Dr. M. DeWayne Anderson

The Portrait of Christ

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The character, nature, work and person of Christ is revealed throughout the Bible. The Old Testament prophets were given a portrait of the history, mission, titles, and characteristics of Christ. The image painted to them was so thorough that He could be recognized when He came as the Messiah. They were given snapshots of His birth, life, miracles, death, and glory. Everyone who addressed the coming of the Messiah depicted some attribute of His mission, title, and character.

The Psalms, Isaiah, Daniel and Zechariah were shown dreams, visions and prophesied of the suffering Messiah. Messiah the King was depicted in Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Micah, Zechariah, and Malachi. The Prophet Isaiah gave us graphic detail about the Christ. He described His mission, character, and sufferings. The portrait that Isaiah portrayed of Christ opens our eyes to the Lord’s coming.

Isaiah 9:2 NKJV The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a Light has shined.

Jesus is the Light of the world.

His coming exposed the world to the love, mercy, and grace that God has for a dark and dying world. The darkness of death and sin is conquered by His Light. Isaiah saw the Lord coming to judge and help the world.

Watch Isaiah paint a portrait of Christ.

Isaiah 11:3-4 NKJV His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.

Isaiah 42:4 NKJV He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”

God told Isaiah, I have sent Him as a covenant to the people.

Isaiah 42:7 NKJV To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

Then he posted a great portrait of the birth and suffering of the Christ.

Isaiah 53:4-6 NKJVSurely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:12 NKJV Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

The portrait of Christ reveals His many titles and attributes.

  • He is Immanuel, Isaiah 7:14
  • He is the Mighty God, Isaiah 9:6
  • He is the Everlasting Father, Isaiah 9:6
  • He is the Prince of Peace, Isaiah 9:6
  • He is the King Who will rule in righteousness, Isaiah 32.
  • He is the Divine Servant, Who will not break those who are wounded and bruised, Isaiah 42.
  • He is the Arm of the Lord, who comes to accomplish God’s great work, Isaiah 53.
  • He is the Anointed Preacher Who comes to console those who mourn, and give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, Isaiah 61:1.
  • He is the Mighty Savior with garments sprinkled with blood, Isaiah 63.

Look at the Portrait of Christ.

Then Isaiah portrayed the various characteristics of Christ with great clarity.

  • Jesus Christ, the Messiah will stand in contrast to the darkness of the world, He will be a great light, Isaiah 9:2; Isaiah 46:6.

He shall be like a shoot that will grow from the stump of Jesse’s dry roots, Isaiah 11.

The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him. The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, and the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord shall rest upon the Branch that shall grow out of Jesse’s dry roots. Jesus Christ the Messiah shall have spiritual discernment. He will judge in righteousness. The words of His mouth will be sharp and powerful. He will be known for righteousness and faithfulness.

He continues to describe His character in Isaiah 42:2-4.

He will be silent when oppressed and afflicted. He will be gentle and tender to those who are oppressed and wounded. He will encourage the fainthearted. He will persevere and not be discouraged until He has established justice on the earth.

Isaiah 53 gives the ultimate picture of the suffering Savior.

He will vicariously suffer for others by taking their sorrows, grief, rejections and afflictions. The content of His compassion will cause Him to take and carry our sorrows, transgression, iniquities, and sickness. In meekness He will be falsely accused, judged, and die. In everything He does, He will be sinless and without blame. He will save others by bearing their iniquities.

Matthew portrays Jesus as the Kingly Messiah.

In Matthew, He is called King eight times and the Son of David nine times. He comes riding on the colt of a donkey into Jerusalem and the people cried out, “Behold, your King is coming to you.”

Mark portrays Jesus as the Wonder Worker.

He demonstrates the Miracle Worker and tireless Servant of God and man.

Luke portrays Jesus as the friend of sinners and outcasts.

He came to seek and save that which was lost, (Luke 19:10)

Each chapter of John’s gospel portrays a special aspect of the Character and work of Christ.

