"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).

"Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart" (Psalm 40:7-8).

Let us consider Psalm 40:7-8. It is a particularly Messianic passage of Scripture that seems to be in keeping with the "higher ways" perspective of God's prophetic plan (see Isaiah 55:8-9). According to this Psalm, all the Hebrew scrolls (M'Gelat Sefer) are written about Messiah. If everything, then, speaks of the Messiah, how do we reconcile Messiah's exaltation (Isaiah 52:13) with His afflictions and sufferings (Isaiah 52:14 - 53:12)? How does one reconcile His mercy and compassion (Isaiah 61:1-2a, 2c) with His vengeance (Isaiah 61:2b)?

The answer: God is the God of the impossibly wonderful and the wonderfully impossible. The God of Israel is the God of the impossible and the God who is wonderful. As the Messiah's name shall be called "Wonderful" according to Isaiah's prophecy, wonderful is translated from the Hebrew word Pele. Pele can be translated wonderful, as in "full of wonder." It can also be translated as impossible, as in "too difficult for human achievement." The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is Elohiym Pele, the God of the Impossible. Did not our LORD rhetorically ask Sarah, "Is any thing [impossible] for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son" (Genesis 18:14)?

When we examine the life of Jesus from the gospel accounts, we first look at it with certain prejudices and preconceived notions. Yet, as we walk with God, knowing that His ways are higher than ours, we see things from a lofter position because we begin to see things from a heavenly perspective.

In the basic study of the gospels, many theologians and Bible scholars will tell us that there are four distinct views of Jesus Messiah. They tell us that Matthew writes to a Jewish audience and presents Jesus as the King of Israel, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and the Jewish Messiah, explaining what Jesus said. We are told that Mark writes to a Roman audience of the ultimate Servant, explaining what Jesus did. They say that Luke writes of the perfect Man, the second Adam, who was born without sin. Luke writes to a Greek audience and explains what Jesus felt. And we are told that John writes of the deity of Christ, the God who gets dressed up in human flesh. John's gospel is written to the church at large and explains whom Jesus is.

This is certainly true. It serves s a basic guide through the gospels in order to give us a fundamental knowledge of the Lord and Savior we serve. Nevertheless, a closer examination reveals that God presents His higher way, something that the natural world wouldn't expect.

In Matthew's gospel, we actually witness a submissive and compassionate King, quite contrary to the world's concept of a monarch. He is a King who cares about His subjects and ensures that their physical and spiritual needs are met. He taught them and fed them and healed them of their infirmities. He took time with them and gave Himself over to them. He had disdain for public attention, telling those He helped not to tell anyone.

Though Mark writes of the Lord's being the ready Servant, "immediately" meeting the needs of man's fallen condition, we see a gospel that nearly shows Jesus more authoritative than any other account. We see more of His deity here than anywhere else. Jesus has authority to forgive sin and He leaves the wise religious leaders confounded with His words and actions.

Luke's gospel account presents Jesus, not as a natural man but, rather, supernatural. Though Jesus walks upon the earth, He is distant from the earth and its trappings, yet He is not foreign or extra-terrestrial. In Luke's gospel, He is exceptional, yet He doesn't divorce Himself from the planet. Jesus is extraordinary in an ordinary way, amidst ordinary surroundings, among ordinary people. He was the perfect Man, yet common and able to disappear in a crowd. He is filled with the Holy Spirit without drawing attention to Himself. His mind is on heaven, yet His feet are planted firmly on the ground. And through Luke's narrative of the perfect Man we receive the most significant insights into the spiritual dimension.

Although John presents Jesus as the pre-existent God from the very first sentence of his gospel account, we are introduced to the Lord who demonstrates the depth of feeling and emotion like no other gospel. John also gives us insight into Jesus' intimacy in servitude as Jesus washes His disciples' feet, He prays for the disciples, and comforts them with the promise of the Holy Spirit.

When we abandon ourselves to God's higher way, we do not see Jesus as the world sees Him, as an Impossible Jew; we see Him as the Wonderful Jew.

God presents His prophetic plan with a fresh perspective and we find that He reveals His nature and character in an unexpected, yet intimate way... and we discover the wonderfully impossible nature and character of our Creator and Redeemer.

To examine the gospels, or any Scripture for that matter, we wil have a richer more fulfilling journey when we approach our studies with certain caveats:

1. We must take a Redemption-centered approach to the passages we read, study, and meditate upon. It is written, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18). Before we can reason with the LORD, we must come to Him by way of the only provision He has made for our sins, through the Cross of His one and only Son, Jesus of Nazareth.
2. We must diligently seek to know the LORD, and not a comfortable opinion of Him. The LORD promises, "And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).
3. We must examine Scripture in the light of Scripture, and not try to make it fit according to our own interpretations, as it is written, "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20). Don't take Jon Cardwell's word for it (or anyone else's for that matter). Check out the Scriptures to make sure they are saying what I'm telling you.
4. We must meditate prayerfully upon His word: "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination" (Proverbs 28:9).

When we see the things of God through the Cross, the things that the world calls impossible, we exalt God with exuberance and proclaim that His name is Wonderful.

Let us enjoy this wonderful journey together...

In His service by His grace,