Christ and The Early Church #1

How does the Old Testament expectation carry over into the New Testament and what we read about Christ in the way that Christ was preached by the apostles after his death and resurrection, hello and again welcome to the truth pulpit with nongreen founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.

I feel right today is Don continues teaching God's people. God's word is going to begin to look at the relationship between Jesus Christ and the early church and how the things Jesus said and did prove unequivocally that he and the Messiah of the Old Testament are one and the same will Don surprisingly so many believers today haven't quite connected those dots have they well maybe not bill but I guess that's why we are airing this broadcast today, my friends, the record about Jesus Christ is historical fact not fiction.

When the apostles preached Christ after his resurrection they did something very fascinating.

They appealed to events which were public knowledge to their audience.

Jesus had performed miracles in public that many witnesses had attested to had seen in person.

His resurrection was a known fact. With over 500 witnesses and beloved. That means this it means that the apostles could not possibly have preached fiction to their contemporary audience because no one would've believed that no one would have received it but the apostles did receive the truth they did preach the facts about Christ and the message that they preached is true. Stay tuned for more as we study God's word together today on the truth pulpit thanks done right now friends, let's get into today's lesson with part one of a message called Christ of the early church from the truth of so first of all I just want to speak about the Old Testament expectation of the coming Messiah. That's the first point the Old Testament expectation and as you read throughout the Psalms and in the Old Testament prophets, you see that the Old Testament speaks about a coming future ruler for the nation of Israel. I'm just going to quote some verses for you, not necessarily familiar versus you can jot these verses down and look them up later in Psalm 72 verse 11 that Scripture says let all the kings bow down before him. Let all nations serve him.

There was a coming ruler, to whom all nations and all kings would bow one who is supreme of all above all others, one who is King of Kings. In other words later in Psalm 72.

It says of that coming ruler may his name endure forever, which obviously speaks beyond a human king in Psalm 89 verse 27 it says that this Messiah would be the highest of the kings of the earth, and in Daniel chapter 2 verse 44 it says his kingdom will endure forever. And so as you as you read through those and as you read through the the 12 shorter prophets sometimes called the minor prophets you get this repeated picture developed over centuries of a future one who would rain a future one who would come to the nation of Israel who would deliver them. And so this Old Testament picture over the progress of revelation unfolding over the course of centuries created this this burning expectation in the hearts of Jews, so much so that Jesus was asked are you the are you the coming one. Or should we look for someone else.

As as it was spoken to them as they saw.

They looked and they asked are you the one that has been forecast for us by that the prior prophecies of the preceding two millennia now with that said, turn to Psalm two Psalm two in your Bibles. You will remember from our study of the 10 Commandments that God said you shall have no other gods before me that there is no one other than the true God, to whom worship was to be given well when it comes to the sun. This this predicted coming one.

There's a distinction that is made the nation and all peoples were to have no other God but Yahweh and yet they were commanded to give worship and to do homage to this son who was coming at verse 10 of Psalm to look at that with me and again the that the greatest rulers of the earth are called to account there called to listen in Psalm two, verse 10 we read now, therefore, oh kings, show discernment, take warning, O judges of the earth worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the son that he not become angry, and you perish in the way for his wrath may soon be kindled.

How blessed are all who take refuge in him. And so we see in this in this Psalm that is critical to its one of the two pillars of entrance into the entire Psalter we see in this Psalm that the Messiah would be more than merely a national leader, he would be one entitled to the worship that is reserved for God alone, he would rule over kings and he would also provide spiritual deliverance to his people as shown by the last sentence in verse 12 where it says how blessed are all who take refuge in him. Now, so there is this picture of a coming ruler who is entitled to worship that is addressed as the Messiah, the anointed one Scripture.

Scripture paints a picture of that what this Messiah would do so that in Genesis chapter 3, you can look back to Genesis chapter 3 with me in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 after the fall of man and God is cursing the serpent through whom Satan spoken deceived Eve. It says in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 God says I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed, he shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel. This Messiah would deliver a crushing blow to Satan and reverse the curse. Ultimately, that Satan brought upon the human race. This Messiah as you continue to read and the book of Genesis is one who would come through a a human genealogical line that would be traced through Abraham, and then his son Judah, and ultimately through David.

He is a king who would be born in the city of Bethlehem.

