October 20, 2024 8:00 pm
Rising among the red mountains of Sedona, Arizona, is the beautiful Chapel of the Holy Cross. Entering the small chapel, I was immediately drawn to an unusual sculpture of Jesus on the cross. Instead of a traditional cross, Jesus is shown crucified on the branches of a tree with two trunks. A severed, dead trunk represents the tribes of Israel in the Old Testament that rejected God. The other trunk grows and branches out to symbolize the flourishing tribe of Judah and the family line of King David.
The symbolically significant art points to an important prophecy in the Old Testament about Jesus. Although the tribe of Judah was living in captivity, the prophet Jeremiah gave a hopeful message from God: “I will fulfill the good promise I made” (Jeremiah 33:14) to provide a rescuer who would “do what is just and right in the land” (v. 15). One way the people would know the identity of the rescuer was He would “sprout from David’s line” (v. 15), meaning the rescuer would be a physical descendant of King David.
The sculpture skillfully captured an important truth that in the details of Jesus’ family lineage, God was faithful to do all that He promised. Even more, it’s a reminder that His faithfulness in the past gives us reassurance that He’ll be faithful to fulfill His promises to us in the future.
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Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading, titled Jesus the Branch, was written by Lisa M. Samra. Rising among the Red Mountains of Sedona, Arizona is the beautiful Chapel of the Holy Cross. Entering the small chapel, I was immediately drawn to an unusual sculpture of Jesus on the cross. Instead of a traditional cross, Jesus is shown crucified on the branches of a tree with two trunks. Horizontally, a severed dead trunk represents the tribes of Israel in the Old Testament that rejected God.
The other trunk grows upward and branches out to symbolize the flourishing tribe of Judah and the family line of King David. The symbolically significant art points to an important prophecy in the Old Testament about Jesus. Although the tribe of Judah was living in captivity, the prophet Jeremiah gave a hopeful message from God, saying, I will fulfill the good promise I made to provide a rescuer who would do what is just and right in the land.
One way the people would know the identity of the rescuer was he would sprout from David's line, meaning the rescuer would be a physical descendant of King David. The sculpture skillfully captures an important truth that in the details of Jesus's family lineage, God was faithful to do all that he promised. Even more, it's a reminder that his faithfulness in the past gives us reassurance that he'll be faithful to fulfill his promises to us in the future.
Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Jeremiah chapter 33 verses 14 through 16. The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah. In those days and at that time, I will make a righteous branch sprout from David's line. He will do what is just and right in the land.
In those days, Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called the Lord, our righteous savior. Let's pray. Faithful Father, thank you for fulfilling your promise to provide a rescuer in Christ. We're grateful for the assurance that your faithfulness in the past guarantees your promises to us in the future. Help us to trust in your steadfast love and to remember that you are always true to your word. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening today. I'm Rachelle Traub and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-10-20 20:12:18 / 2024-10-20 20:13:45 / 1