The prophet Ezekiel, successor to the prophet Jeremiah, foretells of a time when the Lord’s people will be regathered from the nations of the world and placed back into their own land. Hardened hearts of unbelief will be replaced by softened, faithful hearts of flesh. At that time, God will no longer reside in buildings or temples, but His Spirit will live in the hearts of all believers, worldwide.
24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:24-27 (NIV)
This cleansing and forgiveness of sins will come through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary and His resurrection from the dead on the third day. As Jesus taught at His Last Supper Passover meal with His disciples, these all-important events would begin a new and better covenant between God and His people. Through this new covenant agreement, eternal life becomes available to all who would receive it to embrace Jesus in faith, thus receiving His Holy Spirit in their hearts.
The prophet Jeremiah also referenced this new covenant.
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 … “For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.” Jeremiah 31:31,33,34b (NIV)
Jesus Christ came as Messiah and King in the line of David, living a sinless life to fulfill the law of Moses for each one of us, as we are unable to successfully fulfill the law on our own. After His three-year ministry of teaching, healing, and performing miraculous signs, Jesus was betrayed by one of His own followers, Judas Iscariot, then turned over to the Romans by the religious leaders of that day to be beaten and crucified. But in dying, Jesus atoned for all of our sins and shortcomings, and by rising from the dead, He led the way for all believers into an eternal, joyful life of awe and wonder in His presence.
The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that Jesus was seen by over five hundred of His followers after He rose from the dead. Following three days of intense grief after His death, His disciples were overjoyed to see Jesus alive again, with a new and glorified body. They then began to wonder among themselves if the time had now come for Him to reign as King over the Roman Empire and the entire world, as the prophets had foretold. The Messiah was here among them now, with so many prophecies about His coming kingdom yet to be fulfilled. This seemed like the perfect time for Jesus to step up to take the earthly throne. They would present this question to Him the next time they were together.
Forty days after the resurrection, 120 of Jesus’ disciples were gathered in Jerusalem to continue to receive Jesus’ ministry instructions. He had been teaching them about the coming kingdom, and their role in preparing for it.
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Acts 1:6 (NIV)
Jesus answered that the time of His coming to reign on a global throne was in the Father’s hands, and was not something they needed to be concerned with. Instead, He told them to wait together in Jerusalem and to pray, for in not many days, they would receive new power from God to help them spread the good news of the kingdom throughout the entire world. Then Jesus ascended into heaven before their eyes. Two angels were suddenly there to tell them that, one day, Jesus will return to earth in the same way that He had just left them, in the air.
Ten days after Jesus’ ascension, the Holy Spirit was given and distributed to believers, beginning with the 120 disciples gathered in Jerusalem, then to a very large crowd of worshipers faithfully assembled there to celebrate the feast of Pentecost. This feast had been established under the Old Testament law given to Moses, and all who were gathered there to celebrate it were being obedient to God’s law. These devout individuals were among the first to receive God’s Holy Spirit, the first fruits of the universal Church of Jesus Christ. God’s new and better covenant had finally begun in earnest.
Reflection
When old ways do not succeed, a new and better method is often required. God had kept His part of the old covenant, but people were unable to hold up their end due to sin, and something new and better was needed. In the new covenant of Jesus Christ, God is able to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. That is great and wonderful news for all who would reach out to Jesus to participate in His generous offer of grace, forgiveness, mercy, and eternal life. Let us all be there with Him when He comes in glory.
Father, thank You for the gift of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We lean upon You, totally dependent upon Your grace and mercy. Help us to reach out to take hold of this new and better covenant in Jesus. Hold onto us tightly and never let us go, keeping us close to You, now and forever. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Have a beautiful, blessed day in the Lord today.
Daily Meditations from the Genealogy of Jesus 