1:6 ¶ When they therefore
were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time
restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the
seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the
Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of
the earth. 9 And when he had spoken
these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out
of their sight. 10 And while they looked
stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white
apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of
Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up
from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into
heaven.
One of the common
errors of Evangelical Protestantism and Fundamentalism is the belief that the
Old Testament Jews were looking forward to the Cross as we look backward to it.
It is clear, though, from reading the Bible in context that the Jews did not
understand the suffering of their Messiah and knew nothing about the Cross at
all.
Luke 1:74 That he would
grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might
serve him without fear,
Luke 1:74 shows that there was an expectation that
Christ the Messiah would restore Israel and deliver it from Roman occupation.
This expectation persisted even after Christ’s resurrection as shown here in
Acts.
This shows how the Fundamentalist doctrine that in the
Old Testament the Jews were looking forward to the Cross is wrong. They did not
understand Isaiah 53. Their confusion persisted until an eleventh century rabbi
nicknamed Rashi developed the idea previously only mentioned by a few that
rather than being about a singular man the chapters in Isaiah about the Messiah
were actually about the suffering Jewish people as a group thereby totally
confusing the Jews with regard to Christ.
Jesus’ Jewish followers literally had no clue what He
was talking about when He referred to His impending agony on the Cross or
understood anything about His Resurrection.
Matthew 16:21 ¶ From that
time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto
Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes,
and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him,
saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee
behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the
things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Mark 9:9 And as they came
down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what
things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. 10 And they kept that saying with themselves,
questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean…31 For he
taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the
hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall
rise the third day. 32
But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.
Luke 18:31 ¶ Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto
them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the
prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. 32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles,
and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: 33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the
third day he shall rise again. 34 And
they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them,
neither knew they the things which were spoken.
John 20:9 For as yet they
knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
The Jews, even Christ’s
followers, were expecting Him to restore Israel to its former glory. But, He
makes it clear that this information is not for them, or us.
Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong
unto the LORD our God: but those things
which are revealed belong
unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
We understand prophecy and
the future only in a limited way but we are given it for a reason. Perhaps, as
Jesus told the Apostles;
John 16:4 But these things
have I told you, that when
the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said
not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
In verse 8 He tells
them what is going to happen in the immediate future and what they are to do.
Matthew 28:19 Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world. Amen.
Mark 16:15 And he said unto
them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Note verses 9 and 10. Luke
24 basically relates the same information as the account he wrote here.
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