Jesus in the Old Testament

[0:00] We are still dealing with a number of questions that you submitted, and we did that in an effort to be sure that we were at least trying to scratch where you itch, rather than trying to present some of the things that are my favorite or pet subjects, because we are gathered here together in order that we may examine the Word of God, and you can see where you are plotted in the plan and program of God, be able to grow therein, and be able to appreciate it, because it's the entrance of Thy Word that gives light.

[0:38] So that's what we're here, and that's what we're all about. We do want you to understand that there are about probably a half dozen different churches represented here, and some of you may not be from a church at all. It doesn't matter to us.

[0:51] But we gather together, and we focus upon the Word of God, and each of us is responsible to take it in and to act upon it accordingly.

[1:02] So we are continuing to deal with the issues that you brought up. The one in particular has to do with the person of Christ in the Old Testament, and then they wanted the person of Christ in the New, and dealing from the particular aspect of His second coming.

[1:20] But we're beginning now with talking about the person of Christ in the Old Testament. So where are we going to go? We're going to go to the New Testament. So I want you to turn in your Bibles, please, to Matthew chapter 22.

[1:33] This is a passage of Scripture that our Jewish friends have never been able to process, because they, of course, are not convinced that what we call the New Testament is part of the revelation of God.

[1:50] They fully accept, at least those who are Orthodox, they fully accept what is recorded in the Old Testament, which they refer to as the Tanakh, the T-A-N-A-C-H.

[2:04] It's the Tanakh, and it consists of Genesis through Malachi. We just call it the Old Testament. They call it the Tanakh. But when it comes to the New Testament, they do not believe that that is part of the revelation that God has given.

[2:19] And I've talked to some Jewish people about this over the years, and apparently it does not trouble them all that much. But when you read the Old Testament and you conclude with Malachi, you're left dangling.

[2:35] You don't have the completion of the story. And that's what the New Testament is designed to do. The Old Testament gives us the background. The New Testament gives us the rest of the story, and it completes it right up into the book of the Revelation.

[2:49] So what we're going to do is look at the person of Christ in the Old Testament, but you cannot limit to the Old Testament.

[3:00] You've got to get into the New because he's in both. And many people who are not familiar at all with the subject or the principles of Christianity think that Christ is a New Testament figure.

[3:13] Well, he's more than that. He's the New, but he's also the Old. So let us look at Matthew chapter 22, and I'm going to begin with verse 34.

[3:25] Excuse my voice, a little froggy here in the morning. Verse 34, when the Pharisees heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they gathered themselves together.

[3:39] And by the way, let me just interrupt something here. Right away, we've got Pharisees and Sadducees. When you read all through the Old Testament, you don't find any Pharisees and Sadducees.

[3:52] They aren't there. They don't exist. They are two different groups that didn't exist during Old Testament times. And then when you come to the New Testament and open it with the beginning of Matthew, all of a sudden you've got Pharisees and Sadducees.

[4:06] Well, who are these guys? Where did they come from? They were inserted into the picture in Israel during the intertestamental time that is not dealt with at all in the Old Testament.

[4:20] Because you see, between the conclusion of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament, there's 400 years. It's called the four silent centuries.

[4:34] During those 400 years, there was no revelation coming from God. So there is a relative blank, if you will. You don't read about Sadducees and Pharisees in the Old Testament, Malachi, all the way back to Genesis.

[4:52] They're just not there. But during that 400 period of silent years when there was no revelation from God, those two groups emerged in Israel. And by the time you're reading Matthew, they are well entrenched.

[5:05] And everybody in that culture knew who the Pharisees and the Sadducees were. Essentially, they were both religious groups or entities. The Pharisees were the more conservative.

[5:17] The Sadducees were the more liberal. So you've got liberality and conservatism all the way back there. The Pharisees were those who took all of the Old Testament and believed it.

[5:30] The Sadducees were more selective. They would be what we would call the liberals. The Sadducees did not believe in the physical resurrection of the body.

[5:41] And they did not believe in the existence of spirit. So they were a completely different group. And they were combatants with the Pharisees. These guys were always going at it, arguing back and forth, just like conservatives and liberals do today, politically or something else.

