Israel, before the cross
Mat 19:16-21 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17 … but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Before the cross, Jews had to show faith and confirming works
(to prove their faith) in order to be saved. Their faith was placed in
their confession of Jesus as the Messiah. Thereafter, their confirming works were
to obey the commandments, sell all their possessions, Mat 19:22; Act 2:45, pick
up their cross and follow their Messiah Mat 10:38; Mat 16:24, and endure to the
end, Mat 10:22; Mat 24:13. If they truly believed the Kingdom was at hand,
selling their possessions was a declaration that they’d have all sufficiency in
that coming Kingdom.
Israel, after the cross
Act 2:36-38 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
The cross was a horrible mistake for these Jews. The message
for salvation that Peter heralded on Pentecost day was, “Repent, and be
baptised for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost.” Repentance was for the sins of their fathers and for murdering
their Messiah, Act 3:14-15. Water baptism was required as a ceremonial
cleansing for priesthood in the Millennial Kingdom. Baptism with the Holy
Spirit was the New Covenant promise of the pouring out of the Spirit upon the
Nation, receiving a new heart of flesh, and the word of God written on that
heart, Jer 31:31-34. This event was a foreshadow of what will happen when
Christ comes again at the end of the Tribulation to save that remnant of
Israel.
Grace believers (both Jew and Gentile) as the Body of Christ
Act 16:27-32 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
For both Jew and Gentile as members of the Body of Christ, the cross was EVERYTHING. As Paul says, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world”, Gal 6:14. The gospel of grace, the gospel of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, 1Cor 15:1-4, is the saving grace we have today. Unlike the gospels for the Jews above, the grace gospel of Paul does not require conditional works. It is faith in Christ alone, without works, Gal 2:16-21; Eph 2:8-9; 2Tim 1:9; Titus 3:3-5.
Comments
Post a Comment