You Sure pt2

What was the Bible intended to do?

One of the biggest mistakes we make with the Bible is to try to make it into something it is not. I have seen a lot of this over the years. One of the most common proposals is that the Bible is a science textbook. It is used and twisted to support all kinds of opinions and positions it was never intended to support. That leads to debates over issues the Bible never addresses or cares to address about things like the age of the earth, dinosaurs, and the break up of Pangea (lol and yes I have seen that one)

The Bible never purports to be a science book.

I have also seen the Bible be proposed as the full history of the earth. That’s also something the Bible never claims to be. It DOES tell us the story of the beginning of humanity- in Adam and Eve- but what was happening outside the Garden…nope. Not there. And the Bible itself never tries to say that.

The list goes on. I have seen some people try to make the Bible the source of mathematics…modern chemistry…electricity…the list goes on. Suffice to say, spend enough time in weird Christian sub-cultures and you can find the Bible used to do just about everything, but what it was intended to do.

See the Bible has a purpose. It is telling a very specific truth to a very broad audience. And the Bible does not need any of us to obscure that message by making it match our pet theories and opinions.

In John 20:30-31, the apostle Jesus loves says something very telling about the contents of his section of the Bible. Let’s look at it.

First, he says that his book is not an exhaustive list of all that Jesus did. He left some things out.

Second, he says that what is written is written so that you may believe in Jesus.

So here we have a disciple of Jesus saying he was writing for a singular purpose. So that people who read his words will believe in Jesus. It’s not a science book. A history book. A political book. It is a testimony to what Jesus did so we will consider His works and believe.

That is a big statement. And it is a big blow to people who would use John’s Gospel for other purposes. In doing so, they miss the point of the book entirely.

I point this out, before taking you to another passage for a very important reason. You can’t take the Bible a verse here and a verse there. That’s how we end up confused and arguing and using the Bible for nefarious purposes. That’s how the Bible gets used to justify slavery, the subjugation of women, polygamy, abuse, the Crusades, and the list goes on. When we take only certain parts of the Bible without seeing how our interpretation matches up with the Bible as a whole, we can do all kinds of awful things in the name of God.

John says he wrote for a singular purpose.

What if Jesus said something similar? What if He said that about the entirety of the Bible?

Go with me to Luke 24:13-49

So from the jump, this is Jesus, who these guys do not recognize. He has joined them, post resurrection, as they are walking on the road discussing Him.

And they start trying to explain to Him all that has happened and quite frankly their amazement and skepticism at what has happened.

And Jesus stops them and gets…well loud lol

Verse 25- y’all have been told this was coming from the BEGINNING!

Luke Comments

Jesus himself explained his passion and entrance into glory as the fulfillment of the OT prophecies. If the disciples believed the Scriptures (cf. 16:31; Acts 26:27), they would not have been sad (Luke 24:17) or confused (24:19–24). Jesus did not designate which prophets or where these prophets spoke of him. For Jesus and the Evangelists “all” the prophets “everywhere” spoke of him.

And look at verse 27- remember what we said last week about how they saw the OT- Moses (the Law) and the prophets? All of the OT was pointing to Jesus.

Luke Comments

“In all the Scriptures” can be interpreted in two ways: the third section of the OT called the Writings (cf. Luke 24:44) or the Law and the Prophets, i.e., the whole of Scripture (cf. 16:16). The second interpretation, which understands the word “Scriptures” as a synonym for “Moses and all the Prophets,” is to be preferred. The term “all” is another example of Luke’s fondness for exaggeration, for time would not have permitted Jesus to refer to “all” the Scriptures that referred to him

Luke The Lukan Message

All that Jesus taught and did, all that he experienced, was prophesied beforehand. Thus the Scriptures witness to the truthfulness of what Luke’s readers had been taught. This involves not only the facts about Jesus but also the interpretation of those facts

Then go to verse 44- once again a reference to the entirety of the OT. All about Jesus. And verse 45- He “opened their minds to understand the scriptures”

Luke Context

As with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, he explains to them that what is written in the three sections that make up the Scriptures (the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, i.e., the Writings) had to be fulfilled

Luke Comments

As in 24:25 the central message of the OT is seen as focusing on Jesus (cf. John 5:39; 20:9). For Luke the OT was a Christian book from beginning to end. This was not grasped by the disciples during Jesus’ ministry. Now, however, due to Jesus’ interpreting of the Scriptures, they saw this clearly

All of the Bible, it’s singular purpose, is to point us to Jesus!

That’s the purpose of the Bible!

Luke Comments

The disciples’ new understanding of the necessity of Jesus’ death and resurrection was not achieved through their own study of the Scriptures. What was involved was not a new hermeneutic or method of interpretation. Rather this understanding was given them by Jesus. Paul was later commissioned to open people’s eyes (Acts 26:17–18) through preaching and interpreting the Scriptures (17:2–3). Benoit notes: “The missionary’s two instruments are witness and Scripture.”

“The flood and the ark, the Passover and the Red Sea, the wilderness and the Promised Land, exile and return, war and peace, kingdom and kings, prophets and priests, the temple, its sacrifices, and its rituals, wisdom in death and in life, songs of lament and rejoicing, the lives of faithful sufferers and the blood of righteous martyrs — the Old Testament is extraordinarily Jesus-shaped.- Glen Scrivener”

Charles Spurgeon said, “I have never yet found a text that had not got a road to Christ in it...”

“25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.” Romans 16:25-27

The point of the Bible is to call us to trust Jesus and then once we have trusted Him to show us how to follow Him. To make it more or less than that is to make the Bible something it was never intended to be!

Toady let me ask you, when you read the Bible what do you see? What do you look for?

“When the apostles read the Old Testament, they saw references to Christ and his kingdom, as it were, on every page. Jesus is the second Adam, the perfect law keeper, the scion of David who would sit on David’s throne forever, the ultimate singer of the psalms, the wisdom of God, the suffering servant, the perfect high priest, to name just a few.- Stephen M Coleman”

When we look for things other than Jesus we are not finding the best part of the text!

Ways Jesus shows up in the text:

Promises- Genesis 3:15 “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.””

Prophecy- Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Types- Noah- Genesis 6:9 “These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.”

Places- Jacob’s ladder at Bethel- Genesis 28:16 “Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.””

Things- bronze serpent- Numbers 21:4 “From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way.”

And that also means that all of the Bible is important. Even the parts that seem, on the surface, to have little to do with us, have a message for us.

“Promises, prophecies, and types hardly exhaust the numerous places Christ is present in the Old Testament. To mention a few more in passing: Christ fulfills the Old Testament as the keeper of the law, the singer of the psalms, the wisdom of God, the suffering servant, the righteous king, and, perhaps controversially, the ideal husband portrayed most wonderfully in the Song of Songs. Yes, Christ even fulfills the Song of Songs!- Stephen M Coleman”

So when we interact with the Bible, we can know that God has something to say to us and that He is seeking to help us know more about Jesus.

(this sermon is partially indebted to the following: https://www.ntwrightonline.org/three-ways-old-testament-theology-points-to-jesus/

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/where-is-jesus-in-the-old-testament

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/christ-in-the-old-testament/)