What kind of Messiah are you looking for?

walking in epiphany truth

Today's Truth from Scripture

"Jews demand miraculous signs & Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews & foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews & Greeks, Christ the power of God & the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, & the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength."  1 Cor. 2:22-25

Today's devotional thoughts

What kind of Messiah did 1st century Jews expect? As God's chosen people, subjugated by the hated Gentile Romans, they did NOT expect or welcome a Messiah who preached the Beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew:  "Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . the meek . . . the merciful . . . the peacemakers . . . Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you & falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me." (Matt. 6:3a, 5a, 7a, 9a, 11)

Nor did they expect a Messiah who would be crucified on the cursed tree, as Jesus ultimately would be, also by the Gentile Romans--with no little help from pious yet sinful Jews--or pious yet sinful Gentiles. What about us 21st century Christians? What kind of Messiah do we expect?

Living in a culture where individual freedoms & rights are not only expected but demanded, do we expect a Savior who--instead of encouraging us to fight tooth & nail for our entitlements--encourages us to "Rejoice & be glad, because great is your reward IN HEAVEN, because in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you . . . "?? (Matt. 5:12) Remember, an "epiphany" can be, "The reality or essential meaning of something . . . " [dictionary.com]

Today's prayer thoughts

Ask the Lord to bless us that we may love others, not just as ourselves, but as Christ loves us. He gave up His life for us!