For that reason—or at least in part for that reason—most of these scholars and many of the people in Judea and Galilee were blind to the Savior and the fulfillment of prophecy before their very eyes. That did not make the fulfillment any less real, it just meant that those people found themselves to the side or even hostile to its fulfillment.
All of us can be blind to the unfolding of great occurrences that happen in our own time and location, appreciating their significance, if at all, only from the distance and perspective of time. Then, our longing to have been a part cannot make up for the lost opportunity, often caused by our lack of sensitivity or distraction by things that mattered much less.
Some of these lost opportunities are painful to have missed, like the comet not seen, the speech by the great leader not heard, the perfect performance not witnessed. Others are more than painful, they are life changing: the love lost, the job that went to another, the child not born. These last may not meet mankind’s list of great moments, but they would rank high on a list of personal great events, events that poignantly matter.
The events involved with the ministry of Jesus Christ are a combination of both. They affect all of mankind as much as they powerfully change individual lives. The greatest episode of history—the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ—is also the most important for each of us personally. Surely for that reason, among others, the mortal ministry of the Christ and His return again to the earth have been foretold by prophets from the beginning of time. It was important to God and to us that we not miss them.
Consider first the many prophecies about the birth of the Savior, so that His advent to the earth should not be doubted beforehand and the fulfillment of those prophecies would help build faith in Him during His brief mortal ministry. As surely and completely as the prophecies of the birth were fulfilled so would be the prophecies of the Savior’s sacrifice and resurrection.
Next consider—just one rich example among many—the words of Isaiah found in Isaiah chapter 53. Here the prophet foretold, seven centuries before the happening, that the Messiah would be despised and rejected, acquainted with grief, that He would bear our griefs and sorrows—wounded and whipped for our transgressions, providing healing to us—that he would be led as a lamb to the slaughter, that He would speak not a word in reply to the mocking of the tormentors, that He would be judged and condemned without proper trial, executed among the wicked and buried in the tomb of the wealthy, that He would bear the iniquities and provide forgiveness to many.
As richly detailed as are Isaiah’s prophecies of the mortal and atoning ministry of Jesus Christ, they are matched by his predictions of the latter days and second coming of the Savior. Just as sure as the first happened—as completely as foretold—we can be confident that all prophesied about the second coming will evolve as foretold. If we heed the words of the prophets of God and prepare we will not miss them. Rather, we will rejoice in the richness of the unfolding and be waiting and glad when Christ returns, when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess Jesus as Savior and King.
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud. . . . In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. (Isaiah 54:1, 14)
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20)
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