Who do men say that I am? - The Coming King

[0:00] One of my favorite things in the world is that pitter-patter of little feet running around. Oh my. Okay, just a few more, a couple other things I wanted to add as far as the announcements.

[0:20] Well, I guess really just, one thing I want to say, I missed everybody last week. Did you all have a good time with Pastor Marv? Yeah? Um, so, uh, thanks for all that.

[0:33] Got lots of messages about praying for me. I'm much better now. So, I know, I know a lot of sickness has been going around. So everybody, I think a lot of you kind of know what it's been like.

[0:46] And then I also wanted to say thank you again to the music team for all the, for all that ministry. It's especially neat for me to see these young ladies helping out.

[0:57] That's, uh, that's tremendous. But everyone that's up here, and thanks for being flexible this week. Last week, with me being out, we kind of, we had tried to, uh, schedule the music with the messages.

[1:10] And then I wasn't here. And so everything got discombobulated. And so this week was a little confusing. But everybody was great. It was, thanks for being flexible and, and, um, and all that.

[1:23] So, all right. Let's jump into our, our, uh, our message for today. Uh, I wanted to start off with, uh, with a story.

[1:37] We have a series here on, uh, that we've been going through. And this is the last in this series about who do men say that I am. But I wanted to start out with a story.

[1:47] Back, uh, getting close to 100 years ago, uh, during the time of the Great Depression here in this country, uh, there was a family who actually lived in Cleveland, Ohio.

[2:02] There was a man named Michael and his wife, Sarah Siegel. They, uh, came to the U.S. as, uh, immigrants from their native Lithuania.

[2:15] Uh, and left that country primarily because of, really, the persecution that they, they saw as Jews. And the anti-Semitism that they experienced over there.

[2:28] Michael and his, his family, they eventually moved to Cleveland, Ohio. And, uh, he established a business as a tailor and a clothing store.

[2:40] And him and Sarah ended up having six children. Uh, in 1932, while he was attending to his store, somebody came in to rob him.

[2:55] And during the altercation, he was assaulted. And through that, he suffered a heart attack. And, uh, succumbed to that heart attack.

[3:08] It was fatal. And he lost his life. As you can imagine, his family is devastated. Uh, his wife, his six children. Most of them were grown at that time.

[3:20] But he did have one son, the youngest, who was still at home, 17 years old. Still in high school. His youngest son's name was Jerry.

[3:32] And Jerry was really interested in comics. And he liked drawing pictures and telling stories. And he had a buddy in high school whose name was Joe.

[3:45] Joe Schuster. And his friend Joe was also a son of Jewish immigrants to America. And they were best friends there in high school. And, uh, the next year, the year after his father died, they started working together on, uh, some ideas for some comics.

[4:03] And one of it, one of the ideas was a character that they called Superman. And so, Joe would write the, the, the strips or the, uh, stories.

[4:16] Or, excuse me, uh, Jerry would write the stories. And Joe would draw the, draw the pictures. He was the artist. And over the next few years, they developed this character.

[4:30] He eventually evolved into kind of what we are all familiar with today. And they tried to sell to different publishers. And finally found some success. And found a publisher that would publish their material.

[4:41] And, uh, we, just a few years later, find the very first action comics book that many of you have seen pictures of. And the very first one with Superman holding up that car.

[4:55] Uh, it was the very first story of Superman. And that character ended up becoming, what seems to me, to be the most popular superhero or comic book character, um, in recent history anyway.

[5:07] Okay. So why do I tell this story? Well, Joe, or, uh, Jerry never said this out loud, but his, his, his future wife anyway, uh, later would say, uh, that, uh, she thought that the creation of this superhero, this Superman, could ultimately be traced back to the injustice that he saw done to his family, and specifically to his father.

[5:41] His, his imagination, while I'm sure it conceived of other things like funny cats and goofy dogs doing funny things in the Sunday morning paper, his imagination was really, uh, was, was full of some kind of character that could make things in the world right.

[6:04] That could make things in the world well, that could bring justice to the world. And that's probably, I imagine, why this character that he created was so popular in our culture.

[6:19] This was a character, some supernatural type being, who brought justice and peace to the world. That's a yearning, it seems, that we all have, that we all experience.

[6:33] Is there somebody that can come and save us? Somebody that can come and make things right? Bring justice and peace to the world? One of the interesting things, I mentioned that Jerry and his family were Jewish, and so were Joe and his family.

[6:51] And so when you look at the character Superman, you see in the, in the kind of big picture story, all these kind of Jewish things, uh, interspersed in the story.

