Biblical Proof of Jesus as Messiah

Apologia Studios

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

If you would grab your Bibles and open up to Matthew chapter 27,

00:08

Matthew 27. We're going to read a lot of the text from Matthew today.

00:14

It's sort of like going to a store and opening a book and going to the very end of the book first, which is a big no -no and sort of a pet peeve of mine.

00:25

Like when my daughter tried to do that once, I think I smacked her hand, like that's, no, don't do that. You're going to ruin the whole thing for yourself.

00:31

Don't do that. We're going to do that today. We're actually going to read the end of the story first before I pick up to the beginning just to show you the glorious nature of God's word and his control over history and his keeping of his promises.

00:45

So Matthew chapter 27, the first book of your New Testament, and we're going to skip ahead to Matthew 27, 11.

00:56

It's when Jesus is before Pilate. As a matter of historical record in history,

01:03

Jesus stands before Pilate and is interrogated.

01:10

I'm reading from the ESV. Now Jesus stood before the governor and the governor asked him, are you the king of the

01:17

Jews? Jesus said, you have said so. But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer.

01:25

Then Pilate said to him, do you not hear how many things they testify against you? But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

01:36

Now at the feast, the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted, and they had then a notorious prisoner called

01:43

Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, whom do you want me to release for you,

01:48

Barabbas or Jesus who is called Messiah? For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.

01:55

Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.

02:05

Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, which of the two do you want me to release for you?

02:14

And they said, Barabbas. Pilate said to them, then what shall I do with Jesus who is called

02:19

Messiah? And they all said, let him be crucified. And he said, why?

02:26

What evil has he done? But they shouted all the more, let him be crucified. So when

02:31

Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying,

02:39

I am innocent of this man's blood. See to it yourselves. And all the people answered, his blood be on us and on our children.

02:49

Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took

02:56

Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him.

03:01

And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand.

03:10

And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, hail, king of the Jews. And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.

03:19

And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

03:27

As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross, and when they came to a place called

03:34

Golgotha, which means place of a skull, they offered him wine to drink mixed with gall.

03:40

But when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.

03:50

Then they sat down and kept watch over him there and over his head. Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.

03:58

And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, you who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself.

04:09

If you are the son of God, come down from the cross. So also the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him, saying, he saved others.

04:17

He cannot save himself. He's the king of Israel. Let him come down now from the cross and we'll believe him.

04:23

He trusts in God. Let God deliver him now, if he desires him, for he said,

04:29

I am the son of God. And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

04:35

Now from the sixth hour, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

04:41

And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, that is my

04:49

God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And some of the bystanders hearing him said, this man is calling

04:56

Elijah. And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.

05:04

But the other said, wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him. And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

05:12

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom and the earth shook and the rocks were split.

05:21

The tombs also were open and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

05:30

When the centurion and those who were with him keeping watch over Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, truly, this was the son of God.

05:43

There were also many women there looking on from a distance who had followed Jesus from Galilee ministering to him, among whom were

05:51

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and Mary of the sons of Zebedee.

05:57

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.

06:04

He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock.

06:18

And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there sitting opposite the tomb.

06:25

The next day, that is after the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, sir, we remember how that imposter said while he was still alive, after three days

06:37

I will rise again. Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people he has risen from the dead.

06:47

And the last fraud will be worse than the first. Pilate said to them, you have a guard of soldiers, go make it as secure as you can.

06:55

So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. Now after the

07:00

Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake for an angel of the

07:09

Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was white like lightning and his clothing white as snow.

07:17

And for fear of him, the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, do not be afraid for I know what that you seek

07:26

Jesus who was crucified. He is not here for he has arisen. As he said, come see the place where he lay, then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead and behold, he is going before you to Galilee.

07:42

There you will see him. See, I have told you. So they departed quickly from the tomb, which with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples and behold,

07:51

Jesus met them and said greetings. And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.

07:57

Then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee and there they will see me.

08:05

While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priest all that had taken place.

08:10

And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, tell people his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.

08:23

And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So they took the money and did as they were directed.

08:30

And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. Now the 11 disciples went to Galilee to the mountain to which

08:37

Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some of them doubted.

08:43

And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

08:51

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the

08:56

Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age.

09:04

Thus far is the reading of God's word. Let's pray. Father, I want to pray that you bless God today as I open your word to tell your story,

09:11

God, the story of your faithfulness. I pray that you'd bless God, the proclamation of your word today, the proclamation,

09:18

Lord Jesus, of your perfect life, your death, your burial, your resurrection, and your ascension.

09:25

I pray you'd bless it to your glory by your spirit. Get me out of the way. I pray that you would open the eyes of the blinds and put fire underneath the feet of your people.

09:33

In Jesus' name, amen. Praise God. That's the story of Jesus' resurrection.

09:39

And like I said, it's very much like going to the end of a book before you read the beginning.

09:46

That's what you just got. And the reason why I say it that way is because that is exactly what we just did.

09:54

God has told this story in history long before it took place.

10:00

We get to read it now post -cross, post -ascension, 2 ,000 years after the coming of Christ.

10:06

We get to read the story looking back on Christ's accomplished work.

10:12

We get to hear about all of what God did in Christ to the little details of Jesus' life and his ministry, his death and his resurrection.

10:20

We get to hear about the little side stories that sprung out of God's bigger story of the resurrection,

10:25

Peter's betrayal of Jesus, Judas the betrayer. We get to hear about all the really interesting things

10:31

Jesus did in his ministry as he displayed that he is in fact the promised Messiah, God in the flesh, where Jesus would be in his ministry and he would be healing the sick.

10:41

He'd be giving sight to blind people. He would let deaf people hear again. He would go into people's lives and he would completely transform them.

