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How
Was He Received?
When
the Messiah finally came to the people, he was most sadly treated.
Even though at
one
point John had conclusively realized Jesus was the Messiah, he didn't
follow through
in
witnessing to him, but continued on his separate way. Thus he as a
forerunner failed in
his
mission. The populace listened to Jesus and the masses marveled at
him, primarily
because
of his miracles and healing, not the truth he brought. Some fanatics,
excited by
his
demonstrations of power, tried to make him a king in their own way,
without knowing
the
whole implication of Jesus' role. A few came to recognize him by the
truth of his
words,
but the stubborn and arrogant priests, scribes, and Pharisees united
with Satan and
criticized
his teaching as being contrary to the law of Moses. They viewed his
miracles as
coming
from Beelzebub, the devil; they denied his Messiahship by saying that
he
blasphemed
in referring to himself as the Son of God. By constant condemnation of
Jesus,
they alienated the people from him. Finally, they bribed one of his
disciples to
betray
him.
We
speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen; but you
do not
receive our testimony.
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can
you
believe if I tell you heavenly things? (John 3:l1-12)
The
heavenly things Jesus wished to speak concerned the establishment of
the kingdom
of
heaven. However, he could not convey them to the people, because they
did not
believe
in him. Jesus had done everything possible with the desire that the
Jewish people
recognize and believe in him. He had preached about the kingdom of
heaven he had come
to
establish. He had performed mighty works in the hope that they might
see who he was.
Nevertheless,
the stubborn and faithless people refused to accept him as the
Messiah, and
repudiated
his words and works. Finally, brokenhearted, he rebuked them for their
unbelief.
Woe
to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works done
in you had
been done in Tyre and
Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
(Matt.
11:21)
You
are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's
desires. (John 8:44)
Jerusalem,
the city of the temple, had rejected Jesus, the true temple. He wept:
O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are
sent to you! How
often would I have
gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her
wings,
and you would not! Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate. (Matt.
23:37-38)
Would
that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they
are hid
from
your eyes . . . because you did not know the time of your visitation.
(Luke 19: 42-
44)
Jesus
endeavored to make the Jews recognize him by his words, his works, and
his
prayers,
but it was all in vain. When he saw that it was impossible to
establish the
kingdom
of God during his lifetime, he began to speak about the return of the
"Son of
man."
Jesus did not mention the Second Advent from the beginning of his
ministry, but
only
after he realized the impossibility of fulfilling his mission.
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The
Original Course Changed
To
receive guidance concerning his destiny, Jesus went up on a mountain
to pray. Peter,
John
and James accompanied him. During his prayer Moses and Elijah
appeared to Jesus,
and
his inevitable suffering was revealed to him. "And
behold, two men talked with him,
Moses
and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which
he was to
accomplish
at Jerusalem." (Luke 9:30-31)
However,
Peter and the other disciples were heavy with sleep and did not know
what had
transpired.
Peter said, "Master, it is well
that we are here; let us make three booths, one
for
you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." (Luke 9:33)
At the spiritual
manifestation
of two great figures of history, Moses and Elijah, Peter was
overwhelmed
and
excited. However, he had missed the whole point.
Also
about this time Jesus began to intimate to his disciples that he
would have to go to
Jerusalem,
there to suffer much from the elders, chief priests, and scribes,
and finally to
be
killed. Peter took him by the arm and began to remonstrate with him
over this, saying,
"God
bless you, Master. Nothing like this must happen to you."
Peter, the chief disciple,
was
surprised and even shocked to hear that Jesus would suffer. Why
should Peter be so
surprised
at this if Jesus had been teaching his mission as the suffering
Lord? Jesus'
remarks
concerning his suffering were shocking and upsetting to Peter
because such
suffering
was in complete contrast to everything Jesus had taught up to then.
By
this time Jesus saw no way of fulfilling his original intention, and
therefore resolved
to
endure suffering to salvage what he could. Although to the outer
circle of followers
Jesus
spoke of the kingdom of God only in parables, to his intimate
disciples he revealed
more.
(Luke 8:10) Therefore, his close
followers knew that Jesus was working to
establish
the kingdom of heaven during his lifetime. With this knowledge,
James and
John
once asked Jesus: "Grant us to
sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in
your
glory." (Mark 10:37) They were
not wrong in expecting him to reign in glory upon
the
throne of David. What the disciples did not know, however, was that
on the mountain
with
Moses and Elijah, Jesus had resolved to confront the imminent
crisis. Rejected by
the
Jews, he was forced to take an alternate course. Thus he was
tragically diverted from
the
victorious way of the Lord of glory prophesied by Isaiah.
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