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(Originally given by Arthur Glass,
and expanded upon by Rabbi Loren Jacobs)
Yeshua is the most special and most important human being who ever lived. Our relationship to God, our destiny, our salvation, our eternal life, all depend on understanding who He is.
His Name Is Wonderful!
In the Holy Scriptures a person’s name is significant. It often tells us about their character, their nature, their essential qualities. Sometimes that name tells us about the purpose that God has for them to accomplish. One of Messiah’s many names is “Peleh”. It is a Hebrew word meaning “something wonderful or amazing, a miracle, a wonder”. It is found in Isaiah 9:6-7: For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful (Peleh), Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. Messiah Yeshua is wondrous, miraculous, amazing, astounding, and everything about Him is full of wonder.
He is wonderful because of His unique nature. He is El Gibor, the Mighty God and yet at the same time He is a yeled yulad lanu, and a ben nee-tan lanu – a child born to us and a son given to us. The Mighty God, who created the entire vast universe, somehow became a child, and took on a human nature and forever joined himself to human nature. That the Mighty God would become a weak infant, and be held in one of Joseph’s hands, is absolutely amazing to me. Messiah Yeshua is forever and fully God, and forever and fully Man. There is no one like Him in this respect. His Divine and human natures are an eternal mystery worth wondering about.
He is wonderful because of His very special birth. The prophet Micah tells us that Messiah, unlike the rest of us, existed before His birth: But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. Yeshua existed before He was born on Earth, and was the only person who could choose how and where to be born, and He chose to be born not into a rich and influential family, but into a poor Jewish family. The One who experienced all the glories of Heaven didn’t choose to be born in a palace but born in the most humble of circumstances, and then placed in a manger – a feeding trough where animals ate. He did not choose to be born into a free people, but into a nation that was living under occupation.
In spite of this, Yeshua has become the most famous Jewish man who ever lived; more famous than Abraham, Moses, or David; more famous than Freud or Einstein. Prophets predicted His birth. Righteous people were given visions, dreams, and prophetic utterances about His birth. A virgin miraculously conceived to bring forth His birth. Heavenly signs attended His birth, guiding wise men from far away lands to worship Him. Angels announced His birth. Jewish shepherds praised God at His birth.
There are eternal consequences to His birth. Someone observed that ever since the Incarnation, no one can ever say to God, “Creator of the universe, You can’t possibly understand us. You are perfect, eternal, distant, far removed from humanity.” No, He does know. He does understand us. Because of Yeshua’s birth as a human being, God knows very well. He knows us from the inside. And, because of our faith in our great Kinsman Redeemer, we have been joined to the Son of Man, and our Elder Brother, and are now and forever bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh!
He is wonderful due to His place in the Word of God. He Himself is the author of the written Word of God. He Himself is the living Word of God. He is the Ultimate Revealer of God. He is the ultimate communicator of truth, the final Prophet, God’s Messenger and the Message in living form. He is the personification of all that God wants to say to mankind. Yeshua is the final communication of God to mankind. What God wants to communicate to mankind comes to us through Yeshua. He Himself is an essential part of the message that God wants us to understand. He is the main subject of the Word of God.
He is the focus of the prophecies, from the first prophecy in Genesis when Eve was told that a descendant of hers would crush the head of the serpent, to the last book of the Bible where it is written that the testimony of Yeshua is the spirit of prophecy.
So many of the ancient prophecies witness to humanity about Yeshua. In fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah and David, Messiah was Immanuel, God with us, born into humanity. In fulfillment of the prophecy of Daniel, Messiah came before 70 A.D. In fulfillment of the prophecy of Micah, He was born in Bethlehem and yet originated from the days of eternity. In fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah, He is Israel’s king who entered Jerusalem triumphantly, yet humbly on a donkey.
In fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, He was rejected by the majority of Israel, especially the leaders. He was silent before His accusers. He was tried and condemned even though He was innocent.
In fulfillment of the prophecies of Micah and Isaiah, Messiah Yeshua was beaten and spit on. In fulfillment of the prophecies of the Psalms, He was mocked and taunted, lots were cast for His garments, and He died by crucifixion.
In fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah and David, Messiah rose from the dead. In fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah, He brought in a New Covenant, unlike the one made at Sinai, which we broke and is in ruins.
He is Israel’s long predicted, long-awaited, long expected Messiah, the Anointed Ruler that God sent to save us, who in Himself fulfills the three offices of prophet, priest and king.
