Would you join me tonight in
the book of Esther, Esther chapter 8. And I'd like to read the last
three verses of this. And we'd like to look at Mordecai
tonight, more in depth than we have in the past. He has a great
deal of type, shadow, and picture of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. In the book of Esther, chapter
8, it tells us after he has been promoted, He has been promoted
by the king, and he's been promoted in such a capacity that we notice
him in his dress. People are going to recognize
him as a servant of the king, as someone that has been elevated
by the king, someone that has been brought up by the king. And it tells us, and Mordecai
went out from the presence of the king. Now, when he's traveling
around in town, this is what he's going to look like. And
it is a robe and a crown that people recognize that he is representing
the king. It says here, from the presence
of the king, in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a
great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple,
And the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad." Now, it doesn't
seem that anybody has mourned the passing of Haman, except
maybe his wife and friends. But most of the people in this
city were glad that Mordecai has been promoted to the position
he is in. It tells us in the last two verses
of this chapter, the Jews had light and gladness and joy and
honor. And in every province and every
city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came,
the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day, and many
of the people of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews
fell upon them." What an interesting passage of scripture we have
here. Now, I'd like to look at this man, Mordecai, some tonight,
and compare him with someone far greater, far more honorable,
and has a far greater mission than Mordecai did, but he is
certainly a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, I asked
myself, where did Mordecai come from? Now earlier on in this
book, we found out where he came from. But join me, if you would,
in the book of 2 Kings, for a short reading. In the book of 2 Kings,
there's kind of a summation of what took place, and it tells
us here how Mordecai come to be where we are reading about
him at this point. In 2 Kings, chapter 24. 2 Kings,
chapter 24, and there in verse 6. 2 Kings, chapter 24, in verse
6. We find here that there's trouble
in the land. The kings that represented the
people, they get worse and worse. Now this is Judah. This is not
Israel. This is not the 10 tribes. They've
already been dispersed. These folks last some 200 years
longer, and yet the end is coming. It tells us in verse six, so
Jehoiakim slept with his fathers in Jehoiachin, Now, apparently,
we find that there's reference here to the point that the king
had been helping Israel against Babylon. And you know, it tells us in
the scriptures, don't trust in Israel and don't trust in horses,
but trust in the Lord. Well, these kings, since they
didn't have a heart to believe, and these kings that had no knowledge
about the goodness of grace, they always went somewhere else
instead of the right place. And that's just normal. It goes
on to tell us here that, for the king of Babylon had taken
from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that
pertaineth to the king of Egypt. So there's a reason that they
don't get any help. Jehoachin was 18 years old when he began
to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months, and his mother's
name, Nahashtah, the daughter of El Nathan of Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil
in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.
At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. And Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, came against the city, and his servants did
besiege it." Now, if we knew the truth of what was going on
in here, we'd probably find out it was much like the siege in
AD 70. there wasn't a pleasant place to be in the city. And Jehoiachin the king of Judah
went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants
and his princes, and his officers, and the king of Babylon took
him in the eighth year of his reign. This siege has taken place
for some time. And now the king capitulates,
gives up, and he carried out thence all the treasures. Nebuchadnezzar
carried out of thence all the treasures of the house of the
Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces
all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made
in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said. And he carried
away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men
of valor, even 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained save the poorest
of sort of the people of the land. And he carried away Jehoiachin
to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his
officers, and the mighty of the land, those he carried into captivity
from Jerusalem to Babylon. And all the men of might, even
7,000, and craftsmen and smiths, 1,000, all they that were strong
and apt to war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive
to Babylon. Now, somewhere, in this great
group of people is Mordecai and his niece Esther. Now, it doesn't tell us much
about what Mordecai did when he was in Jerusalem or in Judah. It doesn't give us much, but
it must have been that he had some high esteemed position because
the poorest of them were left behind. He must have had some
great craftsman or Smith's position, or he might have been one of
the princes that was carried off. We do not have a lot said
in the scriptures about what Mordecai was until we find him
in the book of Esther. You know, as we think about it,
we don't have a lot of information about the glory of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ before He came to this earth. Now, there
are verses, and we're going to look at a few of them, but we
don't have a lot to say. I'll never forget that message
that an old preacher was preaching. It was related to me many, many
years ago. that there was a preacher out
in the woods preaching, and there was no room in the building.