[5:59] Only this was all about religion. So the Pharisees, we read in verse 34, when the Pharisees heard that he, Jesus, had put the Sadducees to silence, they gathered themselves together.

[6:14] They had a little huddle. And as the Sadducees were trying to, or the, yeah, as the Sadducees were trying to put down Jesus or to trip him up or take him in something that he didn't understand or didn't know or couldn't answer, every time he had an answer for them.

[6:30] And every time they were embarrassed because of the way Jesus handled the situation. So these two groups are together. And there's a large crowd gathered there.

[6:41] And when they hear that Jesus bested that group, they got together and said, we know what, we'll take him down on this. So they have a little huddle. They get together.

[6:52] And when they, in verse 34, they gathered themselves together. And one of them, a lawyer, that does not mean the same thing as our lawyers today. But what it does mean is one who was considered to be an expert in the Old Testament scriptures.

[7:08] And a lawyer asked him a question, testing him. Now, the question is not being asked in good faith. It's being asked in an effort to trip him up, to make him look bad.

[7:21] And he asked the question, which is the great commandment in the law? And he said, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind.

[7:32] This is the great and foremost command. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbors as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets.

[7:44] In other words, everything is hanging on these two commandments, Jesus said. And while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, what do you think about the Messiah?

[7:59] Now, bear in mind, Jesus is referring to himself. But he's not saying, what do the scriptures say about me? That's exactly what he meant. But he constantly refers to himself in the third person.

[8:13] The designation that Jesus uses of himself more than any other in the Gospels is he calls himself the son of man.

[8:24] Instead of just saying, I, he says, the son of man. He's always speaking in the third person. And one reason he's doing that is because he recognizes that there are many in the crowd who do not accept his identity.

[8:38] They do not consider him to be the son of God. So he's talking in an abstract way, referring to himself as the son of man. And he actually means he himself.

[8:51] Who do you think? What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? They said to him. Well, every Jew would know that.

[9:02] He's the son of David. Now, bear in mind, fellas, that David lived and died about a thousand years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

[9:19] And yet they recognize that the Messiah, when he comes, will be a direct descendant of David the king.

[9:30] And you've got to bear in mind the fact that when they say he is the son of David, they're not talking about one generation removed. They're talking about going all the way back.

[9:45] When they spoke in terms of genealogy and they said that Jesus is the son of David, they don't mean that David the king was his direct, immediate father.

[10:00] They're not talking about two generations here. They're going back many generations. And when they say that he is the son of, you could go all the way. And actually, this happens in the gospel of Luke.

[10:13] He's also the son of Adam. You and I, we're all sons of Adam. But Adam wasn't my father. My father, one generation removed, was the previous generation.

[10:32] And yet, in the scriptures, they're going all the way back to the beginning. So you've got to keep that in mind. And let's go on. Whose son is he?

[10:42] The son of David. And Jesus said, all right then. Now I have a question for you. How does David, in the spirit, call him Lord?

[10:55] As in verse 44. And you've got, if you've got a Bible, a New American Standard, you'll see that verse 44 is all in capital letters, which indicates that it is a quote from the Old Testament.

[11:10] And we'll be going back there shortly. He said to them, then how does David, in the spirit, call him Lord, saying, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put thine enemies before thy feet.

[11:27] If David then calls him Lord, how is he his son? These guys are scratching their heads and saying, well, and no one was able to answer him a word.

[11:45] Nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask him another question. Now we're going to go back to the Old Testament. So let's look at that source.

[11:56] And it's found in Psalm 2. Back in the Old Testament. Psalm 2. Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing?

[12:24] The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed. Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from them, from us.

[12:41] He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then he will speak to them in his anger and terrify them in his fury.

[12:53] But as for me, I have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain. This is all prophetic and messianic.

[13:04] He is speaking in connection with the future. And he's talking about the time to come when Christ himself, the Messiah, will be installed upon the holy mountain.

[13:16] The holy mountain, of course, is Zion in Jerusalem. And he says, I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord. He said to me, Thou art my son.

