Daily Thoughts – December 17th
Prophecy 13: Psalm 69:4
"Those who hate me without reason outnumber the
hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy
me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal." - Psalm 69:4
The psalmist David, wrote these words of himself. Yet, in reading them,
we find the words of our Lord and Savior. Echoed in John 15:25, "They hated
me without cause", and in 1 Peter 2:22, “He committed no sin, neither was
deceit found in his mouth.” In the
scriptures, the life of Jesus Christ is detailed as loving, helpful and
merciful. His ministry lasted no more than 3 years. What we know of Him is that
He taught those around him of God's love and peace. The world was in need of a
Savior and had been waiting patiently for the arrival of the Messiah. So,
needing him and wanting him, what were they afraid of when He arrived?
Have you ever considered why Christ was so hated by the people of
Israel? He entered Jerusalem a week before His death. He rode a donkey into the
city amidst cheers and praises of glory and hallelujah. Within a week the
masses were screaming "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" In that week,
Christ had healed the sick, forgiven the sinful, restored life and challenged
the authority of Jerusalem. It was this authority that knew the scriptures, the
signs and what to expect; but also felt threatened by Christ's message of
salvation. As David writes in Psalm 69:4 - Christ is forced to restore what he
did not steal. The salvation of mankind was upon his shoulders and his
shoulders alone.
In the last 2000 years what has changed? There are more that hate Christ today than ever, and for what reason? His love of mankind or His merciful grace. He's done nothing against mankind that would cause hatred. Perhaps, it is similar to the authorities of that day. Christ does not meet the image that some people are looking for in a Savior or they feel convicted by His message, so they choose to deny him or hate him. Many simply don’t want to believe, because that means they would need to abide in His teachings and give up some of their worldly desires and activities. The love of Christ is there for them though, just as it was for the masses and authorities in Jerusalem on that day.
Remember the most powerful apostle of Jesus Christ was Saul of Tarsus (also known as Paul). He hated Christ and Christians to the point of killing them, yet Christ's love and grace, once revealed to him, turned him into the most profound apostle of all time. We are equally blessed as Paul was to have Christ’s salvation revealed to us, but are we as profound in spreading that message to the masses. We should be.
- Rich
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