(275) Dec19/2016 – This Jesus

Monday Meditation
December 19, 2016
From the desk of A.J. Higgins

This Jesus

“This same Jesus . shall so come” Acts 1:11
“This Jesus hath God raised up” Acts 2:326
“That same Jesus Whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” Acts 2:3
“That this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place” Acts 6:14
“This Jesus that I preach unto you is Christ” Acts 17:3

The expression, “This Jesus” occurs three times in the Bible; and if we add, “this same Jesus” and “that same Jesus (2:36), we have a total of five times when this distinctive construction occurs. All are significant.

“This Jesus!” The very same One Whom they placed on a cross and exposed to the gawking multitude for a day of entertainment! The apostles preached, “This Jesus.”

Whether the angelic announcement, the preaching of Peter on the day of Pentecost or of Paul in the synagogue in Macedonia; whether the confession of His own or the inference drawn by ungodly men in Jerusalem (Acts 6:14), the implications and truth is the same. None other than the Man they placed on a tree is the center of all God’s purpose.

Look at the truths linked with “This Jesus.” This Jesus is the Christ or the Messiah. No apologies or explanatory clauses are given. The rejected and crucified Jesus is the Christ of God. All that occurred in Jerusalem, the shame and death, were all part of the plan, as revealed in the Scriptures that they held dear and honored in their synagogue (Acts 17:1-3).

Peter, to the startled multitude on that seminal day in Jerusalem, announced that “this Jesus” Whom they had “taken by wicked hands and slain” (v 23), God had raised up. God had not only raised Him from the dead, but had made “that same Jesus” both Lord and Christ” (v 36). So not only had He been shown to be Messiah from the Scriptures, but “This Jesus” was delivered, raised, and made Lord and Christ.

The angel in Acts 1 adds to the story by assuring the gazing band on Olivet’s slopes, that “This same Jesus,” and not another, not an angel, and not a substitute, shall return as they had seen Him go. He will one day return to the slopes of the Mount of Olives (Zech 14:4) to claim the throne and the Kingdom which is His by right and by redemption.

Although wrongly inferred and viciously and maliciously intended, the words of the false witnesses in Acts 6:14 remind us that His return will lead to tremendous and wonderful changes. Creation itself will recognize the return of “this Jesus.” The bondage it has known will flee away. Israel as a nation will be born in a day; war will cease and righteous rule will be established on this globe — all brought about by “This Jesus!”

Consider:

There are seven other individuals in Scripture whose names are punctuated by “This.” One of the most frequently mentioned is “This Daniel” (Dan 6:3, 5, 28). Can you find the others?

The insistence of the Apostles that the Jesus Who was crucified is the very same One Whom God raised and exalted, attests to what additional truths concerning His resurrection and His body? This is especially true since the emphasis is upon His Name, Jesus.

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