Part 2 

God Promised Abraham  

     Some of our friends may be offended to read of Gentile believers in the same sentence with Abraham. 

     Old and New Testaments connect the dots. Our Creator began to draw the wicked world to himself beginning with Abraham's faith (not laws, which did not then exist). 

     Along the way, God spoke through Jewish prophets. Several prophesized about a Messiah yet to appear. Subtle verses in the prophets foretold that God's "solution" to sin was/is Himself, centuries before Bethlehem, virgin birth and all.  

     Two millennium after Abraham, while Israelites were under the Roman thumb, angels surprised Zechariah the priest, Joseph, and Mary, a virgin.

     Saying "nothing is impossible with God," they announced the coming Son of the Most High and what this would mean. Mary and Zechariah each were given a "song" by the Holy Spirit (Luke chapter 1). 

     God didn't make it easy for Joseph and Mary. They had to travel for days to Bethlehem, as Joseph had to register there and pay his taxes. There was no vacancy at the inn, so they camped in an animal stable, where the Son of the Most High was born.

     This wasn't - and still isn't - the way most Jewish faithful expect the Messiah to come. About age 30, Jesus, in his human body, began his ministry...teaching, healing and therefore upsetting the leaders. 

     With regular folks flocking to Jesus, for his miracles perhaps, Israel's leaders had enough (as God purposed). They urged the Roman governor to allow him crucified, just what the late Herod would have wanted.  

     On the cross, Jesus forgave them. His ultimate purpose was to die, suffering what all of us deserve for our iniquities. He was buried. That was Friday. Following the Sabbath, he appeared to his disciples with his eternal body, yet bearing the marks of crucifixion. The ultimate miracle? Only God.

     Decades later, his disciple John wrote: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."   

     The Messiah will come, returning to the mount where Jesus departed after 40 days of counseling his amazed disciples and several hundred others. Another miracle: the mount will split in two.  

Next: Truth can be difficult