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The Mystery of Settlement on the Cross

Identifying The Messiah - Part 1 of 3

The cross is a tree of shame and disgrace. It also represents the point of where man crosses from trust in the physical to appreciate the existence of the celestial. When man chooses to accept the reality of God and to submit to God’s authority. The cross represents where one submits their smartness in exchange for supernatural guidance as a reward for salvation. Was the Carpenter’s Son on The Throne or The Tree of Shame?

We do not know the physical person of Jesus Christ until the book of Matthew introduces Him, and a dispensation, a new Testament, a new confession began among men. Truly, we have been expecting Him, all the prophets in the so-called Old Testament talked about Him, prophesized of His coming and His purpose. A gulf of about 400 years of prophetic silence engulfed the land until Jesus Christ broke the silence. From the confession of the Samaritan woman by the well, the expectation did not cease as even the learned Pharisees were confused (John 4: 25-26). Jesus dominates the entire Bible as the main character, and must remain our focus if we are to understand the whole message of God through the scriptures.

As I put the outlines of this article together, I constantly find myself on the outskirts of heaven being shown the indescribable immensity of the heavenlies. I do not comprehend what I see because the sound of worship overwhelms me, and it is all I could do, join in the worship. Meanwhile, I struggle with personal timelines and deadlines in the schedule of publishing. As I do that, I am told on several occasions that what I am embarking upon is beyond my ability to explain. I encourage everyone, especially Christians who read this piece to do it with a heart of worship to the Almighty God. I am convinced that there will be revelations that will be shared with you, making this a worthwhile project, and one which advances the gospel of Jesus Christ in new ways. I have specific instructions to invite adults, ‘adults’ to help us understand better what we are tinkering with. No theology will be too heavy for this because there are many things and specialties about this subject that we can never catch up with them all. Do not be shy to clarify my statements and/or historical claims as you contribute your comments. It is divine guidance and highly appreciated.

In the apparent era of silence between the Old Testament records and the revelation of the New Testament, it was not entirely quiet. While there appeared to be no prophets to lead the people, history was still being made. The exiles had returned from Babylon, and the Temple built as the main center of worship. Then, towns built their own synagogues recognizing the Temple at Jerusalem as the headquarters of religious activities. Governments changed as wars and squabbles were fought and squashed, the world was being prepared for the arrival of the Messiah. The Jews have mainly moved from captivity under the Babylonian, The Assyrian and the Persian governments and are now being ruled from Palestine by King Herod imposed from Rome.

In the same period, priests dominated leadership and, as the nation enlarged many new religious persuasions arose with their own cult leaders always submissive to the central authority of the Sanhedrin. There were the Pharisees (legalists who observed their religious obligation by the letter of the Torah), the Sadducees (who were essentially the liberals of the time, rational thinkers as we may simplify it), and the Scribes (teachers of religious laws under direct headship of the chief priests). Many who rose as prophets were found to be imposters. Hence, the famous counsel of Gamaliel in the Sanhedrin Council quoted in Acts 5:34-39 to the effect that Jesus be not put to death but be allowed to succeed or fizzle away in the like many before him becomes instructive. Fortunately, for us today, divine guidance made the Jews to agree with Gamaliel giving the Gentiles the opportunity to share in the grace of God prepared for before the beginning of time. Jesus has gone beyond the boundaries of Israel rather fizzling away. The whole world now looks up to Him for salvation.

So, Jesus is the Messiah, but how come? How do we know this? We know this from a volume of overwhelming circumstantial evidence that the fulfilment of several prophecies point to no one else other than Jesus Christ. We know this from direct evidence of His confession and the testimony of those who walked the streets with Him, including the research results of Saint Luke (Matthew 20:17-19; Luke 1:2-4; Acts 1:1-3). We also know this because the Holy Ghost continue to manifest His rulership even in modern time.

God Had It Set Up

Jesus was born during the reign of Herod The Great. Jesus was of the lineage of David, hence, a descendant of Jacob. Herod The Great ascended the throne after the demise of his father Herod Antipater, an Idumean, hence, an Edomite, that is, a descendant of Esau. The spiritual significance of Herod The Great’s killing of all the babies in Bethlehem with the aim of deleting the existence of Jesus is explained in our article titled – The Mystery of Rebecca’s Twins. Irrespective of the will of man, God’s agenda prevailed, and Jesus survived to carry out the painful mandate on the cross.

Apostle Paul let us into the explanation and meaning of so many prophecies that had marveled the world particularly, Old Testament prophets (Genesis 28:14; Isaiah 7:14; and almost every other prophet). Prophet Daniel in chapter 7: 13-14 said:

“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”

The journey from the cross is a revelation of the intersection for the Jews and the Gentiles. It remains the only symbol that unites all the nations of the earth including the empire of Rome. Paul tells us that upon his conversion God continued to reveal his true destiny in life to him through visions and dreams. It became Paul’s responsibility to explain to the whole world that God was interested in all of humanity irrespective of His special contract of the Jewish nation. This is what Paul decodes in Ephesians 3 and Colossians 1 to gentile communities.

Yet, we must pay attention to Ephesians 3: 4-6 and Colossians 1: 26-27.

“Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ); Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel” (Ephesians 3: 4-6, KJV).

“Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1: 26-27, KJV).

In other words, there remained through the ages a mystery that needed to be understood. The prophets recognized this but could not provide its meaning. Therefore, even though the visions troubled Ezekiel and Daniel the interpreter deeply, they did not know what to make of them. Our help comes from Apostle Paul who God chooses to provide the explanation, particularly about how non-Jews fit into God’s agenda in the fulness of time.

Therefore, God’s plan hidden in the mystery of end-time events includes salvation through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross for Jews and non-Jews. Hence, the cross denotes the point of cross-over of the covenant from just the direct descendants of Jacob but also for anyone who choose by adoption to become a joint-heir of the kingdom of God. We have some clarity into some of the clues in those prophetic visions that remained confusing before Paul’s time.

Further, Paul claims that “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law” (Galatians 4:4). The birth of the Messiah that the prophets foretold eventually happens according to God’s agenda. This marked another milestone in the move towards the new dispensation - the dispensation of grace in the preparation for the eternal reign of the Son of Man over the heavens and the earth (Luke 1:31-33; Colossians 1:17; 20).

The fact that a Galilean called Jesus Christ died on the cross has never been in question. It is historical. Why that man was crucified, what happened before and after his death has forever been the cause for debate aimed at diminishing his messianic claims. Our help comes from Paul’s explanation of the mystery of his own conversion, the events after his landmark conversion, his visions, and the manifestation of power in testimony to his calling.

Mystery of the Cross

A three-part discussion that reviews the significance of the cruxicifion in view of the spiritual gift of salvation within the prevailing political climate that the Jews found themselves and how that affects everyone else who is not a Jew.