Easter Series - Jewish Expectations (part 1)

And for those who were with us THEN - I hope this is a reminder for us - TO NOT MISunderstand Easter and TO SEE IT more clearly in light of its context.

· AND for those of you who WERE NOT here - my hope is that this series will help YOU APPROACH Easter from maybe a NEWER angle this year…to SEE it more clearly in light of its CONTEXT

• to maybe view Easter – with a deeper background than we have before…

That can’t be a bad thing right?

• This week and next week we're going to see what the Jewish Nation was expecting in regards to the coming Messiah....

Because make no mistake – the Jews were on the LOOKOUT for the coming Messiah!

• So hopefully by the end of next week, we'll understand a little better what those expectations were...

• AND THEN - Following that...in LIGHT of those EXPECTATIONS, we're going to focus in on what Jesus had to say about Himself...

• ...and we'll do that by focusing in on John 14:6 where Jesus says – this

John 14:6 ESV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

• And so OVERALL - this is how this series will play out...

after next week, each week up until Easter, we'll look at:

SLIDE:

Jewish Expectations (2 weeks)

Jesus as I AM

Jesus as The Way

Jesus as The Truth

Jesus as The Life

· Each of those phrases – making up John 14:6

• And so hopefully come Easter Sunday, we'll have MAYBE - a newer perspective on the resurrection...in light of what the Jews had expected from their Messiah...

And so – LET’s get started…

• The first aspect of the Jewish Belief that we're gonna look at deals with the Nature of God... – And remember this will tie directly into their EXPECTATION of the Messiah.

SLIDE: Jewish Belief: God Is One

Jewish Belief

• now, when we read Deut. 6:4....

Deuteronomy 6:4 ESV

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

• We think - OK, they're right on...the Lord is one...

• Now, we hear that....we read that...and we filter it through the rest of Scripture...

• We know what Isaiah 43:10 says...

Isaiah 43:10 ESV

10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.

• We hear this and think - Yes, that's right...

· That’s OT….but we can even go to the NT and hear the same truth…

Ephesians 4:4–5 ESV

4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

· There is ONE Lord…

· And we say – Yes…that’s true

• BUT the Jews understood this in a different way...

• Their thoughts on the ONENESS of God lead them down the path that ended with the belief that there was no TRINITY...

• In Jewish theology, the thought that One God would exist in 3 separate persons...

• was heretical!

• They couldn't wrap their heads around it...

• And so what are the implications of that?!!!

• WELL –

· The incarnation? - According to Jewish theology....it did not happen

· See in Jewish theology, the Messiah was going to be born AS OTHER MEN...

• The belief was that the Messiah would be born as other men...AND that he would NOT be sinless...

• Now WE hear that and we think - that's crazy...

• BUT, HOW INTERESTING IS IT – that when we look at Scripture....we see this belief play itself out...

Luke 9:18–19 ESV

18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.”

Matthew 16:13–14 ESV

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

• Do you see where their minds DEFAULT to?

• The CROWDS saw Jesus...

• they saw His miracles...

• they saw the works He performed...

• And so on ONE HAND they KNEW that this guy "Jesus" was doing things that no NORMAL man could do!

• BUT...

• on the OTHER HAND they COULD NOT say - this is GOD IN THE FLESH...

• WHY?

· remember – They read Deut. 6:4 (God is ONE) – and decide that “God in the flesh” is IMPOSSIBLE…

• and so what was the conclusion??

• Who did they say Jesus was? _ we just read it...

• Well, it's not GOD in the flesh - it MUST be John the Baptist (back from the dead)...

• Or it's Elijah (back from the dead)

• Or Jeremiah...

• Or one of the prophets...(back from the dead)

• And so in SEEING the works of Jesus, the people were willing to believe that God had sent these mere mortals back to earth (BACK FROM THE DEAD) to DO these things...

• but they wouldn't say that this was - God Himself...walking among them...

• ...because their theology wouldn't LET them say that.

• And so their theology REMOVED the deity of Christ...and THAT will have implications in how they handle things that Jesus ends up saying about Himself....

· OK- that’s the first belief we’ll look at today…

· God is ONE…

Implication? - Jesus could NOT have been the Messiah? - - WHY???

· Because Jesus CLAIMED to be GOD.

