When Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following Him, He said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” Luke 7:9.

And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself. John 12:32.

Do not judge others. Matthew 7:1.

And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 89: His Resurrection declared. Psalm 22:22: I will tell of Your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You. And, John 20:17: Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and Your God.’”

There is something incredibly amazing and humbling in sharing what you are learning about Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit. Because we are all of us learning. This morning I was able to host our Friday Zoom Retreat and having never hosted anything on Zoom, I practiced beforehand. What looked so easy as an attendee was not as a presenter, but it is God and not us who gives wisdom and understanding, we just share our excitement and awe. I have been thinking a lot lately about Jesus. The first Scripture verse cited above shows us the amazement Jesus had with the Roman centurion and that He had not found such great faith in Israel among His own people. I don’t want to fall prey to their mindset of being so sure of what the Messiah would be and do that they could not recognize Him from their own Scriptures even as He performed miracles they acknowledged only God could do. Lest we feel superior to them two thousand years later, we would be wise to remember Israel was chosen because of the faith of Abraham. Abraham wasn’t perfect and neither was Israel then or now and neither are we then and now. Jesus’ birth was foretold hundreds of years before He came. His crucifixion was foretold in Psalm 22 which we are examining at length in our Old Testament prophecies, 351 that point to Jesus Himself. As I shared with our group this morning, we know Jesus as a baby, as a 12 year old at the Temple amazing the teachers, as a man walking along the beach calling His first 4 disciples, as His ministry came forward and as He was rejected, also foretold by prophecy. What about Jesus now? What about when He returns? When asked by His disciples about the end times, He warned them that some would say there He is over there, or here He is over here, but not to be fooled. All will know when He returns in the clouds, there will be no doubt for anyone on earth. But what are we who love Him now expecting Him to be like? What did ancient Israel expect Him to be like that was not what He was?

I shared Psalm 45. A song celebrating the King’s marriage. As in Scripture, there is an immediate fulfillment and a distant prophetic fulfillment. This is a king of Israel, and this is also no human king. This is Jesus, the Son, the Bridegroom. My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore God has blessed You forever. Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One, in Your splendor and Your majesty! And in Your majesty ride on victoriously, for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let Your right hand teach You awesome things. Your arrows are sharp; the peoples fall under You; Your arrows are in the heart of the King’s enemies. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows. All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad. Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies; at Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir. Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear: forget your people and your father’s house; then the King will desire your beauty. Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him. The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; the rich among the people will seek your favor. The King’s daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is interwoven with gold. She will be led to the King in embroidered work; the virgins, her companions who follow her, will be brought to You. They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing; they will enter into the King’s palace. In place of your fathers will be your sons; You shall make them princes in all the earth. I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever. In the Book of Hebrews, in showing us Jesus, the author quoted this very Psalm: But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions.” Hebrews 1:8-9.

When I think about our world today, walking in the same darkness, recycling the same old sins of pride and violence and power in rulers and kingdoms, in other words, nothing new under the sun, it helps me to see Jesus, the Son, Creator God. Everything points to Him and the love He brings to bear in hearts turned to Him. Will we truly recognize Him when we stand before Him? How will we know?

***MY JESUS, I LOVE THEE My Jesus, I love Thee; I know Thou are mine; for Thee all the follies of sin I resign. My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou; if ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now. I love Thee because Thou has first loved me and purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree. I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow; if ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now. I’ll love Thee in life; I will love Thee in death and praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath and say, when the death-dew lies cold on my brow, “If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.” In mansions of glory and endless delight, I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright. I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow; “If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.” William K. Featherston, “My Jesus, I Love Thee,” 1864.***