[7:04] Superman's original birth name from the planet of Krypton, does anybody know his birth name? Kal-El. Kal-El, that's a funny name. Sounds Jewish, doesn't it? Or it sounds Hebrew, anyway.

[7:17] And that El, at the end, is the name for God in the Hebrew scriptures. His name was Kal-El. His origin story, where he is, his life is in danger as a baby, and so he's sent off to a different people group, right, on a different planet, in this little vessel, and then lands, we can think of figuratively, among the reeds in this little place called Smallville, and is raised by people that are not his family.

[7:51] Who does that sound like? Moses, from the scriptures. Ultimately, this Superman comes across as a savior of the people, what the Old Testament scriptures would call a Messiah, somebody who would come and bring justice and peace to the world.

[8:10] In fact, does anybody, what is the catchphrase or the slogan of Superman? I heard one.

[8:23] Yeah, truth, justice, and the American way, right? And as I was reading about this, the history about this, the American way was added later on, specifically during World War II, right?

[8:36] Superman was actually quite a motivating, inspiring type figure during World War II to try to bring some amount of hope and that kind of thing to people during that difficult time.

[8:52] And that phrase or that slogan has been changed over the years. I think it originally started out as truth, just truth and justice, and then it was truth, justice, and freedom, and then it became truth, justice, and peace for all mankind, and then eventually it became truth, justice, and the American way.

[9:12] And I guess just a few years ago, the powers that be decided that they're going to get rid of the American way, and it is now officially truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.

[9:25] So the anti-Americanism is kind of running rampant today. So we've been going through this series on who is Jesus, and we talked originally, Jesus, the first message, Jesus is God, our creator.

[9:40] And then that second message, God became a man. Our creator became a man. He became like us. And then in that third message, Jesus is the Lamb of God.

[9:53] Come to sacrifice his life for our sins, that we might be reconciled to him and have life eternal. But this week, I want to focus the passage that has been our foundational text, has been this passage where Jesus asked the question to his disciples, who do men say that I am?

[10:16] And we haven't really focused on the answer, more just the question and provided other answers. But today, I want to focus on what is the answer that Peter gave.

[10:28] So I'll read this passage again in Mark chapter 8. Mark chapter 8, verse 27 says this, Now Jesus and his disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi, and on the road he asked his disciples, saying to them, Who do men say that I am?

[10:46] So they answered, John the Baptist, but some say Elijah, and others one of the prophets. This is what others were saying about Jesus. And he said to them, But who do you say that I am?

[11:00] And Peter answered and said to him, You are the Christ. You are the Christ. I didn't write this down, but ultimately Jesus said, It's not flesh and blood that has revealed this to you, but God has revealed this to you.

[11:18] He didn't say it in so many words, but he was saying in a roundabout way, You're right. That is who I am. I am the Christ. Well, what does Christ mean?

[11:29] You know, in modern day, we hear of Jesus Christ, right? And some people might think, Well, that was Jesus' last name, right? You've got Nathan Rambeck, and then you have Jesus Christ.

[11:40] But that wasn't Jesus' last name. He was Jesus of Nazareth. If Jesus had a last name, it would have been of Nazareth, or Jesus of Joseph of Arimathea, or not Arimathea, but Jesus, the son of Joseph.

[11:57] And so Christ is actually a word in Greek that just means an anointed one. An anointed one. And if you look back in the Hebrew, there is a word in the Hebrew, and that word is Mashiach.

[12:16] Mashiach. And that is the name that we use today, Messiah. The Hebrew word Messiah. And so Christ is just the same word, or the word in Greek, for the Hebrew word Messiah.

[12:29] And if you read in the Old Testament, there are only a couple of places in the Old Testament where it's actually translated Messiah, but that word Mashiach is all over the Old Testament. Most of the time, it's translated just anointed, the anointed, or the anointed one.

[12:45] And you can imagine that all the references to the anointed one, there's all kinds of references in the Old Testament about someone who was coming, an anointed one, a king, a Messiah, who would come and rescue Israel.

[13:09] You can imagine for that 17-year-old boy, Jerry Siegel, that that was part of his imagination as he created this character, Superman.

[13:23] But it wasn't just Jerry, Peter. Peter, when he answered Jesus, also had this as part of his imagination, all that he had learned from the Hebrew prophets about someone who was coming.

[13:41] Now I want to go back and read some of these Old Testament scriptures and see kind of what was it in the Old Testament scriptures. In fact, we have this song, I pulled this song up here that we just sang by faith.

