Wednesday, August 31, 2005
JESUS IS "THE REAL THING"
After David defeated the Philistine giant Goliath, the Israelites won a great victory over the Philistines. King Saul should have been pleased. But for many years after that King Saul was so envious of David that he could not think clearly. What really bothered Saul was that it was plain that the Lord was now with David and not with Saul. David did not do anything against Saul; yet Saul hated him and was actually afraid of him. The Bible says. David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the people loved him. This made Saul all the more jealous and angry.
Now let us jump forward about 1,000 years and we see that Jesus, the Son of David, experienced some of these same things. David behaved himself wisely and became very popular among the people. The same thing was true of Jesus. The Gospel of Luke tells us that in Jesus' youth He "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."
As Jesus later carried out His preaching and healing ministry, the Bible states that the common people heard Him gladly. Wherever He went He drew crowds. He had a large following, and He did all things well. But just as King Saul became envious of David and angry because of all the praise given to him, so the leaders of the Jews in the days of Jesus began to hate Him because of His popularity with the people.
Before Jesus, the Pharisees and scribes were considered the holy ones in Israel. They were looked up to as really holy people. But then Jesus came forward, and His genuine piety and love made the people realize how far from perfect the Pharisees and the scribes really were. The real holiness of Jesus made them look bad in comparison, and they hated Him for it.
And just as Saul kept on plotting how he might destroy David, so also the Pharisees and the priests kept on thinking up ways to put Jesus to death. But every attempt on their part to shut Jesus down seemed only to make things worse. Each time He managed to escape their murderous attempts.
Of course, when the right hour came, God allowed their bitterness and jealousy and anger to explode, with the result that Jesus was arrested, accused of blasphemy, and sent to His death. But Jesus was successful even in death, defeating death itself for our salvation, rising from the dead in glorious victory. David behaved himself wisely but still he was a sinner; the Son of David was perfect and successful in every way, and so we praise His name and call Him our Savior.
