The Beloved Son
God gives a phenomenal promise about the Messiah when the prophet Nathan tells King David:
I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever. (2 Samuel 7:12-14, 16 NKJV)
Later, God sends Nathan to David with another message when Solomon is born:
The LORD loved him … so he called his name Jedidiah. (2 Samuel 12:24-25)
In Hebrew, Jedidiah means "beloved of the Lord." Yet Solomon doesn’t use that name; in all his writings he refers to himself as Solomon. So who is Jedidiah?
Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 42 begins,
“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights.”
—meaning "beloved of the Lord."
Jesus quotes this while withdrawing from the great crowds following Him. If they acclaim Him as their ruler, they’ll expect Him to establish the Davidic line on the throne in Jerusalem and overthrow the Roman oppression. Yet Jesus knows that before coming in power and glory, He must fulfill His calling as the Suffering Servant.
And He quotes Isaiah at length:
Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!” I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust. (Matthew 12:18-21)
The prophecy had to be fulfilled. He must do all these things because He is Jedidiah; He is the beloved of God. This is confirmed in the New Testament a number of times.
When Jesus is baptized, a voice from heaven says,
“You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11)
Matthew, Mark and Luke all record that when Jesus is transfigured on the mountain, a voice from the cloud declares, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
And notice how Peter concludes his eyewitness account of the Transfiguration:
He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed. (2 Peter 1:17-19)
Yes, the ancient prophecies are confirmed. Jesus is Jedidiah, the Beloved Son. And God is saying, “This is the One. Hear Him.”
At the dawn of New Testament times, people sensed that God was doing something new. They anticipated the coming of the Son of David.
Matthew 20:30 describes two blind men sitting by the road. When they hear Jesus is passing by, they cry out,
“Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
Similarly, Mark 10:47 says that Bartimaeus, a blind beggar in Jericho, shouts,
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
They knew Isaiah’s prophecy that the deaf will hear and the blind will see.
Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s great plan. And the Lord is building a house for His name, just as Nathan prophesied a thousand years before Christ was born. Jesus is the architect, making us into a temple. He is the Alpha and Omega, the author and finisher of our faith. He is Emmanuel—God with us and in us. And because we are in Christ, God considers us His beloved.
As Paul writes in Galatians 2:20,
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
This is the best news the world has ever heard. When we believe it, we are seated with Him in heavenly places. He will withhold nothing from us. We have power, authority and healing because we stand in this place of Jedidiah—the beloved of God.
God bless you.
~
Scripture is quoted from the Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
About The Author
GORDON ROBERTSON is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Christian Broadcasting Network, as well as a member of CBN’s Board of Directors. He is also Chancellor of Regent University and the Chairman of the Board of Operation Blessing, CBN’s humanitarian organization.
The son of Pat and Dede Robertson, Gordon graduated from Yale University in 1980 and earned his Juris Doctor degree from Washington and Lee University in 1984. He then practiced law in Norfolk, Virginia, for 10 years.
In 1994, Gordon had a profound encounter with the Lord and moved to the Philippines, where he established CBN Asia. The following year, he founded the Asian Center for Missions (ACM), dedicated to training and sending Asian missionaries throughout the world. ACM is now one of the largest missionary agencies in the Philippines with more than 2,000 graduates trained in cross-cultural missions.
In 1996, Gordon created CBN Asia’s flagship television show, The 700 Club Asia, which is now one of the longest-running Christian television shows in the Philippines and is distributed by satellite around the world. Also in 1996, CBN Asia started a humanitarian organization, Operation Blessing Philippines, which has been recognized as “NGO of the Year” by the Philippine government.
Over the next three years, Gordon launched CBN centers in Indonesia, India, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Thailand. He moved back to the United States in 1999 to serve at CBN’s headquarters in Virginia Beach.
As Executive Producer of The 700 Club, Gordon oversees all aspects of programming for the ministry. He hosts CBN’s original flagship program, The 700 Club; as well as 700 Club Interactive, a daily show airing on Freeform and online; and Miracle Living Today.
Gordon has produced a number of documentaries and features as Executive Producer of CBN Films, including:
- Oracles of God: The Story of the New Testament
- Oracles of God: The Story of the Old Testament
- Written in Stone four-part series: House of David, Kings and Prophets, Secrets of the Temple, and Jesus of Nazareth
- The Asbury Awakening
- I Am Patrick: The Patron Saint of Ireland
- Treasures of the Second Temple
- Christmas: The Story Behind the Traditions
- To Life: How Israeli Volunteers Are Changing the World
- In Our Hands: The Battle for Jerusalem
- The Hope: The Rebirth of Israel
- Whose Land Is It? Jewish and Arab Claims to Israel
- Made in Israel
- Temple of Heaven, filmed in China
Gordon is also Executive Producer of CBN Animation’s Superbook, the reimagined animation series. Its guiding mission is to bring the stories of the Bible to the children of the world in their own languages. With over 65 episodes completed, Superbook has been broadcast to millions of viewers in dozens of languages throughout the world. Other Superbook-themed videos are also being produced and released.
Gordon and his wife, Katharyn, reside in Virginia and have three grown children.
