Christmas 2019: Behold My Son, in Whom I am well pleased, part 6.

Atonement through the suffering Servant was ignored in Israel when Christ was born, and when He began His public ministry He focused directly on the deep spiritual core of God’s revelation to Israel.

Joh 8:31 Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;

Joh 8:32 and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Joh 8:33 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You shall become free'?"

Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.

Joh 8:35 "And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.

Joh 8:36 "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.

Joh 8:37 "I know that you are Abraham's offspring; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.

Joh 8:38 "I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father."

Joh 8:39 They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham.

The Pharisees had taught for years that all Israel, due to genealogy alone, would inherit the kingdom of God.

Joh 8:40 "But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do.

Joh 8:41 "You are doing the deeds of your father." They said to Him, "We were not born of fornication [a mockery of the virgin birth]; we have one Father, even God."

Joh 8:42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me; for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.

Joh 8:43 "Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.

Those who have accepted lies cannot hear the truth. They have already decided that everything Jesus said is a lie.

Those who can hear the truth are not committed to lies, even though they entertain them. Often it is a tragedy that opens their eyes to the possibility that something might be wrong with their understanding, and thus the weak shell develops cracks. Then there are those who hold to the lies no matter what happens. Why pride remains in some and in others it begins to decay, is a mystery.

Joh 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.

The war of the universe is between truth and lies.

No matter what are the circumstances of our own individual lives, there can be truth or lies in my heart, and that’s the big picture becoming a part of my little picture.

I could be engulfed in a horrible or very difficult set of circumstances and still possess blessed peace because the truth of my Lord and His victory, the truth of my origin, the truth of my meaning, the truth of my morality, and the truth of my destiny are all dwelling within my heart, always honing my perception, always energizing my hands and feet, always painting bright colors on my future.

Jesus stated that He was the Lord of the Sabbath, meaning the Lord of blessed peace. God rested on the seventh day and gave Adam and Eve rest. They destroyed that rest and then had to work hard to live, only to die at the end. Fast forward to Israel in Egypt, slaves without rest, making bricks while having to gather their own straw, and then God sent them Moses. After three days of darkness, God gave them the Passover and they were set free. After three hours of darkness on the cross Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me,” and then He set us free.

In the wilderness, God gave Israel the Ten Commandments, one of which was to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Israel was to live by faith on that seventh-day and do no work as if they were living in eternity, in eternal rest for one full day. They didn’t even have to gather manna on that day. But they broke this rest by not trusting God.

In the Law God gave rest on the seventh-day. He gave in the law that slaves were to be set free on the seventh year, and then He gave the year of Jubilee on the seventh, seventh year in which all property was to be returned and all debts erased. All of this indicating the final rest to man that was to come from the Lord.

The Lord rested in the tomb on the Sabbath day and rose on the eighth day, indicating that an eternal Sabbath was given. We still have to toil and work every day, yet the Lord stated that He gave us His peace. If we follow Him in all we do, in every aspect of our lives, we will experience that blessed peace, not just on Saturday, but every day, as if we are in eternity. It’s just a matter of time until we will be. No matter what the circumstances of our own individual lives, there can be truth of lies in our hearts.