[13:56] It talks about, by faith the prophets saw a day when the longed-for Messiah would appear. That was a major message of the prophets, that there was a Messiah that was coming.

[14:12] Let's turn to Jeremiah chapter 23. And we're just going to pick out a few verses because really the Old Testament is just really awash with scriptures about a coming king, a coming Messiah.

[14:27] We'll just look at a few of the big ones. Jeremiah chapter 23, verse 5 and 6. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will raise to David a branch of righteousness.

[14:46] A king shall reign and prosper and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In his days, Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell safely.

[14:59] Now this is his name by which he will be called, the Lord, our righteousness. Jeremiah told of a day that was coming when, it's not here right now, he said, but it is coming, that I will raise up from the seed of David a branch, so somebody from that lineage, from the lineage of David.

[15:23] He will reign and he will prosper and he will bring what? Justice, righteousness to Israel anyway. But it says he will execute judgment and righteousness not just in Jerusalem, not just in Israel, but it says what?

[15:40] In the whole earth. And he will, in fact, be called the Lord, our righteousness. Jeremiah was saying, someday, a king is coming and he's going to make things right.

[15:57] Also Isaiah, if you turn to Isaiah chapter 9, Isaiah says this, for unto us a child is born and unto us a son is given and the government will be upon his shoulder and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

[16:36] Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward even forever.

[16:54] The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. What are the key words in there? Government, will be upon his shoulders. He will be called the Prince of Peace.

[17:06] What is a prince? A prince is a ruler who will bring peace. Of the increase of his government so he will rule and of his peace that he will bring there will be no end.

[17:20] And again, he will sit on the throne of David over his kingdom and he will order it and he will establish it with what? justice to make things right and good.

[17:34] Also, the prophet Daniel, if you turn to Daniel chapter 7. Daniel is, if you start in Isaiah and you go maybe about halfway before you get to the New Testament, you'll find Daniel.

[17:49] Daniel actually has some of the most explicit prophecies about this coming Messiah. Not just talking about it in general terms but in very specific.

[18:01] In fact, and we'll see this in a moment, talking about even specific times. Daniel chapter 7, we'll just read a few verses here.

[18:12] Verse 13, starting with verse 13, Daniel 7 verse 13. He said, I was watching in the night visions and behold, one like the son of man. So this was a man that was coming.

[18:24] Coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him. Then to him, to this man, was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.

[18:44] His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom, the one which shall not be destroyed. There's a man coming.

[18:55] He will come from the clouds and he will be given a dominion and a glory and a kingdom that will not just be over one small portion of the earth but it will cover all of the nations including all peoples, in all languages.

[19:16] There is no part of the earth in which his kingdom will not be over. If you turn a couple of chapters over to chapter 9, chapter 9 and verse 24, these passages here, these three or four verses, people have written books about them because they're fascinating because they provide a significant amount of detail about when these things will come to pass.

[19:47] Daniel chapter 9 verse 24 says this, 70 weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

[20:12] Now therefore, or excuse me, know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and 62 weeks.

[20:28] The streets shall be built again and the wall even in troublesome times. times. And after the 62 weeks, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself.

[20:42] And the people of the Prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood until the end of the war desolations are determined.

[20:54] Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the abominations shall be one who makes desolate.

[21:08] Even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate. Now if you're not really familiar with end times prophecy, this is probably one of the most talked about passages in all of prophecy.

[21:23] There's only four verses here, but there's a lot to it. But this is one of the few verses that actually uses that word Messiah. It's more of a transliteration rather than instead of saying the anointed the prince, it says Messiah the prince.

[21:40] But he actually gives a timeline. If you're not familiar with the kind of way that the Hebrews used language, you might think, well, it sounds like this Messiah is coming in in the next year, right?

[21:56] because it's just or next few years that there's going to be seven weeks and then 62 weeks and then there's going to be another week after that. What's that all about?

[22:08] Well, really these weeks, it's really the word week in Hebrew is just the word seven because how many days are there in a week? And so, most people who read this are familiar and they would know that Daniel's talking about these weeks are years or seven-year periods.

[22:30] So there will be 70, ultimately 77-year periods. And if anybody's good at math on the fly, that ends up being a total of 490 years.

[22:43] But the Messiah, the prince, would come at the end of not the 70th week but what, the 69th week and then there would be one more after that.