  • John 1 — Jesus is the Son of God who came from the Father
  • John 2 — He is the Son of Man
  • John 3 — He is the Divine Teacher come from God
  • John 4 — He is the Soul Winner of the Samaritan woman
  • John 5 — He is the Great Physician ministering by the pool
  • John 6 — He is the Bread of Life who satisfies the souls of men
  • John 7 — He is the Water of Life that satisfies the thirsty heart
  • John 8 — Jesus is the Defender of the Weak, defending the disgraced woman caught in adultery
  • John 9 — Jesus is the Light of the World who gives sight to the blind
  • John 10 — Jesus is the Good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep
  • John 11 — He is the Prince of Life calling Lazarus from the dead
  • John 12 — Jesus the Messiah is the King riding on a donkey
  • John 13 — He is the humble Servant washing His disciple’s feet
  • John 14 — Under the shadow of the cross He is the Consoler of the troubled disciples
  • John 15 — He is the True Vine and source of all spiritual fruit
  • John 16 — He is the Giver of the Holy Spirit
  • John 17 — Jesus Christ is the Great Intercessor for the church
  • John 18 — He is the Model Sufferer who willingly drinks the cup of sorrows
  • John 19 — He is the uplifted Savior who is obedient even to the death on the cross
    • At the bedside of a little girl, death had to flee, Matthew 9:24-25.
    • When the widow’s son was being carried out of Nain in a coffin, Jesus touched the coffin and said arise to the man who was dead, Luke 7:11-15.
    • He called Lazarus out of the tomb, John 11:43-44.
    • He entered the stronghold of death and came out a conqueror, John 20:11-17.
  • John 20 — He is the Conqueror of Death, four times He faced death and conquered. 
  • John 21 — He is the Restorer Who welcomed Peter back and commissioned him to feed the sheep and lambs.
  • Acts — He is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit.
  • Romans 5:1 — Jesus is the Peacemaker.
  • 1 Corinthians — He is the Lord of Glory, the only foundation, the sacrificial lamb and the conqueror of death.
  • 2 Corinthians 4:4 — He is the Image of God.
  • Galatians 5:1 — He is the Liberator who makes us free.
  • Ephesians 4:13 — He is the Measure of the character of a perfect man.
  • Philippians 3:8 — He is the ultimate prize of life.
  • Colossians 1:18 — He is the Head of the Church.
  • Thessalonians — He is returning from the glory clouds of heaven to receive His Church.
  • 1 Timothy 6:15 — He is the Blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
  • 2 Timothy 4:1 — He is the judge of all men.
  • Titus 2:14 — He is the Redeemer from all wickedness and evil deeds Who purifies a people for Himself.
  • Hebrews — He is the author of our salvation, (2:10).
    • He is our Great High Priest, (4:14).
    • He is the author and Perfecter of our faith, (12:2).
  • 1 Peter 2:25 — He is the Son of the Living God, the only source of truth, the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.
  • Revelation 
    • He is the Faithful Witness (1:5).
    • He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end(1:8).
    • He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, (5:5).
    • He is the Lamb who overcomes because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, (17:14).
    • He is the Word of God dressed in a robe dipped in blood. (19:13)
    • He is King and He is Lord, (19:16).

Over the next few weeks we are going to be looking at the Fruit of the Spirit as it was demonstrated in Jesus Christ our Lord.

He is the model for this character.

  • We will be able to see how He loved.
  • We will witness His patience, kindness, and peace.
  • We will see His forbearance, mercy, and grace.
  • We will learn from His faith and faithfulness.
  • We will learn joy from the Lord.
  • We will see His gentle, tender care.
  • We will see the Holy Spirit in action.
  • We will learn how He lived out this Fruit of the Spirit before men.

From Him we will learn how to live in our world. The portrait of Christ will be displayed in such a way that we will be transformed by the Holy Spirit into the image of Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.