The Peacemakers

Introduction:
It is good for us to remember that when our Lord made His entrance into the world, there was a fervent zeal for the Messiah, but, for most people, it was misguided.
Many of the Jews in Jesus' time were not looking for a Messiah who would take away their sins, they were looking for a Messiah who would take away their enemies.
There is both biblical and historical evidence that the mindset of many Jews was that they wanted what amounted to a military deliverer.
They wanted someone who would take away the Roman yoke, who would usher in a glorious age of Jewish freedom, and supremacy.
It was not a new world of righteousness that they envisioned. It was the world as it is, with them at the top of the food chain.
THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND THEIR PROBLEM
THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND THEIR NEED
THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND GOD'S GRACE TO THEM AND TO THE WORLD WHEN JOHN THE BAPTIST INTRODUCED JESUS, AND JESUS BEGAN HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY.