O Christmas Branch

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Zechariah 6:12-13

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An easy way to find Zechariah if you can find Matthew you can find Zechariah Just go to Matthew then it go two books to your left
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So you're gonna go Matthew and then Malachi and then Zechariah, so it's not as hard as it sounds
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Zechariah chapter 6 one of my favorite sort of classic
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Christmas shows I guess would be a Charlie Brown Christmas and one of the
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Parts of the Charlie Brown Christmas is that Christmas tree right that that Charlie Brown comes up with and everybody's kind of mad at him for finding it, but He loves it, and I think that that is representative of something about Christmas that We look over sometimes sometimes
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We look at Christmas And we just see the big picture and we just see the triumph and the and the victory
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But we fail to scale back for a second and remember that Christmas began with little things
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For example from that passage we heard tonight from Micah chapter 5 and it's in verse 2
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Where Micah prophesied that Bethlehem that little town of Bethlehem That insignificant town and read world history today
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And you probably have almost no mention of the town of Bethlehem Except it was in this town that our
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Savior was born moreover our Savior himself
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Was not a little tree like in Charlie Brown But he was a branch
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And that's what I want to preach to you not tonight from Zechariah chapter 6 Verses 12 and 13 the title of the sermon tonight is simply this
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Oh Christmas branch Zechariah chapter 6 beginning in verse 12 would you stand with me as we honor the reading of God's Word?
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Zechariah prophesies and Say to him thus says the
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Lord of hosts Behold the man whose name is the branch
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For he shall branch out from his place and he shall build the temple of the
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Lord It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor
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And she'll sit and rule on his throne and there shall be a priest on his throne and the council of peace
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Shall be between them Both let's pray father. Would you help us?
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To understand this text tonight, we pray that you would apply it to our hearts your church would be encouraged
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That we would see the great fulfillment Of not only this text, but all the texts that we've read tonight and how they find all their yeses in Christ He is
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King and I pray tonight that he is king of our hearts in Acknowledgement He's already king.
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He's king of the universe But I pray tonight that we acknowledge his lordship and we joyfully submit to it.
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We pray it all in his name Amen Christmas Eve. You may be seated Christmas Eve is a wonderful evening
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The message I have for us this evening It's perhaps a bit more devotional in nature if you will
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But as we closed out our Bible reading this year we were reading through Zechariah not long ago and I I came across tonight's passage and I want tonight to simply point to Christ from the text and I want our hearts to be warmed and the thoughts of Who Christ is in our hearts?
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I want us to carry that as we go home this evening, you know, I understand to an extent
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In a way, I guess the the idea of making tonight about the
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Let me rephrase that I'm trying to be charitable here I understand the the fun and the things that people try to do about Making this night about the the jolly fat man bringing gifts, right?
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However, I want us to understand tonight this glorious reality We don't need that dude to make
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Christmas wonderful because we have something even more wonderful We have the incarnation
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We have Christ God became man number one tonight the branch
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I Haven't forgotten my promise to you at the beginning of service. So number one the branch has a humble beginning
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The text says and say to him thus says the Lord of hosts behold the man whose name is the branch
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Now to state it plainly the branch refers to Christ This is several times in the
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Bible. You heard it already tonight in Isaiah 11 Let me read to you. Jeremiah 23 25 says behold
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The days are coming declares the Lord when I will raise up for David a righteous branch And he shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land
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This is the branch it refers to Christ the Son of God as God the
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Son He has no beginning right? He is eternally begotten of the
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Father He is equal in essence to the Father and to the Spirit. He is truly
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God He is deserving of all praise and glory and honor But the
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Son of God is not eternally man in the sense that in eternity past he remains now in his
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Human nature forever, but in eternity past He did not have human flesh
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But he took on human flesh in time. And so the the branch Has a humble beginning and say to him thus says the
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Lord of hosts behold the man whose name is the branch He is the seed of the woman.