He is the greatest Prophet, who most clearly heard from God and told us the truth, whose teachings are supremely authoritative. He is our chief rabbi, our Teacher who guides us into all truth, our Wonderful Counselor who gives miraculous advice – unfailing in the depths of its wisdom – to everyone who asks Him for it.
He is our High Priest whose priesthood is superior to that of Aaron. He is the one and only Mediator between God and Mankind. He is Jacob’s Ladder, connecting Earth and Heaven. He is our High Priest who offers sacrifice for us, atones for us, reconciles us to God, continues to intercede for us, and who even now prays for us, and forever saves us because of His eternal life.
Not only is He our High Priest, but He is also the Final Sacrifice, enabling us to be reconciled to the Creator from whom the whole world is estranged. He is our sin offering that atones for us, our burnt offering that enables us to be dedicated to God, the peace offering that brings us wholeness, completeness, well-being and peace with God.
He is the Son of Abraham, the Lion of Judah, and the final King of David’s royal line, who will save Israel, gather Israel, protect Israel, rule over Israel and restore true worship to Israel. He will establish peace and righteousness and salvation and the knowledge of God to Israel and the other nations of the world. He will usher in the fullness of the New and Eternal Covenant that will bless Israel and all the families of the Earth.
Not only does Yeshua fulfill the direct prophecies about the Messiah, but also the types, symbols that point us to the Messiah. He is the true Israel, who succeeded where Israel failed. Like Israel, He is God’s Son, but unlike Israel, God’s firstborn son among the nations, the Son of God was always faithful to His Father.
He is our Sabbath Rest, the One who brings true rest to the weary human soul. He is our Passover Lamb who enables God to passover all of our sins forever, saving us from our Egypts of sin and eternal death. He is our Matzah – the Unleavened Bread, our Sinless One, who was victorious over sin and who can break the cycle of sin transmitted from generation to generation. He is our Firstfruits, the First One to be raised from the dead, thereby giving hope that all who believe in Him will likewise be raised from the dead. He is our coming King, who arrival will be heralded by great shofars, who will soon rule over Israel and the nations, and our Yom Kippur Scape-Goat, who brings perfect and final atonement. He is our Sukkah, our Tabernacle into which we are harvested into God’s eternal Kingdom.
He is the true Temple, in which God lives. He is our Aron Kodesh, our Holy Ark, in which the Word of God dwelt, over which the presence of God hovered, and our bronze Mizbeach, our altar which atones for us, our Washbasin which cleans us so we can serve God, our golden Menorah which sheds the light on us, our Bread of the Presence which feeds us, our Golden Altar which enables our prayers and praises to ascend and be accepted by God.
He is the Seed of the Woman who will destroy the serpent, and undo all the damage done by the adversary. He is the Rock that was smitten, providing us with the mayim chaim – the living water of everlasting life, so that our thirst for God, for life, for meaning, is forever quenched. He is the Bread of Life that came down out of Heaven, giving life to the world, infinitely better than the mannah that our fathers ate in the wilderness, since they died.
He is the Star that arises from Jacob, shining the light of Heaven on those living in darkness, confusion and the shadow of death; He is the Branch that brings forth the fruit of everlasting life, so that believing in Him is like eating from the Tree of Life. He is the Stone that the builders rejected, but the Stone that God set firmly in place to be the foundation of all that God is building: the Cornerstone which will support our lives eternally.
He is the Messenger of the New Covenant, announcing the formation of a new and better relationship with God, and is Himself the One who made that new agreement between God and man possible.
In Genesis He is Noah’s Ark which saves us from destruction. He is the Seed of Abraham through whom the whole world will be blessed. In Exodus He is the Passover Lamb. In Leviticus He is the Yom Kippur Atonement, and our ultimate High Priest. He fulfills the Ark of the Covenant, the Temple, the Sacrifices and the Holidays. In Numbers, He is the rock that was smitten that provided water for us to drink, and the star to arise from Jacob. In Deuteronomy, He is the prophet greater than Moses. In Joshua, He is the Captain of the Lord of Hosts. In Judges, He is the Angel of the Lord. In the book of Ruth, He is the kinsman redeemer. In Samuel, Kings and Chronicles He is the ultimate King of David’s line. Throughout the Psalms, Proverbs and other wisdom literature, He is the wisdom of God. Throughout the prophets He is the coming Messiah, the Savior, the Branch, the Stone that the builders rejected and Adonai Tzidkaynu (the Lord who makes us righteous).
