In Christ alone we discover who God is and what He is like. In Christ alone we also discover the standard of excellence for man. What a marvel Christ is—-God and man in one person; there has never been anyone like Him! Consider this; the greatest of people are usually flawed. Alexander, for example, was a great warrior, but you wouldn’t have left him alone with your wife. Einstein was brilliant, but he was also a sex maniac. Patrick Henry of “Give me liberty or give me death” fame, unable to deal with his unfortunate wife’s erratic behavior, sometimes locked her in the basement. Gandhi, the great peace-loving leader of India once paid a complement to Adolph Hitler.
The best of men are men at best, they are all flawed, all that is, except for Christ Jesus. In all the annals of human history, Jesus Christ remains the only one of whom it can be truthfully asserted, "He is altogether lovely.”
He is altogether lovely because He is the out-shining of the Father’s glory. He is the glory of God against whom we are measured and all fall short. Nevertheless, flawed and fallen as we may be, He has become our champion and has brought us back to God.
He is altogether lovely because He is the good shepherd who gave His life for His sheep. There He was at the cross, “Bearing shame and scoffing rude,” and doing so without opening His mouth in His own defense.
He is altogether lovely because even though He is the shepherd, He is also the Lamb. The faithful guide is the flawless sacrifice; the great protector is Himself the awesome wrath offering. He Himself purged our sins! He is lovely!
People who have never been convicted of sin may think that they can enter Heaven by their good works. They are so awfully blind; they cannot see their need of having their sins taken away by Jesus, the Lamb of God. We were once like that, but when grace opened our eyes we became burdened by our sin and we realized that nothing and no one could take away our guilt before a holy God but Jesus. This made and makes Him altogether lovely.
Is He altogether lovely? If He is, then tell people about Him. What a simple message we have—- What message? Here’s the message, “Behold the Lamb!” We don’t have to argue or be belligerent, we can simply tell about the Lamb. We don’t have to despise or condemn, just tell about Jesus. He is lovely! We can help no one unless we point them to the Lamb. No one else can take away sin. No one else can bathe the conscience and clean it for it is Christ the Lamb who was slaughtered; it is Christ the Lamb who was the one final sacrifice for sin. He is lovely.
Not only when we witness, but also when we have fellowship one with another may we say, “Behold the Lamb of God.” May He be the center of all that we do. May we be enthralled with His person, work and offices. May we think about Him, study Him and know all that we can about Him. May we examine Him, meditate on Him, worship Him and sing to Him! The more we are occupied with Him the more we will be transformed, the more we look unto him and feed upon Him, the more useful and gospel-driven we will become.
There was no greater wonder ever than that God should provide Himself as the Lamb for the sin offering. May we always be in awe of this! Angels marvel at this mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh. May we join with them in astonished wonder and never cease to be amazed.
May we always be filled with the wonder of the Lamb! He is not distant. He is here; He is not in hiding. Look at Him and see Him for who He is. He is the living Word, the Word made flesh, the Holy One come to earth as the sinner’s friend. He is loveliness itself, filled with grace and truth. The more we feed upon Him as our Bread of life the more lovely He will become to us. Spurgeon said,
“Study Christ;—- the most excellent of all the sciences is the knowledge of a crucified Savior. He is most learned in the university of heaven who knows most of Christ. He who has known most of Him still says that His love surpasses knowledge. Behold Him, then, with wonder, and behold Him with thankfulness.
The Father opened the heavens to express His delight in His Son. The Father delights in His Son- --do we? May we yet learn to delight in Him—may we yet be filled with wonder for the Lord Jesus. The more we delight our souls in the Lord Jesus the more we shall be changed into His likeness.
And that’s the Gospel Truth!