Sept. 8, 2024 - Life in Death
Notes
Transcript
If you were with us last week - we looked at HOW WE as believers - are to handle the Commands of God...
And IN-SO looking, we found that God’s Commands...
Are to be obeyed
Are to be obeyed in God’s strength
Are to be obeyed in God’s strength & timing
Are to be obeyed in God’s strength & timing, IN faith
In our passage last week - in context - something we have overlooked or forgotten...
King Joash - who ends up shooting the arrows out the window...
CAME to Elisha - because Elisha had fallen - ILL.
And so - Elisha was about to die - THAT’S WHY - King Joash had come to him....to honor him.
THIS WEEK - we come to the DEATH of Elisha… and YET - even in his death - we see God still WORKING.
20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year.
21 And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
Now this is a VERY popular story of the Bible...
And yet - only 2 verses cover it.
What I want to do today - is look at Elisha - in RELATION to ELIJAH - and in doing so - SEE Elisha as a TYPE of Christ.
Typology is basically - the study of - OR - analysis of TYPES or Categories.
And so - when applying this concept to - JESUS...
You’ll hear it spoken of as - Christological Typology
A more formal definition would be this...
SLIDE:
Christological Typology is primarily concerned with identifying and interpreting the parabolic representations of the person and work of Jesus Christ that are found in the people, things, and events of the Old Testament.
And so - an EXAMPLE of a TYPE of Christ OUTSIDE of Elisha - would be Samuel...
Throughout the book of 1 Samuel - we found Samuel SPEAKING for God - to the PEOPLE of God...
Samuel WARNED the people
Samuel ENCOURAGED the people
Samuel JUDGED the people
Jesus was NO different - SPEAKING only what the Father had told Him to say...
16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
He’s saying - My WORDS are NOT MINE - they are from the Father…!
Could Samuel have said this same thing??
YES!
26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”
Could Samuel had said this?
Of course!!
Why?
Because LIKE Christ - Samuel surrendered himself to SPEAK for God!
Samuel - was a TYPE of Christ!
ELISHA is no different.
He was a TYPE of Christ...
Back to our text....
2 Kings 13:20 (ESV)
20 So Elisha died...
Let’s stop here.
I think this is all we need to make our first point...
We’re told here that Elisha DIED...
Well - that IMPLIES something - what is it?
it IMPLIES that he - - LIVED!
AND IN HIS living - He came to the people of God - to SPEAK on God’s behalf!
SLIDE: Elisha as a Type of Christ: He Foreshadowed the Coming Messiah
Elisha as a Type of Christ
Elisha as a Type of Christ
As we know - Elisha was a PROPHET of God...
God HERE - speaking to Elijah...
16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.
Elisha received the baton from Elijah...
And in doing so - he received the MINISTRY of Elijah as well!
And it’s AT THIS POINT - that we should LOOK at the CONNECTION between - Elijah - and ELISHA.
The focus of Elijah's ministry was to call the people to repentance and to demonstrate the sovereignty of the one true God.
Elijah's 8 miracles include:
Shut up the heavens causing a drought (1 Kng 17:1) - It was God’s JUDGMENT on King Ahab.
Multiplied flour and oil for a widow (1 Kng 17:14-16) - God’s Authority
Raised a widow's son from the dead (1 Kng 17:17, 22-23) - God’s Authority
Defeated the prophets of Baal with fire from heaven (1 Kng 18:25-38) - Why? Due to God’s Judgment
Brought rain to end the drought (1 Kng 18:41-45) - God Authority provides!
Destroyed 51 soldiers with fire (2 Kng 1:9-10) - God’s Judgment
Destroyed 51 soldiers with fire and lightening (2 Kng 1:9-11-12) - God’s Judgment
Parted the waters of the Jordan River (2 Kng 2:8) - God’s Authority
And so THRU ELIJAH - God taught the people (His people) about His Judgment and His authority!
Remember our sermon a coupe weeks ago - Where we saw God’s Judgment - WORK ALONGSIDE another of His attributes?
Remember what that Attribute was?
It was - God’s MERCY!
Where Elijah’s MIRACLES taught the world about God’s JUDGMENT
Elisha’s Miracles mainly taught the people about God’s MERCY....