[22:56] So Gabriel, who was the one who delivered this message to Daniel, was giving this very specific timeline. There's a man from about 100 years ago, the turn of the century, early 1900s, who was an intelligence officer with the London Metropolitan Police.

[23:17] In fact, if you've ever heard about Jack the Ripper who was a famous murderer at the time, this is one of the detectives that worked on that case. He was a Christian and his name was Sir Robert Anderson.

[23:30] He was, at some point in his life, knighted, that's why they called him Sir. But he was a lover of the scriptures and especially about things to come.

[23:41] And he looked at this passage and did some calculations to try to figure out, well, what is the timeline of when these things are going to be? He said, well, from the time, not Daniel, but the angel that came to him said, from the time, where does it say, from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem.

[24:05] What's that talking about? We know from the scriptures that there was a king, Artaxerxes, who had an edict to say, we're going to allow this temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem.

[24:20] The Bible actually specifies the exact day that that edict happened. And so Sir Robert Anderson could look and try to figure out what day was that and do the calculations.

[24:32] And it's difficult, right, because calendars have changed and, well, is a year 365 and a quarter days or is it 365 days or is it like we see in some other places where a year is actually 360 days and so he did all these things.

[24:44] And he calculated that the very day at the end of those 69 weeks was the day that a man named Jesus Christ entered into the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey.

[25:02] Now, whether his calculations are exactly right or not, even if you have a rough idea, right, even as the Jews who are reading these scriptures who could read Daniel, they knew that there was some, something was going to happen somewhere between 450 and 500 years.

[25:23] Something was going to happen. That is what God had promised. So when Jesus came on the scene, there was anticipation, there was expectation.

[25:36] It was like there was something in the air. there. You know, when everybody kind of knows something's going to happen and there's just this feeling, this anticipation in the air, there's like a hope.

[25:47] That's what was happening at the time. And I'm going to go through real quick and just bring out some of these scriptures that show what that anticipation was like, what that expectation was like among the people that were there at that time.

[26:05] Mary, the mother of Jesus, when the angel came to her, I'm going to read what he said to her. Luke 1, verse 26.

[26:17] Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel, the same angel that came to Daniel, was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin, betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, who was of the house of David.

[26:33] That's interesting. The virgin's name was Mary, and having come in, the angel said to her, rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women. But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was, who was this guy that was coming to deliver a message?

[26:53] Then the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God, and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus.

[27:04] which means savior. He will be great and will be called the son of the highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

[27:23] God do you think that Mary had an idea of who it was that this Gabriel was talking about? Sure, this was something that I'm sure the Jews spoke of frequently, those who were faithful anyway, the ones who cared about the scriptures.

[27:42] They all knew that there was a king coming, and she was told by Gabriel that she would be the mother father of this king who would rule over a kingdom that would have no end.

[27:57] After Jesus was born, and we'll read here in Luke chapter 2, after Jesus was born, his parents took him to the temple, and while there, there was two people that they met, and we'll start in verse 25 here, Luke chapter 2, and behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

[28:30] This was somebody who came in contact with Mary and Joseph as they were bringing their son to the temple to be presented, it says, the Bible says they took him to the temple to be presented, and there are reasons for that.

[28:48] The first born son was actually supposed to be given to God for temple service, but you could go and offer a sacrifice in place of that so that you could actually keep your son, and that's what most did.

[28:59] There was one famous example where Hannah actually did give her son over to temple service, but anyway, that's a whole other thing, other thing.

[29:11] But they presented him at the temple for this whole purpose to redeem him back into their family. But there were two people that met, Simeon, and it says of Simeon that he was a devout man, and what was he doing?

[29:26] What was his expectation? Where was his mind at? He was waiting for, it says, the consolation of Israel. And then later on, a few verses down in verse 38, it says this, and coming in that instance, she gave thanks to the Lord.

[29:43] This is talking about a woman named Anna, who was, it says the Bible says a prophetess, and spoke of him. So after it seems that she met or heard or saw this Jesus who was presented at the temple, spoke of him to all those who looked for the redemption of Israel.

[30:05] She was excited. I think this is him. I think this is the one that Daniel through Gabriel told us about. And she told all of her friends, all those who are with her, expectant for the one who would come and redeem Israel.

[30:26] In Luke chapter 3, it talks about John the Baptist. In fact, here, we'll turn there, I think we have time. Luke chapter 3.

[30:40] John the Baptist came on the scene and he was quite a character. And people were questioning, well, who is this guy? John the Baptist. And people were familiar with the prophecies and they knew there was the Messiah, but there was also somebody called the prophet.

