A Prophesied Advent

Austin Minor

Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

0 ratings

· 12 views

Notes

Transcript

Handout

Why did Jesus Come?

The Advent Was God’s Designed Plan

The Fall of Man

Genesis 3 ESV

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” 16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” 17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” 20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work 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 that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

- Noah

- Babel

The Call of A Nation

Genesis 17:3–8 ESV

3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

Genesis 17:3-

Abraham was the father of Issac

Issac was the father of Jacob

And Jacob was renamed Israel and fathers the 12 sons (tribes) of Israel

Jacob and his sons end up in Egypt by way of Joseph

They grow into a large nation of people and are slaves of Egypt

Moses leads them out of Egypt and to the promised land, where we get the established Sacrificial system

Established Sacrificial System

We like to wonder and question why God doesn’t rid the world of all its evil and suffering.

“God, why don’t you do something about what is going on out there!”

But if we are honest with ourselves, we will see that the evil out there is the same as the evil in here (Heart)

And that is a huge problem

Because if God is going to rid the world of evil, He has to rid the world of us

But that is why He established the sacrificial system we see in the Old Testament

Leviticus 5:17–19 NIV

17 “If anyone sins and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, even though they do not know it, they are guilty and will be held responsible. 18 They are to bring to the priest as a guilt offering a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for them for the wrong they have committed unintentionally, and they will be forgiven. 19 It is a guilt offering; they have been guilty of wrongdoing against the Lord.”

Leviticus 5:17-

Leviticus 7:1–5 NIV

1 “ ‘These are the regulations for the guilt offering, which is most holy: 2 The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be splashed against the sides of the altar. 3 All its fat shall be offered: the fat tail and the fat that covers the internal organs, 4 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys. 5 The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering presented to the Lord. It is a guilt offering.

Leviticus 7:

You see, God allows the animal to die in my place if I sacrifice it

It is a huge symbol

The blood symbolizes life

If I sacrifice the life of the animal, its blood - its life - acts to cleanse me of my sin (death)

By the death of the animal, man is able to live and have fellowship with God.

It is like paying for a ticket to get admission to a concert to see your favorite singer or band. I will pay X amount of dollars to see Kanye West, Post Malone, Jason Aldean, or the Jonas Brothers. You cant get in to see them unless you pay the price. Except, here, it is so much more than that. Its like bringing your beloved family dog or cat to the concert so they can slaughter it in order for you to be in the presence of Jason Aldean or Kanye West. But neither of those men are worth that price. But God is worth the shedding of blood so that we can be in his presence. So, the Israelites sacrificed animals year after year in order to be able to approach the presence of God.

But even the death of an animal is not enough to satisfy the wrath of God because of man’s sin

The animal was always just a symbol of something greater that was to come and bring man back into a relationship with God.

And that is why there was a promised Messiah

A Promised Messiah

Isaiah 52:13–53:12 CSB

13 See, my servant will be successful; he will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted. 14 Just as many were appalled at you— his appearance was so disfigured that he did not look like a man, and his form did not resemble a human being— 15 so he will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of him, for they will see what had not been told them, and they will understand what they had not heard. 1 Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him. 4 Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. 6 We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth. 8 He was taken away because of oppression and judgment; and who considered his fate? For he was cut off from the land of the living; he was struck because of my people’s rebellion. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, but he was with a rich man at his death, because he had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully. 10 Yet the Lord was pleased to crush him severely. When you make him a guilt offering, he will see his seed, he will prolong his days, and by his hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished. 11 After his anguish, he will see light and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will carry their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him the many as a portion, and he will receive the mighty as spoil, because he willingly submitted to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet he bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.

Isaiah 52:13-53:

For hundreds of years Israel desperately waited for this coming Messiah.

And then, on night in Bethlehem, a child was born:

Matthew 1:18-

Matthew 1:18–24 NIV

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

How do we know Jesus was the Promised Messiah?

Does believing in something make it true?

The Old Testament gives prophetic requirements for the coming Messiah

They essentially ask these four questions:

Who would the Messiah come from?

Where would the Messiah be born?

How would the Messiah be born?

What would the Messiah accomplish?

Who would the Messiah come from?

The Messiah had to come from the tribe of Judah and in the lineage of David ()

Matthew 1:1–17 ESV

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Matthew 1:1–17 ESV

Matthew 1:

Where would the Messiah be born?

The Messiah had to be born in the city of Bethlehem ()

Matthew 2:1–6 ESV

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

How would the Messiah be born?

The Messiah had to be supernaturally born of a virgin ()

Matthew 1:20–23 ESV

20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Matthew 1:

What would the Messiah accomplish?

The Messiah would bring peace and his kingdom (, )

Hebrews 12:28–29 ESV

28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

Hebrews 12:

Conclusion:

Jesus fulfilled every single one of these prophetic requirements

And there are many many more - these are just four

Lets just say there are 8 prophetic requirements for the Messiah - 8 prophecies that were prophesied hundreds of years ago that a man has to fulfill to rightly claim he is the Messiah

Do you know what the likelihood is of one man fulfilling eight OT prophecies in one lifetime? The probability of that is 1 in 10 to the 17th power. Do you know how big of a number that is? that is 1 with 17 zeros.

100,000,000,000,000,000

That is equal to 1 quintillion quarters. That is enough quarters to cover the entire state of Texas with quarters… two feet deep. To put it another way. The chances of a man fulfilling eight OT prophecies in one lifetime is the same as you covering Texas with quarters two feet deep, taking one of those quarters, painting it black and tossing it somewhere in the massive pile, mixing the quarters up, blindfolding yourself, and successfully choosing the black quarter on your first try.

But Jesus didn’t fulfill eight OT prophecies; He fulfilled over 300 (29 in one day).

This means that our God had an articulate design that He had planned this entire time.

It means that the Advent - this Christmas - is the celebration of that plan coming together one starry night in the town of Bethlehem.

And it means that a God who can do all of that and who suffered so much for us to be able to live with Him forever deserves are complete commitment and all of our worship

This Christmas, don’t reduce the God who did all of that down to lesser than Santa Clause and your Christmas gifts.

Because when we get more joy out of those things than we do the Advent Messiah, we declare Him less important than the material things we enjoy for about 5 minutes.

Related Media

Related Sermons