Will You Listen?
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Big Idea for the Series: In the book of Acts, we see God advancing his Kingdom by his Spirit through his Church.
FCF: We are stubborn and often refuse to listen despite clear and urgent proclamation of the truth. But, God is sovereignly advancing his kingdom, even through the rejection of his enemies.
17 After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.
18 When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. 19 But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against my nation.
20 For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.”
21 And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. 22 But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”
23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.
24 And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. 25 And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
26 “ ‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
27 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”
30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
If you don’t see Christ in the Old Testament, you are spiritually blind.
If you don’t see Christ in the Old Testament, you are spiritually blind.
23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.
The “Law of Moses” refers to Genesis-Deuteronomy.
“The Prophets” refers, by extension, to everything else.
Paul claims that the Kingdom of God revealed in Jesus Christ was foretold in both.
Paul claims that the Kingdom of God revealed in Jesus Christ was foretold in both.
Just as we saw a couple of weeks ago, Paul is repeating his claim that the OT foretold of Jesus and the establishment of his Kingdom.
22 To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23 that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
Jewish Paul/Saul didn’t see this because he had been spiritually blind. Paul’s encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus where he physically blinded him for three days was a picture of Paul’s spiritual blindness. When Paul finally regained his sight three days later, post-conversion Paul had to re-read his OT, because he realized that he hadn’t understood it.
Paul believed that the OT foretold of the suffering, death, and resurrection of the Messiah, and of the inclusion of the Gentiles.
A couple of weeks ago, we saw that Isaiah 53-54, which was written over 700 years before Christ, predicted all of those things and more.
And Paul isn’t the only one to claim that the OT pointed to Jesus...
Jesus himself claimed that the Old Testament pointed to him.
Jesus himself claimed that the Old Testament pointed to him.
Some people think that Paul invented the idea of Jesus’ divinity, but that’s nonsense because the gospel writers quote Jesus claiming that he was the fulfillment of the OT.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for not believing him because it was so obvious in the OT that they should have seen it.
39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
When we think of “the Scriptures,” we tend to think of the entire Bible, including the NT. But, when Jesus said that, the NT hadn’t been written yet. So what “Scriptures” was he referring to? The Old Testament, which was completed by around 400 B.C., parts of which were written well over 1,000 years before Christ.
So, Jesus is saying that the OT "bears witness” about him. And then, just a few verses later, he says it even more clearly to them:
46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.
So, where did Moses write about Jesus? The name “Jesus” doesn’t occur in the OT, so what is Jesus talking about? How could Moses, writing around 1,200-1,400 years before Jesus, have been writing about Jesus? Unless, of course, Jesus was more than just a man. Unless he was the Messiah, the Son of God.
The OT, in fact, is FILLED with examples where Moses and the prophets wrote about Jesus, and we don’t have time to go through the hundreds of references.
A couple weeks ago, I gave you an example of a prophetic reference to Christ from the prophets, specifically Isaiah 53, where Isaiah predicts that the Messiah will be “pierced for our transgressions,” that he would be killed, that he wouldn’t protest his wrongful death or injustice, that he’d be whipped and crucified with criminals and buried in a rich man’s tomb, and that he’d rise again. That’s all from one chapter written 700 years before Jesus lived. We even have copies of that passage that date to 200-250 years before Jesus’ birth in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
But, Jesus said that it wasn’t just the ‘prophets’ that wrote about him, but Moses himself. Moses wrote only the first five books of the Bible, so Jesus is claiming that there are prophecies about him in the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. As it turns out, there are dozens, maybe hundreds just in those books. So, here’s just one example out of many. When Moses was preparing the Israelites to enter the Promised Land, he foretold this:
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...
18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.
Moses foretold of “a Prophet like [Moses]”
Moses foretold of “a Prophet like [Moses]”
Now, this future “Prophet like Moses” becomes an expectation that runs through the OT and even into the NT. Anytime a prophet arises, the people are asking themselves, “Is this the prophet like Moses?”
Now, the phrase “prophet like Moses” could be interpreted a number of ways, except that Moses kind of spells out what he means by that.
Requirements of the “Prophet like Moses”:
Requirements of the “Prophet like Moses”:
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...
18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.
Moses foretold that God himself would raise up the Prophet
The Prophet had to be anointed/chosen/sent by God.
