Blessed are...

Prince and Savior

“God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.” Acts 5:31

The One who speaks to us of blessing, who ushers in God’s Kingdom then encourages and empowers us to live out its values, is also our Savior. He does not descend from heaven in order to deliver impossible directives. He comes to seek and to save the lost.[1]

Jesus did not look like a man with authority when they mocked Him and spat upon Him, placing a robe about His shoulders and a crown of thorns upon His brow. They hailed Him then, “King of the Jews”[2] but He was more than that. His Kingdom is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away; it shall never be destroyed.[3]

Jesus did not look like a man with authority as the sting of the whip fell upon His back, or as He staggered up the Via Dolorosa. He seemed utterly powerless as they nailed His hands and feet to the wooden Cross, then raised Him, like a common criminal, to die. Even as His last words came, like a shout, He seemed as nothing – broken and bleeding. Then, they took His lifeless body, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a borrowed tomb, and He was gone.

Or so they thought, for deep within that stone-cold tomb the purposes and plan of God lay, waiting to burst forth in power. The seed of the Kingdom was sacrificed for the harvest of our souls.


Jesus, Lord,
Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,
I salute the Love that gave itself for me.
I hail the Love that redeemed me from all wickedness.
I bow down before the Love that purified a people
through the fragrant offering of the perfect sacrifice.
Lead me, beyond the wonder, to the obedience of one
who has been bought at a great price, and
who shall be forever grateful to my Savior.
In Your name.
Amen.


[1] Luke 19:10
[2] Mark 15:18
[3] Daniel 7:14