More than 1900 years ago
there was a Man born
contrary to the laws of
life. This Man lived in
poverty and was reared in
obscurity. He did not travel
extensively. Only once did
He cross the boundary of the
country in which He lived
and that was during His
exile in childhood.
He possessed neither name,
wealth, nor influence. His
relatives were
inconspicuous,
uninfluential, and had
neither training nor
education.
In infancy He startled a
king; in childhood He
puzzled the doctors; in
manhood He ruled the course
of nature, walked upon
billows as if pavements, and
hushed the sea to sleep.
He healed the multitudes
without medicine and made no
charge for His service.
He never wrote a book, and
yet all the libraries of the
country could not hold the
books that have been written
about Him.
He never wrote a song, and
yet He has furnished the
theme for more songs than
all the songwriters
combined.
He never founded a college,
but all the schools put
together cannot boast of
having as many students.
He never practiced medicine,
and yet He has healed more
broken hearts than all the
doctors far and near.
He never marshaled an army,
nor drafted a soldier, nor
fired a gun, and yet no
leader ever had more
volunteers who have, under
His orders, made more rebels
stack arms and surrender
without a shot being fired.
He is the Star of astronomy,
the Rock of geology, the
Lion and Lamb of the
zoological kingdom.
He is the Revealer of the
snares that lurk in the
darkness; and Rebuker of
every evil thing that prowls
by night; the Quickener of
all that is wholesome; the
Adorner of all that is
beautiful; the Reconciler of
all that is contradictory;
the Harmonizer of all
discords; the Healer of all
diseases; and the Saviour of
all mankind.
He fills the pages of
theology and hymnology.
Every prayer that goes up to
God goes up In His name and
is asked to be granted for
His sake.
Every seventh day the wheels
of commerce cease their
turning and multitudes wend
their way to worshiping
assemblies to pay homage and
respect to Him.
The names of the past proud
statesmen of Greece and Rome
have come and gone. The
names of the past
scientists, philosophers,
and theologians have come
and gone; but the name of
this Man abounds more and
more. Though time has spread
1900 years between the
people of this generation.
Abel's lamb was a type of
Christ, Abraham offering
Isaac on Mount Moriah was a
type of God giving Christ,
His only Son, on Mount
Calvary. The Passover lamb
in Egypt was a type of
Christ. The brazen serpent
in the wilderness was a type
of Christ-He told Nicodemus
so Himself, The scapegoat
typified Him bearing our
sins. The scarlet thread
that the harlot Rahab hung
In the window of her home in
Jericho typified Him,
Joseph, pictured to us by
the Bible without a flaw,
was a type of Christ "who
did not sin, neither was
guile found in his mouth."
In the Old Testament He is
spoken of as "the angel of
the Lord," and as such He
appeared unto men, He was
with Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden. He was with
Abel in his death. He walked
with Enoch. He rode with
Noah in the Ark. He ate with
Abraham in his desert tent
He pled with Lot to leave
wicked Sodom.
He watched Isaac reopen the
wells that his father
Abraham had dug. He wrestled
with Jacob at Peniel. He
strengthened Joseph in his
time of temptation,
protected him in prison, and
exalted him to first place
in the kingdom. He watched
over Moses in the ark of
bulrushes, talked to him
from the burning bush, went
down into Egypt with him,
opened the Red Sea for him,
fed him on bread from
heaven, protected him with a
pillar of fire by night, and
after 120 years of such
blessed companionship that
they left no marks of
passing time upon Moses, led
him up from the plains of
Moab unto the mountain of
Nebo, to the top of Pisgah,
let him take one long,
loving look at the Promised
Land, and then kissed him to
sleep, folded Moses' hands
over his breast, and buried
his body in an unmarked
grave, to sleep in Jesus
till the morning of the
great resurrection day.
He was the Captain of the
Lord's host to Joshua, led
him over the swollen stream
of Jordan in flood tide,
around Jericho, in conquest
of Ai, helped him conquer
Canaan, divide the land, and
say good-bye to the children
of Israel. He was with
Gideon and his famous 300.
He was with Samuel when he
rebuked Saul. He was with
David when he wrote the
twenty-third psalm. He was
with Solomon when he built
the first temple. He was
with good king Hezekiah when
Sennacherib invaded the
land. He was with Josiah in
his great reformation that
brought the people back to
the law. He was with Ezekiel
and Daniel in Babylon. He
was with Jeremiah in Egypt.
He was with Ezra when he
returned from Babylon, and
with Nehemiah when he
rebuilt the wall. In fact,
He was with all those "who
through faith subdued
kingdoms, wrought
righteousness, obtained
promises, stopped the mouths
of lions, quenched the
violence of fire, escaped
the edge of the sword, out
of weakness were made
strong, waxed valiant in
fight, turned to flight the
armies of the aliens."
