Why did Israel reject Jesus Christ as their Messiah? As the spirit of God inspired and authored all four of the gospels, each of them open their early chapters with the arrival of Jesus of Nazareth whom they identify with God’s long-promised Messiah. He is on the scene, spellbinding the masses with his undeniable miracles – everything from water into wine, multiplying loaves and fishes so as to feed thousands. How did He do that?
Opened the eyes of the blind and caused the deaf to hear. And then his magnum opus – can you believe it? He actually raised the dead to life again – Lazarus and others. Lazarus, not merely dead, but very dead -dead for four days. Surely this must have come from God Himself. Nicodemus, in that famous night visit recorded in John 3, said, “Master, we know that you have come from God, for no man can do the miracles you have done unless God is with him.” And Peter, in Matthew 16, declared in his famous confession, “Thou art the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” And there was the standard conviction among many of the nation Israel. Mark 12 says, “…the common people heard Him gladly.” These were just the ordinary folk, but not everyone was common. There were the uncommon. These were the “inteligencia,” the ruling class, shakers and movers. These were the religious establishment, entrenched in their cushy prestigious positions. You know, people with clout and connections. They heard Jesus too, but they never heard Him gladly. They heard Him grudgingly, hurting with scorn and derision. What was their problem with Jesus of Nazareth? Well for starters, He was a threat to them. He exposed their corruption and hypocrisy. That’s enough to evoke vengeance in itself. And then too, Jesus did not meet their qualifications of what the Messiah should be. Ask them what their qualifications were and you’d probably get an answer like, “Well, we can’t exactly say, but He doesn’t meet them.” Christ knew full well He was on a path that would end in His rejection and crucifixion. After all, that’s why he was there. And the officialdom of Israel saw to it, conspiring with Judas for a nice quiet arrest of Jesus. Then manipulate a pagan Roman named “Pilot” to do their dirty work. After Christ’s resurrection and ascension, Peter would indict Israel on the day of Pentecost, in Acts chapter 2, by saying, “God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” This is the account of Israel’s rejection of their Messiah.
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