Sermon Tone Analysis

Save The Date

Have you ever received one of those Save The Date invites?

Often its for a wedding, or birthday party, or baby gender reveal, or some other big event for the one giving out the invite.

I mean, that the truth right?

Usually the one giving out the Save the Date Invite is the one you will be celebrating.

You don’t usually get a Save the Date invite for a party in your honor.

And honestly you may not even be excited that you recieved a Save the Date invite.

I mean depending on what Saturday in the Fall the Save the Date lands on, I might not be excited.

Now, if the party was going to have the who’s who of celebrities and athletes and musicians, you might get excited.

Depending on your politics, if the president or a former president were going to be there you might get excited.

If the richest and most successful business people were going to be there some of you may get excited.

But here’s the catch - the Save the Date invite doesn’t have the Date on it.

All you know is you’re invited to the biggest banquet of the year.

Lizzo may even play the flute.

It’s going to be epic.

But you don’t know when it’s happening, you only know you are invited.

And you only know that when the event arrives you have to be willing to go.

What do you do?

Do you ignore the Save the Date invite?

Do you make plans that when the Date arrives you will drop everything and go?

Will you think about the event, imagine it would be great to attend but decide it’s not worth all the fuss?

What is your plan?

Because, there is an event like that coming.

There is a Save the Date that has been given.

Party preparations are already underway.

The Event is in the final planning stages.

The Banquest Hall has already been reserved.

Decorations are going up.

The Host has already been seen telling folks to get ready, its time now and the time is coming.

Some rejected the Host.

Laughed at the Host.

Mocked the Host.

Killed the Host.

But the Host was raised on the third day.

And the Host has promised to return.

Because the Party cannot be cancelled.

He’s has promised to throw a banquet, a party.

He’s promised not to eat the celebratory meal until He eats it with us.

This Party is too good to be missed.

Why am I talking about a party this morning.

Well, because Jesus was invited to a party and as Jesus is wont to do, begins talking about something else that sounds the same.

Jesus starts talking about parties, and guest lists, and invitations, and willingness, and who’s coming and who’s not coming.

So, before we get into the Words of Jesus lets talk about the First and Last again.

The Guest List

Alright, so lets make sure we understand the role of Jesus in the Jewish sense.

Not only the Jewish sense, but yes, in the Jewish sense.

The Bible is the story of Covenants.

Edenic covenant, Gen 1:26-28—The creative covenant between the Triune God, as the first party (Gen 1:26), and newly created man, as the second party, governing man’s creation and life in Edenic innocence.

It regulated man’s dominion and subjugation of the earth, and presented a simple test of obedience.

The penalty was death.

Adamic covenant, Gen 3:14-19—The covenant conditioning fallen man’s life on the earth.

Satan’s tool (the serpent) was cursed (Gen 3:14); the first promise of the Redeemer was given (3:15); women’s status was altered (3:16); the earth was cursed (3:17-19); physical and spiritual death resulted (3:19).

Noahic covenant, Gen 8:20-9:6—The covenant of human government.

Man is to govern his fellowmen for God, indicated by the institution of capital punishment as the supreme judicial power of the state (Gen 9:5-6).

Other features included the promise of redemption through the line of Shem (9:26).

Abrahamic covenant, Gen 12:1-3; confirmed, 13:14-17; 15:1-7; 17:1-8—The covenant of promise.

Abraham’s posterity was to be made a great nation.

In him (through Christ) all the families of the earth were to be blessed (Gal 3:16; Jn 8:56-58).

Mosaic covenant, Ex 20:1-31:18—The legal covenant, given solely to Israel.

It consisted of the commandments (Ex 20:1-26); the judgments (social) - (Ex 21:1; 24:11) and the ordinances (religious); (Ex 24:12-31:18); also called the law.

It was a conditional covenant of works, a ministry of ‘condemnation’ and ‘death’ (2 Cor 3:7-9), designed to lead the transgressor (convicted thereby as a sinner) to Christ.

Palestinian covenant, Deut 30:1-10—The covenant regulating Israel’s tenure of the land of Canaan.

Its prophetic features include dispersion of disobedience (Deut 30:1), future repentance while in dispersion (30:2), the Lord’s return (30:3), the restoration (30:4-5), national conversion (3:6), judgment of Israel’s foes (30:7), national prosperity (30:9).

Its blessings are conditioned upon obedience (30:8, 10), but fulfillment is guaranteed by the new covenant.

Davidic covenant, 2 Sam 7:4-17, 1 Chr 17:4-15—The kingdom covenant regulating the temporal and eternal rule of David’s posterity.

It secures in perpetuity a Davidic ‘house’ or line, a throne, and a kingdom.

It was confirmed by divine oath in Ps 89:30-37 and renewed to Mary in Lk 1:31-33.

It is fulfilled in Christ as the World’s Saviour and Israel’s coming King (Acts 1:6; Rev 19:16; 20:4-6).

New covenant, Jer 31:31-33; Mt 26:28; Mk 14:24; Lk 22:20; Heb 8:8-12—The covenant of unconditional blessing based upon the finished redemption of Christ.

It secures blessing for the church, flowing from the Abrahamic covenant (Gal 3:13-20), and secures all covenant blessings to converted Israel, including those of the Abrahamic, Palestinian, and Davidic covenants.

This covenant is unconditional, final and irreversible.

Eternal covenant, Heb 13:20—The redemptive covenant before time began, between the Father and the Son.

By this covenant we have eternal redemption, an eternal peace from the ‘God of peace’, through the death and resurrection of the Son.

So what does all this mean?

What’s the deal with the Covenants?

Basically, its this.

Jesus would be the Guanteer of the Eternal Covenant.

And God worked thru human institutions to bring about Hevanely salvation.

It’s called Salvation History.

It’s God working thru and with humanity to bring about salvation for humanity.

It started in the Garden.

And God kept his word.

He then Covenated to bring salvation thru the seed of the woman.

And God kept His word.

Jesus came thru Mary.

Next up is Noah.

Redemption promised thru the line of his son Shem.

And God kept His word.

Then the Abrahamic Covenant.

It was a promise that God will build a nation thru Abraham’s seed.

The first part of that is fulfilled thru his son Isaac.

It was a promise according to the flesh.

The truer fulfillment of they promise of a nation was fulfilled thru his great-grandson Jesus.

But this promise is not based on flesh but on faith and adoption by the Spirit.

And God kept his word.

There’s the Mosaic Covenant which outlines the terms of covering for sin and guilt.

Sacrifice was requires.

And Jesus of course is the ultimate sacrifice.

God kept His word.

Then the Palenstianial Covenent revealed what would happed to the children of Abraham by the flesh if the rebelled against the Covenant.