Or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith” (1Samuel 12:3)?

(…continues from part four…)

5)            A very powerful man of Israel, who had the highest offices of the Prophet, High priest, Judge and leader of his people, was definitely tempted to sell judgment and give undue favouritism, but he bluntly refused to get the ball dropped. When Israel desired a traditional king, Samuel asked to be tried if he had used his prophetic, sacerdotal, judicial or leadership official status for any illegality of his enrichment. 1Samuel 12:3 “Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? Or whose ass have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? And I will restore it you.” What was the people’s verdict? “And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man’s hand. 5) And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness” (1Samuel 12:4-5). God had seen the good heart of little Samuel before choosing him for the leadership administration of Israel.

Jesus at age twelve

                As He grew up, we do not see the Incarnation, in the Person of Jesus, running into any trouble. A mild drama took place at age twelve, when the agitated parents finally found Him in the Temple. He had every right to assume the avalanching awe of His Deity before them for throwing questions at Him. What does the Bible say? “And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart” (Luke 2:51). Hupotassō (hoop-ot-as’-so) is the Greek for ‘subject’, meaning: ‘to arrange under, to subordinate.’ The Creator of the universe, seeing Himself under a traditional parenting, placed Himself under their supervision. What a display of unprecedented humility the Lord Jesus exemplified!

Jesus was probed and remained His perfect Self (Luke 4:1-13).

                The enemy waited until He was about to commence His Ministry. Was the God-man exempted from probation? Luke 4:1 “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,” where the word ‘led’ is certainly not the connectivity impact of a baby’s dab at the back of the one’s neck. It is of the forcefulness of agō (ag’-o): ‘to lead by laying hold of; to lead away, to a court of justice, magistrate; to move, impel: of forces and influences on the mind.’ No dweller of terra firma lives on without being tried, the Incarnation of God inclusive. Luke 4:2 “Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.”

“…the chastisement of our peace was upon him”

                Let us do some exegetical exercise on the Man, Jesus. He started his life in the matrix of Mary, the wife of Joseph, as a Man of Adam. The theological ascendency of his relevance is the quiddity of his vessel serving as vehicular actuation of the Incarnation. Inside Jesus Christ is the duality of Jehovah and man. Now, if the humanity of the Christ, Jesus, had committed one smidgeon of a sin, the entire soteriological concept would have been awfully defeated, absolutely. As the Last Adam, Jesus never got tired of getting led by the omniscience of Christ in him for every step of earthly endeavours, the LORD of creation, and the Christ continued to expect him not to falter spiritually. For thirty-three years and six months of the Incarnational tread upon the terra firma, Jesus Christ lived to turn as many as would desire to partake in the celestial citizenry from the course of hellish destination of every sinner.

                In the wilderness, Lucifer failed to derail the course of the Last Adam.

                Then came the reason for His Incarnation as the prophet made it known in Isaiah chapter 53 verses 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 & 11. 3) “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4) Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5) But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 7) He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 9) And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10) Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11) He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” The excruciating actuality of the sanguineous Golgotha could not dent his probation. Hallelujah!

                Getting born again is a conscious effort on the part of an individual. Get born again. You were born in sin. Say this sinner’s prayer.

“Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and I receive Him now as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory. Amen!” 

(…to be concluded…)

Read part four here

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