The Paradox in the Redemption Story
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Welcome
Review of last week—The Great Paradox
10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Did you reflect on the paradox “when I am weak, then I am strong?”
I hope you looked back over your life and recognized those times God stepped into your weakness and supplied the grace and strength you needed.
Weakness doesn’t mean impotence. But, it does mean trusting Jesus to supply His grace and power as we experience weakness. We learn to accept our hard places as ways we can live for Jesus.
Remember God is the God of all comfort. Have you ministered the comfort you received from Him to those in your path who need it?
Pray
Summary
Summary
The redemption story is a study of strength in weakness.
4 For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.
Let’s get an overview of the unfolding of the story of our redemption beginning with Adam and Eve. Strength and weakness are paired throughout the story.
The Garden
The Garden
Why do we start with the Garden?
The problem of sin and death began with Adam and Eve.
Man’s weakness in every generation since has been sin and its consequence, death.
They lived in fellowship with the Father in the garden until they chose to sin.
Sin separated them from Him and sin brought death.
But we also know in God’s response to the serpent, Eve and Adam in the Garden, a promise was made to Eve.
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Victory is promised but we have the question of who the seed will be and how will this occur? We know he will come from Adam’s line. Seth Postel, in an article writes that this is the acorn out of which the story line of the Bible grows.
The Expectation of a King
The Expectation of a King
We can trace the line of the seed first through Seth, the third born son of Adam and Eve.
Then, we get to Noah from the line of Seth and God brought judgment on mankind through the flood which spared only Noah and his family. We know the blessing of God was given him and, obviously, the seed will come through him.
Out of the line of Noah, we know that Shem is the one who received the blessing of his father and out of the line of Shem came Abram who we looked at last week.
God specifically promised that through him all the families/nations of the earth would be blessed. He also promised Abraham in Gen 17.6 that “kings would come from you” and in Gen 17.16 God told Abraham that kings would come from Sarah.
Later God made the same promise to Jacob that “kings will descend from you” (Gen 35.11). So, at that point there was an expectation of a king in the line of Abraham.
Isaac was the son of the promise and to him were
born the twins, Esau and Jacob. God promised Rebekah that the older of the twins would serve the younger.
As the older son, the birthright belonged to Esau, but we know that he sold it to Jacob for a bowl of stew. Then, when Isaac undertook to give the blessing to Esau, Rebekah and Jacob deceived him and the blessing was given to Jacob.
27 So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said,
“See, the smell of my son
Is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed;
28 Now may God give you of the dew of heaven,
And of the fatness of the earth,
And an abundance of grain and new wine;
29 May peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you;
Be master of your brothers,
And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be those who curse you,
And blessed be those who bless you.”
The line of the seed came through Jacob, the recipient of the blessing. He had twelve sons. Without going into all
the background, at the end of Jacob’s life when he blessed his sons in Gen 49, he said he would tell them what would befall them “in the days to come” which is definitely eschatological.
Of the 12 sons of Jacob, we know that Joseph, number 11 out of 12, received the birthright. The reason was that Reuben, the firstborn, slept with his father’s concubine. This is spelled out in Gen 49.3-4 and then confirmed in 2 Chron 5.1-2.
Joseph received the double portion of the land
of Canaan through his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.
Simon and Levi were next in the chronological line after Reuben for the blessing, but Jacob did not bless them because of the anger and violence they committed against the men of Shechem over the rape of their sister, Dinah. (Gen 34)
Judah was fourth in line. Judah’s blessing is very significant. It is surprising because his biblical story shows that he started poorly.
He was the brother responsible for selling Joseph as a slave to traders headed to Egypt.
However, during Joseph’s reign in Egypt, Judah became a leader in his family and even offered himself to serve in Egypt so his younger brother, Benjamin, could return to their father.
When Jacob blessed Judah in Gen 49.10, he said:
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes,
And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
Some believe “until Shiloh comes” is better translated, “until He comes to whom it belongs.”
The wording of Judah’s blessing (scepter/ruler’s staff/to him shall be the obedience of the people) clearly speaks of a coming king who will be from the line of Judah.
As we move forward to the time of Samuel, the prophet, the people of Israel told him they wanted a king. Samuel disagreed but God agreed to their request.
At God’s direction, Samuel anointed Saul, a Benjaminite. Saul was not faithful to the word of the Lord and David was his successor.
Now, with David we have a man after God’s own heart who rules as king for 40 years.
In the selection and life of David there was a clear depiction of how man’s weakness is a platform for the display of God’s strength.
1 Sam 16 records the selection of David, who was from the tribe of Judah.
1 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have selected a king for Myself among his sons.”
1 Sam 16.4-5(the sacrifice and the invitation to Jesse to bring his sons).
4 So Samuel did what the Lord said, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, “Do you come in peace?”
5 He said, “In peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
1 Sam 16.6-11(Jesse only brought seven of the sons. All were invited, but he left out the youngest are rejected).
6 When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”
9 Next Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”
10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”
11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.”
1 Sam 16.12-13(David is anointed.)
12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.”
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
David defeated Goliath 1 Sam 17.36-37
“Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.”
And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”
David was a powerful king. His confidence was in the LORD. See Ps 31.2-5.
2 Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be to me a rock of strength,
A stronghold to save me.
