Daughter of My People: Jesus' Jerusalem destroyed

Chapter Forty-Two

Pella

A.D. 75

The Christians at Pella are singing their hymns to Alaha. The Christians are mostly Jews by birth; they have, after all, run from Jerusalem when the first siege under Cestius Gallus broke apart.

They are grateful to have survived the ruin of Jerusalem. It started slowly, slowly,—starting from the death of the Messiah on the cross—getting there, getting there,—on through the deaths of the witnesses to Jesus, like Stephen and James the Just—speeding, speeding,—when the Jews rebel against the Romans and the Romans come back at them with an iron fist—highest speed, highest speed—the destruction of Jerusalem and Temple.

They can only say:

Praise be to Jesus.

Indeed, no one else but the Son of Alaha should be praised.

Now they bear to mind the narrative when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonian king. That was centuries ago, but they believe this will do them good.

All this trouble could have been avoided if the Jews did not reject God's way. God was long-suffering at them. He did not wish for their—or anyone's—destruction. They brought this upon themselves.

Here is a quote from the prophet Jeremiah, for they are reading the scroll:

"Oh, that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!"[Jeremiah 9:1]

So many lives lost or ruined. It is unknown what happened to many people.

But the Christians in Pella—and those around the known world—will move on. Now they are the new Israel. They have the Old Testament to warn them of the failures of the Jews, for them not to repeat the sad and fatal mistakes of the Jews.

The apostle Peter had written to some Christians while in Rome. He spoke of the disbelieving Jews: "They stumble because they are disobedient to the word, to which also they were appointed."

But he wrote of the Christians: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for Theos's own possession, so that you may declare the goodness of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. In times past, you were not a people, but now you are the people of Theos. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy"[1 Peter 2:7-10]—mercy because they receive forgiveness from their sins by means of the death of Jesus.

But this is only the beginning of their salvation.

They now reflect on how God and the prophets described Jerusalem.

Daughter of my people...