[30:55] And so they were, well, who is this? Luke chapter 3. verse 14. And where should we start?

[31:07] Well, verse 14. Likewise, the soldiers asked him, saying, and what shall we do? So he said to them, do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely and be content with your wages.

[31:22] He was coming and calling people to repentance. And so everybody was asking, well, how can we repent? And the soldiers said, well, what is it that we can do to repent? And he was giving them specific instructions, things that they could do to make amends, to show real fruits of their repentance.

[31:38] Then it says in verse 15, now as the people were in expectation, and they all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not.

[31:49] And he goes on to say, well, I'm not that man. I'm somebody else, but I'm not him. But people were wondering, is this the Christ?

[32:02] And it says, I love that phrase, as the people were in expectation. This was in the air. People were waiting for the Messiah. They were expecting him, as Daniel said, to come at any time.

[32:16] Later on, we read of a man named Joseph of Arimathea. And what do we know of Joseph of Arimathea? He was a prominent council member of the Jews, and he was the one that gave up his grave, his tomb, to bury Jesus.

[32:35] In Mark chapter 15, verse 43, where it speaks of him, it says this, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went into Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

[32:53] It was Joseph of Arimathea that buried Jesus in his own tomb. But what does it say about Joseph, this Joseph of Arimathea? He was waiting for the kingdom of God.

[33:04] This is something that was, again, all throughout Israel. People were waiting, expecting this king. The king is coming, and now the king is here.

[33:19] Jesus, in his ministry, was constantly talking about what? The kingdom. Mark chapter 4, verse 17, says this, and from that time, Jesus began to preach and to say, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

[33:41] was that some kind of new idea to people, or was this something that people had on their, at the very top of their minds? Later on, when he gave instructions to his own disciples, when he gave them instructions, this is from Matthew, and I'm sorry, I think I said Mark in that last verse, that was, if you're writing these scriptures down, that was Matthew chapter 4, 17.

[34:05] This next one is Matthew chapter 10, verse 7. He gave instructions to his disciples, and he said, and as you go out to all the cities and villages, he said preach, saying that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

[34:22] It's right around the corner. The kingdom is coming. The king is here, and his kingdom is at hand. Even when Jesus taught his disciples to pray, Matthew chapter 6 in verse 10.

[34:40] Our Father who art in heaven, how many people know that prayer, right? Even people who are not Christians. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. What's the next part of that? Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

[34:57] He taught them to pray that the kingdom would come. Even a lot of the stories that Jesus told, we call them parables, almost all of them, had to do with the kingdom.

[35:13] Just one example, Matthew chapter 13 verse 24, another parable he put forth to them saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

[35:25] How many of his parables started like that? The kingdom is like this. He's preparing these people for the kingdom that's coming. This kingdom is at hand.

[35:41] But then the people's hopes, when they had met Jesus, they heard him teach, they were getting so excited, and their hopes were dashed when this man Jesus was captured by the Romans and crucified.

[35:59] he was mocked and ridiculed. One of the things that's interesting is when they put him up on that cross, they put an inscription up on the top of that cross.

[36:12] What did that inscription say? King of the Jews. It was something that the Jewish people, the Jewish leaders did not like when Pilate did that and called him the king of the Jews.

[36:26] They said, what are you doing? Don't do that. He said, it's done. That's what I've done. That's what he called himself. And so, that's what we're going with. Pilate specifically asked him in John chapter 18 verse 37, Pilate therefore said to him, are you a king then?

[36:44] And Jesus answered, you say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.

[36:57] He, and, excuse me, I skipped a verse, a few verses later in John chapter 18 verse 33, Pilate specifically asks him, says, he called Jesus and he said to them, to him, are you the king of the Jews?

[37:13] Not just any king, are you the king of the Jews? And it's later on that we just read that Jesus spills the beans. You say rightly that I am a king. But he was mocked.

[37:25] people said, oh, you're a king? Well, you can save yourself them. John chapter 19 verse 3, then they said, hail the king of the Jews, and they struck him with their hands.

[37:41] When Jesus was presented, do you want your king, or do you want Barabbas, the robber, the murderer? Which one do you want me to release to you?

[37:52] And that's when they said, crucify him. crucify him. The king was here, but did we get it wrong?

[38:05] Did we miss it? Our king died? That's not what the king was supposed to do, this Messiah. But that's not the end of the story, right, that we know.

[38:18] Eventually, Jesus rose from the dead, and we talked about that a couple of weeks ago. And this whole purpose of Jesus or the Messiah coming to be the lamb that was slain was more hidden.

