Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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(Today’s Reading)
The Biblical Case for the Second Coming as Accomplished Fact
(Book Installment 8)
Part Two – The Timing of the Second Coming
Chapter 2 – What the Gospels Say
The Times of Jesus the Messiah (continued)
This interest was not limited to Israel proper, for since the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C. and Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Jews had been dispersed all over the world. Wherever they went, they built synagogues in which Moses and all the Prophets were regularly read. Many God-fearing Gentiles would join them. So it is not surprising that, as the second chapter of Matthew tells us, as far away as from the East some (that is, magi) would come asking, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?” And King Herod could then ask the priests and scribes “where the Christ was to be born.” Herod’s mass murder of all the male infants in and around Bethlehem reveals just how much the coming of Messiah bore on people’s minds in that age. For this horrid act would not have occurred unless Herod and his subjects were thoroughly persuaded that Messiah was not only the promise of God, but also a promise everyone believed was on the verge of being fulfilled. This was a sustained and not a fleeting expectation, for this incident with Herod occurred thirty years before Jesus even began His public ministry.
No wonder then that when, a few decades later after Herod’s slaughter of the innocents, John the Baptist appeared preaching repentance and using apocalyptic-style language like “flee from the wrath to come,” and “every tree that doesn’t bear good fruit is going to be cut down and thrown into the fire,” there were people more than eager to listen. Luke 3 tells us that ”people were in an expectant state and even wondering whether John himself might be the Messiah.” Even the religious authorities in Jerusalem sent a deputation to the Jordan River to ask John if he was the Messiah (John 1).
Of course, all through Jesus’ public ministry, speculation abounded as to whether He was the Christ. Here’s a sampling:
“When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?” John 7:31
“We have found the Messiah” John 1:41
“…if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.” John 9:22
When we remember how reluctant Jesus was about making Himself known as the Messiah before His resurrection, we see once again the nature of these times. That is, the interest and fervor over the Messiah was not something Jesus created, but rather was something already present in the people of His day. This is important because as we look at Jesus’ description of the timing of His second coming, we will see that He is not so much bringing to the disciples’ minds whole new concepts (such as the last days, the age to come) as He is answering questions they already had.
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