To Us a Son is Given

My purpose today, on this final Sunday before Christmas, is to simply present and marvel over a number of prophecies from the Old Testament that point to Christ. Before doing this, however, I thought it would be good just to talk a little about interpreting Scripture – in particular, about interpreting prophetic Scripture.

One thing I have thought about is the issue of word ambiguity. In all languages, including English, words often have multiple meanings, and sometimes even the immediate context is not enough to isolate the intended meaning. For example, if somebody says, “Have you seen John? He’s blue,” this might mean that John is sad, or it might mean that John stayed out in the cold too long, or it might mean that John almost drowned, or it might even mean that John is a great fan of Duke basketball.

Sometimes people are intentionally ambiguous about words. This is the basis of most puns. It is funny, or at least attention getting, when one does this. Reading through the Bible, it quickly becomes clear that God loves to do this. The Bible is filled with words that have double meanings, words that sound like other words, and so on. Just one of countless examples:

Hearts Burning

Luke 24:13-53

This week we come to the end of our series on Luke, begun back in January. It has been quite a journey for me personally, and I hope it has been a good journey for you. Last week we read how, on the third day after Jesus’ shocking and unimaginably terrible death, some of the women disciples went to the site of the tomb and found, wonder of wonders, the large stone rolled away and the body of Jesus missing. Then two shining angels, after no doubt frightening them half to death, asked them “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!” The women went back and told this to the disciples, who did not believe it. Luke tells us that Peter went back to the tomb to look for himself; indeed, the stone was rolled away, and the body was gone, but there was no sign of the angels. Peter left, wondering what had happened.

We now come to one of my very favorite passages in the entire Bible.

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing Him. – Luke 24:13-16

The Grave Cannot Hold Me

Luke 23:50 - 24:12

Last week we read in Luke of the death of Jesus – His trials and His brutal flogging, His being ridiculed and mocked, His carrying His cross and needing assistance, His words of prophecy to the women following behind Him, His crucifixion, His prayer that His Father would forgive those involved because they did not know what they were doing, the casting lots for His clothing, the sign saying “This is the King of the Jews,” His discussion with the two criminals being crucified on His left and right, His final words, and His death. Luke 23:49 mentioned that those who knew Jesus watched all this from a distance.

Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. – Luke 23:50-54

Do Not Weep for Me

Luke 23:1-49

We are rapidly coming to the end of the book of Luke, which we have been going through line by line all year, and with it, we are even more rapidly coming to the end of Jesus’ life. Last week we read how Jesus was arrested in the garden at the Mount of Olives at night, betrayed by Judas. We saw Peter strike a servant’s ear with a sword, and then we saw Jesus miraculously heal him; yet, they went on with the arrest. Peter followed the group taking Jesus to the house of the chief priest, and we saw how Peter denied that he was with Jesus three times, just as Jesus had foretold. That night, Jesus was mocked and beaten by the men who were guarding Him. It says that they even blindfolded Jesus, struck Him, and then said, “Prophecy! Who struck you?”

I have been reflecting about that event this week, and I have also thought about a scene from the book of Acts (chapter 22) where the Apostle Paul is about to beaten, and then reveals that he is a Roman citizen. Everything immediately changes, because it is unlawful to do this – Roman citizens had many rights and privileges that the common person did not have.

I Am

Luke 23:35-71

We have been going through Luke line by line all year, and we are rapidly coming to the end of the book and the end of our journey in this series. Last week we talked about the Last Supper, where in the midst of a traditional Passover service, Jesus forever changed the meaning of it all by saying that we should take the cup and the bread in the future not especially in remembrance of the delivery of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, but in remembrance of Jesus. The former things were but foreshadows of the much greater things which were about to happen before the disciples’ very eyes. Jesus said of the bread, “this is My body, broken for you,” and of the cup, “this is My blood, poured out for you.”

Now Jesus had been trying to tell them that He would soon die, for quite some time. But in the past, Luke says the disciples didn’t understand any of it. Once, in response, Peter said, “surely not, Lord!” and Jesus responded, “get behind Me, Satan.” The disciples, I think, didn’t understand any of it because they didn’t want to understand any of it. They have been following Jesus for more than three years, now, and have come to love Him because of who He Is. He showed strength, majesty, holiness, righteousness, purity, love, kindness, compassion, mercy. He showed all the attributes of God because He was God. And yet, He was man. He hungered, He thirsted, He became tired – in short, He was 100% human, God in the flesh, subject to all the weaknesses and limits of the human body. He could feel pain, He could bleed, and He could die.

Last Words

Luke 22:1-28

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. – Luke 22:1-2

Over the past several weeks we have seen more and more signs that our year-long journey into the book of Luke is rapidly coming to an end. Jesus entered Jerusalem on the foal, or colt, of a donkey amid shouts of “Hosanna” and “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,” and He knew that He was entering Jerusalem for the last time, in this life. As He looked down upon Jerusalem, He wept, because He knew it would not be long until it and its people were utterly destroyed. Last week, John taught from Luke 21, where Jesus gave more details about what He correctly foresaw would happen to Jerusalem. Jesus taught about signs of this as well as signs of His eventual return.

Signs of the End

Luke 21:5-38

As a recap, we are now in the final week before Jesus’ crucifixion. Carl taught three weeks ago on the triumphal entry of Christ. Jesus is now in Jerusalem. It is the Passover week. Pilgrims are coming from all over the world to celebrate in the Holy City. Jesus has been totally rejected by the leaders who are now actively seeking some way to kill him. We’ve also seen him cleanse the temple, drive out the money changers, and take authority in His Father's house. And He is teaching daily in the temple. The answers he gives are so filled with truth and authority that no one dares to ask him any more questions.

I want to take the scenic route to get into this passage today. I spent a considerable amount of time reading about the Temple. (In case you wanted to know what considerable means that means I spent too much time reading about the Temple.) But, I think it is helpful to understand some of the later verses regarding the destruction of Jerusalem.

Lord of the Living

Luke 20:27 - 21:4

As you can tell, our format is a little different today. In our remaining time, I want to briefly share some thoughts from our passage today in Luke, and then we will open up into a sharing time. I would like the first part of our sharing time to be a discussion of this passage, so as I share, don’t just take notes, but also write down any questions that occur to you or any thoughts you have that relate to this passage.

I want to start by giving a brief recap of where we have been in the past several weeks in Luke. The second half of Luke 19 commences with Jesus’ final entrance into Jerusalem, an entrance marked with contrasts – proclaimed with shouts of Hosannas to be a conquering King, and yet riding on a humble colt of a donkey. From here on, He is not going to leave the Jerusalem area – He has come here to fulfill His purpose; He has come here to die. Recall that He wept over Jerusalem because its people were blind to the truth of the things of God, and He wept because He foresaw the total destruction of Jerusalem.

Whose Authority?

Luke 20:1-26

Authority is an interesting thing. A few weeks ago I read about a police chief who decided not to prosecute evictions due to foreclosures on houses. My first thought was, “He can’t do that!” He doesn’t have the authority! Does he have the authority? It is an interesting question, one I am not going to try to answer today.

But I will point out that the chief is himself under authority. He was hired, and he can be fired. If he breaks laws, he can be arrested, tried, found guilty, and jailed just like any other person. To some degree, everyone is under authority. This is true for municipalities, for states, and for our federal government, at least it is supposed to be true for our federal government. Our founding fathers went to great lengths setting checks and balances on every facet of government, between the three branches of government, precisely so that everyone is under authority and no one can become a tyrant. In terms of the structure of our government, the founding fathers had no greater purpose than this. They did this because they believed with deepest conviction that people have rights that come straight from God, and no one should have the authority to infringe on those rights or take them away.

Coming in the Name

Luke 19:28-48

The opening part of our passage this week takes place at the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is a mountain to the east of Jerusalem. It rises to about 2500 feet above sea level. Bethany and Bethphage lie near the foot of the mountain, and the garden of Gethsemane is on its western slope. In the Old Testament, The Mount of Olives is mentioned directly or clearly alluded to in II Samuel 15, in Ezekiel 11, Zechariah 14, I Kings 11, II Kings 23, and Nehemiah 8. In the New Testament, it is mentioned here (and in the parallel passages in the other gospels) and in Acts 1 – the latter because the Mount of Olives is the location in which Jesus, after His resurrection, ascended to heaven. In 70 AD, Roman soldiers from the 10th legion camped on the Mount during the Siege of Jerusalem, which ultimately led to the destruction of the city.

Because it is near Jerusalem, and because of prophecies concerning it, Jews have always sought to be buried on the mountain. From Biblical times to today, the mountain has been used by Jews as a cemetery. There are estimated to be 150,000 graves on the Mount, and tradition holds that Zechariah himself is buried there.