October 17

JESUS, THE PATTERN SON / PART 1

JESUS IS GOD’S GREATEST SIGN

According to Bill Britton:

-"JESUS is God's greatest sign! In Isaiah 7:14 the prophet cried out, "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Now, beloved, get your Bibles, for I want to show you that the Sign was not the virgin who brought forth. It was not the swaddling clothes He was wrapped in, nor was the miraculous birth itself the promised Sign, but rather it was the One Who was born and brought into the world in such a manner. He was and still is God's greatest Sign. Now a sign is that which points to something, and this man Jesus, His birth, life, death and resurrection points unerringly to that great thing which God is doing in the earth, His eternal Purpose in Christ Jesus! The angels spoke to the shepherds in the field on that glorious night, "Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. AND THIS SHALL BE A SIGN UNTO YOU." And then they went on to tell them where to find the child. In Luke, chapter two, that old prophet of God, Simeon, came by the Spirit into the temple and there he found Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus. Here we find hands being laid on Jesus and prophecy going forth over Him at the tender age of six weeks. For Simeon took Him up in his arms and began to prophesy. Hear, my friends, what the Spirit said about Him: "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and FOR A SIGN which shall be spoken against." ( Jesus, The Pattern Son, Bill Britton )

-Now that we have established that Jesus is God’s greatest sign ( a pattern ), let us look to Hebrews 2:9-18, which states what He went through for EVERY MAN. In essence, Jesus laid down a PATTERN for all who would follow in His footsteps.

-Hebrews 2:9,10,17,18 states, … But we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became Him, for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings … Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted …

-As we can see, the Captain of our salvation was perfected through suffering and temptation, for this is …

-THE SIGN AND PATTERN FOR ALL OF GOD’S SONS!-