Everybody was standing out the windows. And this other preacher
that was traveling decided he wanted to see what was going
on. And he got up to the window, and this old preacher is saying,
Where was the Lord before He created the heavens and the earth?
And where was the Lord before He created man? And where was
the Lord before He did all these things? And he hollered at the
top of his lungs, In His Glory! Now, it takes a while to describe
that. to describe in His glory. As we think about Mordecai being
carried off, and not a lot of information is shared with it,
but we do find out that he probably had a great position, and that
he was an honorable man and that he was taken off by the decree
of Almighty God. He was taken out of one place
and put in another by the decree of God. And that is the truth
of the matter. While you're there, travel with
me to chapter 25 of that 2 Kings. Chapter 25 and verse 21. And the king of Babylon smote
them and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah
was carried away out of their land." Now somewhere in chapter
24 or in chapter 25, we're going to find a man by the name of
Mordecai and his niece by the name of Esther. And we'll get
to that in just a moment when we get back over there into the
book of Esther. But let's look at a few verses
of Scripture that share with us some things. As we look at that, we say, oh
my goodness, now that's good, but I can't get my head around
it. Turn with me, if you would, to the book of Micah. As we think
about Mordecai as a type and a shadow and a picture of the
Lord, we find there's not a lot said about him in his prior life,
in his previous time. But as we find also in the Scriptures,
that there is not a lot said about what the Lord was doing
before the foundation of the world. But there are a few things,
and the church rejoices in these things. In the book of Micah,
Micah 5 and verse 2. Now, this is just one of those
verses that it's just such a blessing, but I'm still trying to figure
out what it all means, because I'm so finite, and He is so infinite. I'm so limited, and He's so unlimited. I'm so unpowerful, and He's so
almighty powerful. And the description, it tells
us here, but thou Bethlehem Epaphrata, Though thou be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto
me that is to be the ruler of Israel." Now notice this last
part. This is a glimpse of what we see about our God before creation,
before he makes statements about what he intends to do, his ministry,
his three and a half years of ministry, the Gospels. The last
part of Micah chapter 5 and verse 2, it says, now this is the description,
whose goings forth have been of old from everlasting. Now, that is a verse of scripture
that shares with us about the glory of the Lord before He came
to this earth. It's hard to wrap around it,
because I can't understand everlasting. And it's hard to wrap around
it, because I can't understand everlasting to everlasting. He's
talking about the very beginning and the very end, all in the
same verse of scripture. But He is from old, came forth,
whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. This is our God. This is our
Lord that's being spoken of. And as Mordecai was in that group
somewhere, and traveled up to Babylon sometime with his niece,
we find that this is where the Lord Jesus shares with us about
himself. Let's look at a couple other
verses in the Psalms. Let's look in the Psalms here.
Psalm 90, as it shares with us, Mordecai was almost a hidden
person until we find him taken off into captivity. And so it
is with our Lord. A few verses, and they're glorious
verses, and we don't really appreciate them until we have been acquainted
with God, when we've been born again. So in the book of the
Psalms, Psalm 90, verse one, Psalm 90 and verse one, it shares
this about our God, about the Lord. Psalm 90 and verse one,
a prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, Thou hast been our
dwelling place in all generations, before the mountains were brought
forth, or even Thou hast formed the earth and the world, even
from everlasting to everlasting Thou art God. What a statement. But the church has trouble wrapping
themselves around that. We appreciate this God because
He is so grand. We appreciate God because He's
so almighty, and He shares with us this, from everlasting to
everlasting, thou art God. Thou turnest man to destruction,
and sayest, return ye children of men. For a thousand years
in thy sight is but as yesterday, when it is past, and as a watch
in the night. A thousand years. Now to us,
going back 2,000 years, we're at the time of Christ. Two days
ago. Well, as a watch in the night,
we cannot compare God to anything. You know, I've made a mistake
many times about trying to compare Him to different things so I
can get my head wrapped around it. And then I was pointed out
a verse of scripture that says, to what will you compare me?
