Friday: Further Thought – Blessed Is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord
Daily Lesson for Friday 1st of March 2024
Read Ellen G. White, “God With Us,” pages 19–26, in The Desire of Ages.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
Being both Christ’s prayers and prayers about Christ, the Psalms provide a unique revelation of Christ’s person and redeeming ministry as the One who is “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Jesus is “God with us” in the battling prayers of forsakenness and suffering. He is “God with us” in the cries for justice and deliverance. Jesus is “God with us” by not abandoning us to our lostness and despair but showing us the way of faith victorious. He became for us the eternal Priest and King to save us from the everlasting doom of sin. In Christ, the perfect Davidic King, all God’s solemn promises of salvation find their fulfillment (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Ellen G. White insightfully describes Christ’s unity with humanity: “By His humanity, Christ touched humanity; by His divinity, He lays hold upon the throne of God. As the Son of man, He gave us an example of obedience; as the Son of God, He gives us power to obey. It was Christ who from the bush on Mount Horeb spoke to Moses saying, ‘I AM THAT I AM. . . . Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.’ Exodus 3:14. This was the pledge of Israel’s deliverance. So when He came ‘in the likeness of men,’ He declared Himself the I AM. The Child of Bethlehem, the meek and lowly Saviour, is God ‘manifest in the flesh.’ 1 Timothy 3:16. And to us He says: ‘I AM the Good Shepherd.’ ‘I AM the living Bread.’ ‘I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life.’ ‘All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.’ John 10:11; John 6:51; John 14:6; Matthew 28:18. I AM the assurance of every promise. I AM; be not afraid.”—The Desire of Ages, ages. 24, 25.
Discussion Questions
- How has God demonstrated His unwavering faithfulness to His covenant despite the people’s unfaithfulness? What reassurance does that bring to God’s struggling children today?
- How does Christ’s unique and superior priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek strengthen the certainty of salvation for God’s people?
- The Gospels show that many Messianic promises in the Psalms were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. How does this demonstrate the veracity of God’s Word? Why must we resist any and every sentiment that tends to weaken our trust in God’s Word?
- What great consolation can we get from Christ’s words, “ ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth’ ” (Matthew 28:18)? How do we apply this promise to our own experience?
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For those of us who have been Seventh-day Adventists for a very long time, the idea of Jesus as our high priest is deeply ingrained. We can quote scripture and match type with antitype and demonstrate our knowledge of how it all fits together. I wonder if we are more interested in sharing our superior knowledge of Priesthood and Sanctuary services than applying it.
I can remember as a kid I had an inflated opinion of my own knowledge. Back in public primary school, we used to have scripture classes where we had quizzes on Bible knowledge. Of course, a Seventh-day Adventist kid who had family worship each morning and night and who attended church each week where Bible stories were the main topic had to be a favourite choice as a team member in a Bible quiz. Our team always won and I was the hero for 15 minutes. It took a lot of maturity to realise that it was not the meaning of my knowledge that was important to these public school kids. I was their ticket to winning the Bible quiz and that was where the Gospel ended.
We can impress others with our knowledge of the sanctuary services, the priesthood, and the fulfilment of types in the antitype, but the big question is: Is our knowledge more useful than answering questions in a religious trivia quiz?
Just something to think about as we revisit the topics we have studied this week.
Have a blessed Sabbath.
Your thoughts brought to mind I Corinthians 13:8-10 and an ultra important verse you have shared many times:John 13:35. Martin--
Thank you for allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through you to us!
Also, 1 Cor. 8:1. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” As Maurice’s illustration points out, it can be a great temptation to rely on knowledge instead of Christ. Knowledge of truth can be alive while self is not dead.
So true.
I believe that God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are more interested in whether or not we recognize the voice of our Shepherd because we have had an intimate relationship with Him. We recognize Him as our Creator who provides ALL we need. We recognize Him as our Shepherd who gives His life for us. He is our Father who protects and provides for us. We recognize His soft, kind, patient manner. He is our healer our All. I fear that many Christians including Seventh-day Adventist Christians have such a distorted image of God that they do not recognize His voice. In the end Jesus will say to them; depart from me for I never knew you.
We need to reflect Christ's humble, kind and gentle demeanor. In the end, it is He who will judge the Nations and ALL knee shall bow before Him acknowledging His Kingship.
I must accept that all my attempts to make things right are frustrating. Thus, I have to learn to give up - and that's a pretty tough thing for me to do. My best choice is to trust, even though I am a "have-to-see" person. God is good all the time, and I am the one who needs to remember this every minute.
We of New Covenant days are alive to hear this precious promise:
God's people living under Old Covenant terms and within the Hebrew sacrificial system had such a different worship experience than us. Do we realize the weight lifted when that heavy Temple curtain was torn from top to bottom as Jesus breathed His last? A heavy burden of being separated from God lifted! The Old Testament believers had to live by faith looking to a time to come when the Messiah would do away with the bloody and labor-intensive sacrificial system, just as we by faith look to the future and a time to come when the final veil is lifted - the final burden removed - and we see God face-to-face, in our physical bodies, without dying (1 Cor.13:12).
Pastor Scott Hubbard in his article, "Wherever He Is, We Are Welcome" says:
Thank you, Esther, for sharing Pastor Hubbard's article!
Lord, help us to realize that we can come boldly to the throne of grace, Amen.
Hello. I am puzzled by this discussion question on today's further thought.
"The Gospels show that many Messianic promises in the Psalms were fulfilled in Jesus Christ."
Weren't ALL of the Messianic promises in the Psalms fulfilled in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus?
Please clarify what the author is saying, if anyone is willing to weigh in on this. Thank you so much!
Perhaps we need to allow a bit of semantic leeway here. Note the author does not say "many of the Messianic prophecies ..." rather it is referring to the fact that there are many Messianic prophecies and they were fulfilled.
I am not really sure that there are a countable number of prophecies in the Psalms but there are passages that are Messianic in flavour. Jesus identified some of the prophecies as applying to him, but does he identify them all? Or, to put it another way, could a prophecy be Messianic if it was not identified by Jesus as such?
It should be noted too that a number of the passages in the Psalms are interpreted by the Jews as applying to their concept of a Messiah - an earthly fulfillment, which is quite different to our perception of the Messiah.
So, I think the author has chosen her words quite carefully.
Maurice, thank you for your thoughtful response to my question. You make a good point.