Moments
Matthew 1:20, 21 (You Shall Call His Name JESUS)
Christmas 2015
Matthew 1:20, 21
You Shall Call His name Jesus
At Christmas time, we come together to hear the word about the birth of Jesus. We celebrate this most wondrous moment when the eternal, infinite, perfect, and pure God stepped out of His eternal realm and united with human flesh in the womb of a woman.
He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, carried for the normal time any human would be carried, and He was born in the usual way of all humans. The Christmas Child, who had created the vast cosmos by His wisdom and His spoken word, was a normal baby. He was completely helpless but for the parents he was born to. And yet, He was certainly watched over by innumerable angels and by the set plan of His own heavenly Father.
He certainly couldn’t save himself if trouble came upon Him, and so He was wholly dependent on Joseph and Mary for His warmth, protection, food, and care. It is the marvel of this occurrence that we celebrate. For most, it is a time of rejoicing and happiness, of eating and giving gifts.
Hopefully, among the many preparations we make for this time of gathering, we will remember this Christmas Child, not neglect Him. He was born to save, and Jesus is His name…
Text Verse: Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11
The few words, spoken to Joseph through a dream by an angel of the Lord, reveal so much to us.
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
The child has the legal right to the Davidic throne because He will be brought into the line of David through His adoptive father, Joseph. We also learn that Mary was pregnant with a child before he had come together with her. She was still a virgin, and yet what was conceived in her was of the Holy Spirit. This in itself would take many pages to explain and we could only touch on the marvel of what it means.
We learn that the child will be a Son. Even from the earliest moments of conception, and at a time when they didn’t have all the modern technologies to scan a baby in the womb to determine what it would be, Joseph was told that it was to be a Son.
And this Son had a name picked out for Him already. Joseph and Mary wouldn’t need to struggle over what to call the Child. The decision was made before the world was created. His name would be… Jesus. And to follow up the reason for it, he was told, “…for He will save His people from their sins.”
To us, this doesn’t mean anything unless we know what Jesus means. The name is a transliteration of the Hebrew, through the Greek, and then through the Germanic languages into our modern English. Because of this, we have to go back to the Hebrew and discover that His name is Yeshua. Yeshua means “salvation.”
Thus, “His name is Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” It begins to make sense when we understand the meaning of the name. But in this name, and in the reason for the giving of the name, there is a veiled hint of His very nature. What He would do with this nature is more than Israel realized.
According to the angel in the dream, He wasn’t coming to save them from the Romans. He wasn’t coming to save them from poverty. He wasn’t coming to save them from pains, trials, or woes. No, He was coming to save them from their sins.
Though the other things are what we as humans would focus on, those particular things hardly make a difference to God if our sins aren’t taken care of. All of the other things which are wrong in the world are there because of our sins. Unless the sin problem is taken care of, the rest just doesn’t matter.
At Christmas, we want to focus on the fun stuff in the Bible, we want to read the old, old stories of the birth, and the angels, and the wise men, and the star, and… and all of those fun things. And it is right that we do so. And so I recommend that all of you read those stories this Christmas.
If you read Matthew, starting in verse 18 of chapter 1 and read all of chapter 2, you will get the entirety of the Christmas story from him. Then go to Luke and read all of Luke 1 and through verse 40 of chapter 2, you will have the entirety of his account as well.
But for us here now, we will look at the reason for these things, not the things themselves. And the reason for them is completely tied up in those simple words to Joseph –
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Being saved from something implies that harm and death will result if one isn’t saved from it. We toss a life preserver to a person on the ocean because without it, they will drown. There is the one tossing, there is the thing which is tossed, and there is what the tossed thing can do. Each is tied up in the saving process.
God has a saving process for His people. It is a process which encompasses His entire word, from the very beginning until the very last chapter of it. And the entire process focuses on the giving of His Son for us…. in the giving of Jesus. Yes, it is all to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.
I. Sinners Need a Savior
How confused the world is about Jesus! Ask ten people who He is and what He came to do, and you’ll get a wide variety of answers. Ask a hundred people and you’ll get so many more. Probably the most common answer though is, “That He came to save us.” I’ve noticed this. People do equate Jesus with saving us.
When you press them on what this means, quite a few will falter, but many will continue on the right path, “To save us from our sins.” If you press them further, they will normally start to break down very quickly in what that exactly means.
If you change the direction of question and ask, “What about you? If you died today, why should God allow you into heaven instead of tossing you into heck?” the majority of people will suddenly default back to self. “I’m a good person.” “I’m not as bad as Hitler.” “I do good things for other people.” “I petted a puppy yesterday.”
Suddenly, the “Jesus” you have been asking about is no longer the issue. It is “I.” This is the problem which man has faced all along, and it is the problem which every religion on earth but one has; the “I” problem.
Ask a muslim why they can go to heaven and it will be “I.” “I will do enough and allah will be pleased with me.” “If I die as a martyr for allah, I will go to paradise.” “I.”
Ask a buddhist about their idea of salvation, which isn’t necessarily heaven, but regardless of that, it still comes back to “I.” The same is true with Hindus, animists, and on and on. Even modern Jews base their relationship with God on self. Each is dealing with the same issue, and it is already broken – “I.”
There are even those in Christianity who haven’t learned. It is “I.” “I have proofs of my salvation through works.” “I have repented of my sins and so God has accepted me.” “I think that…” Watch out for “I” and especially “I think.” It doesn’t matter what we think. What matters is what God says… in context.
However, the true Christian who understands that, “I need a Savior” is to take that knowledge not back to self, but to the One who can save them. It doesn’t make sense to say, “Here I am in this giant ocean with no land in sight, no life preserver around my neck, and no strength left to continue swimming, but I will save myself.”
That is simply unreasonable. A drowning man needs a savior from the depths. And humanity is in the same condition with sin. We are in an ocean of it. It surrounds us, it is below us, it is attacking us from all sides like the raging waves which rise up and cast us about. We would be fools to say the ocean isn’t there. And we would be fools to say that we have it all under control. But the world is full of fools. “I.” It is an “I problem.”
The story of Jonah shows us this state. It equates the world of sin with the ocean. Jonah was cast into that sea, just as Adam was cast into the ocean of sin. For him, there was no hope. He was to die in that ocean. But then… the Lord sent him a savior. He was given his proverbial life raft in the form of a fish.
From his place of safety, it says, “Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.” The sinner had found a Savior. And so he prayed concerning the distress he had been in. It is a prayer that each of us who knows Christ has made –
And he said:
“I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction,
And He answered me.
|“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
And You heard my voice.
3 For You cast me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the floods surrounded me;
All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight;
Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul;
The deep closed around me;
Weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains;
The earth with its bars closed behind me forever;
Yet You have brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord, my God.
7 “When my soul fainted within me,
I remembered the Lord;
And my prayer went up to You,
Into Your holy temple.
8 “Those who regard worthless idols
Forsake their own Mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay what I have vowed.
Salvation is of the Lord.” Jonah 2:2-9
Jonah said that “those who regard worthless idols forsake their own mercy.” Self is certainly a worthless idol. Our bodies falter under the heavy load, they degrade through the years, and they fall apart and become weak.
Our minds, no matter how sharp, get foggy in sickness, they get tired without sleep, and they get confused when they are overrun with chemicals. Our beauty is temporary and our personalities are only as cheerful as the next stressful morning or the next piece of bad news. Self is a terrible place to pin one’s hopes. Jonah understood this.
There, right at the end of the prayer, Jonah acknowledged the same thing that each of the redeemed in Christ have acknowledged –
yeshuatah Yehovah – “Salvation is of the Lord.” It is an ancient story with a modern picture. The word, yeshuatah is simply a structural form of the noun yeshuah. Jonah, in his misery at having been cast into the pit from which he could not save himself, called out to the Lord and the Lord sent Yeshua; Jesus – our Salvation.
Sinners in fact need a Savior. And that Savior is of the Lord. You won’t find Him in self. And as every other religion on earth outside of biblical Christianity is based on self, you will only find Him in the Christmas Child. Jonah realized this and after making his acknowledgement with it, he was granted relief –
“So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” Jonah 2:10
Jonah left the waters and was returned to dry land. He left the place of chaos and returned to the world of order. By merely opening his mouth and acknowledging that Jesus is Lord, he was saved. This is what God sent His Son to do. This is the mission of the Christmas Child. Yes, Sinners need a Savior and the Lord sent Yeshua to save us from our sins –
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
A sinner in need of a Savior; that would be me
I am cut off from my God with no hope in sight
I am floundering in this storm-tossed sea
And I need someone to cast something to me to make it right
I am sinking below the billowing waves; my sin is heaped too high
I can feel the claws of hell pulling me down
To any hope of being reconciled to God, I have waved “goodbye”
The sin has overwhelmed me and I am starting to drown
Oh but God sent a Savior, more than just a foam life-preserver
Instead, He sent me Jesus, His own beloved Son
I am unworthy it is true, I am the world’s biggest non-deserver
But through His cross my salvation has been won
II. Fallen Man Needs a Perfect Man
The angel in the dream which came to Joseph did not just say, “Joseph, do not be afraid…” Instead, he said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid…” The words of the Bible are precise and they have intent.
