As was explained in yesterday's article, there are many religious people who contend that Jesus came to earth for the purpose of establishing a physical kingdom but failed. Rather than embrace their King, the Jews rejected Him and He was consequently crucified between two thieves. God worked it out, however, and the possibility of spiritual salvation was extended to all men, Jews and Gentiles alike, through the precious blood of the Christ. However, even though Jesus failed the first time, it is argued that He will one day return to earth to set up His "millennial kingdom," and this time, there will be no stopping Him. Again, this is what many in the denominational world believe.
This doctrine is interesting and entertaining, and like a juggernaut, when embraced, it leads to other ideas and doctrines until eventually one's entire paradigm towards the scriptures is changed. But we cannot accept a teaching on the basis that it's entertaining, nor can we adopt a position simply because it's the "official position" of the church we attend, or the way we were raised, etc. Like the noble Bereans of Acts 17:11, we need to be open-minded and honest enough to be critical of the status-quo, and to change when necessary.
The fact is, Jesus came to earth, not to set up a physical kingdom, but to be the "Lamb of God" and to die on the cross that we might be saved. In other words, the sacrifice of Christ was not "Plan B." It was THE plan from the very beginning and it was fulfilled perfectly. The evidence for what I'm saying here is overwhelming and leaves no room for doubt.
Yes, there are a number of Old Testament prophecies that foretold a King that would not only establish a kingdom (beginning in Jerusalem), but would bring about the glorification of Israel - and I'll come back and explain all this later - but the Old Testament is equally clear that Jesus would fill the role, not only of King, but of Savior. As Savior, He would suffer and die for our sins.
In Psalm 22:1, David wrote, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Of course, Jesus repeated these very words on the cross, thereby proving that it was known that Jesus would suffer. By reading the rest of Psalm 22, this fact is confirmed. The same insulting words that were hurled at Jesus as He suffered were prophesied in verse eight. Later in the psalm, we find these words: "For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots." These words did not have application to David in any way, at least not that I'm aware of. And so it was known ahead of time not only that the Messiah and King would die, but that He would die by means of crucifixion and that the Roman soldiers would cast lots for His clothes.
Another great example is Isaiah 53. The entire chapter relays in exact detail the purpose of Christ's coming to earth - His mission, His objective, His purpose was to suffer and die as the ultimate sin-sacrifice. Go ahead, just read the entire chapter. Jesus would be despised and rejected (vs. 3), would bear our griefs and sorrows (vs. 4), would be wounded and afflicted for our sins, not His own (vs. 5-6), would be led as "a lamb to the slaughter" (vs. 7), would die and be buried (vs. 9) - and all of this would happen in keeping with God's plan to offer His Son as the sin-sacrifice that we as the guilty ones might achieve true and complete redemption and fellowship with Him (vs. 10). The plan was not for Israel to embrace the Messiah, but for them to reject Him...and they did, according to plan. We could look at a number of other prophesies such as this, but the fact that God intended for Jesus to suffer and be rejected is irrefutable. The plan was not for Him to be embraced, to rise up as King and to restore Israel to its former glory, but to be rejected, crucified, and yet through it all to rise victorious over sin...and to enable us, through His blood, to do the same.
It's clear that this very concept carried over into the New Testament, that certain folks, including Jesus, were cognizant of these facts.
The angel told Mary that she would bring forth a Son and He would "save His people from their sins" (Mt. 1:210. Sin is a spiritual problem requiring a spiritual solution. Sin couldn't be conquered by physical warfare or the establishment of a physical kingdom; a sacrifice had to be made. John understood this when, by inspiration, he cried out upon seeing Jesus, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). In the Hebrew vernacular, the term "lamb" had sacrificial implications. John didn't greet Jesus as the mighty King who would lead Israel to victory over Rome, but as the humble sacrifice that would Himself conquer sin.
Jesus Himself taught a gospel that included warnings of suffering and persecution. In fact, suffering and persecution would go hand-in-hand with inheriting the kingdom (Mt. 5:10-11). Some of the most powerful evidence of the thesis of this article are the numerous conversations that Jesus had with His apostles in which He plainly articulated the suffering and death that awaited Him...
"From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day" (Mt. 16:21). Ironically, just a few verses later, in the same conversation, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom" (vs. 28).
"You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified" (Mt. 26:2).
"Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt" (Mk. 9:12).
"Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day" (Luke 24:46).From the very beginning of His ministry, Jesus knew the fate that awaited Him. He knew the prophesies, that He would be betrayed, scourged and crucified - and He viewed these horrendous acts not as signs of failure, but as proofs of victory...victory because that's why He came. There is simply not a shred of evidence anywhere in the four gospels that Jesus had any intentions on setting up a physical kingdom on earth; it was always about Calvary. Always!
We've considered a handful of the prophesies made BEFORE the time of Christ, and we've considered a few of the things that were said DURING the time of Christ. Now, let's consider some of the things written AFTER the time of Christ.
"Him (Jesus), being delivered by the determined purpose AND FOREKNOWLEDGE of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death" (Ac. 2:23).
"For truly against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done" (Ac. 4:27-28).
"...knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you..." (1 Pet. 1:18-20).Can't you see that EVERYTHING in the Bible confirms that Jesus' purpose in coming to earth was NOT to set up a physical kingdom, but to die on the cross as the sacrificial lamb of God for the sins of the world. He didn't fail. He didn't fall short. He didn't have to resort to a "Plan B." God's redemptive plan was fulfilled perfectly in ALL that occurred.
Now...someone might respond to all of this by pointing out an apparent contradiction between yesterday's article and this article. On one hand, the scriptures indicate that Jesus came to establish a kingdom, that He identified Himself as King and promised to glorify Israel, that Zion would be exalted once more. And yet we've also seen that Jesus came, not to set up a physical kingdom, or to lead the Israelites to victory over Rome, but to be rejected, betrayed and crucified. Is this a contradiction?
In short, the answer is "No!" But the detailed explanation of how these two points harmonize will have to wait until tomorrow...
Click here to read Part 3 (the next installment) in this series.
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