Jesus the light of the world!
Isaiah 61:6-8
But you shall be named the priests of the Lord,
They shall call you the servants of our God.
You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles,
And in their glory you shall boast.
7 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor,
And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.
8 “For I, the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery for burnt offering;
I will direct their work in truth,
And will make with them an everlasting covenant.
The New King James Version
God revealed to the Israelites that they were destined to be a priestly people to Jehovah. After the tribulation, they would regain their original position. Until then, the Body of Christ receives God’s mercy and grace through their faith in the Savior God Jesus. Because of their unbelief, the Israelites endured much suffering, but God made an everlasting covenant with them that would never be broken. Through generations, the Israelites will continue, and they will be known as the seed that the Lord has blessed. They are adorned in the garments of salvation.
Exodus 19:5-6 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
If the Israelites were faithful and obeyed His voice God would make them an intrinsic value above all the nations of the world. They would be a Kingdom of priests. There would always be a remnant that did not bow to false idols and remained true to their Creator.
Acts 7:51-53 You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”
Stephen was the first Jewish believer in Jesus to die for their beliefs, and that’s when the believing Jewish people started to spread their faith. This event marked the beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer King, being shared to Jews all over the world. Saul (Paul) a Pharisee was there, and he agreed to the stoning of Stephen. But then, on the road to Damascus, Paul had a life-changing encounter with Jesus. The Jews didn’t like the Gentiles, but when the Scribes and Pharisees rejected Jesus, it opened the door to salvation to them through faith in Jesus. And the Body of Christ was formed. Paul was chosen to share the Good News of God’s mercy and grace to the rest of the world.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
This covenant was made with the house of Israel alone. The day will come when their eyes would be open to Jesus their King and a new covenant would be made with them. God will write His law on their hearts and they will teach war no longer. Peace shall reign and all of them will know their Maker. God will forgive their sin of unbelief. God’s promises are sure and they are His chosen people.
Genesis 3:8 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and it opened their eyes to the knowledge of good and evil and in shame they hid themselves from God. Their closeness to their Creator God was removed from them but His protection never left them. In them and through their seed the world would be redeemed in the redemption of Jesus the Christ. Carla
By using Yahweh’s words against the wilderness generation (Exodus 32:9; 33:3) against his accusers, Stephen turns the full force of the implications of Israel’s history against his opponents. Yahweh sometimes used this term against Israel to expose their unfaithfulness to His covenant. It is meant to be a derogatory term equating them with their neighboring nations who worshiped other gods and often oppressed them. During His earthly ministry Jesus frequently made this point in order to demonstrate the religious leaders’ spiritual blindness and hypocrisy. Faithlife Study Bible
Stephen put the council on the spot. The members of the council wanted to appear open to God’s truth, but they and their ancestors rarely wanted to hear God’s truth through His messengers. Jesus made essentially the same charges in Matthew 23:34–36. Stephen did not shrink from accusing the Sanhedrin of handing Jesus over to death, thus becoming His murderers. He used even stronger language than Peter had (3:13–15). The NKJV Study Bible
Acts 3:14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
Exodus 32:9 And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people!
Galatians 3:19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.
John 12:46 (ESV) "I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness."
But today's key verse comes soon after an account in which Jesus proved His power over death: After raising a dead man named Lazarus from his dark tomb (John 12:17), Jesus proclaimed, "Whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness" (John 12:46).
Jesus has "come into the world as light" (John 12:46), both fully human and fully divine, to offer us a way of escape from eternal darkness. He sacrificed His life as payment for our sins on the cross, and then He rose again, conquering death, so we can have eternal life and a restored relationship with our Father God (John 12:23-26).
John 12:46 reminds us Jesus came to save humanity, yet many were disappointed with His ministry because He wasn't the Savior they expected. Rather than overthrowing governments and political systems, as some desired, Jesus achieved victory through His sacrificial death on the cross. So let's hold on to hope in Christ, knowing all the things of this world will one day fade away, yet He will remain. He is with us even now, revealing hope and joy for us to access today. First5
We remind one another weekly in Sabbath Moment, “No one of us is on this journey alone.”
And with Ram Dass’ affirmation, “We’re all just walking each other home.”
Here’s the deal: I want to be present.
For connection and camaraderie and fellowship and community.
And it resonates. And I do understand that presence is a gift that we can offer. Sabbath Moments
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