In Hebrew, final letters are always at the end of words. But in a unique instance, a final letter (mem sofit) is at the beginning of the word “increase” (marbay in Isaiah 9:7)! This indicates that when He begins to rule on the throne of David, His rule will increase and never end. When Messiah Yeshua is involved, even the grammatical rules of Scripture do wonderful things!
Yeshua is wonderful because of His unparalleled power. John declared of Him: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (two Persons – equal in nature, and yet separate and distinct as to their Person). He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
Also writing about Him, Rabbi Paul asserted: By Him, all things were created both in the Heavens and on Earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created by Yeshua and for Yeshua. Yeshua is the Creator of the host of angelic beings, the billions of galaxies with their trillions of stars, this planet and everything on it, including this city and all its people.
If the creation of living things been left to me, maybe I would have created a cow, a sheep, a tree, a plant or two, and that would have been it. It is estimated that there are close to an amazing two millions species of life on Earth. There are more than 287,655 kinds of plants, 74,000-120,000 fungi; 10,000 lichens; 1,250,000 species of animals. This number of living species does not include bacteria which alone may number in the millions. Yeshua created this amazing variety of life!
If you ever get a sense of awe when you experience the greatness and magnificence of nature, or are amazed when you consider anything from the smallest subatomic particle to the most distant galaxies, you are getting a glimmer of the power and wonder of its Creator – Messiah Yeshua.
Not only is Yeshua the Creator, but He is the Sustainer of everything that exists. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He upholds all things by the word of His power. Yeshua’s power is literally holding together the all the atoms and subatomic particles of the universe and everything in it! He is sustaining the entire universe right now.
Every moment that you exist, every breath that you breathe, every beat of your heart, depends on Him! Foolish mortal! How dare you resist Him, deny Him, speak ill of Him, refuse to believe in Him or obey Him or serve Him!
Yeshua is wonderful because of His extraordinary teachings. He taught with beauty, with simplicity and with originality. He rejected the world’s values, and turned the world’s values upside down, saying “blessed are the poor,” not “blessed are the rich;” “blessed are the gentle” not “blessed are the aggressive and the powerful;” “blessed are the merciful”not “blessed are the conquerors;” and “blessed are those who mourn” over their own sins, who grieve that humanity is so broken, who are saddened by our alienation from God, and our loss of eternal life – not blessed are those who seek their own personal happiness.
Yeshua is wonderful because of the way He taught. He taught with unusual authority. He never quoted other rabbis. Instead He said, “I say to you” because there was no higher authority to which He could refer! The multitudes were amazed at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes who quote some other rabbi who quoted some other rabbi. His teaching was so wonderful that one time those sent to arrest Him came back and announced that they couldn’t arrest Him, for “never did a man speak the way this man speaks.“
He is wonderful because of the incredible claims He made about Himself. He claimed to be the promised Messiah. He claimed that anyone who had seen Him had seen God. He claimed to have existed before Abraham. He claimed to have life within Himself – the same kind of self-existing, eternal life that God the Father has. He claimed that He and His Father were one. He claimed divine authority to forgive humanity’s sins. He claimed that He would be the final Judge of mankind. He claimed that apart from people trusting Him and believing Him, they would not experience salvation, and that no human being could come to God apart from Him. He claimed that He could give eternal life to other human beings. And, He claimed that God would prove the truth of His assertions by raising Him from the dead on the third day!
When confronted by claims of this magnitude, we have three choices: either to conclude that Yeshua was a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. C. S. Lewis put it this way: “Either Jesus is a mad man, on a par with a man who claims to be a poached egg – out of his mind, uttering meaningless, garbled, rambling, megalomaniacal statements – or He is telling the truth. And if He is telling the truth He is the most important Being in the universe”.
He is wonderful in His sinless life. He is the only human being who ever perfectly kept God’s Law. Every other human being has, at times, yielded to the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil; the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the sinful pride of life; only Messiah Yeshua resisted them all! He was tested in all ways as we are, yet He never sinned. He always did what was right. His sinless life and victory over sin and over all temptation is amazing and it is wonderful to contemplate.
