2025-05-23
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Today’s devotion takes up the subject of eventual reconciliation between God and His people. However, before we can look into what the Holy Spirit says about that, it is necessary for us to understand why it is needed. It all starts with GN 3: 1-6, the original sin. This event means that all of us have inherited sinful nature from Adam and Eve. Moreover, we add to that sin with any sins that we ourselves commit. Christians believe that God recognized the predicament humankind was in and wanted to provide a solution to the problem, as He knew continually sinning leads to spiritual death (hell). That was when He sent His only Son to earth and allowed Jesus to make a “once for all” atoning sacrifice of His physical life, so that all who believe in Him could live eternally [JN 3: 16]. But what about traditional Jews?
Jews are God’s chosen people, yet traditionally Jewish people reject the divinity of Jesus Christ. We must understand why this is so and what God’s plan is to solve this problem. Jews anticipate the Messiah would establish political liberation and national restoration. While Christians believe that eternal salvation comes from belief and obedient faithfulness to Christ made possible by His atoning sacrifice, Jews believe that the Messiah will only come after they have brought peace to earth. They disagree among themselves that there is an afterlife, with the Pharisees believing in one and the Sadducees denying it’s existence. In Christ’s times, Jews yearned for an anointed leader who would drive out the Roman occupation and rebuild the Davidic kingdom on earth. This hope was fueled by IS 11: 1-9 and JER 23: 5-6. When Jews heard Christ say, in JN 18: 36, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now My Kingdom is from another place,” they simply couldn’t understand or accept it.
Key citations like IS 53, DN 9: 24-27, or PS 2 were seen from very different perspectives by Jews and Christians. We all know that the suffering Servant is viewed by Christians as Jesus Christ by those who believe in Him. However, traditional Jews interpret the servant as personifying Israel’s collective suffering, thus not singling out a personal Messiah figure. DN 9: 24-27 is not seen as a precise timetable pointing to Christ’s appearance before the destruction of the second temple. Instead, some Jewish scholars hold to a different chronological interpretation that separate these verses from a single Messiah figure or apply them to various events in Jewish history. Over the centuries, Jewish commentaries have applied these passages to collective, rather than individual fulfillment and national victory rather than a suffering Redeemer.
Jews have a unique community identity. It centers on covenant practices, cultural traditions, and a hope for a Messiah who affirms Jewish uniqueness. There is a strong sense of historical identity tied to the Law (Torah) and heritage. This leads to reluctance to accept NT worship, which is outside the traditional temple system. Rabbinic authority and teaching is central to mainstream Judaism through the Talmud, Midrash, and Mishnah—the Jewish writings of the so-called “oral Torah.” This teaching is to the Jewish view hand in hand with the “written Torah” of the OT. Belief in Christ is seen as abandoning the Jewish identity or disregarding painful events in Jewish history. Jews also have a long tradition of fear of assimilation. Those fears are not unfounded if one understands the history of persecution of Jews by such leaders as Torquemada (during the Spanish inquisition), Antiochus IV Ephiphanes, Benito Mousseline (WW II Fascism, and Adolf Hitler (Naziism). These things have caused Jews to reject Jesus over the years, but the question must be raised: Does God intend for this rejection of Jesus to be permanent?
PRAYER: O Lord, it’s tough to end a message with a question mark. However, we must all look at the question of personal faith, if or not we accept Christ as our Savior individually, just this way. Studying both the OT and NT carefully is the only way we can gain Your perspective and come to a decision about accepting or rejecting the divinity of Jesus Christ. Recent technology using AI and other methods to study the Shroud of Turin are showing that Jesus is real and that this relic is not a fake. Accounts by historians who lived in His time (e.g. Josephus Flavius, and others) also support that Jesus was a real person. Archeological evidence also adds reality to the events of the Bible. These things and the prompting of the Holy Spirit lead this author and others to believe in the Word of God. It makes sense that we are told to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. The consequences of not doing so are eternally dire. MK 1: 15, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe I the Good News.” AC 3: 19, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” We use Your words to express the faith we have in the truth of Your word. We pray You will accept our acknowledgment of Scriptural truth, the divinity of Your Son and the Holy Spirit, and our heartfelt thanksgiving and praise of You for all You are and all You do. In the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit commands me to look at God’s answers to the question at the end of today’s devotion. We need to understand more about God’s plan of salvation, and His will for us supplied by what He means in LK 9: 23. “If anyone wants to follow after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” God’s will for Jews will also be discussed, so we understand there is no plan for Him to abandon those who believe and obey Him. [Be sure to check out any Bible citations given here if you don’t know them]. Our God loves us more than we can ever comprehend. Praise and thanksgiving be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2025. All Rights Reserved.
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