So as Ashley shared, we're continuing our sermon series
through the story, the grand story arc of Scripture.
So for the past six weeks we have been exploring the major
themes of the Old Testament. But today we finally get to turn
the page to the arrival of Jesus, the Son of God, the
Messiah. I kind of like that deserves a a
cheer. Does that feel exciting to you
all? Feels exciting to me.
I get to talk about our Messiah today.
Messiah just means Savior. So you'll hear that word a lot
this morning, but this is the moment where all of the pieces
of the story come together and the greatness of God's plan and
his love for humanity is put on full display.
So since we've started the sermon series, the story, I
found myself kind of referencing my own background in
storytelling pretty often, just like thinking about different
things that I learned. My undergraduate degree was in
screen writing. And so one important
storytelling tool that I learned is called Plants and Payouts.
So it works something like this. Basically the writer introduces
the detail kind of early on the story, maybe that may or may not
seem important at the time, but at a later point in the story,
that detail turns out to be pivotal to what happens next.
So one example that came to mind is from Finding Nemo.
I had to pick an older movie where it was OK for me to spoil
the ending. So in Finding Nemo, a young
clown fish named Nemo is captured and he's put in this
fish tank where these older wiser fish basically teach him
like how to survive fish tank living.
So for example, if their human owner tries to use a net to
remove one of the fish, all of the fish like crowd into the net
at once and they all swim down in the same direction until the
human drops the net and then all the fish are free.
So it's a fun scene, but it may not seem significant at the time
until the climax of the movie when Nemo remembers this
technique and uses it to free like our forgetful friend Dory,
who we all love in like a school of like hundreds of other fish
from being captured by this fishing boat.
So this idea that is planted earlier in the story is paid off
by the end. This pattern is also found
throughout the Bible, especially as we shift from the Old
Testament to the New Testament. So through the story of Israel
and the words of God's prophets, a bunch of promises and
predictions have been planted, and now they're about to be paid
off. So another way to look at this
is the Old Testament introduces a number of problems that need
to be resolved. So they're kind of four
essential problems that we've been talking about through the
sermon series. Let's review them really
briefly. So problem number one is the
problem of broken identity, and this goes back to the story of
creation and the fall. Humanity was created with a
beautiful purpose, to reflect God's image and to partner with
God in caring for this world and helping it to flourish.
So what went wrong? Well, instead of relying on God,
humans tried to seize control. Instead of reflecting the
goodness of God, humans chose selfishness and rivalry and
blame. And that is the nature of sin,
that we reject God in his ways and we follow our own egos
instead. So problem #1 is that humanity
is God-given goodness has been distorted and even damaged by
sin. Problem #2 is the problem of
unfulfilled promises. And this goes back to the story
of God's promise to Abraham, that through Abraham's
descendants God would raise up a people who would be a blessing
to the whole world. So what went wrong?
Abraham's family, the ancient Israelites turned from God and
became corrupt. They perpetuated injustice and
they pursued false gods. So Israel is left to face the
consequences. They are conquered by a foreign
nation and they are taken into exile.
So problem #2 kind of asks this question.
How can God keep his promise to bless a people who are actively
rebelling against him? Problem #3 is the problem of
unrighteous kings. This goes back to the story of
Israel's lineage of kings, starting with Saul and then
David. And basically God has promised
that from the line of David will come a new king who is uniquely
wise and righteous, and his throne will be established
forever. So what went wrong?
So far every king of Israel has been deeply flawed, and many
even lead Israel into idolatry, so the worship of false gods.
And now at the Old as the Old Testament closes, the Last King
has been deposed and Israel is ruled over by its enemies.
So problem #3 is that this hope of a good king in an everlasting
Kingdom seems completely out of reach.
And lastly, problem #4 is this problem of separation from God.
And this goes back to the stories of Exodus and exile.
The first time Israel lived in captivity, they were slaves in
Egypt. But God powerfully delivered
them. And not only that, God made this
new promise that if they lived according to His Word, His
presence would dwell among them. So what went wrong?
Well, we heard how the Israelites rebelled and rebuilt
against God like again and again.
And because God is holy and righteous, he cannot be an
intimate relationship with the people who are actively choosing
unrighteousness and unjustice again and again.
And so as Israel goes into exile, God's presence also
withdraws from them. So problem #4 is this kind of
distance and disconnection from God.
