Hidden (Krypto) Treasures

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Tag: Son of God

What happened on Christmas? – Perspective Matters

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On December 25, 2020

In Christian

Going through some old pictures, I came across a picture that we as a family took in front of the art piece Lion au Serpent (1830s) when we visited the Musée du Louvre in Paris, in June 2015. While this may not seem to be directly connected with the motif of Christmas, closer scrutiny of this rendition surfaces the hidden treasure of what happened on Christmas?

Many a time we leave Christ as a babe in the manger instead of letting him be the reigning Savior and King of our lives. Pictures of the nativity, the star of Jacob, the magi and the manger, and more are shared through cards as greetings and while these things are apt to describe the unfathomable historic event of Christ Jesus’ birth on earth, they tend to limit our perspectives of what happened on Christmas.

Reflecting on this thought, there are a few perspectives of Christmas that I’d like to share that we ought not to miss.
On Christmas:
The Son of God (Col 1:15) became The Son of man (Luke 2:12)
The Prince of Peace from heaven (Isa 9:6-7) became a pauper on earth (Isa 53:9)
The King of Heaven became homeless on Earth (Matthew 8:20)
The Promised Son (Gen 3:15) was given for the prodigals 
God condescended so man could ascend (Heb 2:9-10)
The Potentate Lion of Judah came to earth as The Passover Lamb (Rev 5:5-6)

And you may ask – So What?
The son of God became the Son of man so sons and daughters of men can become sons and daughters of God);
The Prince of Peace became a pauper so that we who are paupers can become prince and princesses in heaven;
The King of heaven became homeless on earth so we who are homeless can have a home in heaven;
The Promised Son was given for the prodigals so that we who are prodigals can return home and be accepted just as we are;
God condescended so that we can ascend as sons and daughters of glory and be blessed in heavenly places.

What does Christmas mean to you? What is your Christmas perspective?
Is Christ Jesus, The Lion King of your life?

Merry Christmas. The Lord Jesus – The Lion of Judah has triumphed over the serpent.

Jesus in the NT :: Luke

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On December 7, 2011

In Christian

The book of Luke gives us a glimpse of who Jesus is in the  New Testament (N.T)

It is written by Luke, a physician by profession, who writes about Jesus, THE PHYSICIAN.

Jesus healed
– the possessed to show that those who are in bondage can be made free and he/she whom Jesus makes free is free indeed (John 8:36)
– the blind to show that darkness is dispelled by the Light (of the World)
– the deaf to show that the good news can be heard
– the mute to show that even the dumb can proclaim the good news
– the paralytics to show that that invalid can be made valid
– the lepers to show the unclean can be made clean
– the shriveled hand to show that the withered can be made whole/stretched to serve
– the lame to show that one can no longer have a lame excuse to not walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4)
and even
– the dead to show that In him is life, life abundant and those who believe in Him, though they are dead yet shall they live (John 11:25).

The one verse summarization of who Jesus is, as portrayed by Luke can be found in the story of Zacchaeus (the seeker) that is recorded in Luke 19:10 which reads “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that  which was lost.” Not only does this verse inform us of the PERSONALITY of Jesus Christ, but it also informs us of His PURPOSE and POSITION. Jesus’ personality is a SEEKING personality for He is the Good Shepherd that will go after even the One who is lost (Matthew 18:12) so that His purpose, which is to SAVE all  (2 Peter 3:9) who believe is fulfilled and even though He is the Son of God, He took on the form of man, as the Son of man to SEEK and to SAVE.

In Luke, Jesus is portrayed as the Son of man, but what does that title mean. Before we delve into exploring what the title “the Son of man” means, it is interesting to note that the book of Luke is the only gospel that records the childhood of Jesus and gives us a model of how our own children should be raised. The two verses that speak of Jesus’ childhood are Luke 2:40 and Luke 2:52. Luke 2:40 informs us that as Jesus grew, he grew strong in Spirit and was filled with wisdom (the reverence/fear of the Lord) and God’s grace was upon him. Luke 2:52 lays down the four-fold development model as to how we should raise our own children. It states, And Jesus increased in wisdom (mentally) and stature (physical), and in favour with God (spiritually) and man (socially).  We must raise our children in the fear of the Lord as well so that they can grow mentally, physically, spiritually loving God and socially loving their neighbor as themselves.

So what does the title “the Son of man” mean? To answer this question, we need to go to the Book of Daniel. Recorded in Daniel 7:13-14 in a vision which gives us a clue. Daniel 7:13-14 reads
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven (Mark 14:62), and came to the Ancient of days (Psalm 90:2), and they brought him near before him.
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory (a Name above all names – Philippians 2), and a kingdom (the King of the Jews), that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him (all knees should bow to Jesus and confess that He is God): his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom (the kingdom of the King of kings) that which shall not be destroyed.