This then wasn’t an unnecessary or superfluous addition. Instead, it was intended for Joseph to understand that he, as a son of David, was selected to be the legal father of the promised Seed of David. This wasn’t something hidden away for only the theologians of Israel to know about. Instead, it was something that even the most common of the land would have been told and would have anticipated.
It would have been more commonly understood than even the election of a new president in America. And it would have even been more anticipated, hoped for, and prayed for than the replacement of our current president.
The people were waiting for a Savior. They were under the oppression of the Romans and they thought that this was what He was all about. They thought that this Son of David would free them from their physical bonds and place them once again above the nations. In Matthew 12, the people as a whole are said to have understood that the Messiah was the Son of David –
“Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, ‘Could this be the Son of David?'” Matthew 12:22, 23
But even those outside of the people known as Israel had heard of the coming chosen One who would be a Son of David. When Jesus was traveling to the north along the coast, we read this account about a Canaanite woman who knew and understood that the Jewish Messiah would be a Son of David –
“Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.'” Matthew 15:21, 22
And as the time came for Jesus to receive His kingdom as the Son of David, the people… the multitudes, called out acknowledging Him as their Messiah; calling for Him to save –
Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!” Matthew 21:1-9
It is this Son of David who they were looking for and whom they realized they had found in Jesus. But what is it that prompted them to this knowledge? What is the basis for the Son of David to be the One they expected? Well, it goes back to what the Lord promised directly to David in 2 Samuel 7 –
“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. 15 But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”’” 2 Samuel 7:12-16
This, along with quiet a few other references to David in their Scriptures, told them that the promised One would be a Son of David. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, and Zechariah all spoke of the throne of David or of the line of David in this future way.
And so the people waited for their King to come. However, and unfortunately, they missed much of the significance of what He was coming to do. Yes, a future kingdom was promised; a literal kingdom with a literal throne, among the people of Israel.
But this wasn’t all that the son of David was coming to provide. Instead, Joseph was told exactly what He was first and foremost coming to do – “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” There was a greater problem than Roman oppression. There was the bondage of the devil; the problem of sin.
This is a problem that required a Savior, a human Savior. The Bible shows that a rift exists between God and man because of our sin. However, there is the truth that God, meaning God who is Spirit, could not take care of that problem in His eternal state as Spirit. It would require a Man within the created order to handle it.
The fact is that God is infinite and man is finite. The gap needs to be bridged in order for there to be reconciliation. Too often, we focus on the deity of Christ and fail to analyze and contemplate the humanity of Christ. This leaves us with a rather unbalanced picture of who He is. From our text, it is evident that Christ is a Man.
The words, “for that which is conceived in her” shows us that there is a human Child in Mary’s womb. The Baby came from her human DNA. He was nourished from her as He grew inside of her. When He was born, He consumed the milk her body had prepared for Him.
He cried, He grasped up for her hands, He smiled, He slept. This Christmas Child was truly a Child. He did all of the things that a human would do. The Bible says that He grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. Yes, He learned as He grew. He learned to walk and to talk. He learned to chew food.
Everything that we as humans do, He also did. He was a Man like all men, with but an important difference – He was born without sin. There was a picture of His coming all the way back at the time of Abraham. Like David, Abraham was given a promise too. Like David, he would be in the line of the Messiah.
As a sign of this promise and all that it entailed, Abraham was told that he was to be circumcised and that all of his descendants were to be circumcised as well. The purpose of circumcision has been talked about and debated over for eons. And there are several reasons for it which we can deduce from the Bible.
But there is one reason for it which is pictorial rather than actual. And that is the most important reason of all. Circumcision involves cutting away the foreskin of the male reproductive organ. The orlah, or foreskin, remaining on the child counted the child as having a deficiency which was unacceptable.
The term “uncircumcised” is used in a moral sense in the Bible. To be uncircumcised in the ears is to be a person who refuses to listen to sound moral advice. To be uncircumcised in the heart is to be a person who is not morally upright.
When Moses asked to not speak on behalf of the Lord, he said he was “of uncircumcised lips.” He felt that he was morally unqualified to speak on behalf of the Lord, thus diminishing His glory through contemptible speech.
These examples show us that to be uncircumcised was to demonstrate moral incompleteness. And so, in picture, the circumcision looked forward to a time when moral perfection would come. As sin is moral imperfection, then it is a picture of one born without sin.
The circumcision of the Israelites pictured the cutting off of sin in humanity by the Savior who could perform that function. This is the Savior that sinners needed. They needed a sinless one. As the Child conceived to Mary had no human father, then he would not inherit the sin of man.
The rite of circumcision shows us that sin travels from father to child. As all people – both men and women – have fathers, then all people inherit the sin of their father.
And as all people came from one father, Adam, then all people have inherited Adam’s original sin. Generation after generation, the sin of our first father has been visited upon us through our earthly father. God, who is Spirit, couldn’t solve this as a Spirit. Only a Man could resolve it. But He could initiate the process.
And so a Man was born without a human father, and yet was born of humanity through the woman. He was born the perfect Child. As this was true, he was qualified to be the Savior. The Christmas Child had come. The Gift had arrived. The only question for us to consider is, “Could He continue without sin?” Yes, He was qualified, but was He capable?
The words to Joseph say, “Yes.” He is in fact capable –
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
The angel in the dream did not say, “He might save His people from their sins.” Instead, it said, “He will save His people from their sins.” There is a note of surety tied up in the bundle of joy who is that precious cooing Christmas Child.
However, there is a truth which cannot be escaped and it is something that must be discussed or we will have a deficient idea of who our Savior is. It is what we would call the Arian heresy. It is an insipid infection which permeates the world even today in aberrant cults such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
This truth stems from the fact that anything finite is bound by limitations. And with these limitations there is defect. We do not have all the answers to every thing. We are limited in knowledge and we are limited in ability.
There is nothing inherently wrong with this, but with a deficient will, a will which lacks perfect understanding, there will inevitably be fault. And with fault comes sin. What does this mean? It means there is more to the Savior than just His humanity.
The chasm is too wide, it is impossible for me to bridge
I can never attain to what is infinite on my own
It isn’t like walking over a mere mountain ridge
Instead it is an eternal walk which leaves me all alone
But God did it! He made the way back to me
He sent Jesus to make it possible once again
He stretched His arms out upon the cross of Calvary
One touched me, the other His Father… Hallelujah and Amen!
The spot where infinity meets with limited me
It is there in the Person of my Lord Jesus
Through His shed blood there on that wooden tree
He died for me and all the redeemed. He did it for every one of us!
III. The Perfect Man is a Man without Limitations
Joseph was told an earful in his dream – wasn’t he! More than we could evaluate in a whole book. But, from those words we have seen that sinners need a Savior, and we have deduced that fallen man needs a perfect Man in order to save him. But a perfect Man, as Jesus is deduced to be, must be a Man without limitations.
And in fact, the sermon text shows us that He is…
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”
All humans have a father. The difference between this One and the rest of us is that the Child of Christmas is the Son of God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit. This is the same Spirit who was there at the very beginning –
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:1, 2
From the creation model, we find that all things reproduce after their own kind. If dogs reproduce, their offspring are dogs. If a mango seed is planted, a mango tree will come forth. And when humans breed, out come cooing little human babies.
What this first chapter of Genesis is telling us is that the Christmas Child was more than just a Man. As a child of Mary, He was thus fully Man. But as the Son of God, he is also fully God. In order to save fallen Man, Jesus couldn’t be merely a man. If he were, he would have inherited his first father’s sin.
But more than that, and contrary to the Arian heresy, he couldn’t be any type of finite, created being. The reason for this is more philosophic than most of us would care to contemplate, but it is also logical and it explains well who this Child of Christmas really is. And He is certainly not a created being.
Yes, He was a human baby in a manger. He was in need of milk and loving arms. But He is also the very God of all things. He was and is One with the Father. To understand this, we have to refer to the treatise on Free Will which was authored by the 13th century theologian Thomas Aquinas. He wrote that…
“…in voluntary things the defect of the action comes from the will actually deficient, inasmuch as it does not actually subject itself to its proper rule. This defect, however, is not a fault, but fault follows upon it from the fact that the will acts with this defect.”
