Messiah?

For Saturday, April 15, 2023:

Matthew 16:20 NLT: “Then Jesus sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.”

The Hebrew nation had been occupied by Rome for quite some time, and the Jews weren’t happy about it. God had promised to send a Messiah, and they fully expected this Messiah to lead their country and its people to freedom. When Jesus would perform a miracle such as a healing, it was suggested that he could be their King. But political freedom wasn’t Jesus’ mission in coming to earth!

Strange as it might seem, Jesus was to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world. His primary purpose was to be the Redeemer of mankind, making it possible – in fact, even probable – that men and women would join their creator in the hereafter. Always obedient, Jesus set his sights on the Father’s plan, not on any earthly goal.

People living in Jesus’ time might only know of the one incident they had witnessed. But nowadays, with Bible in hand, we can see everything Jesus accomplished. We can get the big picture. We can read about the entire body of work over his lifetime.

This was God’s plan to include us in the Kingdom!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship