Pursuing Life and Finding Jesus

Introduction:

Why we are doing a topical.

It is good to do exegetical, verse by verse, sermons through entire books of the bible. But it is also important to be able to do topical sermons as well.

In order to do exegetical verse by verse, we must have a framework to put it in:

Like working on the border of a puzzle first.

And it seems like in the reformed world we have had a healthy response to a lack of such verse by verse exegesis that we run the risky of not valuing the ability to grab whole portions of scripture and bring them together.

We have been exegeting Jesus’ words against the pharisees. And one of the things he said against them about himself is:

John 5:39 “39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,”

And since this grabs hold of major theme of this gospel, scripture, life, belief and Jesus, I thought it would be good to focus on the grand story of the scriptures in regards to life, and finding Jesus in the Scriptures for our life.

I. The Old Testament starts from a single source

II. Branches out to create a structure

III. Then returns to that single source in Jesus

IV. Whose work is done within the confides of that structure

I. Singe Source

Genesis 3:15 “15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.””

Life is found in the undoing what the devil has done.

Lies

Shame

Kicked out of garden

And it is found in a single source, or offspring of the woman.

Immediate partial reveal that this would be so:

Truth: All the things God said in the garden began immediately

Snake on his belly; the woman gave birth soon after and it hurt; wife and husband had issues; the ground is hard to work; death happened (all should remind us that God tells the truth where the devil lied

Shame:

Genesis 3:7 “7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.”

Genesis 3:8–10 “8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.””

Genesis 3:21 “21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.”

Kicked out of Garden—but the garden isn’t destroyed

Genesis 3:24 “24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”

They could behold it, remember it, and long for a time when they are allowed back in. The cherubim and flaming sword guarded the way in to the tree of life.

This single source promise is carried to Abraham

Genesis 17:1–8 “1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.””

Galatians 3:16 “16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.”

What you have here at the end is a promise pointed to one person, but it comes forth from a multitude of people and a nation, or a structure.

And so the story of the scriptures, or the Old Testament, is this one person that will do the work needed for life, but he enters the scene in a structure created to reveal his work.

Israel is that structure, and the revealing from that nation is the structure of:

Prophet who tells truth

Priest who covers sins by sacrifice

King who conquers and brings a people back to the promise land.

So as you see the unfolding of the Scriptures, you are seeing the unfolding of the history of Israel, and it is important that you do not get lost in the details.

All the details are revealing a structure, that is established for the promise of the one seed that would come and bring life to fallen humanity.

Jesus in which all the scripture points to for life.

So let’s see how that structure of prophet priest and king within Israel plays out and the coming of Jesus that completes it.

Prophet: Moses and those who came after

Abraham’s grandson Jacob ended up in Egypt with his sons, including Joseph by the time he dies.

He had escaped the severe famine by God taking care of him in order to make good on the promise to Abraham to make of him a great nation...a multitude of people.

Four hundred years into being in Egypt to escape the famine, the people have grown numerous and face another problem: the pharaoh is threatened by the numerous people of Israel.

This kick starts the exodus in which the people escape their enemies and the nation of Israel begins after this work of God to bring them out, in which they are established on laws of God, a structure.

Thus Moses becomes the start of the prophet tradition, a person who reveals God’s law and will to a people...coming from a world that has fallen to the lies and falsehood of Satan since the garden.

Where God gave a law to Adam not to eat of the tree, God speaks through Moses a law system of how the people of Israel were to enjoy the promise land of Canaan.

And a promise is made by Moses that a greater prophet would come:

Deuteronomy 18:15 “15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—”

And the prophetic tradition that developed after Moses was one of warning to Israel when they go the way of Adam and disregard the law given to Israel, and also a promise of a coming person that would fix the issues brought on by Israel’s disobedience.

Isaiah 11:1–2 “1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”

Priests:

It was God’s gracious plan to get Israel from enslavement in Egypt to life in the promised land.

He brought them out of Egypt by Moses, and through him the covenant of life for Israel was given.

But yet, even before they got to the promise land, they broke this covenant when Moses was away by worshiping the golden calf...an idol.

And so as Adam and Eve became guilty and were covered in shame, so Israel became guilty.

To the point that God said he would destroy them:

Exodus 32:10 “10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.””

