Once to Every Man and Nation

Wow!

I strongly recommend this album to every single Christian out there. It has been so powerful and really touched me when I heard through both albums. Its is kinda like a narration of a play. And I really really thank God for giving me the time to jus relax and listen to that album, and for His Spirit working in my heart. Every phrase accompanied and supported by His Holy Word, indeed I see how God's word discern and pierce through my heart.

The plot and the storyline is beautifully written and drawned. Its mainly about Judaism and Christianity. About how Christ IS the prophesized Messiah of the Old. "The New contained in the Old. And the Old explained in the New." A quote from one of the great men of God. Actually there is alot to say about it, cause its really so interesting. And after listening to the full album, I really have a whole new view of my Savior, Jesus Christ who is our True Messiah!

The storyline actually goes like this:

There is this man who was born in Austria, a Jew by accident, American by choice, Christian by the grace of God and Baptist by conviction. And his name was called Jacob (Ya`aqob). It started of when he just finished preaching in a conference and he noticed this young man called David who had attended the conference everyday since it started but seemed disquieted in his soul. Then Jacob talked to him the next day about his problem, and found it similar to what he had faced before so he related his experience with him. First we must understand that for a Jew to be a Christian, to the Jews they are called traitors, because they orthodox Jews do not see Jesus as their Messiah. Hence by putting their faith in a "false" Messiah, Christian Jews were deemed as traitors. So, David realized that Jesus was indeed, their prophesized Messiah but was afraid to pronounce Him Savior because his family were mainly Jews and his parents were strongly against Christians. And Jacob, had a similar experience before when he was young, so he begin relating his life story to David.

Where is Messiah?

Well, a little background information would do good to understand this plot better. Orthodox Jews do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah prophesized in the old and they are still awaiting for their Savior to come to them, even now! And I really like to think about how and what the Jews in the past felt, and by putting myself in their shoes I see and understand better. Right from the start, ever since God has promised the children of Israel their Messiah who will come to them and save them, I believe the Jews had this idea that the Messiah was to come as a King and mighty Conqueror with an army strong enough to deliver them from captivity. This was their idea of their Messiah. And when Jesus came as a humble Servant and Teacher of truth and salvation, they shunned this Person as their Messiah because they didn't expect their not to save them from their captivity. And this is why the Jews hated our Savior and declared Him a "false" Messiah. This topic never fails to stir up lotsa interest within me. How I try to understand what the Jews felt when they realised their Messiah wasnt to save them from physical captivity, but from the captivity of sin. And to think the Jews now are still waiting for the coming of their Messiah.

Jacob related how he, when he was young was borned in a family who strictly followed Judiasm, with Zeph, Jacob's brother studying to be a Rabbi. And I realised that Judiasm follows strictly the laws of Moses, like how to eat, what to eat, Sabbath, etc. However an experience in a christian hospital aroused Jacob's interest to seek answers of the mysteries that had never been solved in Judiasm. Jacob sought answers about certain issues which I found very comforting to us, christians, and assuring. In the law of Moses, the Jews were to offer a blood sacrifice through the high priest, for the forgiveness of his sins and the sins of his own people in a temple in Israel. And there is a verse which says, "Without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission of sin." However, here lies the complication. The temple has been destroyed by the Romans in 70AD and since then, they never were able to offer this blood sacrifice. Interesting right? I mean, that makes us think whether it is still right to be cleansed by the offering of blood sacrifices. And to think they had not been offering it for 2000 years! This assuring thought that Jesus's shedding of blood IS the final sacrifice, and without it, there can be no remission of sin. How can everything happen to coincidentally? Its comforting and encouraging, to me, to know that with my Savior's sacrifice on the cross, there is no longer a need for any blood sacrifices, and salvation is no longer restricted to the Jews! Another interesting thing is that if idolatry commited by the children of Israel led to the Babylonian captivity for 70 years, what great sin has caused the Jews to be scattered and "cursed" for 2000 years? Yes- rejection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, aint it encouraging to know that we have placed our trust in the True Messiah?

Actually these things I never knew until I heard that album, so I found it really quite interesting. The Old Testament really has lots of interesting things, only I dare not venture into it yet. Haa. Anyway so Jacob sought permission to leave for America to find answers, but before leaving, his father requested that he make a visit to his scholarly brother Zeph, who had a bright future as chief rabbi in some european country, hoping that Zeph would help Jacob realise his error in thinking. However, little did he realised that Zeph had been converted! It was because he laid his hands on the gentile bible, and realised that this "book of sin" as the rabbis called it contained such words that sooth the minds of people and calls all to love each he or she makes contact with. He was amazed at how one Man had such power imparted to men, that cowards have become great men and men from different woks of lives has become strong and mighty men of the faith. And whats more, he realised that in every detail prophesized in the hebrew bible, was found fulfilled in that New Testament! And he spoke to Jacob about Jesus, but Jacob only refused to listen and left for America.

Jacob worked with his relative in some hat company and soon became weathly and prominent. And Zeph wrote many times to Jacob concerning Jesus and pleading Jacob to accept their Jesus as their Messiah. And not long after, Zeph left everything he had to come to America so that he could speak face to face with Jacob about Jesus. Wow. If you didnt know, Zeph has on the way to becoming Chief Rabbi in some European country, and was respectable amongst the Jews, but he chose to give up all that, for Christ. Indeed, I feel that for Christ, we christians really can give up anything for One who has given up His all for us. After much time Zeph finally managed to convince his brother to study the prophecies once again and see how miraculously they coincide and are fulfilled in the New, by Jesus. Zeph spoke about Isaiah 53 and it simply blessed my soul and touched me to hear what prophet Isaiah prophesized about our Christ.


Isaiah 53
The Sin-Bearing Messiah

Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked-- But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

He Was Wounded (see Isaiah 53)

And because of such a realization, Jacob was converted also! And he went on to Moody Bible Institution to study for missions. And he explained to David that there were times of joy with sowing and there were persecutions, be it bitten, spat, mocked, anything. But one incident he related really made me realised that yes, I will suffer persecutions and I want to suffer for Christ, for me, a servant is never greater than his Master. How his own mother refused to recieve him because he was a christian and Jacob faced the painful decision of choosing whether to grief and pain his poor mother's heart by following the Savior. and He made that painful choice. And the prayer he made was filled with much passion and dedication to our Lord.

Narration (fast foward to ending part)

"I have sworn to follow you anywhere my Lord, I have been bitten, spat upon, mocked, but to break my poor dear mother's heart, Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When Thou said, "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek." When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me. Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! Did you not endrue beating? Were you not spat upon? Did you not see a sword pierce into your own mother's heart when she watched you die with agony on the cross? Am I, your servant, greater than you, my Master? that I should shun the suffering that you endure? "

Am I Greater than my Master?

I believe that all who seek to follow our Savior faithfully, and walk in godliness, will suffer persecution, will suffer misery. Let us remind ourselves? Are we greater than our Master? That He should suffer and we not? Personally, I was really encouraged to the point of really saying to my Savior, "Let me suffer for Thee". somehow cannot imagine my Master going through so much pain, yet I a mere servant living in a life of comfort and luxury. Its just not right. Are we greater than our Master?

Jacob's father was later converted before he passed away. And David, after hearing Jacob's testimony was encouraged to accept Christ as His true Messiah too!

What can people do to you? - if you profess Jesus
If they laugh at you, you entertain them.
If they spit on you, take a bath
If they beat you, you will heal.
If your parents disinherit you, your heavenly Father owns even what they think they posses
If they kill you, you go to heaven.
What a deal! (:

Once to Every Man and Nation!