Abraham saw His day and
rejoiced. Jacob called Him
the "Lawgiver of Judah."
Moses called Him the
"Prophet that was to come."
Job called Him "My Living
Redeemer." Daniel called Him
the "Ancient of Days."
Jeremiah called Him "The
Lord our Righteousness."
Isaiah called Him "Wonderful
Counselor, the Mighty God,
the Everlasting Father, the
Prince of Peace."
All of this in the Old
Testament? Yes, and much
more besides. "To Him give
all the prophets witness."
Micah tells of the place of
His birth. Jonah tells of
His death, burial, and
resurrection. Amos tells of
His second coming to build
again the tabernacles of
David. Joel describes the
day of His wrath. Zechariah
tells of His coming reign as
King over all the earth.
Ezekiel gives us a picture
of His millennial temple.
In fact, my friends, it
matters little where we
wander down the aisles,
avenues, byways, or highways
of the Old Testament. Jesus
walks beside us as He walked
beside the two disciples on
that dusty road to Emmaus on
that glorious resurrection
day long, long ago.
Its types tell of Him, its
sacrifices show Him, its
symbols signify Him, its
histories are His-stories,
its songs are His
sentiments, its prophecies
are His pictures, its
promises are His pledges;
and our hearts burn within
us as we walk beside Him
across its living pages!
When we open the New
Testament, the Word which
was in the beginning with
God becomes flesh and dwells
among us, and we behold His
glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth.
There are four personal
histories of His earthly
life written In the New
Testament. One is by
Matthew, the redeemed
publican, and signifies His
lineage; one is by Mark, the
unknown servant, which
magnifies His service; one
is by Luke, "the beloved
physician," and tells of His
humanity; and one is by
John, "whom Jesus loved,"
and it tells of His deity.
He is Christ the King in
Matthew, the Servant in
Mark, the Man in Luke, and
the Incarnate Word in John.
Concerning His royal lineage
we learn that He was born in
Bethlehem, the Seed of
Abraham, the Son of David,
the Son of Mary, the Son of
God; and was acknowledged as
"King of the Jews," "Christ
the Lord," "God's Son," "The
Saviour of Men," by angels,
demons, shepherds, and wise
men; and that He received
tribute of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
Concerning His service we
learn that He labored as a
carpenter, opened eyes of
the blind, unstopped deaf
ears, loosed dumb tongues,
cleansed lepers, healed the
sick, restored withered
hands, fed the hungry,
sympathized with the sad,
washed the disciples' feet,
wept with Mary and Martha,
preached the Gospel to the
poor, went about doing good,
and gave His life as a
ransom for many.
Concerning His humanity we
learn that He was born of a
woman, as a little babe was
wrapped in swaddling
clothes, grew up and
developed as a child in
wisdom, stature, and in
favor with God and men. He
worked with His hands, He
grew weary, He hungered, He
thirsted, He slept, He felt
the surge of anger; knew
what it was to be sad, shed
tears, sweat drops of blood;
was betrayed, went though
the mockery of a criminal
trial, was scourged, had His
hands and feet pierced; wore
a crown of thorns, was spit
upon, was crucified, was
wrapped in a winding sheet,
and was buried in a borrowed
tomb behind a sealed stone,
and was guarded by Roman
soldiers in His death.
Concerning His deity we read
that He was born of a
virgin, lived a sinless
life, spoke matchless words,
stilled storms, calmed
waves, rebuked winds,
multiplied loaves, turned
water to wine, raised the
dead, foretold the future,
gave hearing to the deaf,
sight to the blind, speech
to the dumb, cast out
demons, healed diseases,
forgave sins, claimed
equality with God, arose
from the dead, possessed all
authority both in heaven and
in earth.
He was both God and Man; two
individuals united In one
personality. "As a man, He
thirsted; as God, He gave
living water. As a man, He
went to a wedding; as God,
He turned the water to wine.
As man, He slept in a boat;
as God, He stilled the
storm. As man, He was
tempted; as God, He sinned
not As man, He wept; as God,
He raised Lazarus from the
dead. As man, He prayed; as
God, He makes intercession
for all men."
This is what Paul means when
he writes, "Without
controversy great Is the
mystery of godliness; God
was manifest In the flesh,
justified in the Spirit,
seen of angels, preached
unto the Gentiles, believed
on in the world, received up
into glory." He was made
unto us wisdom,
righteousness,
sanctification, and
redemption. He is the Light
of this world. He is the
Bread of Life. He is the
True Vine. He is the Good
Shepherd. He is the Way. He
is the Life. He is the Door
to Heaven.