So think of the irony here - Jesus’ CLAIM TO BE GOD in the flesh - DISQUALIFIED Him from being the Messiah - in the minds of the Jews.

NOW - what about another Jewish belief that would have HINDERED the Jews from believing in Jesus as the Messiah?

SLIDE: Jewish Belief: No Suffering Messiah

Jewish Belief

• So think about how hindering this belief would have been in looking at Christ as the Messiah...

· How confident are we – that an Elder is to be – A MAN (not a woman – but a MAN).

· We are VERY confident – why?

- Because the Bible tells us so.

· An elder qualification is that this person – should be the HUSBAND of ONE WOMAN.

The HUSBAND…

· An ELDER is to be – A MAN.

· NOW – if a woman walked in here and said – I’m going to be an ELDER at this church – As confident as I would be in looking at her and saying- NO YOU’RE NOT…

· As confident as I would be in responding that way…(saying – well – you’re a WOMAN so – NOPE you can’t be an ELDER)

· The 1st century Jews were just as confident that a SUFFERING Messiah would be NO MESSIAH at all…

• Jewish theology at the time of Christ had no doctrine of a Suffering Messiah...

now again, we might think....wow that's weird, BUT we see this play itself out in Scripture...

Matthew 16:21–22 ESV

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”

• So here we have - Peter - Peter knows that Jesus is the Son of God...the Messiah (he said so 5 verses before this)

• So Peter knows who Jesus is - God Himself in the flesh...and yet...

• When God in the flesh tells him that he must SUFFER and DIE...

• Peter takes Jesus over in the corner and says - That's NOT GONNA HAPPEN TO YOU!!

• Why would Peter say that?

• BECAUSE according to Jewish theology, there was no CONCEPT of a Suffering Messiah....

slide: Electric Chair

• You know what this is?

What does the electric chair have to do with Christianity?

• Answer: nothing

• Christianity has no use for the electric chair...

• And on the flip side, Jewish Theology at the time of Christ has no use for the Cross...

• It wasn't part of their thinking...

• They didn't even consider it...

• SOOO, when they heard it...When they heard Jesus talking about being killed...it was hard for them to even grasp the concept...

And we HEAR about this - in the Bible

1 Corinthians 1:22–24 ESV

22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

• The thought of a Suffering Messiah was repulsive to the Jews...

• It was the biggest stumbling block to them BELIEVING the gospel...

• Here you had a guy who was claiming to be God...and yet He was getting pushed around by man...

NOW – this is gonna be a really lame analogy…but it’s real to my life. (ACC, Big12, Big10…)

· *Univ of Maryland (Terrapins) – we went there my senior year.

· At the time they were in the ACC – one of the power conferences.

· Fans – “Welcome to ACC Baseball!”

• When it came to JESUS – You had a guy claiming to be God getting spit on...

• Having His beard pulled from His face...

• Getting owned...

• And the DISCONNECT between the claim of Jesus being God and what was HAPPENING to Him...

• ...caused the RELIGIOUS Leaders to MOCK Jesus...

Luke 23:35–37 ESV

35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”

• Here's the IRONY - The rulers and the soldiers MOCKED Him...

• What they were saying was - We're GOING to kill You...and the only way you'll survive is if you SAVE Yourself!

• The only way you WON'T die, is if You CHOOSE to save Yourself...

• They couldn't understand that HE was ACTUALLY making a CHOICE...

• That He was CHOOSING to die...!!

• That this was HIS plan to die!

Acts 4:27–28 ESV

27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

• The Jews didn't understand that Jesus (God in the flesh) was choosing to lay down His life..

• And yet It was all building on itself...from the Jews perspective...

• First this guy Jesus was claiming to be equal with God...

• And according to our 1st point today, that didn't compute with Jewish theology...

Mark 14:61–64 ESV

61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death.

• So we have Jesus claiming to be equal with God - to be God, and since that didn't compute with Jewish theology, they decided He was blaspheming God...and decided to kill Him.

• THEN, you have Jesus being sentenced to death, and suffering...

• which just made it even more improbable that He would be the Messiah...

• All they saw was a guy who had claimed to be God, and yet they were man-handling Him...

• In their minds...it didn't MAKE SENSE!