So as the Old Testament comes to a close, this is where we find
ourselves facing these problems of broken identity, of
unfulfilled promises, unrighteous kings, and
separation from God himself. But amid all that darkness, a
light shines out, and it starts with God sending prophets to
speak words of hope over his people.
So the prophet Isaiah predicts the coming of a Savior who will
pay for humanity's sins. And Isaiah says this Savior will
be pierced for our transgressions.
He will be crushed for our iniquities.
And by his wounds we are healed. And the prophet Jeremiah reveals
God's plan to change the hearts of humanity.
God says, I will put my law in their minds and write it on
their hearts. I will forgive their wickedness,
and I will remember their sins no more.
The prophet Daniel anticipates God establishing A righteous
king on the throne of David. David declares or Daniel
declares. His division dominion is an
everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his Kingdom
is one that will never be destroyed.
And the prophet Ezekiel, he sees this vision of God bringing his
people out of exile and returning to dwell among his
people. And God says, I will give you a
new heart and a new spirit. I will put within you, I will
remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of
flesh. And I will put my sanctuary
among them forever. My dwelling place will be with
them. I will be their God and they
will be my people. So these are the promises that
God's people are clinging to as they live in exile, as they as
they suffer, as they, as they wait, that God will make a way,
that he will give his people a renewed identity, that he will
fulfill his promises of blessing, that he will establish
A righteous king, and that he will restore humanity's
relationship with himself. So this is kind of the hope that
is that is cutting through the darkness like the sun on the
edge of the horizon. And this is where we find
ourselves as a New Testament opens.
So centuries have passed. Israel has been oppressed by
foreign rulers, first Babylon, then Persia, then Greece and now
Rome. But people continue looking to
scripture and seeing the words of the prophets being fulfilled
slowly 1 by 1. And so this era of Jesus arrival
is already full of expectation. The era is like buzzing with
anticipation that the Messiah is coming soon.
So I was trying to think of like a modern day illustration that
kind of captures the energy and the excitement that would have
characterized Jesus time. And the only example I could
think of is the vibe when Taylor Swift announces a new album.
So I don't identify as a Swifty, although I do really like some
of her albums. But my Instagram algorithm has
decided that as a millennial woman, I obviously want to be
spammed with Taylor content nonstop.
So This is why it works as an illustration.
So when a new album is announced, you have like, tons
of people who are like, all in can't stop talking about it,
like radiating this fervent energy into the air.
And all the enthusiasts are like, looking to past albums and
interviews and like searching for clues and like trying to
predict what the new album is going to be like.
And then you have people who are like, like, Swift Agnostic,
right? Like, they're not actively
anticipating her new album, but they are hearing about it
constantly and maybe becoming curious in spite of themselves.
You know, like, everyone's so excited about this.
Maybe I should be too. And then you have the haters who
refuse to believe that the album will be any good and just want
people to shut up about it. So that's the full range.
And this is not unlike the energy that you would have felt
throughout 1st century Israel, just like, amplify it by like
10,000, right? So people are like, decoding the
Old Testament prophecies and like doing the math.
And many believe that the Messiah would come within their
lifetime. And there were whole movements
within the Jewish community that predicted that the present age,
which is marked by sin and suffering, was coming to an end.
And one Bible commentator says that the enthusiasm and even the
fanaticism around the Messiah had reached a fever pitch.
So people were, like, ready and waiting for a new era to come.
So imagine this. So you're living in ancient
Israel. You're surrounded by this, like,
messianic fever and these predictions that salvation is
coming soon. And one Sabbath day, you go to
synagogue. So kind of like a church
gathering, kind of like the one we're in now.
And it turns out that the guest teacher is Jesus of Nazareth.
And so this is his hometown. And he's returned amid, like,
all sorts of rumors that he's been traveling throughout the
countryside teaching these, like, wild and beautiful things
and working miracles and healing people.
And so all eyes are on Jesus as he picks up the scroll of the
prophet Isaiah, and he reads these words.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to
proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of the
Lord's favor. The next part of the story kind
of seems to play out in slow motion, like Jesus rolls up the
scroll, gives it back to the attendant, sits down and looks
out at a room full of people just watching and waiting.
And then Jesus says, today the Scripture has been fulfilled in
your hearing, meaning the era of healing and freedom and wide
scale transformation begins now. And what happens next is
fascinating because at first the people are flattered.
Like here's this man rumored to be a prophet coming back to his
hometown and declaring that God is fulfilling these beautiful
promises. Salvation for the poor, freedom
for the captive, sight for the blind, this new age of peace and
prosperity. What great news.
