The Man Who Split History
THE MAN WHO SPLIT HISTORY
12/23/2000 AND 12/24/2000
-What is so significant about the birth of Jesus that even time itself is marked by the event known as Christmas that we know as the birth of Jesus the Messiah?
-The answer in a nutshell is: THAT WASN’T AN ORDINARY BABY!
-The birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of thousands of years of prophecy and the answer to the hope of the world.
Luke 2
25 ¶ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27 And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law,
28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29 "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word;
30 for mine eyes have seen thy salvation
31 which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel."
-Simeon said several significant things about the birth of Jesus.
-He was promised by God that he wouldn’t die until he had seen the Messiah, the salvation of God.
-He said He was a light of revelation to the gentiles and the glory of His people, Israel.
1. THE PROBLEM
Job 7:6 My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and come to their end without hope.
Eph 2:12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
-Because of Adam’s sin and the open rebellion of the human race against God, man was separated from God and had no hope.
-Life was simply like the bumper sticker: LIFE IS HARD THEN YOU DIE
-We were separated from God and most people didn’t even know it.
2. THE PROMISE
-God made prophecies throughout the Bible, we now call them prophecies.
-He didn’t want man separated from Him.
-He provided a plan for man to be brought back to Himself.
-He laid out that plan throughout history.
-He revealed the futility of trying to establish a relationship with Him based on our own goodness.
SOME PROMISES
Genesis 3
22 ¶ Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever"--
23 therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.
24 He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
(RSV)
De 18:15 ¶ "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren--him you shall heed--
(RSV)
1 Chronicles 17
11 When your days are fulfilled to go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom.
12 He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne for ever.
13 I will be his father, and he shall be my son; I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you,
14 but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom for ever and his throne shall be established for ever.'"
Isaiah 7
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 9
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
-God laid out specifically what this person would have to be for thousands of years.
3. THE FULFILLMENT
-The most important person in history was born in Bethlehem (THE HOUSE OF BREAD) about 2000 years ago.
-All over the world generations later we still celebrate His coming to the world…WHY?
-Simeon said it: He brought salvation. He is a light of revelation to gentiles and glory to His people Israel.
Revelation 5
1 ¶ And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
6 ¶ And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. {odours: or, incense}
9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
-Jesus uniquely stands alone as the one who is able to unveil the plan of God for man.
-He alone could live and die and be raised for the sins of mankind so we could be restored to God.
-Your life and destiny is forever tied to that event in Bethlehem.
-Without it, we would still have no hope of returning to our creator.
-We would be left to our own attempts to make the world better with mere human effort.
Eph 1:10 as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Galatians 4
3 So with us; when we were children, we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe.
4 But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"
7 So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir.
8 ¶ Formerly, when you did not know God, you were in bondage to beings that by nature are no gods;
-Jesus came at a time in history that was uniquely prepared by God.
-The Greeks had united the peoples enough to establish a trade language, KOINE GREEK that is common Greek.
-The Romans had united the world at that time with roads and Roman soldiers who provided some semblance of protection for travelers.
-Israel was ready. They had 400 years of silence then Jesus came on the scene in a little bitty sliver of land on the Mediterranean Sea.
Hebrews 1
1 ¶ In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets;
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
3 He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 ¶ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs.
5 For to what angel did God ever say, "Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee"? Or again, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son"?
6 And again, when he brings the first-born into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."
7 Of the angels he says, "Who makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire."
8 But of the Son he says, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom.
9 Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee with the oil of gladness beyond thy comrades."
-That was no ordinary baby.
-He is my hope of eternal life.
-He is the answer to the problems of the world.
-He is the MESSIAH.
-He is the SON OF MAN.
-He is the SON OF GOD.
-History is divided around Him because He is the most significant person in history.