The time drew near.  Jesus would physically depart earth.  He began to draw aside on trips with His apostles, preparing them for faith without sight.  Of course, they still so longed for Him to establish His Kingdom, right then and there.  Little did they recognize the truth. Before Jesus Christ would return to complete the promises to the Jewish nation, He came to offer salvation to all. In this, He would establish His Bride, the church.  Had this not been what the prophets foretold?  The Jewish nation had been commissioned to spread the praise of God throughout the world.  But they failed in that commission.  Had this not been the entire message of Jonah as I outlined in Jonah: The Pursuing Love and Grace of God.   Instead of fulfilling their commission the Israelite nation had allowed in the idolatrous ideologies of pagan worship, which repeatedly lead to their destruction.

God had told Abraham that from his seed all nations would be blessed.  (Genesis 22:18),

Then there was Isaiah 42:5-8.  Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;  To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

OLD TESTAMENT PRECIDENT WITH PROMISE

God’s mercy toward the gentile people who turned from their wickedness to follow Him remained on display in the Old Testament.  We see His mercy and grace that reached out to Rahab and to Ruth who, though gentile entered the lineage of Christ.  Then there was the Ninevites, known for their cruelty and evil offences whom turned from their wickedness for at least a generation.  Many were saved by faith, despite their angry, unwilling prophet-Jonah.  Yet, Jonah’s was a lesson so needed by the people of Israel.  Humbled, Jonah ultimately told his story which is still read on Yom Kippur-The Day of Atonement.  This comes as the last day of the ten days of penitence that begins with Rosh Hashanah.

Furthermore, God reached out His hand of Grace to Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king.  Cyrus, King of Persia, helped the Jewish nation to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.

Psalm 87: 4 (NIV) “I will record Rahab (Egypt) and Babylon among those who acknowledge me—Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush—and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’”

The Gentiles who believed in Him and acknowledge Him would be counted and would share in the promises of Abraham.  We saw this happen in the Babylon, Assyria, and Persia each for a time in the Old Testament.  Tyre had been the epicenter of Baal worship; yet, we see in Mark 7 that Jesus Christ journeys there.

Salvation to All

Jesus had been rejected by the people of Nazareth in Galilee, His hometown (Mark 6:1-6).  He needed to prepare His apostles for His coming death and resurrection, though they wanted to hear nothing of this.  Furthermore, He needed to prepare them to establish the church which would include the Gentiles.  They would be the ones who would go into all the world to preach the gospel message.

So, He went to Tyre.  There a Syrophoenician Greek woman came to seek Him.  Her heritage would have excluded her in the eyes of Jews.  She lived in the wrong town and came from a long line of pagan worship, a lineage condemned long before.  Yet, with great humility and persistence she came to Jesus pleading for her demon possessed daughter.  She believed He had the power to save.  Furthermore, she knew He was the long-awaited Jewish Messiah.  Had she read of Rahab? Or had she heard of what He had done?  Was that she exhausted the prayers to the pagan Gods?

Whatever brought her there, she acknowledged Him for who He was.  Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.     (Matthew 15:22).  She did not think she deserved anything.  Instead she knew that it was mercy alone that could save her and her daughter.  So, when He ignored her, she persisted in her cries for mercy.  The apostles wanted to send her away.  Jesus needed them to learn that true faith, saving faith requires this kind of humility, persistence, and acknowledgement that if Jesus says no-there is no hope left.  He is the only hope and way of salvation.

He asks, why should He feed the dogs when He came to feed the children? Why did He say this?

A True Lesson in Saving Faith

The children, referring to the Jews, unfortunately thought themselves entitled to be fed.  Hence, many failed to accept Jesus as the Messiah, the Lord.  They wanted all the Glory but would not accept that He must die to pay the price of their sins.  Had that not always been the problem?  They never recognized their own depravity and sin.  Entitlement ideology is a barrier to coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  But Jesus tested this Gentile woman’s faith.  Furthermore, she exemplified what true faith looked like.    “Lord, might I though lowly as a dog have the crumbs that fall from the table?  I am not asking for more.”

Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour (Matthew 15:28).

True faith comes humbly, repentant before Jesus Christ, knowing that if He does not show mercy there is no hope of salvation. It is not a faith that demands.  For were God to give me what I deserve, I would perish.  True faith is full of gratitude for all that one is given, knowing and trusting in the heart of God.  He knows what is best and will guide you to the greater knowledge of Himself.

Yes, Jesus came to offer Salvation to All who would believe.  Salvation to all who would humbly with repentant heart come to accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ came to die as the Sacrificial lamb for all who would come by faith acknowledging Him as Lord, Savior and the only true Son of God-born of a virgin.   Do you have the faith of this Greek Syrophoenician woman?

