with them and not let God speak to them any more (Ex. 19:16-25; 20:119). What a humiliating experience it must have been for Jesus Christ to be rejected by the same people He had just rescued from slavery and bondage, totally destroyed Egypt and its idol worshiping society before their eyes, brought them across the Red Sea, and fought their battles for them, so He could make them a nation!
Rejection of God seemed to run in the family. Years after Israel had settled in the land God had promised Abram, Israel rose up against Samuel and asked for a king to rule over them. They wanted to be just like every other nation, WITHOUT God reigning over them for their GOOD. Samuel was distressed and dejected over Israel's wanting a human king, but Jesus Christ reassured Samuel that Israel had not rejected him but instead had rejected God (Jesus Christ their Savior) that He should not reign over them (I Sam. 8:7).
The Word Made Flesh
"And the Word was made FLESH, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the ONLY BEGOTTEN of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (Jn. 1:14). Yes, that great God with awesome power that created ALL that exists, that performed mighty miracles, was conceived in the womb of a virgin by God the Father's Holy spirit, and was born as a divine being in human flesh. His very name, Jesus which means Savior, tells of the very mission upon which He had embarked. TO SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS, NOT IN THEM (Matt. 1:18-23).
This great God, who humbled Himself to the point of giving up IMMORTALITY if He committed just one sin, was willing to submit to the smallest detail in God's plan for saving mankind and be baptized to set us an example (Matt. 3:13-17). John admitted freely that he needed to be baptized of Jesus; but Jesus wanted to fulfill all righteousness that we would have His personal example of being righteous and being TOTALLY submissive to God.
Lucifer, whose name had been changed to Satan, came after Jesus the Christ with every temptation that has ever come upon men--the lust of the eye, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. After Jesus had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and was on the verge of starvation, Satan offered all these temptations. If Jesus had just sinned once, God's total plan of salvation for humanity would have ended with the death of a God, Jesus Christ (Matt. 4:1-11). But Jesus would not make concession for sin that would end His life or humanity's hope of eternal life.
That great God that had such power to create universes, plants, animals, to part the Red Sea, to create nations was also the most HUMBLE person who ever lived. Why? Because He was God and was willing to empty Himself of immortality and become flesh. one sin, one mistake and the life of a God was over, and the result would have meant eternal death for the human race. How great, how marvelous that a God, Jesus Christ, would put His life on the line for You. He came to SAVE that which was lost --MANKIND (Matt. 18:1 -6, 11).
Jesus Christ further humbled Himself by going through the most difficult 36 hours anybody could ever experience. These were the last 36 hours of His fleshly existence. Jesus was awake praying in the garden when Judas Iscariot led the Roman soldiers and Jewish religious leaders to Him. From there He was taken and humiliated openly, beaten during the night, jeered, spit upon, and finally beaten with a cat-of-nine-tails within a breath of His life. He was so weak from the torture since the night before that He crumbled to the ground under the weight of the very tree He was to die upon. As those huge spikes were driven into His hands and feet, He didn't look back and long to escape. He knew that billions of human beings' eternal lives were in His hands. That long spear from the Roman soldier was plunged into His side, and a God died. The death of God in the flesh had occurred to save all mankind FROM their sins (Matt. 26:63-68; 27:50). He died to reconcile man back to God. But the most incredible power of all was displayed three days and three nights later when the Father RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD (Matt. 28:6). This is absolutely astonishing. Because Jesus Christ, the very creator of the human race, died to reconcile his creation back to God, we will be SAVED BY HIS LIFE (Rom. 5:10). Yes, because He walked out of that tomb three days and three nights later (72 hours) as He said He would, we have hope to live forever (Matt. 12:38-40).
What Is Jesus Doing Now?
Jesus Christ, the very God who came into the flesh, died, and was resurrected the third day, at this very instant is seated at the right hand of the Father. This same Jesus Christ has become the High Priest for Humanity. He is at the throne of the Father right now making intercession for all who have come to see that their personal sin is why a God had to die. He makes daily intercession for us with the Father by applying His shed blood to our sins and cleansing us from all guilt (Heb. 7:13, 15-17, 21-28). However, He will only apply His shed blood to the sins of those who turn to him with all their heart and away from breaking His laws which identify sin. For those who turn to Jesus Christ and accept Him as their personal Saviour and High Priest, He has promised total forgiveness of all our past sins. Under the New Covenant, Jesus Christ has promised to give us the power of His Holy Spirit to write His spiritual laws into our hearts and minds. As a result, we can begin to build the righteousness of God in us (Heb. 8:1-2, 6-12). This same Jesus Christ, the creator of all that exists, who has become our High Priest, has shed His own blood by which He offers salvation to all who accept Him as Saviour and High Priest (Heb. 9:7-28).
Thank you God, the Word, Jesus Christ, Saviour, our High Priest for Your sacrifice.