The Crucified Messiah

The national sins of Israel culminated in her expulsion from the Land of Canaan. However, all was not lost. God foresaw her failure and determined to restore the nation by instituting His New Covenant that would include the nations of the Earth, the “ Gentiles .” Moreover, the New Creation would become the ultimate Promised Land and the true inheritance of His people.

Jesus charged his followers to announce his message to all nations, which he summarized as the “ Good News of the Kingdom of God .” Through him and his Assembly, the rule of God would be established but in unexpected ways. He will establish his sovereignty over the Earth and subdue the “ last enemy, death ,” by the time of his appearance “ on the clouds of Heaven .” His disciples must proclaim his Gospel to the “ uttermost parts of the Earth ” until that day.

The definitive “ Word ” that God has spoken “ in the Son ” surpasses all past revelations made in “ the prophets ,” including Moses, the Great Lawgiver. Jesus of Nazareth exceeded every one of his predecessors. He alone “ achieved the purification of sins ,” therefore, he “ sat down ” at the right hand of God and inherited “ all things .” Moreover, his exaltation signaled the commencement of the “ New Covenant .”

The covenant of Abraham is foundational to the biblical concept of redemption, including the promise that “ all the nations of the Earth would be blessed in Abraham .” The Patriarch would have innumerable descendants, but how and when would the covenant bless the nations? Who are his descendants, and who is the “Seed of Abraham” destined to inherit the promises?

Jesus is called the “ Ruler of the Kings of the Earth ” in the present tense in the Book of Revelation . His sovereignty is based on his past Death and Resurrection, not military conquest. Though at times the “ Kings of the Earth ” do Satan’s bidding, the slain “ Lamb ” even uses their plots to achieve his redemptive purposes for humanity.

The inability of men to recognize Jesus as the Son of God until after his crucifixion is a key theme of Mark , and the first man who identified him as such was the Roman centurion on duty during his execution. The self-identification of Jesus as the “ Son of Man ” who suffers for his people made him repugnant to unregenerate men and unrecognizable to Israel (“ His own received him not ”).