Sermon Tone Analysis

*Exposing The Da Vinci Code, Pt.1*

\\ 1 John 2:22-26 (NIV) \\ 22 Who is the liar?

It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ.

Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son.

23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

24 See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you.

If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.

25 And this is what he promised us—even eternal life.

26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.[1]

\\ *1) You may be asking, “Why does all this matter?”* 2 words – “Mass Marketing”.

In today’s diverse society and brilliant technology, a lie can spread around the world before you can even tie your shoes!

This is certainly true with the slick selling of this book, “The Da Vinci Code”.

2 Timothy 3:1-7 (NASB95) \\ 1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.

6 For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

\\ \\ *a)* *The times that we live in are full of people that have departed from the truth and are actively deceptive with truth*.

More than ever do we need truth detectors that expose the deceivers and distorter for who they are – liars and antichrists!

1john 2:22 \\ \\ *b) Attempts to demolish the Christian message are nothing new.*

But what’s amazing with these times we live in is how much mileage a very small group of scholars, authors and theologians get peddling their new brand of Christianity!

\\ \\ You might say that they are getting great gas mileage from their vehicle of deception!

\\ \\ 2*) The newest vehicle that these theological heretics and theological lunatics are traveling in is what I call - “Gospel Replacement”.

*The traditional gospels in their view can no longer be trusted.

So let’s throw out 2000 years of trusted scholarship and depend on the “new gospels” for our understanding of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Daniel Brown says that there where 80 gospels but only 4 chosen.

That’s strange because the Nag Hammadai Library discovered in 1945 has only 45 Gnostic books.

Ireaneous writes Against Heresies 3 says that Matthew published his gospel among the Hebrews while Peter and Paul were preaching the word in Rome and founding the church there .

Paul was in Rome around 60-64 A.D. \\ \\ This is now being done on a regular basis on college campuses and seminaries across this nation.

\\ \\ *a) A group in the United States called “The Jesus Seminar” is pressing their brand of Christianity on a regular basis every chance they get.

*They have become the “media’s darling” because it fits with their mostly non-existent theology.

\\ \\ /According to the Jesus Seminar and Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code”, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John can no longer be trusted as the historical records of Jesus, instead “The Gospel of Thomas” and others now present authentic scholarship for Christianity!/ \\ \\ *Over the past 40 years much of Christianity has been subject to a diet of mushrooms.

If you want mushrooms to grow, you keep them in the dark and feed them garbage.*

What millions of Christians believe today is the result of having been fed religious garbage in the name of Jesus! \\ \\ *b) As I speak, “The Da Vinci Code” has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for most of 2004.*

In this book, we hear of a secret society made up of Sir Isaac Newton, Leonardo Da Vinci, Victor Huge and the Opus Dei, a Catholic organization, that have uncovered the centuries old cover up of true Christianity.

But on one hand Dan Brown says that his book is just fiction, and like those pesky “pop-up ads” on your computer, on the last page and the last sentence Dan Brown writes, “All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.”

\\ \\ In an interview on “Good Morning America” Brown said before millions of viewers, “I began as a skeptic.

As I started researching “The Da Vinci Code” I really thought I would disprove a lot of this theory about Mary Magdalene and Holy Blood and all that.

I became a believer.”

\\ \\ *The Los Angeles Times Book Review said of this book, “…Seriously challenges many traditional Christian beliefs, if not alter them.”*

\\ \\ So kind of like Indiana Jones, we’re going on an adventure for truth, a journey that takes us through virtual reality to end up with historical reality.

*3.

False Code #1: Mary Is Jesus’ Wife.* \\ \\ In This book, she is the secret wife of Jesus and the mother of His children! \\ \\ On page 244, this book also says that Mary Magdalene is in Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper”.

By putting her there Jesus is giving her honor.

It’s as if Da Vinci was giving us a clue to this special lady in Jesus life.

Break out the holy Polaroid.

\\ \\ *So Who Is This Woman?

Let’s find out.

\\ * \\ *a.

Mary is one of 7 with this name in the Bible.

\\ *Luke 8:2 (NIV) and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;

In Luke 8:2 we find that she is from the city of Magdela.

A small city located near the Sea of Galilee.

\\ \\ b. *Mary had a demon cast out of her by Jesus*.

\\ Luke 8:1-3  After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.

The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others.

These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

\\ *c.

Mary was present at the cross.

\\ *Matthew 27:55-56  Many women were there, watching from a distance.

They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.

56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

/ She was there with Jesus mother, John and others.

\\ / \\ *d.

Mary was at the tomb as Jesus was buried.

\\ *Matthew 27:61  Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

*e.

Mary was a witness of the resurrection.

\\ *Matthew 28:1  After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

She returned with the other woman to anoint his body but he was raised from the dead already.

Then they run back to the apostles and no one believes them.

For several reasons, but the most important is the fact that in Jesus day Woman were not allowed to be a witness in a court of law, because they were seen as not reliable!

\\ \\ *f.

Mary clings to Jesus after He appears to her.* \\ John 20:11-18 (NASB95) \\ 11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.

13 And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing /there, /and did not know that it was Jesus.

15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?

Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!”

(which means, Teacher).

17 Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and /that /He had said these things to her.

\\ *Key: This is the only account of Jesus and Mary being alone together.

\\ \\ *There was certainly nothing sexual about this encounter.

Nor did Jesus treat her any differently than any other women, except his own mother.

\\ \\ *This is the entire inventory of Mary Magdalene from the biblical record!*

*pels?

\\ \\ · The Gospel of Philip.

\\ * \\ In this *3rd century writing*, there is a famous passage that involves Jesus kissing Mary.

(300 years after the original event)

\\ William F. Albright, who in his day was the world's foremost biblical archaeologist, said: /"We can already say emphatically that there is no longer any solid basis for dating any book of the New Testament after about A.D. 80.

This means that the apostles where alive and eyewitnesses to the death and resurrection of Jesus where alive./

/We have 24,000 original new testaments./

* \\ So What About Mary In The Gnostic Gospel?* \\   \\ 63:32-64:10 “And Mary the companion of […] Mary Magdalene.

[…loved] her more than all the disciples [and used to] kiss her on her […].

\\ \\ The brackets indicate broken spots in the manuscript because of damage.

Talk about a mystery to solve! \\ \\ *2 Things Come To Mind: \\ * \\ > *There is too little text to work with*.

\\ \\ >*In bible days there was a kiss of greeting fellowship) that was give to one another.

That fill in could very well be her cheek!*

Romans 16:16 (NASB95) Greet one another with a holy kiss.

All the churches of Christ greet you.

1 Thessalonians 5:26  Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.

(This is weak evidence)