the next few months,, we will be getting to know Jesus by the names He is called in Scripture. There are approximately 100 days between now and Resurrection Day, so it is a good time for that study. If you are interested in the list, you can obtain the book by Diann Cotton: 100 Days with Jesus. As we look at a different name each day, I will be including some of her ideas with my own. We began today in I John 2:
 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Jesus is our ADVOCATE.  An advocate is one who pleads the cause of one for another. It often is used of one who represents another in court, who defends a position or idea, who stands up for the interests of another.  Indeed, Jesus is our Advocate, standing at the Father's right hand, pleading on our behalf. He speaks up for us when we do not have the right words to say. He is especially qualified to speak on our behalf about righteousness.  Since He is perfectly righteous, sinless, and holy, and our righteousness comes from Him and His sacrifice on our behalf, He can claim us as His own and declare us righteous. We need an advocate, and if Christ is your Savior, you have the One and only One Who will do.