by Cameron Lawrence (from Intouch Magazine December 2011)
Jesus the Christ was born into a moment of great expectation. A moment that contained all the anxiety, longing, and hope of every other that had come before it: the people of Israel were waiting to be redeemed. We see hints of this longing throughout Scripture, but perhaps most poignantly embodied in an elderly man, the head of a baby boy cradled in the crook of his arm.
The gospel of Luke introduces us to Simeon 40 days after the Child's birth, as Mary and Joseph present Him to God at the temple in accordance with the Law of Moses. The aged man was "righteous and devout looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon Him". (Luke 2:25)
Hear the tender words of this holy man, spoken in the sunset of his days as he beholds the ancient hope of God's people fulfilled: "Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation" (Luke 2: 29 - 30).
Simeon knew the long, troubled past of the Jewish people, one checkered with highs and lows. Among the greater misfortunes, and an important puzzle piece to understanding Christ's earthly context was the division of Israel into two kingdoms in 922 B.C. - the northern kingdom of Israel, which would eventually become Samaria, and the kingdom of Judah to the south, the house of David.
A Divided Land
The story goes that only two generations removed from David's splendorous reign, Rehoboam - the son of Solomon and successor to the throne - foolishly angered the ten tribes of Israel occupying the northern region of the Promised Land. When the tribes asked for relief from excessive taxation, the new king denied them: "My father made your yoke heavy but I will add to your yoke" (1 Kings 12:14). The northern tribes rebelled and chose their own king, fulfilling the prophecy that ten of the remaining eleven tribes would break away from Judah (11: 28 - 35), leaving only Benjamin as an ally.
Separated from the temple the tradition of their fathers, these tribes quickly devolved into idol worship, eventually intermarrying with foreigners and adopting false gods, as outside powers conquered the people and pagan influences proliferated. Here we begin tho understand the enmity (alienation) between the Jews and the Samaritans of Jesus' day, for the northern tribes had betrayed the God of their fathers and were no longer a people set apart for Him alone.
Meanwhile, the southern kingdom, also troubled by periods of apostasy, was repeatedly conquered by and taken captive by foreign monarchs, until the Jewish uprising of Judas Maccabeus in 167 B.C. This revolt eventually led to more than 100 years of Jewish independence, but it wasn't to last. Infighting began among the people, opening the door to the outside influence of Pompey, the Roman general who in 63 B.C. made Judah - now known by its Greek name Judea - a tributary of the Roman Empire.
The Jewish people would no longer have a true, righteous king as they once had in David. They would now be given puppet monarchs appointed by the Roman government, of whom Herod the Great - the reigning ruler at Christ's birth - was the first in 37 B.C.
Hope for A Redeemer
At the time of Christ, two religious groups ad risen to positions of leadership over the people: the priestly Sadducees, and the more influential Pharisees - a lay group known primarily as teachers and widely misperceived today as merely a legalist sect. At the heart of the Pharisees' seemingly excessive zeal was a godly desire to bring every sphere of life into submission to God's will: to be holy, as He is holy (Lev. 19:2)
The Pharisees' interpretation of how to apply the Law guided most Jews of the era in their day-to-day existence. And it was their influence that popularized the understanding of not only personal salvation but also resurrection from the dead, which the Sadducees denied (Mark 12:18).
Prior to the first century, God had been incrementally revealing who Israel's Redeemer would be, but the people saw as if through a dark glass. In his book The Person of Christ, author Daniel Fanous explains the progression: "What [the people knew] was the historical, present suffering. From this stemmed a hope in Him whom the prophecies foretold dimly... Over time as the kings ordained by God, began to fall short of the expectation of the redemption envisioned by the people, the people began to seek another, the King to come: (pp. 186-189). As the understanding become more convincing in the debates about the Messiah, so did prophecies about the royal Davidic line: His reign was said to last forever (see Psalm 89:29 and Daniel 7:13-14). Here, the people envisaged a powerful earthly king who would restore Israel to its former glory, ushering in an endless age of peace, freedom and prosperity. It's no wonder that, impressed by Jesus' display of power and authority, the people attempted to make Him king by force (John 6:15).
But their expectations were only partially correct: the Messiah was to rule a kingdom forever, but one that was not of this world (John 18:36). Though they looked for Him to be elevated among the masses, the seat of His exaltation would not be a throne but a tree, and His crown not golden but made of twisted thorns.
A crucified Messiah was unacceptable - an impossibility - to the children of Israel. In their disappointment, they failed to realize His true earthly context was neither buildings nor borders but the divided land of the human heart. Yes, He had come to free the people from foreign oppressors, but His foes didn't wear armor or rule from lofty palaces. He came to liberate all people, not from governors and soldiers but from enslavement to sin and death.