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He is the root of Jesse the Hebrew word here in the text for branch has the
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Connotation not like a big large branch per se but but like a like a sprout It seems so small like like that's not what you want to name the
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Messiah Maybe like you might want to think of something more fierce or or or bigger right then then the branch but here is what
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God chooses to to call your son the branch in his incarnation and This is exactly what we see in the birth of the
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Messiah the world Passed over this birth the world almost almost didn't even notice that he was born
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I mean if you want to do percentage ninety nine point nine nine nine nine nine nine nine nine nine percent of the world
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Just went about its merry business So we ask Lord. How are you going to save the world a nuclear weapon or or or maybe you're going to refer to it
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The Messiah as a as a giant sword and God responds in our text. No, how about a branch a branch?
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Really a branch yes a branch Not even descending to earth yet as a mighty tree
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But a branch the vast majority of his own people do not recognize his coming
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The world went in and out at the first Christmas as though nothing spectacular at all
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Had happened. Oh, but it had Oh Christmas branch the King has come and he's lying in a manger number two
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The branch has a humble beginning secondly The branch has a spectacular mission now consider what the text says of the branch
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And say to him thus says the Lord of hosts behold the man whose name is the branch
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For he shall branch out from his place and he shall build the temple of the
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Lord the temple of Yahweh The branch is coming the text says to build the temple now
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There's a play on words here probably most of your translations get this, right? But it fits really nicely in the
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ESV it comes out nicely and that is the Hebrew is moving from a noun to a verb
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You see it there in verse 12 the branch will branch out The sprout or yours may say the branch will sprout or something like that But it's the branch is going to branch out the sprout is going to sprout out the the noun is being now used as a verb
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Yes, so think of this the humble branch or sorry the the Son of God came as a humble branch, right?
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He came as a humble baby but the branch grew not only not only does he grow physically and grow up in in in in Stature and in submission to his parents and obedience to God not only does he grow that way
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But he's going to branch out in such a way that he that he builds the temple now Many want to jump ahead and take this text and say well
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Well, that's talking about the third temple in Jerusalem, and it's gonna usher in the thousand -year reign, but hear me
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I think there's a simpler explanation The temple the branch is going to build is the church
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Now you say to me. Well, why would you say some are you just pulling that out of thin air? No, Jesus says that in Matthew 16 18, for example
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He says and I tell you you are Peter and on this rock. I will build my church
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Now you say that just comes out of nowhere in Matthew. No, it doesn't not if we understand the
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Bible Not if we understand that the branch has a spectacular mission He's going to build the church first Peter says the church is made up of living stones being built into a spiritual house
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Paul says in 2nd Corinthians that church members are the temple of the Living God Each Christian as it were then is a little temple of God as the
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Holy Spirit indwells us But the temple that Christ is building is is even far more
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Glorious and just a bunch of little temples around each Christian is a living stone being built into the grand temple of God Namely the church and each local church is a small representation of that temple on earth today first Timothy 315 says the church is the household of God and Say to him thus says the
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Lord of hosts Behold the man whose name is the branch For he shall branch out from his place and he shall build the temple of the
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Lord this text Reminds us as so many other texts do that you cannot celebrate the birth of Christ without Celebrating the church
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You cannot separate friends Christmas from the church if you try to isolate
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Christmas to only be about Individual people being saved you miss one of the grand realities and prophecies of Who Christ is?
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Christ came not only listen Matthew 121. We love we love to quote that verse
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What does it say and you will call his name? She will bear a son the angel to Joseph She will bear a son and you will call his name
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Jesus because he will save persons from their sins That's not what it says
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It says he will save what? his people from their sins
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This is the reality of Christmas the branch came to build the temple of Yahweh and so he has and so he is
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You literally cannot separate Christmas from the local church You do not understand tonight the fullness of Christmas without understanding
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Christ coming to build his church Look around us even this evening. You want to talk about small out -of -the -way places.
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There are not many more Smaller, is that where it writes more smaller? There are not many small more smaller places in the world today than Perryville, Arkansas And yet what is happening in Perryville, Arkansas Christ is building his church and he's doing it in Mexico and he's doing it in China And he's doing it in closed countries and he's doing it all over the world today
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Behold the man whose name is the branch For he shall branch out from his place and he shall build the temple of the
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Lord the branch branched I'm convinced that when it comes To the end times
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People get too concerned about the Middle East and not nearly as concerned about the local church
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Christ mission is to build his church and he is doing that in the world today
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And he's going to keep doing that until he returns to judge the nations What God is doing in the world today?
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centers on in and through the local church Do not miss this now consider tonight.
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How does the branch build the church? Well, he builds the church through the gospel Remember back in the
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Jeremiah text that I referenced that Jesus is called the righteous Branch, and he was mentioned that in Isaiah 11.
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This branch is the righteous branch He is born of the Virgin Mary to be our righteous
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Representative representative the branch branches out in all righteousness each budding that is on the branches is
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Fruit of righteousness. He's righteous in his preaching. He preaches righteously.
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He lives Righteously, he's righteous in his healings. He's righteous in his motivation
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Sometimes he's a bit sarcastic to the Pharisees. He's a righteous in a sarcasm
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Sometimes he gets angry and flips over tables He's a righteous in his anger and everything he does he is righteous in every way every thought motivation indeed and then
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He's righteous in his death The branch was nailed to a tree
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The branch of life was affixed to the tree of death Friends God didn't wrap his present and put it under the tree for Christmas God gave his gift upon the tree to bear our sins in his body
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To die the death that we deserve and to raise again in victory over death hell in the grave
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The righteous branch took on God's wrath for sinners the leaves wilted the sap dried up The branch died
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The Bible says that he became sin for us Thus in a very real sense
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Jesus the God -man does not merely die for us although he does die for us certainly but also as us as our representative as our perfect representative in his death and as our perfect representative in his victory because Jesus got up out of the grave believers will do the same.
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He resurrected for our Justification he defeated death and hell and the grave and he crushed the serpents head
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Oh this this Messiah is going to come all the way back in Genesis 3 He's going to come and he's gonna he's gonna crush the head of the serpent
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First John says he came to destroy the works of the devil and he has now Understand we still live in such a evil and wicked day
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But Satan's days are numbered the fruit of the work of the branch continues today
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Oh Christmas branch now, this is a bit maybe corny for your pastor
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But I adapted one of your pastors Pastor Jacob. Sorry. I adapted the song
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Oh Christmas tree I hope you give me some license here that the poetry may not be the best, but I hope to edify you with the theology
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Oh Christmas branch Oh Christmas branch. How dreadful is thy tree?
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Oh Christmas branch Oh Christmas branch, how dreadful is thy tree truly God and truly man now there to take away my sin
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Oh Christmas branch. Oh Christmas branch. How dreadful is thy tree? Oh Christmas branch
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Oh Christmas branch. Thy love is so unchanging. Oh Christmas branch. Oh Christmas branch
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Thy love is so unchanging your righteousness and grace bestowed your people washed as white as snow
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Oh Christmas branch. Oh Christmas branch. Thy love is so unchanging. Oh Christmas branch.
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Oh Christmas branch Much pleasure thou can't give me Oh Christmas branch.
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Oh Christmas branch much pleasure Thou can't give me the restless heart on worldly things finds its joy in Christ the
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King Oh Christmas branch Oh Christmas branch much pleasure thou can't give me
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Oh Christmas branch Oh Christmas branch. How lovely are thy branches Oh Christmas branch
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Oh Christmas branch How lovely are thy branches your church is built throughout the earth proclaim your glory and your worth
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Oh Christmas branch Oh Christmas branch How lovely are thy branches?
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The branch has a humble beginning and the branch has a spectacular mission. And finally tonight, the branch is worthy of honor.
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The text goes on to say after the branch will build the temple of the Lord. In verse 13 it says, It is he who shall build the temple of the
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Lord, and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and a council of peace shall be between them both.
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A beautiful thing about these verses, it's a little oddly worded, but it's a bit of a mystery here.
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There'll be a priest on the throne, and there'll be a king on the throne. Like if you understand the theocracy of Israel, you understand that this is problematic.
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A king can't be a priest, and a priest can't be a king. These are two distinct and separate offices in the theocracy of Israel.
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In fact, if you remember in your Old Testament reading, sometimes there were kings who decided they would take it upon themselves to be a priest.
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And they would go into the temple and what would happen? Leprosy would break out. The king can't be a priest, and the priest can't be a king.
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But strangely in our text, it says that there shall be a priest on his throne, and the council of peace shall be between them both.
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In other words, there'll be a unification here, if you will, between the king and the priest.
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What is this? It's Christ! In Christ, we have a king and a priest.
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He fulfills both of these offices beautifully and perfectly. He is the king -priest.
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He is the priest -king. Priest to sacrifice on our behalf, sacrifice on behalf of his people before God, himself as the offering, and he is king to rule over his people and all the universe.
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Behold the man. Verse 12, you saw that, didn't you? And say to him, thus says the
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Lord of hosts, Behold the man. Behold the man.
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That's somewhere else in the Bible too, you know. The same thing that Zechariah wrote,
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Pontius Pilate said too. Zechariah says, Behold the man. Pontius Pilate puts
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Jesus in front of the crowd and says what? Behold the man.
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The man that we are beholding tonight is our perfect prophet, priest, and king.
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He is worthy of honor, and we worship and adore him.
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Listen to this. I was edified a little longer quote, but I was edified by Richard Phillips' thoughts on this phrase,
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Behold the man. He writes, These are words that echo throughout the
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Bible as the core of God's message for the salvation of sinners.
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Behold the man. At first, he was known simply as the offspring of the first woman,
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Eve. To Satan in the garden, God had spoken of him, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.
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He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. Behold the man, we hear.
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And the first thing we know about him is that he will be a man, the son of a human mother. Later, God identifies him as the seed of Abraham, and thus a descendant of the man of faith.
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The generations passed, and in the day of Moses, God said once more, Behold the man. This time he is a prophet, one like Moses, who would speak from God to the people.
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God said, I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
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Later still, David is shown a king to sit on his throne forever. These are the lines sketched in the pages of Scripture on the fabric of God's redemptive history.
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Behold the man. God says to our faith, adding colors and badges to the uniform of our
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Savior. In Isaiah 53, he is the priestly servant. He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
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He was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. And with his stripes, we are healed.
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Church, I'm saying to you tonight, let us obey this text. Let us obey what Zechariah 6, verse 12 says, and let us behold the man.
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It's Christ who has come. Let us behold him.
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The God -man. Oh, Christmas branch.
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Let us see him as the God that he is. The king that he is.
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Worthy of our lives. Worthy of our adoration. Worthy of our
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Christmas and then everything else. Tonight, do you trust him?
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Do you rest in what this branch has done? Let us tonight, as we should every day, focus our all on him and his glorious work.
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In just a moment, I'm going to pray. And we are going to observe the branch as he was intended to be observed by his people in the
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Lord's Supper. That is, man, I wish I could just see a picture of the branch. I wish
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I could just see a movie or something like that. But God has given us in the ordinances a divine drama, if you will.
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We look upon the bread, we look upon the fruit of the vine, and we understand tonight that these things are not literally
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Jesus. He is in his physical body, truly God, truly man, reigning at the right hand of God the
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Father Almighty. But these are representations of who he is and what he has done.
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He is the bread of life. You know what Bethlehem means in Hebrew, right? House of bread.
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The bread of life came to the house of bread. He is the branch.
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He is the one that we worship tonight. And we look to him for the forgiveness of sins and no one else.
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So let me pray, and then Pastor Jacob will come forward and we'll give some more instructions in just a moment.
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Father, we thank you for your word. Let us tonight understand the greatness and glory of Christmas.
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Let us adore and worship the branch who is King, who is Christ. Let us live for him, and we pray it all in his name.