Jesus Is Lord
Scripture Reading — Isaiah 6:1-4; John 12:37-43
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
Isaiah 6:3
Isaiah here shares with us the story of his commissioning as a prophet. But the focus isn’t on himself. It’s on the one seated on the throne. The Lord is “high and exalted,” with “the train of his robe” filling the temple. The temple represents God’s presence among his people. As the angels in Isaiah’s vision sing, they remind each other (and us) that God’s awesome glory fills “the whole earth.” The Lord’s majestic presence isn’t just a temple experience. It extends beyond the court of heaven to fill the entire creation!
When we go to John’s gospel, we find that this passage about Isaiah’s commissioning includes a prophetic dimension. Isaiah’s prophecy spoke of God’s glory extending from the temple into all the world. And several hundred years later, our Savior stood by the temple and declared that he himself was the temple of God! Destroy the temple of his body and that temple would be raised in three days, he said (see John 2:18-22). In fact, God’s glory was revealed supremely in the hour that Jesus was lifted up on a cross to pay the ransom price for our sin (see John 12:23-33).
This glory of the Savior has now shone forth to peoples everywhere. And today Christ’s Spirit lives and works in us so that we ourselves have become God’s temple. Is the glory of Christ shining forth from you?
“Holy, holy, holy! LORD God Almighty! All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea.” We acknowledge your holiness, Lord, and we worship you today. Amen.
About the author — Victor Atallah
Rev. Victor Atallah is the broadcast team leader for The Back to God Hour Arabic ministry and the general director of Middle East Reformed Fellowship. These meditations are based on texts of Arabic broadcasts aired a few years ago and an Arabic commentary on the book of Isaiah prepared for publication. Rev. Atallah and his wife, Lisa, live in Larnaca, Cyprus, where The Back to God Hour Arabic ministry is based. The ministry reaches Arabic-speaking people throughout the Middle East and North Africa, introducing them to Jesus Christ, Savior of the nations.
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