He is wonderful in His ability to forgive sin, and sin is our greatest problem. It is a bigger problem than politics or economics or war or terrorism or the environment or anything else you can think of. Once a paralyzed man was brought before Him, and Yeshua dared to pronounce that the man’s sins were forgiven. The Jewish leaders who were present knew that only God can forgive sins, and that atonement was a complicated procedure involving a Levitical priest who shed the blood of an innocent animal sacrificed at the Jerusalem Temple. But Yeshua simply and on His own authority forgave the man’s sins. He went on to prove that He had the authority to forgive sin, by saying to the paralyzed man, “rise, take up your mat and go home.” The man rose, picked up his mat and went out in the sight of all; demonstrating that, as God in the flesh, Yeshua had the authority to forgive mankind’s sins. The Jewish people witnessing Yeshua’s claim to forgive sin and His attesting miracle, were amazed and glorified God saying, “we have never seen anything like this.”
And they were right! Under the Mosaic covenant, with its constantly repeated sacrifices by the Levitical priests, there was no ultimate and final forgiveness for sin – only a temporary covering. Aaron and all the priests that descended from him stood before the bronze altar to repeat the same sacrifices, year after year, which could not fully atone for our sins. If they had completely atoned for our sins, they would have stopped offering them, because they would have done the job. From the time of Moses until 70 AD, when the sacrifices stopped, there was a continual shedding of the blood of bulls, goats, lambs and rams, day after day, Sabbath after Sabbath, month after month, holiday after holiday, year after year – millions upon millions of animals (I once calculated it and the total is astounding: 171,000 bulls, 48,000 goats, 55,500 rams, 301,639,500 lambs), rivers and rivers of blood that did not permanently take away our sins. Israel could never say, “It is finished!”
Why couldn’t the blood of bulls, goats, lambs, and rams fully take away our sins? They are animals – not made in the image of God, and they are worth less than a human being. On the Scale of Being, with God being the most valuable, followed by man, then the animals, then plants, followed by the inorganic, one man is more valuable than all the animals in the world.
Adolph Saphir, a gifted Messianic Jew and teacher from Europe who lived many years ago, informs us that the sacrifice of Yeshua is better because Messiah is a man – far more valuable than all the animals ever slaughtered. And, not only is He fully man, He is also fully God. So, the one sacrifice which the One who is fully God and fully Man brought was of infinite value and delight to His Father. Also, the sacrifices of the animals wasn’t voluntary. The sacrificed animals were killed against their wills to obtain their blood. But the sacrifice offered by the Messiah was a willing sacrifice. Yeshua died willingly and voluntarily. The One who was perfect, and needed no sacrifice for Himself, was willing to give His life that we might live – live with Him, live with His Father, live forever!
His one sacrifice was infinitely superior to all the combined millions of sacrifices that came before. His one sacrifice is eternally powerful. His one sacrifice possesses absolute perfection, and never ceasing effectiveness. His one sacrifice accomplished infinite redemption, perfect and full and final and eternal atonement. His one sacrifice is sufficient for all human beings. Therefore, it never needs to be repeated.
And, what about the non-Messianic Judaisms of today that are based on a broken covenant, with no Temple and no sacrifices? At least the Sinai covenant, while it was in effect, brought a measure of atonement? Today’s bloodless Judaisms provide no atonement whatsoever. Let everyone know that through this Man, Yeshua of Nazareth, is offered to us the forgiveness of all of our sins: and because of Him and by means of Him everyone that believes are made righteous from all things, from which we could not be made righteous by the provisions of the Sinai Covenant. God made His Son who knew no sin, to be a sin offering for us, so that we might become the very righteousness of God when we are join to Messiah, when we place our faith in Him. He is the only Savior from sin. His atonement is so powerful, so wonderful, that He is the atonement not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world! Where sin increases, His amazing ability to forgive sin and overcome sin abounds all the more!
Yeshua is wonderful because of the way He won His victory over our greatest enemies – sin and death. While others have conquered by the sword, Messiah conquered through self-sacrifice and love and grace. The following poem contrasts Yeshua and Alexander the Great, both of whom greatly affected the world:
Jesus and Alexander both died at 33. One lived and died for self, One died for you and me. The Greek died on a throne, the Jew died on a cross. One’s life a triumphed seemed, the other but a loss. One led vast armies forth, the Other walked alone. One shed a whole world’s blood, the Other gave His own. Jesus and Alexander both died at 33. One died in Babylon, the Other on Calvary. One gained all for himself, and One Himself He gave. One conquered every throne, the Other every grave. The one made himself a god, but God made Himself less. The one lived to kill, the other lived to bless. Jesus and Alexander both died at 33. The Greek made men slaves, the Jew made men free. One built a throne on blood, the Other built on love. The one was born of Earth, the Other from above. The Greek forever died, the Jew forever lives. He loses all who gets, and wins all things who gives (author unknown).
