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Humble Hero
Messiah, that He would “reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and
before His elders, gloriously,” that He would “have dominion also
from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”
Isaiah
24:23
;
Psalm 72:8
. Then with contempt they contrasted the glory
pictured in such verses with the humble appearance of Jesus. If the
people had studied the Word for themselves, they would not have
been misled.
Isaiah 61
testifies that Christ was to do the very work
He did. Chapter 53 portrays His rejection, and chapter 59 describes
the character of the priests and rabbis.
Power to Discriminate Between Right and Wrong
God does not compel people to give up their unbelief. He wants
them to decide not from impulse but from the weight of evidence,
carefully comparing scripture with scripture. If the Jews had com-
pared written prophecy with the facts, they would have recognized a
beautiful harmony between the prophecies and their fulfillment in
the life and ministry of the humble Galilean.
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Many are deceived today in the same way as the Jews were.
Religious teachers read the Bible in the light of their traditions, and
the people do not search the Scriptures for themselves. They give
up their own judgment and commit their destiny to their leaders.
Whoever will prayerfully study the Bible in order to obey it will
receive divine enlightenment. He will understand the Scriptures.
“Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the
teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own.” NRSV.
On the last day of the feast, the officers who had been sent to
arrest Jesus returned without Him. The leaders angrily asked, “Why
have you not brought Him?” They answered, “No man ever spoke
like this Man!”
Even hearts as hard as theirs were melted by His words. While
He was speaking, they had lingered near to catch something to turn
against Him. But as they listened, Christ revealed Himself to their
hearts. They saw what priests and rulers would not see—humanity
flooded with the glory of divinity.
The priests and rulers had felt the same conviction when they
first came into Christ’s presence. Their hearts were deeply moved
and the thought came forcibly to them, “No man ever spoke like