In Luke, Jesus is the Son of man, which means He is the King of kings, with an indomitable indestructible kingdom, who first came to SEEK and to SAVE (heal) all who are lost (dead without God), and who will come with the clouds of heaven to be SERVED.

Points to ponder:
The sheep that refuses to fall into the seeking hands of the Good Shepherd cannot be saved. Jesus is seeking you! Have you placed your life in his hand by believing in Him. If you do, he will place you on his shoulders (Luke 15:5) and lift you up out of the horrible pit/abyss and place your foot on a strong and sure foundation (Psalm 40:2), which is Himself.

And for those who have been Saved by His Grace, are we practicing to serve Him here on earth, for we certainly will be serving him in heaven, when He returns and it may be a good idea to get some practice now.

Jesus in the OT :: Daniel

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On December 22, 2009

In Christian, Jesus in the O.T.

The book of Daniel gives us a glimpse of who Jesus is in the Old Testament (O.T).

The book can be divided into two major sections. The first half is about the Personal life of Daniel (Chapter 1-6) while the second half  is about the Prophetic life of Daniel (Chapter 7-12), about the visions/revelation to Daniel. Rightfully so, Daniel can be said to be the Revelation of the end times in the O.T.

From the first half of the book, you can see how God is with Daniel and his friends who are faithful, in the midst of fire and fierce lions. God is their judge and the justice of God prevails. The very name Daniel means God is my Judge and you see this character of God being evident in the life of Daniel and his faithful friends. In the story of the 3 Hebrew boys, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, whom we commonly known by their Babylonian names as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, when these boys were thrown into the consuming fire, not only was God’s PROTECTION with them because they came out unscathed, but God’s PRESENCE was with them as well.

The fascinating account is recorded in Daniel 3 and the synopsis of that account is as follows

  1. The boys were cast into the fire bound by the mighty men of the land; They however came out of the fire loosed by the Almighty God of all men
  2. The king saw someone else in the fire whom he identified as the Son of God (Jesus Christ – the Only begotten and beloved Son of God)

Today, irrespective of what your situation is, if you earnestly seek to be free of bondage and the fire around you to be quenched, all you have to do is just open the eyes of your heart and look to Jesus, the Son of God, in the midst of the fire, protecting and freeing you. Pay attention and heed to what He is telling you, for He is the beloved Son of God, in whom God is well pleased.

From the second half of the book, as we continue to explore Christ in the scriptures, lets look at Daniel 7:9 which is recorded as

9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: [on] his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

Remember Jesus said , Before Abraham was, I am (John 8:58). He indeed is the Ancient of days, from before the time of Abraham or even creation (Psalm 90:2).
Jesus also said that He saw Satan [star] fall from heaven  (Luke 10:18; Rev 9:1). The throne of Satan cast down.

In Daniel, Jesus is the Ancient of days and He is not only the protecting Son of God but He is also the PRESENT Son of God, in the midst of the fire.

Jesus in the OT :: Ezekiel

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On December 21, 2009

In Christian, Jesus in the O.T.

The book of Ezekiel gives us a glimpse of who Jesus is in the Old Testament (O.T).

An excellent book, which on the onset may seem extreme. Ezekiel is a prophet who was asked not to cry when his wife died to symbolize absolutely no sympathy for Israel, a book in which even the dry dead bones come alive.  A beautifully written book in which the fall of the proud one and the means of redemption from the clutches of the fallen are recorded. Ezekiel 28 records the fall of God’s angel Lucifer and Ezekiel 34 avers Jesus to be the True Shepherd with a covenant of peace (Ezekiel 34:23-25) and showers of blessings (Ezekiel 34:26).

Ezekiel 1 records the vision, the prophet Ezekiel has wherein he witnesses the visages of the heavenly creatures. Each had four faces, one face was like that of a lion, one face was like that of an ox, one of a man, and one of an eagle. This beautifully ties into the new  testament wherein in
Matthew – Jesus is portrayed as the Lion of Judah (Face of Lion)
Mark – Jesus is portrayed as the servant (Diligent service as an Ox)
Luke – Jesus is portrayed as the the son of man (face of a man) and in
John – Jesus is portrayed as the Son of God (Eagle symbolizing a divine bird, soaring the heavens).

In Ezekiel, Jesus is the True Shepherd, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the diligent Servant, Son of Man, and the Son of God with a new covenant.

The Proclamation

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On January 3, 2009

In Christian

What a wonderful God we serve. With the Promise given, and a Pledge made, today’s morning meditation was from Psalm 2, in which God makes this proclamation (a decree) and tells unto us in Psalm 2:7 – “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. …”

Verse 11 however commands that we need to Serve the Lord with fear and trembling.
Verse 12 states Blessed are all they that put their trust in the Son of God (in Jesus Christ).

Lord, my prayer to you is this, that I will wholeheartedly serve you with fear and trembling reverence. Blessed is your name.

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