They desperately wanted the Messiah, but by their questions we see that their felt need of what they expected in a Messiah was different than what Jesus was bringing. The people asked,
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Acts 1:6
At the time the Romans occupied the land and let the Jewish people there. It has never gone well when two powers try to occupy the same plot of land.
What Israel wanted from a Messiah was a once and for all deliverance from occupying powers and a place to call home. That was their greatest felt need.
But their greatest felt need was not their greatest actual need. Their most important actual need was their need for deliverance from sin. And that is exactly why Jesus came.
His name would be called Jesus which means YAHWEH saves, because he will save his people from their sin.
The people of Israel though they needed
- saving from Rome and other occupiers
- saving from suffering and hardship
- saving from everything and anything that caused pain and hardship
But God had a bigger picture. To save them from their sins.
Imagine for a moment that the Messiah’s main purpose was to save Israel from occupiers. Save and deliver her from suffering that so many of us face. And save us from life’s uncomfortable things.
But he didn’t save us from our sins.
That would be horrible. What would the point be? If we are only saved for this life but not for eternity, that would be horrible.
The people didn’t understand. But God did. He saw the bigger picture. He didn’t exactly give them what they wanted. He gave them what they needed. And that was far better.
I think life is like this even today. When we are in terrible suffering, we want God. Now. And we want him to deliver us from trouble and suffering. If he doesn’t, we become angry and bitter.
If we trust that God is love, then it means we also trust that he sees a much bigger picture than we do. He might not answer our prayers in the way that we want, but rather the way that we need. Something that is eternal. Something that is a blessing to the many and not just to the one.
That is trust. That is faith. It is easy to trust God when things are good. It is a different story when we suffer for a long time without our prayers answered for deliverance.