That might not make much sense, but it is at the core of who this Child of Christmas is. From his words, we find that anything other than God which has a will of its own (which this describes man, by the way) is in a state of deficiency. We are not God and we do not possess all of the knowledge of God.
This is not sinful; it is just the way it is. However, Aquinas notes that “This defect … is not a fault, but fault follows upon it from the fact that the will acts with this defect.” In other words, every will which is deficient will inevitably result in fault. We would call this “sin.” We act without all of the information and therefore our actions lead us into sin.
For our first father, Adam, he acted in his deficiency which was lacking the knowledge of good and evil. Despite being told that he should not do the thing he did, he couldn’t grasp that it was evil to disobey. He was in a state of innocence concerning good and evil and yet he was without excuse because of the command.
Today, our problem is only exacerbated. We have the knowledge of good and evil, but because of the existence of sin in our lives, which we inherited from Adam, we act upon our evil desires. In other words, Adam lacked the knowledge of good and evil, whereas we lack the ability to properly exercise the knowledge of good and evil which we now possess.
These are the only two options for man. Either we will sin because we lack the knowledge of what sinning is, or we will sin because we lack the ability to properly conduct ourselves because of our limitations in our sinful state. Either way, sin is the problem and so Joseph was given the good news –
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
It is the good news because God had come to dwell among us. It is the only explanation to these words. If our human limitations cause sin, and Jesus needed to be a perfect and sinless, then Jesus must be God; completely without limitations.
He would not exercise His own will against God, but rather He would do exactly as His divine nature called for Him to do. The question is: “Does the Bible bear this out?” The answer is, “Yes.” From Jesus’ own mouth, He confirms what we can deduce by merely thinking it through –
“I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” John 5:30
The dual nature of Christ is so inextricably intertwined that though He is fully Man, He is also fully God. Though in His humanity He bore all of our limitations, in His deity, He bore none of them. He is morally perfect in all ways; lacking nothing; complete, perfect, and pure. Our Christmas Child is heaven’s perfect Ruler!
Adam acted against proper rule with his lack of knowledge and it resulted in fault, or sin. We lack in our inability to properly exercise our knowledge and it results in sin. Christ acts on His Father’s infinite and perfectly moral will and it results in perfection of action. What an amazing thing to consider as we sit around the cradle of this marvelous Christmas Child –
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
But maybe we somehow misread the intent of what Jesus was saying about His will and His Father’s will being one. Is there any other proof that we can hold on to before we close so that we know for sure that the Son of David really is the Lord God Almighty?
Well, if you give me enough time, we could pull out a thousand passages which confirm this, but let’s go straight to the mouth of both David and Jesus. As David was given the promise, and as Jesus claimed to be the fulfillment of the promise, we can surely trust their words.
Jesus, quoting David from the 110th Psalm, spoke the following in a discussion with the leaders of Israel –
While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”
They said to Him, “The Son of David.”
43 He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”’?
45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” 46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore. Matthew 22:42-46
David himself showed us what we need to know. Jesus simply used David’s words to point to Himself. The Pharisees knew, without a doubt, that the Christ, or Messiah, would be the Son of David. They knew this because this is what Scripture says, and so this is what they said with their own lips back to Jesus.
But then Jesus, questioned them, asking them to think it through just a little further from the Spirit inspired psalms. He asked, “How then does David (a man born from Adam) in the Spirit (meaning that the psalms are divinely inspired by the Spirit of God) call Him (meaning the Messiah) ‘Lord?’ (meaning Yehovah, the God of Israel.)”
After asking this, He cited the Psalm to them. “The Lord” (Yehovah) said to my Lord (Adonai – meaning Yehovah). In other words, David himself called his own Son, “my Lord” (Yehovah). How can that be? David said it and the words are inspired by the Spirit of God, who confirmed it. Jesus was trying to get them to think it through to its logical end.
It was this Son of David who is the same One who was spoken of by the angel of the Lord more than thirty years earlier –
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
And as surely as it can be, we have the mystery of Christ wrapped up in one perfect package which has been delivered to us in the pages of God’s superior word. We are with limitations and so we are prone to err in our ways and in our analyses. But with thoughtful care, with prayer, and with study, the truth of the Christmas Child shines out brightly.
I. Sinners Need a Savior
II.Fallen Man Needs a Perfect Man
III. The Perfect Man is a Man without Limitations
The Child of Christmas is revealed in such a simple set of words, spoken to a heartbroken man as he lay in his sleep, determined to put away the woman whom he thought had broken his trust. Instead, he was given the most marvelous look into the wisdom and mind of God that any man up to that point in time had ever been given.
And just nine months later, he gazed upon the face of God, revealed in human form for us to grasp, to cherish, and to praise. What a marvelous thing to contemplate. What a Gift of Christmas from the very heart of God to those who have so eagerly waited to hear the good news!
“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:10-14
Closing Verse: “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.'” Matthew 1:23
Next Week: Exodus 20:18-26 There is a place for propitiation when we falter… (The Earthen Altar) (56th Exodus Sermon)
The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. He was willing to put on a body of flesh and to dwell among us despite all the pains He had to endure in the process. If He did that for you, think of how much more lies ahead when we walk with Him in glory! So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.
His Name is Jesus
But while he thought about these things
Behold, an angel of the Lord
Appeared to him in a dream, saying
This he did say, his spoken word
“Joseph, son of David
Do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife
For that which is conceived in her
Is of the Holy Spirit; the Divine spark of Life
And she will bring forth a Son
And you shall call His name Jesus
For He will save His people from their sins
He is God’s Christmas Child; holy and marvelous
And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, I know that you agree
You are little among the thousands of Judah, it is so
Yet out of you shall come forth even unto Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel, My word is true you know
His goings forth are from of old
From everlasting, thus you have been told
Praise God O Israel, For unto us a Child is born
Praise the Lord Land of Judah, For Unto us a Son is given
And the government shall upon His shoulder be worn
And through Him shall man’s sins be forgiven
And His name will be called Wonderful
The Counselor and Mighty God is He
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, pure and white as wool
Of the increase of His government and peace no end shall we see
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom’s realm
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever, He at the helm
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
The scepter shall not depart from Judah
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet
Until Shiloh comes and we shout Hallelujah
And to Him the obedience of the people shall be sweet
This helpless baby lying in a manger
Will rule the world in everlasting peace
Through Him will come security with no danger
And the rule of His glory shall never, never cease
All praise to our stupendous Lord of Glory
Yes, all honor to this precious King
Praising God for the wondrous Christmas story
Let all the Lord’s redeemed shout aloud and sing
Hallelujah and Amen…
Ruth Poem
This is the entire book of Ruth, put into a poem format. The divisions correspond to the sermons I preached on the Book of Ruth and each poem was given at the end of those particular verses. The small dash in the middle of each poem is where the Bible text ends and my own ending poetry begins. I hope you will enjoy this poetic journey through Ruth.
Be advised, this is NOT to be considered for doctrine and is not an attempt to change the word of God from its intent and meaning. Rather, it is a poem based on Ruth, nothing more.
Ruth 1:1-5
A Famine in the Land
Now it came to pass, as we understand
In the days when ruled the judges
That there was a famine in the land
Which brought about difficulties, toils, and trudges
And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah
To dwell in the country of Moab went
He and his wife and his two sons
Until the time of the famine was spent
The name of the man was Elimelech
The name of his wife was Naomi
And the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion
Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah, their place of residency
And to the country of Moab they went
And remained there in a new emplacement
Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died
And she was left, and her two sons
A husband and a father, they were denied
Now they took wives of the women of Moab
Orpah was the name of the one
And the name of the other Ruth
And they dwelt there about ten years under Moab’s sun
Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died
So the woman survived her two sons and her husband
Surely at this time, God’s plans had her mystified
————
We too live in a world of troubles, trials, and woes
And often things occur which make us question God
We shake our heads and take the path where it goes
And each step can be a painful, heartbreaking trod
But at the end of the miserable, weary path
We find that God was there all along guiding us
We thought that we were the objects of His wrath
But instead we were being molded to be like Jesus
His ways are far above ours, so let us in Him trust
Let us never let our faith fail as each day we live
He is tending to us, and all His ways are just
And so let us to Him all our praises give
Hallelujah and Amen…
——————————————————
Ruth 1:6-14
One Choice, Two Paths
Then she arose with her daughters-in-law
That she might from the country of Moab return
For she had heard in the country of Moab
Words which made her heart churn
That the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread
And so she prepared to move from Moab to Israel instead
Therefore she went out
From the place where she was on that day
And her two daughters-in-law with her
And off they went on the way
To the land of Judah to return
For her home her soul did yearn
And Naomi to her two daughters-in-law said
“Go, return each to her mother’s house I say affectionately
The Lord deal kindly with you my beloved
As you have dealt with the dead and with me
The Lord grant that you may find rest
Each in the house of her husband, may you be kept
So she kissed them, after them she blessed
And they lifted up their voices and wept
And they said to her through the streaming waters
“We will return with you to your people, surely
But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters
Why will you go with me?
