Messiah: The Lord, Our Righteousness

“ ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’ “ (Jeremiah 23:4-5, NKJV). “Then Pilate asked Him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ And He answered and said to Him, ‘It is as you say.’ “ (Mark 15:2. NKJV). “Therefore, it is also contained in the Scripture, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.’ “ (I Peter 2:6, quoting Isaiah 28:16. NKJV).

We who live on this side of the Lord’s coming to earth have the benefit of the written Word—both the Old and New Testaments. We can read (and have some degree of understanding) of how the Hope lay in the King who would restore the kingdom of Israel and “execute judgment and rightousness in the earth.” We now know and understand more of Jeremiah’s name for Jesus: “The Lord Our Righteousness.” When He came He was not to be a provincial ruler but for all people everywhere. Earthly kingdoms as they had been known were not God’s intention for the New Order. Jeremiah who lived at the end of the Kingdom of Judah’s last days spoke eloquently of God’s new day. Perhaps, even though he wrote correctly about it, Jeremiah himself may not have understood fully what He wrote. It was persons like Peter, James and John, apostles and leaders of the early Christian church, who saw in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ the seed of David, the righteous Branch, the just King. This message they preached and wrote about has withstood the test of time and is still vital and viable. As Lord of Righteousness, Jesus invites us to live in right relationship with God, and He makes that way possible.

I close today’s thoughts with a stanza from a beloved Christmas carol written by the Rev. Charles Wesley (1707-1788). He captured the essence of “The Lord our Righteousness” and His kingly reign:

“Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings, Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by, Born that men no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

May we praise the “King Our Righteousness” with Wesley’s stately words and Mendelssohn’s lofty music. All our best worship is due the King of Righteousness!

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Wednesday, December 15, 2010