“Lord Jesus, teach us to walk by faith in You. In Your name, we pray. Amen.”
Acts 3:17-18 “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. (18) But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.
The Jews killed the Prince of life in ignorance and we have understood what it means. Yet, why should there be ignorance? The Jews were familiar with the Scriptures. How could they have done such an evil act?
Apostle Paul answers this question for us. I Timothy 1:13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
Ignorance stems from unbelief. The human mind tells us that we must first understand before we can believe. God, first wants us to believe and obey Him, when we do so, understanding will follow.
Here are a couple of examples from the Old Testament.
Genesis 16:1-3 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. (2) So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. (3) Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.
Abraham and Sarah worked out their own plan of action and we know the consequence. Every time, we do not trust God but work out our life, with our own understanding, we will face serious, long-term, painful, repercussions.
The Israelites were not willing to believe Moses, the man of God and they worked out their own ways.
Exodus 32:1-7 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” (2) And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” (3) So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. (4) And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” (5) So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.” (6) Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. (7) And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.
Dreadful outcomes will result when we do not believe in God.
Since the Jews did not live their lives on the basis of their faith in God’s word, they killed the Prince of life. It was unbelief that led to ignorance.
Why was the Lord teaching the people through parables?
Matthew 13:10-16 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” (11) He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. (12) For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. (13) Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. (14) And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘HEARING YOU WILL HEAR AND SHALL NOT UNDERSTAND, AND SEEING YOU WILL SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE; (15) FOR THE HEARTS OF THIS PEOPLE HAVE GROWN DULL. THEIR EARS ARE HARD OF HEARING, AND THEIR EYES THEY HAVE CLOSED, LEST THEY SHOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, LEST THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEARTS AND TURN, SO THAT I SHOULD HEAL THEM.’ (16) But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;
The Lord wanted the people to place their faith in Him. His method of teaching through parables was to cause faith to be born in them. He longed for them to have the heart to seek to know the truth.
The danger with unbelief is that we can keep hearing the Scriptures but it will have no effect on us and on the lives that we live. But when we come to God in faith/obedience, then the Scriptures begin to heal us.
Hebrews 3:12-13 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; (13) but exhort one another daily, while it is called “TODAY,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
May we always walk by faith in God.