“Obviously, reevaluating our spiritual habits against our current reality can be healthy. But if we turn Jesus’ commands into suggestions, his promises into aspirations, or his model into a metaphor, we’re in danger of missing the Messiah.”- Kyle Idleman and Mark E. Moore
“As you come to him, the living Stone — rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him — you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”- 1 Peter 2:4-5 (NIV)
In today’s blog, Kyle Idleman and Mark E. Moore discuss the fourth (and final) major moment in history that shaped Jewish messianic hopes.
4. Seeking Someone to Reinvent the Wheel. A catastrophe occurred during the Jewish revolt against Rome (AD 66-73): the destruction of the Temple in AD 70. Most significantly, the Jewish people never rebuilt the Temple. In addition, that meant sacrifices could no longer be performed.
Consequently, Kyle and Mark note, this forced both Jews and Christians to reinvent how they practiced their faith. Therefore, Rabbinic Judaism shifted its focus to the study of the Torah. While Christianity understood Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice. And the church as the new temple.
Hence, Kyle and Mark stress, the destruction of the Temple resulted in more than just a change of architecture. Furthermore, it triggered a complete reevaluation of the Messiah’s mission.
In conclusion, the authors observe, more than the loss of the Temple caused this revival of messianic fervor. The emerging Christian movement claiming the Messiah had already arrived also drove this revival of messianic fervor.
Therefore, the destruction of the Temple shifted expectations about the Messiah. They moved from an immediate political idea to a more spiritual idea. From freedom in the here and now to future redemption.
Today’s question: How do you witness to people who view Jesus’ commands as suggestions? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Morph to the Messiah, not reshape Him”