Son of God?

April 07, 2014 Monday Message:

High Council: “Are you claiming to be the Son of God?”

Jesus: “You say that I am.” (Luke 22:70)

There was strong evidence that Jesus was more than just a human on this earth. Many had seen the miracles and the healings. They heard him teach from the Torah, like he already knew every word. No mere human could do all these things. The evidence pointed to the fact that Jesus was, indeed, the Son of God.

But acknowledging the divinity of Jesus would require big changes in the established religion. Instead of “an eye for an eye, we were to forgive and love our neighbors. Instead of only righteous Jews, we were taught to include sinners, tax collectors, other notorious characters – and – even Gentiles!

Often overlooked, but I believe much more significant, would be the required power shift at the Temple. The Temple Priests, Sadducees and Pharisees were devotees of the OLD covenant, and they and their beliefs would need to step aside to welcome Jesus and the NEW covenant. Power is also money, and no one ever likes to step away from wealth. We oftentimes see strange behavior from people when their money is at risk, and in this case, the desire for power and wealth blinded the leaders to the truth about Jesus.

So in spite of all the evidence, the religious leaders would not admit that Jesus was the fulfillment of Prophesy. Even though Jesus “appeared” to be the Son of God,” they weren’t prepared to act on that information.

Today we know better. We can read the whole Bible; we know how the story ends. We can read and re-read all the evidence pointing to the holiness of the Christ.

Who do YOU say that Jesus is?

Norton Lawellin

Palm Sunday is imminent! Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets every Sunday, at 10:30am, in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. Dan Pilla brings us up to speed on the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.