don't compare me to anything, because I'm incomparable, uncomparable. But we do find these verses that
share with us a little bit. Now, I find this with regard
to Mordecai. I think he's probably in this
group of great smiths, great carpenters, princes somewhere
in this realm because he's carried off into captivity. Look with
me again in Psalm 102. In Psalm 102, we have this passage
of scripture about our great God. Psalm 102 and verse 25. The scriptures share this. Psalm
102, verse 25. Of old hast thou laid the foundation
of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They
shall perish, but thou shalt endure. Yea, all of them shall
wax old like a garment. As a vesture shalt thou change
them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy
years shall have no end. What a statement about God. What a statement about our Savior,
that there is no beginning, no end. He has created, He has done
all of this great work, and yet such little to be understood
about Him. And that's for our benefit. It's
good. I mentioned many times, we don't
want a God we can understand. We need a God that can understand
us and our need, and He does. Turn with me, if you would, to
the book of Ephesians 1. Ephesians 1. Here in the book of Ephesians
chapter 1 and verse 4, what a statement is made here that God did before
the world began, before there was a man. In His glory, and
part of His glory is that He worked out, perfected what He
was going to do with fallen men. and women, what He would do for
them. He would not leave them all stranded. He would take care of them by
His mighty power. And He brings that out here.
According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love. Before the foundation of the world, God has determined
that all His church, all the elect, all His saints will be
holy and without blame. He will perfect them so well. In the book of the Song of Solomon,
chapter 4, verse 7, I believe it says, we are without spot. My mother can't even find the
dirt behind the ear that she used to find on our way to church.
Get your ear up here so I can look at it. That's not even going
to be there. We are, and that's what God did
before the foundation of the world. In Colossians, in the
book of Colossians chapter 1, Colossians chapter 1, these verses
are just familiar to us because they are so declarative of this
God that we have that not a lot is said about what took place
before the foundation of the world, but we relish in what
is said. Ah, in whom we have redemption
through his, Colossians chapter one, verse 14, in whom we have
redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins,
who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature,
for by him were all things created. So we have another glimpse by
him, all things were created that are in heaven and that are
in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers, all things were created by him
and for him. So when we read in the scriptures
about the great adversary, the devil, we find out that he's
the God's devil. He's created for a purpose. He
was created by Almighty God like all the angels, even those that
fell. He created them on purpose. And
so He has power over all things, and by Him everything exists. And here again we find just a
little bit more information about this God that was before the
foundation of the world, prepared for the fall, prepared to save
His people from their sins, writing it down in the Lamb's Book of
Life. What does He say to those on the right-hand side? Come
ye, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world. A little more information about
what He has been doing on the behalf of the church. Hebrews
chapter 1, verse 1. Read this with me as we think
about the great work of God. God, Hebrews chapter one verse
one, God who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake
in time past under the fathers by the prophets, you know, before
the foundation of the world, all of the word that God would
ever give to humanity had already been prepared from eternity. It was prepared in his mind what
he would give to those prophets and preachers of righteousness. It was all worked out and decreed
and declared. And thus we have in its original
form the perfect Word of God. In Hebrews chapter 13, we read this in verse 20. We've read this several times
recently, the blood of the everlasting covenant. The blood of the everlasting
covenant. Now the God of peace that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of
the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant. So once again, we have a glimpse
of what was happening, what was transpiring in the council halls
of eternity. We find he was delivered by the
determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Again, a glimpse of what
was going on on the behalf of the church before the world began.
Well, as we follow more to Ki, we find that whatever position
he had, whatever trade he had, whatever prince or nobility he
was, he is carried off into captivity just like the rest of the host. It didn't matter. He is carried
off. He's taken away. And as we follow
this, we find out, going back to the book of Esther, we find
that Mordecai and Esther are carried off together from and
put into captivity. Now, God has already told in
the scriptures that they're going to go into 70 years of captivity.
