Rejecting the Messiah

As we have been studying Acts, we see again and again how Paul preached first in the synagogues. Some of the Jews rejoiced in the message. Others tried to kill the preacher or run him out of town or have him thrown into jail.

When I was growing up, one of my best buddies was Jewish. I always had this notion that our religious difference was because her family just didn't get it that Jesus was the messiah they were waiting for.

Pastor pointed out that the Jews' rejection of Jesus is not because they're lacking information that shows Jesus to be the messiah foretold by the Old Testament Scriptures. The Jews rejected what the Old Testament taught about the messiah. They didn't see their messiah as the suffering servant. They didn't see him as one who would bless the Gentiles as well as the Jews. They didn't see him so much as a savior from sin as a savior from their political enemies.

Some Jews believed in Jesus. These would be the ones who believed in a merciful Savior for all. They would be the ones who recognized the fulfillment of prophecy in His suffering, death, and resurrection. They would be the ones who believed in a God of love who forgives instead of demands.

The Jews who didn't believe in Jesus were the Jews who all along had misunderstood the God of the Old Testament, who had perceived him to be a vengeful god, and who expended their efforts trying to get in his good graces. So when Jesus came, forgiving prostitutes and tax collectors, it wasn't necessarily the person Jesus they were rejecting; rather, they were rejecting all that the Old Testament had said of the messiah-to-come.