He single-handedly won the battle against Satan, and the fallen angels, and the forces of sin and death that are dominating fallen humanity who are made in God’s image and exceedingly valuable and precious to Him, not by exerting overwhelming force or power – which He could have done – but by leaving the glories of Heaven, limiting His almighty power, humbling Himself, and becoming a man, so that He could identify with fallen, sinful human beings who are headed to death and Hell and destruction. He became a human being – frail, weak, and subject to suffering and death. He won the greatest of all victories not by exerting overwhelming power, but overwhelming weakness; allowing Himself to be arrested, judged, humiliated, beaten, spit upon, and nailed naked onto two pieces of wood.
Messiah is wonderful because of His grace. Many people think that if there is a God, He is harsh, judgmental and perhaps even a little cruel. Yet Messiah Yeshua, who has and reveals God’s very nature, is the epitome of grace, unmerited favor, undeserved mercy, kindness, love, and understanding. Yeshua is full of grace, and we have all received from His fullness, grace heaped upon grace. When one undeserved good thing that Yeshua does runs out, another one is right there to take its place! Truly His grace is amazing!
He is wonderful because of His relationships with people. He befriended social outcasts; He touched a leper, ate with tax collectors, redeemed prostitutes. He was willing to teach a Samaritan women. Few, if any of rabbis of His day would do these things. Even though He is the Righteous One, throughout the centuries He has been known as the Friend of Sinners. He does not treat us as mere creatures, although dayenu – that should be enough for us! He does not regard us as mere servants (what an honor just to serve Him!), but He actually calls us His friends, even His brothers and sisters! He make makes us joint-heirs with Him of the New Heavens and the New Earth, and will allow us to sit with Him on His throne! His friendship is something amazing and which we should never take for granted.
He is wonderful in His miracles. Few prophets in Israel’s long history ever performed miracles – Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, and a few others, but Yeshua’s miracles exceeded them all. He turned water into wine, walked on water, healed the sick, cleansed lepers, cast out demons, brought sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, fed five thousand men from a few loaves of bread and some fish, raised the dead and stilled the winds and waves with just a word. He is the greatest miracle-worker of all time!
Yeshua is wonderful in His death. His death was the most important event in human history. Humans beings may be willing to die for their family, or for a dear friend, but Yeshua didn’t die for those who loved Him, but for His enemies. While we were His enemies, Messiah died for us. Even during His horrible and painful and humiliating death, He was willing to forgive those human beings who were crucifying Him. While being nailed to a cross, He could pray, “Father, forgive them – they don’t know what they are doing.” Though He was innocent and unjustly killed, He died with love and forgiveness on His lips.
The events surrounding His death were marvelous. There was an eclipse of the sun, an earthquake, the veil in the Temple was torn from top to bottom, the Earth shook, rocks were split and tombs opened. Even a tough Roman centurion, when he saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Many of the Jewish saints who had died were raised and, coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, entered Jerusalem and appeared to many.
He is wonderful in His resurrection. Yeshua’s resurrection validates His claims, His ministry and His message. It declares that He is Lord. It declares that He is God in the flesh. It declares that He is sinless. Yeshua’s resurrection is God’s seal of approval on everything that Yeshua did and taught. It declares that He is perfect, flawless blameless in all He ever did and said. He means that He only spoke the truth, since God would not allow a sinner, a liar, a false prophet or Messiah to be resurrected. It means that Yeshua’s words are more trustworthy and more enduring than even this entire physical universe. “Heaven and Earth will pass away” He claimed, “but My words will never pass away!” Imagine a Jewish carpenter saying that! And yet His words have endured for 2,000 years. His words are more often quoted, studied, discussed, and sung than the words of any other man who has ever lived. You can build your life in this world and your life in the World to Come on Yeshua’s words.
His resurrection makes Him absolutely unique in the history of the world, putting Him on a level far higher than any of the prophets of Israel or the leaders of any other religion. It sets Christianity and Messianic Judaism apart from all other religions, philosophies or ideologies. Buddha is still in his tomb, as are Mohammed and Confucius. Charles Darwin is dead and is not evolving! Marx, Lenin, Freud and Einstein are still dead and buried. Only Yeshua, of all human beings, has overcome death and is alive now. Therefore we ought to listen more carefully to Him than to any other human being who has ever existed. We must pay very careful attention to every word He ever uttered.