We read in Micah chapter 5 verse two and so there is this great historical preparation that is taking place incrementally, slowly, invisibly, but inexorably taking place as God unfolded history through his chosen people.

And the beauty of the gospel in the beauty and the power of Scripture is is that all along from God, who knows the end from the beginning God was stating in advance what was going to happen and it is though he painted this this remarkable masterpiece on a canvas and just painted the outline in the early days of revelation and then as centuries went on more and more details were put into place as the as the master artist put the strokes of his eternal plan of redemption and painted it into place so that when Christ came. There was an ultimate fulfillment and the picture became clear with a perfect resolution well. One aspect of this Messiah is that he would suffer in order to achieve the forgiveness of the sins of his people. Look at Isaiah chapter 53 with me. Isaiah chapter 53.

In verses four through six, Isaiah 53 verses four through six Isaiah writing centuries before the life of Christ says in verse four Shirley, our griefs, he himself bore in our sorrows.

He carried yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was pierced through for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.

The chastening for our well-being fell upon him and by his scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him. So there was this there was this coming king who would rain. There was this coming servant who would suffer, and Israel was conditioned and Israel was taught and instructed by the prophets over centuries to expect such a one to arrive for them a part of the beauty for us as Gentile people here today for Gentiles throughout the centuries.

Is that ultimately these promises of a of a coming deliver were not simply for the nation of Israel alone.

It would the Messiah would come through the Jewish line but God had promised that this coming one would be the one through whom all nations would be blessed. You see, that were stated repeatedly and in Genesis in Genesis chapter 12 and 15 and 17 and 22 that through Abraham and his seed all the nations would be blessed. So this coming one was one who was often referred to or considered to be the anointed one, the one who had been in other words, set apart for the divine call of this great office that was being set forth over the centuries to the people of Israel and so what we see is is that this Old Testament created an expectation of a person of one who would come one who is utterly unique and unlike any other that that one would be the fulfillment of all of these promises of all of these promises of all of these predictions and this one would be the fulfillment of all of the hopes of of Israelites who were looking for the kingdom of God is a great and massive theme to to consider when Christ came, you know, he came after 400 years of prophetic silence, the last prophet was Malachi and then there was no prophetic voice for 400 years, which for us would be like going back to the day of the arrival of the of the Mayflower that long of a sense of history having gone by since there was a word from a known prophet of the Lord. So there were 400 years of silence and that in the expectation and the tension and the need for this deliver continued to grow as a came under Roman domination. And so this was embedded in the mind of of every Jew now.

The question then becomes how does that Old Testament expectation carry over into the New Testament and what we read about Christ in the way that Christ was preached by the apostles after his death and resurrection.

How did that Old Testament expectation impact the understanding of the apostles and what does it tell us about the truth of Christianity which is our theme for this little series and that brings us to our second point, which we can simply refer to as the New Testament fulfillment.

The Old Testament predicted the coming of this anointed one. There was an expectation created as a result. As you read the pages of the New Testament you find historical fulfillment being accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ and so point number two. The New Testament fulfillment now just a quick word about the about the term Christ without the benefit of study when you become a custom to the name Jesus Christ and you think that Christ is simply his surname as if it was Smith or Jones or something like that.

You know they just join those two names together like you and I have have a first name and the last name but understand that that is not at all. The significance of the term Christ at all. The term Christ. It was a term that referred to the one who was expected to fulfill the hopes of Israel for an end time deliver to join the name of Jesus, the son of a carpenter to the term Christ was utterly earthshaking. This was an explosive combination of terms to make because if Jesus the man from Nazareth was indeed the Christ promised in the Old Testament, and that meant nothing less than the eternal son of God had come to earth. That meant nothing less than the fact that the messianic age had been inaugurated with his coming in Matthew 16 we read in verse 13 now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he was asking his disciples who do people say that the Son of Man is so his disciples answered him there in verse 14. While some say John the Baptist and others, Elijah, but still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. The common opinion of Christ was that you know there was some kind of prophetic significance to him, but they viewed him on a level with the Old Testament prophets that had gone before Jesus said to them in verse 15, but who do you say that I am Simon Peter answered.

You are the Christ, the son of the living God. This is a staggering claim.

