They Looked The Other Way

Isaiah 44:6
The Lord, Not Idols
“This is what the Lord says—
Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.

As believers we are challenged to live a life dedicated to the Lord, we see throughout the rich biblical history that God has told us that there will be a sacrificial lamb that he will send as a redeemer for all of us. But little did the people of Israel know that their salvation was about to come into the world but they couldn’t see it because he came in the most humble way. Jesus was not born into nobility, (they were blinded by their own earthly desires) but in a humble setting, not of any royal means, surrounded by his parents, shepherds and stable animals. But by pride and selfish ambition, Herod, the king of Israel was convinced this new born baby was going to take His crown, so he had all the new born to two year olds killed, Jesus was saved by His Father and little did they know this was God’s salvation plan, he was getting the world prepared for the promised redeemer. Sadly, they loved the world more than God and so their spiritual eyes could not see love coming into the world. So they looked the other way.
Isaiah 49:7
This is what the Lord says—the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers:
“Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

When Jesus started his ministry his own people whom had spoken and taught the Torah to him in the temple, taught him the ways of His Father and the words of the prophets. So Jesus spent thirty years studying scripture, laws and obedience and there was no sin in him, perfect in every way as he getting ready to fulfill the scriptures, sadly, people had turned away from him, not hearing his words, or really knowing what God said about sending a sacrifice to save them from their sins and put that salvation plan in place. But pride covered their eyes, they considered him a threat, but Jesus had no fear of them or what they could do to him, he was mission minded and ambitious to please His Father. In the gospels we read that God even vocalized that Jesus is His Son (Matthew 3:17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”) but the Leaders of religious law did not like him and thought he was disrupting their plans for a peaceful Israel, instead of reading the scriptures that pointed to who the redeemer would be they held on to their laws so tightly that the things of the world were more to them than listening to God, so they looked the other way,

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Some Jews and people at the time Jesus was in his ministry thought he was a prophet, teacher or rebel but certainly not the chosen Messiah. They saw his healing and witnessed his miracles yet they only saw him as someone that was not sent by God. But Jesus knew each heart, he had deep compassion on their unbelief and hardened hearts, sadly the many who opposed him will not see the Father and did not believe what he said was true. They did not see God, they saw their own defeat and didn’t recognize it. They looked the other way.

Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”

The Jews following the law could not hear the words of Jesus, the promise from God to Abraham was to his seed (Galatians 3:16 the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.) The law is not based on faith, the Religious Leaders did not understand that the inheritance was Jesus, he is the promise. By faith in him and through his sacrificed, new covenant binding blood, that the law was over ruled; Galatians 3:14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. We are given this promise so that we are no longer under the supervision of the law. Galatians 3:29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
But the Religious leaders turned away when Jesus addressed them in front of the crowds, his words were like knives to them, each word convicting their religious demands. And still, they looked the other way.

How do we reflect Jesus in our life towards others? Do we follow the church standards for living or follow Christ in what he did for us at the cross, do we see the redemption of his blood and breaking the bonds of the laws we set up for living? Are we setting our own pace and not the pace that God wants us to, which is his will for us. Are we obeying the world’s walk of sin or the one who took the sin away? Are we looking the other way?
Nancy Sabato