Preached:
KNOWING AND LOVING JESUS #1:
INTRODUCTION:
I. If I were to ask you, what is the central core of the Bible,
what would you say?
A.
JESUS!!!
1. Bible
begins and ends with Jesus!
a. There
is not a section of the Old Testament that does not speak of Him:
1) Not
law, not history, not poetry and not prophecy!
b. There
is not a section of the New Testament that does not center in Him:
1) Not
the gospels, not Acts, not the Epistles, not Revelation!
c. New Testament validates Christ in the
O.T.
II. Let’s
examine the scriptures…
DISCUSSION:
1- Jesus in the
Pentateuch:
A. Creator - Gen. 1. 1, 2, 26
1. Eloheim
2. John 1. 1, 2, 10 “In the
beginning God…the world was made through Him…”
I Cor 8.6 “…yet for us there is one
God, the Father, from whom are all things are for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus
Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”
B. Jesus, the promise to Abraham –
1.
Three promises - Gen. 12.1-7
2. Promises renewed - Gen. 22.17,18
3. Third promise fulfilled - Gal 3.16 “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his
seed. He does not say, ‘And to Seeds…’ as referring to
many but rather to one…”
E. Jesus:
foreshadowed by the Passover lamb -
1. I Cor 5.7 “Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for
us…”
F. Jesus:
foreshadowed in Jewish sin offerings in Leviticus -
1. Heb
10.4, 5 “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take
away sins.
Therefore, when He (Jesus) comes into the world, He
says, (Ps 40.6), ‘Sacrifice and offering You
have not desired, but a Body you have prepared for Me…”
G. Jesus:
the prophet like Moses -
1. Deut
18.15; John 1.45; Acts 3.18-26
2- Jesus
in Old Testament History:
A. II
Sam. 7:12,13. “When your days are complete and
you lie down with your father, I will raise up your
seed after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.
He shall build a house for My name, and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom forever…”
a. Peter
quotes this passage on Pentecost:
1) Acts
2.29. “Brethren, may I confidently say to you regarding the patriarch
David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an
oath to seat one of his descendents on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of
the resurrection of the Christ…”
3- Jesus in
the books of poetry:
A. Many
references could be cited, but one in particular is so vivid:
1. King
David wrote of his agony on the cross -
Ps 22:
a. V 1
“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”
Vs 7, 8 “All
who see me sneer at me; they separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,
‘Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because
He delights in him.”
Vs 16-18. “For dogs have surrounded me; A band of
evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count
all my bones. They look, they stare at me; they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”
4- Jesus
among the prophets:
A. In
fact, the OT ends with Jesus and the NT begins with Him!
1. Mal
3.1-3 “’Behold, I am going to send My
messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek,
will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom
you delight, behold He is coming,’ says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure
the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For
He is like a refiner’s fire and like a fullers’ soap. He will sit as a
smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine
them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in
righteousness.”
4.2 “But
for you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in
its wings…Behold I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of
the great and terrible day of the Lord.,”
2. It is
not coincidence that the first things
we read about in the gospels are the births of John, the Baptist, and Jesus and
their ministries!
a. Zechariah’s
prophecy – Luke 1.78 “...because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those in
darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace…”
2.
Luke records at
the end of his gospel –
a. Luke 24.25-27 “And he said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all
that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should
suffer these things and enter into his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the
Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
5- Jesus
in the Gospels:
A.
Gospel means “good
news” !
1. Luke
reveals the message of the angels at the birth of Jesus:
a. Luke
2:10,11. “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring
you good news of great joy which shall be for all people; for
today in the city of David there has been born for you, a Savior, who is Christ
the Lord.”
6- Jesus
in NT history:
A.
Only one book
of history—Acts:
1. And
the entire theme of the book of Acts is the spreading of the good news of the
death, burial and resurrection of Jesus from
a. And
the message is clear—Jesus who was crucified has been raised from the dead, has
ascended back to heaven to the right hand of God and is now exercising
authority as Lord of Lords and King of all who reign as Kings!!
1)
Acts 2.36-38
7- Jesus
in the letters to the churches:
A. Rom 1.16, 17
I Cor 1.23 “We preach Christ crucified…”
I Cor 2.2 “For I was determined to know nothing among you
except Jesus Christ and Him crucified…”
I Cor 4.1 “Let a man regard us in this manner
as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case,
moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found
trustworthy…”
Gal 2.20.
Gal 6.17 “I bear in my body the brand-marks of Jesus…”
Eph
1.3, 19-22
Phil
2.5-9
Philemon 5. “I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord
Jesus Christ…”
Heb 1:1-5
I Pet 1:3
Entire theme of I
John—Jesus is the Son of God and we must obey him.
Jude 4 “…our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
8- Christ
in NT prophecy:
A.
Revelation –
1. Begins
- John’s confrontation with the resurrected Jesus, and his being commanded by
Him to write to the seven churches of
2. Ends -
Rev. 22:16. “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these
things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright
and morning star.”