Messiah’s resurrection guarantees our resurrection. When He rose from the dead, He defeated Satan and all his demonic hosts. He conquered sin. He even defeated death! If you will only confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved – and you will be raised with Him and experience eternal life.
Yeshua once said to a Jewish woman named Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die – the Second Death. Do you believe this?” Do you?
Some sixty-five years later, the Resurrected One appeared to His beloved disciple John for the last time as recorded in the New Testament. Yeshua said to him: “I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and Sheol.” Yeshua was saying, “I am the beginning of history, the end of history and the very meaning of history. I have authority over life and death. In order to live forever, you need to join Me.” Have you?
He is wonderful in regards to His return. General Douglas MacArthur directed the defense of the Philippines during World War Two. Though hopelessly outnumbered by the Japanese, his troops put up a gallant defense. Under orders from President Roosevelt, he left the Philippines, but before he left he made a promise and declared, “I shall return.” General MacArthur kept his promise and did return two years later as the commander at the head of his troops. He fulfilled his promise and returned in triumph to the Philippines and liberated the people.
Before He left, Messiah also declared, “I will return.” He too went away for a time but He too will keep His promise to return. MacArthur’s return will be dwarfed by comparison to Yeshua’s glorious return from Heaven to Earth in complete triumph at the head of His armies, liberating His people!
Yeshua is wonderful in His ability to wage war. Most people think of the young rabbi from Nazareth as “nice,” meek, mild, the gentle shepherd who holds the lambs close to His breast. That is true, but He also is the Mighty God and the Captain of the Lord of Hosts, the Supreme Commander of Heaven’s troops. He will lead them and defeat all the armies of the Earth, destroying them and all of their sophisticated and powerful weapons of war as if they were children’s toys, inconsequential and nothing.
The Holy One will trod down the peoples in His anger and destroy all the forces of the anti-Christ. With His sword He will smite the nations. With His rod of iron He will shatter them like earthenware. He will tread the wine press of the fierce wrath of God Almighty. People on Earth will be amazed by His ability to make war and say, “Who is able to withstand the great day of the wrath of the Lamb?” A Lamb having wrath? A Lamb being so utterly powerful and dangerous? It seems contradictory, but it’s not! It’s wonderful! Accept Yeshua now, and embrace His sacrificial death, and become His ally and friend, or find Him one day to be the most dangerous and deadly enemy.
He is wonderful in His impact on the world. The young rabbi from Nazareth never wrote a book, and yet the libraries in the world are full of books that have been written about Him. As far as we know, He never wrote a song, and yet more songs have been written about Him than anyone else. He never founded a college, yet all the schools put together can’t compare to the number of all His students. He never led an army, and yet no leader ever had more volunteers. He never studied psychology, and yet He has healed more broken hearts than all the psychiatrists and psychologists the world has ever produced.
He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three or four years He was an itinerant preacher. He never had a family or owned a home. He never traveled more than two hundred miles from His birthplace. He never wrote a book, or held an office. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness.
At His death, His friends deserted Him. He was betrayed to His enemies, and went through a mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had – His coat. When He was dead, His body was taken down and place in a borrowed grave.
Twenty centuries have come and gone, and yet today Yeshua is the central figure for much of the human race. All the armies that have ever marched, all the navies that have ever sailed, all the parliaments that have ever sat and all the kings that have ever reigned have not affected the lives of men as powerfully as this “One Solitary Life.”
The names of the past leaders of Greece and Rome have come and gone, yet this man’s reputation multiplies more and more. If people throughout the world know about much about Israel, or pray to the God of Israel, or read Israel’s Holy Scriptures, it is in large part because of Yeshua.
Rabbi Hyman Enelow, who was not a Messianic rabbi, observed that Yeshua “has become the most renowned, most studied and most influential figure in the history of mankind. The love He has inspired, the comfort He has given, the good He has engendered, the hope and joy He has kindled are unequaled in human history. No Jewish person should be indifferent to the fact that this one Jewish man has had such a tremendous part in the religious history of mankind”.
He is so important that much of the world measures time because of Him. We are now in the year 2007, which means that nearly 2,000 years have passed since Immanuel came to Earth and clothed Himself with humanity.