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD?

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you to go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link.  There is nothing more important than this; because,  He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.

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Series:  Finding Faith on the Road to Emmaus

How to Certainly Know Jesus As the Lion of Judah

 God Works All Things According to His Will

How Can I Be Certain Jesus is the Christ?

Was Jesus the Savior they Waited For?

How was Christ’s Suffering a Part of His Glory?

Why is it so Important to Know All the Truth?

How Faith is Found on the Road to Emmaus

Poetry:

Thy Greatest Glory Be Thy Love Poured Out On Calvary

Disclosures

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2018
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Footnotes and Credits

Photo by Joshua Hanks on Unsplash

In the previous posts, we looked at only some of the prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ’s birth.  Those were in themselves miraculous; but, only the beginning of over 350 prophecies fulfilled in His birth, life, death and resurrection.  Statistically impossible that one person could fulfill all those prophecies, written over the span of thousands of years and by multiple writers.  However, in the case of Jesus Christ, He fulfilled all the prophecies concerning His birth, His life, His death and His resurrection.  There are more fulfillments of prophecy to come; but we can rest assured they too will all be accomplished with just as perfect a completion as those which already have been realized.      Proof that God is Sovereign, and His word is true.  Before the Lion of Judah returns to reign, He first came as the Sacrificial lamb to give His life for many-Jew and Gentile.

But the Scripture foretold of this long ago.

The holy scriptures …able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:15-17).

Today, I want us to look at some of the Old Testament Prophecies fulfilled in Jesus life. Precisely I want  to present to you the Lion of Judah who was the Sacrificial Lamb for all.

The Spirit Descends

Continue reading How to Certainly Know Jesus As THE Lion Of Judah →

The last post discussed the miraculous way that Jesus Christ’s birth fulfilled so many prophecies; yet, I want to take that same discussion a little further.  By doing so I hope that you may recognize God’s absolute Sovereignty over every detail.  He really does work all things according to His will.  No matter what! He reigns supreme. Even when all that surrounds us appears to have fallen into shambles and our hearts are bleeding from the pains.  From the beginning, He knew that without the freedom to say no to His love and righteousness, we could never really know the depth of His love, His Grace, or His Magnificent Glory.  Before the foundations of this world were laid, He knew that many would reject Him.  Although His desire was that all would come, He knew there would only be the few.  Yet, He loved each one with such an intensity.

Willing to suffer all the agonizing pain of His creation’s rejection for the sake of all those who would become His Children.  He knew that Satan would try to thwart His plans.  Furthermore, he knew men and women’s desire for self-exaltation would cause them to chase after frivolous attempts to find glory.  Immediately after Adam chose to sin against God, the plan of salvation was revealed.   And the Lord God said unto the serpent, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:14-15).  The first revelation the Savior would be born of a Virgen, for it was the seed of a woman only.

According to His Will

Continue reading How God Really Works All Things According to His WiLL? →

Scripture validates scripture, while events in history validates the veracity of it all.  God spoke His Word through many men; yet, He inspired each word.  How was it that Isaiah foretold of Cyrus the King of Persia freeing the people more than 200 years before Cyrus gained the empire of Persia, defeating Babylon as foretold?  (Isaiah 44:8, 45:1).  And all this at the precise year foretold of by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29:10). Can we use scripture to show the validity that Jesus is the Christ?  Christ means “the anointed one”, the savior and redeemer.  Are there scriptures throughout the Old Testament that proves Jesus is the Christ beyond any shadow of doubt?  That is precisely what Jesus Himself did along the road to Emmaus that day.  Unlike the Koran, supposedly written by one proclaimed prophet, the Bible was written by many hands; although one God directing each word.

With the scripture being written over centuries of time and through many prophets, psalmists and historians; the possibility that all would predict different elements of Christ’s birth, life, and resurrection with such accurate detail would be utterly impossible.  Indeed, those very ones looking for Him might have said there was some controversy in the prophetic statements.  How was it that He would come out of Bethlehem as predicted by Micah, be called out of Egypt, be the source of weeping over Rama and be called a Nazarene all at the same time? Yet, that is precisely what Matthew lays out is the case in Matthew 2.  And this, after the case was presented in Chapter 1 regarding the lineage of Christ being that of David as foretold, who was of the lineage of Judah. His lineage of Kingship was intact both through Mary His mother and through Joseph her husband.

The Christ

Continue reading How Can I Be Certain Jesus Is the Christ? →