Elisha's miracles were designed to resolve difficulties for the people with whom he came into contact with - and show God’s LOVE for them...
Elisha's 16 miracles:
Parted the waters of the Jordan River (2 Kng 2:14)
Purification of the water source for Jericho (2 Kng 2:18-22)
Protection of the prophet by two she-bears (2 Kng 2:23-25)
Water for the army of Israel and success over the Moabites (2 Kng 3:16-25)
Providing the widow's oil (2 Kng 4:1-7)
Elisha's annunciation prophecy for the woman from Shunem (2 Kng 4:8-17)
Resurrection of the son of the Shunammite woman (2 Kng 4:18-37)
Purified the poison soup (2 Kng 4:38-41)
Multiplication of loaves (2 Kng 4:42-44)
Healing of Naaman (2 Kng 5:1-19)
Gehazi cursed with a skin disease (2 Kng 5:25-27)
Miracle of finding the axe (2 Kng 6:1-7)
Capturing a band of Aramaeans by striking them blind (2 Kng 6:8-23)
Prophesying relief from the enemy and the famine (2 Kng 6:24-7:20)
Prophesying the death of Ben-Hadad and the rise of Hazael (2 Kng 8:7-15)
Prophesying Israel's defeat of King Hazael of Damascus (2 Kng 13:14-19)
MOST of these miracles - demonstrating God’s LOVE for His people...
AND SO - If we think thru BOTH of these men together -
We find - IN ELIJAH - the coming JUDGMENT of God...
And in ELISHA we find - the coming MERCY of God...
and so - WOW - what a FORESHADOWING of the - Coming Messiah! - RIGHT??
WHY DID Jesus come?
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Yes - He came on a rescue mission...
So WHERE’s the JUDGMENT?
It was already HERE! - next verse
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
And so - YES - because God is Holy - Judgment had already come...
BUT IN Christ - we also find the MERCY of God...
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.
17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Listen again to WHAT CHRIST brought with Him...
Good news to the poor
LIBERTY (freedom) to the captives
SIGHT for the blind
FREEDOM for the oppressed!
You can HEAR the mercy in this text...
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
MERCY
16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
Paul says - what better example of God’s MERCY could there BE - than ME - the WORST of the WORST sinners...
And yet - EVEN SO - Jesus displays His PERFECT patience with me
The COMING MESSIAH came - OFFERING MERCY to mankind!
DISPLAYING the Love of God - FOR HIS PEOPLE!
BUT EVEN BEFORE He came to earth....in the flesh
He CAME to His people - THRU ELISHA!
ELISHA - being a type of Christ!
ELISHA...
(warned the people)
(demonstrated God’s love FOR His people)
And so - ALL OF THIS - ELISHA himself - Pointing to a GREATER REALITY…
And the GREATER REALITY - - God HIMSELF - coming to earth - the Son of God - in the FLESH - to dwell among us!
BUT of course - Christ coming - wasn’t the end of it!
Back to our text...
20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year.
Here we see the next aspect that aligns Elisha as a type of Christ...
SLIDE: Elisha as a Type of Christ: He Foreshadowed the Burial of the Coming Messiah
Elisha as a Type of Christ
Elisha as a Type of Christ
NOW - you may not agree - but I believe that the Burial of Christ = is BY FAR - the most underrated aspect of the Gospel...
What’s the GOSPEL you say?
1 Corinthians 15:1–4 (ESV)
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,
2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
Paul here tells us what the Gospel is...
That Christ -
Died
Was Buried
And was raised on the 3rd day
OK - so - the Death, Burial, and Resurrection!
THAT’s the Gospel…And YET - when we explain the Gospel to people...
Don’t we normally say...
Jesus died for your sins...
He rose from the grave...
And we just SKIP the burial piece - - Maybe we think it’s just FILLER!
But I contend that it’s the LINCHPIN of the Gospel!
HOW so?
It’s the BURIAL of Jesus Christ that VERIFIES His death....WHICH then verifies…His resurrection!
Listen - Muslims don’t believe that Jesus DIED...
And so - If He never died…then He was NEVER buried...
if He never died - then He never ROSE from the dead.
His BURIAL proved His death - which proved His resurrection.
If we REMEMBER - ELIJAH - was never buried...
He was taken up into heaven without dying...
But ELISHA… we’re told...