Jesus the Christ was born into a moment of great expectation. A moment that contained all the anxiety, longing, and hope of every other that had come before it: the people of Israel were waiting to be redeemed. We see hints of this longing throughout Scripture, but perhaps most poignantly embodied in an elderly man, the head of a baby boy cradled in the crook of his arm.
The gospel of Luke introduces us to Simeon 40 days after the Child's birth, as Mary and Joseph present Him to God at the temple in accordance with the Law of Moses. The aged man was "righteous and devout looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon Him". (Luke 2:25)
Hear the tender words of this holy man, spoken in the sunset of his days as he beholds the ancient hope of God's people fulfilled: "Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation" (Luke 2: 29 - 30).
Simeon knew the long, troubled past of the Jewish people, one checkered with highs and lows. Among the greater misfortunes, and an important puzzle piece to understanding Christ's earthly context was the division of Israel into two kingdoms in 922 B.C. - the northern kingdom of Israel, which would eventually become Samaria, and the kingdom of Judah to the south, the house of David.
A Divided Land
The story goes that only two generations removed from David's splendorous reign, Rehoboam - the son of Solomon and successor to the throne - foolishly angered the ten tribes of Israel occupying the northern region of the Promised Land. When the tribes asked for relief from excessive taxation, the new king denied them: "My father made your yoke heavy but I will add to your yoke" (1 Kings 12:14). The northern tribes rebelled and chose their own king, fulfilling the prophecy that ten of the remaining eleven tribes would break away from Judah (11: 28 - 35), leaving only Benjamin as an ally.
Separated from the temple the tradition of their fathers, these tribes quickly devolved into idol worship, eventually intermarrying with foreigners and adopting false gods, as outside powers conquered the people and pagan influences proliferated. Here we begin tho understand the enmity (alienation) between the Jews and the Samaritans of Jesus' day, for the northern tribes had betrayed the God of their fathers and were no longer a people set apart for Him alone.
Meanwhile, the southern kingdom, also troubled by periods of apostasy, was repeatedly conquered by and taken captive by foreign monarchs, until the Jewish uprising of Judas Maccabeus in 167 B.C. This revolt eventually led to more than 100 years of Jewish independence, but it wasn't to last. Infighting began among the people, opening the door to the outside influence of Pompey, the Roman general who in 63 B.C. made Judah - now known by its Greek name Judea - a tributary of the Roman Empire.
The Jewish people would no longer have a true, righteous king as they once had in David. They would now be given puppet monarchs appointed by the Roman government, of whom Herod the Great - the reigning ruler at Christ's birth - was the first in 37 B.C.
Hope for A Redeemer
At the time of Christ, two religious groups ad risen to positions of leadership over the people: the priestly Sadducees, and the more influential Pharisees - a lay group known primarily as teachers and widely misperceived today as merely a legalist sect. At the heart of the Pharisees' seemingly excessive zeal was a godly desire to bring every sphere of life into submission to God's will: to be holy, as He is holy (Lev. 19:2)
The Pharisees' interpretation of how to apply the Law guided most Jews of the era in their day-to-day existence. And it was their influence that popularized the understanding of not only personal salvation but also resurrection from the dead, which the Sadducees denied (Mark 12:18).
Prior to the first century, God had been incrementally revealing who Israel's Redeemer would be, but the people saw as if through a dark glass. In his book The Person of Christ, author Daniel Fanous explains the progression: "What [the people knew] was the historical, present suffering. From this stemmed a hope in Him whom the prophecies foretold dimly... Over time as the kings ordained by God, began to fall short of the expectation of the redemption envisioned by the people, the people began to seek another, the King to come: (pp. 186-189). As the understanding become more convincing in the debates about the Messiah, so did prophecies about the royal Davidic line: His reign was said to last forever (see Psalm 89:29 and Daniel 7:13-14). Here, the people envisaged a powerful earthly king who would restore Israel to its former glory, ushering in an endless age of peace, freedom and prosperity. It's no wonder that, impressed by Jesus' display of power and authority, the people attempted to make Him king by force (John 6:15).
But their expectations were only partially correct: the Messiah was to rule a kingdom forever, but one that was not of this world (John 18:36). Though they looked for Him to be elevated among the masses, the seat of His exaltation would not be a throne but a tree, and His crown not golden but made of twisted thorns.
A crucified Messiah was unacceptable - an impossibility - to the children of Israel. In their disappointment, they failed to realize His true earthly context was neither buildings nor borders but the divided land of the human heart. Yes, He had come to free the people from foreign oppressors, but His foes didn't wear armor or rule from lofty palaces. He came to liberate all people, not from governors and soldiers but from enslavement to sin and death.
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