The Foundation of Jesus' Great Sermon

1. How does the context inform the meaning of this passage? Please consider: a) the literary context (passages before and after the passage), b) the historical context (circumstances of the audience), and c) the biblical context (citations/allusions or historical connections to other books that the author is making).

LITERARY -

HISTORICAL -

BIBLICAL -

2. How has the author organized this passage? Please a) show the structure in sections with verse references and b) explain what strategies you used to see this structure.

Scene 2: Jacob journeys to Egypt (46:5–27)

Scene 3: Joseph meets Jacob (46:28–34)

Scene 4: Joseph’s brothers meet Pharaoh (47:1–6)

Scene 5: Jacob meets Pharaoh (47:7–10)

Scene 6: Joseph cares for his family and Egypt (47:11–26)

Scene 7: Jacob prepares to die (47:27–31)

3. Drawing on your work to this point, state the author’s aim for his audience (in one short sentence).

To assure Israel that their God, unlike the local gods, goes with them wherever they go

4. What parts of this passage connect to the gospel of Jesus Christ? What part of the gospel is in view?

Since Jacob is “afraid” (46:3) to leave the Promised Land without God’s blessing, God promises him that he will go down to Egypt with him and will bring him up again (cf. Bethel, 28:15). In fulfillment of his promises, God saves Israel from the great famine, makes them into a great nation, and later brings Israel up out of Egypt again. God promises Moses, “I will be with you” (Exod 3:12). Moses, in turn, encourages Israel to capture Canaan: “Have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you” (Deut 31:6). God also assures Joshua, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you” (Josh 1:5). Still later, when Israel is in exile, the Lord again assures his people of his presence: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you” (Isa 43:2; cf. 41:10). Thus in Old Testament times, God keeps alive the people who will give birth to the Messiah. When Jesus is born, Matthew observes fulfillment of the prophecy about Emmanuel, “which means, ‘God is with us’ ” (Matt 1:23; cf. John 14:9–10; Col 2:9). After Jesus rises from the dead, he promises his disciples, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20). When Jesus ascends to heaven, he pours out the Holy Spirit to dwell in God’s people (Acts 2:33). On the last day, when Jesus comes again, God will dwell with his people; “they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them” (Rev 21:3).

New Testament References

The appendix to the Greek New Testament again has references to Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 (vv. 14, 15, and 17). For Genesis 46:2, “Jacob, Jacob,” it lists Acts 9:4, “Saul, Saul.” For Genesis 46:30, Jacob’s words, “I can die now, having seen for myself that you are still alive,” it lists Luke 2:29, Simeon’s words, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace …; for my eyes have seen your salvation.” And for Genesis 47:31, “Then Israel bowed himself on the head of his bed,” it lists Hebrews 11:21, Jacob “bowing in worship over the top of his staff” (based on the Septuagint). Only one of these references, Luke 2:29, is linked to Jesus. Accordingly, except for Luke 2:29, these New Testament references are not good bridges from this Old Testament narrative to Jesus.

There are, however, some other New Testament references that link the theme of God’s presence with his people to Jesus. In addition to the passages mentioned earlier, one might consider Matthew 18:20, where Jesus promises, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” And especially Romans 8:35–39, where Paul raises the question, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” After enumerating many possibilities, he concludes that nothing “in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

5. Drawing on your work to this point, what conclusion will you argue to your audience (in one short sentence)? What applications will you make for your audience?

APPLICATIONS:

We must trust in the presence of God’s Spirit in us.

We must seek the good of our neighbor, including our ideological enemies, not just our own good.

We must be thankful for God’s provisions in our life.

We must understand the the world will grow jealous of our blessing (Christendom)

6. What is your sermon title and your preaching outline? .

Sermon Outline -

I. God promises to go with his people Israel to Egypt

Exposition of Genesis 46:1–4 .

State the textual theme: “In accord with his promise, God goes with his people Israel to Egypt.”

II. We see God’s presence in Egypt in:

Reuniting Jacob and his son Joseph (46:28–30)

Pharaoh giving Israel access to the best of the land of Egypt (46:31–47:6).

Jacob being able to bless Pharaoh (47:7–10).

Joseph giving Israel “a holding” in Egypt and sufficient food (47:11–12).

Joseph saving the lives of the Egyptians (47:13–26).

God prospering Israel and multiplying them exceedingly (47:27).

III. We see God’s presence with us in Jesus (typological parallels):

As Joseph granted Israel “a holding in the land,” so Jesus grants us a holding in the kingdom of God (Matt 25:34 )

As Joseph provided food for Israel, so Jesus provides us with “the bread of life” (John 6:35 ).

As Joseph saved Israel from starvation, so Jesus saves us from sin and gives us eternal life (John 3:16 ).

In accord with his promise, God goes with his people wherever they go (Matt 28:20 ).

7. QUOTES:

By way of comparison, we may note a couple of Protestant views contemporary with Luther that take a different tack. One is that of the Reformed or Calvinist tradition. The varied interpretations of the Sermon again provide great insight into an important difference between the Lutheran and Reformed traditions here, with the latter’s emphasis on the “third use of the Law.” That is, the Reformed tradition does not emphasize such a great law-gospel contrast but rather teaches that there is a productive use of law/covenantal instructions understood in the context of grace. This allows for a slightly different reading of the Sermon than Luther’s. In Calvin’s reading of the Sermon we see Jesus rescuing the law of God from the Pharisees, who emphasized its external acts instead of its heart. The Sermon is the compendium of the doctrine of Christ, the new-covenant law. Unlike Luther’s negative reading, for Calvin the Sermon can be fulfilled by Christians not in the flesh but by the grace given through the Holy Spirit, through dependence on God alone. We are weak, but God grants us what we need to obey him. - Pennington, pg.6

This may be called the doctrine of the Two Kingdoms. Luther was concerned about a renunciation of society and withdrawal from the world, something he saw in both the Anabaptist tradition and monastic Roman Catholicism. His Two Kingdoms view sought to circumvent this while also recognizing how the Sermon applied to everyone. A distinction is made between the spiritual/private realm and the civil/public realm. The Sermon speaks to the former, to individual morality; it does not prescribe public policy. One implication is that a Christian may do something as a member of society or officer of the public that one would not be allowed as an individual (e.g., capital punishment). That is, as a Christian one must not retaliate, but as a lawyer or prince or householder one can and indeed must uphold justice and order. As pragmatically helpful as this view is in many ways, in effect Luther ended up with yet another version of the counsels-versus-precepts bifurcation, splitting not some people into each category but each person into both. Instead of the dualism of two kinds of people, the result is a two-realms dualism, splitting one’s attitudes from one’s actions. This goes against the whole-person focus that we will see appear as the dominant theme in the Sermon.

Main Idea: “true human flourishing is only available through communion with the Father God through his revealed Son, Jesus, as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. This flourishing is only experienced through faithful, heart-deep, whole-person discipleship, following Jesus’s teachings and life, which situate the disciple into God’s community or kingdom. This flourishing will only be experienced fully in the eschaton, when God finally establishes his reign upon the earth. As followers of Jesus journey through their lives, they will experience suffering in this world, which in God’s providence is in fact a means to true flourishing even now.”