BY HUMPHREY MTANDWA
Zealots were members of a fanatic Jewish sect known for their uncompromising opposition against Roman pagan cultures.
The Zealots were an aggressive and violent group. The Oxford dictionary says “A Zealot is a person who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their religious, political, or other ideals”. John 1:11 says “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” The Zealots missed Jesus because they were expecting a political leader who would free them from the tyrannical rule of the Romans.
They were so focused on their interpretation of the word that they missed Jesus.
The Zealots had read the scrolls and the scrolls promised them a Saviour but yet when the Saviour came he did not act in the way they had assumed he would act.
If Jesus had chosen to become who they wanted him to be they would have killed in support of him but he came with a message they did not agree with.
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They wanted a military leader and Jesus came preaching about loving your enemies.
Religion has the potential to blind an individual from the truth. Many have died for their religious beliefs that are based on man’s interpretation of God’s word.
In 1978 a preacher called Jim Jones lead hundreds of his followers to mass murder-suicide. The bible speaks of a group of individuals called the Berean Church who after a person had preached would go and review everything he said.
If only those that followed Jim Jones had that attitude over 900 people would not have lost their lives. Jesus did not come to establish a religion he came to reconcile man back to God. But many people come into the church in order to bind the church with religious chains.
The Zealots even after Jesus had come still waited for the Saviour to come. The Zealots killed because in their mind they thought they were doing the right thing.
Adam because of Sin brought corruption and Jesus came to correct that. Our focus should not be on building churches but on building people. We only build churches so that it’s easier to build the people.
We have focused on building the church that we have neglected God’s people. In the days of Jesus they were so many religious groups but those groups where the ones that persecuted him. We as the church are waiting for the return of Jesus but we can miss his return if we become religious. In the time of Jesus those that had preached about his coming are the ones that killed him.
Religion is what also pushed the church to accept a life of poverty with the view that our focus should only be on heaven. I have read about doctrines that push man to commit suicide because of a promise of a better life in heaven or paradise.
The benefits of the cross are not only for separation for heaven but even in our daily lives we should manifest what he came to do. Jesus came to give us life. It’s time to shack of the chains of religion and begin to experience what Jesus came to do. Many have sight but so many lack insight. The bible says seeing they see not. I pray that your blinders are removed and you embrace the life Jesus came to give unto us.
God bless you.
- Humphrey Mtandwa is an anointed minister of the gospel and teacher of the Word based in South Africa. He has written several books including The Enoch Generation, Truthfulness and Theophany. He blogs at mtandwa.blogspot.com and can be contacted via e-mail or WhatsApp on +27 610286350.