Okay, I'll admit it: the heaviness of what we are all going through these days is taking a toll on me physically and emotionally, as I know it is on you. I personally would have difficulty getting through a "normal" day and time without my confidence in a glorious future without pain or sorrow, a future in which I'll be reunited with loved ones who have gone on before me, and most of all where I'll walk endlessly in the presence of God my Savior. But in the midst of today's pandemic, when our vulnerability is ever before us, I cannot imagine the constant feeling of being in jeopardy, the ever-present dread that life could end in a futile gasp, without the assurance that what's to come next is so much better! And so, for my unbelieving friends and family, this is my desperate plea to listen to the call of the God Who made you, Who loves you enough to die for you, so that you can be in His presence for eternity.
Along with an on-line group Bible study of Revelation, I've been doing my own study of the book of Hebrews. This morning's passage, Chapter 10, brought to the surface my ever-present concern for loved ones who reject Jesus (Yeshua), the Messiah of the Bible, Who came to save them and give them hope in such a time as this. In the book of Hebrews, by constantly quoting their own Scripture (the Old Covenant or Old Testament) the author pleads with Jews who have rejected Jesus to acknowledge Him as their Perfect Priest and Messiah. And then in Chapter 11 he proceeds to give us what we like to call the "Hall of Faith": an elaboration of the patriarchs of the Old Covenant who continually looked ahead to the coming of Messiah by complete faith in the God Who created them and chose them as His people. His logical conclusion, and the crux of the message to the unbelievers, was the plea in the beginning of Chapter 12:
"So then, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us, too, put aside every impediment — that is, the sin which easily hampers our forward movement — and keep running with endurance in the contest set before us, looking away to the Initiator and Completer of that trusting, Yeshua — who, in exchange for obtaining the joy set before him, endured execution on a stake as a criminal, scorning the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2, Complete Jewish Bible)
Scholars estimate between 200 and 400 distinct prophecies in the Old Testament are fulfilled in Jesus Christ of Bethlehem. That previous sentence refers to one of my favorites and I think one of the most stunning. The prophet Micah, some 700 years before the birth of Christ wrote:
But you, Beit-Lechem [Bethlehem] near Efrat,
so small among the clans of Y’hudah,
out of you will come forth to me
the future ruler of Isra’el,
whose origins are far in the past,
back in ancient times.
2 Therefore he will give up [Isra’el]
only until she who is in labor gives birth.
Then the rest of his kinsmen
will return to the people of Isra’el.
3 He will stand and feed his flock
in the strength of Adonai,
in the majesty of the name
of Adonai his God;
and they will stay put, as he grows great
to the very ends of the earth;
so small among the clans of Y’hudah,
out of you will come forth to me
the future ruler of Isra’el,
whose origins are far in the past,
back in ancient times.
2 Therefore he will give up [Isra’el]
only until she who is in labor gives birth.
Then the rest of his kinsmen
will return to the people of Isra’el.
3 He will stand and feed his flock
in the strength of Adonai,
in the majesty of the name
of Adonai his God;
and they will stay put, as he grows great
to the very ends of the earth;
(Micah 5:2-4, Complete Jewish Bible)
A couple hundred years later, Daniel was just as specific in predicting the exact coming of Messiah after the rebuilding of Jerusalem following the Babylonian destruction (587 B.C.) and before the final Roman destruction of the temple in A.D. 70. (See Daniel 9:24-26). The Temple had indeed been rebuilt by Cyrus the Great well before Jesus' birth, and with the destruction in A.D. 70 all Jewish genealogical records were lost, which makes the ancestry of anyone born after that time impossible to trace back to the House of David! (References to Messiah's lineage are found throughout the Tanakh (Old Testament), most notably Isaiah 11:1-10.)
I could go on endlessly about Messianic prophecies fulfilled in Jesus, but the bottom line, dear friends, is that my Hope is in Yahweh, God of Israel, the God revealed in the Tanakh (Old Testament). And through His perfect sacrifice, and not any work on my own, I am justified. (I love the explanation pastors frequently give of the concept of justification: It's "just as if I'd" never sinned!)
"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," (Romans 5:1, KJV)
"For God so loved ____________ [insert your name] that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16, NIV)
As we Christians celebrate Sunday the resurrection of our Messiah Jesus, are you in jeopardy or justified? If you have questions or would like me to pray with you, please contact me via Facebook-- nothing would delight me more!
