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Page 4
2016 Worship Guide
December 7, 2016
A Lincoln Daily News Publication
A
Christian tells of attending a Jewish
Passover meal and seeing an empty
chair. He asked about it and was told “By
tradition we set a place for Elijah.”
For Jews, Elijah represents a longing for a
type of messiah they never got.
If you think about it, Elijah represents
what we think we want in a messiah, too.
Elijah solved problems: He provided a
starving widow with an endless supply of
oil and flour. When the widow’s son died,
Elijah promptly raised him from the dead.
Jesus did some of that, but he certainly
did not solve everybody’s problems, and
he doesn’t solve all our problems.
Another thing about Elijah is that nobody
messed with him. He had a terminator
side to him. The scraggly prophet strolled
into the city of Samaria and took on a
thousand prophets in their fancy white
robes. When a company of soldiers came
to arrest him, fire dropped from heaven to
incinerate them.
Not Jesus. When the powers strung him
up on a cross, he said, “Father, forgive
them.”
Elijah also gave absolute proof. On
Mount Carmel he outduel 850 pagan
priests. He showed without a doubt that
God is God. In contrast, Jesus declined
every opportunity to prove himself. He
said “a wicked and adulterous generation
looks for a miraculous sign.”
Finally, Elijah did not die. He was
whisked away into heaven on a chariot of
fire. Jesus died on a cross and cried “Eli,
Eli, Lama Sabachthani.” People thought
he was calling for Elijah’s help.
Elijah is what a lot of people want in a
Continue †
What would you expect
in a Messiah Savior?
Pastor Mark Weber ‑
Mount Pulaski Christian Church