Jewish Eyes Were Veiled
 |
| Cross Jesus - sewingdivine.com |
Five days before His crucifixion, Jesus had seated Himself upon a colt, the foal of a donkey, to travel a rough and dusty road to Jerusalem. While this simple, mundane act was something people did daily, for Jesus, it fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy and once again identified Him as Israel’s Messiah.
But
Jewish eyes were veiled.
Many who had heard Him teach and witnessed His
miracles of the past three years took palm branches and met Him on the road. “Hosanna!”
they cried. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD. The King
of Israel.” Yet others were there only for the show.
“The hour has come that
the Son of Man should be glorified,” Jesus said.
Knowing the meaning of His statement was hidden
from the disciples,[1]
He elaborated using a metaphor all could relate to.
But
Jewish eyes were veiled.
This was the moment in time when Jesus would be
the grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies. And just as the miracle
of God makes a seed germinate and grow, His crucifixion, burial, and
resurrection would produce new life and myriads of believers.[2]
Sorrow gripped His human soul since He knew the
exact day and minute He would die. Jesus cried, “…what shall I say? ‘Father,
save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father,
glorify Your name.’”
Instantly, a voice from heaven thundered. “I
have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” Those standing by heard
the voice but refused to believe God the Father had spoken, because Jewish eyes were veiled.
So, Jesus, God the Son, explained. “This
voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. Now
is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.”[3]
It was the beginning of
the end for Satan--the evil one,
who had held humans
hostage since
Adam’s sin entered the
world.
Three years earlier, the Spirit of the Lord had
alighted upon Jesus, like a dove, initially proving His identity. When He
entered Nazareth’s synagogue, He opened Isaiah’s scroll, fulfilled prophecy,
and proclaimed His mission: The Father had sent the Son to preach the gospel to
the poor and heal the brokenhearted. Messiah would bring sight to the blind,
lift demonic oppression, and provide the Way for Satan’s captives to be
set free.[4]
But
Jewish eyes were veiled.
No one understood by what method captives would
be freed, or how all would be accomplished. And still, to this day, although we
read our Bibles and know the account of Jesus’s crucifixion, are our eyes veiled
to how freedom came by this method?
Physical eyes saw a mostly naked 33-year-old
man crucified—hanging on a cross made of rough-hewn wood. Nails pierced His
hands and feet, shards of wood gouged His back, a crown of thorns—jammed on in
mockery, gashed His forehead, and blood dripped steadily.
But Jewish eyes were
veiled to
what actually happened on the cross. They couldn’t see how every sacrifice,
bull, goat, pigeon, or lamb, pointed to this one moment in time: The
ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He who knew no sin became sin for us,
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him![5]
God the Father, by the sacrifice of God the
Son, wiped out the handwriting of requirements against us and nailed it to the
cross![6] Instantly, Satan and his
minions were disarmed because the penalty for sin, which God had set in the
beginning, had been paid and accepted for the whole world. Jesus entered
the holding place, emptied it, and marched the freed captives right past Satan
and took them to heaven. He does the same for us at the instant of death.[7]
Satan had no more leverage—no power to hold
captives in hell, unless they refused to believe in Jesus and
chose to believe his lies. And why?
Eyes are
UNVEILED by FAITH in the Son of God,
who loved us and gave
His life for us,[8]
and captives are set
free.
“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”
(II Corinthians 4:3-4)
Have a Blessed
Resurrection Day!
Anita
Comments
Post a Comment
I would love to read your comments and try to answer any questions. Let's learn together.