Birth of Jesus Foretold

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:04.400 Our heavenly Father. We thank you that you have sent forth your word, 2 00:00:04.440 --> 00:00:10.640 and that that word has been like a light shining in the darkness and overcoming 3 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:17.519 it and sending forth your son the work um of flourishing, the work of 4 00:00:17.640 --> 00:00:22.879 life, the work of salvation. These things have um not been done in 5 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:29.879 vain, These things from above, these things of light and life, these 6 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:37.240 things that are um according to your will, and um established even before the 7 00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:43.039 world was was established. They have come to pass. We have seen them. 8 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:49.000 Then we testify to them. We are learning to love them. We 9 00:00:49.079 --> 00:00:53.560 asked that you would continue this revelation here today through the reading and preaching of 10 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:57.840 your word. We asked Lord that you would help us to hear it rightly, 11 00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:00.320 that I would preach it rightly, and that by it we would come 12 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:06.040 to know and love you more and more. We pray this in the name 13 00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:11.480 of the Word of Jesus Christ, our Savior. I'm man what we just 14 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:15.640 sang from Luke one, where it's here a little bit more of Luke chapter 15 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:19.280 one. Now, if you would turn your attention with me to Luke chapter 16 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:33.000 one through seven, or thirty seven, Luke one through thirty seven, because 17 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:36.799 you know I've been preaching through Titus UM, and I I am looking forward 18 00:01:36.840 --> 00:01:42.760 to returning there. I'm at the new year in January. UM. This 19 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:49.480 week I'm going to preach here on the birth of Jesus foretold. UM. 20 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:53.280 Pastor Charards dou Charard is going to be preaching next week UM, while I 21 00:01:53.400 --> 00:01:57.680 visit some family, and then the following week Christmas morning. A right, 22 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:05.799 we'll all gather here for worship and UM here about the birth of Christ foretold 23 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:13.479 and then revealed our Lord. Come, let's hear God's word Luke, chapter 24 00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:20.800 one verse. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God 25 00:02:20.840 --> 00:02:25.479 to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man 26 00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:30.080 whose name was Joseph of the House of David. And the virgin's name was 27 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:36.400 Mary. And he came to her and said, greetings, oh favored one, 28 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:40.039 the Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at the saying, 29 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:46.000 and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the 30 00:02:46.039 --> 00:02:49.800 Angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have 31 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:54.919 found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and 32 00:02:55.039 --> 00:03:00.919 bear a son. And you shall call his name Jesus. He will be 33 00:03:00.039 --> 00:03:05.800 great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High. And 34 00:03:05.879 --> 00:03:09.360 the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. And 35 00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:14.919 he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there 36 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:17.840 will be no end. And Mary said to the Angel, how will this 37 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:23.520 be, since I am a virgin? And the Angel answered her, the 38 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:29.159 Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will 39 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:32.360 overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be borne will be called Holy, 40 00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:38.000 the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth, in her old 41 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:43.120 age, has also conceived, and this in the sixth month. And this 42 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:46.840 is the sixth month with her who was called Baron. For nothing will be 43 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:52.520 impossible with God. And Mary said, behold, I am the servant of 44 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:55.080 the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word. And 45 00:03:55.159 --> 00:04:24.040 the Angel departed from her, Amen, please be seated. When this passage, 46 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:30.519 God reveals to us the identity of Jesus. God reveals to us the 47 00:04:30.600 --> 00:04:39.480 identity of Jesus. Who people are. That matters a great deal, all 48 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:45.399 right. We talk a lot about knowing each other, um even knowing ourselves. 49 00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:48.720 Sometimes there are surprises in this right. There's a lot of UM literature 50 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:54.439 and movies in which the great reveal is the identity of of a person. 