Behavior is a mirror,
in which we show
our true image.
fkj
in which we show
our true image.
fkj
The Image of the Lord
Have you ever reflected about what our Lord really looked like when he walked the Judean hills? Have you ever daydreamed of what it would have been like to actually have sat with him, and looked into His eyes?
My favorite image of Christ comes from an old Sunday school teaching pamphlet. It is a picture of Christ as a young man at the time of the Passover celebration. He is garbed in a white robe and has a small white lamb clutched to his chest, the lambs forelegs are drooped over his arm while his head resting on his neck and shoulder.
I rather doubt that any of the images we have been so quick to embrace accurately reflect what Jesus really looked like. The prophet Isaiah gave us a hint to this end when he said:
“Who has believed our message?
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
that we should look upon Him,
nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him."
[Isaiah 53:1,2 NASB (my emphasis bold)]
My favorite image of Christ comes from an old Sunday school teaching pamphlet. It is a picture of Christ as a young man at the time of the Passover celebration. He is garbed in a white robe and has a small white lamb clutched to his chest, the lambs forelegs are drooped over his arm while his head resting on his neck and shoulder.
I rather doubt that any of the images we have been so quick to embrace accurately reflect what Jesus really looked like. The prophet Isaiah gave us a hint to this end when he said:
“Who has believed our message?
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
that we should look upon Him,
nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him."
[Isaiah 53:1,2 NASB (my emphasis bold)]
Unlike the crowning of King Saul the “people’s choice” a man of great stature and “beauty” [See: 1 Samuel 8:5; 9:2], I believe that Christ was most likely a very plain fellow to look at.
When He walked the earth, people were not drawn to His stature, His charisma, or the “beautiful robes” He might have worn. They were drawn to His words, to His integrity, and yes, to the miracles that He performed. Often the people were amazed at what He said, what He did, and surely by the miracles. Perhaps, part of their amazement was that such a plain little man, with the blistered hands of a carpenter, was doing these things.
Some who knew Him had the pleasure of leaning upon His chest, some kissed Him, some touched His garments, and many thronged after Him hoping to receive from His words or the touch of His hand. For those closest to Him, they even felt the touch of His hands as he washed their feet. Yet for all that they experienced, all that is recorded in the Scripture, their touch of Jesus was far inferior to the touch that we can experience today.
Yes, I too would thrill to sit at His feet in that time; but today, we are blessed in that we are able to touch a resurrected Christ! In the time of Christ on earth, He was restricted as a man to time and space. Often He would heal people and say: “Go, but tell no one” (paraphrased) [Ex. See Matthew 8:4], because, He was physically drained. Crowds flocked after Him, pressed in to receive a touch from the Masters hand....but do you see the point?...they had to be in His physical presence. (The only notable exception I can think of was the Centurion’s daughter).
One of the primary missions of the Holy Spirit is to bring the resurrected life of Jesus Christ to us. We are freed from the limitations of time and space because of the finished work of Calvary. Today the risen Lord is in the work of Holy Spirit. Today we see (spiritually) far more than even the disciples saw. Is it any wonder why Christ said that it was expedient that He returned to the Father? [John 16:7]
When people met the Lord on earth they saw how tall he was, what His physical features were, how wise He was, and how old he was. But we are able to receive the testimony of a resurrected and glorified Christ through the ministry of His Spirit.
We are able to behold His work in us, and His work extended through us. We are partakers of His divine nature, birthed in us through His Spirit. As His servants, and by His Spirit many may know the resurrection power of the Christ in us...to His Glory!
Walking with you in His light! ...
30 fkj
When He walked the earth, people were not drawn to His stature, His charisma, or the “beautiful robes” He might have worn. They were drawn to His words, to His integrity, and yes, to the miracles that He performed. Often the people were amazed at what He said, what He did, and surely by the miracles. Perhaps, part of their amazement was that such a plain little man, with the blistered hands of a carpenter, was doing these things.
Some who knew Him had the pleasure of leaning upon His chest, some kissed Him, some touched His garments, and many thronged after Him hoping to receive from His words or the touch of His hand. For those closest to Him, they even felt the touch of His hands as he washed their feet. Yet for all that they experienced, all that is recorded in the Scripture, their touch of Jesus was far inferior to the touch that we can experience today.
Yes, I too would thrill to sit at His feet in that time; but today, we are blessed in that we are able to touch a resurrected Christ! In the time of Christ on earth, He was restricted as a man to time and space. Often He would heal people and say: “Go, but tell no one” (paraphrased) [Ex. See Matthew 8:4], because, He was physically drained. Crowds flocked after Him, pressed in to receive a touch from the Masters hand....but do you see the point?...they had to be in His physical presence. (The only notable exception I can think of was the Centurion’s daughter).
One of the primary missions of the Holy Spirit is to bring the resurrected life of Jesus Christ to us. We are freed from the limitations of time and space because of the finished work of Calvary. Today the risen Lord is in the work of Holy Spirit. Today we see (spiritually) far more than even the disciples saw. Is it any wonder why Christ said that it was expedient that He returned to the Father? [John 16:7]
When people met the Lord on earth they saw how tall he was, what His physical features were, how wise He was, and how old he was. But we are able to receive the testimony of a resurrected and glorified Christ through the ministry of His Spirit.
We are able to behold His work in us, and His work extended through us. We are partakers of His divine nature, birthed in us through His Spirit. As His servants, and by His Spirit many may know the resurrection power of the Christ in us...to His Glory!
Walking with you in His light! ...
30 fkj
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