And since we know a little bit about God, not everything, but
we know a little bit about God, everyone that was carried off
into captivity was known unto God. He knew them by name. He had them carried off and determined
to carry them off. They were going to be His people
in a strange land. Now, it doesn't mean that every
one of them was saved, but Mordecai and Esther give us a strong,
strong representation of what a believer is. They believed
God. You remember what Mordecai said
to Esther? you may not deliver these people,
but if not, someone else will be raised up to deliver these
people." He understood God was going to deliver these people.
All right, turn with me back to the book of Esther in chapter
2. In chapter 2 of the book of Esther, in verse 5. Esther chapter 2. Now we went
over this some time ago, but we want to look at it again because
it helps us understand that as Mordecai is taken off, the description
is left for us right here in Esther chapter 2. Esther chapter
2 beginning with verse 5 we have these words. Now in Shushan the
palace there was a certain Jew. whose name was Mordecai, the
son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite.
So we got his lineage. We can trace him back. He could
trace himself back. We have him. Now, who had been
carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity, which had been
carried away with Jehoiachin, Jeconiah, king of Judah, whom
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried away. And he brought
up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter. For she
had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful,
whom Mordecai, when her father and mother was dead, took for
his own daughter." Now, did you notice in verse 6, he has been
carried away from Jerusalem into Babylon. Whatever position he
had, He is carried to Babylon like everybody else. You know,
that's an interesting thought about our Savior. In order to
deliver His people from their sins, He had to come like unto
His brethren. whatever it was before the foundation
of the world, and whatever glory that he had. He shares with us
in John chapter 17, I believe it's verse 14, he says, Father,
restore unto me the glory that I had with you before the world
was. Now I can't wrap my head around that, but he was in glory.
And it was a glorious glory. And it was an eternal glory.
And it was a glory so perfect and so honorable But it tells
us that He gave up that glory for the suffering of death. Now, we find that Mordecai was
treated just like any other captive. whatever position he had before,
was unbeknownst to the people where he was taken. And we find
out he was an honorable man, and he shared some information
with Esther about the threat on the king, but nothing happened
to him, and he was still just a captive. until one day, by
the providence of God, the king can't sleep, and he requests
them to read the chronicles of the kingdom, and lo and behold,
the person in charge turns to the page, or roll, whatever it
is, a scroll or book, and right there, in black and white, someone
had written that Mordecai had done a great deed for the king,
and the king comes to his senses and says, has anything been done
for this man? Well, the record says no. Now,
if something had have happened, it would have been put there.
And they said, no, nothing's been done. Well, we know the
rest of the story. Something was done for him. But then he
goes back again, and he's out there on the porch. Well, as
we follow our Savior, turn with me to John chapter one again,
if you would. No, all that he had, he gave up. Every bit of
it, he gave up. in John chapter 1. And verse 14, now what a statement
this is. We've read in verses one and
two about the Word. And we recognize by the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit that this Word is Christ the Lord. This is the Messiah. This is
the Son of God. Whatever words we can use to
describe are good words because they're biblical words. But this
Word, that made the heavens and the earth, this word was made
flesh. Now that was not a step up. Mordecai was not promoted when
he was taken into captivity. He became a servant. And when
we look at the Lord Jesus Christ, we find He became a servant. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the Only Begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth. You know, as they
went through the ministry that He had, Day-to-day they saw things
that nobody else could do and yet when it came time to stand
up for him at the end The Word of God was carried out to the
fullest and not one of them stood with him And I've mentioned the sin of
Peter and the sin of Judas are about a nickel apart The only
thing different is grace grace that God had for Peter, and no
grace for Judas. He has made vessels of honor
and vessels of dishonor. All right, the Word was made
flesh. Well, this is what a statement
is found throughout the Scriptures about this one who had all glory,
who was a prince. who was glorious in His own glory. He didn't create the earth because
He needed the earth, and He didn't create man because He needed
man. It was all created out of pure, sovereign grace. It didn't add a thing to God.
