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About Jesus Steve Sweetman The Politics Of God And The Bible Part 6 Government
On His Shoulders Isaiah
9:6 and 7 is often read at Christmas. If
you relegate this passage to a simple Christmas reading, you've missed
the point of this passage altogether.
"For unto us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the
government shall be upon His shoulders.
And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne and over His kingdom,
establishing it and upholding it with justice and righteousness from
that time on and forever. The
zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this".
Clearly, there's more to this passage than what you read on a
Christmas card.
Note
the word government in the passage.
It's translated from the Hebrew word "misrah", meaning,
"rule, or to have dominion over".
Note also the words "forever" and "David's
throne". This ruler
will rule in Jerusalem
forever. All
conservative Bible teachers agree this ruler is the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will return to earth and set up His government from what was
once David's throne in Jesus
Comes To Israel
Isaiah
9:6 says, "for unto us a child is born, to us a son is given
…" I think the
majority of Christians believe the word "us" in this verse
refers to them, but that's not exactly so.
To whom did Isaiah speak these words?
He spoke them to Israel. Therefore, the word
"us" refers to Israel. John 1:11 confirms this. "He
(Jesus) came to that which was His own, (Israel) but His own did not recognize Him".
Matthew 15:24 says, "I (Jesus) was sent only to the lost
sheep of Israel". Just
so you won't think I've fallen off the deep end, I will say this.
Jesus' earthly mission was primarily to the Jews, but His death
was for all peoples of the world. This
is important to know because the rejection of Jesus by the Jews opened
the door of salvation to the
Gentiles as Paul stated in Romans 11:28.
Pilate
was right when He called Jesus the King of the Jews. (John 19:19)
In the best sense of the word, Jesus was born to be the ultimate
politician, but He certainly didn't play the part in His three year
ministry, and there's a specific reason for that.
That being said, He was still Israel's king, even though His inauguration was yet to come.
You might say that Jesus was a king in exile when He was on
earth. Hebrews
1:3 tells us that Jesus is the exact representation of God.
That's because He was God in human flesh.
God, and therefore Jesus, have two principle character traits.
They are both loving and just.
Before God demonstrates His justice in judgment, He always
provides a way to escape His judgment because He is loving.
That's the specific reason why King Jesus first came to earth as
a humble servant. In the
eyes of the world Jesus was killed as a criminal.
In the eyes of God He was killed as a sacrifice to forgive our
sins so we could reside in the We
live in an age which has been called "the age of grace".
God's grace is now being extended to us, who are foreigners to
His kingdom, so we can obtain legal residency in the Kingdom
of Gabriel
Visits Mary One
day an ordinary girl in an unsavory town named Nazareth
was visited by an important angel named Gabriel.
He told Mary that she would have a son, and not by Joseph, her
soon to be husband. In
Luke 1:31 to 33 Gabriel said, "you … will give birth to a son,
and you are to give Him the name Jesus.
He will be great and be called the Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He
will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never
end". This is another
passage of Scripture we read at Christmas, but again, if you relegate
this passage to just Christmas, you've missed the meaning to Gabriel's
words. Gabriel
told Mary that her son would be called "the Son of the Most
High" because that was the easiest way to tell Mary that her son
would be God in human flesh. I
doubt if Mary would have had a good grasp on the doctrine of the Deity
of Christ at that point in her life. Gabriel
also said that Jesus would inherit the throne of David, and He would
rule over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever. That's important
because We've
already noted that the throne of David was once situated in Jesus
Chosen To Be King John
the Baptist preached and baptized along the banks of the The
next day John's cousin Jesus stood among the crowd, wanting to be
baptized. The revelation
came to John, and he announced, "the Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world". (John 1:29) The removal of people's sins from
God's records was necessary for the repentant person to immigrate into
the As Jesus went under the water, the Spirit of God came on Him like a dove and remained on Him. (John 1:32) The dove would come to symbolize Jesus' three year ministry of peace, love, and the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus' baptism was the public acknowledgment that He was the King of the Jews, something that had been decided upon long before in eternity past. Jesus was God's sovereign choice, and unlike the kingdom of men, there was no "vetting process" to determine Jesus' credibility and qualifications. |