Yeshua is wonderful in His exaltation. He is high and lifted up, and greatly exalted. He is higher than Abraham, more exalted than Moses. He is higher than the great cherubim and burning seraphim. He is higher than the Highest Heavens! Even now He is seated at the right hand of the Most High. There He is equally worshiped along with God the Father. Every created thing which is in Heaven and on the Earth are heard equally worshiping the One on the Throne – God the Father, and the Lamb – the Son of God who sacrificed Himself and died for us, saying: “blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever, to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Yeshua has a name that is above every name. One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Throughout eternity all redeemed people will have perfect, glorified bodies (I’m certainly looking forward to mine – more and more each year). Everyone will have a perfect body – except the Glorified One, who will forever bear the marks of His earthly suffering.
He is wonderful in His eternal, glorious rule. He is the ruler of the thousand year golden age of that is coming to Earth. He is the ruler of the eternal age for which mankind has longed; the age of peace, prosperity, justice, righteousness, an end to suffering and victory over death. In His day the knowledge of the Lord will cover the Earth as the waters cover the sea. We will enter His Kingdom and reign with Him forever and ever!
He is wonderful in judgment. All judgment has been given to Him. He alone will judge the living and the dead, those who are alive at His coming, and those who have died. He will judge Israel and the nations. He will judge the Messianic Community and those who have ignored God and disobeyed His ways.
He will be the One sitting on His great white throne, so great, so powerful, so pure, that Earth and Heaven flee from the presence of the One on that throne! One day all will give to Him an account of their lives, for all the things that they have done, good and bad, and the things that they should have done, but didn’t do. They will give an account for every word, every thought, and the motive behind every word and action.
He is wonderful because He is the goal of all things. Rabbi Paul reveals us mystery to us. Writing to Messiah’s Holy Community of Believers in Ephesus, the inspired rabbi from Tarsus writes: In all wisdom and insight He (God the Father) made known to us the mystery of His will…which is the summing up of all things in Messiah, things in the heavens and things on the Earth.
The Creator, who is full of unfathomable wisdom and infinite insight, to please Himself, and because of the kindness that He feels toward us, chose not to keep us in the dark, but to reveal crucial information about the ultimate meaning of life, and the ultimate future of the universe. To the generations who lived before the coming of Messiah, these things were not clear. But the Father decided to clearly give us clear information about these great issues of existence.
So, here is what the all-wise and all-good God is intent on doing: The Creator has a plan to take human beings – not just the original Chosen People, but individuals from many nations, and unite us with Israel’s Messiah. The Son of God, who is eternal, and is forever and fully divine, would come from Heaven to Earth, and become a man. He would unite Himself to humanity. Then certain Jews and Gentiles would be enabled to come to know who He is, and have the grace given by God to place their faith in Messiah. They would then receive the Spirit of God and Messiah, and be united to the Messiah, who is united to God the Father.
Jews and Gentiles who are united to the Messiah form a very special community that is to lovingly support each other, and with Yeshua as the leader of the community. Jews and Gentiles who are united to the Messiah form a very special family, with God as our Father and Messiah as our eldest brother. Jews and Gentiles who are joined to the Messiah are like a body with various parts that all work together, with Messiah as the head of this body.
Ultimately all of these human beings, who are united to the Messiah, and who are united to each other, and who are indwelt by the Spirit of God, will come under the good and wise and beneficial leadership of the glorious Son of God! Every creature will be able to reach its full God-endowed potential.
Messiah will perfectly, justly, righteously, completely and eternally rule over all forces and powers, over all creatures, over men and angels, over everything and over everyone, for ever and ever! And then God the Father will rule over the Messiah who will rule over all. Messiah, ruling with perfect and good and wise leadership, leading us with wisdom and righteous, will bring eternal peace and everlasting harmony, bliss and joy and happiness to a whole new universe. There will be a new heavens and a new Earth and a new Jerusalem as its capital.
That is the mystery that has been reveal to us by the coming of the Messiah. That is the plan. That is the meaning of the universe, and the meaning of life, and if you cooperate, and have faith in God and Messiah, the meaning of your life. Don’t you want to be part of it?
He is wonderful because He is everything to us. He is the Messiah, the God-sent, God-appointed, God-ordained, Holy Spirit Anointed Prophet, Priest and King.
God has many sons, some good and some bad, some angels and some men, but Yeshua is God’s unique and Only Begotten Son. He is also the ultimate Son of Abraham. He is Abraham’s unique seed, through whom Israel and the nations of the world are blessed. He is also the Son of David, the final Heir of Israel’s royal family who will sit on David’s throne ruling over Israel and the nations. He is the King of Israel and the King of the Jews.
