Jesus first ...
Each time I read the gospels, I am deeply impressed with the words and actions of Jesus. I am also astounded with the bitterness and hostility that existed because of Jesus teaching in Jerusalem. If Jesus had not confronted the leaders of Israel with truth, they would have never realized their gross errors about God.
Unfortunately, even after being confronted with truth, most of them chose to remain in darkness. The embarrassment resulting from such a fundamental change would have been too much for Israel’s prestigious leaders, it would have meant a complete meltdown of previously held religious beliefs. These were not men of faith nor were they lovers of truth. Instead, they were men of religious authority who loved religion. They loved respect and adoration that came with authority.
They were the educated, rich, influential leaders of Israel and THEY knew what to expect regarding the coming Messiah OR so they thought. However, in reality, His appearance, character, work and mission were very different from what they expected of the Messiah. His arrival did not conform to their "prophetic expectations." His appearance was common and the individuals who followed Him were low class laborers from Galilee.
From Israel’s leaders perspective, Jesus looked like, lived like, ate like and walked like any ordinary laborer. He was not a scholar, did not hold an important job, nor did He belong to the religious fraternity of Israel. Let’s face it, He was not one of them. He was sociable, but not social seeking. He was poor and did not come from a family of distinction. People often repeated with disdain that He was conceived out of wedlock. All of His adult life, He remained an unmarried carpenter which possibly fueled these fires of gossip.
For a moment put on the A.D. 29 sandals of the Pharisees and take a good, close look at the Jesus of Galilee, not the risen and eternal Jesus Christ with whom you are already familiar. Look at Him and His Earthly state and think about this: The Father ordained that the Word appear before humanity in very humble garb so that truth could be recognized for what it is. We should think about this important concept.
God does not accept our love for our church (or religion) as a substitute for our love of truth. It proves that these two loves should be separate and distinct. Unfortunately, most of us cannot separate these two loves. To prove this point, God ordained that Jesus would begin His ministry at a time in Israel’s history when the nation had never been more religious.
Consequently, the contest between Jesus and the Pharisees is really a story about loving truth or loving "church." The outcome is described in the four gospels. In the context of His day, His claims and doctrines were considered blasphemous.
Jesus spoke plainly. He said things that seemed outrageous and highly offensive to the Jews because truth is pure. Light ruins darkness. When darkness vanishes, so does ego, pride, fantasy, superstition and fiction.
Jesus said, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But, whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." (John 3:19-21)
For making these types of offensive statements, Jewish leaders ultimately agreed, Jesus must die. They believed that it was better that one man die, rather than a whole nation to perish. (See John 11:50)
Truth is progressive. This means that from time to time, God reveals more truth to Earth’s inhabitants. God opens the eyes of humans to understand things that were unknown before.
God is unfolding and allowing us to understand more about His Word with brilliant clarity than ever before. The Word has not changed, but our understanding has. There is more to learn and new concepts to absorb, as we allow old misconceptions to fall away.
The clearer the truth, the greater its divisiveness. Truth divides and separates people as nothing else does. History confirms that when truth is granted great power, evil forces unite to show their superiority, foolishly thinking that force is of greater value than truth. However, a brief study in the book of Acts will reveal how early Christians raised the gospel of Jesus Christ high above the banner of the Roman empire. Today, all that remains of the Rome that Caesar ruled lies in ruins.
As I study the life and teachings of Jesus and the Bible prophets, I am impressed with the fact that God Himself, and His messengers, usually came in different forms than what was expected. Jesus was not what the people had been expecting either. They anticipated a king not a carpenter. They looked for victory over Rome not victory over sin. They looked for a glorious destiny not a horrible death. They looked for the exaltation of Israel above all nations not a message that the meek will inherit the Earth. They wanted peace and prosperity not self-denial. They claimed Abraham was their father, instead Jesus revealed how the devil was their father. Although He chose to be a "nobody" in human terms (even before He was born), hardly anyone recognized truth for what it was.
Although He chose to be a common carpenter, His words and actions should have challenged the minds of religious leaders, prompting them to investigate a deeper understanding of God’s word. If Jesus walked on Earth today, I am sure the same thing would happen again, simply because people love their religion more than they love truth.
When Jesus returns, He will not gather up THE church, He will gather up individuals like Cornelius who make up HIS church. May God transform our hearts and open our minds so that we might eagerly embrace the full gospel of Christ as Cornelius did.
No comments:
Post a Comment