Why Jesus is a Better Saviour
Was Esther always a Godly woman? This a question that has caused much debate, but from what we can read in the story, she seems to be, largely, very normal.
She’s your typical young lady at this stage, complicated, layered, and inconsistent. Esther is a Jew who keeps her faith, if she has one, private, and doesn’t stand up for any convictions she may or may not have.
She will, one day, be Godly. She will have faith, conviction and courage. But here, she seems a long way from God. Ultimately, she can be seen as a type of Jesus, a portrait, a picture that points to him. But she’s not Jesus.
Like Esther, Jesus was a Jew from a long line of God’s people. Like Esther, he grew up far from home in a sinful world of temptation and compromise.
Like Esther, Jesus’ identity wasn’t known when he was young. Like Esther, his was adopted by an earthly father and grew up in humble circumstances. And like Esther, Jesus was an unlikely candidate for royalty.
Like Esther, Jesus stood up agains evil rulers to save his people from certain death.
But Jesus is a far better saviour! He didn’t save our lives for a time, he saved our souls for all eternity.
Esther, like us, was compromised and conflicted. Jesus, though, was the perfect Son of God and he was the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Faith in Him brings us into His Kingdom, which is so much greater than Xerxes’.
Is Jesus your saviour? Would you like Him to be? Would you like to be in His Kingdom with Him as king? In His Kingdom you will be treated with love, dignity, grace and affection, kindness and gentleness.
Do we as His people reflect these attributes to the world? May we step up, may we be the people we’re called to be!
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[Excerpt from the third week of our series on Esther: The King’s Queen. You can find the sermon HERE]