He is the Son Of God and the Son of Man, fully God and fully Man. He is the Man, and yet also Immanuel (God with us), and the eternal “I Am” who was before Abraham, who is the source of being, the source of life. He is Adonai, the Lord. He is the Servant, yet also the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the very image of the invisible God. He is God’s great Mystery that has finally been revealed and made known to us. He is the Firstborn of all Creation, having preeminence over all of Creation, and He is the Firstborn from the Dead. He is the first human being to die and overcome death. He is preeminent over the rest of the dead who will be raised, having the right to rule over all those who have died. He is Beginning of the Creation of God, who was in the beginning with God and preceded the creation of the universe; and He is the Last Adam – the spiritual, the heavenly, the victorious, the eternal Man that dying humanity must join if they want to live. He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. He is the beginning of history, the end of history, the middle of history and the meaning of history.
He is the Word, and the Word of God (God’s Message to us) and the Word of Life (the Message that brings life, God’s life, eternal life, not this poor, pale, pathetic life that non-born-agains experience). He is our highest Rabbi, the supremely authoritative teacher of all of mankind, whose words will outlast this universe! He is our Lord and our King we must obey and serve, our Savior we must believe in, our Friend who is close to us, sticks with us, enjoys being with us. He is our Brother who is joined to us with the bonds of family love. He is our Advocate who comes along side to help us, like a good lawyer who intervenes to successfully defend us; He is our Apostle sent to us by God, and the ultimate authority in His New Covenant Community; He is the Head of the Body.
He is the one and only Mediator between God and Man, our great and merciful High Priest, constantly interceding for us and helping us, and perfectly bringing us into the presence of God who because of Him now accepts us, and bringing the eternal blessings of almighty God to us. He is the Author of our faith and the Perfecter of our faith.
We are foolish, and He is the source of our wisdom. We are corrupt and sinners, and He is our righteousness and our holiness. We were sold into the satanic slave market of sin and death and He is our redemption. We are lost and He is the Way. We are confused, in deep darkness and surrounded by lies, and He is Truth that sets us free. We are dead in our trespasses and sins and He is the Life. He is the Deliverer, the Savior of the World, and the Savior of all men. He is the Holy One, the Righteous One who always did what is right, the Living One and the Chosen One.
He is the Door that opens the way to God’s eternal city, the New Jerusalem; He is the Faithful Witness who always and perfectly testified to what is true. He is the Faithful and True One and the Amen who is utterly reliable.
He is the Prince, and the Head over all things, and the Prince of Life, who creates life, gives life, even eternal life, and rules over everything that has life. He is the Judge of the Living and the Dead. He is the Stone, rock solid and reliable, and the Chief Cornerstone, the support, the foundation of the new universe God is designing. He is the Bread of life, the Bread of God and the Bread out of Heaven, able to physically and spiritually nourish and sustain this entire world. He is the Good Shepherd who leads, guards and provides for us, the Chief Shepherd and the Shepherd and Guardian of our Souls.
He is also the Lamb, the Lamb of God, and our Passover Lamb who willingly offered Himself as the perfect and final sacrifice to make everlasting atonement. He is also the great Lion of Judah and the Horn of Salvation – who is powerfully able to provide lost and dying humanity with God’s salvation.
He is the Light of the World giving truth to a world in deep darkness, and the Sunrise from on High, bringing hope that a new day of truth and salvation and victory and justice and righteousness is dawning – God’s day, the day of the Lord; and He is the Bright Morning Star that shines even during the darkest nights. Saving truth is emanating from Messiah Yeshua right now – day and night!
He is the Resurrection and the Life, so that if we join ourselves to Him, we will be raised from death, and live forever! He is the True Vine in whom we must abide if we are to produce any worthwhile, lasting results.
We are created by Him, kept by Him, forgiven by Him, redeemed by Him, saved by Him, judged by Him and glorified by Him. We are fabulously wealth joint heirs with Him.
Yeshua gives us His joy, His peace, His strength, His Spirit and His Life. He will allow us to sit on His throne. In Him all the promises of God are yes and amen. Joined to Him we possess all spiritual blessings. Believing in Him, we have peace with God. Faithful to Him, we are set free and live forever. In Him we are complete, lacking nothing, not the least little things. He is our all in all!
All things have been created by Messiah and for Messiah. One day all things will be summed up in Messiah, things in the heavens and things upon the Earth. Men and women, Jews and Gentiles, each one of us, you and I, will be forever with Him… or forever without Him. Are you with Him? He is the Heir of all Things. Do you belong to Him?