[13:30] Today I have begotten thee. Ask of me. And I will surely give the nations as thine inheritance. And the very ends of the earth as thy possession.

[13:44] Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt shatter them like earthenware. Now, therefore, O kings, show discernment. Take warning, O judges of the earth.

[13:57] Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, lest he become angry and you perish in the way.

[14:08] And his wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in him. Now, the reference that I'm actually looking for.

[14:21] Well, all right. Well, this is I can't give you both of them, but let's just use this for a base and come over to Psalm. While we're in the neighborhood, come over to Psalm 110.

[14:32] Both of these are speaking of the Messiah, but this spells it out in a way with more clarity than what than what the other does. They're both talking about the same person at the same time.

[14:44] Psalm 110 and verse 1. The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand. And I think I pointed out to you before, you see how these words are spelled differently?

[14:58] You see the word Lord? Look at the first one. It's all in capital letters. You see that? And look at the second one. The first letter is capitalized.

[15:09] And the others are small case. Are these two different individuals? Of course they are. That's the whole point. Otherwise, this doesn't make sense. On the surface, it looks like gobbledygook.

[15:21] It looks like somebody's talking to themselves. This is the father who is all in capital letters here who is speaking to the son. We've got both members of the triune Godhead here.

[15:37] The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make thine enemies a footstool for thy feet. What is that all about?

[15:51] This is in reference to the future of the Messiah that when he comes, he will occupy this position of ascendancy. And it is God the Father who will install him.

[16:03] And he is saying here prophetically, sit at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Remember, when Stephen was stoned in Acts chapter 7, as the stones are raining down upon him, he cries out to God, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.

[16:26] And Stephen looked up to heaven, and he saw Jesus rise. He was seated, and he rose and stood on his feet.

[16:43] And Stephen said, as he looked up, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. He saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

[16:54] The psalm says he will be seated. Well, he was seated. But scholars have concluded, and I have to agree with him, that Stephen is generally regarded as the first martyr of the Christian faith.

[17:08] And when he was being martyred, God gave him the vision as he looked up. And Jesus rose from his seat to a standing position to welcome the first martyr into heaven.

[17:26] Something to think about. And here in this Psalm 110, it is a psalm to this day that still confounds and confuses the Jewish constituency because they just can't make any sense of it.

[17:42] And on the surface, it does sound kind of nonsensical. What kind of double talk is this? It is the Father who is speaking to the Son. And the Lord, until I make thine enemies a footstool for thy feet.

[17:55] Do you know what? That has never yet happened. The enemies of Christ have not yet been made a footstool for his feet.

[18:05] And what that means is, it's a Hebrew expression, and it talks about, it gives a description of the one who is the footstool being the inferior, the one who is conquered, and the one who is the victor is seated with his feet on the footstool, just like you do.

[18:25] When you sit in your living room and watch TV and you put your feet up on the footstool, you are a picture of a man in charge, especially if you've got the remote there in your hand. It is a picture of supremacy and of one having been defeated and conquered.

[18:44] And that's exactly what's going to happen when Christ returns. So here we've got Christ in the Old Testament. And while we're in the, let's go back, let's go back to Isaiah.

[18:56] Isaiah chapter 7, another very familiar passage. And by the way, our Jewish friends, and I have a number of them, but they just have real struggles with this, and they still do not have answers because there's only one answer that makes any sense.

[19:12] And Isaiah chapter 7 and verse 14, connection with the request that you made about Jesus in the Old Testament. Isaiah chapter 7, and I'm going to begin with verse 10.

[19:28] We'll work our way down to verse 14. The Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God. Make it deep as Sheol or high as the heaven.

[19:41] But Ahaz said, I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord. Then he said, Listen now, O house of David. This house of David refers to the, what's the word I'm looking for?

[19:55] The establishment. It's the royal theme. It's the house like England has the house of Windsor and the house of Tudor and the kings and queens that come after them. This is referred to as the house of David.

[20:09] Listen now, O house of David. Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men that you will try the patience of my God as well? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign.

[20:26] Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son and she will call his name Emmanuel. Emmanuel. And the word Emmanuel simply means God with us.

