The Church of Eleven22 - S01 E65 - Scripture

Episode Date: August 10, 2020

Hey, church family. If you've got your Bibles, I hope you do. We're going to be in Luke chapter 24, and we're going to pop around a little bit this time. This last week in our all-staff meeting, we did a little something different. We do these Zoom, all-staff meetings, you know. There's some people in the room, but mostly it's around the city via screen, and we did an Ask Me Anything segment. And one of the questions I got was from a very, very smart girl on our staff. I've known her for 10 plus years. She runs a whole lot of stuff in our spiritual formations world. And I don't think she was really asking me a question as much as she wanted me to make a statement. And I'll reframe her question because she had particular

preacher's names in it, et cetera. But ultimately the question was, as New Testament followers of Jesus, do we need the Old Testament? I mean, if the whole faith is founded on the resurrection of Jesus, do we really need the Old Testament? Do we need to pay attention to it, obey the laws? Is it important to us as believers? As believers in Jesus, can we distance ourselves or move ourselves away from the old covenant because we have the new covenant? And this came from a book that she read and a very famous preacher had made some comments that had to do with that. And so, my answer ultimately is absolutely not. Absolutely not. You see, the Bible, Paul says to Timothy, we studied this a couple of years ago, that all scripture is God breathed and useful.

And then he gives a list of things that it's useful for. And when he's saying all scripture, he means all scripture from the very beginning to the very end. And the idea that Christianity is founded on the resurrection of Jesus is true. It is true. However, we can't understand who Jesus is and what his death on the cross and his resurrection means without really understanding the law and the prophets. If you'll remember in our best sermon ever series, Jesus said, I did not come to do away with the law. I did not come to distance ourselves from what Abraham and Moses and the prophet said. And, and the prophet said, I did not come to do away with the law, but I came to fulfill it. So if we don't know the Old Testament, how in the world would we know the law that Jesus actually fulfilled?

In fact, speaking of the resurrection, if you'll go to Luke chapter 24, I'm going to read a lot just to set us up for context to get to my real point here. In 24, verse 13, this is after the resurrection of Jesus. The women have called and they have seen the empty tune and they have reported it to some of the disciples. And this event is famously known as the Road to Amas. Verse 13, it says that very day, two of them were going to a village named Amaius, about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. And these things that had happened are the death and resurrection of Jesus. And while they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and he was,

went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, what is this conversation that you were holding with each other as you walk? And they stood still looking sad. And then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days? And he said to them, what things? And they said to him concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet, mighty and deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priest and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel, yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women from our company

amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning. and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and they found it just as the women had said. But him they did not see. And he said to them, this is Jesus talking to these two men on the road to Amas. O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Now, real quick, again, we're talking about how important is the Old Testament? What prophets are he, is he talking about? I mean, can you name for me some New Testament prophets from the book of Luke?

You're going to have a hard time finding them. The prophets that he was talking about are the prophets from the Old Testament, the old covenant that were pointing to the life, death, and resurrection of the Messiah. And he is saying, what is wrong with you? He says, slow of heart to believe. all that the prophets have spoken, was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? And I'll check this next verse out. And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he, Jesus, interpreted to them the disciples in all the scriptures, the things concerning

himself. Now, I don't know how long this Bible study goes. By the way, in a little while they're going to sit down for breakfast or for whatever time of day it is. They're going to sit down and eat. And when he breaks the bread and gives thanks and calls them by name, then all of a sudden their eyes are open and they see him for who he really is. So when Jesus is going to prove that he is who he says he is and he always keeps his promises, standing the resurrected Jesus does not say, hey guys, do you need proof? Look, here I am. That's not where he starts. He actually starts with the scriptures. And apparently he goes through this Bible study. Again, I don't know how long it is, but the Bible says that he goes, he starts with the book of Moses, the law for Moses. That would be

the book of Genesis. And he goes through Exodus and Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy. And maybe he talks about Joshua and judges and 1st and 2nd Samuel and kings and chronicles and the Psalms and the major prophets and the minor prophets and Malachi. And the Bible says, that Jesus points out how everything in the Old Testament points to him. Maybe you've heard it said before that the echo or the whisper of the name of Jesus is on every page in our Bible. Maybe he took them to Genesis chapter 3. When God was cursing Adam and Eve and he looks at Eve and he says, I will put enmity between your offspring and this enemy.

and one day from your bloodline there will be a singular Jewish male and this enemy will bruise his heel but your your offspring will crush his head and that the whole thing was about this serpent crusher maybe he took him to Noah and said you thought Noah was about a man that that God favored and gave a message to and that Noah created a vessel by which to save those that would trust God from the judgment of God against their wickedness. And maybe Jesus was saying this was not a story about a man on a boat and a big flood. This was a story about a vessel of salvation. Maybe he took him to Joseph at the end of Genesis.

