Did Israel believe in the Messiah? Of course they did. Just like you and me.
Whether they believed Jesua was the Messiah is another story. They had imagined the Messiah as a great military leader who would give them freedom from the oppressive Romans. After all, that's what they thought was promised. And that's what they believed. And that is how they treated Jesus till they realized that such was not the case. Then they turned on Him, crying for His blood.
Like the Israelites of then, each of us have a picture of Jesus in our minds, and treat Him accordingly. some picture a shepherd, some a king, some a preacher. How many of us picture Him as a scape goat ? (A scape goat is a person who bears the blame and/ or punishment for something they have not done).
Today the question to myself is: Do I treat Jesus as a scapegoat or as a savior?
On the other hand, if we treat Jesus as our savior, we believe he not only took our sins on His head but more than that He gave us a forgiven and ressurected life, a new life, wherein after our repentance and His forgiveness, we become a new people He will be proud to call His own.
The key word here is repentance and forgiveness, both of which are based on the acceptance of our sins, not passed on to someone else's head. No scapegoat.
Tomorrow starts the countdown to Easter. In this season can we stop seeing and treating Jesus as our scapegoat but pledge to become a new people, after Gods own heart, ressurected to a new life. Through Jesus Christ, who was the sacrificial lamb for OUR very own sins.
Whether they believed Jesua was the Messiah is another story. They had imagined the Messiah as a great military leader who would give them freedom from the oppressive Romans. After all, that's what they thought was promised. And that's what they believed. And that is how they treated Jesus till they realized that such was not the case. Then they turned on Him, crying for His blood.
Like the Israelites of then, each of us have a picture of Jesus in our minds, and treat Him accordingly. some picture a shepherd, some a king, some a preacher. How many of us picture Him as a scape goat ? (A scape goat is a person who bears the blame and/ or punishment for something they have not done).
Today the question to myself is: Do I treat Jesus as a scapegoat or as a savior?
If we think of him as our scapegoat, we have not truly accepted our fault or sins, which in turn means there is no repentance because we never accepted it in the first place. This is true whether it is Jesus or any other person or thing.
On the other hand, if we treat Jesus as our savior, we believe he not only took our sins on His head but more than that He gave us a forgiven and ressurected life, a new life, wherein after our repentance and His forgiveness, we become a new people He will be proud to call His own.
The key word here is repentance and forgiveness, both of which are based on the acceptance of our sins, not passed on to someone else's head. No scapegoat.
Tomorrow starts the countdown to Easter. In this season can we stop seeing and treating Jesus as our scapegoat but pledge to become a new people, after Gods own heart, ressurected to a new life. Through Jesus Christ, who was the sacrificial lamb for OUR very own sins.
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