He is the Faithful Witness,
the First Begotten of the
dead, the Prince of the
kings of the earth, the King
of Kings, and the Lord of
lords, Alpha and Omega, the
first and the last, the
beginning and the ending,
the Lord who is, who was,
and who is to come, the
Almighty. "I am He that
liveth, and was dead; and
behold, I am alive
forevermore, and have the
keys of hell and of death."
He is the theme of the Bible
from beginning to end: He is
my Saviour, let Him be your
Saviour, too!
In Genesis He is the Seed of
the Woman
In Exodus He is the Passover
Lamb
In Leviticus He Is our High
Priest
In Numbers He is the Pillar
of Cloud by day and the
Pillar of Fire by night
In Deuteronomy He is the
Prophet like unto Moses
In Joshua He is the Captain
of our Salvation
In Judges He is our Judge
and Lawgiver
In Ruth He is our Kinsman
Redeemer
In 1 and 2 Samuel He is our
Trusted Prophet
In Kings and Chronicles He
Is our Reigning King
In Ezra He is the Rebuilder
of the broken down walls of
human life
In Esther He is our Mordecai
And in Job He is our
Ever-Living Redeemer, "For I
know my redeemer liveth."
In Psalms He is our Shepherd
In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes
He is our Wisdom
In the Song of Solomon He is
our Lover and Bridegroom
In Isaiah He is the Prince
of Peace
In Jeremiah He is the
Righteous Branch
In Lamentations He is our
Weeping Prophet
In Ezekiel He is the
wonderful Four-Faced Man
And in Daniel the Fourth Man
in "Life's Fiery Furnaces."
In Hosea He is the Faithful
Husband, "Forever married to
the backslider."
In Joel He is the Baptizer
with the Holy Ghost and Fire
In Amos He is our
Burden-Bearer
In Obadiah He is the Mighty
to Save
In Jonah He Is our great
Foreign Missionary
In Micah He is the Messenger
of Beautiful Feet
In Nahum He is the Avenger
of God's Elect
In Habakkuk He is God's
Evangelist, crying, "Revive
thy work in the midst of the
years."
In Zephaniah He is our
Saviour
In Haggai He is the Restorer
of Gods lost heritage
In Zechariah He is the
Fountain opened to the house
of David for sin and
uncleanness
In Malachi He is the Sun of
Righteousness, rising with
healing in His wings
In Matthew He is the Messiah
In Mark He is the
Wonder-Worker
In Luke He is the Son of Man
In John He is the Son of God
In Acts He is the Holy Ghost
In Romans He is our
Justifier
In 1 and 2 Corinthians He is
our Sanctifier
In Galatians He is our
Redeemer from the curse of
the law
In Ephesians He is the
Christ of unsearchable
riches
In Philippians He is the God
who supplies all our needs
In Colossians He is the
fullness of the Godhead,
bodily
In 1 and 2 Thessalonians He
is our Soon-Coming King
In 1 and 2 Timothy He is our
Mediator between God and man
In Titus He is our Faithful
Pastor
In Philemon He is a Friend
that sticketh closer than a
brother
In Hebrews He is the Blood
of the Everlasting Covenant
In James He is our Great
Physician, for "The prayer
of faith shall save the
sick."
In 1 and 2 Peter He is our
Chief Shepherd, who soon
shall appear with a crown of
unfading glory
In 1, 2 and 3 John He is
Love
In Jude He is the Lord
coming with ten thousands of
His saints
And in Revelation He is the
King of kings and Lord of
lords!
He is Abel's Sacrifice,
Noah's Rainbow, Abraham's
Ram, Isaac's Wells, Jacob's
Ladder, Issachar's Burdens,
Jacob's Sceptre, Balaam's
Shiloh, Moses' Rod, Joshua's
Sun and Moon that stood
still, Elijah's Mantle,
Elisha's Staff, Gideon's
Fleece, Samuel's Horn of
Oil, David's Slingshot,
Isaiah's Fig Poultice,
Hezekiah's Sundial, Daniel's
Visions, Amos' Burden, and
Malachi's Sun of
Righteousness.
He is Peter's Shadow,
Stephen's Signs and Wonders,
Paul's Handkerchiefs and
Aprons, and John's Pearly
White City.
He is Father to the Orphan,
Husband to the Widow, to the
traveler in the night He is
the Bright and Morning Star,
to those who walk in the
Lonesome Valley He is the
Lily of the Valley, the Rose
of Sharon, and Honey in the
Rock.
He is the Brightness of
God's Glory, the Express
Image of His Person, the
King of Glory, the Pearl of
Great Price, the Rock in a
Weary Land, the Cup that
runneth over, the Rod and
Staff that comfort, and the
Government of our life Is
upon his shoulders.
He is Jesus of Nazareth, the
Son of the living God! My
Saviour, my Companion, my
Lord and King!
-Author unknown-