Are there still sons in my womb
That they may be your husbands?
Save yourself from this gloom
Turn back, my daughters, go—
For I am too old to have a husband as you know
If I should say I have hope this day
If I should have a husband tonight, no longer alone
And should also bear sons, I pray
Would you wait for them till they were grown?
Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands too?
No, my daughters; this I cannot ask of you
For it grieves me very much for your sakes as you can see
That the hand of the Lord has gone out against me
Then they lifted up their voices
And wept again as if a dirge was sung
And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law
But Ruth to her tightly clung
————
In reality there was but one choice to make
Though down different paths it will lead
Will one cling to the God of Israel for heaven’s sake
Will they to His word pay heed?
If the answer is yes, the destiny is bright and sure
If the answer is no, there is no true hope at all
One must look to Jesus with a heart tender and pure
And on His glorious name each must call
Lord God, thank You for Jesus our Lord
Thank You for the chance to walk in His light
Help us all our days to hold to Your word
Until You bring us home to the land of delight
Until that day we will praise our Lord Jesus
Who has done such marvelous things for us
Hallelujah and Amen…
——————————————————
Ruth 1:15-22
Your People, My People; Your God, My God
And she said, “Look, as you can see
Your sister-in-law Orpah has gone back
To her people and to her gods
Return after your sister-in-law, don’t be slack
But Ruth said in words heartfelt and true
“Entreat me not to leave, please don’t do so
Or to turn back from following after you
For wherever you go, I too will go
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge too
Your people shall my people be
And your God, my God, it is true
I shall not ever leave you, this you shall see
Where you die, I will die, may it be so
And there will I be buried, I speak plainly
The Lord do so to me, and more also
If anything but death parts you and me
When she saw that she was determined to go along
She stopped speaking; her determination strong
Now the two of them went
Until they came to Bethlehem
When finally the miles were spent
And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem
That all the city was excited because of them
And the women said, “Is this Naomi?”
She was a different woman, they could plainly see
But she said to them just the same
“Do not call me anymore Naomi
Instead now Mara is my name
For the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me
I went out full many years before
And emptily has the Lord has returned me to my door
Why do you call me Naomi
Since the Lord has testified against me
And the Almighty me He has afflicted
I have been tried by His trial and convicted
So Naomi returned along with Ruth
The Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her
Who returned from the country of Moab
Their future unknown and unsure
Now they came to Bethlehem the town
At the beginning of the barley harvest
There they together settled down
As the Bible story does attest
————
Lord, help us to see Your hand in all things
As directing our lives not for evil, but for good
Help us to accept everything that our life brings
And to honor you at all times as we should
Yes, troubles come our way, but there are always blessings too
And both the troubles and the blessings are being used by You
For our good and for Your glory
Everything comes as a part of Your plan for us
This is the message we find in Your gospel story
And it is all because of our Lord Jesus
Yes, thank You Lord for such kind and attentive care for us
And thank You for our blessed Redeemer, our Lord Jesus
Hallelujah and Amen…
——————————————————
Ruth 2:1-7
The Lord be With You and the Lord Bless You
There was a relative of the husband of Naomi
A man of great wealth and fame
Of Elimelech’s family
Boaz was his name
So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi
“Please let me go to the field
And glean heads of grain after him
In whose sight I may find favor; who grace to me will yield
And she said to her, “Go, my daughter
It’s hot out there; please take plenty of water
Then she left, and went and gleaned
After the reapers, in the field
And she happened to come, it seemed
To a place where grace to her one would yield
To the part of the field belonging to Boaz, came she
To the field of Boaz who was of Elimelech’s family
Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem
And said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!”
“The Lord bless you!” they answered him
Yes, the Lord bless you too!
Then Boaz said to his servant
Who was in charge of those who reaped
“Whose young woman is this?”
When he saw her, maybe his heart leaped
So the servant who was in charge
Of the reapers answered and said
“It is the young Moabite woman
Who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab
Now she lives here instead
‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers, she said
Among the sheaves, was her request, to me this she pled
So she came and has continued
From morning until now
Though she rested a little in the house
She has worked steadily as her strength does allow
————
Though a foreigner to the land of Israel
Ruth has proven to be a humble, diligent soul
And though her state is lowly as the words do tell
It is apparent that she knows the Lord is in control
Oh if we could learn from her such a lesson!
To be faithful and diligent in our duties whatever they may be
Then we wouldn’t spend our time fretting and a’guessin’
What God has in store for us, instead we’d trust implicitly
We’d trust that He has every step of our life
Properly planned and carefully selected
Even the times of trials and strife
Can be times which are used to get our walk corrected
So let’s be like Ruth and hand our fate to the Lord
Trusting that He has it all under control
And let us continue to read, and love, and cherish His word
Let it nourish us and feed our hungry soul
For in this there is a great reward indeed
As we cling to Him and wait upon His return
May that day come soon and come with lightning speed
For this is what our longing hearts should yearn
Thank You O God for the hope which is instilled in us
Thank You O God for our Lord and Savior, our precious Jesus
Hallelujah and Amen…
——————————————————
Ruth 2:8-16
Bread and Grace in the Field of Boaz
Then Boaz said to Ruth
“You will listen, my daughter, will you not?
Do not go to glean in another field
Nor go from here, not from this spot
But stay close by my young women here
You will be safe and shall have no fear
Let your eyes be on the field which they reap
And go after them, this you shall do
Have I not commanded
The young men not to touch you?
And when you are thirsty
Go to the vessels and drink the water
From what the young men have drawn
Do this too, won’t you my daughter?
So she fell on her face
Bowed down to the ground, and to him said
“Why have I found in your eyes this grace?
Such wondrous favor and not sternness instead?
That you should take notice of me
Since I am a foreigner, and thus unworthy
And Boaz answered and said to her
“It has been fully reported to me
All that you have done for your mother-in-law
Since the death of your husband, that calamity
And how you have left your father and your mother
And the land of your birth also
And have come to a people, yes another
Whom you did not before know
The Lord repay your work
And a full reward be given you too
By the Lord God of Israel
Under whose wings for refuge have come you
Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight my lord
For you have comforted me
And have spoken to your maidservant a kindly word
Though I am not like one of your maidservants, but unworthy
Now Boaz said to her at mealtime
“Come here, and eat of the bread
And dip your piece of bread in the vinegar
Come, and feel free as I have said
So she sat beside the reapers
And parched grain to her he passed
And she ate and was satisfied
And kept some back, feeling full at last
And when she rose up to glean
Boaz commanded his young men, saying
“Let her glean even among the sheaves
And do not reproach her, this to you I am relaying
Also let grain from the bundles
Fall purposely for her from your hand
Leave it that she may glean
And do not rebuke her, this please understand
————
Boaz’ care for Ruth is but a mere reflection
Of Jesus’ care for us, gentiles by birth
In Him there is a spiritual reconnection
So that now we have new and eternal worth
Thank You O God for the wondrous love You have lavished up us
And for the surety of life for eternal days
For You have sent us Your Son, our Lord Jesus
And so to You we extend all of our praise!
Yes! Now and forever hear our praise, O God
From our hearts and souls as in Your presence we trod
Hallelujah and Amen…
——————————————————
Ruth 2:17-23
Gleaning Through the Harvest Season
So she gleaned until evening
Out there in the field
And beat out what she had gleaned
And about an ephah of barley her effort did yield
Then she took it up and into the city she went
And her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned
The effort for which her day was spent
So she brought out and gave to her from her pack
After she had been satisfied what she had kept back
And her mother-in-law said to her
“Where have you gleaned today?
And where did you work?
The one who took notice of you, blessed be he I say
So she told her mother-in-law, probably elated
With these words she did say
With whom she had worked, and she stated
The man’s name is Boaz with whom I worked today
Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law
“Blessed be he of the Lord, yes a blessing upon his head
Who has not forsaken His kindness
Both to the living and the dead!