He didn't need it. but He chose by grace to do it. And He created the heavens and
the earth, and He created man, and the fall took place, and
He already had His servant in preparation for coming. The Lamb
prepared from the foundation of the world to be the Lamb slain.
Turn with me, if you would, over to the book of Hebrews again,
in Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews 9. Okay, it's Hebrews 2.9. Hebrews chapter 2. But we see
Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, a servant, God's servant, the chosen servant,
in many ways put into captivity to think about the God of heaven
put into a body. God of heaven put into a womb, captive. What? Made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of death. The God of heaven made
for the purpose, made a man. for the suffering of death, crowned
with glory and honor, that he by the grace of God should taste
death for every man." Now, we know that that's not every man
without exception. We're not going to argue that.
But he did taste death for the church. He was put to death on
behalf of the church. He became a servant. The scriptures
tell us that he became a servant. He thought it not robbery to
be equal with God and gave up that position that he had of
great glory. Just as we follow Mordecai, you
know, it's probably a whole lot more chaos in his life when he
was carried off to Babylonian captivity than there was in the
life of the Lord Jesus. But the Lord Jesus came down
as it was promised that he would be the seed of David, the king
through the kingly line. He would be a priest after the
order of Melchizedek. In chapter 10 of this book of
Hebrews, we read this, chapter 10 and verse 5, about him being
made a man. Demoted, if you please. And that's
why we hear him cry in John 17, Restore unto me the glory that
I had with you before the world was. Well, that glory is going
to be as a result of going to the cross. We find here, Wherefore
he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering
thou wouldest not, but a body thou hast prepared me. In burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast no pleasure. Time
and time again, bring no more vain oblations. It's all it turned
out to be. They were only pictures and types
and shadows, but they became vain oblations. And he said,
in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, thou hast no pleasure.
This is God speaking. Then said I, lo, I come, in the
volume of the book it is written to me, to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, sacrifice
and offering and burnt offerings, the offering for sin, thou wouldest
not, neither hast thou pleasure therein, which are offered by
the law. Then said he, Lo, I come to do
thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that
he may establish the second, by the which will we are sanctified
to the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time. By the body of Christ. What we
find here, that he would give up the glory for the joy that
was set before him, he endured the cross. So, you know, Mordecai,
the verse we read tonight says he's walking around in blue and
white robes with a crown on his head. He has been promoted. The king has promoted him. You
know, as we find out about our Lord and Savior, he came, he
was in his glorious state. Glory, glory, glory. Holy, holy,
holy is what we read about him. And then He came as a servant
to do the King's will, to do His Father's will. And as Mordecai
was exalted, we find Romans 1, verse 4. Read with me here. Romans 1, verse 4. This great
statement about our Savior. Romans 1, verse 4. It tells us
here, He is declared to be the Son of God with power according
to the spirit of holiness, what? By the resurrection from the
dead. What a blue and white robe is
on him. What a crown has been placed
upon him. He's declared to be the son of
God. You know, those Jews at the time of the Lord Jesus, he
made a statement one time and says, before Abraham was, I am. You know what they did? They
picked up stones because He made Himself God. Well, He didn't
have to make Himself God. He was God. And here we find
He's declared to be the Son of God with power according to the
Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Declared. God
gave Him this fitting garment. Resurrected power. declared it
by the resurrection from the dead. In chapter 8 of the book
of Romans, what glory we see Him in, the resurrected Christ. Romans 8, verse 34. Romans 8, verse 34, we read this,
Who is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again. who is even at the right hand
of God and maketh intercession for us." What a statement. You know, Mordecai is going to
make intercession for people. He's the one that came up with
the letter to have the king put his signet on to send out to
the people that they shall be free. Mordecai has been exalted. Mordecai has been lifted up.