But then Jesus challenges them by referencing these two Old
Testament stories where God sends a prophet to Israel, but
they reject God's prophet, and so God sends the prophets to
bless foreigners or Gentiles instead.
And when the people in the synagogue hear this, they are so
furious that they drive Jesus out of town and try to throw him
off a Cliff. Like, isn't that insane?
When's the last time that someone made you angry enough
that you tried to throw them off a Cliff?
Don't answer that, but the tension and like the extreme
reactions kind of paint a picture of what the rest of
Jesus ministry will be like. So as Jesus continues teaching
about God's Kingdom and and healing the sick and casting out
demons and offering forgiveness from sin, more and more people
praise and venerate him and more and more people strongly oppose
him and plot against him. And sometimes people who
passionately declare that they're all in on Jesus will
suddenly feel challenged by one of his teachings and walk away.
Isn't that confusing? Like, hasn't everyone been
waiting and praying and longing for the Messiah?
And here is this man who has extraordinary insight into
Scripture and the ability to perform miracles, and he's
meeting kind of all the prophetic words about the
Messiah. What is stopping them?
What's stopping the people who have, who have studied God's
promises and hoped in God's promises, from receiving Jesus
as their savior and their king? There's this old meme or it's
kind of like, I guess like a format of a meme and it's called
expectations versus reality. Maybe you've seen them.
So like for example, on one side you'll see someone's like
idealistic expectations, like say like a like a perfect hyper
realistic birthday cake shaped like a tropical island.
It has like a working waterfall and on the other side is cold,
harsh reality. So what it might look like if
you or I tried to make that cake, like it looks like a
tropical iron like island after a meter hit it.
And they're like waterfall is just like a blue trickle of dye
like running down the side, right?
Expectations, reality. The people in Jesus Day are
facing their own expectations versus reality conflict.
On one side is there a vision of what they think the Messiah
should look like, what he should do, what he should say, and on
the other side is the reality of who Jesus is and what he has
come to do. And when the sides don't match,
you get disillusionment and rejection of Jesus and even
violent animosity. And we see this even among like
the leaders and teachers of Israel at the time, there were
these 4 influential groups that held very different views on the
Messiah and different beliefs about God's Kingdom.
And I think that these are worth naming because they actually
tell us a lot about where this kind of doubt in opposition
stems from. So we're going to do a quick
montage of introductions, kind of like, I don't know what movie
I'm thinking of where there's like like a bunch of villains
that each just kind of get a quick cameo and it tells you
what they're all about and what they do.
Anyway. We're going to do that.
So as we do, just notice if any of these viewpoints or attitudes
feel familiar to you. So first we have the Pharisees,
the religious rule keepers, and their big concern was that
people aren't taking Scripture seriously.
And their strategy was to invent a system of very specific rules
around ritual purity and personal holiness and observance
of God's law. The Pharisees believed that if
people follow these rules, God would see that they were living
faithfully and the Messiah would finally come #2 We have the
Sadducees, the kind of aristocrats and the politicians.
Their big concern was their own social status and security.
Most of them were wealthy and even held roles as judges and
priests. Their strategy was to play nice
with Rome, to kind of secure favor with the powers that be.
So the Sadducees were not interested in the Messiah
because the Messiah meant change and disruption, and that would
get in the way of the prosperous lives that they've built for
themselves. 3rd, we have the Essenes, the holy hermits.
So their concern was their own holiness and adherence to God's
law. Their strategy was to retreat
from society to kind of create their own community out in the
desert and to follow their own religious practices.
So the Essenes believe that the Messiah was coming soon and that
their own piety was what mattered.
So they did not concern themselves necessarily with the
fate of others. And the last group are the
Zealots, who are the radical revolutionaries.
Their big concern was Rome, like the nation that was oppressing
their people, and their strategy was to fight back or die trying.
At one point, Zealots even assassinated fellow Israelites
who opposed their war with Rome. So the Zealots believed it was
their job to take back power by force and pave the way for God
to establish a new king. Now, all four of these groups
have one important thing in common.
None of them recognized God when he was walking in their midst.
Or in the Essenes case, they didn't meet the Messiah.
They said they were waiting for it because they retreated from a
broken world and Jesus stepped right into that broken world to
heal it. The Kingdom that Jesus ushered
in was not the Kingdom many people expected or even wanted.
