Jesus and the Nations: "If you seek Him, He will let you find Him"

 

In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. Isaiah 11:10

 

“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant—7 these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices  will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” 8 The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.” Isaiah 56:6-8

 

When Jesus entered our world, the above and following Scriptures from the Old Testament would have been ringing in his ears. Jesus knows he will be both the faithful servant of Israel and the bringer of hope for the Gentiles.

 

God’s Concern for all nations:the stone became a great mountain and filled the earth

 

And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And

your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be

blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” Genesis 22:15-18

 

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved

of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6

 

But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Daniel 2:35

 

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages  should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14

 

Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favour of

the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” Zechariah 8:22-23

 

Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 1:10-11

 

Time is short; judgment is coming

 

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” Malachi 4:5-6

 

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

 

Jesus was coming to his people, Israel, but also to all nations: The light of the world

 

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:11-13

 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17. See John 12 below.

 

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Acts 1:6-11

 

Let us look at an extended passage in John to see what was at the heart of Jesus’ mission on the earth:

 

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honour him. 27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” John 12:20-36

Note three things in these verses:

 

1.  Some Greeks wished to see Jesus. Note Zechariah 8:23. Oh that many more wished to see Jesus!

2.  Jesus, in his death on the cross, would draw all people to himself. Not just Jews, but all people!

3.  Jesus is referred to as the Son of Man. Jesus the Son of God is also the Son of Man who will be the light of the world. God takes on human form to bring hope to anyone willing to die and be reborn. Philippians 2:5-11

 

One man wrote this: We suggest that the relation between Christ and our plurality of cultures may be understood from at least three perspectives:

 

First, Christ is the Reconciler of cultures — he is the one who can bring people of different cultures together. Second, Christ is the Redeemer of cultures — he brings wholeness and hope to people of all cultures.

Third, Christ is the Ruler of cultures — he is the one who establishes the standards by which all cultures are ultimately to be judged.

 

Question: Does dealing with all cultures mean dealing differently with all cultures?? See Acts 10:34-35; 17:26-27.

We do not adapt the gospel to fit the culture; we adapt our lives to find ways of loving and relating in different cultures so as to get people to listen to the never-changing gospel. The gospel doesn’t change, but we change!

 

In Acts 17:26-27 Luke records Paul preaching that from one man God made all men to dwell on the face of the earth and seek Him. God sent his Son into the world to redeem people from all over the face of the earth, and to bring those disparate people together in unity in Christ. Jesus came into a world of rich and poor, slaves and free, marginalised, outcasts, knowledgeable and ignorant, seekers and uninterested, demon-possessed, blind and paralysed, tax-collectors, prostitutes, Jews, Samaritans, Romans and Greeks, self-righteous and the worst of sinners, Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees, Essenes, Herodians and Zealots. He had the same essential message for everyone: “believe, repent and follow me if you want to have eternal life and avoid eternal destruction in hell!”

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3. “If you seek him he will let you find him.” 2 Chronicles 15:2. God said this to Jews but Jesus is seeking the lost, Luke 19:10, whether Jew or Gentile.

 

When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, Matthew 8:5-11

 

Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; and in his name the Gentiles will hope.” Matthew 12:15-21

 

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called

the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—

remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 2:11-22

 

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Colossians 3:9-11

 

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit were all involved in a united purpose in the creation of the universe, and they are all involved in a united purpose in the redemption of man and the building of the church to bring all nations together in preparation for eternal glory. The Father had known and planned everything before the foundation of the world. When Jesus came into the world he knew the task that lay before him, and the Spirit empowered him through his itinerary. Luke 4:14; Acts 10:38. In heaven as Lord of all, He sent the Spirit to continue his work throughout all nations. 1 Cor 12:13. What are you doing to bring Christ to all nations? Mt 28:19

– David Hunter