THE SEED OF ABRAHAM

Acts 3:25-26 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant, which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy Seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

Peter, in explaining God's New Testament law of Christianity, told the Jewish multitudes that all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days (Acts 3:24). That is, God revealed the coming of the Messiah, as the Savior of the world, through His prophets in numbers too numerous to mention here. Many of those prophets could have been quoted by Peter, but instead, he reminds those gathered around him of the prophecy of Moses by quoting the essence of Deuteronomy 18:15-19. He told them, For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people (Acts 3:22-23).

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, there were many names and titles given to Jesus. He was the Son of God, the Messiah, and Christ the Savior. He was a Shepherd, a King, and a Priest. In the previous passage noted above, we find the prophecy of Moses referring to Jesus as a Prophet that would descend from the Jewish nation like unto me. How was Jesus, our Savior a prophet like Moses? They were alike in many ways. Both were called by God to usher in a dispensation of people - Moses revealed God's law in establishing the Jewish dispensation, and Jesus did so to establish the Christian dispensation. Both spoke directly with Almighty God. Both were rulers over God's chosen nation. Both became mediators between God and mankind. Both made known God's word to His people. But here we find a difference. The complete mystery of eternal salvation was not known by Moses or any other Old Testament character. It was revealed to the world only by Jesus Christ and, through the Holy Spirit of God, by His apostles.

After reminding the assembled Jewish multitude of these truths, Peter tells them that ye are the children of the prophets. The nation of Israel - the Jewish people, were led by the teaching and guidance of these Old Testament prophets of God. Being followers of these prophets, they must also accept and believe their prophecy - the prophecy which revealed Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the promised Messiah. They were also well aware of the covenant, which God made with our fathers, that is, the promise God made to their ancestors. It was first given to Abraham and then to Isaac and Jacob. God's promise to them was that in thy Seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed (See Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14). This truth - that Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of this promise, Peter, and the other apostles, taught the Jewish nation. This truth they must accept and believe in order to receive the promised blessing of Abraham.

The promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was universal in its nature. There were no restrictions. It was extended to all people, both men and women of all nationalities. However as it unfolded and was made known, these truths were taught unto you first, that is unto the Jewish nation, as required by our Savior, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:47b). This was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost following the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of the Son of God back into Heaven from where He originally descended to earth, in the form of a human being, as the promised Messiah.

Jesus was raised up to be the Son of God; that is, God had a purpose for Him. The Son of God, Christ Jesus, was appointed by God to bring His plan of eternal salvation into the sinful world so that people of all nations could be cleansed from their sins, once and for all time, and be reconciled to our Creator, the God of all righteousness. The wonderful purpose of our Lord is stated here in the inspired writing of Luke: God sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. In Him, and only in Him, our Savior, Jesus Christ, the promised "Seed," the blessings of all the kindreds of the earth was fulfilled. Descending to the earth, Jesus brought with Him God's highest, and most precious blessing ever given to those created in His own image. He revealed a way in which every man and woman that ever lived on earth could be forgiven and turned away from his (or her) iniquities. Through Christ Jesus, the prophetic "Seed" of Abraham, God tells us to repent and be baptized ...in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). Amen!