[20:39] This is one of many prophecies that are given of our Lord in the Old Testament. And he, of course, fulfills them in the New. And while we're in the neighborhood, let's come over to Isaiah chapter 9.

[20:52] Just a page or so over. Isaiah chapter 9. And let's begin with verse 2, if we may.

[21:04] Well, let's start with the chapter, beginning with verse 1. Now, the reason Galilee is called of the Gentiles is because it bordered Gentile territory.

[21:30] Jesus was from Galilee. He was from the area up north. And these folks even had a different accent than the people down south.

[21:40] Just like we do here. We can tell an accent, the southerner from their accent. Well, this wasn't any different in Israel. And Galilee was called of the Gentiles. And it was also looked down on by most of the Jews.

[21:55] Simply because they were right next door to the Gentiles. And what did that imply? Gentile contamination. Because the purists prided themselves in a more purebred line of Judaism than what the Galileans would be.

[22:17] Because living right next door to the Gentiles. Well, let me put it this way. When Nathaniel.

[22:27] I'm sorry. I wasn't getting my prophets, my disciples mixed up. One of them came to Nathaniel.

[22:37] I don't recall exactly which one it was. And said, we have found the Messiah. Really? Of course, he didn't buy it. And he says, yes. Jesus of Galilee.

[22:50] Jesus of Nazareth. And she said, Galilee. Can any good thing come out of Galilee? That's what he meant. That's what he was talking about. He's from the other side of the tracks.

[23:02] If he's from Galilee, I wouldn't be interested in him. And you've got to remember that the Gentiles in Galilee that were right next door, all of that was territory that belonged to the northern ten tribes.

[23:18] And they are the ones that pulled away from the Union, established their own country as the northern ten tribes, became known as Israel, while the two tribes in the south remained Judah. And they were considered to be not really all that legitimate.

[23:35] Remember in John chapter 4 when Jesus met the woman at the well? Remember who she was? She was a Samaritan. What's that mean?

[23:46] Half-breed. Yeah, she was like a half-breed. She was from Samaria. She was from that contaminated area. And, of course, our Lord dealt with her and had quite a wonderful time there.

[23:58] The people will walk in darkness. We'll see a great light. Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them. Of course, he's talking about Israel.

[24:09] Thou shalt multiply the nation. Thou shalt increase their gladness. They will be glad in thy presence. And with the gladness of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

[24:20] For thou shalt break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult and cloak rolled in blood will be for burning fuel for the fire.

[24:39] This, of course, is talking about a victorious time that's coming for Israel. And then he's going to give an explanation for it. For a child will be born to us. A son will be given to us.

[24:53] Now, these are two different designations. One has to do with deity and one has to do with humanity. He says a child will be born to us.

[25:06] That's his humanity. It's talking about the birth process whereby a human comes into the world. He's identifying this one as that. But then he goes on to say, and a son will be given to us.

[25:21] These are two different things. Same person, but in his humanity, Jesus was born. In his deity, he is given. It is God so loved the world that he gave.

[25:38] There is a givenness and there is a birth. There is a humanity and there is a deity. Jesus will be the theanthropic being.

[25:51] The theanthropic being. The theo. The word from which we get the word theology. And the anthropic from which we get the word anthropology, making of man.

[26:04] And the psalmist, I'm sorry, Isaiah is saying this one will be a combination of both humanity and deity. He will be also Emmanuel, which means God is with us.

[26:22] God in him. God in him. And the text goes on to say, and the government will rest on his shoulders. What does that mean?

[26:32] He's going to be the king. Yes. It means that he is going to be the absolute authority. And that is going to be fulfilled when Christ returns and establishes his kingdom.

[26:45] Dan, what? Do some people mean that later on when he came, that he was going to take them out of the control of the Roman Empire?

[26:56] The government will be on his shoulders? Well, that that will be part of it. But what he's going to do, of course, when when Christ comes again, as referred to in Revelation chapter 19, he will come and defeat the enemies of Israel.

[27:13] This will be the tribulation conclusion. This will be the wrap up what most people refer to as Armageddon. And it isn't it isn't a battle that takes place in Armageddon at all.

[27:23] It is where the troops mass and then they march down and the battle occurs right in front of Jerusalem and in the valley, the valley of Jehoshaphat. And that's when he is going to fulfill this.

[27:37] Actually, when Jesus came the first time, guys, I don't want to get too far afield here, but I do need to stop and explain this. When Jesus came the first time, he came to address the moral and spiritual needs of the people and the word that was given and the message that came to them was very simple.

[28:01] Repent. For or because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Now, the reason hold your question, Joe. The reason people were to repent was because the kingdom of heaven was at hand.

[28:17] How was the kingdom of heaven at hand? In the person of Jesus of Nazareth. He just arrived on the scene. John was doing his baptizing ministry.

[28:28] And John is telling the people, addressing the nation of Israel. These, of course, are all Jews. He is saying you need to change your mind about yourself, your morality, your sin and everything else, because in doing so, you will be preparing yourself to meet the king.

[28:52] The king is coming. And that will be in the person of Jesus. And when he looked down the road and saw Jesus coming, he addressed the crowd and said, behold, the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

[29:07] Here is the king. And he has arrived to establish that kingdom. He's going to offer himself as Israel's Messiah. And he is going to demonstrate his authority to do so by taking complete control over disease, the elements, demons and everything else.

[29:31] He's going to be exercising control. This is what he is going to offer by way of himself as the Messiah. And the text goes on to say that as John baptized, people were lining up to identify with Jesus in his baptism.

[29:52] And Jesus himself was baptized, but for an entirely different reason. When when people came to John and they submitted to his message, they were called upon to undergo water baptism.

[30:11] That in the Jewish economy symbolized a cleansing or purification. And when they were water baptized, they were providing an outward demonstration of what they had done inwardly.

[30:25] And this is providing a kind of visible evidence for it. The Sadducees and the Pharisees are going to come to John. And many of them will not submit themselves to baptism.

[30:39] The text says that they regarded not Jesus or not John either. And they would not submit themselves for baptism. And John called them a brood of vipers, which is tantamount to saying you sons of snakes.

[30:54] And he said, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? What, Joe? What? Okay. With going along with what you're talking about. First of all, Jesus, what he came for. It's a sermon on the mount.

[31:06] He was preparing those people to go into the kingdom. Because there was going to be peace there. Love your neighbor. And he was trying to get the people to act in that way. And not to fight.

[31:17] Not to try to defeat the Romans in there and so forth. Because I am going to set up the kingdom. And all you have to do is just have it. It will be there for you. And also about the washing thing.

[31:29] The Jews, once they set up their kingdom and they are over everything, they were to be the priests for the Gentiles, the rest of the nation. So they had to be cleansed.

[31:40] Going back to Deuteronomy, where to be a priest, you had to be voiced. You had to be clean. And therefore, they would have satisfied that requirement to go to the Gentiles, to be the intermediary between God and the Gentiles.

[31:53] But, of course, they denied him and that never happened. Okay. Okay. Thank you, Joe. I hope this is all enabling you to connect a few dots. All right. Let's get back to Isaiah now. Now, the government will rest on his shoulders and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

[32:15] There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace. Now, the thing that we need to keep in mind is that when Isaiah penned this, it was 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

[32:46] And he is looking forward to what is going to occur when he returns. But he's talking about his rule and his reign. When Jesus came the first time, he came to present himself as the Lamb of God.

[33:03] Fellas, there are two things. Hope you remember these forever. There are two things that must be accomplished before the kingdom of heaven, which is in heaven, comes to earth and is established on earth so that the will of God will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

[33:22] That's not happening now. We're not even close to that. It is the will of Satan in many regards that is being done. This is why Jesus calls Satan the prince of this world.

[33:35] In John's gospel, chapter 12, chapter 14, and chapter 16, all three times he calls Satan the prince of this world.

[33:48] What's that mean? That means he's in charge. Are you kidding me? You thought God was in charge? Well, God is in charge overall. I've likened Satan to a mad dog on a chain.

[34:03] And he can go no further and accomplish no more than what God is willing to let him accomplish. But let me tell you something, fellas. God has given Satan a lot of leeway.

[34:16] God has given him. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4, if our gospel, our good news be hid, hid so as not discovered.

[34:29] If our gospel be hid, it is hidden by the adversary of this world. He says, the God of this age has blinded the minds of men, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

[34:53] Think of that. Minds that are blinded. What does that mean? It means their minds are prevented from being able to process the information and reach the right conclusions.

[35:09] And that is why the average person, it's been estimated, needs an explanation of the gospel 7.2 times before it ever registers and they get it.

[35:21] It was Bill Fay, the evangelist, that made that comment, and I think he's probably right. When people first hear the gospel, it's just like water off a duck's back. It just goes right over there.

[35:32] They just don't get it. But through repeated hearings, the Spirit of God can take that message and break through that hard exterior and enable them to understand. But for many, many people, spiritual truth and the realities that are accompanying salvation is just simply beyond them.

[35:50] They just don't get it. And that is a principal thing that we're dealing with. So this blindedness that takes place prevents people from being able to embrace the truth that they need to know in order to come to faith.

[36:06] And the text goes on to say that when this kingdom is established, he will uphold it with justice and with righteousness. There be no end to the increase of his government or peace.

[36:19] This is the millennial reign of Christ. This is the thousand-year reign of Christ. It's referred to in Revelation 19, and it is mentioned there six or seven times. And it has to do with Christ establishing himself as the rightful ruler of this earth.

[36:36] So when he came, the two things I was telling you about that have to be accomplished, the first has to be Christ has to pay the price for the purchase of the kingdom.

[36:51] You see, when Adam and Eve fell, morally and spiritually, everything came crashing down. That's called the fall. And in that fall, death, disease, everything else entered.

[37:06] When God first created the heavens and the earth, he looked upon the earth and he pronounced it very good. You don't get very far until you arrive at chapter three and who shows up on the scene.

[37:18] It is none other than Lucifer, Satan. And he had already, prior to Genesis 1-1, he had already recruited a huge number of angels to join him in his rebellion.

[37:36] But unsatisfied with that, now he is invading humanity and he is looking for more recruits from a human standpoint.

[37:46] And when he beguiles and deceives Adam and Eve, they take unto themselves a nature that God didn't put in them.

[37:57] We call it the sin nature. We don't understand the dynamic, exactly how that works. But God did not create them sinful beings. He created them in a state of innocence, but with the capacity to exercise a free volition.

[38:17] They did not have to continue in submission to God. And Satan convinced them that it would be in their best interest not to.

[38:29] And he deceived them and they fell for it. And they took unto themselves a nature that they didn't have before. Remember, when God told them, and fellas, I don't understand all of the ins and outs of that.

[38:41] I don't understand the ins and outs of so many things. But why this was reduced to this particular tree, what God could have done that any other way, I don't know, except it is for our understanding.

[38:53] And the scriptures are given for our understanding because you cannot properly respond to what you don't understand. And when he told Adam and Eve, all the trees you may freely eat, but of this one particular tree, that is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you are not to partake of that tree.

[39:17] Because in the day you do, if you do, you will surely die. Well, they didn't even know what that meant. Nobody had ever died before. They were the first two people. What's this all about?

[39:27] And yet, when Eve partook of that tree, whatever it was, and gave to Adam and he partook, something happened inside of their being.

[39:43] I cannot begin to explain it because I can't understand it. But it's important to note that their nature was somehow changed.

[39:55] And I'm not saying that anything happened to them or that they were changed physically. We don't know. But something happened to make them different from the way God created them.

[40:09] Now, having violated what God told them not to do, having violated that, they experienced something that they had never experienced before.

[40:21] And that was guilt. Guilt. Guilt sets in when we become aware that we have violated a standard.

[40:34] We have violated something that we should not have done and we are guilty. And guilt almost always produces fear.

[40:48] Because they were warned, in the day that you eat thereof, you will surely die. What's that mean? They didn't know. But they were scared. And it is not insignificant, guys, that Adam and Eve took fig leaves and created for themselves aprons?

[41:13] What? Are you kidding me? Aprons? For what purpose? To cover their nakedness. Now, guys, I wish I could give you more information about this.

[41:26] I wish I had more. But what this is signifying, they covered their private parts. What's that all about?

[41:41] What's that got to do with sin? What's that got to do with consequences? What's that got to do with anything? They covered their private parts.

[41:55] That's really significant. The point has been made that out of all of the biological life forms that have been made, man is the only one who buries his dead and who wears clothes.

[42:10] You never see an animal wearing clothes. Unless these ladies who feel sorry for their little puppy dogs knit them a coat or something and put on them.

[42:22] I'm not sure how much the dog appreciates that. But at any rate, all I'm saying is there is something there. Can you sense it? Can you sense it?

[42:34] And is it a coincidence that it is through those private parts that are covered that the next generation is going to be produced? Now, some have gone to the extreme of saying, well, you know what the sin is.

[42:52] The sin is sex. Sex is sin. That's baloney. God created sex. And he did so for the perpetuity of the races. Not just humans, but for animals as well.

[43:04] So God is not down on sex. In fact, God is very high on sex. He fully approves of it, but it has to be engaged in within the right parameters.

[43:17] Otherwise, it becomes something that God does not approve of. Fellas, let me put it this way. There isn't any good gift that God has given us that we're not able to corrupt. And that's just one more.

[43:29] But there is something here. Some kind of dynamic came into the persons of Adam and Eve.

[43:40] And all of a sudden, they realize that they're naked. And when God came to them in the cool of the day and said, Adam, where are you? They were over there hiding behind a bunch of bushes.

[43:51] And they come out. I don't know if he had a red face or not, embarrassed. But he said, well, we hid ourselves because we were naked.

[44:03] And God said, well, you've always been naked. That never bothered you before. He's creating a conversation here. There's an interchange between creator and creature.

[44:15] And they made these ridiculous fig leaves to cover their nakedness. And guys, there is something in man that I don't think exists in woman.

[44:29] I mean, there's a... Some of the people today, particularly the psychologists and psychologists, would tell us there's a difference between...

[44:40] There's no difference between males and females. That's total hogwash. Don't buy that. And this, by the way, is the gender situation that we're dealing with today.

[44:52] If you don't like being a man, you can be a woman. That's total nonsense. And when God created femininity and masculinity, he put certain differences in them.

[45:06] And one of them that I think is significant is that sexually speaking, men are turned on by what they see.

[45:19] It's the eye gate. It's the appeal. And it doesn't mean that women aren't, but it means it is stronger in men. Have you ever heard of...

[45:30] Have you ever heard of a peeping Jane? Have you ever heard of a peeping Tom? What's the difference? There is a difference, guys.

[45:43] And I say, Viva la difference. Thank God for the difference. But there is a real distinction that God built into masculinity and femininity, and he made them so that one completes the other but is different from the other.

[46:02] And in that fig leaf thing, there is something there unspoken that I just don't understand. But I know that it is significant that God requires us now and decency requires you to cover your private parts.

[46:24] And when you see women, particularly out on the beach, wearing those scanty bikinis, you know, that consists of about three pieces of thread each, something like that, why do they do that?

[46:39] Well, they do that just because they're trying to expose themselves to as much sunshine as possible. Bologna. You know better than that. They do that. They do that because they know it turns you on.

[46:52] They know it will get your attention. And they do it to be seen. And it's just the way it is. That's the attraction.

[47:03] You know, when boy meets girl, it's almost always through the eye gate. You may remember this back in school. Boy, I remember. Hey, it worked on me when I was still in grade school.

[47:15] I mean, I could look at a certain girl and I would think, and I wasn't, I was too young and too naive to think sexually, but I was sure thinking, she sure is cute.

[47:27] I wonder what her name is. And as I grew on into high school, the thought and the idea intensified. And we become interested in the opposite sex almost always, not always, but almost always on the basis of what we see.

[47:46] Think of when you first met your wife. A lot of guys say, like, I can remember that. I saw her clear on the other side of the room and all I could think of was, who is that?

[47:56] She's the girl I'm going to marry. Well, there may have been 50 other women there, but you focused on one in particular that had an attraction and appeal to you. And that's a boy meets girl.

