I learn so much re-reading the foretelling of Christ's coming. I can only imagine the prophets telling of the Messiah but not fully understanding their predictions of the Messiah yet to come..
| Identification of the Messiah---Jesus |
Photo credit: Alvimann from morguefile.com
God saw well to preserve all the prophecies throughout the generations so we could read of them in the Holy Scriptures today.
I can imagine the Jewish people had all sorts of questions about the Messiah.
Who would be the Messiah? What would he do? Where would he come from? When would he arrive?
The Old Testament writings left clues and signs so the Messiah's identity would clearly prove it was him. None other than Jesus Christ positively fits the ID.
The Messiah would need to-
Be of a certain lineage
Be a male and be born of a virgin woman.
Make his arrival at a certain time and place.
Be received a certain way by his peers.
Be of a certain character in his day-to-day life as well as in his ministry.
Have someone preparing the way and announce that he was coming.
Be despised by his own people.
Be given up for a certain amount of silver.
Be mocked, pierced and crucified.
Be guilty of no violence.
Be laid in a rich man's grave.
Be resurrected.
This link gives scripture about all this and more with links to parts 1-3.
http://www.provethebible.net/T2-Divin/D-0401.htm
Below is a little of what I recently learned from my pastor concerning the Jewish Messiah------
| The Temple Mount in Jerusalem |
Photo credit: lisasolonynko from morguefile.com
There are Jews who do not believe Jesus is the Messiah.
The word Messiah is Hebrew, and Christ is Greek. They both mean, the anointed One.
Back in biblical time, the Jews ( the religious ones) saw Jesus as an ordinary man. They didn't take kindly to him claiming to be God. That was blasphemy. Only God could forgive sins and Jesus claimed he could.
The Jews were anticipating their Messiah to be a political leader and rescue them from all their enemies, including the Romans, and rule over Israel forever. They were expecting their Messiah to be a mighty leader and warrior and free them from their enemies and restore Israel to her glory.
What the Jewish people didn't see was Jesus came first to save them spiritually. The Jews were heavily into the letter of the Law, but neglected to get their hearts right with God. Many times the Jewish people disobeyed God by worshiping idols and wanting to be ruled by kings instead of allowing God to rule over them. They got caught up in being doer's of the Law and kept adding to the Law thinking that keeping the Law made one righteous. But their hearts were not right with God. And yes, hearts can be hard and blind. The Lord looks inwardly to the heart, but they weren't seeking God within their hearts, they were focused on rules and do's and don'ts, living to please self and thinking their doings made them righteous. They were living to please themselves, not God, and this is known as being carnal-minded. God saw their 'righteous' attempts liken to filthy rags because their hearts were far from God.
Changing the heart.
Filthy rags.
Jesus said he came not to condemn the world, but to save and forgive sins. He brought something new, and the Jews resisted the change from the Law. No one could keep the entire Law no matter how 'holy' they believed they were. Jesus ushered in a change, a change to 'grace'. The Jews were not aware their Messiah was to first set up his spiritual kingdom, for saving souls, as Redeemer. They missed this in the Old Testament teachings pertaining to the Messiah.
'How to go to Heaven and not hell'-video
Old and New Testament scripture on how you can get to heaven.
Jesus is from a Spiritual world. He did give up a certain part of his deity to walk in human form as a man. Jesus was still God, but he was also a man in order to satisfy and complete his Earthly mission to be the once-and-for-all sacrifice for all the sins of Man. His Earthly mission was to be obedient as a Son, allowing himself to become 'The' Sacrificial Lamb for all mankind. This sacrifice would need to be one super sacrifice, and only a god could fulfill that duty. Jesus did it all and was all-- Son of God, Son of Man, and the image of God almighty that we could see and touch. Our heavenly Father accepted and was well pleased in what Jesus did for you and I. Praise the Lord.
God in his deity is not bound to the limits we are. God is not relegated to the limits of gravity or time and space, and He is not held to operating within the logical thinking we understand and are bound to. God's above and beyond that. God is Spirit and Jesus is the image of the unseen Holy God. No person can possibly explain all He can do because we are incapable to realize His holiness, fullness, vastness, limit-less majestic-ness, and being the creator of the universe. Man is unable to fully comprehend what we can't measure, relate to, test or place under a microscope to study or dissect, let alone understand what's spiritually beyond our physical capacity to understand. We'd like to, but try as we may, there's no way to fully grasp the fullness of an infinite God. The physical and the spiritual are very different worlds.