The Prophet would be “from your brothers,” that is, a Jew.
The Prophet would speak the words God commanded him.
The Prophet’s words would carry the authority of God himself.
10 And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 12 and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
The Prophet had not arrived by the time Deut. 34:9-12 was written.
The Prophet would know the Lord “face to face.”
The Prophet would perform signs and wonders to demonstrate the power of God in his life.
The first obvious candidate for the fulfillment of the “Prophet like Moses” was Joshua, Moses’ successor.
When Moses was about to die, God instructed him to appoint Joshua as his successor.
Then, when Joshua leads his people into the Promised Land he parts the Jordan River just like Moses parted the Red Sea. So, it might seem that Joshua was the “Prophet like Moses.”
But, there’s a glaring problem with that theory. At the very end of the book of Deuteronomy, it clearly says that Joshua wasn’t the one being referred to:
9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
10 And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 12 and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
Here’s the problem: there’s not a single prophet in the Old Testament who is said to be a “Prophet like Moses” who performs “signs and wonders” and who “knew” the Lord “face to face.” The closest would have been Joshua, but Deuteronomy specifically excludes him.
In fact, even when the NT times come, the Israelites are still waiting for the “Prophet like Moses” who was promised by God through Moses in Deuteronomy. When John the Baptist arrives on the scene, this is one of the first questions that people ask him:
19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
That tells me that the Jews knew that this prophecy had not been fulfilled in the OT, and that not even John the Baptist fulfilled it. The “Prophet like Moses” hadn’t arrived yet.
The “Prophet like Moses” wasn’t Joshua.
The “Prophet like Moses” wasn’t fulfilled in the Old Testament.
The “Prophet like Moses” wasn’t John the Baptist.
Jesus was the Prophet like Moses:
Jesus was the Prophet like Moses:
Jesus was anointed/chosen/sent by God. (Jn. 7:28-29)
Jesus was “from your brothers,” that is, a Jew.
Jesus spoke the words God commanded him. (Jn. 5:36)
He repeatedly says that his words come from the Father
Jesus’ words carried the authority of God himself.
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
Jesus arrived after Deut. 34:9-12 was written.
Jesus knew the Lord “face to face.” (Lk. 10:22)
Jesus performed signs and wonders to demonstrate the power of God in his life.
He exerts power over the waters by calming the storm and walking on the water.
He feeds the multitudes in the desert miraculously, like the manna of Moses’ day
We’re going to explore that theme a lot more in the weeks to come as we journey through The Story. But, suffice it to say that you’d have to be blind not to see Jesus in the Old Testament.
If you don’t listen, God will send salvation to someone else.
If you don’t listen, God will send salvation to someone else.
24 And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. 25 And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
26 “ ‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
27 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”
Paul is quoting from Isaiah 6:8-10
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
There is a warning here for us. If you are hearing this message, you are accountable to the truth in it. If you refuse the gospel, the Spirit will move to others.
25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.
Do you have ears to hear?
Do you have eyes to see?
So many claim that if God would reveal himself to them, they would believe. But God already has revealed himself to you, in his Word, in the testimonies of countless thousands who have gone before you, and in the Creation around you.
His mercy, his goodness, his love, and his righteousness and judgment are clearly displayed all around you, so that you are without excuse.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
If you refuse to understand, God’s Kingdom will still advance.
If you refuse to understand, God’s Kingdom will still advance.
28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”
30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
God worked through the stubbornness of the Jews to send the gospel out to the Gentiles.
God worked through the stubbornness of the Jews to send the gospel out to the Gentiles.
In one of the greatest mysteries in Scripture, this passage, and others, reveals that even the Jewish rejection of the Messiah was a part of God’s plan.
Paul had such a heart for his fellow Jews that he probably would have never ventured out to the Gentiles had he not been forced out by the Jews.
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 28
His sharing the gospel with all who came to him would have included both Jews and Gentiles (cf. note on v. 28). This situation continued for two whole years (A.D. 60–62), at which time Luke’s account ends. Information as to what happened beyond that time comes from extrabiblical sources and from hints in the last few of Paul’s letters. First Clement 5.7 (written A.D. 95, perhaps the earliest known orthodox Christian writing after the NT) speaks of Paul preaching in “the limits of the west,” which probably indicates his fulfilling his desire to preach in Spain (see