Until Moses interceded

Exodus 32:11–12 “11 But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.”

So God said he would get them there but not be with them:

Exodus 33:1–3 “1 The Lord said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.’ 2 I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.””

Until Moses intercedes again and God says not only will he get them to the promise land but his presence will be with them.

Exodus 33:12–16 “12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” 14 And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?””

And the question is, how? If Israel has defiled themselves, how is God going to make good on this promise to still bring them to the promise land and have his presence with them?

And the answer for the rest of the book of Exodus is to reaffirm the covenant by giving of the law, and them give the law of the tabernacle.

The tabernacle is the place where animal sacrifices were given to cover the sin and shame of the Israelites failure to keep the law.

And it is by this system that the Israelites were able to get through the cherubim and flaming sword that guarded the way to the promise land of life.

And after Israel took the promise land as promised with God in their midst, they build a permanent temple to replace the tabernacle in Jerusalem to be the place where sacrifices by the priest are made to cover the sins of the people to keep the land.

But this system of the priesthood in Israel was not the final reality that would bring eternal life that God had prepared.

This was simply a temporary structure to prepare the way for Jesus who would come and provide a greater sacrifice for a greater salvation.

Not a salvation from enslavement from Egypt to life in the land of Canaan, but enslavement to the devil and sin, and life eternal with God forever.

Not animals given on an alter made with hands, but the body of Christ himself as a pleasing aroma that went up to heaven itself.

Hebrews 9:6–15 “6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation. 11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. 15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.”

When we say that the Old Testament worship was incomplete or not eternal, we don’t mean it didn’t matter. It mattered as it was the structure, the explanation of what Jesus was coming to do.

King:

Jeremiah 23:5 “5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”

The development of the office of king in Israel came with the advancement of Israel’s enemies on Israel.

Israel had taken a lot of the promised land but failed to reach its full borders, and meanwhile the enemies of Israel were encroaching.

The beginning of 1 Samuel (the story of the start of the monarchy and the line of David) we see the Philistines even take the ark of God...the place where the priest met with God to atone for Israel’s sin.

It is not long before Israel demands a king, and gets Saul who immediately conquers and beats back the enemy (Ammonites and Philistines).

But just as quickly we see Saul fail to obey God. Which leads to God choosing David and his line to be king over Israel.

And David’s entire life is one of conquest for Israel where its borders reach far and wide.

And his son’s Solomon reign was filled with wisdom and wealth. To where by the end of his reign Israel is one of the most powerful nations in the world.

But the kings after Solomon typically do not reach the same caliber.

Most are wicked, and most lead Israel not to greatness, but to sin and decay as a nation.

Thus there is left from the history of Israel a need for a godly king that will lead his people to prosperity and godliness.

And we see this from the prophets who prophecy of a coming king:

Jeremiah 23:5 “5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”

And so Israel provided a structure of a king that would come and conquer the enemies of his people and provide them life in the land.

So when Jesus tells the religious leaders:

John 5:39 “39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,”

Or when Jesus taught the guys on the way to Emmaus:

Luke 24:25–27 “25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

He is not simply saying there are some scripture passages that speak about me, though there were a lot that specifically did. He is saying the whole structure of the Old Testament as it tells the history of Israel is a revealing of the work of prophet priest and king that was pointing to me as I come to fulfill it perfectly not only for Israel but for the world for their life.

The Old Testament is like the wedding band and Jesus is the jewel that it sets up.

And so we see Jesus being a faithful prophet to teach those men on the road, and to point them to the work of the cross for their sins to be covered, and it is in this way he would be their king to conquer the enemy and give them life with God.

Implication:

And it is not just the structure of the Old Testament, but Jesus is to be the jewel of the structure of our lives.

Life=letting the glory of God shine through your life.

Prophet:

Deuteronomy 18:15 “15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—”

Priest:

Genesis 22:8 “8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.”

King:

Genesis 49:10–12 “10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

2 Samuel 7:12–16 “12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ””

Psalm 89:3–4 “3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: 4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’ ” Selah”

Isaiah 11:1–5 “1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.”

Jeremiah 23:5–6 “5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’”

Micah 5:2 “2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

Luke 24:25–27 “25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”