Acts 3:24-26 (NIV)
“Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”
Jesus wasn’t someone who just happened onto the scene. After the prophecies in the books of Moses, He had been foretold from the days of Samuel by many of the prophets whose writings were preserved in the Scriptures. His coming, His actions, even His sacrificial death and resurrection were all part of God’s plan, and He let people know ahead of time what would happen in detail so that they would be ready.
A key prophecy from Genesis, one of Moses’ books, was God’s promise to Abraham: “Through your offspring, all peoples on earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 22:18 and 26:4) This indicated two things about God’s plan. First, that God would grow the descendants of Abraham into a great nation. Second, that Gods’ plan was to use that nation to bless all the peoples on earth. The blessings He would send to them were not theirs to keep, but to share, and to use to spread the knowledge of God throughout the earth.
This massive vision was also spoken about through Isaiah (49:6 NIV) “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
But the people who would bless the world first had to receive the blessing. So, Jesus was sent first to the Jewish people. Indeed, He was one of them. And, after His resurrection, Jesus was revealed first to the Jewish people. It was them that He had come to initially, to turn them from their wicked ways, to lead them to repentance, and to grant them eternal life. Then they were to take all that He had given them and take that light and life out into the world of the gentiles, to bring them into the kingdom of God as well.
Father, Yours was and is an amazing plan. It was two thousand years in the works between your promise to Abraham and its fulfillment in Jesus. But at each step of the way essential work was done, as is attested to in Your word. And not only were those first Christians part of Your plan to save the world, so are we! But we must first draw near to You, repent and receive eternal life, so that we have a blessing to share with those who are still in the dark. Draw us near, Lord, and then send us out to share! Amen.
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