Outside of the Jewish nation there were men who foretold the appearance of a divine instructor. These men were seeking for truth, and to them the Spirit of Inspiration was imparted. One after another, like stars in the darkened heavens, such teachers had arisen. Their words of prophecy had kindled hope in the hearts of thousands of the Gentile world.
For hundreds of years the Scriptures had been translated into the Greek language, then widely spoken throughout the Roman Empire. The Jews were scattered everywhere, and their expectation of the Messiah's coming was to some extent shared by the Gentiles. Among those whom the Jews styled heathen were men who had a better understanding of the Scripture prophecies concerning the Messiah than had the teachers in Israel. There were some who hoped for His coming as a deliverer from sin. Philosophers endeavored to study into the mystery of the Hebrew economy. But the bigotry of the Jews hindered the spread of the light. Intent on maintaining the separation between themselves and other nations, they were unwilling to impart the knowledge they still possessed concerning the symbolic service. The true Interpreter must come. The One whom all these types prefigured must explain their significance. (The Desire of Ages, p. 33).
Before the first coming of Christ, the Lord poured out the Spirit of Prophecy on those who were diligently seeking the Scriptures to give them insight and understanding as to the time in which they lived and the certainty of the Messiah's appearing. These seekers were experiencing the fulfillment of what Peter describes in his first epistle to the church:
"Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into." (1 Peter 1:10–12 NKJV)
As these teachers "outside of the Jewish nation... foretold the appearance of the divine instructor," they demonstrated that they were recipients of the ministry of prophets of old. And by doing so, they were carrying on in the ministry of those who had come before. There message was not a new one. Rather it was the renewal of the call of Amos: "Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!"" (Amos 4:12 NKJV)
Today we are faced with the same challenge and calling as those seekers before the coming of Christ... to prepare the way of the Lord. And, at the Mid-America Union Pastor's Meetings this month, Pastor Randy Roberts of the Loma Linda University Church showed us the how to fulfill this calling through a simple challenge to read The Word. Randy's timely message was a stark contrast to Martha experience that we so often live in ministry:
""Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed," (Luke 10:41–42 NKJV)
Martha was distracted with many things. She was busy, busy, busy. And she resented her sister Mary for sitting at the feet of Jesus. But at the feet of Jesus was really the one thing Martha needed most. It's the thing we ministers need most. It's the thing that reminds me of my Nani.
Early on in my life, my Grandmother Moon taught me to memorize Scripture. I called her Nani. And the first Scripture I can remember Nani teaching me was Psalm 19:14:
"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer." (Psalms 19:14 NKJV)
Nani knew how important it was for us to meditate on Christ. She new it must be a prayer request; that we must cry out to Jesus saying, "Lord draw me close to Thee;" Keep me at your feet. In fact, Nani's favorite hymn was: Sitting at the Feet of Jesus. It was played at her funeral. And I praise God for the legacy of sitting she left me. I praise God that my Nani choose the one thing she needed most.
Sitting at the Feet of Jesus
Sitting at the feet of Jesus,
Oh, what words I hear Him say!
Happy place! so near, so precious!
May it find me there each day;
Sitting at the feet of Jesus,
I would look upon the past;
For His love has been so gracious,
It has won my heart at last.
Sitting at the feet of Jesus,
Where can mortal be more blest?
There I lay my sins and sorrows,
And, when weary, find sweet rest;
Sitting at the feet of Jesus,
There I love to weep and pray;
While I from His fullness gather
Grace and comfort every day.
Bless me, O my Savior, bless me,
As *I sit low at Thy feet; [*I'm waiting]
Oh, look down in love upon me,
Let me see Thy face so sweet;
Give me, Lord, the mind of Jesus,
Keep me holy as He is;
May I prove I've been with Jesus,
Who is all my righteousness.
2 comments:
This is so right, Jim. I find, at the end of every school year, that my busy-ness" draws me away from study and devotions. This is perfectly timed. Thank you.
Hi Jim,
Sorry about responding to an old post but our move to the Springs has consumed my time lately.
One comment about the Magi. They are usually looked at as Gentile believers as opposed to those non-Gentile unbelievers. There is not a lot of history to back that up. On the contrary, the history seems to support a different view.
At this time, the Tanak had indeed been translated into Greek, but it was also being read by the great philosophers of the day. It is said that the great Alexandrian library existed because they used to confiscate manuscripts from ships that would come to port from other countries. So it would not only have God's word, but many of the other ancient manuscripts as well. The Greeks et al were well known for reading these different manuscripts as a way of obtaining knowlege which they believed brought them closer to God.
The Babylonians were equally well known for this knowlege quest. Babylon was also the home of the largest population of Jews outside of Israel, except for possibly Rome. Since most scholars believe that the Magi were from Babylon, does it not make at least equal sense that they could have been Jewish?
I personally do not believe they were because their actions do not reflect that. Remember, that they showed up to offer gifts and then left. If they were prophetic rather than responding to what they read in the scriptures, then why did it take them two years to arrive and why did they simply drop of offerings and leave?
Also, another misnomer is that the Jews were not looking for the Messiah. Writings of the day clearly disagree with that view. Anyone of any distinction who appeared on the scene would be questioned to see if he were "The Messiah". They even questioned John the Baptist that way. The problem is they were expecting a Messiah ben David and what they got was a Messiah ben Joseph.
The story of the Magi does a better job of pointing out that the Jews missed his coming because of their expectations more than it shows the Gentiles getting it right.
Shalom, Jeff
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