829 Lk.7.18-23 Predictions on the Coming Global King
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
—36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
19-04-19 829 Echuca
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
—36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
- To a degree, I think the word “Christ” has caused us to miss a significant aspect regarding the Person of Jesus
- We, rightly, consider Jesus as our Saviour, who died for our sins & who suffered greatly on a cruel cross
Q. But do we consider the Jesus who is the coming global king?
---------------------
- The word “Christ” is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew, “Messiah”
- Both of these words mean “king” - well, strictly “anointed one” - but the one that was installed as a king was anointed with oil
Q. How often would we say “King Jesus” or “Jesus the King”, because when you utter His name & title, “Jesus Christ”, you are actually saying “Jesus the King”
- We are His subjects in a world that He is taking back for Himself
------------------
- Today, I'd like to briefly look at some of the prophecies concerning the coming of God's king
- You may be somewhat surprised to learn that this Jesus, who was crucified, God has made both Lord & King
1. Crucified in Weakness
1. Crucified in Weakness
- The stumbling block of the cross, for the Jews, can be boiled down to 3 objections:
1. Human sacrifice was forbidden by God, therefore, the Son of God cannot sacrifice Himself
2. In the Law, he who was found guilty & sentenced to capital punishment & hung on a tree is one who is said to have been cursed by God. The Son of God cannot be cursed by God
3. The coming One was an all powerful, all conquering king
- The Son of God conquers His enemies. They do not conquer Him
- All 3 of these objections made it clear to the Jews that Jesus could not have been authorised of God, let alone be the Son of God
---------------------
- We have already dealt with the first two objections in our series on 1st Cor.
- But let us deal with the 3rd objection
- The Scriptures, clearly indicate that when God brings His Messiah, His king, into the world, He will rule mightily
2. Raised in Power
2. Raised in Power
- The first declaration of the Messiah comes hot on the heals of the promises of God to the Patriarch's of Israel
- This is significant because God announced His plans to & through the Patriarchs to Israel & to the world
- Abraham was going to be the father of a great nation & all the world would be blessed through him
- When Isaac's sons were being blessed, a coming ruler was announced
—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 nations.
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.
- This prophecy, is clearly fulfilled in King David, who descended from Judah & also to David's greater Son, Jesus
---------------------
- In , we see God referring to David as His Son
—6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” 7 “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. 9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’”
6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” 7 “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. 9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’ ”
- The king would reign with his son & would work to establish the rule of his son to whom he would pass on the throne
- In the NT, we see this affirmation of David, ultimately, applying to His greater Son, Jesus
- Jesus is God's ultimate Son
that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.
33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today i have begotten You.’
--------------------
- When Jesus challenged the Pharisees with their interpretation of the Messiah, He used
- The Pharisees could only see a human king & thought the Messiah/Christ king would be a son of David – however...
—41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, 44 ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET” ’? 45 “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, 44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet” ’? 45 “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”
- Jesus is more than a mre descendent of David – He is the son of God
-----------------------------
- There are many other prophecies that refer to Jesus as the coming, ruling king
—1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;
- This is the work of a powerful, yet good king
---------------------
- You can sympathise to a degree with Israel who were looking for this type of king
- One that would set the prisoners of war free, being liberated by a mighty warrior king who will subjugate the nations & His enemies
- Rome was Israel's enemy in the time of Christ
- Oh, how they were looking for a mighty king to arise & overpower the Roman military & drive them out of Israel
------------------
- When Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem, the crowd was thinking that this is the moment
- This is the time, when Israel's Messiah king will arise & lead His people to freedom
- But alas, He did not assume a throne; He did not put on a crown; He did not give a call to arms
- But surrendered to the Romans; He told His disciples to put away their weapons; and He healed whom, His disciples thought, was one of His enemies
---------------------
- Can you see why the unbelievers were mocking Him
- This is what happens if people have expectations on you & you let them down
- They are very unforgiving & instead of letting bygones be bygones, they take to you with a vengeance
- So they mocked Him by laying on His head a mocking crown of thorns
- Instead of sceptre, they put a reed in His hand
- They put a purple robe on Him to symbolise a royal robe
- They mockingly say, “Hail, king of the Jews”
- Let us not be mistaken, this is what they were all thinking
----------------------
- The mockery continued with the religious leaders of Israel making sport of Him as He hung there on the cross
- If you are the Christ King, come down from the cross
-- 41 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, 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. 43 "HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"
41 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, 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. 43 “He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
--------------------
- They even put a sign about Him on the cross that says, “This is the King of the Jews” - & in 3 languages
- The religious leaders were offended by this, because it was clearly Pilate's mockery towards the Jews
Q. Is this all you could muster up to fight against Rome?
- The Jews said that He only claimed to be our king
- But Pilate said, “what I have written, I have written”
-------------------
- So Jesus' humiliation is complete & He fulfils Isaiah's prophecy of the suffering servant of God
- He was wounded for our transgressions, He was pierced for our iniquities
- Here is the king, who came in humiliation, in seeming defeat, to atone for sin
- But He is king & He cannot be defeated
- The resurrection is not just an announcement of victory over death, but it is an announcement that He is an indestructible king with a never ending kingdom
-------------------------
- When John the Baptist was put in prison, John was struggling to reconcile the image of mighty warrior king with that of a suffering servant of God
- Through the Spirit, John prophesied the mighty judgement of God
- You will be baptised with Spirit & with fire, says John
- But when was this going to happen – there is neither Spirit, nor fire
—2 Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to Him, "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?"
2 Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”
- The end has not come (no fire & no judgement)
- John was expecting the kingdom to come in apocalyptic power
-----------------------
- Some have thought that John had started to doubt his ministry & call
- But there is a better explanation
- It seems that John was expecting what every Jew was expecting – a mighty judgement & deliverance from God
- As the Red Sea was parted, so God would act mightily
-----------------------
- Jesus responded to John
—4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. 6 “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
- This is the work of the coming King, bringing liberation to oppression that goes deeper than the mere sociopolitical struggles of nations
- There is a deeper work of liberation that needs to take place & this king is more concerned about liberating us from sin & from the things that bind people, than mere external circumstances
- Perhaps, we need a dose of reality too, just like the Baptist, who was struggling to see that Jesus in preaching love & forgiveness & not forcing sociopolitical change was doing a deeper work of liberation
-------------------
- But Jesus adds “blessed is he who does not take offence at Me”
- That is, “Who does not stumble over Me”
- The person with the eyes of faith will not stumble over Jesus, for they will see & understand His mission
- They will see that, if He chose, He could call upon 12 legions of angels to rescue Him from the cross (legion = 6000)
- But He chose that way because it is the will of God that He die to make atonement for sin &, in this way, destroy the hold of sin over the people of God
------------------
- Today, we are saddened by the fact that our culture has lost the content of the message of Christ and, not only the content, but the form or expression of it as well
- There is no longer anything about Christ in mainstream culture
- Easter is a time now for sport & for commercial purposes
----------------
- If the heart for Christ goes out of society, we cannot expect the form to stay there too – we cannot expect that our culture would do anything to show honour to Christ
- What is needed is a change of heart in the people of the world
- We need to stand tall & speak the message of Christ crucified, but the king who is risen from the dead
--------------------
- This is our message, but one day, the message of the cross will be replaced by the powerful announcement of His return
- Not as a baby in a manager, but as a mighty warrior king who will bring full salvation to His obedient people, but the judgement of God upon those who refused to bow to Him