The New Covenant, Week 1

Jesus takes the UNFORGIVABLE, and makes it…forgivable

What an amazing thing. In this video, Peter experiences a supernatural level of grace, for his shortcomings. During the persecution and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, His followers were being rounded up and persecuted, as the legalistic followers of the law…were attempting to root out Christ’s followers, and kill this new movement. Peter, as Jesus had predicted he would, denied Christ 3 times that night. I want to talk about Peter a little bit this morning.

Who was Peter?

Peter’s family came from Bethsaida, in Galilee. A Gentile nation, along the Northern shores of the sea of Galilee. Peter’s Father was named Jonah, though not THE Jonah we’re used to from sunday school class, Jonah and the whale. Peters given name was actually simeon, which was commonly pronounced or slanged to be, Simon. Similar to how we call people named Robert, Bob. Symeon, was one of the twelve tribes of Israel, so interestingly enough…this gentile (non-jewish) family had a lot of very Jewish roots, or leanings.

Peter was a Fisherman

Peter’s was not just a fisherman, he was a businessman. A man after my own heart, he didn’t just fish and sell to markets, his family invested in, and owned several fishing boats, and even had servants (employees) who worked them. His family had a fleet of fishing boats, and worked them.

Peter was a nickname

Jesus renamed him Peter (Petros, which means "rock," meant to describe his eventual strength and stability) in Matt. 16:18; Mark 3:16; Luke 6:14; and John 1:42. The Aramaic form is Cephas(cf. John 1:42; 1 Cor. 1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:5; Gal. 1:18; 2:9,11,14). Often in the NT these two names are given together (cf. Matt. 16:16; Luke 5:8; John 1:40; 6:8,68; 13:6,9,24,36; 18:10,15,25; 20:2,6; 21:2-3,7,11,15).

Peter’s Strengths

A. Peter's strengths

1. He was a dedicated follower, but quite impulsive (cf. Mark 9:5; John 13:4-11).

2. He attempted acts of faith, but often failed (e.g. walking on water, cf. Matt. 14:28-31).

3. He was brave and willing to die (cf. Matt. 26:51-52; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:49-51; John 18:10-11).

4. After His resurrection, Jesus addressed him personally as the discredited leader of the Twelve in John 21 and provided an opportunity for repentance and restoration to leadership.

Peter’s Weaknesses

B. Peter's weaknesses

1. He had initial tendencies toward Jewish legalism

a. eating with Gentiles (Gal. 2:11-21)

b. food laws (Acts 10:9-16)

2. He, like all the Apostles, did not fully understand Jesus' radical new teachings and their implications

a. Mark 9:5-6

b. John 13:6-11; 18:10-11

3. He was personally and severely chastised by Jesus (Mark 8:33; Matt. 16:23)

4. He was found sleeping instead of praying in Jesus' great hour of need in Gethsemane (Mark. 14:32-42; Matt. 26:36-46; Luke 22:40-60)

5. He repeatedly denied knowing Jesus (Mark 14:66-72; Matt. 26:69-75; Luke 22:56-62; John 18:16-18,25-27)

Clearly, Peter was far from perfect. God uses IM-perfect people. Thank God.

Jared Wilson says, “ God uses flawed people to reach a flawed world.”

Abraham -Was old.

Elijah – Was suicidal.

Joseph – Was abused.

Job – Went bankrupt.

Moses – Had a speech problem.

Gideon – Was afraid.

Samson – Was a womanizer.

Rahab – Was a prostitute.

Samaritan Woman – Divorced.

Noah – Was a Drunk.

Jeremiah – Was young.

Jacob – Was a cheater.

David – Was a murderer.

Jonah – Ran from God.

Naomi – Was a widow.

Martha – Worried about everything.

Zacchaeus – Was small and money hungry.

The Disciples – Fell asleep while praying.

Paul – A Pharisee who persecuted Christians before becoming one.

Peter – Denied Christ three times

God used Peter

HIS MINISTRY AFTER JESUS' RESURRECTION

A. Peter's leadership role is clearly seen in the early chapters of Acts

1. He led in the election of Judas' replacement (cf. Acts 1:15-26).

2. He preached the first sermon on Pentecost (cf. Acts 2).

3. He healed a lame man and preached the second recorded sermon (cf. Acts 3:1-10; 3:11-26).

4. He spoke boldly to the Sanhedrin in Acts 4.

5. He presided over the church discipline of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5.

6. He spoke at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:7-11.

7. Several other events and miracles are attributed to him in Acts.

Jesus can use us also

We’re flawed. We aren’t perfect. Some of us, actually don’t have everything figured out. This church, this group of people, is a safe place, to admit that we don’t have everything figured out. We like to consider the New testament, and the Old Testament to be separate parts of the bible. In some ways they are, right? Pre-Jesus, and Post Jesus? WRONG! Jesus is a part of the triumvirate God, which is a single God, expressed in three distinct persons. God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Spirit, which lives in us…because Jesus sent Him to be our aide, in the age we’re living in. To be a conduit for navigating through this age.