And Naomi said to her as she spoke
“This man is a relation of ours
One of our close relatives is this bloke
Ruth the Moabitess said then
“He also said to me, I do attest
‘You shall stay close by my young men
Until they have finished all my harvest
And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law then
“It is good, my daughter, as he revealed
That you go out with his young women
And that people do not meet you in any other field
So close by the young women of Boaz she did stay
To glean, until the end of barley harvest did draw
And the wheat harvest too, yes all the way
And she dwelt with her mother-in-law
————
Though the work was hard, hot, and tiring
Ruth continued with it day by day
Her example to us should be all the more inspiring
Knowing that God used her efforts in such a wondrous way
In the end her deeds and life have been given
As sure examples to follow for each one of us
To be humble, dedicated, and loyal in this life we are livin’
And as we anticipate the coming of our Lord Jesus
As surely as Ruth will receive her just due
So the same is true for us as we bring glory to God
In Christ there is the certainty of reward for me and you
For all we do in His name while on this path we trod
Thank You heavenly Father for your kind hand upon each of us
Thank You for the greatest gift of all, our Lord and Savior Jesus
Hallelujah and Amen…
——————————————————
Ruth 3:1-5
Go Down to the Threshing Floor
Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, to her said
“My daughter, shall I not seek security for you
That it may be well with you and not difficult instead?
I will give instruction on what you are to do
Now Boaz, whose young women you were with
Is he not our relative whom we know?
In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight
At the threshing floor. Yes! It is so
Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself also
Put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor
But do not make the man yourself to know
Until he has finished eating and drinking, and is ready to snore
Then it shall be, when he lies down for his rest so sweet
That you shall notice the place where he lies too
And you shall go in, uncover his feet
And lie down; and he will tell you what you should do
And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do
Ruth’s actions showed a daughter-in-law both faithful and true
————
Like Ruth we are to submit ourselves to the Lord
And to walk before Him in the Spirit and in righteousness
To learn how we can, we should attend to His word
And in doing so, our souls He will bless
Yes, God has given this wondrous treasure to us
In hopes that we will daily seek His face
And to fellowship with Him through our Lord Jesus
Living in His blessings and showered with His grace
Thank You, O God, for all You have done for us
Yes, heavenly Father, we thank You through Your Son
Our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer, Jesus
Hallelujah and Amen…
——————————————————
Ruth 3:6-13
Midnight at the Threshing Floor
So she went down to the threshing floor
And did according to all
That her mother-in-law instructed her
At the time of nightfall
And after Boaz had eaten and drunk
And his heart was cheerful as well
He went to lie down at the end
Of the heap of grain to sleep for a spell
And she came softly, uncovered his feet
And lay down under the corner of his sheet
Now it happened at midnight
That the man was startled, to be sure
And turned himself; and there, ending his fright
A woman was lying at his feet; hard to figure
And he said, “Who are you? Tell me this thing
So she answered, “I am your maidservant Ruth
Take your maidservant under your wing
For you are a close relative, this is the truth
“Blessed are you of the Lord, My daughter!, he said
For you have shown more kindness at the end
Than at the beginning, instead
In that after young men you did not go
Whether poor or rich, you did not do so
And now, my daughter, do not fear
I will do for you all that was requested by you
For all the people of my town here
Know that you are a woman of virtue
Now it is true that I am a close relative, one cannot deny
However, there is a relative closer than I
Stay this night, and in the morning light
It shall be that if he will perform the task
Of a close relative for you, as is right
Good; let him do it, for this is what you ask
But if he does not want to perform the duty for you
Then I will perform the duty for you, it is true
As the Lord lives! Lie down until morning
Until the day dawns anew
————
Ruth has sought a kinsman to redeem
And she has found a man willing to do so
Whether it will be Boaz or another it would seem
That the new day the truth will show
We too have a Kinsman willing to redeem each of us
H is near to us because He is also a Man
And yet none other than the Lord God, Jesus
Such is the wisdom of God’s glorious plan
Let us come to Him and let Him His garment spread
Willingly over each one of us
For He is Christ the Lord, our Savior and our Head
He is the Incarnate Word – our glorious Jesus
Hallelujah and Amen…
——————————————————
Ruth 3:14-18
Shesh Seorim – Six Measures of Barley
So she lay at his feet until morning
And she arose before one could tell another by name
Then he said, “Do not let it be known, as a gentle warning
That the woman to the threshing floor came
Also he said, “Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it
And when she held it, he measured six of barley
And laid it on her, this gift he did submit
Then she went into the city at that hour so early
When she came to her mother-in-law at the dawning of the sun
She said, “Is that you, my daughter?”
Then she told her all that the man for her had done
And she showed what she had brought her
And she said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me
For he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law with hands that are empty
Then she said, “Sit still, my daughter
Until you know how the matter will turn out, I pray
For the man will not rest
Until he has concluded the matter this day
————
Like Ruth whose time for rest will come soon
We have a time of rest from our labors as well
Which is graciously granted to us by an act of faith
And with that we enter our rest as the Bible does tell
In Christ the hope of the seventh day is here
His victory over the devil ensures that we may so partake
Of this marvelous gift so precious and dear
Granted to us through a decision we make
Call on Christ Jesus and your labors will end
In Him there is an eternal blessing marvelous and grand
In His presence eternal life we will spend
As He sits on the throne at His Father’s right hand
Hallelujah and Amen…
——————————————————
Ruth 4:1-6
To Perpetuate the Name of Elimelech
Now Boaz up to the gate went
And there he sat down
And behold, the close relative, the gent
Of whom Boaz had spoken came by the gate of Bethlehem town
So Boaz said, “Come aside, friend, sit down here.”
So he came aside and sat down kind of near
And he took ten men there
Of the elders of the town
And said, “Sit down here.”
And so they also sat down
Then he said to the close relative, there at hand
“Naomi, who has come back to Israel
From the country of Moab, sold the piece of land
Which belonged to our brother Elimelech who in death fell
And I thought to inform you, saying
‘Buy it back, for such is your right
In the presence of the inhabitants, I am praying
And the elders of my people, yes in their sight
If you will redeem it, redeem it
But if you will not redeem it, then tell me
That I may know, for I admit
There is no one but you to redeem it, as you can see
And I am next after you
And he said, “I will redeem it
This I will do
Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field
From the hand of Naomi, as you have said
You must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess
Yes, from the wife of the dead
That the name of the dead through his inheritance will be perpetuated
This is what the law requires, just as I have stated
And the close relative said
“I cannot for myself it redeem
Lest I ruin my own inheritance
This won’t work out, it would seem
You redeem for yourself my right of redemption
For I cannot redeem it, I appeal to the law’s exemption
————
In the requirements of the law there is no hope
No man can meet its demands perfectly
It reflects God’s standards, far beyond the scope
Of our hopeless state, beyond all our ability
And yet for God all things are possible, we know
And so He stepped out of heaven’s glory
And united with human flesh in order to bestow
The good news found in the gospel story
Yes, Christ took on the likeness of a man
And in this appearance to the cross He went
Being obedient to the law to fulfill the plan
From heaven to earth on this mission He was sent
He alone can redeem man who fell so long ago
In His grace and mercy, He came to dwell among us
Fulfilling the plan when to the cross He did go
All hail the Lamb of God, our precious Lord, Jesus
Hallelujah and Amen…
——————————————————
Ruth 4:7-12
I Eschew This Shoe
Now this was the custom in former times
In Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging
To confirm anything in those climes
Including even a marriage arranging
One man took off his sandal
And gave it to the other
And this was a confirmation in Israel
Of a matter between one another
Therefore the close relative to Boaz said
“Buy it for yourself.”
