2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days
he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
3explaining and proving that it was necessary
for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying,
“This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
Acts 17:2-3 (ESV) (emphasis mine)
Such a profound statement – “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” We may not recognize the power of such a sentence, but the first century Jews would have. You see, they were looking for “the Christ” to come. The word (or title) “Christ” means “the anointed one, the Messiah” and Jews had been looking for the coming of the Messiah for generations – centuries and centuries of generations! Their prophets had told over and over again that their Messiah would come and deliver them. Christ was the fulfillment of all they had been waiting for, all their ancestors had been waiting for.
When I came to know Jesus, I wasn’t looking for a Savior. I didn’t know I needed to be saved. I didn’t know, so I wasn’t expecting. The Jews were expecting – waiting in anticipation – for their Messiah – the One anointed by their God to save them. “This Jesus is the Christ,” Paul told them.
This Jesus, is not only the Messiah, He is your Messiah…If you will let Him be that for you. If you will recognize that you need a Savior – someone to pay the price for your sins – He will be your Messiah. He’s already paid the price, all that you must do is recognize it, accept it as payment for your sins and thank Him by giving Him your life. He bought it, after all, when He paid for your sins. Notice the phrase “accept it as payment for your sins” – it’s not just enough to objectively understand or intellectually believe the truth that Christ died for your sins, you must accept that payment wholeheartedly. It’s not enough for me to objectively understand how an airplane flies through the air (something called the Bernoulli Principle I believe) if I want to go from New York to San Francisco in a few hours – I must wholeheartedly believe it and get on the plane, forsaking all other options. Accepting Christ’s payment for your sins is like that – you must get on the plane by inviting Him into your life. This is done by a simple prayer – something like “Lord, I believe you died for my sins. Forgive me – I’m sorry. Come into my life and help me to live for You.”
“This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” Get to know Him today.
For more on our sin, God’s grace and accepting Christ’s payment for your sin, check out this blog titled “The Gift of Life.”
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