51 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:59.800 Right, Luke, I am your father. Right these sort of there's a 52 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:05.600 There are stories in which the whole premise is built on who someone is or 53 00:05:05.639 --> 00:05:13.120 the relationship between these these things. I have a friend who UM later in 54 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:17.639 her life, found out that she was adopted. I have known people who 55 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:23.639 thought their friends were one way and they turned out to be another, sometimes 56 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:30.560 much worse than they thought, sometimes much better than they thought. A lot 57 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:34.160 of times, when we um get close to people UM in marriage and friendship, 58 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:41.480 we come to discover things about ourselves. So you didn't even know who 59 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:46.680 we are in ourselves. To know ourselves is not necessarily an easy thing. 60 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:50.680 And so if we don't fully understand our friends, our spouses, are co 61 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:56.839 workers, even ourselves, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to us 62 00:05:56.879 --> 00:06:01.720 that we don't fully understand Jesus, that we have misunderstandings about him, that 63 00:06:01.720 --> 00:06:05.920 that we don't know him fully, that we don't appreciate him fully, even 64 00:06:05.959 --> 00:06:12.240 if we've known him for a very long time. This shouldn't be a controversial 65 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:15.839 point. I think I think it would be a very prideful thing to think 66 00:06:15.879 --> 00:06:21.480 that, while not understanding myself, I can fully and easily understand Jesus, 67 00:06:23.279 --> 00:06:28.000 who is the son of the Most High, who is born of a virgin 68 00:06:29.160 --> 00:06:35.759 things that are mysterious and wonderful and in some ways impossible to understand, at 69 00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:46.560 least as finite human being. The good news is that God wants us to 70 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:51.680 understand who Jesus is. God wants us to know him and to grow in 71 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:56.959 the knowledge of him. We all have misunderstandings, we all have blind spots, 72 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:00.240 we all have things that we don't fully appreciate and full trust. And 73 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:05.839 so God gives us his word like a friend. He tells us about himself 74 00:07:05.879 --> 00:07:11.160 and reveals himself to us truly, and he's a friend that we find out 75 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:15.519 is much better than we fall thought. The more that we come to understand 76 00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:17.839 him, the more that we come to know him, the more we appreciate 77 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:25.360 him and even hopefully praise him and trust him and love him. In a 78 00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:30.240 passage like this where Jesus is revealed, where this son that is to be 79 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:35.759 born of Mary is revealed who he actually is, who this child will be, 80 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:44.199 we are reminded and persuaded and taught, perhaps for the first time, 81 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:48.360 perhaps in a new way. We're in a greater way who Jesus is. 82 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:54.079 And it's my prayer that if you already know who Jesus is, if you 83 00:07:54.120 --> 00:07:58.399 already follow him, that you the end of the sermon, at the end 84 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:03.879 of our service today will know better we love him more. And if you 85 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:09.879 don't know Jesus is, I'm very very excited to introduce him to you through 86 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:16.000 this passage here in Luke. So let's consider God's word and consider the ways 87 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:22.000 in which we come to know who who Jesus is. Well, just to 88 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:28.839 recap what happens here, Gabriel, an angel of the Lord, is sent 89 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:31.639 and I love how he sent. Just as a side note, he was 90 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:39.879 sent from God. And Gabriel didn't just wander around in the world right with 91 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:43.840 a sort of vague message not sure who to send it to. It's very 92 00:08:43.879 --> 00:08:48.519 specific. Gabriel sent from God to a city in gallery Galilee. Its name 93 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:52.240 was Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph. 94 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:56.840 You this sort of heavenly perspective and then just zoom zoom, you know, 95 00:08:56.919 --> 00:09:00.279 like um, you know, a map right on your phone, and you're 96 00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:07.679 zooming in Galilee Nazareth Mary right, and there she is, and Gabriel comes 97 00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:13.759 to her. He comes to this very specific person on whom the Lord has 98 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:18.840 shown his favor. He's going to greatly bless her. He has bestowed he 99 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:26.480 is grace on her. And he comes to her and he says to her, 100 00:09:26.519 --> 00:09:31.799 greetings, oh favored one, the Lord is with you. It is 101 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:35.919 a mess. It is a message right away that to us, at least 102 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:41.200 in hindsight, sounds like good news. It seems that to marry it. 103 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:45.720 It wasn't received exactly that way at first, or at least she didn't know 104 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:50.679 how to receive it. And we read that she was greatly troubled at hearing 105 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:56.399 that greetings, oh favored one, the Lord is with you, says she 106 00:09:56.519 --> 00:10:01.879 was. She was troubled at that saying, and she tried to discern what 107 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:07.919 kind of greeting this would be on this um, you know, trying to 108 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:11.759 think, you know, why would she be troubled? Um. Perhaps there 109 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:15.440 are other explanations. I'd love to talk to you about this, but my 110 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:18.840 my best guess is that she felt like I kind of feel when my kids 111 00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:24.720 school calls you know, hello, Mr Cholpka, Hello, Why are you 112 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:30.240 calling me? Right? There's this sense of, uh is there something wrong? 