On the Road to Jerusalem: Desired

“Then turning to the disciples He said privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.’" —Luke 10:23-24

For millennia the Old Testament prophets longed to see the coming of Christ. The promise of His coming had been foretold in the Garden (Genesis 3:15), was rooted in Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), passed on to Isaac (Genesis 21:12, 18; 26:4), Jacob (Genesis 28:14), and Judah (Genesis 49:10), and then on to David (2 Samuel 7:13). There were hundreds of prophecies surrounding His coming and they were well known by Jews and Gentiles alike. The wise men from the east, who came from either Babylon or Persia after they saw His star appear in the sky, were undoubtedly familiar with the prophecy in Numbers 24:17, “a star shall come out of Jacob” which was widely known to be Messianic and was probably familiar to them because of their interaction with Jews during the Babylonian captivity (Matthew 2:2; cf. Numbers 24:17). Or consider the Samaritan woman in John 4 who displays a great familiarity with the prophecies surrounding the coming Messiah (John 4:25, 29). The prophecies surrounding Christ’s coming were well known in and outside Israel. Nevertheless, though widely known, the Old Testament prophets didn’t understand all that His coming entailed. They had snippets of prophecy and longed to understand when and how it would come to pass, as Peter explains:

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look”—1 Peter 1:10-12.

The prophets longed to understand our day, and how we would be beneficiaries of Christ’s saving work on the cross. God revealed to them that they were serving us by telling us who and what to look for so that we might respond properly. So amazing is the story of God’s salvation to us that angels long to understand it. Which is why Jesus could say to the disciples, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!” He knew the Old Testament prophets yearned for the day when they could see God’s salvation manifested to the world.

How about us? Has our salvation become commonplace to us, something that we take for granted? Have we failed to understand who God is and what He did in and through Christ? He gave Himself for us by paying the price that our sin deserved. May God give us a new awareness of His presence and what He did for us on the cross! May we desire Him more than anything this world ever could offer and “rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Peter 1:8) because we know that we are obtaining the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls! (cf. 1 Peter 1:9). Amen.