[48:08] Hey, that's a God thing. That's the way, that's the way this thing gets together. That's the way courtship begins. And it goes all the way back to Genesis. So where was I?

[48:19] I don't know what I'm talking about now. All right. In Isaiah, Isaiah nine. And let's go, while we're in Isaiah, let's go to chapter 53. And this is, this has got to be one of the most significant chapters in all of the Bible.

[48:34] And like the others that I've mentioned, this too is a complete puzzlement to our Jewish friends because they just have real, real issues with this.

[48:44] Chapter 53. And it is the most vivid description that you could ever imagine of a man who is dying by crucifixion. And it is something that Isaiah recorded 700 years before Jesus was ever born in Bethlehem.

[49:02] Who has believed our message? This is another way of saying, we have preached truth and content, but who believed it? Almost nobody.

[49:13] And he's talking about, looking forward here, he's talking about Jesus, the Messiah being preached to Israel. And before I forget, I want to make sure I get this in.

[49:25] The two things that I mentioned earlier that have to be accomplished before the kingdom of heaven can be established and Jesus rules and reigns and fulfills that, that we were talking about earlier. The first thing has to be, Jesus has to pay for what was forfeited in the fall.

[49:44] When Adam and Eve fell, they relinquished the dominion God gave them. You see, in Genesis, the text says, after he created Adam and Eve, he says that he is giving them dominion over all the earth.

[50:00] The word dominion is the word from which we get the word also, dominate. He put them in charge of all creation. And when they rebelled against God, disobeyed him, they forfeited that stature.

[50:15] And guess who picked it up? Satan picked it up. That's why he is now the God of this age, 2 Corinthians 4.

[50:26] That's why there is death and disease and war and poverty. He is the instigator. He is behind so much of this.

[50:37] Now, we don't need him. We don't need Satan in order to be evil. We can manage that on our own. But he's there to stir the pot. And he certainly does.

[50:49] And when Adam and Eve fell, they forfeited their dominion and Satan took up the mantle. And he is the God of this world.

[51:01] Jesus called him the prince of this world. So, when Jesus came to this earth, he came as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world.

[51:12] But Israel wasn't looking for moral and spiritual leadership. All they wanted was a military leader who would chase out the Romans. because they were in bondage to Rome.

[51:27] And they were looking for a political military deliverer and Jesus didn't come. He came to deliver them from a bigger enemy than the Romans.

[51:38] And they didn't recognize that. So, when he died on that cross and uttered those words, tetelestai, it is finished.

[51:52] The payment was made. The transaction was completed. Christ, he who knew no sin, was made to be sin for us so that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

[52:12] Fellas, don't ever forget it. That's the most significant transaction that ever took place in the history of the universe.

[52:23] When he who knew no sin was made to be sin for us, that became the centerpiece of the universe always has been, always will be.

[52:37] The two things, the first has already been accomplished and the second has to do with Israel embracing Jesus as their Savior and Messiah.

[52:53] That they have not done. So, the kingdom that Christ came to establish has not been established. This is not it.

[53:04] This is an interim period prior to that time and when Jesus comes back again, this time he will complete phase two and Israel will embrace him as their Savior, Messiah.

[53:22] Of course, they haven't to this point, but they will. And we'll pick up here with Isaiah 53 when we finish and then we'll go on to Revelation and see how that concludes next week. Thank you all for being here this morning and thank you, Michelle, for your great service.

[53:36] Appreciate it. Any quick questions, anybody? What, Joe? I'm going to point out, you were talking about the covering that they did with the fig leaves. God right away changed that and he put an animal skin on them because any sin has to be covered by blood, blood sacrifice of some kind and God provides that blood sacrifice so if he wanted to have a continued communion with Adam and Eve, he had to take care of that and he did it with the blood of that animal he wrapped around him.

[54:08] Right, and that forever established the principle without the shedding of blood there is no remission. And that simply means that because God is righteous, sin has to be accounted and paid for.

[54:20] Otherwise, the moral scales of the universe remain unbalanced. Jesus Christ balanced the moral scales of the universe when he died for our sin and our place. Okay, enjoy your breakfast guys on the day ahead.