10:49

People who were sinners that were just left out by everybody else, God becomes a man and he hangs out with them.

10:56

He goes to dinner with people that most of the religious elite won't go to dinner with. Think about the life of Jesus is so entirely unique.

11:05

Jesus never went very far at all from his hometown, not far really at all.

11:11

He didn't have an army behind him. Jesus never wrote a book. That's compelling.

11:18

If you think about, we have today the leader of a nation. We have our president today, Barack Obama. How many books are written about Barack Obama and even his own stuff that he's had his hands on describing his own life and his work.

11:30

That's a modern day leader of a nation. Whether or not he's a good leader is a question for another day.

11:38

Amen? It's apology at church. You can say amen to that. Okay, all right. Now, the point is that the interesting thing about Jesus is that here's a person who literally changes the course of history.

11:51

When Jesus came into history, he split it. I mean, even so much that our calendars today are marked by Jesus' splitting of history.

12:02

I mean, Jesus comes into history and he never leaves it the same. It will never be the same ever again.

12:09

Jesus came into the world and with his life transformed other people's lives and by his death and resurrection continues to do so.

12:17

Jesus is entirely unique, entirely unique. He's the only person ever that was dead and raised again from the dead eternally in the heavens.

12:30

Think about it. Buddha, Zoroaster, Confucius, Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eadie, you name it,

12:36

Charles Taze Russell, all of these religious leaders in the world, they have one thing in common.

12:42

They all died and they stayed that way. They're dead and they stayed that way.

12:48

Jesus displays to the world the unique nature of his person and his work and that he died as a matter of historical record and he rose again from the dead.

13:00

The life and death and resurrection of Jesus cannot be paralleled by anything in history.

13:06

Jesus is unique in every way, but what makes this story even more compelling and this is where you must draw yourself into the story is that this is not simply about you and me.

13:20

This is not about an individual thing only with you and Jesus, although it is about that to a very large degree,

13:28

God saves sinners, amen? Me and you know God. We don't fear the wrath of God when we wake up in the morning and we don't even think about that anymore, do we?

13:38

Think about that. We're releasing tonight our next episode of Apologia Radio with all the really interesting juicy stuff that you're going to hear before everyone else does.

13:47

On the show, I interviewed Dr. James White in Florida and one thing he said that I think

13:52

I should mention as we talk about what we're saying now about the resurrection of Jesus is that Dr. White said, when

13:58

I start off my messages, he says, or my lessons at a university even on the justification by faith that we are declared righteous by faith apart from works of law in Jesus, he said,

14:09

I always start off the lesson saying to the class, how many of you guys thought about the wrath of God when you woke up this morning?

14:22

You don't and that's crazy. We don't take that in as Christians like we ought to.

14:32

You don't think about the wrath of God and you don't wake up fearing the wrath of God.

14:38

Why? That's right. You don't have to think about the wrath of God as a

14:44

Christian in terms of your identification with him ever again because of what God has done in Christ.

14:50

You know Romans chapter 5 verse 1, there is therefore now, sorry, that is, sorry, back up here,

14:55

Romans 5 verse 1, having been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our

15:02

Lord Jesus Christ and Romans 8, 1, that there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

15:08

Why, Christian, do you not wake up in fear of the wrath of God on your life?

15:14

You know your life. You know your thoughts over the last 24 hours, the last 48 hours.

15:22

You know how you've engaged with your spouse or your family or the world and when you think about your life and I think about my life in myself before a holy

15:31

God, what must a holy God do to a person who is not holy?

15:37

What must a good God do to someone who's not good? What must a righteous God do to someone who is not righteous?

15:45

He must give judgment. He must give condemnation and brothers and sisters, you and I don't wake up in fear of the wrath of God every morning and why?

15:58

Because of what Jesus accomplished for you. Because we look back on the finished work of Jesus in history as a completed, done thing and Jesus as the ascended priest who intercedes for you forever.

16:14

Brothers and sisters, you are no longer ever going to offer a sacrifice on Yom Kippur.

16:21

You're never going to be longing for the day when God will finally deal with your sin so that you can have peace with him.

16:29

You're never going to step before God in Christ and experience the wrath and condemnation of a holy

16:35

God. That'll never happen in your life. It'll never happen in my life and it's not because of you.

16:41

It's because of what we celebrate today, the resurrection of Jesus. He died, was buried and he rose again and that's why this is so significant.

16:51

Let's go right into the story. I want to just make sure we get there so I can fill it all out for you guys. Listen, it's important for us to celebrate this today.

16:59

I read you the end of the story. I didn't get to the beginning part first because I want to build it up to that now.

17:04

Remember, your Bible opens up with the story of you and the story of me in our first parent's fall at the beginning of creation.

17:12

This God who is love, no question. This God who is love eternally.

17:20

This God who is full of mercy and peace and goodness and holiness. He creates, he speaks and the universe leaps into existence.

17:28

This is a God who simply says something and it is. He says baboons and then there's baboons and it's awesome and he says giraffe and then there's giraffes and he says ocean and it spills out.

17:42

He says mountains come forth and there's mountains. He speaks stars into existence.

17:47

He does and it's incredible. If you think about just the sheer size of our universe, people will say, this is a common atheist argument, it's really said a lot.

18:00

It really is. They'll often say, it really seems ridiculous that God would create all of this space so that on this little tiny speck, earth, he fills it with people and he's actually concerned with us.

18:16

They'll say, it seems like an absolute waste of space to have all these galaxies and these amazing stars.

18:24

I mean, our sun compared to other kind of suns in the universe is really quite small and honestly, it's terrifying.

18:33

Our sun, the power that our sun has, the majesty of our sun and it is tiny compared to other suns in the universe.

18:43

And this is the God who's spoken into existence and the world will say today, it seems like an absolute waste of space that God would create all of this and be concerned with little human beings on this nothing little planet in all of the universe.

18:57

And here's the thing that we have to recognize about this God. He didn't create it for you. He created it for his glory.

19:05

All of the universe was created to bring glory and exaltation to God. The stars and those other suns that are ginormous, that's a good word for it, are shouting to the glory of God.

19:19

When God created little creatures that you'll never see in the ocean, you'll never see them.

19:25

He didn't create it for you to stare at and be in awe of ultimately. He created those creatures to bring glory to himself and he delights in it daily.

19:36

And when God created the universe, it splashed into existence. It all shouts to his glory and praise and he determined for his glory, he would create his image in the garden.

19:49

And when he created his image, he created male and female and the image of God, he created them. And he came into covenant with his people and he said, this but not this.

19:59

The day you do, you'll die. And the first temptation comes in, Satan comes in and deceives

20:05

Eve by his craftiness, Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 11, deceives

20:10

Eve by his craftiness. You won't die, you'll be like God, knowing good and evil.

20:16

That is to say, determining good and evil for yourself, you'll be your own little God. You determine what you can and can't do in this universe.

20:25

Adam sins willfully against God. He saw it, it looked good to him and he did it with a high hand to God.

20:32

Those are our first parents. And don't we display daily in this world that we are descendants of them.

20:40

We will determine for ourselves what we can and can't do. Sound familiar? It sounds like 21st century

20:46

America, amen, right? And so we display daily, that's who we are, we're their children.

20:52

And God does something glorious, Genesis chapter three, go to it. Genesis chapter three, when the fall enters,

20:59

God does something actually pretty spectacular. What? Now listen, we don't like to talk about it because we're sinners.

21:07

Think about it for a second, honestly, what does a good judge have to do with criminals?

21:14

Does a good judge have to give criminals justice or mercy? What kind of judge would stay on the bench for any period of time if everybody that came in who was a criminal and a violator of others, what kind of judge would stay on the bench who when these people come in, the judge says, you're free to go,

21:34

I really like you, you're free to go. Mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy, you'd be like, excuse me, there's a lot of hurt people here.

21:43

And this person's guilty. What must a good judge do with criminals? Judge them.

21:50

And what must a perfect and holy judge do to criminals in his universe?

21:56

Judge them. But the glorious thing about God's word is that he doesn't just judge us.

22:05

As a perfect judge, he ought to, he must do that. So what does he do as soon as Adam and Eve fall and they run from God, they try to cover themselves, which is what religion does.

22:16

We're sinners, we're lost, we're violators of God's law, and so we try to fashion together things to cover ourselves up, to atone for our sins.

22:27

Good example is the many examples of people recently over the last decade or more that have committed atrocities against other human beings.

22:36

People that have crashed planes into buildings or taken planes down into the ground and slaughtered masses of people.

22:45

Amazing thing is, you look at their lives pre -slaughter of other human beings, you see these people engaged in atrocious things.

22:54

Strip clubs, online pornography, and all these different things. And then you see they do some amazing act against other human beings, a wicked act, all in the name of God.

23:05

What is it they're doing? They're trying to atone for their sins. Do you see it?

23:13

People always try to atone for their sins, to cover themselves, to hide. Adam and Eve do the exact same thing.

23:20

They cover themselves and God confronts them, and you need to see what he does. Genesis chapter three, you need to see it.

23:28

Genesis chapter three. God comes to them right before verse 10 and asks them, where are you?

23:38

And he said, I heard the sound of the garden, of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked and hid myself.

23:47

And as you move down, verse 14. The Lord God said to the serpent, because you have done this, cursing you above all livestock, and above all beasts of the field, on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

24:00

Listen, here is the first proclamation of the good news. Genesis chapter three. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.

24:11

He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. There it is.

24:17

It's amazing. You read your Bible like a hundred times before, and you're like, you missed Jesus in Genesis chapter three.

24:24

The woman's seed. By the way, in this culture, you don't do that. You don't refer to someone's offspring as the woman's seed.

24:30

I'm not saying it's right. They just didn't do it. They would refer to somebody's offspring as the man's seed, the man's offspring.

24:37

Because usually the child was identified with the father. He got the father's name, and he was from that father. That was the father's house you represented.

24:45

Oddly enough, in a culture that sees it in terms of the father's seed, Moses records for us that God said, the woman's seed.

24:56

He will crush the head of the serpent, but be bruised on his heel in the process. You need to see this, because watch this, watch this.

25:02

We're going to get to the garden in just a moment, really. You're going to see the promise of Jesus, that promised seed.

25:10

All this garden -themed stuff takes place. God says, don't do what they do. Death enters in a garden.

25:17

Adam is naked and should have stayed naked. It's not so much that he didn't know he was not covered.

25:25

It was that he was ashamed and exposed. That's what's really going on there. Listen, they're in a garden.

25:31

Death enters. Adam is naked and exposed before God. God says this, the woman's seed is going to come, and he will crush the head of the serpent, but in the process of crushing the head, he's going to be wounded.

25:43

What is it if you get your head crushed? It's a mortal blow. What is it if you're wounded on your heel?

25:51

It's a temporary thing, right? It hurts for a bit, but you're going to recover from that. God says, the woman's seed, there's the first promise of the virgin birth, by the way, because it's not the man's seed.

26:03

It's going to crush the head of the serpent, deliver the death blow, but in the crushing of the serpents, in that action in history, there will be a wounding of the

26:11

Messiah, and then in Genesis 3, God does the first covering of Adam and Eve.

26:17

His image sins against him, and he's naked. He should have stayed that way. God, in his love, says,

26:22

Messiah's coming. He's going to deliver the death blow to Satan, but he takes the first animal.

26:29

This is crazy. We don't think about this often. Take a breath and think about this.

26:36

This is crazy. Who killed Jesus? Think about it real fast.

26:44

Who killed Jesus? Just think about it in terms of ultimates.

26:50

In terms of ultimates. The early church prayed. They said, gathered in this city against your holy servant,

26:59

Jesus. Pontius Pilate, the peoples of Israel, the Gentiles, to do what? To do whatever your hands had predestined to occur.

27:10

Ultimately, Isaiah 53, Old Testament. The Lord was pleased to crush him, putting him to grief.

27:20

Think about that. Are you following me now? The Lord was pleased to crush him, putting him to grief.

27:25

Ultimately, we know that God is sovereign, who declares the end from the beginning. Who, ultimately, is responsible for the death of Jesus?

27:35

God is responsible for the death of Jesus. And you go back to the garden, when our first parents fell, and they were naked, and they should have stayed that way.

27:44

What does it say took place? God himself covered them in the skins of the animal.

27:51

Who killed the first animal sacrifice? It was God. And what does he do?

27:58

He covers Adam and Eve's shame, and their nakedness, and their guilt, in the skins of the innocent sacrifice.

28:06

In the very beginning, God says, Messiah is coming. Woman's seed. Death blow to Satan. And he covers the nakedness and the shame of his image bearers with the innocence of the sacrifice.

28:16

Are you getting it? Are you getting it? But what does he say about the grounds? What does he say about the grounds?

28:22

He says, cursed is the grounds. Adam, as God's representative, as his image in the world, listen, he represented all of creation.

28:32

He was the pinnacle. He was the crown of God's creation. And listen, when Adam fell, all of creation fell with him.

28:41

Everything came down with Adam. Think about that. And God says, cursed is the ground even because of you.

28:49

Thorns and thistles it will bring forth because of your sin. Capture it. Listen, I need you to hang on to it.

28:55

Image of God. Nakedness. Death. Covering. Thorns in the garden.

29:02

Now, the story continues, and God says in Genesis 15 that Abraham is justified by his faith, that he believes

29:10

God, and it's credited to him as righteousness. And Abraham is given a promise that, listen, he's going to have descendants as numerous as the stars.

29:19

And God promises in Genesis 49 .10 that Shiloh is coming, and to him is going to be the obedience of the nations.

29:26

What are you getting now? You're starting to get this. This story is picking up. It's picking up, but the Jews don't know.

29:31

They don't really get it yet. They don't understand. They're like, this is complex. It's beautiful.

29:37

I mean, there's so many different facets to look at this from. You see, there's this death of this sacrifice, and then there's this

29:44

Messiah who's coming to get the nations, and Abraham's going to have descendants as numerous as the stars, and then

29:50

God says, temple, get a temple, an animal sacrifice, and sacrifice him in this way, and you need a priest to intercede between you and me because you're not holy, and the priest himself isn't holy, and he needs animal sacrifices to cover his sins, but there's got to be the innocent for the guilty sacrifice.

30:06

You need the shedding of blood because you deserve to die, because you've offended me, and there must be a death because I'm a just God.

30:15

Something must take place. Someone has to die, and the Jews are doing this, and the crazy thing, this is wild about it, is that they know.

30:26

They know the blood of bulls and goats didn't take away sin. I mean, this is the craziest thing.

30:32

If I said to you, I want to represent you, I love you, and my life,

30:39

I want to lay it down for you, and listen, as noble a thing as that might be, you can't take my life in place of you before God.

30:48

It's meaningless. You don't want my sin representing you before God. You don't want somebody who in his life is a liar and an adulterer, and in my heart, a murderer because I've hated people.

31:00

You don't want somebody with my record representing you before a holy God, and so you know that no sinner can represent you before God, so that's why in the

31:09

Bible, Moses can't take your sin. He's a sinner. He can't even go to the promised land because he sins against God.

31:17

Abraham's a liar. David's an adulterer and a murderer. Solomon's whacked. He writes a book of wisdom, but you're like, yeah, you learned a lot of lessons to get that book done, right?

31:27

I mean, for real, how many concubines and wives? Didn't God tell you not to multiply wives? What's wrong with you? But he's like just straight -up sin, like totally.

31:36

Isaiah is like the most righteous dude in all of Israel, and when he gets a glimpse in Isaiah 6 of God's holiness, what does he say?

31:42

He says, woe is me. That's like saying, God, kill me. It is.

31:48

He's saying, woe is me. That's a curse. He would usually say, woe to you, like woe to you

31:55

Philistines. Woe to you, and you would yell it out to someone else, Edomites or something.

32:01

And what does Isaiah say? He says, woe is me. He says,

32:07

I'm a man of unclean lips. I'm coming apart at the seams. So then you see like no human can take their sins, and then what do you have also?

32:15

You have the fact that you've got blood of bulls and goats. That doesn't take away any sin. And God's saying, no, no, do it, do it.

32:22

Temple, priest, and mediator, and Yom Kippur, animal sacrifice. And then he continues to tell this story.

32:28

He has his people enslaved. We just did it this week in the real way.

32:35

Didn't even know you did it. And by the way, can I say something real fast? There's a big movement these days of Christians, Christians trying to go back,

32:45

Christians believing, I'm going to say this without as much as possible not offending, although I don't really care.

32:57

Messianic Jewish congregations, okay? And there's a movement today of Christians gravitating towards quote -unquote

33:06

Messianic Jewish congregations as though people who are descended physically from Israel are more

33:15

Israel than you. That's antithetical to everything the

33:21

Bible teaches. And there's also a movement these days of people going, trying to go back to the old patterns to say, let's really get back into the old patterns because that's so Jewish.

33:34

Brothers and sisters, don't you realize, don't you realize that Jesus is the sum and substance of all that that pointed to?

33:43

To go back to it is to ignore the beauty of the substance. And this week, you and I truly celebrated

33:51

Passover. Whereas the anticipation was, you're in slavery, people, to Egypt.

33:59

And God says, let my people go. And Pharaoh says, no. And so God sends in the plagues to Egypt, all the plagues.

34:08

You've got frogs splashing all over the place. You've got, you know, lice and crazy. It's really nuts, right?

34:14

But what did it do? Watch this. If you don't know this, this is really trippy. When you first are a

34:20

Christian and you read those plagues, you might be tempted to think, well, God's pretty cold -blooded.

34:27

Cows dying, blood, water, and you've got, like, frogs. And you're like, what is God like?

34:32

He likes to dangle people in a string. He just likes to just sort of, you know, like, bat him around like a cat, right?

34:38

No. It's awesome. The Egyptians are pagans. They're worshiping the

34:43

God of the frogs, the God of the cattle, the God of the waters. And what does

34:49

God do? He goes to Egypt and says, let my people go. Pharaoh says no.

34:55

And God goes, okay, frogs, go ahead and pray to your frog God. And the Egyptians are like, get the frogs out, get the frogs out.

35:02

Frog God's not responding. And so Moses comes back, let my people go.

35:09

And no, all right, have some blood in your water. Go ahead and pray to your water God. And they're praying to the water

35:15

God. The water's still blood. God was demonstrating to Egypt that he's the true and living

35:20

God. And they're worshiping a false God. What was it? It was grace, because it was actually an attempt to call them to repentance.

35:27

And they refused. And so what does God ultimately do? He says this, okay, now I'm going to take the firstborn.

35:34

He raised Pharaoh up, Romans 9 says, to display his power in him and all the earth.

35:40

And he says the firstborn, now watch, watch, watch, watch, watch. He says the firstborn's going to die, but he's going to send his destroyer in.

35:50

It's terrifying. And the destroyer's going to come in, and what

35:56

God told his people to do was take a lamb. With no spot and no blemish.

36:04

And I love this, I love this. He just has it like in his side. He says, and don't break its bones.

36:11

And the Jews are like, yes, sir. Like, okay. And they don't know why. A lamb, no spot, no blemish, and don't break its bones.

36:20

And he says, take the blood of the lamb, and you put the blood over your doorposts.

36:27

Makes a sign of a cross. And God says that he's going to pass over that house on account of the blood of the spotless lamb whose bones were not broken.

36:40

His judgment will be diverted from that house, and then they're going to be freed from their slavery to enter into the promised lands.

36:48

Are you getting it? Are you seeing it? And so they're waiting, and they're waiting, and they don't know.

36:53

They're just doing it, and they don't know. God says do, and then they do. Right? And so what happens is the story begins to move on.

37:00

You start getting direct word from God. Here's who the Messiah is. Isaiah 9, 6 -7.

37:07

Wonderful counselor. El Gibor, the mighty God. God's coming as a son and as a child.

37:14

Of the increase of his government and of peace there'll be no end. And you get more. Daniel 7, 13 -14.

37:20

Daniel says he's looking in the night visions. And one like a son of man is coming on the clouds of heaven.

37:26

And he came up to the ancient of days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom.

37:33

That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away.

37:42

And his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. Explicit. And then you get the when.

37:47

Micah 5. From Bethlehem. And then you get. Sorry, that's the where. Then you get the when.

37:53

Daniel 9. He's going to be cut off. And then the second temple is going to be destroyed. Brothers and sisters, that's a knockout punch.

38:00

You realize that? I hope you have that like tucked into your toolbox. So that one day when you walk up to somebody that identifies as ethnically

38:08

Jewish. You could say, can I ask you a question? Sure, ask me a question. Daniel 9 says the

38:13

Messiah is going to be cut off. And then the second temple is going to be destroyed. Yes, yes. Well, when was the second temple destroyed?

38:20

It was 70 AD. So who's the Messiah that was cut off and died a violent death? Do you see?

38:27

It's an amazing thing. And then you see the story moves on. And God's filling out the story for us.

38:33

Telling us every detail about the Messiah. And I want you to see two places today. And this is really where we're resting today.

38:39

Because this is the part of the story that should make Resurrection Sunday pop for you. Go to Psalm 22.

38:47

And you know that I am skipping so much today. You know I am. Psalm 22.

38:54

Psalm 22. Now watch this. Watch this.

39:02

Ready? My God. My God. Why have you forsaken me?

39:12

Sound familiar? Remember, you're reading the hymn book of the early

39:18

Jews. So just like, and I've said this to you many times before.

39:23

You and I can complete the hymn. Amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saved a what?

39:31

Wretch like me. The Jews sang this song in church.

39:37

My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me from the words of my groaning?

39:45

And now move down. Verse 6. This is a thousand years before Christ. Just about.

39:51

But I am a worm and not a man. Scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

39:57

All who see me mock me. They make mouths at me. They wag their heads.

40:04

He trusts in the Lord. Let him deliver him. Let him rescue him for he delights in him.

40:11

Does that sound familiar to anyone in this room? Yet you are he who took me from the womb.

40:18

You made me trust you. You took my mother's breasts. On you was I cast for my birth. And from my mother's womb you have been my

40:24

God. Be not far from me for trouble is near. And there is none to help me. Many bulls encompass me.

40:31

Strong bulls of Bashan surround me. They open wide their mouths at me. Like a ravening and roaring lion.

40:37

I am poured out like water. And all my bones are out of joints. When you were on the cross.

40:44

One of the things that people identify as what was very painful about crucifixion.

40:50

Was that when you were on that cross. The weight of your body would pull you down. It would generally pull your arms out of the sockets.

41:00

And you would gasp for air and suffocate. And you would be pushing up off the nail that was going through the bottom part of your body.

41:09

And you would push up to gasp for air. And you would drop down because of the pain. It was an all day up and down process of trying to gasp for air.

41:18

Because you are almost suffocating. And you would pull back up again to gasp for air and drop down. And you would get exhausted and tired.

41:25

And imagine Jesus who was whipped with a cat of nine tails. Which was a leather whip with pieces of sharp objects and metal balls at the end of it.

41:36

And they would whip Jesus back. And when they pulled it back it literally tore chunks of flesh and muscle out.

41:43

And Jesus is on this cross suffering for his people. Under the wrath of God. Not just this death.

41:50

But he is pushing up against this cross. Against his back which is tattered and torn.

41:56

And his bones are out of joints. Listen. My heart is like wax. It is melted within my breast.

42:04

It's an amazing thing God did. At the cross. The Roman soldiers come because they want the bodies down.

42:13

They don't want them up. And so they come to the criminals next to Jesus.

42:18

They break their legs. They break their legs so they can no longer push up and gasp for air.

42:24

You speed up the process of a person under crucifixion. They will die faster if you break their legs because they can't breathe anymore.

42:32

No longer able to push up. Well the Roman soldiers go and they break the legs of the criminals with Jesus.

42:38

To have them die quicker. They come to Jesus and the text says. They did not break his bones.

42:45

They did not break his legs because he was already dead. They took a spear.

42:51

And just to ensure he was dead. Because their life is on the line if he's not. They shoved it through his rib cage.

42:58

We know it pierced his heart sack. Because it said. The witnesses say. Blood and water poured out.

43:06

Medical examiners that have examined the text have said. Well if the bystanders had actually seen blood and water.

43:12

It meant that his heart sack was pierced. His heart was like wax. Melted within him.

43:20

Do you see it? But notice something also. When did Jesus die?

43:27

Passover. What did they not do to his bones? They didn't break his bones.

43:34

What did John the Baptist say about Jesus when he first saw him? Behold the

43:39

Lamb of God. Who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is the spotless

43:45

Lamb. Who is our Passover. Who was on that cross and his bones were not broken.

43:51

And the judgment of God passed over our house. And was absorbed in the

43:56

Lamb. So that we are released from our slavery to sin. To enter into the promised land of relationship with God.

44:03

Are you getting it? Do you see it? Psalm 22. My strength.

44:11

Verse 15. Is dried up like a pot shirt. And my tongue sticks to my jaws. Listen. Listen. Listen.

44:17

You lay me in the dust of death. What does it mean to be laid in the dust of death?

44:23

You die. This is the passion of the Messiah. This is his death. For his people.

44:31

For dogs encompass me. A company of evildoers encircles me. They have pierced my hands and my feet.

44:44

They have pierced my hands and my feet. The dogs encircle him.

44:51

Evildoers encircle him. They pierce his hands and his feet. Why? Pray tell.

45:01

Is God telling us about the piercing of the hands and feet of the

45:07

Messiah? Long before the Romans actually invented crucifixion as a means of torture and capital punishment.

45:17

They pierced his hands and his feet. I can count all my bones.

45:24

Do you get that? What's that mean? The Messiah's bones would not be broken. What did they not do to Jesus' bones?

45:30

They didn't break him. I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me.

45:37

They divide my garments among them. And from my clothing they cast lots.

45:46

Listen, if this doesn't get you excited about Jesus, nothing will. Nothing will.

45:51

This is Jesus' life. His death for sinners on full display before it takes place.

45:58

Like a thousand years before. But watch this. We almost miss it.

46:04

We almost miss it. And I don't want you to miss it. What do you have in the text?

46:10

The passion of Jesus. His crucifixion. Right? It's all right there. But there's more. Watch. Move down.

46:16

He died, right? He already died. But look at verse 22. After he's laid in the dust of death.

46:22

Watch this. I will tell of your name to my brothers. In the midst of the congregation, we'll praise you.

46:30

Wait a minute. He's laid in the dust of death. And yet, he tells of your name to my brothers.

46:37

In the midst of the congregation, we'll praise you. So you've got the death, the laying in the dust of death.

46:45

And then the telling of your name to my brothers. You get the beginning signals of the resurrection of the

46:53

Messiah. Verse 27. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the

47:01

Lord. And all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord.

47:06

And he rules over the nations. What? You go in the psalm from total death and darkness.

47:15

To moving into praising his brothers in the midst of the congregation. And all the ends of the earth remembering and turning to God.

47:24

Do you see it? You've got what? The death of Jesus and the victory of Jesus in Psalm 22.

47:30

It's a glorious thing. And it's also post -millennial. Just saying. All right. Isaiah 53.

47:37

Move there quickly. Isaiah 53. And of course, you know how much I'm skipping, guys.

47:42

But I wanted you to see what you should be celebrating today. What we should be celebrating today. Isaiah 53.

47:48

We did it last week. Let me highlight a few things for you. And then we're going to worship God together.

47:55

In Isaiah 52 verses 13 through 15. You get the promise that this servant is going to be exalted and highly lifted up.

48:04

Highly exalted. And then it says that his appearance was going to be marred.

48:09

So you've got an exaltation and yet a marring of his appearance. And then in chapter 53, he would be like a root out of dry ground.

48:18

Verse 2. Nothing about him. No beauty that you should desire him. A man of sorrows.

48:24

Verse 3. Acquainted with grief. Rejected and despised. And as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not.

48:33

Watch this. And this, guys. Take a breath. I should take a breath. Okay. But listen.

48:40

Listen. Listen. You've got to grab hold of this. The next verses, do you understand the power of the next verses?

48:49

Seriously, if you've never seen this part, you've got to see it right now. Because it is challenging.

48:57

Look what it says. Verse 4. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

49:07

Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. Do you get it? He has carried our griefs and carried our sorrows.

49:16

Borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. He carries the griefs and sorrows, but we thought that he was being judged for his own sins.

49:29

What do you think the Jews were doing at the foot of the cross? What do you think they thought was taking place with Jesus?

49:37

They thought Jesus was dying for his own sins as a criminal. Right? But look what the next verse says.

49:45

But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities.

49:52

Upon him was a chastisement that brought us peace. And with his stripes we are healed.

49:58

All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And the

50:03

Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Guess what you never see in the Old Testament. Ever, not ever, ever see.

50:11

Ever identified by God as part of worship. Listen. Is the atonement scenario

50:18

God laying iniquity upon a sinner, a person in place of the people?

50:26

What did you always have? An innocent sacrifice, an animal. And in the text here, this monotheistic

50:33

Jew who believes in only one God, that sees the holiness of God in Isaiah 6 and wants to die, he says that God is going to lay on this one the iniquity of us all.

50:43

It's the first identification of a human being taking sin. And it's not possible for a human being to take sin unless they are sinless.

50:55

Did you see it? But keep going. Verse 7. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.

51:05

Sound familiar? We just read it. Jesus is at his trial. Ron's like, it's crazy.

51:13

Jesus is at his trial. Pilate's like, come on. I've got the power to let you go.

51:18

Fight back, Jesus. Fight back. Defend yourself. Say something.

51:25

And Jesus goes like a lamb led to the slaughter. He doesn't fight back. He says to Pilate, you don't have any power except that which is given to you by God.

51:34

He knows why he's coming. To die for the sins of his people. He's coming to take my sins and yours.

51:40

Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that is silent before its shearer is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

51:46

By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And as for his generation who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living.

51:55

He dies. Watch. It says why. Stricken for the transgression of my people.

52:02

Guys, he dies because of God's people's sin. And they made his grave with the wicked and with the rich man and his death.

52:11

Although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth. Pause. Pause.

52:21

That can never be said about you or me. And watch this.

52:26

Watch this. Did you make the connection? Isaiah in Isaiah 6, as soon as he's confronted with the holiness of God, what's the first thing he says after declaring woe upon himself?

52:40

He covers his mouth. And he says what? I am a man of unclean lips.

52:45

And what does he say about this one who's coming? There is no deceit in his mouth.

52:55

That's crazy. It's just an amazing thing.

53:01

Yet, verse 10. It was the will of the Lord to crush him.

53:08

He has put him to grief. I asked you in the beginning who killed Jesus? God killed

53:15

Jesus. If that bothers you, your theology is messed up.

53:26

God is the sovereign. He determines what does and doesn't happen in his universe. And if he didn't want

53:32

Jesus to die, it wouldn't have happened. He gave us

53:38

Jesus for our salvation. Yes, the Roman soldiers murdered Jesus. And that was on them because they wanted to do it.

53:45

Yes, the people of Israel delivered Jesus over because they hated him. Because he exposed them, of course.

53:51

And they're guilty of that, of course. Of course, Pilate was a coward. And that's on him, of course.

53:57

But ultimately, it wasn't the Jews. It wasn't the Gentiles. It wasn't Pilate. It was

54:03

God who had Jesus delivered over because he could have stopped it. And that's why he says to Pilate, You don't have any power except that which is given to you by God.

54:13

What's that mean? If he's delivered over by the hands of Pilate to the cross, it was because God sent him there.

54:21

And you need to get that because I'm getting to the most important point here. It says it was the will of the

54:26

Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief. You and I sit here as redeemed people.

54:35

And you don't deserve it. But God is so full of an everlasting love that never changes that it was his will to crush

54:46

Jesus. And that, at the beginning of the service today, I said to you, I said there are things you cannot comprehend about God like the love of God.

54:55

Do you know what you can't comprehend? That. How is it that a holy God that I've offended was pleased to crush

55:04

Jesus? Not just that he had Jesus crushed. He was pleased to crush

55:10

Jesus for you. Listen, if that doesn't affect you at some point in your life dramatically,

55:18

I don't know that you've reflected fully upon your sin before a holy

55:24

God. That God would be pleased to crush Jesus for my sins is something that I can never fully comprehend, but I want to figure out.

55:34

I want to figure out. I want to know more about. Because I love my kids. And I love you all with all my heart.

55:41

But I can't give any one of my kids up for you. I'm sorry. And I hope you feel the same.

55:49

Right? The love of a parent for their child is something that is just transcendent. And as much as we love one another, you know that if it came down to it, you can't deliver your child up for another person because I don't know if any of us have the strength in us to do that.

56:05

But here's the everlasting holy God who chases down sinners and he says that he was pleased to crush

56:13

Jesus for you. I think many of us could say, I think

56:18

I legitimately, I think I could say this, I hope with confidence that I think

56:24

I actually, I think I could give my life for you. I think I could do it. I think I could sacrifice my life in a heroic move because I love you and I want to lay my life down for you.

56:33

But to give your kid, I think even if you did do it, you would do it with sort of a hesitancy.

56:39

You would do it sort of reluctantly, like I can't do this. I don't want to do this, but I guess I will.

56:45

But it says this, God was pleased. The Father was pleased.

56:51

He took pleasure in your redemption and giving Jesus for you.

56:57

So the graphic nature of the crucifixion and the pouring out of the wrath and judgment of God upon Jesus was something the

57:04

Father said, I love you so much, it pleases me to do this for you.

57:09

To give up Jesus for you, it pleases me to do it. That's how much love

57:15

God has for sinners. And then the text says, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days.

57:24

What does it mean when you die and then you see your offspring and prolong your days? You rise from the dead.

57:30

And the text says further, he's counted among the rebels as he bears their iniquities.

57:35

Listen, here's the sum of it. You read today with me, Matthew 27, the last part of the story,

57:41

Jesus' death, his burial, his resurrection, God becomes man, lives the sinless life that you and I have failed, dies in the place of sinners, is buried in a garden tomb.

57:55

He's your perfect representative. Don't forget, Jesus died on that cross, a death that you and I deserve.

58:04

Adam was naked in the garden, should have stayed naked, exposed before God.

58:12

God took an innocent sacrifice and covered his shame. Jesus, the second

58:18

Adam, goes to the cross, and he died naked. And God displayed

58:25

Jesus publicly naked and dead.

58:32

And he goes to that cross for his people to take a death they deserve. And what did the

58:39

Roman soldiers fashion together and place around his head? A crown of thorns.

58:46

What did God say in the garden? Because of your sin, Adam, cursed is the ground because of you.

58:52

It'll bring forth thorns now to tell you about it, to remind you of it, to say to you, this is what took place, this is what's going on, the world has fallen.

59:02

Thorns. You have beauty wrapped up in pain. Beauty wrapped up in thorns. And these

59:08

Roman soldiers take the Son of God, put him on that tree, they get him naked, and he's shamed publicly, and they put on his head the symbol of the fall.

59:22

Jesus is on that cross that day taking death, and his head is carrying the very symbol of the fall.

59:31

Thorns. And he died, and God did not cover him.

59:37

And he died and took a death that we deserve. He's buried in a garden tomb, which is where death was brought in a garden, and he conquered death in that garden, rose and burst forth, and the very first thing he does is starts working on the ground, because in the other stories of the gospel, we get more details, they mistaken him for the gardener, because he was working the ground.

01:00:05

Jesus is the beginning of the new creation. It's already started. He's brought his kingdom.

01:00:11

He has ascended up to the ancient of days, and in this room today, you sit here with me, celebrating the resurrection of the

01:00:19

Son of God, mostly Gentiles, who worship and love the Lord God of Israel, because of Jesus the

01:00:26

Messiah, all sons and daughters of Abraham, descendants like the stars, by faith in Jesus.

01:00:36

Here's the story you gotta get. We deserve that death.

01:00:44

Here's the thing. Do you really believe that? Do you believe it? We talk about it all the time.

01:00:49

It's part of the Christian language, right? When you're in the Christian ghetto, we give you your terminology. We sling it, right?

01:00:55

You gotta talk like this as a Christian. There's your language. We're sinners, God is holy. You're like, okay, sinner, God is holy.

01:01:00

Got that, right? It's sort of like that, you know, my wife, my wife, if she ever gets on the phone with family from Kentucky, it only takes about 30 seconds, and then all of a sudden,

01:01:16

Kentucky starts pouring out of her mouth, right? And if she goes to Kentucky for two weeks, it takes a little while to get it out of her, right?

01:01:25

She comes back, and it's Kentucky for a little while, right? That's just the language.

01:01:31

You're in Kentucky, you start grabbing hold of Kentucky, and you start bringing it back home with you, right? And the

01:01:36

Christian church, kind of the same way. You hang out with us long enough, you start learning to speak like a Christian. And there's a problem, though.

01:01:43

You could start talking like a Christian and not even believe, really, or have accepted and felt all of these truths.

01:01:50

Like, you can talk about the fact that God is holy, and you're a sinner, but have you ever actually come face to face with God and experienced the full weight of that situation?

01:02:01

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like, between the Pharisee and the tax collector, the tax collector, have you ever felt in a place where you've beat your chest before God, like you wanted to tear out the source of all your passions and sins, and you've not even been able to look up to God and said,

01:02:18

God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Have you ever been there? Because you'll never understand the death and resurrection of Jesus until you feel that weight.

01:02:30

And we've experienced, listen, so many tragedies in this world. We experience death.

01:02:37

We experience brokenness, poverty. Health breaks down.

01:02:44

We lose loved ones. We experience the death of a child.

01:02:49

We experience the brokenness of a relationship and conflict, and you feel the weight of all this.

01:02:56

And you know what? What's amazing is what we don't do all the time is we don't ever pull back and reflect upon the glory of God and being pleased to crush the sun for a sinner like me.

01:03:09

Listen, it makes sense to me that I experience raw pain in this world. I'm a wretch.

01:03:16

I'm a wretch. No good thing should come my way.

01:03:25

If you don't feel that, then I would encourage you just get into the word of God and see who God really is.

01:03:32

Because listen, it makes sense to me that I experience pain in this world. It doesn't make sense to me that God is pleased to crush his son for me.

01:03:41

That doesn't make sense. I don't comprehend that. I don't know that I ever will. Listen, you want to know yourself truly loved by God in this life, you reflect upon that cross and his resurrection in your place and you will know yourself loved by God.

01:03:59

It's not in the circumstances in your life, the stuff. It's not even in the tragedies in your life.

01:04:06

If you want to see God shouting to you the love of God over your life, you experience that love and that cross and that resurrection.

01:04:15

You reflect upon that because the love of God is amplified in a way that you will experience nowhere else in that cross and in his resurrection.

01:04:27

Amen? Let's pray. Father, I pray you bless the message you went out today for your glory, for the exaltation of your son

01:04:34

Jesus. Thank you. You are risen. He is risen. Thank you,