So he took off his sandal and gave it to Boaz instead
And Boaz said to the elders and all the people
“You are witnesses that I have bought this day
All that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s
From the hand of Naomi it has now come my way
Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon
As my wife, I have acquired
To perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance
Today this has transpired
That the name of the dead may not be cut off
From among his brethren in any such way
And from his position at the gate
You are witnesses this day
And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said
“We are witnesses here in Bethlehem, the House of Bread
The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house
Like Rachel and Leah, the two of them
Who built the house of Israel
And may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem
May your house be like the house of Perez
Whom Tamar bore to Judah in days gone by
Because of the offspring which the Lord will give you
From this young woman, now apple of your eye
————
There in that same town of Bethlehem as we know
Came the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus
He came without pomp or a flashy show
Instead He came and looked like any of us
The stories that we see in the Bible’s pages
Are given to show us hints of Him
God has marked out His plan for the ages
And done it in places like the town of Bethlehem
In these stories we can relate so well
Because they can fit the lives of any of us
Such is the masterful way the Bible does tell
Of the marvelous workings of God in Jesus
And so we thank You O God as we live out our days
Reading Your word and giving You all of our praise
Hallelujah and Amen…
——————————————————
Ruth 4:13-17
And They Called His Name Obed
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife
And when into her he went
The Lord gave her conception, a new life
And she bore a son when her months were spent
Then the women said to Naomi
“Blessed be the Lord, who has not this day left you
Without a close relative
And may in Israel his name be famous too
And may he be to you of life a restorer
And of your old age a nourisher
For your daughter-in-law, who loves you
Who has borne him, she is better than seven sons, it’s true
Then Naomi took the child
Who seemed the lifting of her curse
And laid him on her bosom in a manner mild
And to him she became a nurse
Also the neighbor women to him a name they gave
Saying, “There is born to Naomi a son
And they called his name Obed, meaning a servant or a slave
He is the father of Jesse, the father of David
In Israel, he became a very great one
————
From sadness and heartache too great to be measured
Came joy and blessing more than could be thought
In Naomi’s lap was placed a son that she treasured
A son through whom her redemption was bought
In the marvelous way God directs our lives’ events
Even the worst of times will be forgotten memories
Some day the difficulties that we face will all make sense
We’ll understand why we faced such great adversities
Until then we need to trust God, giving to Him our cares
And hold fast to the promises of His word
In that treasure to us He gladly shares
The story of redemption centered on our Lord
Yes, it is all about our Lord Jesus
He who has done all things wondrously
And has promised to always care for us
Hallelujah and Amen…
——————————————————
Ruth 4:18-22
The Generations of Perez
Now this is the genealogy of Perez:
It is listed as follows, just as the Bible sez
Perez begot Hezron; Hezron begot Ram next
And Ram begot Amminadab, so says the text
After that Amminadab begot Nahshon, as the Bible so relates
And Nahshon begot Salmon, telling us names but no dates
Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed
Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David
————
These are the generations which are found in Ruth
And they are carefully placed here for us to learn
They show us glorious things and reveal deep truth
And knowing their meaning should make our hearts yearn
Some glorious day, we will be raptured out of here
We will be in the presence of our wondrous Lord
And shortly afterward purified Israel will shout and cheer
When Christ returns to them, so says the Word
And we have it all laid out before us
Here in detail in the Bible’s pages
All of it pointing to our Lord Jesus
The plan of redemption for all peoples and all ages
Hallelujah to our great Lord and our King!
Hallelujah, let us rejoice and to Him make noise and sing!
Hallelujah and Amen…
John 12:20-26 (A Grain of Wheat – Resurrection Day 2015)
John 12:20-26
A Grain of Wheat
Resurrection Day 2015
The words of Jesus in this passage give us a simple illustration, one which almost anyone on earth grasps even from a very young age. It is that of life coming forth from death. It is the triumph of life over death. And it is found every where that a seed is planted in the ground.
Paul uses this concept as well in 1 Corinthians 15 to teach us this spiritual truth in regards to the body of the resurrected –
“But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” 36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. 37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.” 1 Corinthians 15:36-38
The church at Corinth was struggling with the thought of the resurrection because some who had come into the church had claimed there was no such thing as resurrection from the dead. Being Greeks, probably trained in the class of the Epicureans or the Stoics, they dismissed the concept of an after-life.
Paul had to correct them on this by reiterating the gospel, which included the resurrection of Christ. They had believed this, but were being misled by those who couldn’t believe that it was possible. Throughout the chapter, Paul demonstrated that Jesus did rise and so there was a precedent for others to do so as well.
In fact, he noted that if there is no resurrection, then the death that Christ died for us was ultimately of no value. In his own words –
“And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” 1 Corinthians 15:17-19
Without a risen Christ to prove that sin was defeated, then we actually remain in our sins, eternally separated from the God who is out there in His infinite realm. Never again would we be able to fellowship with Him. Such is the pitiable state of believing in a “dead Lord.”
And so, in his meticulously careful fashion, Paul laid out the concept of life from death in a manner which those in Corinth (and thus us!) could grasp. Yes, in Christ, there is forgiveness of sins, in Christ, there is hope, and in Christ, there is the anticipation of eternal life once again in the presence of God. In Christ, the restoration of all things is found.
Text Verse: “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52
In the 1960s, the seeds of a date palm were found in the Masada fortress which is on the edge of the Dead Sea in Israel. The seeds were, at that time, 2000 years old. They had been preserved by nothing more than simple storage in hot, dry conditions.
Scientists saw little hope of life returning to these long-dead seeds, but they planted them anyway. Like Israel, which had been dead for those same 2000 years, life came out of one of them, making it the oldest seed ever to do so.
Just last week, on the 24th of March, National Geographic did an update on the Methuselah palm. They reported that according to the director of the Arava Institute for Environmental studies where the palm is located that “He is a big boy now.” They say, “He is over … [ten feet] tall, he’s got a few offshoots, he has flowers, and his pollen is good. … We pollinated a female with his pollen, a wild [modern] female, and yeah, he can make dates.”
And so, I highlight three miracles of life from death which occurred in the Land of Israel. Christ rose, Israel was restored to life, and a 2000 year old date palm seed sprang forth to life. Each demonstrates that God is capable of the miraculous. Great is the Lord and He is greatly to be praised.
Along with the revived nation of Israel, that Methuselah Palm, as it has become known, is alive and well today, thriving in the land. Together they stand as a testimony to the fact that God has it all under control. Life can truly come from death.
This is the hope of the believer, it is the promise of God in Christ, and it is therefore an eternal truth which is revealed in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.
I. The Death of Jesus Christ
Referring to our sermon text, when those Greeks came up to Jerusalem to worship at the Passover Feast, they came to the Philip and asked to see Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew and together they told Jesus. Instead of agreeing to see them, the Greek provides a conjunction de which means “but,” or “on the other hand.”
Instead of meeting with them, he simply answered, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”
This doesn’t seem like a way to respond to someone wanting to meet with another person. Imagine someone saying, “Hey Paul, there are a few people here to see you.” In response Paul says, “Until you fill a football with air, it won’t work properly.”
“Uhhh, ok. Is that what you want me to tell them?”
But Jesus had more to say, “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”
“Ok Jesus, we’ll tell them…” They probably left to tell the Greeks what Jesus said at this time, but immediately after this, He predicted His coming death. Everything was coming to this point and each word He used was uttered as part of a heavenly drama being played out here on earth.
As John recorded the words of his gospel, he saw and understood that which was veiled to him as Jesus spoke. Israel as a whole was looking forward to a Messiah that would deliver them from Roman oppression. They knew from the prophets of old that Israel and Jerusalem would someday be the head of the nations and that the Law would proceed from there.
But there is much more in the Hebrew Scriptures than an earthly Messiah coming to establish the throne of David and to lead the whole world. But the people saw what they wanted to see and they overlooked the things that they found difficult or contrary to what they expected in a Messiah.
The Old Testament shows us that there is a problem with man, an internal problem. Right from the beginning, the problem crept in and ruined the happy state that man was designed for. Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord and they were cast out of the wondrous paradise that He had made for them to dwell in.
The ground became difficult to work and where once flowers filled the air with perfume, thorns came up. Idyllic perfection was swallowed up in toil and hardship. Immediately after the sad account of being cast from the garden, the first thing the next chapter shows us is the birth and naming of sons, Cain and Abel.
In the naming of Cain is implied hope and even victory, but in the naming of Abel there is despondency and a sense of uselessness in life. Eve’s choice of those names was due to how she perceived life in relationship to the garden she had left. She first thought it would be a quick return to it with the birth of Cain, but she soon realized she was mistaken at the birth of Abel.
Immediately after the record of their birth and naming, a large portion of time is skipped over and the next words, which are still in the same verse, tell us of the professions of the two boys. And the next verse after that gives us a clue as to the state of man. It says, “And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord” (Genesis 4:3).
Without any commentary at all and without any note of either boy having done anything wrong, we are told that they made an offering to the Lord. What is implied is that even without any recorded sin, sin existed as a wall between them and the Lord, sin which required an offering. In other words, the Bible is showing us that sin was in the world and that sin is inherited.
To demonstrate this beyond a shadow of a doubt, the next recorded thought is that there was anger and jealousy in Cain, anger and jealousy that led to murder. Imagine that! The first person ever born to the stream of humanity was a murderer. Sin was in the world and it was a deep and potent infection in man.
Out of all of the people born on earth after this, a single line of people are especially highlighted. There were probably millions of people alive by the tenth generation, but only a minute number are mentioned. Within two more chapters, a period of about 1650 years from the creation of the world, things had become so corrupt that we read this in Genesis 6:5 –
“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
And so the Lord purposed to destroy the world and start anew with just one man and his family, Noah. The account of Noah takes us through the destruction of the whole earth and everything that had the breath of life in it, with the exception of just 8 people.
When they arrived on the safe shores of the post-flood world, the first thing Noah did after leaving the ark was to sacrifice to the Lord. The sacrifice was one of thanksgiving, but it also showed that Noah understood… sin remained. In response to the offering, the Lord made a comment and a promise –
“I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.” Genesis 8:21
The comment was an acknowledgment of man’s inherited evil, implying guilt. The promise was that He would never again destroy every living thing as He had done, implying mercy. Rather, sin would be dealt with in a different way.
