Christ being rejected today just as then
March 22, 2021
By Editorial Team
"And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying, Are you the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, you will not believe: And if I also ask you, you will not answer me, nor let me go. Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. Then said they all, Are you then the Son of God? And he said unto them, As you say, I am" Luke 22: 66-70
"If I tell you, you will not believe"
Have you ever wondered why they wouldn’t believe even as Jesus told them the truth?
Firstly, the concept of a Messiah has two aspects; Christ the lamb of God dying for our sins and Christ the King ruling over all the earth. They were so obsessed with the second concept of rule, power, emancipation from Roman rule etc. that they blotted out the Cross from their scriptures. Uncomfortable portions of scripture were just not read and hogwash type rituals were practised. Even today the Jews totally gloss over the Cross chapters like Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, Zechariah 12,13 and that’s why they reject Jesus.
Secondly, they were so corrupt and blinded by lust for power and riches that they totally lost sight of the purposes of God. To give you a background, Annas was a corrupt kingpin businessman. He was high priest for 10 years from 6-15 AD, and his clan ruled uninterrupted as high priests from 6- 43 AD. Five of his sons became High priests, and then Caiaphas his son-in law was High priest (18- 36 AD). It was he who put Jesus to death in 30 AD. Annas basically bought the position for money from Roman governors. They had a monopoly on markets, temple commerce, forex changing (money changers), sacrificial animals and birds. He rigged the prices of these animals/birds so high, that the even the poor could not afford a pair of birds for sacrifice. The markets in and around the temple were called the Bazaars of Annas.
When Jesus took a whip in the temple, he wasn’t putting up some symbolic resistance, but fighting a vast system of corruption and false religion. He cleaned the temple, but lost his life in the bargain. He touched their empire and they wanted him finished for that reason.
Today also the world of Business and politics is like that - anybody who talks about ethics or Jesus, is finished. I want you to open your eyes to see the world systems as they are – corporations pursuing relentless growth, power hungry politicians, false media lies blinding people to the truth of Jesus. And lots of successful people giving us gyan about how to live life and success mantras. Also, if you are being persecuted, blessed are you for yours is the Kingdom of God.
"If I asked you, you will not answer me"
Imagine Jesus asking this to Caiaphas and Sanhedrin.
- Is offering a lamb, a penance for your sins? Or is it a symbol of a Person to come, that will die for your sins?
- Is not God calling you to repentance and salvation?Will the lamb/goat sacrificial system go on for ever?
- Is this what Israel is going to preach to the whole world? – Offer lamb sacrifices and you will be saved?
Caiaphas mistook Jesus for an impostor, because in his Bible, there was no Jesus and there was no Cross. Today as a Christian, you could be making the same mistake too - reading entire chapters and books of OT, but not seeing Jesus anywhere there! Years ago, the Holy Spirit corrected me, and its been an entirely New journey. I hope you will pay heed to His corrections too. Remember John, Peter, Paul, all preached Jesus from the OT. I long for the day, when Pastors will preach like Spurgeon or Finney or Billy Graham.
I urge you brothers and sisters to see Jesus Christ in every page of your Bible. Then OT will no more be tasteless water, but rich wine. Then the Life of God will come into your dry areas and revive you from every side. Jesus is still waiting today for believers to know the truth, just as it was in Caiaphas' time.
Look up a Bible
Reference Below
Subscribe to
devotional emails
Share with friends
Copyright © 2021 JesusInBible.com