“Prior to Jesus, the Jewish people focused on the Messiah as King, which made them more likely to miss their Savior as the Suffering Servant. Today we tend to make the opposite mistake. We see Jesus clearly as the Savior of our souls for eternity, but is he truly the Lord of our lives right now?”- Kyle Idleman and Mark E. Moore
Kyle Idleman and Mark E. Moore continue Chapter 8 of The Missing Messiah as they conclude their discussion of the fourth surprise.
Surprise #4 (cont.): Messiah Jesus welcomes enemies. Above all, Jesus’ messianic calling aligned with God’s vision for outsiders. Even those that Israel considered enemies. But, Kyle and Mark caution, even in the church today, we possess our own kind of spiritual snobbery. Consequently, we develop our own unspoken tests. Tests to determine who’s in and who’s out. But that’s not the way of Jesus. The Messiah extends an open invitation to all pledging their allegiance to Him.
Surprise #5: Messiah Jesus combines kingship and priesthood. If you fast forward to the last week of Jesus’ life, the time finally arrives. The time for Jesus to publicly declare His messianic identity. Most significantly, Jesus’ confirmation comes from Psalm 110, verse 1:
“The LORD says to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make my enemies a footstool for your feet.”
Certainly, this passage portrays the Messiah as David’s Lord. But verse 4 of the psalm adds that the Messiah is a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
In conclusion, Kyle and Mark counsel:
“It’s easy to say automatically, ‘Oh, sure, he’s my Lord — I go to church, read my Bible, and pray.’ But I would argue that he’s more likely to ask about your relationships, your financial commitments, and your service to the least and lost than the religious duties you perform in the presence of other Christians.”
Today’s question: How do you witness that Jesus is truly the Lord of your life? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “When the Messiah knocks”