This is no minor statement. This is a statement by Peter prompted in his mind by the spirit of God, as we'll see in a moment that Jesus this man in front of them was the fulfillment that he was. He was the embodiment of every hope that it been cultivated by the Old Testament prophets for the nation of Israel. Peter said you're the one you are you are the one we have been looking for. You're the one that our nation is been longing for for centuries and millennia. You are the one and you are right here in front of me in human flesh.

Verse 17 Jesus affirmed the statement, Jesus accepted the title, the Peter ascribed to him, verse 17 Jesus said to him, blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my father who is in heaven.

Peter, you have just been given divine revelation. Your lips have spoken divine truth of eternal significance. You are blessed that God let you be the instrument to say such profound truths now Peter.

Having recognized Jesus as the Christ, and as events unfolded, Christ was crucified Christ was raised Christ was ascended into heaven. What we find is this. When you read the book of acts that this theme about Jesus being the Christ Jesus being the Messiah, the man Jesus being the one who who was the Messiah himself. This theme is stressed everywhere in the book of acts. It stressed everywhere in the book of acts, and what I want you to do.

I realize were kind of treading some deep water here with what were saying just just stay with me and understand that were building were building up to a a climax. It is going to be very, very powerful.

Jesus, the man Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ of God, this man who walked the face of the earth 2000 years ago who had no place to lay his head who was who was despised and rejected by men.

He was the Christ, the apostles emphasized this in multiple cities as they preached throughout the known world at that time. So turn to the book of acts. I want to show you 1/2 dozen different passages along this line.

In acts chapter 2, verse 36 acts chapter 2, verse 36. Peter is preaching after the resurrection of Christ, and he says to hostile Jews at the time.

Acts chapter 2, verse 36. He says therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ. This Jesus whom you crucified, he tells the Jews in the city of Jerusalem. The Jesus that you had so recently crucified was the Christ. In other words, he's telling the Jews.

You just crucified your own Messiah. You killed your own Messiah. What is wrong with you.

How great is your guilt that you rejected and crucified. The one that God himself sent know it for certain.

This is an undeniable fact. And so understand what he's doing is he's preaching to people who knew everything about that the recent historical events of the crucifixion of Christ. And Peter equates Jesus with the Christ look over acts chapter 9 acts chapter 9.

Now there were in the city of Damascus.

In verse 19, Paul, having been recently converted for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogue so is preaching the Jews and he says this man Jesus is what he is the son of God. So in Jerusalem and in Damascus the account of the human Jesus is tied to the titles of deity tied to this this expectation. This expectation of a coming deliver this coming of the Messiah.

This Jesus is the Christ. This Jesus is the son of God go on you read in acts chapter 10 in the city of Caesarea, the geographical points are important for what were saying here in acts chapter 10 verse 40 Peter preaching in the city of Caesarea.

In fact, let's go back to verse 37 you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed is that is appealing to the. The knowledge of his contemporary audience of recent history, and he says you all know this. This is a matter of public record.

He says you all know this, verse 38 you know what Jesus of Nazareth how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power and how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses of all the things he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put him to death by hanging him on a cross. God raised him up on the third day, and granted that he become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God. That is to us who ate and drank with him after he arose from the dead, and he ordered us to preach to the people and solemnly to testify that this is the one who is been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. Verse 43 of him all the prophets bear witness, that through his name. Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins. Now think about what we just read in that extended text. It appeals to contemporary knowledge of immediately recent events and says you all know about this man who had just been living in your midst, and then he interprets for them the significance of his life. The significance of his death, he asserts his resurrection and shows what it means that this man who had just been in their midst was the son of God appointed to judge the living and the dead. Can you imagine what that must have been like the force of the power that preaching irrefutable facts that you know to be true for yourself as you are in that audience, hearing the preaching irrefutable facts being interpreted for you that this man who was so recently with you had cosmic God significance is proven by subsequent events by his resurrection by his ascension by the power the preaching that was now in front of them. This is greatly significant, greatly impactful there preaching the same message the man Jesus was the Christ. We seen it in Jerusalem was seen it in Damascus we seen it in Caesarea that's done green bringing today's lesson to a close friend if you'd like to share this important teaching with a friend or loved one just direct them to our website that would be the truth. Pulpit.com once you're there you will find this message along with all of Don's Bible study materials right at your finger again visit the truth.

Pulpit.com and that's all the time we have for today I feel right inviting you to join us next time is done green again teaches God's people.

God's word on the truthful