Day 29~ Heaven's Greatest Treasure

This time of Lent is a time of reflection and fasting, it is also a time when we commemerate the death and resurrection of our Lord; Jesus Christ. Now before we can really understand the significance of Jesus' sacrifice, we must first understand who Jesus really is.

The book of John gives us an idea as to Jesus' identity. John 1:1-3 "In the begining the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God. From the very begining the Word was with God. Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him." It continues in verse 10 "The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own country, but his own people did not recieve him and believe in him. Some however did recieve him and believe in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children." Verse 14 "The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he recieved as the Father's only son."

From those verses we can conclude that Jesus; who in this scripture is referred to as 'the Word', was with God since the creation of the world, so he didn't first exist as a human. He was with God since the creation of the world and he was sent into the world in order to save those that believe in him.

We must remember that Jesus came to start a revolution.
What was he rising up against? The devil.
Why? Because since the garden of Eden, there was a shift in power. The devil had the upper hand over us, over our lives because we succumbed  to sin. We were at odds with God because God is holy and only holy things may enter into his presence and thus God created the law; the ten commandments and of course the laws of Moses. If a person could keep the laws, they would be perfect and would be able to talk to God. However, we could not keep the laws of Moses thus, we couldn't be perfect so we needed someone who could and that person is of course Jesus. He was the only one that could fulfill the law because he was perfect.

Lots of things changed after Jesus came, he brought a new way of doing things and with him commenced the age of forgiveness. For example, we all know the story of the woman who committed adultry who was brought before Jesus. By the laws of Moses, this woman was to be stoned to death for her crime, however, when brought before Jesus he said; "He that is without sin, cast the first stone."

Jesus brought light into a world of darkness, truth into a world of lies. He brought change. Before, the penalty for sin was death, today we are blessed enough to say that the price has already been paid and through repentance we are forgiven and saved. 

So let's go back to when Jesus was a baby. Simeon made a prophecy which he told Mary, Jesus' mother;
Luke 2: 34-35, "This child is chosen by God for the destruction and the salvation of many in Israel. He will be a sign from God which many people will speak against and so reveal their secret thoughts. And sorrow, like a sharp sword, will break your heart."

He was telling her of Jesus' mission on Earth. His mission was to fulfill the law and through his fulfillment of the law we are no longer bound by the law but we are bound by grace. He fulfilled the law and by so doing redeemed us from it. The people spoke against him and he was crucified and Mary, his mother, witnessed it all. Hence the prophecy came to pass.

Now, Jesus is a sign from God and even today, many people speak against him because they don't have faith in God and also because they don't understand the significance of his sacrifice. They don't believe in our creator, however, they do believe in sin and sin is reason why the law was created. 

Now that Jesus has fulfilled the law, those that believe and those that come to believe in him can be saved.

So who is Jesus really? Our Savior? A King? The Prince of Peace? The light of the world? I think he's all of that and more because who else would sacrifce their own life to save ours if not the son of the Most High God?