[38:30] It was more couched in more coded language. It was not as clear. It's only really looking back that it becomes more clear. But Jesus wanted them to know, afterwards, this is why I came to die.

[38:45] as Jesus was talking to his disciples after the resurrection in Luke chapter 24 verse 21, he says, or they say to him, this is when Jesus was talking to them, but they didn't know who he was.

[39:02] They didn't know they were talking to Jesus. They said to him, didn't you hear about this guy Jesus that died? And we thought that he was going to be the Messiah to redeem Israel.

[39:15] Luke 24 21, but we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. They were expecting Jesus was going to redeem Israel, but Jesus later, when he appeared to his disciples and revealed himself to them, just a few verses later in verse 26, again, Luke chapter 24 verse 26, he said this, ought not the Christ who have suffered these things and to enter into his glory?

[39:47] He's like, you guys need to read the scriptures more carefully, and now looking back, it might be easier to read. Ought not the Christ, the anointed one, the Messiah, to have suffered first and then to enter into his glory?

[40:04] There's two parts to this, and I'm sure it's easy to miss, right, when you're trying to look forward to what's happening and reading prophecy? To them, it seemed, well, he's just coming once and he's going to reign and that's going to be it, but they missed that first part.

[40:19] Today, we talk about his first coming and then his second coming. So the Jews didn't get it, the Jews didn't know that there would be two comings, but even after Jesus ascended, he ascended up into heaven while the disciples were watching, everything.

[40:39] But before that, this is in the book of Acts, the very first chapter, first verse, and we'll read this, Acts chapter one. We'll read about eight verses here.

[40:51] Acts chapter one, verse one, the former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after he, through the Holy Spirit, had given commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering, by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days, and speaking of things pertaining to the kingdom of God, after his resurrection, he spoke to them about his resurrection, but then about things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

[41:29] And being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, you have heard from me. For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

[41:42] Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, is it going to be now? Will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?

[41:53] We've been waiting. We didn't know about the whole crucifixion thing, but now we know, and now we're ready for the kingdom. Is it going to be now? And he said to them, maybe disappointingly, it's not for you to know the times or the seasons which the father has put in his own authority.

[42:12] And he says, but you shall receive power. He says, we got some things that need to come first. And it's not for me to tell you or you to know when the kingdom is going to finally come.

[42:24] to know that. And Jesus ascended into heaven. So they just had to wait. In Acts chapter 2, Peter is preaching on that day of Pentecost.

[42:40] And as he's preaching this sermon to those who heard all this speaking in tongues and the things that were going on on that day of Pentecost, and they hear them speaking in their own languages about the glories of God, he says to them in Acts chapter 2 verse 29, men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David that he is both dead and buried and his tomb is with us to this day.

[43:02] Therefore being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne.

[43:15] And he foreseeing this spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ that his soul was not left in Hades nor did his flesh see corruption. So he's saying, we missed the part about the Messiah dying but he rose again and now we can look back at what David had said in the Psalms and we know that that wasn't talking about David, it was talking about our Messiah and he's risen.

[43:40] But he said we know from the prophets that he would raise up the Christ, why? To sit on his throne. The king is coming, he's coming again.

[43:51] He came the first time but he's coming again. In Acts chapter 3 this is another sermon Peter preached this time after a lame man was healed and it caused quite a ruckus.

[44:04] This was at Solomon's portico or porch. Acts chapter 3 verse 17 Yet now brethren I know that you did it in ignorance as did also your rulers.

[44:16] He's basically giving them a message saying you all killed the prince of peace the lord of glory. You killed him. But he's saying hey there's an opportunity here.

[44:28] This was God's plan. You're still on the hook but there's an opportunity here. Yet now brethren I know that you did it in ignorance as did also your rulers.

[44:43] But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all his prophets that the Christ would suffer he has thus fulfilled. The first coming that the prophets told about has been fulfilled.

[44:56] Like Daniel said in that verse in chapter 9 that we read Daniel chapter 9 the Messiah was cut off not for his sins but for somebody else's sins.

[45:07] He was cut off from the earth. He was killed. The first coming that has been fulfilled. Then he says this repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.

[45:26] That times of refreshing is talking about a future kingdom and that he may send Jesus Christ who was preached to you before whom heaven must receive until the times of the restoration of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all of his holy prophets since the world began.

[45:45] There's two parts Peter was saying there's the first coming Jesus died he rose again for our sins and he's coming again there's going to be another coming he's going to return to return to the kingdom.