Mordecai is dressed in the robe of the king and the crown and
what glory. And then we read the same thing
about our Savior, that He has risen again, who is even at the
right hand of God, who maketh intercession for us. In His glory
became a servant. and returned to his glory. but it was determined before
the foundation of the world that he would be very successful on
the cross, that he would pay for all the sin of all his people,
and as a result, he could impute righteousness through every generation
to his people, and he has. Ephesians 1, Ephesians 1, and
there in verse 20, we read this about the exalted Savior. which
he brought in Christ when he raised him from the dead, and
set him at his right hand in heavenly places." You know, as
Mordecai went through the town, what did the people do? They
rejoiced. They were glad. And what does
the church do today as a result of the resurrected Christ sitting
at the right hand of the Father? They rejoice in Christ, they
rejoice in His blood and righteousness, they rejoice in His death, burial,
and resurrection, and hear which He wrought in Christ when He
raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand
in heavenly places. And then, for just a couple or
three verses in the book of Hebrews, would you turn there with me?
As Mordecai is out walking through the city and people are in great
joy, our Savior sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession
for us in glory. What glorious state He is in. Hebrews chapter 1. Join me again
in Hebrews chapter 1 there in verse 3. Who be in the brightness
of His glory. and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when
he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand
of the majesty on high. What a glorious position he holds,
and the church is not only thankful, but we rejoice that he sits down. We've mentioned a number of times,
there's no chairs at the tabernacle. There's no chairs in the temple.
But there is a chair in heaven that the King of Glory got to
sit down in because he completed the work. One of the reasons
there were no chairs there in the Old Testament around those
two religious places, that work was never done. And on and on
it went and this work has been completed Hebrews chapter 8 verse
1 Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 1 notice this with me as we think
about the glory of our Savior The glory we know more about
his resurrected glory than we ever do about the glory that
he had before the world was Even though he created the world.
Can you tell me how he did that? I don't have to be explained
how He did it because the scripture said He did. We believe it. We've
given, we are given the privilege to believe it. It's just, it's
part of our being. Alright, Hebrews chapter 8, and
there in verse 1, Now of the things which we have spoken,
this is the sum, we have such a high priest who is set on the
right hand of the throne of majesty in the heavens. This is the summation
of it. We have a Savior that was successful.
He died for the sins of His people. He was so convincing in His death
that He was buried, and in His burial He was raised again the
third day, and then He was ascended back to the Father, and He sat
at the throne of the Majesty on the right hand. Why is it? that the people on the right
hand are said, welcome to the kingdom prepared for you, because
that's the side the Lord's on. I'm just saying that. All right.
And then in chapter 10 of this same book, Hebrews chapter 10
and verse 12, we read this. Mordecai was walking around.
What glory had been given to him. He once was in glory. Whatever he did there in Jerusalem
or in Judah, brought to be a servant, and then exalted by the king. But this man, after he had, Hebrews
chapter 10 verse 12, but this man, after he had offered one
sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God,
offered one sacrifice for sins forever. The multiple sacrifices
that were offered that could do not one thing for sin, this
man, by the sacrifice of himself for sin, sat down forever. And
in chapter 12, verse 2, chapter 12 and verse 2, we read this.
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne
of God. Back to glory. back to glory, and has promised
that everyone He ransomed, everyone He paid the debt for, will be
assembled with Him in time. And then finally, if you'll look
with me at 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 3, 1 Peter chapter 3, and there
in verse 22, 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 22, One more statement about His
glory. Who is gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God,
angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him. What a statement. You know, as
we follow Mordecai out, he is going to be a great representative
of the people of God. And our representative is a great
representative of the people of God. so great that he purchased
them all by the ransom of himself on the behalf of them." So he
goes from glory to servant to back to the right hand of the
Father. Mordecai, he's out there, no
comparison, but a type. He had that honorable position. And one day someone came along
and said, sorry, you're going to Babylon." Got to Babylon. He's camped outside in the street
and then promoted to the second highest position in the realm.
What a statement about our Savior. He's not promoted to the second.
He's promoted to the highest station in the realm. We'll stop
there tonight.