· So Jesus is PUT TO DEATH – solidifying in the Jewish mind – even more-so that Jesus wasn’t who He claimed to be…

· And His death had an impact on the Jewish people…

Luke 24:13–21 ESV

13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

• Do you see what had happened?

• The death of Christ KILLED the hope of the Jew...!

• v21 - But we HAD HOPED that He was the one to redeem - - WHAT? Israel...

• What are they saying? - We HAD hoped this, but now that He's dead, our HOPE in the redemption of Israel is gone!

Which leads to our 3rd and final point for today...

SLIDE: Jewish Belief: National Salvation, Not Individual Salvation

Jewish Belief

• If we look back at verses 20-21 of Luke 24, we see what the expectation was for the Jewish people...

Luke 24:20–21 ESV

20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

• The Jewish expectation was that the Messiah would come and free the Jewish people from Roman oppression.

• The thought was that the Messiah would establish an earthly kingdom where:

• the law would be established

• the temple restored

• and where Judaism would reign over gentiles

• See the Jews wanted to reign, but what they needed was to be conquered....in a Spiritual sense...

• And In their IGNORANCE they stood in opposition to the TRUTH

• And so when Jesus comes and He starts talking about needing to die...

• That didn't FIT in with the idea of 'the Messiah CONQUERING Rome'...

And so all of these things playing into the Expectations that the Jews had…regarding the COMING MESSIAH

CLOSING:

• And so what have we seen today...

• As we prepare for the COMING EASTER....

• ...what have we seen in regards to shedding light on Jewish, 1st century EXPECTATIONS regarding the coming Messiah...?

SUMMARY

SLIDE

Jewish Belief

God Is One

No Suffering Messiah

National Salvation, Not Individual Salvation

• now, when we read Deut. 6:4....

Deuteronomy 6:4 (ESV)

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

• There was no concept of the Trinity in Jewish theology...

• No God-man

• And so the claims that Jesus made about being equal with God - God Himself, in the flesh...

• ...didn't resonate HOPE in the Jew, but instead enraged him...offended him...

• and lead to a charge of blasphemy!

2. Jewish Belief: No Suffering Messiah

• The thought of the Messiah...the anointed One of God, coming and dying...

• was completely foreign to Jewish thought...

• ....and we saw it in Scripture...in how even the apostles responded to the idea of Christ being crucified...

• A Suffering Messiah was the biggest stumbling block to them BELIEVING the gospel...AND YET - the Suffering Messiah is the very essence of the Gospel!

• Without a Suffering Messiah, there is no gospel!

• There is no good news! WHY?

• Because without a suffering Messiah, ALL you're left with is the thought that MAN can save himself!

and when we apply that idea to Scripture....

• Well listen...we know what Romans 3:10-12 says about mankind...(No one is righteousness, no not one....)

• Romans 6:23 says - The wages of sin is death...

• Throughout all of Romans, Paul is CONSTANTLY trying to say - LISTEN - ANYONE who thinks they can be GOOD ENOUGH to get to heaven, WILL NOT GET TO HEAVEN...

• Without the Gospel of Christ...Without the good news of Jesus...doing what He did on the cross...

• ...mankind is left all alone...helpless, with no hope.

• But as we'll see next week, the Jew didn't believe that!

3. Jewish Belief:

• The HOPE of Jewish theology was a REDEEMED [Israel]...

• And anyone CLAIMING to be the Messiah, who failed to free the Jews from the oppression of Rome...

• Was deemed to be - a FALSE Messiah...

• We see this play out in Scripture when on Palm Sunday, the Jews are shouting for Joy at the sight of their SAVIOR...Jesus!

• AND YET, just a week later, when they realize He wasn't about to SAVE them from Rome...

• Those shouts of praise turn to shouts of - Crucify Him!!

• And so as we make our way to Easter...Resurrection Sunday...

• I hope that we have maybe a new perspective to see the backdrop of Jewish Thought (Expectation) as Christ came to accomplish for His own what they could not do for themselves...

Next week we'll continue to look at the Expectations of the Jews in the 1st century as Christ prepared to go to the cross...

And then from there we'll get into looking at what Christ had to say about Himself...

We'll see Christ as:

- I Am

- The Way

- The Truth

- The Life

Let's pray...

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