[46:02] But what happens here? This whole thing seems to just peter out. Everybody's waiting for the kingdom. Jesus was here the Messiah was here he was standing right in front of us and then he died and then we were all depressed because he was gone and he was dead and then he rose again and then we're excited again.

[46:26] Are you going to bring the kingdom now? Well we just got to wait a little bit longer and then Peter is preaching to the Jews and saying our Messiah came and he died for our sins or he died for us he was cut off but he rose again and we need to look forward and we need to repent because he's going to come again and establish his kingdom.

[46:52] What happened to the kingdom? You know right now because of what Jesus accomplished for us as the Lamb of God dying for the sins of the world we have peace with God don't we?

[47:08] We have peace with God through Jesus Christ. You remember when Jesus was coming or Jesus was born and the angels appeared to the shepherds and what was the phrase that they said?

[47:20] They said peace on earth and good will toward men. But the only thing that I can think is that part about the good will toward men has been fulfilled right?

[47:35] God's good will we can have peace with God each one of us by trusting in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ we have good will towards God we have peace with God but is there peace on earth?

[47:50] There is not there is not peace on earth today but there will be one day the big piece that's missing and this is an item of great controversy among Christians when is this kingdom coming?

[48:08] Is it really coming? Is it just going to be a spiritual thing? Is it just that God is going to establish a kingdom in our hearts and that's what God's kingdom is? Maybe the whole thing was very figurative or maybe this is the kingdom that we're living in some people believe that we're living in the kingdom right now and Jesus is ruling and reigning in our hearts today but I don't think that that's the case at all but this warning or this message that Peter gave to the Jews that they should repent so that their Messiah can come and restore ultimately I think they failed to do that and so this whole plan of bringing back the kingdom bringing the kingdom to the earth was put on pause and because of time's sake we weren't going to get into the details but if you read Romans chapter 9 10 and 11 there's a lot of details in there about the Jews and the Gentiles and God cut off the

[49:10] Jews what does that mean? He cut the Jews off this whole plan for the Jews because this whole thing with the Messiah who was it for? Well it was to impact the whole earth but the central nation was to be the Jewish people the nation of Israel because of their rejection of their Messiah especially the leaders he put this whole plan on hold and he said I'm going to make the Jews jealous by going directly to the Gentiles and offering them to be my people these Gentiles will be my people for a season and so that season is now and we have peace with God but there is still not peace on earth we have peace in our hearts those of us who know the Lord and have trusted in him but we still experience all the turmoil and the injustice in the world but Paul says in

[50:15] Romans chapter 11 that there's a time coming when the time of the Gentiles will be complete that's the phrase that he uses the time of the Gentiles will be complete and he will return again to Israel to reestablish that timeline and those of that 70 weeks and that final week will be established and that's what we call today the tribulation period that was seven years of intense persecution now we won't get into the details I believe we will as grace believers be raptured up before all that happens to be with the Lord the Lord will take us out of here that seven year period will come in which there will be intense persecution specifically directed at Israel but there will still be Gentiles right those who are unbelievers who will be on the earth at that time the intensity will be beyond anything anyone has even really imagined it will get really bad but at the end of those seven years is that time that the

[51:27] Messiah the anointed one the Christ will finally come and I'm just going to finish it off with this verse this is just one little verse in the book of Revelation the book of Revelation speaks a lot about this second coming but in Revelation chapter 11 verse 15 says this then the seventh angel sounded and there were loud voices in the heavens saying the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ the anointed one the Messiah and he shall reign forever and ever and if you read all the details in Revelation especially what chapter 19 and 20 you'll read about a Messiah who's coming not as a lamb like he did the first time remember Isaiah 53 he says it says about this suffering servant that like a lamb before its shears is silent that is what Jesus was like in his second coming they they whipped him they put thorns on his head he was silent through it all but when

[52:46] Jesus is coming this time he's not coming as a lamb though he will maintain that as his name I think throughout all of eternity the lamb of God but he will come as a lion the lion of the tribe of Judah he will come roaring he's going to come like a warrior he uses language of him coming from the clouds on a white stallion that is the picture of a warrior it says that he will come with a sword coming out of his mouth I don't know I don't think that's literal but this is a sword that he's coming it says that his robes will be dripping with blood that he will rule over the earth with a rod of iron Jesus will come he will bring justice and vengeance on the wicked it will be terrifying actually terrifying to who terrifying to the wicked do we get the idea that the wicked today are terrified no it seems today that the wicked are emboldened how many you know you can go on youtube today right and pull up any video of some someone emboldened to just rob some convenience store seems like every single day all kinds of people being emboldened to do wickedness but there is a coming day when people even if they have in their hearts the idea that maybe

