He is No Longer Weak

Today's Reading: Isaiah 53 and 2 Peter 2

Scripture:

"He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him…He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that was led slaughter." Isaiah 53:3&7

Observation:

This passage from Isaiah prophesies about Jesus. These descriptions of Jesus were revealed to the prophet and penned long before Jesus would come down from heaven and tread upon the surface of the earth as our Messiah. This is the image of Jesus that the church teaches on the most. Meek. Submissive. Unattractive. Broken. Crushed. Turn the other cheek. Led to destruction.

While these words all accurately describe Jesus before the cross they leave out a very important fact; Jesus rose again. The man he was before the cross does not represent the Majestic Being that He is today.

Application:

I need to reprogram my image of Jesus. He is not some weak, feeble, soft man. He humbled Himself to become that and die, but once His obedience completed its course He returned to His place in heaven and that is the image of Jesus I need to see.

Revelation 1:12-20 is an amazing passage reflecting the Jesus I serve. In these verses John sees the resurrected Jesus and his description of Him is quite different than Isaiah's accurate portrait of what He would be like on earth.

Upon seeing the resurrected Jesus in His heavenly form, John does not describe Him as having no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him. John describes what he saw and then says that he fell at the feet of Jesus as a dead man. Brother was so overwhelmed that he passed smooth out from fear.

Jesus IS so powerful. He IS so majestic. He IS so intimidating that a man who walked with Him before the cross was not able to stand in His presence. That is the image of Jesus I need to get.

Prayer:

Father the image I cling to of Your Son is the weak image of Him as a man. The result of that is I am often a weak Christian. I ask this morning that You break down my thoughts of Christ and help me to comprehend the power and majesty of the God and Savior that I serve as He IS today.

Jesus was once dead, but He is now alive. Jesus once had no majesty, but is now full of majesty. Jesus once had no stately form, but now has a presence that is beyond description. I pray Father that the truth of who Your Son IS today will lead me to a knew place of comprehending the strength and power of my faith.