Jesus fulfilled his part of coming and claiming victory over the spiritual kingdom of darkness. We are assured of that. While he walked on Earth, he taught about a new way, a new covenant with his disciples and to the Jews. And when he died, this new covenant was ushered in. The change was to be not of works, but faith and an change on the inside, bringing in a newness of spirit, one which was open to pleasing God with a repentant heart, acknowledging one's sins and seeing the need for Jesus to be one's Savior and Lord. This new covenant was for those who'd had a spiritual rebirth. This is what the disciples were learning from Jesus' teachings to the Jews, first. But the Jews as a whole rejected this new covenant. But some Jews believe in the new covenant that Jesus brought about.
Messianic Jews are sometimes known as, 'complete Jews'. They keep their Jewish identity and hold to their Jewish traditions, and they understand the Torah or law are God's guidelines for right and wrong for living a morally just life and the law explains what one must do in order to receive forgiveness for sins against God with a substitutionary sacrificial system.
Messianic Jews also accept and believe Jesus as their 'permanent' sacrificial Lamb, the 'suffering servant', who taught the spirit of the law is to be kept in the heart, which is a higher standard than the old letter of law. And knowing they can never keep to the letter of the law because of their sinful nature, this a new covenant is a more excellent covenant with forgiveness, grace and mercy. They know what's required is an exercise of faith, and a change of heart (Hebrews 8:6-Hebrews 9:26), and they know the fullness of the new covenant will be completed upon Christ's second coming, and
Israel will also be restored to peace in their land.
| The spirit of the law written upon your heart-love God & love your neighbor |
Photo credit: alexander from morguefile.com
Messianic Jew testimonies.
Their are two spiritual kingdoms- the kingdom of God and the kingdom of satan.
Jesus came already for Part . He's not yet returned for Part 2, but that's coming soon.
God's plan is still in the works. And God's plans never, ever fail.
God, His Son, the Messiah, the Holy Spirit are all in perfect harmony as One.
All God wants is your heart.
Your place in the plan is to give your heart to God, be obedient, and get on board with Jesus.
Jesus cleared the way so there would be no more need for sacrifices or wondering if you've done
good enough. All you have to do is give of your heart to God for all He's provided out of his tremendous love for one and all. This includes you. Jewish, Gentile, or whatever you call yourself.
Jesus brought in the New Covenant, a much better covenant than the first.The old was for but a little while to show that no man, woman or child could ever be good enough to keep all the law all the time.
When Jesus returns, he will show his power and might to the world. This would be the time to be on Jesus' team when he does return.
For those who have to reason this out intellectually...
Don't be misdirected off of the Truth and forget that in Jesus the Father is well pleased. Jesus IS Lord. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the only
God-endorsed, approved way to heaven. Yes, heaven is a sin-free zone and the only way is Jesus.
Study the scriptures yourself until you find the answers. Allow the Holy Spirit to direct you in your studies. Don't let someone tell you....they could be spiritually blind and mislead you. That would be awful. Do your own searching and studying so no one but you and the Holy Spirit are communing to find the Truth for yourself, your soul and your spirit. Get a good Bible concordance. Do word study. The mysteries of the Bible can be solved for those who search and seek the Truth. Pray to have your eyes opened to see the spiritual, and allow
the peace of Christ to richly rule in your heart.
It's through the heart with a re-born spirit one can have a close relationship with a spiritual God.
God must be worshiped in spirit and in truth.
For all, check out this scripture in Romans 3:19-26.
Seek for yourself. Search for the Truth like searching for treasure.
| Spiritual riches are more than physical riches |
God desires your heart and to accept His richest, most precious treasure, Jesus.
If you're Jewish or not Jewish, what matters is being faithful and obedient to what the Lord and Holy Scriptures have told.
No offense is intended to anyone and their beliefs.
The Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who was sent to save all from the penalty of your sins is worth sharing so everyone can know they have a choice to make for their own soul.
Think spiritual. Think eternal. Think of the love God had to have to send His Son to be the sacrifice for mankind so you and I can live forever.
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