And after all, if you are, you know, building your life and
your worldview around values that God does not share or a
posture that does not reflect God's heart, how will you
recognize him when he appears? So, friends, this is a lot more
than just a history lesson. These groups reflect ways that
we still try to approach the problems of the world today.
Like the Pharisees, we try to force people to change by
shaming them, maybe by shaming ourselves by reminding people of
the ways they don't measure up. Like the Sadducees, we focus on
our own security and success instead of addressing the
problems around us. We fixate on making sure we have
what we need to feel secure and in control.
Like the Essenes, maybe we run away from the world and kind of
distance itself ourselves from its problems.
And maybe we try to invest in our own growth and our holiness,
but we neglect the call of God to love our neighbor as
ourselves. Or, like the zealots, we look
for an enemy and we identify them as the cause of all of our
problems. And we declare war, assuming
that if we can just take back power, all of our problems will
be solved. Do we see ourselves in any of
these postures, Maybe all of these postures, depending on the
day? Each of these groups was
convinced that they had the truth, that they knew what the
Messiah in his Kingdom was all going to be about, or just that
he didn't exist. But they were all wrong.
And because they clung to these false ideas about who God is,
they opted into counterfeit kingdoms.
Kingdoms built on religious rule keeping or social status and
influence or isolation and self protection or militant might.
They believe that if you were just rigid enough in your
religion, or if you just climb the social ladder, or if you
just fled from a broken world, or if you just waged battle
against your enemies, you would be saved.
And does any of that actually sound like good news?
To me, it sounds exhausting. Friends, Jesus didn't come to
tell us how to save ourselves. He came to bring us good news.
And that good news is that Jesus is the rightful king and he is
building a different kind of Kingdom.
And we see this reflected all throughout the Gospels and how
Jesus taught, how he lived, how he ministered to people.
Instead of elevating his own status, Jesus pushes back
against authorities who enable corruption or oppress others.
Instead of shaming us into righteous living, Jesus frees us
from bondage to sin by shedding his own blood.
Instead of retreating from society, Jesus goes to the poor,
to those in need, to the least of these, and he heals their
diseases and casts out demons and restores their wholeness.
Instead of going to battle with Rome, Jesus inhabits the hearts
of anyone who puts their trust in him, whether Jew or Gentile.
He gives us the gift of his presence because he's not just
like a king on a distant throne. He's Emmanuel, God with us.
So if the Kingdom we are seeking, if what we, you know,
invest in and build towards is not characterized by justice and
freedom and healing and intimacy with God, I think we have to ask
ourselves, is Jesus in it? Because God's Kingdom is a
reflection of his character. The way Jesus lived flowed out
of who he is and his Kingdom is not just about or it just
doesn't, doesn't depend on us just kind of reforming the
infrastructure of society. Jesus focuses on our hearts,
what we desire the most. Or to put it another way, what
do we worship? Because Jesus knows that when
our allegiance shifts, transformation will follow and
He is after deep personal soul level change.
God's Kingdom is made-up of people with transformed and
transforming hearts, and the Kingdom of God, which we hear
and talk about again and again, it's really just a place where
the goodness and love of Jesus has its full expression.
And there's a reason why those who believed that they had power
or who desired to seize power did not see Jesus for who he
was. But the outcasts, the lepers,
the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the socially shunned
sinners, they did. Because these people did not
have illusions about their own self-sufficiency.
They did not have like a 10 point plan for their own
salvation, and they were not grasping for control.
They were simply desperate. They knew they needed a savior.
And This is why Jesus identifies the poor and the marginalized as
ready to receive the Kingdom. Because they want Jesus to be
king. They see his goodness, his
kindness, his mercy towards them, and they fall to his
knees. Their knees because what they've
been longing for has finally come.
And there's for them. There's no conflict between
expectations versus reality. Jesus is what they want and who
they've been waiting for. So as I was writing the sermon,
I found myself thinking about my first experiences ever telling
people about Jesus. I became a Christian when I was
in college, when I was an undergrad, and at the time, I
mean still, none of my close family members were are a
Christian. My parents aren't Christian.
At the time, very few of my friends were Christian.
And I remember first telling like my mom and my uncles and my
roommates and my classmates that I believed in Jesus now.
And most of them, you know, had questions.