2 Kings 13:20 (ESV)
20 So Elisha died, and they buried him.
Without being ABLE to bury Elijah - the people would have HARD PRESSED to HONOR Elisha by way of BURIAL!
And interestingly - according to Josephus - the extra-biblical writer often cited to help bring context into view...
In HIS writings - He stated that Elisha’s funeral was - magnificent.
NOW - this BURIAL - in an of itself - isn’t an AMAZING POINTER to Jesus’ Burial...
Even back in the time of Elisha - men died!
It wasn’t UNCOMMON...
It was - obviously normal!
And so - Elisha’s burial - on its own - wasn’t anything SPECIAL!
UNTIL...
what happens next
20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year.
21 And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
What happened?
A dead man - was thrown ONTO the bones of Elisha… (clearly Elisha was dead)
And this dead man - when he TOUCHED the bones of Elisha - CAME to life!
SLIDE: Elisha as a Type of Christ: He Foreshadowed the Resurrection Power of The Messiah
Elisha as a Type of Christ
Elisha as a Type of Christ
NOW - Elisha himself didn’t RISE from the grave like Christ -
But - ask yourself - what was God teaching His people and the world about Himself - in this dead man RISING from the dead when touching the bones of Elisha…?
We’re not told why this man was dead...
IRONICALLY - he was living out everyday life...
Or to say it - Theologically....
SLIDE:
However he died, the man had experienced the end result of all men in a fallen world…death.
Why say it this way?
Why think about it this way?
Because we’re after trying to THINK through what God was teaching man about Himself.
And so let’s think through what happened - from a [physical] vs [spiritual] aspect...
The man was PHYSICALLY dead
And this makes sense given God’s WARNING to Adam and Eve in the very beginning...
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Paul also speaks to this
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
Paul then CLARIFIES for us how this works together...
Romans 6:23 (ESV)
23 For the wages of sin is death...
SO - yes, this man was a SINNER...
And what we see in our text today - is this man HAD EARNED his wage...
The wage of DEATH
BUT THEN....
21 And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
Upon ENCOUNTERING the bones of Elisha - the dead man - CAME ALIVE!
I don’t THINK you can get - MORE OPPOSITE than that..
Once Dead… NOW Alive!
NOW - What’s being taught here by God?
Asking some questions will help...
SLIDE: Question 1
Did this man earn his death?
ANSWER - yes - the wages of sin is - DEATH
And of course he was a SINNER.
He EARNED his death.
SLIDE: Question 2
Was the man dead before he got to the grave that day?
ANSWER - yes - he was dead before he got to the grave
He was BROUGHT to the grave BECAUSE he was dead.
SLIDE: Question 3
Did this man do anything to contribute to his resurrection?
ANSWER - No - He didn’t choose to fall on Elisha’s bones…
he didn’t CONTEMPLATE his status in life…And then DECIDE to make things better!
Which brings us to the last question...
SLIDE: Question 4
By whose power did the man regain life?
The man was ONLY restored after touching the bones of Elisha...
But that leads to more questions...
SLIDE: Question 5
Was it by the power of Elisha that the dead man came to life?
ANSWER - NO - How do we know that?
Because the 1st question we asked about the dead man ALSO applies to Elisha as well!
Did Elisha EARN HIS own death?
YES - how? - HE was a sinner as well!
And so we CONCLUDE...
SLIDE:
The power in the resurrection of the dead man was found in God and God alone.
And this PHYSICAL display of POWER - - BY God… POINTED to a spiritual reality...
And that spiritual reality - - is this...
SLIDE:
The spiritually dead find spiritual life upon encountering the Son of God and His victory in the empty tomb, the evidence of His efficacious work on the cross to forgive the sins of man.
God showed the world that day...
That He REIGNS over death
That He HOLDS life in His hands
And that THROUGH a DEATH - by HIS power - LIFE can be found!
The dead man in our text today - ENCOUNTERED God in that grave...
YES - he landed on the bones of Elisha -
BUT HE ENCOUNTERED God in that grave
And NEW LIFE - came!
SUMMARY
Elisha as a Type of Christ
He Foreshadowed the Coming Messiah
He Foreshadowed the Burial of the Coming Messiah
He Foreshadowed the Resurrection Power of The Messiah
Let’s pray