December 8
Romans 9:33 makes a clear point that lends itself to a vivid analogy. It says, “I am putting a stone in Zion to stumble over and a rock to trip over, yet the one who believes on Him will not be put to shame.” The Jews had an expectation of their Messiah. He would be a conqueror.
Jesus, humble and mild did not fit the bill. They could not reconcile the concept of the “Suffering Messiah” of Isaiah 53 with their anticipation of the Liberator who would set them free from the yoke of their harsh Roman masters. So, they stumbled, and in their stumbling, the plan of salvation was opened to the gentiles.
What could have been a devastating end became a new beginning. What was a stumbling block to God’s chosen people became a stepping stone to the rest of the world’s people! We who would have been left out entirely if the Jews had simply recognized and embraced their Messiah when He came, now have a future and a hope; we, too can be co-heirs with Christ of Heaven’s riches.
Yet, as Paul says in Romans 11:8-23, the Jews have not fallen that they may be lost. No! Though a somnolence has fallen over them for a season, they will be re-gathered into the fold of faith. Indeed, in these last days we see a mighty move of the Spirit of the Living God sweeping over His ancient people, awakening them to the reality that Jesus is the One for whom they have waited.
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