Jesus is Lord | Part 1
“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”
Romans 10: 9
Our previous bible reflection has shown that for a mosaic law Jew to publicly confess Jesus as “the Lord'' the Adonai was perceived to amount to blasphemy; a cursed confession that could get anyone found guilty of it , killed or at least punishable by exclusion from your own family members. Because the confession of Jesus Christ meant to accept the divinity of the man called Jesus the messiah; Jesus himself did not shy away to prove that he is, in words and indeed the Adonai, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the promised messiah who according to the prophet Isaiah shall be called” Emmanuel” God is with us. It meant to agree with this very word of Jesus himself when he said” I and my Father are one” (John 10:30)
“Jesus is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15) - alleluia!
But it got worse, after being found to be a believer in Christ during the Roman era, the fiercest empire our world has ever known, was equal to being caught guilty of defiance or rebellion against the Caesar authority. This wasn’t just accepted as an innocent religious devotion but rather as a punishable act of rebellion; a sentence to die by the most cruel, merciless way of public execution ever invented by mankind, the Crucifixion.
Deeply aware by the fear of this reprisal, most people could not help but think on the same line as the jewish religious leaders that “If we allow him (Jesus) to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation” (John 11:48)
Therefore having faith or confessing your faith in Christ would go against the welfare of the jewish community; for the individual member who chose to embrace Christ, it was a mark of defiance. For anyone who dared acknowledge a king, another Lord, other than Caesar.
During Jesus’ mock trial; the crow chanted their opposition by saying to Pilate these words “If you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar” (john 19: 12)
The above context, both religious and political , are giving us a strong basis to say that making a public confession or declaring allegiance to Jesus was believed to be the most extraordinary, the most life frightening thing to do; a life altering and truly life changing decision!
Today we freely and openly confessed Jesus as our Lord, but what does this confession mean to us? What does a public demonstration of surrender, of faith to one king demand of you and me ? Are you a believer? Did you publicly confess Christ as your lord and saviour? or maybe you consider yourself as a “secret believer, a silence believer?
Let’s continue to deepen our reflection on the spiritual elements of this confession but also look into its implications for today's modern Christ follower.
Further readings: John 11:48; John 19:12; Colossians 1:15; John 10:30
