19/11/11

Jews are not His sheep for they do not know Christ

John 10:24 - Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.


We read in today's message the Jews surrounded Jesus from all sides and questioned Him about Him being the Christ.

Today many people who are not Christians also call Jesus as Christ and they really do not know the meaning of the word 'Christ'. I am not really surprised about them for even many Christians do not know the meaning when they call Jesus as the Christ.

We read in today's message the Jews knowing the meaning of the term 'the Christ' cornered Jesus to confirm if He was the one. The word Christ means 'anointed one' it refers to a person having the Spirit of God. Through Jesus we too received the Holy Spirit so we too become Christ but then we are not 'The Christ' for the term is used only for Jesus, on the other hand we are called Christians which means little Christ.

Here we see the Jews were not questioning Jesus about just being an anointed one but on being The Anointed One. For this we need to understand the difference between Jesus and us when we receive the Holy Spirit.

Jesus was God Who came as man, so as man He was 100percent man, made of flesh and blood like us. The difference between Him and us as human was firstly He was not born of a human father so had no curses or sins passed on to Him from His forefathers. Secondly He kept Himself free from any blemish, so was sinless.

Now the term Christ has nothing to do so much with the purity of the vessel bit with the Holy Spirit, the anointing. We need to when we believe in Jesus Christ we receive the promise of the Holy Spirit. The word means pledge and should be properly understood. In some translations it has been correctly translated as 'token'. When we buy a very large or expensive property which we cannot outright buy we give a small amount which is called a token amount or signing amount. Against this amount the property is called our property even though it is not fully ours.

When we believe in Jesus Christ we receive a token of the Holy Spirit paid by the sacrifice of the Holy Spirit. It is only when we grow in the Holy Spirit we receive more and more of Him. Jesus was / is the only human who had / has the Holy Spirit in full. Even though Jesus made available Holy Spirit in complete for us yet only when we become sons of God will we be full of the Holy Spirit like Him.

No human had more than a small fraction of the Holy Spirit even the Apostles were just going in the Holy Spirit. This we can confirm for Jesus said more of the Holy Spirit would be poured in the latter days.

There are cases where some people were said to be filled or overwhelmed like in the case of Mary the mother of Jesus. To understand this we need to take glasses of different sizes and fill them with water, now the glass of small size will overflow quicker. The water required to overflow the small glass is less than the water required to overflow the bigger glass.

If we are not spiritually mature then we cannot hold more of the Holy Spirit. We should also know that the Holy Spirit although being one is seven. We start with the Spirit of Truth and should grow more in all of the Spirit.

Coming to the Jews, even though they could see the Fruit of the Holy Spirit in Jesus yet they did not believe Him to be The Christ and behind this Jesus said the reason was because they were not His sheep. It is only the sheep of God who believe Jesus as being The Christ. So if you believe that indeed Jesus as not just a great Man of God, or a good man but as One with the whole of the Holy Spirit then you are a sheep of God.

I saw on a social site a post which stated that, in Pakistan a minister objected to the word Jesus Christ being written in text books and we can understand the reason why by today's message.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, You came as a example for us and in You we saw perfection in its fullness. You came as The Christ so that we can become little christs and grow to come to fullness in You. Holy Spirit, fill a thirst for more and more of You. Help us grow and mature in You so that be filled with more of You. Let people see You in us when they your Fruits in us...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scriptures ]
John 10:24-28
24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Acts 2:33 - Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this, which you now see and hear.

Ephesians 1:20-23
20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Colossians 1:12-20
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Luke 1:15,34,35
15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
34 And Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God.



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