A Journey Through the Bible, Part 25

Old Testament

Genesis 49 and 50

Genesis 49:10—“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.” It is important to realize that Old Testament prophecies must be viewed through New Testament lenses. That sounds simple enough, but that’s because we have the completed Bible and can do that. But verses like Genesis 49:10 were probably not recognized, at the time of writing, or for long after, as Messianic in nature. Indeed, most of the “Messianic” passages we have studied (e.g., Genesis 3:15, 9:26, 12:1-3, etc.) can only be understood by studying them through the interpretation of the Holy Spirit as given through Jesus and His apostles. We know now that “Shiloh” (“peace bringer”) came from the tribe of Judah, the tribe from which the house of David descended (the “scepter”, i.e, kings came from Judah). Jesus, of course, was a descendent of Judah as well. So this verse gives us one more name to add to the Messianic tree: Adam-Seth-Noah-Shem-Arphaxad-Abraham-Isaac-Jacob-Judah, and if the reader recalls the strange story in Genesis 38, the birth of Judah’s son, Perez. Genesis is a marvelously unified book and only the blindness of crazed skepticism refuses to see it.

Genesis 50:25—“Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, "'God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.'" The great faith of Joseph. Here was his whole family in Egypt, and a small number at that. Only 75 came from Canaan to settle in Egypt; who was to know if that number would multiply or die out? But Joseph believed. His father Jacob had told him that God had promised the land of Canaan to the descendents of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So Joseph tells his brothers at his death, “When you go back to Canaan, take me with you.” Joseph probably well understood that it wouldn’t be his 11 brothers who did it; he is simply speaking this for posterity’s sake. It would be almost 300 years before Joseph did indeed return to the land of Canaan. But he knew, because of the promise of God, that Israel’s people would go back. This is a wonderful example of faith in the promises of the Lord. How many of us know where our descendents will be 300 years from now?

New Testament

Matthew 27 and 28

Matthew 27:25—“And all the people answered and said, ‘His blood be on us and on our children.’" In spite of all modern attempts to exonerate the Jews from killing Jesus, it cannot be done. Here, from their own lips, they claim the deed. Peter will accuse them of it in Acts 2:23, “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death,” and they didn’t deny it, many of them repented of it. Indeed, the Jews could not have killed Jesus without the acquiescence of the Romans; that’s what the six trials of Christ were all about. But the Romans had no reason to execute Christ and no doubt would not have done so without the insistence of the Jewish leaders. Pontius Pilate was simply trying to keep the peace. The fact that the Jews were the instigators of the death of Christ is no excuse, of course, for persecuting them. Such has been done down through the centuries by so-called “Christians,” and it has besmirched the religion of Jesus. The Lord wanted to convert the Jews, not persecute and kill them. True Christians will never persecute anyone, period.

Matthew 28:11—“Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.” This refers to the resurrection of Christ. The chief priests then bought off the guards with money. What we see here is the incredible intransigence of these Jewish leaders. What did Christ have to do to convince these people? Well, there wasn’t anything He could, that’s the point. Some people are so hard-hearted, so close-minded, so stubbornly prejudiced and obstinate that no amount of evidence will persuade them. Folks, keep in mind that the rejection of Christ by humans is not because of a lack of evidence; there is plenty of evidence to prove to the honest heart Who He is. Rejection is based on an obduracy that will not believe, regardless of the testimony and proof presented. God does give us freedom of choice. He has not made the evidence so overwhelming that men cannot refuse it; if people want to find a reason to disbelieve, they can do so. But the facts and truth are there for those who will deal candidly with them.