[54:26] I could make a quick buck by pulling out a gun and pointing it at people and trying to rob this convenience store their hearts will be full of terror of actually committing that crime during this time of the kingdom it's not that everyone's hearts will be pure but because the king is ruling and reigning people will be afraid to do what is evil some people will in their hearts turn to the lord but not everybody will during that thousand year reign of the lord another few points to bring in mind when jesus comes on that white horse he's not going to ask for a democratic vote whether he should be established as ruler there will not be politicians who will be trying to vie for his favor through passing some money or funneling money through some kind of war or welfare program or something like that jesus is not going to tolerate mass rioting that destroys cities he's not going to tolerate criminal behavior his return and his reign will be terrifying to the wicked but it will be cause for rejoicing for the righteous there's a passage I think it's in proverbs it says the righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance that's hard I think for some of us to think well when you see violence brought against people how can you rejoice but we see that throughout scripture when god brings vengeance to to the wicked who have been given plenty of opportunities over and over and over again to submit themselves to the lord and have not done it there will be joy and rejoicing when the vengeance is accomplished and I think during that thousand years the world will finally see what god intended for this world to be for this world to be a place of justice and righteousness where there will be a where there will be human flourishing we watched this video this morning about the series called a poverty cure and there's so much poverty in the world how much of it is because of injustice somebody wants to start a business but as soon as they open up their business some politician or you know soldier is going to come in and say well you have to pony up some money if you give me some money I'll provide protection right or the mafia right comes by and they knock on your door and they say hey we're offering you protection you give us a thousand dollars a month you know we'll leave you alone those kinds of things will not happen in this thousand years we will see what god intended the world to be where there will be human flourishing businesses will be built up that we couldn't even imagine today there will be scientific breakthroughs because of all the peace and justice that reigns we able to accomplish so many things scientifically inventions that will be created even beyond what we see today the arts and literature and entertainment kinds of things that can be developed when there is peace it will be a very different world and god will demonstrate what he intended the world to be we're looking for a hero and a hero is coming he's not going to be a comic book figure he's not going to have a cape he will have robes it seems but but not a cape he's going to be a real man with flesh and blood flesh and bone he's going to be riding on a white horse ready to slay the wicked and reward the righteous and he's going to establish that righteousness and justice that really all of humanity has been looking for for thousands and thousands of years the end of revelation it ends with these two verses it says he who testifies of these things and who is that who testifies of all these things that

[58:45] John is told it's the Messiah himself Jesus himself and he says this surely I am coming quickly amen and then John responds with this even so come Lord Jesus is everybody ready for Jesus to come I'm ready anytime and you know what it might be one year might be five years it might be ten years it might be a hundred years we still know we don't know in that time of the Gentiles is going to be complete but I'm ready for him to come any day and he's welcome to come Lord Jesus come amen amen well we'll end there I spent a little bit too much time I wanted to leave sometime and we'll go ahead if we have a microphone available and make time for some questions and answers we'll do at least five minutes maybe ten if there's enough questions but if you have any thoughts or questions about this message or the ones that we've had over the last four or five weeks or comments I'd love to hear them

[59:55] I'll just wait another 30 seconds just to make the tension really mount of course we don't have to like like we've done in the past if you do have specific questions that you don't want to share in public you can write them down and we can try to address them later or even comments too some people have shared comments that they want to share but not publicly and I can I can pass those along nothing today all right well let's send in a word of prayer then father I think in each one of us we see both on television or

[60:57] YouTube or whatever we see today in the newspaper all the injustice going on many of us experience it hopefully not not acutely each and every day but I'm sure many of us have experienced injustice through being cheated and wronged in our lives we look forward today to a day when you are going to establish a reign of justice on the earth that will make everyone rejoice we look forward to that day we're thankful that we have peace with you today if there's anyone in my hearing father that does not know you that does not have peace with you yet do you stir in their hearts and show them how they can have peace with you even today they don't have to wait for peace on earth they can have peace with you even right now we look forward to that day we thank you for your promise for your promise to Israel and really it's a promise that applies to the whole earth that you will bring that justice and that we will ultimately have an eternity that we get to spend with you loving you forever we look forward to that in Jesus name amen amen help home let's save together let's save time