Praise For Jesus

PRAISE FOR JESUS

(A sermon adapted from the sermons of Charles Spurgeon)

“Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise.”-Genesis 49:8.

THESE words were spoken by the patriarch Jacob when he blessed his sons as he was dying; but before he finished Judah’s blessing, he seemed to forget his son, and to turn his thoughts to Jesus. Jacob compared Judah to a lion and a lion’s cub, and in the book of Revelation we read that one of the elders said to John, “The Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David; hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.”

In the tenth verse of this chapter we have Jacob’s remarkable prophecy concerning the coming of Christ, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Jacob said to Judah, “Thou art he who thy brethren shall praise.” Judah was greatest among Jacob’s sons in several things for which he deserved to be praised; the first was the persuasiveness of his intercession. Judah seems to have been the gifted one out of the twelve sons of Jacob, and his pleading succeeded with his father when all others were powerless.

When Joseph, whom his brothers failed to recognize although he recognized them, said to them, “Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you,” they went back home with heavy hearts, and their father firmly refused to allow Benjamin to go down into Egypt. But when all their corn was eaten up and they needed to go and buy more, it was Judah who persuaded Jacob to let Benjamin go with them.

Reuben and Levi were silent during this critical period, because they had lost their rightful position in the family after murdering some local men, and Simeon was a hostage in the hands of Joseph; but Judah was able to step into the breach, and his reasoning prevailed with old Jacob.

Friends, we are by nature like those sinful sons of Jacob, because we have offended our Father who is in heaven and it would come to nothing if we attempted to approach him as sinners without an intercessor.

But our Judah is Jesus, and He is seated at his Father’s right hand; and whatever our desire or our request may be, provided it is a right one, it is sure to be granted when Jesus pleads for us before the throne.

“If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

Use your Mind’s eye to look upward, and see our great High Priest appearing there in the presence of God for us; and as he points to the print of the nails in his hands and feet, and to the scar of the soldier’s spear in his side, and pleads our cause, we can be certain that his plea must prevail with his Father. "Therefore, Jesus is also able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, since he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” If Judah was praised because his intercession prevailed with Jacob, How much more should Jesus be praised because his intercession prevails with Jehovah.

Have you any burden on your mind at this moment? Is there anything that distresses you? Have you been praying about something without getting any answers to your prayers? Then put your case into the hands of Christ. He has never lost a case, and that is more than the best of earthly lawyers can say about the cases entrusted to them.

That was a wonderful scene when Joseph said that Benjamin could not go back with his brothers, but must remain in Egypt as his servant because the silver cup had been found in his sack, and Judah pleaded with Joseph, not knowing that “the lord of the land” was his own brother. You may remember how he pictured their old father at home, who would certainly die of a broken heart if Benjamin did not return to him safely, and how, at last, he offered to take Benjamin’s place if he would let Benjamin go free. Judah’s plea was so effective that Joseph could no longer hold back the tears, and finally he told them he was their long-lost brother. So, dear friends, if the great Lord of heaven and earth seems angry with you because of your sins, and he is angry with the wicked every day, put your case into the hands of the sinners’ Advocate, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and when he stands up to plead with his Father for you, he will soon bring a smile of forgiveness upon the righteously severe countenance of his Father, and you shall gladly say, “Jesus, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise because of thine almighty power in pleading for them.”