Do you know the word nadir? It means “the lowest point.” It’s hard for us to recognize our own nadir, since it may seem that things can always get worse. Though most of us don’t use this word every day, it fits this scene in Mark’s gospel. This scene shows the world’s condemnation of the Savior promised through the Jesse Tree.

God loved the world so much that he sent his only Son to seek and save the lost. The people living in darkness, however, didn’t recognize God’s Son. In fact, they condemned him to die a shameful death on a cross, here in this scene in the high priest’s courtyard.

But in this rock-bottom moment in history, Jesus himself points beyond his humiliation and death to an entirely different future, to his glorification. When the high priest asks him if he is indeed “the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One,” Jesus responds, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Here we have the full story of the Jesse Tree. It points to Christmas, which points to Easter, when Jesus rose from the dead. And Easter points to the second coming of Jesus on the clouds of heaven to live with us forever (Revelation 21-22).

Do you believe in this Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Is he the Lord of your life?