Hearing and Seeing

     The book of Hebrews was written primarily to the Jewish Christians. It summarizes the shift in God’s mystery-plan from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” (Heb. 1:1-4).
            As we’ve seen in this series so far, the plan was spoken in times past through the prophets. But it was not seen fully. Even though covenants were common in ancient times and their significance was understood, the Jews did not stay true to the covenant. Let’s face it. No fallen human could. Which, of course, God knew before He even called Creation into being. That is why immediately after Adam and Eve’s disobedience, God spoke forth the coming of the Seed.
          Now, after 4,000 years or four great Days, Jesus would come into our human world, just as Daniel foretold. God’s Son would minister for 3½ years before being cut-off mid-week. His earthly ministry would encompass the first half of Daniel’s 70th Week. It would bring a restful end to the sacrifices and cut a new covenant that would prevail for many.
          The incarnate Christ—God in the flesh—would reveal the glory of the Father (Col. 1:15). He would show the people God’s heart and nature. Signs and wonders of healing and deliverance from the evil forces would confirm the truth’s Jesus taught, as well as the fact that He was the Anointed One.
      What the people didn’t quite grasp yet was that the great Physician came to heal more than their physical bodies. He came to give them hearts of flesh—softened hearts instead of their usual hard hearts. He came to give them a new spirit that would reconnect them back to God. That reborn spirit could then transform their soul.
       Jesus often spoke in parables, partly to paint a picture of the spiritual truths He was teaching. But it was also meant to change their focus. He wanted them to not only hear the words, but also have that aha-moment of seeing how those truths could change their lives and lifestyle. That is why He prayed that they would have ears to hear and eyes to see. He wanted them to pursue Him and search out the deeper truth.
          Unfortunately, the physical eyes of the Jews were focused on the Romans who were oppressing them. Remember Nebuchadnezzar’s statue of the times of the Gentiles? Jesus was birthed into the time shown by the lower torso, before the Roman Empire divided into the two legs. This focus on their physical circumstances was understandable. They were suffering greatly. Corruption was everywhere.
        To make matters worse, their spiritual eyes were focused on trying to fulfill every element of the Law. But that wasn’t all. The spiritual leaders had added many, many regulations in order to follow the Law in minute detail. It sapped their spirits. Legalism always does.
         No wonder the Jewish people were looking for a deliverer as in the time of the Judges. They wanted someone to judge the Roman oppressors and drive them out of their land. They were looking for a military-minded king. As much as they appreciated the miracles, they wanted Jesus to get on with the task at hand.
          The Chronos Lesson: In this series we have only pointed out the primary touch points of the mystery-plan so that you could see the power and surety of the plan. There’s so much more we could examine. Hopefully, as you have read these highlights, you also have had that aha-moment of seeing with the eyes of your understanding.
       Sometimes, though, that moment can elude us because our eyes, like those of the Jews in Jesus’ time, are focused on our immediate circumstances. Or our eyes are looking for what we expect to happen and the way we want events to unfold. For the Jews, this state of affairs led to the majority of them missing the time of their visitation. Because they were looking for a deliverer to liberate them, they didn’t have eyes to see the One who would deliver them from a more sinister fate—bondage to sin and the wages of sin, which is death.
           In Romans 7:6, the apostle Paul describes this pivotal shift in the plan. “But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.” He goes on to describe every person’s struggle to do what they know to do, but don’t.  If it weren’t for the “newness of the Spirit”—the possibility of receiving a new spirit by grace—our situation would be hopeless.
         Paul’s teaching continues in Romans 8:1-2 with the good news of the Gospel of Christ. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
        In short, we can “go on to perfection [through Christ’s perfection], not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works [the Law and legalism] and of faith toward God” (Heb. 6:1).
          “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8)!