This is the message of the Bible; that sin has to be dealt with, but that it is God, not man, who deals with it. Like before Noah, after him a single line of people is highlighted, from father to son. Each name in this special line is given in anticipation of something big to come.
The line eventually arrived at Abraham, and the story of his life is given in more detail than any other person in more than 2000 years since the creation of the world. To him a promise was made, a promise that was incredible, even beyond belief, and yet Abraham believed. And because of this, we read in Genesis 15:6 –
“And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” Genesis 15:6
God had declared a man righteous based on mere faith. Abraham had done nothing else, and yet he stood justified before God. That one verse then explains two important things: 1) That when God promises the incredible, He expects us to believe; and 2) when we believe, He is pleased to declare us righteous.
Understanding that, we still need to know that it is God who designates and initiates the action in which we are to place our faith. Misdirected faith is wasted faith. God chooses where the faith is to be placed; we choose to believe or not to believe.
From Abraham came a son, Isaac. And from Isaac came a son Jacob. The line which had been so meticulously detailed from the first man was continued through them. From Jacob, who is Israel, came twelve sons who became a collective group of people.
Unlike a single line from a single son, the entire clan of Israel was now the focus of the Bible. Through them, the stories of redemptive history continued including those of Moses, the law-giver, and David, the great king, among many others.
The story of Israel is the story of a collective group of people, living under the law of God and continuously failing to meet the standards of that law. Within that huge body of the law is a note in the book of Leviticus where the Lord says, “You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 18:5
However, as is seen, the Bible records the continuous failure of the people to meet these impossible standards. But there is a provision within the Law for life. It was found each year on the Day of Atonement. On this one day each year, the people who came and confessed their sins could have their sins transferred to a substitute.
An animal was slaughtered and its blood was sprinkled before the Lord. The life of an innocent animal was given to restore the people to a propitious place with God. However, this measure was only temporary. The fact that it had to be offered year by year proved that the sin had not departed from the person; rather, the guilt for the sin was only temporarily atoned for.
The Bible later explains that the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sin. An animal is in a different category than man. As that is true, then why wasn’t a person selected to be sacrificed? If someone in the same category could take the place of another, wouldn’t taking that avenue be acceptable?
No, it wouldn’t. The reason is because another human, born of a man from Adam already bore the sin of Adam – remember the lesson from the lives of Cain and Abel. One cannot atone for sin with a life that is stained with sin. The Bible shows attempts of people groups to do just this, sacrificing children, and God rejected those offerings. In fact they were an abomination to Him.
Offering sin in an attempt to expiate sin only increased the guilt. An offering of a man would not take care of the problem. And yet… eventually the prophet Isaiah arrived on the scene and he seemed to indicate that a Man would, in fact, come and bear the guilt of others. Here is what he writes in the 53rd chapter of the book which bears his name –
“Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:4-6
How could this be? How could the Lord lay on a Man the iniquity of all people? Let’s go back to Abraham. He was given an incredible promise, he believed the promise, and by faith alone he was counted as righteous. Some years later, and in confirmation of that promise, he was given a sign – circumcision.
A sign is something that points to something else. Circumcision pointed to the fulfillment of that promise and it made a picture at the same time. The picture was that of cutting away sin. Sin came from Adam and transmitted from father to child. In cutting the skin of the body part through which sin was transferred, it made a picture of the cutting away of that sin.
Therefore, in circumcision is a sign of promise and that sign deals with the ending of sin – the very problem which has plagued man from the beginning and which has kept man from returning to God’s garden of delight.
So here we are back at the time of the law now. Year after year, sin is forgiven, but the sin problem continues. And under that law is a promise of someone who would come and bear the guilt of man. Logically, if He was to do this and it was considered acceptable by the Lord for Him to be offered in this way, then He could not have any sin of His own. If He did, He couldn’t be made a sin offering. Two plus two equals four, even in spiritual matters.
The record of the people of Israel continued and the genealogies of the people were recorded meticulously. Into this group of people was born a woman named Mary who was already betrothed to a man named Joseph who was of the line of the great king, David.
However, before they had come together, she was visited by an angel who told her she would bear a Son. She questioned how that was possible when she had not known a man. The angel responded with amazing words –
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:35
Without going into all of the finer details, we can look back on this event and put the two’s together. A woman will bear a Child; thus He is fully Man. However, His Father is God; thus He is fully God. The ancient rite of circumcision, the sign and the picture, are both fulfilled in this Child.
The line of sin is cut in Him; no sin was transmitted from Father to Son as it had been for so long. And this One was qualified to bear the iniquity of all men because He was born without sin. Hope was to be found in this Child, the Hope of God in His provision.
The Child was born without sin, and He was born under the Law of God, which no one could fulfill, something the entire record of the Old Testament shows us. The sin was too deep, the infection was complete. The law, instead of bringing life, only brought death.
But now there was hope. Because the Child, Jesus, was born without sin, He was qualified to replace Adam and to bear the guilt of Adam’s seed. But He not only had to be born without sin, He had to live sinless as well. This is what the gospels record for us – the sinless entry of Jesus into the world and the sinless life He lived in the world.
In Him the law could be kept and in Him, the law was kept. But, Isaiah showed in advance of His coming that this Man would bear the iniquity of us all. His words presuppose that He would have to die. The reason is that the Bible says this in Hebrews –
“And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” Hebrews 9:22
The verse that the author of Hebrews is referring to is found in Leviticus 17 –
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” Leviticus 17:11
Without the shedding of the blood of an innocent life, there can be no atonement for the sin of another. The standard belongs to God and the price must be paid. Thus Jesus Christ had to die in order for us to live. The seed had to be planted before life could come up from it.
And so Jesus willingly offered Himself in exchange for the sins of the world. Such a fearful thing this was that moments before the commitment was executed, He implored His Father – if there was only another way to handle their sin. There in another garden, the Garden of Gethsemane, we are told that –
“He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, ‘Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Luke 22:41-42
The cup He spoke of was the cup of wrath, the cup of God’s wrath at the sins of man, committed since the first moments He walked on earth and even until the last moments before the final judgment will come some day.
All of the sin of the world was poured into this cup and Christ our Lord was expected to drink it down to its dregs. Punishment must be meted out and it will either be in the offender or in a substitute. Christ chose to be that Substitute for all who would believe. So great was His anguish at the thought of what was ahead that the passage continues on with these words –
“Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” Luke 22:43, 44
He did drink it though, all of it. He allowed Himself to be beaten mercilessly by the creatures He created, and then He allowed them to nail Him to the cross of Calvary, where His life would end in anguish that you and I will never be able to imagine. There, on that wooden instrument of death, the high price of the sins of the world was paid.
The law was given and it served its purpose. Among many other reasons, three main points for the giving of the law are noted: 1) It was to show man God’s standard; that it is completely out of our ability to meet. 2) It reveals how utterly sinful sin is. And, 3) the law was intended to lead us to His Son, Jesus – the Messiah of the Jews and the Christ of the nations.
He is the fulfillment of the law and thus He is the embodiment of it. Because of this, man’s sin can be transferred to His death. The way this is accomplished is exactly the same way that Abraham was declared righteous. Abraham was given an incredible promise and yet he believed it, demonstrating faith in God’s provision.
We are given an incredible promise as well, the forgiveness of our sins through God’s provision. What God expects is that we demonstrate the same faith, the faith of Abraham, in what God has promised is true. By mere faith, and by faith alone, we are forgiven every sin we have ever committed.
And to show us how sincere we must be we are told that if we attempt to merit God’s favor by working deeds of that law for righteousness, we actually condemn ourselves further. The reason is that we are saying to God, “What You have done is insufficient; I will attain righteousness on my own.”
It is, in essence, a slap in God’s face at the rejection of His Gift. For such an offense, we are obliged to fulfill the entire law. It is a self-condemning act. The cross of Jesus stands as a sign to the people of the world that there is forgiveness and hope. But there is more to this story than the death of God’s Son. It is the reason we are here today. We worship a crucified Man who defeated death.
A cross is there on the hill of Calvary
It is a sign of God’s love to the people of the world
On that cross Jesus died for you and for me
The greatest display of love ever, was on that day unfurled
Oh! That Christ would die for sinners like us!
How deep is the love of God for this to have come about?
Wondrous is the giving of His own Son, Jesus
So take hold of the promise, stand fast and do not doubt
Christ died and into the grave He went – had death won?
A lifeless body, seemingly the end of the story
But No! Death could not hold the sinless Son
He burst forth from the grave in radiant glory!
II. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The Bible teaches us that the wages of sin is death. It is an axiom from the first pages of the Bible. Man dies because man has sinned. But the Bible also teaches that there are two kinds of death. There is physical death and there is spiritual death. Both of these types of death result because of sin. And we know this because God said to Adam these words before he sinned –
“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16, 17
In the next chapter, we saw Adam sin and yet by Chapter 5 we are told that he lived a full 930 years, having had sons and daughters born to him during that time. If God said that he would die on the day that he ate of the fruit and yet he continued to live for 930 years, then either the Bible is wrong and we have our eggs in the wrong basket, or God wasn’t speaking of physical death.
And sure enough, He wasn’t. Throughout the Bible, the spiritually dead nature of man is seen. We are born dead, and we live dead until we die. We are spiritually disconnected from God because of sin. The other kind of death, physical death, is also a result of sin, but that was pronounced after the man had sinned –
“Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:17-19
And so there is a truth for us to consider. If the first death, the spiritual death, isn’t corrected before the physical death comes, then we will be forever separated from God. There will be no return to the Garden of Delight. But in Christ, that is reversed.
This is what He did for us. And through faith in His atoning death, and by faith alone in His work, we are declared righteous by God and we are quickened to new life. Our spiritual death is ended and we move from Adam to Christ. He becomes our Federal Head. The Seed which was planted becomes our hope.
And to prove that He accomplished this for us, He was resurrected by God the Father. He prevailed over death because the wages of sin is death, but He had no sin of His own. Therefore death could not hold him. It was impossible for Him to remain in the grave.
But we still have the inescapable truth that Jesus Christ died on that cross. The record of this is as sure as any death testimony ever recorded. He died on that cross. But… but! If “the wages of sin is death” and He had no sin, as is well attested to, and yet He died, then sin must have been involved in His death.
Just like the innocent animals at the temple in Jerusalem which were slaughtered for the sins of the people, sin was involved and death was involved. Yes, sin was involved in the death of Jesus, just not His sin.
Thus two great acts were accomplished in His work. First, He died for our sins, not His; and second He came to life because He had no sin of His own. This is why Paul so assuredly states (and which I will explain as we go) –
“*In Him [meaning in Christ] *you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands [circumcision, a right standing with God and a sign of son-ship based on the pattern of Abraham], *by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh [we have died with Christ in our body of sin], *by the circumcision of Christ [righteousness imputed to us because of His work], *12 buried with Him in baptism [the seed is planted], *in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God [the seed has sprouted to new and eternal life by God], *who raised Him from the dead [God who saw no sin in His Son, and thus raised Him to life, has also raised us to life through His Son]. *13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh [spiritual death received from our father Adam], *He has made alive together with Him [spiritual life received from Christ], *having forgiven you all trespasses [because of Christ, our atoning sacrifice], *14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us [the Law of Moses which is God’s standard], *which was contrary to us [which brought death rather than life, and which showed us how utterly sinful our sin was to God]. *And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross [the Law is fulfilled, it is annulled, it is obsolete, and it is finished]. Colossians 2:11-14 (with my comments in brackets)
The law which brought death is fulfilled in Christ and that law is nailed to the cross. Therefore our sin is removed in His death, and our spirit is revived because sin is abolished in us. Therefore, through the death and resurrection of Christ we are restored to the eternal life which was lost so long ago. Access to that wondrous Garden of Delight is granted.
This is why when Jesus died the veil was torn on the temple. The veil faced east and on it were woven cherubim. Behind the veil is where the presence of God was manifest. All of this pictured restored access to God. In the very last verse of Genesis 3, just before the Bible begins to detail our long and troubled history, it says this –
“So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” Genesis 3:24
It is in the death of Christ that access is restored to God and to His wondrous Garden of Delight. The proof of that is in the resurrection. His death made access available to God once again, and His resurrection is what seals that for all eternity.
Paul shows us that our faith in this work of Christ is what has made this all possible. Returning to Abraham and righteousness based on faith, he writes this to us in Romans 4 –
“He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.” Romans 4:20-25
This is why we are here today! This is why we worship Jesus.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” John 12:24
The Seed that was planted has brought many, many sons to glory. We don’t worship a dead Lord, we serve the risen One! When speaking to Nicodemus, Jesus said –
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
The work was accomplished by God and the offering is made to all. And because this is the work of God, Jesus wants us to understand the consequences of not receiving what He did for us. Just two verses later, they are recorded by John –
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18
We live in a hopelessly confused world which teaches that there isn’t one truth concerning God. Rather many, or even all, paths lead to Him. But that is the great lie of the devil. Jesus was very clear in His words to the people when He spoke –
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6
God loves us enough to have sent His only begotten Son into the world to restore us to Himself. And He respects us enough to allow us to choose Him or to reject Him. He has granted you, O man, this one life to get it right. I suggest you choose wisely, choose Jesus. The Lord holds out those nail-scarred hands and grants you an offer of peace –
“In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2
May the Light of Christ shine upon you; may the Life of Christ restore you; may the Grace of Christ fill you; and may the Love of Christ envelope you. All hail the Lamb who was slain; all hail the Lord who arose; all hail the King of kings and the Lord of Lords; all hail the exalted name of Jesus Christ. And all of God’s people said… Amen.
And amen!
Closing Verse: He is risen! Mark 16:6
It is fitting that the plant which is growing in Israel today from a 2000 year old seed is a date palm. The date palm in Hebrew is known as a tamar. In the 92nd Psalm we’re told that “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree (tamar).” It could be that Jesus Himself sat under the palm which bore that fruit.
Now, 2000 years later, He will soon be returning to Israel. Before He does, the nation itself will flourish in Him, calling on Him as their true King. That palm is a testament to the faithfulness of God that He is willing to restore His wayward people, be they Jew or Gentile, and grant them a righteousness not their own through the gift of His Son, Jesus.
All have access to the precious fruit of the Tree of Life once again because of the Seed which was planted, but which sprouted to life at the call of God. If you are watching this video on You Tube and have benefited from it, please share it in hopes of another seeing it and coming to understand the significance of who Jesus Christ is.
Next Week: Exodus 8:1-7 (The Plague of Frogs, Part I) (21st Exodus Sermon)
The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and a purpose for you. Even if the very gates of death await you today, He can burst through those gates for you as He did Himself 2000 years ago. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you. No fear here. Christ is risen!
A Celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
This is the gospel which was preached to you
It is also the one you received and on which you stand
It is the gospel of salvation, providing life that’s new
And which will carry you to the promised Holy Land
What is delivered to you is what was before received
That Christ died for our sins according to God’s word
He was buried and He rose and so we have believed
And many witnesses testify to this message you have heard
Now if Christ is preached that He is risen from the dead
How can some among you say the resurrection isn’t true?
If there is no resurrection after Christ was crucified and bled
Then our faith as well as yours is certainly askew
And if so, we are found false witnesses of God
Because we have wrongly testified of this mighty deed
And our faith is futile, no heavenly street’s we’ll trod
And we are still dead in our sins, fallen Adam’s seed
Even more, those who have fallen asleep in the Lord are gone
And we are the most pitiable creatures the world could ever look upon
But indeed Christ is risen from the dead
He is the Firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep
And as death came through one Man, Adam our federal head
So Christ will make all alive, our souls He will keep
But there is an order to the Resurrection call
Christ was first, the pattern for the rest when He comes
When He does, He will make a shout out to us all
And we will rise as if to the sounds of heavenly battle drums
Then comes the time, when He delivers the kingdom to the Father
When all rule, authority, and power have come to an end
The last enemy to be destroyed is death, never more to bother
Then the Son will to the Father eternal rule extend
But you ask, what will we be like after our time of sleep
After we have been buried in corruption’s pit so deep
Our body is sown in dishonor, but it will be raised in glory
It is sown in weakness, but raised in power – the resurrection story
The first man Adam became a living being, it’s true
The last Adam became a life-giving spirit, life to me and you
And as was the man of dust, created so long ago
So are those likened unto him, also made of dust
And as is the Man, the Lord from heaven, you know
That we shall bear His image for eternity just as we’ve discussed
Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God
Nor can corruption inherit that which in incorrupt
Be we shall all be changed, and so heavenly streets we’ll trod
In the twinkling of an eye, the change will be abrupt
When the last trumpet sounds we will be taken to glory
We shall all be changed, completion of the gospel story
Where O Death, O where is your sting
When Christ our Savior, us to Himself does He bring
Where O Hades, O where is your victory
When Christ translates His children to eternal glory
The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin the law
But thanks be to God who gives us victory through our Lord
My beloved brethren be steadfast in all you’ve heard and saw
And cling confidently to God’s eternal word
Know for certain that your labor is not in vain
Be of good cheer, Christ is coming again
Hallelujah and Amen…