As through a Telescope

Jesus Christ

19for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20according to my eager expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

– Philippians 1:19-20
(NASB® © 2020)
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Christ Shall Be Lifted Up

The Exaltation of Christ

God has highly exalted Christ and given Him a name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9). The man Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God. Objectively, Christ cannot be exalted any higher: God has already given Him the highest place.

We have contributed nothing to this exaltation, nor can we. But we can – like the apostle Paul – ensure through our life or death that Christ is exalted in the eyes of men. This is the subjective side of Christ’s exaltation.

If we have Christ as our purpose in life and honor Him, He is made greater in the eyes of men through us. We are then like a telescope that does not magnify the star, but makes it appear larger in the eye of the beholder.

Are you someone who magnifies Christ before your fellow human beings and brothers and sisters? Can it be said of those around you: “The name of the Lord Jesus has been exalted”? (Acts 19:17)

Light and Darkness: From Birth to the Cross

Light and Darkness

Christ’s Birth and Christ’s Cross

“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.” Luke 2:8, 9

“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani,” that is, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” Matthew 27:45, 46

In the first scene, it suddenly becomes daylight in the middle of the night near Bethlehem. Why? Because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born. The visible light of that memorable night is a divine sign that through Jesus Christ a great light has come into the darkness, coldness, and forgetfulness of mankind. He is “the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man” (John 1:9).

In the second scene, it suddenly becomes pitch black over Golgotha at midday. Why? Because Jesus Christ was forsaken by God on the cross because of our sins. The literal darkness of these three hours shows that the Lord Jesus endured on the cross of Golgotha what would have been our part as sinners: to be in the “gloom of utter darkness” forever (Jude 13).

We want to give thanks that the Son of God came into this world and died on the cross so that we can come into the wonderful light of God and remain there forever.

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Jesus Christ

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Jesus Christ

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Jesus Christ

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Jesus Christ

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