Day 41 - Friday, January 6
EPIPHANY
Title: JOY IN THE PRESENCE OF THE BELOVED SON
Scripture #1: Matthew 3:16–17 
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Scripture #2: Matthew 17:5–8
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
Scripture #3: Revelation 22:1–3
And he showed me a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 
Scripture #4: Revelation 5:11–13
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”

Poetry & Poet: 
“Oh, Love” 
by Thomas á Kempis

O love, how deep, how broad, how high,
beyond all thought and fantasy,
that God, the Son of God, should take
our mortal form for mortals' sake!

He sent no angel to our race,
of higher or of lower place,
but wore the robe of human frame,
and to this world himself he came.

For us baptized, for us he bore
his holy fast and hungered sore;
for us temptation sharp he knew,
for us the tempter overthrew.

For us he prayed, for us he taught;
for us his daily works he wrought,
by words and signs and actions thus
still seeking not himself but us.

For us, by wicked men betrayed,
for us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
he bore the shameful cross and death;
for us he gave his dying breath.

For us he rose from death again,
for us he went on high to reign;
for us he sent his Spirit here
to guide, to strengthen, and to cheer.

All glory to our Lord and God
for love so deep, so high, so broad,
the Trinity whom we adore
forever and forevermore.

JOY IN THE PRESENCE OF THE BELOVED SON

During the final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry, “certain Greeks” came to Jesus’ disciple, Philip, with a request: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (John 20:21)

Can you relate? I sure can.

Whether we’re aware of it or not (and sometimes we are!), Jesus is our heart’s deepest longing. We want, we need, we long to see him—to be in his presence, gazing upon his glory and being transformed into his image (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Advent is a season of waiting to see Jesus. How appropriate, then, that it culminates today, in the feast day of Epiphany (a term that means “manifestation,” “revealing,” “bringing to light”—making visible). Now we can see Jesus—though we long someday to see him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12)!

For Christians through the ages, certain events in the life of Jesus provide particularly vivid glimpses of Jesus’ nature and work. Today’s Scripture passages and artistic expressions give rich opportunities for such reflection. I encourage you to take time to dwell on each of them, though I can only touch on a few observations here.

I’m struck by two glimpses of Jesus that emerge from today’s Scriptural passages: Jesus as the Son of God and Jesus as the Lamb of God.

Jesus the Son of God

Matthew 3 records Jesus’ baptism by John, a key event in the Eastern Church’s celebration of Epiphany. Two things in this story “manifest” important aspects of Jesus. In the first place, we might wonder why it occurs at all? Why does Jesus, who is altogether sinless, submit to John’s “baptism for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3)? Why in the world does he tell John that “it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15)?

It’s a crucial detail in this key moment of transition in Jesus’ life, marking the beginning of his earthly ministry. Baptism is a picture of identification; by descending into the waters of the Jordan, Jesus publicly identified himself with the broken, sinful human condition. We don’t truly see Jesus if we don’t understand that he was fully human, and bore our sins in his body on the cross.

Nor do we truly see Jesus if we miss what occurs when he emerges from the water. Only here, when Jesus has identified with broken humanity, do the other two members of the Trinity “manifest” in no uncertain terms Jesus’ divine nature—the Spirit “alighting” upon him and the Father declaring, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Jesus is fully God and fully man, sinless yet bearing sin. Jesus the Son of God.

This occurred at the beginning of his earthly ministry, while the incident recorded in Matthew 17 occurs toward the end, after several years of teaching, miracles, and growing opposition. In the previous chapter, Jesus tells his disciples what is to come: brutal death and resurrection. And he calls them to take up their cross and follow him where he was going. That’s the context for Jesus taking three of them, Peter, James, and John, to the top of a high mountain, where he gives them a stunning glimpse into his divine nature, blazing in light.

Here, again, God the Father declares, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”

For these disciples, this is not new information. But it’s a new vision—they’re seeing Jesus in a new way, in a taste of his true glory, to be fully seen only in eternity. Perhaps they needed such a vision of Jesus at this point, in light of the challenges they are about to endure. The contrast we’ve seen so far is dramatic: Jesus is truly and fully God, no mere man. At the same time, Jesus is truly and fully man, carrying all our broken condition with him to the cross. Our Savior.

Can you see Jesus?

Jesus the Lamb of God

At the beginning of the gospel story, the same John who baptized Jesus declared, “Behold thenLamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)—another vivid picture of Jesus. It was of course a rich image for John’s Jewish audience, who saw lambs sacrificed for sin daily in the Temple, and every year celebrated their liberation from Egypt with a Passover lamb.

This must be a particularly important image of Jesus, because it also features prominently at the culmination of the grand biblical story as described in Revelation. Jesus the Lamb has been slain (taking our sins upon himself on the cross), has risen again, and now reigns in glory, worthy to receive all divine honor and glory.

The Lamb who was slain is the Lamb who reigns—a glimpse of Jesus that pulls together the entire history of God’s redemption.

Can you see Jesus?

Seeing and showing

If we want to see Jesus, we need to look for him in these and other ways. That’s the point of the season of Epiphany, beginning today. But others need to see Jesus as well. Do they see him in us?

Prayer
Day by day, dear Lord,
of thee three things I pray:
to see thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
follow thee more nearly, day by day.

 –––Richard of Chichester (1197-1253)

Dr. David Horner
Professor of Theology and Philosophy
Division of Biblical and Theological Studies
Talbot School of Theology

For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.