Last and First (Sunday, May 7, 2023)

 Last and First (Sunday, May 7, 2023)

I’m not into horse racing and I’ve never cast a bet, but the story of the 2009 Kentucky Derby gets me every time. I’ve watched the YouTube of it over and over, and it seems to me to be a wonderful illustration of principle found in the Bible that “the last shall be first.”

“Mine that Bird” (where they get these names, I don’t know) gets crowded coming out of the gate and settles far back, behind the field. The announcer mid-race, calls out the names of the horses, from first to last, and nearly neglects to even notice Mine that Bird, so far back. The announcer is watching the front of the field as the race approaches its end, and again does not notice this small horse coming up the rail at the end, passing the field and winning by more than six lengths. His voice reveals his surprise. He can’t believe this long-shot horse from the back of the field could actually emerge as the winner.

There was nothing that suggested Mine That Bird had a shot at winning the Derby… The horse was so runty and bland-looking that he had fetched only $9,500 at auction two years earlier. And his pedigree was so unfashionable that his owners castrated him — eliminating any chance of a lucrative post-racing career in the breeding shed — to try to coax better races out of him.

This description reminds me of these words from Isaiah 53: “He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” (Isaiah 53:2–3 NAS95). We understand these words from the Old Testament to be about Jesus, the Suffering Servant, who would die as a falsely-accused criminal for His people, who would be forgiven their sins. He rose from the dead and lives forevermore. He is called “the last Adam,” abut also He is called “the firstborn of the dead;”King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who will reign forever and ever.

The question that we should ask ourselves is this: Is Jesus last in our lives, or first? Many would say that He is somewhere in the middle, but I fear that is not possible. Either you accept Him, or reject Him. He will either be your first love and loyalty, or none at all. And your response to this Jesus will determine your place at the finish as well.