All my life I looked for His coming. I waited, hoped, and prayed. Although numerous others lost faith in The Promise, I know that God would stay true to His Word. Even if not today, not in this lifetime, not in my generation or the next, His promise would be fulfilled. I knew the Messiah would come, and even if I never beheld his face on this earth, I still must proclaim His coming, despite the ridicule of those around me.
I was raised the oldest son of a prominent Jew in Jerusalem. The rituals of the Jewish faith soon became a routine part of my life and that of those around me. Many of my friends, and even some of my family members, grew tired of hearing of the Messiah, the Savior to come. Some lost hope, forgetting God’s previous faithfulness to our ancestors. I, however, determined to study the ancient words of the prophets of old, in order to be prepared should the hope of the Messiah at long last become manifest. If God was faithful in the past, I reasoned, then why should He not continue to be as such to all posterity in the present and future? I had not reason to doubt His goodness and faithfulness.
I devoted my life to the hope of His coming, having full assurance of its fulfillment. Because of my father’s influence, I readily gained access to the scrolls and manuscripts that made up the Holy Scriptures. At times, I entered debates with the religious leaders over various issues, being careful to study intently God’s view on the subject. The immorality and vice that had entered even our strict Jewish culture angered me, and in time I began to speak out against it as contrary to God’s Will. Although I became disfavored by man, as even some of the prominent Jewish officials and religious leaders took place in such evil practices, and received exceeding ridicule for my stands and earnest beliefs, I refused to become disheartened, rather turning to the God of my fathers for strength and sustenance. In my lifetime I saw many converted to a truly saving knowledge of my Jehovah God, though many fell away from their faith in our God of old, not realizing that He is also God of the present and future. I prayed for those who ridiculed me, gave to the poor, have to the poor and helped those in need, striving to live as Yahweh, my God, would have me to. I always kept an earnest watch for my Messiah, my Immanuel, but He never came. When I grew old, I taught the children of the city stories of God’s faithfulness and charged them to always look for the Messiah, never forsaking hope in His coming. I died and old man and a faithful servant or my God, looking for the Christ from my deathbed with my last words, “Come Immanuel.”
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Several years later, there came a Man. He claimed to be the Son of God. He performed many miracles, healing the blind and paralyzed, cleansing people of internal diseases, forgiving sins, converting hearts and inspiring faith in God, and raisin people from the dead. This Man was called Jesus, Immanuel, the Savior of the world. Although He committed no sin, He was illegally arrested and tried, brutally beaten, violently mocked, and finally condemned to die the most tortuous death as a criminal simply for claiming to be the Messiah. In their zeal for personal gain and earnest search for the Messiah, the Jewish religious leaders left no room for their promised Savior to actually come, condemning Him as a liar, a heretic, a blasphemer. This Jesus, this Man, fulfilled all the prophecies proclaimed about Him by the prophets from of old, beginning at His place of birth and His parentage, and going to His horrendous crucifixion.
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It was about three o’clock on Friday of Passover week. This man Jesus had been arrested the night before, tried by the Sanhedrin, Herod, and Pontius Pilate, and ultimately condemned to death by the cruel Roman methods of crucifixion after being beaten and flogged till barely alive. It had been dark in the land for the previous three hours. Suddenly, Jesus Christ called out from His place on the cross, “My God, My God, Why have You forsaken me?” fulfilling the words of the Psalmist. He had taken onto Himself all of the sins of the world, receiving the punishment for them, and in that moment His Father had turned His back on Him, His Son, Jesus. Crying out again, the Savior of the world died. Immediately, the curtain of the Temple ripped in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, and rocks split. At the same time, tombs were opened and the bodies of many holy people were raised to life again. I was one of those people.
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As I rose from my tomb, resurrected in Christ’s death, I knew instantly that the Messiah had come. Although I did not know God’s complete purpose in giving me life again, I knew I must continue to proclaim the gospel of the Messiah. I did not at first disclose my identity to anyone, but secretly went into the city to discover what had happened. There, I learned of this Man from the line of David who had come from Nazareth, claiming to be the Messiah of the Jews.
On Sunday, I learned of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Although I had not doubts, this confirmed what I had already determined in my heart and mind- Jesus really was the Son of God, the promised Messiah. I went into the holy city of Jerusalem to proclaim salvation in Him alone.
I scared my granddaughter such that she nearly jumped out of her sandals when I first approached her. She believed me to be a ghost at first! I finally convinced her of what had happened. She was one of the few who had listened to m words while I had previously been on earth, and now believed Jesus to be the Messiah for whom I had so earnestly longed and yearned. She took me later to see the twelve disciples of Jesus, who were able to tell me much of the life and ministry of my Savior.
I was blessed to be among those to whom Jesus appeared before His final ascension until the last day. The One I had looked for all of my life, I was able to finally behold! I devoted the remainder of the new life which the Father had given to me on this earth to proclaiming the good news of His Son, the Messiah, my Savior Jesus Christ, and the marvelous work that he had done in my life.
I do not understand the ways of God. Why I was blessed in the power of Christ to be resurrected and to behold my Messiah, I may never know. But one thing I do know. I am given a time on this earth for a reasons and a purpose, and I must make use of that time, proclaiming Christ always, whatever the cost. If I had listened to those who persecuted me for my undying faith in the Messiah, I may never have been resurrected to behold my risen Lord. In such knowledge, I will devote the remainder of my resurrected life to the furtherance of His Kingdom, as I know not what blessings may come as a result of my devotion. I encourage all to give Christ the similar devotion of their own lives. WHO knows, maybe one day you’ll get another chance at life as a result of your faith as I did!
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