3 For You are my rock and my fortress;
For Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.
4 You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have ransomed me, O Lord, God of truth.
In 2 Sam 7.16 God promised David through Nathan the prophet that
16 “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”
We know that the line of Davidic kings ended with God’s judgment on Zedekiah at the time of the deportation to Babylon. Ezk 21.26-27 tells us, referring to wicked Zedekiah,
26 thus says the Lord God, ‘Remove the turban and take off the crown; this will no longer be the same. Exalt that which is low and abase that which is high.
27 ‘A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I will make it. This also will be no more until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.’
Ezekiel’s triple use of “ruin” stressed that Israel’s throne was to be absolutely desolate. It would not be restored until He comes to whom it rightfully belongs; to Him I will give it.
This prophecy recalls Genesis 49:10, which speaks of “the scepter” in the line of Judah.
The line of David would not return to the throne until the righteous, God-appointed King would come.
Ezekiel was written about 1000 years after Genesis.
Thus, just from these passages, we see that Israel expected one from the line of Judah to rule from David’s throne in an everlasting kingdom.
Yet, a different kind of prophecy came from Isaiah about one called “My Servant.”
The Expectation of a Suffering Servant
The Expectation of a Suffering Servant
Israel and Judah had a long line of kings who, primarily, turned away from God. Captivity resulted in 722 BC for Israel and the last part for Judah was in 586 BC which is what God had promised the nation in Dt 28 if they failed to obey Him.
In the latter part of this time period Isaiah arose. Judah and Jerusalem were his focal points. He denounced evil in the land, he gave us a prophecy of a coming king to the throne of David and he revealed One who would come as YHWH’s Servant. Let’s look first at .
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
Isaiah, however, also gave us the Servant Songs JB has covered. Particularly the fourth Servant Song which is in Is 52.13-53.12. Read the passage (does the description speak of weakness or strength?)
13 Behold, My servant will prosper,
He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.
14 Just as many were astonished at you, My people,
So His appearance was marred more than any man
And His form more than the sons of men.
15 Thus He will sprinkle many nations,
Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him;
For what had not been told them they will see,
And what they had not heard they will understand.
1 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10 But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
Does any person ever appear to be weaker in the eyes of man than the One Isaiah described here?
What clarity, what accuracy about what Jesus would do 700 years later.
While we’ve seen God’s plan for the seed of the woman develop into the prophecy for a coming king who would reign over the house of David, this text paints a picture of a Servant who would suffer for the sins of mankind, the divine substitute for each of us.
However, He would live to see His offspring; He will have a portion with the great; and divide the booty with the strong.
There is in the picture of The Servant, strength through weakness.
His sacrifice opens the way to return to that relationship with the
Father that Adam and Eve enjoyed in the garden before their sin.
The weakness of Jesus was voluntary and self-surrendering so we could be delivered out of our weakness of sin and death.
The Reality of a Suffering Servant and King
The Reality of a Suffering Servant and King
So, when the Messiah arrived, born in Bethlehem according to the prophecy in Mic 5.2, was He expected to be the One who would inherit David’s throne or was He the suffering servant depicted in Is 53? As you know, as their Messiah, He was both.
In Jesus, the leaders and the people of Israel saw what they wanted to see.
Despite the way prophecy about Him was fulfilled before their eyes, they rejected Him as their king, their Messiah. In fact, they despised Him (asJB said, they considered Him worthless).
They mocked Him; particularly at the cross they mocked His apparent weakness.
42 “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him.
30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”
Jesus was not weak, but He took on the form of weakness so He could suffer and die for mankind.
As Heb 2.9 tells us He tasted death for everyone.
Paul said it well in Ro 5.6
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
Therefore, the paradox is that while we were alienated from God with the sentence of death upon us, while we were weak, Jesus took on our form of weakness and died for us.
The One from whom we were separated by sin, paid the price for our sin by suffering and dying in our place.
But there is more to the Good News than His death. Peter, speaking to the men of Israel in Acts 2.23-24
said,
23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
24 “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
In Jesus the question of the seed of the woman was answered. He conquered Satan and death and gave to us forgiveness and life.
In 2 Cor 5.14-15 Paul wrote:
14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;
15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
When it says “He died for all” it means just that. His sacrifice as the Lamb of God paid the price for the sin of all mankind.
While it was for all men and women of every age, not all received the benefit of His death or of the new life available in Christ.
Our rebirth, our new life in Christ occurs when we put our faith in Him. Eph 2.8-9 :
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Application:
Application:
There is still today a choice to make about Jesus.
Was He just a man who suffered and died an ignominious death?
Or was He the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for all mankind through His death and raised by the power of God where He now sits at the Father’s right hand? He opened the way for us each to have a relationship with God through belief in what Jesus did.
If you have not believed in Jesus, today is the time. See me or Travis or one of our other elders after the service so we can come alongside you.
For all who are here today who have believed in Him, we have another choice.
What are we willing to lose for the sake of Jesus?
Paul said he found contentment in those hard places in life for the sake of Jesus. If he was to boast at all, it was to be about his weaknesses so the power of Jesus could be seen in him.
Paul explained further in Ro 8.17-18:
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Suffering/weakness is inevitable, but glory is certain.
