“The Man Christ Jesus” (#67)

“Blessed is the man…“ (Psalm 1:1)
“I am a worm and no man…” (Psalm 22:5)
“…that man whom he hath ordained…” (Acts 17:31)

 

In His life, our Lord Jesus was the “blessed man” (Psalm 1):

He was completely separate from sinners (Psalm 1:1) –  “without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19). His daily delight was in the will and law of His God (Psalm 1:2; 40:8).  His food was to do the will of the Father that sent Him, and to finish His work (John 4:34). He brought forth His fruit in its season (Psalm 1:3). Every word was spoken and every action was done at the right time and in the right way. His life was one continual display of the fruit of the Spirit. His leaf did not wither: There was no variance in His spiritual life. He did not have good days and bad days. Every one of the more than 10,000 days that He lived here on earth was a perfect day. In whatever He did, He prospered. The blessing of God was upon His life. He was a greater steward than Joseph (Genesis 39:3) and Scripture reveals how all that the Father placed in His hand prospered.

In His death, our Lord Jesus was “no man” (Psalm 22:5):

Men treated our blessed Saviour in a way in which no man ought ever to be treated. Their cruelty was restrained. They felt no more guilt in torturing Him than you or I might feel in crushing a worm as we walk the sidewalk after a summer rain. Towards Him they manifested all the hatred that was in their hearts against God. He was so much more than just a man, but they treated Him as though He was less than a man.

In His resurrection, our Lord Jesus is the “ordained man” (Acts 17:31):

This word “ordained” simply means ‘appointed.’ God has not only appointed a day in which He will judge the world, but He has also appointed a man to judge this world. That man is our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the elect man – the one whom God has chosen to be everything that His heart has ever desired in a man and to fulfill every office that He ever intended for man. The world that judged “this man” (Luke 23:18) will one day be judged by “that man” (Acts 17:31). What a shock it will be for the world to learn that “that man” is “this man”!

How do we know that all this will happen? God has “given assurance unto all men”  by raising our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead? The resurrection of our Lord is not only the sign of God’s approval regarding His work of Calvary, it is also a promise to sinners of coming judgment and a promise to saints of coming glory.

What a joy we will have when we are associated with “that man” in the day of His glory!