The Love of Jesus

In this Bible devotion,

we see Jesus

uniquely communicating love to all

who would find his "clever clues."

Clever Clues

“Four score and seven years ago
our fathers brought forth on this continent. . .”

Without any more information than that, most of you would recognize that this partial sentence is the beginning of the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln. In fact, if you gave most people only the first six words, they could name that document. Some people could name that document in two words.

Years ago, there was a game show called “Name that Tune”. That television show vividly proved that people could recognize a song from only a couple of notes.

Yes, we can name songs after hearing only a few notes, and we can name certain documents after hearing only a few words. The interesting thing is that Jesus knew this concept and he used this concept while he was on the earth.

In fact, as we see Jesus dying on the cross,

he uses this concept to communicate with the Jews.

When Jesus was on the cross, he said only seven things.

Each time he spoke, he was saying something important.

One of the things that Jesus said was,
“My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?”

Why did Jesus say that?

I believe that there were several reasons. I want to emphasize one of the reasons.

In the day in which Jesus lived, most of the Jews knew the Old Testament much better than most Christians do today. Just as we all know where the phrase, “Four score and seven years ago” comes from, most Jews would have been able to place the words, “My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?”

The Jews in the time of Jesus would recognize those words

as the first line of the 22nd Psalm.

Jesus knew that.

As Jesus was dying on the cross,

he wanted to direct people to that psalm.

If Jesus could get the Jews to reread Psalm 22 in the context of the cross, they would see the cross and the plan of salvation clearly shown.
(It had been in plain sight yet hidden since the time of David. )

God left many clues in the Old Testament. God wanted the Jewish people to find the clues and receive the Messiah when he came.

God wants all people to search for him and find him. *

God wants everyone to begin a never-ending love for His Scriptures. God has treasures hidden in His Word. We can look for a lifetime and never find them all.

~ ~ ~

In conclusion,
Jesus came to earth as a Jew. He has compassion for the Jewish people, and he wants them to recognize him as their Messiah. During his painful crucifixion, we see Jesus dying on the cross while referring to Psalm 22. One of the reasons that he does this is to uniquely communicate his love to the Jewish people and to all those who would find his “clever clues.”

* “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 KJV

Jesus dying on the cross for our sins is

such a beautiful picture of selfless love.

Copyright © 2000 Beth McLendon of Inspirational - Prayers.com

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