New Covenant

In the New Testament, which is sometimes referred to as the “New Covenant”, there is clarification of how to live life, under a new set of “rules”. Basically, Jesus throws out the rules…which people asked for (and God never intended), and says...”you asked for rules, but never could follow them, so here…are my rules, these, you can follow”. Let’s look at the old testament, where these “rules were foretold:

Jeremiah 31:31–33 NASB95

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

That was 650 years, before Jesus! In primitive cultures, a generation was considered to be 25 years. In modern cultures, that number has stretched to 30. 26 generations. Literally, to put this into perspective, the prophet Jeremiah said…somewhere in the times of king arthur, that some thinly haired business man would be president someday and it would change the most influential nation on earth. Sound preposterous? Yeah, perhaps slightly…despite your thoughts and opinions of President Trump, I don’t think Sir Lancelot was thinking much about our president. Yet GOD, inspired a foretelling, to His messengers, to start preparing the Earth for a change in the way we do things. 2000 years later…we’re still trying to figure this message out. Let me make it simple:

The New Covenant

Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for ALL of our sins, past, present, and future. When we acknowledge that Jesus, being God…and also man, with all temptations and potential for mistake…was a blameless man. The perfect lamb, who was sacrificed, for the transgressions, or shortcomings of men and women. He who was blameless, took all blame for everything we’ve ever done, and will ever do. When we acknowledge this sacrifice, and give credit, where credit is due…we remove ourselves from the old model of purification, and enter into the new one. One were we do not require atonement, but rather by entering into the life God has for us…we accept Jesus’ sacrifice as ours, and acknowledge that we can never be perfect, and Jesus is the only way we can ever be made justified.

Jesus is our Key

Jesus was born on this Earth, in part, to show us the way to lead a life that is good for us…and fulfills what God intended for life on this Earth. We need to seek His ways, and make them our own, and through this…we’ll find the life He intended for us on this Earth, in this age.

Jesus wanted us to remember Him

In this church, we remember a very important event in History. What started as a celebration and remembrance of God’s deliverance from bondage to the Jewish people, Jesus turned into a new remembrance of His time on this Earth as a man.

Jesus’ Last Supper

The celebration or remembrance I’m speaking of, was the passover. This was a celebration of the time in Jewish history where God saved the people of Israel from the bondage of slavery. A slavery which they willingly entered into…by the way. Still, God sent Moses, a very imperfect and conflicted man, to lead 2 million people, about the population of Huston Texas, today, out of the bondage of slavery in Egypt. Jesus, in His last night of freedom prior to His crucifixion, was celebrating and remembering this series of miracles which God performed to save all those people. It was really important to their culture, similar perhaps to memorial day to the veteran culture which I’m close to. Let’s read in Luke:

Luke 22:14–20 NASB95

When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.

Remember that this was prior to the crucifixion, yet Jesus, who drank wine, and enjoyed eating…wanted His followers to remember HIM! He who became a man, knew He was going to miss His friends! He changed the remembrance of freedom from Egyptian bondage, to remembrance of freedom from the bondage of law and man’s version of atonement from sin! Praise Jesus! This remembrance is important to this day, as we are made free by the same promise. So in this church, we welcome all who wish to partake in this remembrance. You do not have to be a member, or a regular attender. We do not condone any persecution or guilty feelings over failings. None of us are perfect, and all of us have made mistakes. Jesus has already forgiven these mistakes, and that is a part of the message of the New Covenant. Let’s pause this message until a further date, and participate in the New Covenant remembrance, as Jesus outlined in His last supper with His followers.

Communion

Today, we’re going to partake in the Lord’s Supper, otherwise referred to as “communion”. This morning, we’ll do so, in a come to the table style, all are welcome to come forward to this table, and either partake of the elements here or take them back to your seat where you can pray and seek God, and partake of them there during the time of singing. In Mark, there is an account if this event in which the Apostle remembers Jesus following this message with song, and then a walk through a local garden. Jesus celebrated with His beloved followers, with food, wine, and fellowship…then sang songs, and went for a walk. Let’s also, partake, and sing songs together. Megan & Jose, will you please come up here and lead a few songs? Church, please come forward, and partake in the Lord’s supper, as you remember all that Jesus has done for us.