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Now comes the purposes of God. These can be extremely difficult6 for all peoples to understand. To most Jesus was just another criminal crucified by the Romans. Nothing was said that he was framed and put to death on the testimony of liars and cheats. But understood from Gods view we can understand what really happened. After all,all that counts is what God has to say on the matter. We have already seen that it was no chance,thats things hadn't gone awfully wrong and no God hadn't lost the plot in making Jesus the king of Israel.We can understand that many would have understood this to have happened. After all Isaiah 53 does say people esteemed Jesus as been stricken by God. Suffering in the purposes of God is one of the most difficult thing that people grapple with.
So what is happening here ? Is this really all doom and gloom? Is this the end game? One of the most important methods of interpretation is not to interpret the scripture apart from its context. If we do this we will lose the final chapter of Luke's primary meaning.That primary meaning being the fulfillment of Gods promises of rescue to mankind and to the nation of Israel.What we must not lose sight of is the promises of Israels restoration especially in Isaiah 50-53. It is here that we read that God himself will return to Zion and redeem Israel. Now obviously God came to them in a way they never expected. He came to them in the man Jesus Gods Christ as to his humanity. Nonetheless God visited Israel in Jesus Christ. When God returned to Israel who had wandered far from God, their sins would be forgiven and Israel would be restored because her sins had been forgiven. Now the clue to understanding this is to understand that national who God counts as Israel is not apart from faith in Jesus. If you miss this you will never understand this mystery.For the mystery is great but God in His goodness to us has revealed this mystery. Let him who has ears hear!!!!! The Israel who is restored is believing Israel. believing Israel were the first to take part in Gods promises of restoration afterward the the gentile believers were included into the commonwealth of Israel. All we need to do is read Ephesians 2 11-22 and Romans 11 to understand this. In Ephesians 2 :11 we see how the believing Jews and believing gentiles ar one together and together are Israel. Not ethnic Israel but the Israel of God. He reminds the gentiles of their former status as uncircumcised by those of the circumcision ie Jews. He tells to remember their former status, but they no longer hold that status because at that time they were formerly separated from Christ,excluded in citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of promise. The clear meaning is because we longer are separated from Christ we are no longer foreigners intwo senses. Firstly we are not excluded but included in citizenship in Israel ,that makes us citizens of Israel. Obviously not citizens in ethnic Israel but citizens in the true Israel whose citizens all have faith and have pledged allegiance in Israels King, Jesus Christ. Therefore in the newly constituted Israel ethnic Jew and gentile are both one and the same because of their faith in Christ. vs 14 tells us that since we have been brought near by the cross or sacrifice of Christ by his blood. vs 14 " For he himself is our peace who has made the two one. The two here are Jew and gentile.vs16..... His purpose was to create one new man or race out of the two. That new man is the true human race. These are of the promises of restoration made to Israel. God has restored them by the miraculous work of the new creation,by blotting their sins out and raising them from the death of sin into the newness of life which is the resurrection life.
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