And he says, you know the story of Joseph, how his brothers turned on him and accused him of something that he didn't do. And he went to jail, and it was not his, he never did anything wrong. He was an innocent man. And what his brothers intended for evil, God intended for good, and God used the mistreatment of Joseph to save the nation of Israel. You see, you thought that was a story about how brothers can't get along. Now, that's actually a story about Jesus. And maybe he took him to Psalm 22 that starts out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And then it goes blow by blow through the crucifixion of Christ,

and the way it ends essentially is it has been done or it is finished. And he may have told them, see, you thought that was just about David crying out to the Lord in a time of distress, but actually that Psalm is about me going to the cross for the forgiveness of your sin. And maybe he took him to Isaiah, where Isaiah says, by his stripes, we will be healed. and maybe he said, you see, you thought Isaiah was just prophesying about a king that was going to come in like a week or two or a year or two, but actually what Isaiah was talking about is he was talking about me,

or maybe he took them back to the Passover, where God tells Moses, go and tell the nation of Israel, go and take a perfect spotless lamb and bring it into your home and shed the blood of that lamb and put it on the doorpost of your house. because an angel of death will pass over. And whoever has the blood of the lamb on the doorpost of their house, you will be spared. And Jesus may be saying,

you see, you thought that was all about saving of a nation, but the only reason God saved the nation of Israel is so that I could come out of it and be that lamb. And if you put the blood of me on the doorpost of your heart, then when the angel of death passes over, then you will be spared. maybe he took him to the story of David and Goliath and he said to them you see you thought this was just about a boy becoming a king maybe you thought this was a story about how young and inexperienced underdog could rise up in victory over great giants and maybe this was a story to just help you overcome the things in your life but what you don't understand is that

that I am the greater David and the greatest giant in your life. is sin and death, and I don't know if you've been back to the empty tomb, but I have put death to death. That when I said, it is finished, it was like when the rock hit Goliath in the head and that giant fell, and then David took the sword and took off his head. I have taken off the head of the serpent. Or maybe he took him to the book of Malachi, where Malachi says, and the son of righteousness will come with healing in his wings. And he let them, know that when like the lady with the issue of bleeding fights through the crowd and she got to the edge of his garment that because she believed that he was the son of righteousness that she

experienced healing. You see as believers in Jesus, we need to read all of those Old Testament stories that you grew up on if you grew up in church. I didn't really grow up in church. but we need to always read these with our gospel lenses on. Say, what is this? What are the law and the prophets? How are they in the Old Testament pointing to the fact that you and I need a Savior and that Jesus is going to come and save sinners? So by no means should we ever try to divide up the scriptures and say,

nah, that's just old and we don't need it anymore, but we're only going to stick with the new part. that we can't rightly understand the new covenant without the foundation of the old covenant. In fact, Paul says to the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 2.20, he's talking about how to build the household of God. He says, the household of God, the church, is built on the foundation of the apostles. That's him and Peter and James and John and the prophets. He's talking about the old covenant prophets. and its cornerstone is Jesus. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, Paul says these words.

Very important. He says, now, I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preach to you, which you received in which you stand by which you are being saved if you hold fast to the word that I preached to you unless you believed in vain, for I delivered it to you as of first importance. So he says, the gospel is of first importance. And then look how he describes the gospel, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures

and was buried and was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. That two times, Paul says, in order for us to really understand the gospel that we've got to understand the scriptures. Now, what scriptures is he talking about? Is he talking about the ones that have not been written yet? No, no, no, no, no. He's saying that Jesus died in accordance with the God breathed that word that we know as the Old Testament and the Old Covenant. So don't skip over it.

Dive into it. Meditate upon God's law day and night. Plant yourself in it. Root yourself in it. And Psalm 1 promises that when we do that, that we will be planted by like a tree by streams, of running water, that everything we do will prosper and that God will watch over the righteous. So this is why church, we teach the Bible and we stay rooted in the Bible. The whole thing, the whole council of God.

From the very beginning to the very end, it can all be trusted because it all points us to Jesus. Let's pray. Our good and gracious Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you so much for the gift of your word. we thank you more for the gift of Jesus, but it is by your word that we know what he's done for us. It's by your revealed word that we know who you are. It is by your written word that we know the word. And so, Lord, we thank you. We thank you that we live in a time and a space and a place where we can do devotionals, we can have access to scripture and study materials and all of

that. And let us never take it for granted. From Genesis to Revelation, it was all breathed out through you, by you, and it is useful for every day in our life because it points us to Jesus on every page. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks.