Wednesday 16th
Hebrews 2:9
NIV – ‘But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.’
ESV – ‘But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.’
‘Thine be the glory, risen conqu’ring Son.’
E. L. Budry – RH 181
Who doesn’t love this hymn, it is an amazing, and an arousing hymn the purpose of which is to rejoice in the risen conquering Lord Jesus Christ, to celebrate the triumphant resurrection, to celebrate the victory that Christ accomplished over sin, Satan, and death, the last line of the chorus part is good news, ‘ENDLESS is the vict’ry thou o’er death has won!’
There have been many missions that have been undertaken in the history of the world that have led to what would be classed as an amazing victory for one side, the battle of Hastings, the battle of Trafalgar, the battle of Waterloo, VE day, etc. but the victory accomplished has been short lived as further strife and further battles have followed, too often, the cause is fought for all over again. But, when Jesus came into this world to fulfil his mission it was going to be a once for all battle, the victory would be final, but it was going to cost. It cost Jesus his precious blood, but it was going to ensure once for all that the powers of darkness would be defeated, and that Christ would be the Conqueror. And that wonderful resurrection morning was the evidence, as the line in verse 2 says, ‘For the Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting’. I mentioned a few days ago that there is no other message like the good news of the gospel, and this is one of the pivotal reasons, no one else has ever died for the cause of redeeming mankind and risen again with resurrection power to prove that he has conquered death and sin, no one else has ever battled with the devil head on and won, only Jesus, no one else has ever taken upon themselves the sin of mankind and faced the punishment for that sin and the wrath of God for that sin, only Jesus. No one else has ever died such an awful and cruel death and been buried behind a sealed tomb and risen again, with the scars to prove it, only Jesus, no one else has ever ascended back to the Father to appear in his presence on behalf of fallen humanity, only Jesus. Therefore, he is the only conquering one, he is the only victorious one, he is the only life giving one, therefore he is the only one that can bring us safe to Jordan’s side, to his home above. His death, his resurrection, his victory is permanent, it is eternal, the battle will never need to be fought again.
I bring a challenge to all who read this, have you come to the risen Saviour, have you come to the only one who has the power to save your life, to redeem you, to restore you and to reconcile you back to God, have you allowed the risen conquering Jesus to come and to live in your life as Saviour and Lord. He is the only one who has the power and the authority to deal with your sin problem, for he is the only one who has fought the battle on your behalf and won.
Thine be the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son;
Endless is the vict’ry thou o’er death hast won.
Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
Kept the folded grave-clothes where thy body lay.
Thine be the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son;
Endless is the vict’ry thou o’er death hast won.
Lo, Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb.
Lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
Let His church with gladness hymns of triumph sing,
For the Lord now liveth; death hath lost its sting.
No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of life!!
Life is nought without thee; aid us in our strife;
Make us more than conqu’rors, through thy deathless love;
Bring us safe through Jordan to thy home above.