Some of them had strong objections and push back, some
of which was really hard for me. But as I look back and kind of
re like recount those conversations in my mind, I also
noticed something else. Most of what they had to say
centered on ideas. Like they had questions about
how my ideas had changed. Like, you know, I used to think
this, but did I believe in that now?
You know, did I now? Did I think of everybody as
sinners? Did I believe this and that
about sexuality? Did I have a different view on
this political topic? And sometimes, depending on what
it was, they wanted to convince me that my old ideas were better
or that their ideas were better. If I had noticed this pattern
back then, I might have had a different response.
I might have been able to say, you know, this isn't really
about ideas for me. I mean, yes, a lot of my ideas
have changed or maybe are changing, but I'm not a
Christian because I was captivated by new ideas.
I'm a Christian because I felt lost and confused about life.
So I went looking for the truth, like the actual universal truth
with a capital TI went looking for the truth and I met a
person. I'm a Christian because I met
Jesus, or he met me, and he's the best thing that ever
happened to me. And I know that sounds weird
because he's not here in the flesh.
Like I can't invite him over for dinner so you can interview him.
But he's as real to me as the breath in my lungs.
And since I've met him, I've experienced real love and
acceptance and forgiveness and healing and freedom and change.
And I don't really know how to explain how it happened, but if
this was happening to you, you'd probably have some new ideas
about what was true too. And I, I couldn't articulate it
as clearly back then, but that is my story.
And when I read the New Testament, I find a bunch of
other people who have very similar stories, people who have
these powerful encounters with Jesus and they're no longer
preoccupied with like, you know, strong arming other people and
to behaving a certain way or like, who is in power and what's
my social standing? They're just in awe.
They're like, I don't know what to tell you, except no doctor
could heal me, but Jesus healed me.
I was trapped in my own sin, but Jesus freed me.
I was hiding in my shame, but Jesus told me everything I ever
did. I was blind.
But now I see those are the testimonies of people 2000 years
ago, and those are the testimonies of people today.
He healed me, He freed me, He forgave me, He changed me.
And if you met him, and if you really saw him for who he is,
you would believe He's the Son of God too.
This is what the Kingdom of God is like.
Jesus is a king for those who are broken and hopeless and
outcast and betrayed and longing for a better world.
He is God Almighty who is powerful enough to calm a storm
or heal a lifelong illness with a single word.
But he is also gentle and lowly enough to visit a 19 year old
girl sitting in an ICU room because her mother is sick and
she's alone and she needs somebody to comfort her.
Because that's where I met Jesus.
And that's the kind of king that we need.
Not one who rules by force, or who strong arms us with laws, or
who elevates the mighty and ignores the weak.
We need a king like Jesus who meets us in our hour of darkest
need and becomes our hope. So this is what?
Thanks friends. Unfortunately, we're about to
close. This is my this is my invitation
for you today. I'm going to I'm going to
Createspace for you to do business with Jesus.
This is the most important thing this morning.
This is more important than anything I've said because I'm
describing to you who you can encounter.
We're going to Createspace for you to encounter him right now,
if you haven't already. My invitation for you today is
maybe challenging, but also maybe deceptively simple.
Let Jesus be King in your life, friends.
No politician, no influencer, no counselor, no love interest, no
church leader can become your hope.
Only Jesus can hold your whole life safely in his hands and
offer you real healing and restoration, a future and a
hope. He's the only good and righteous
King whose Kingdom has both arrived and is still unfolding.
So wait on him. He's everything we've been
waiting for. So we started our time together
by talking about plants and payouts, right?
How all the predictions and promises of the Old Testament
find their fulfillment in Jesus. So here's where it all comes
together. What was true 2000 years ago is
true today. Jesus is inviting you to come to
him, to leave your past behind and to follow Him.
And so as we close, first I want you to just listen to this list
of invitations. I'm going to read several of
them. There are these truths about who
Jesus is and what he can do and just take hold of the one that
you sense. God's Spirit is speaking to you
today. So today, if you've lost your
sense of identity, if you feel broken or ashamed of who you
are, let Jesus make you a new creation.
If today you feel the weight of your mistakes and failures, let
Jesus lift your burdens and cleanse you of your sins.
If today you feel fearful about your future, let Jesus show you
that He is the covenant keeper and His promises never fail.
If today you feel trapped in patterns from your past or
baggage from your family of origin, let Jesus rescue you
from bondage and set you free. And if today you're feeling
alone in the world and in the challenges that you face, let
Jesus fill you with his Spirit and be Emmanuel to you, the God
who is always with us.