This past Saturday I was woken up with the thought that "the Lord saved us even when we didn't know we needed saving, in a way we didn't know was possible to be saved."
I started thinking about that thought and reflected on the following, taking a bit of a historical overview. As Jews, they knew about God and His ability to intervene in their lives and save them as a nation and people, and even as individuals, but it was always a material world salvation, being saved from an enemy nation, army, etc. The Lord gave them the law as a guide towards righteousness, but none were capable of attaining righteousness, and the whole of the Old Testament seems to be related to their continual failure. The Gentiles had no real clue, but saw in the Jews something different. Anyway, based on their history, they thought the Messiah was going to save them materially, driving away the Romans and reestablishing the Kingdom of Israel, with God's supernatural backing. This is how they thought they needed saving, even though they knew about sin, they had the Law which told them how to deal with it as best they could.
Whether they knew about sin or not, all men knew that death claimed them. Several of the ancient civilizations pondered life here and developed different practices for preparing for life after death, mummification, ancestor worship, even reincarnation, but none of them knew how to destroy the curse of death.
When Jesus came, He brought deeper revelation of God, demonstrated God's great love and compassion, His mercy and grace, and revealed a salvation that was totally unlooked for by those of His day. He clearly brought a different teaching, going deeper and into much greater intimacy of the Father's character and will. I love the explanation God's plan found in John 3:16-17 NIV: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
Jesus was bringing revelation and understanding that was, at times, completely missed or misunderstood by those who followed Him. It was only after He died and rose and ascended, and they received the Holy Spirit, that some of this all made sense to His Apostles and followers. For example, the last thing they asked Him before His ascension was, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” ( Acts 1:6 NIV) which was clearly linked to the historical view of the Messiah. I can now clearly see why Holy Spirit was sent to us to help us understand, and remind them of everything Jesus said (John 14:26). They needed to remember and understand all that Jesus said so that they could unpack the depths of His revelation, fully understand the salvation which He brought, and proclaim it to the world.
It was following Pentecost that the Church finally exploded and I am sure that the revelation of understanding was flowing hot and heavy in those early days! They were meeting daily and the apostles were teaching, and i would imagine the Holy Spirit was working overtime, helping them to understand and connect all the revelation they were unpacking, for they were likely understanding much for the first time!
I find this thought just so refreshing, as most of the time when I read the Gospel's and hear Jesus' teaching it is with an understanding of much of foundational theology already in place, and understood. I have a hard time getting my mind around the Jew's mindset and how radically different Jesus' revelation was to them! We are talking a massive paradigm shift that completely changed the majority of their understanding. They thought the Law was everything (imagine a house) and they found out it was just a model for the real thing which was Jesus' sacrificial redemption, breaking the power of sin and death and establishing the Kingdom of God. When I was in architecture classes we used to draw a house design, then build a little tiny model that could fit on a desk. Compared to the real house it was tiny and unusable, but it represented what it would look like. This is what the Law was like, when compared to the actual revelation of Jesus!
As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of a few verses about cornerstones. I think it is like the Law, rather than being the house, was just part of the cornerstone, the beginning of understanding, which the revelation of Jesus fulfilled. One of those verses is found in Isaiah 28:16-18 NIV:
[16] "So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. [17] I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place. [18] Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it."
Jesus, also spoke of a cornerstone, recorded here in Matthew 21:42-43 NIV:
[42] "Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes' ?
[43] “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit."
It seems to me that Jesus is referring to the revelation of the Law and prophets (for the whole parable He just told was about the revelation of the Law and Prophets) and Himself as the stone the builders rejected, establishing a double meaning. Later in Acts 4, Peter clearly identifies Jesus as the cornerstone rejected (See Acts 4: 8-12). I find it interesting that God gave Moses the Law and Commandments on stone - Exodus 24:12 NIV: The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.” Now we have Jesus, the Word of God (John 1:1,4), established as the whole cornerstone.
As I was writing earlier, at the time of Jesus speaking His revelation, and even at the time of His passion, death and resurrection and ascension, His followers clearly didn't grasp the fullness of what He was saying and doing! His revelation and life did indeed become the cornerstone upon which the Kingdom of God was established and built. Holy Spirit reminded them of all He said, and I am sure they were pouring through scripture, putting the pieces together, and understanding more and more every day! I imagine there was a a great vibrancy to all they were doing right after Pentecost, as they discovered the fullness of what Jesus had accomplished! I think the thought I had the other day is very true, that Jesus saved them even when they didn't know they needed saving in ways they didn't know they needed saving, and now, finally, they were discovering the richness of it all!
Luke records how it was right after Pentecost as follows- Acts 2:42-47 NIV:
[42] "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. [43] Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. [44] All the believers were together and had everything in common. [45] They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. [46] Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, [47] praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
My belief is that the Lord is encouraging us to revisit and understand more fully His salvation that He won for us! He is encouraging me to refresh my view and understanding, to look deeper into His revelation, to mine the truths that poured out during His earthly ministry! He is encouraging me to embrace this dynamic message with fresh eyes and renewed heart! He is encouraging me to look at the Gospel with an understanding of those who don't have the theological upbringing and understanding I have, to see the Gospel with fresh eyes, to see the Good News as GOOD NEWS! I am praying the Holy Spirit would once again blow upon us and bring an anointing for the proclamation of His truth to those who don't know they need saving, those who think they can save themselves and those who have heard the truth and yet don't fully understand it!
Amen Lord!
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