113 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:33.080 Right? Even though there might be a greetings and we'd like to talk 114 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:35.919 with you for a moment, you sort of take a deep breath and you 115 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:39.120 wonder, Oh, it's about to happen, or the doctor's office or the 116 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:43.559 bank or uh. You know, this is the police department. We're happy 117 00:10:43.559 --> 00:10:46.000 to we'd like to talk with you for a moment. Yes, what kind 118 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:50.639 of greeting might this be? I think this happens when when we are under 119 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:54.720 the authority of others and were submissive to them in some way or another. 120 00:10:54.840 --> 00:11:00.399 Right, when an authority figure comes and speaks to us, we we under 121 00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:05.279 what kind of message this will be, even if it's a greeting, uh, 122 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:09.080 and a powerful one like this. All the more so when it comes 123 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:13.360 to us from the Lord God, an angel coming to us and with the 124 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:18.679 authority of God. Even with this this good news. When we come, 125 00:11:20.360 --> 00:11:24.320 the closer we come into contact with the Lord, whether it is through his 126 00:11:24.440 --> 00:11:28.320 servants like this, through his word as we read it throughout the week, 127 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:31.399 the closer we come to him, the more we understand him. Often the 128 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:37.919 more we feel the weight of our sins the more we realize how different we 129 00:11:37.960 --> 00:11:41.279 are from him, how awesome and holy, how set apart he is. 130 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:48.159 Remember Isaiah when he was caught up into the heavenly places, right to receive 131 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:52.399 this calling to to be a prophet? He he says, woe is me 132 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:56.799 right? I am a man of unclean lips, among the people of unclean 133 00:11:56.919 --> 00:12:03.480 lips. When God, when Moses came to the burning bush, he was 134 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:05.840 told to take his shoes off, for he was on the holy ground. 135 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:13.960 The message to her was good news, though, and God, in his 136 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:20.039 grace reassures her, and he says to her, do not be afraid. 137 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:26.720 Mary. Maybe some of you find yourself afraid of the good news of the 138 00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:31.559 Gospel. Yes, you know it's good news. Yes you've heard amazing grace. 139 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:35.200 You you know those ideas you've thought about that. But when you when 140 00:12:35.240 --> 00:12:41.759 you think about the God of all universe, the God who has given the 141 00:12:41.840 --> 00:12:46.200 law, the God who requires all holiness of us, coming to you and 142 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:50.879 saying I love you and I want to be close to you, maybe there 143 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:56.799 is something in you like it was and Mary, maybe there's some fear there. 144 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:00.679 Well. The Lord says to you, what he's says to Mary, 145 00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:05.200 do not be afraid when he comes to us in his grace. We don't 146 00:13:05.240 --> 00:13:11.879 need to be afraid, but we can boldly and confidently embrace him and the 147 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:16.039 good news of that message as it comes to us in Christ. And that 148 00:13:16.200 --> 00:13:22.639 message is now declared to us in these following verses, particularly through a set 149 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:30.000 of identifications or names. Maybe you heard the first one you shall call his 150 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:33.559 name, or his name shall be the name of him, will be a 151 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:39.799 Jesus. There's actually a lot of identifications and callings. I'm in this passage 152 00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:45.360 and I want to go through those with you now, and as we do, 153 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:50.600 I would encourage you not to be afraid, but to trust and praise 154 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:58.399 and rejoice. The first one, the first thing that we hear about Jesus 155 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:01.480 is that Mary will bear a son. This is what he says to her, 156 00:14:03.080 --> 00:14:07.639 She shall have a son. This teaches us that Jesus is a human 157 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:15.639 being and not a generic human. I can't even imagine what that would be, 158 00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:20.759 right, a generic human um some sort of human form, even a 159 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:24.919 human form wouldn't be human. Right, Because a human has an identity, 160 00:14:24.039 --> 00:14:28.440 a human has a personality. It's not just a blob or a mannequin, 161 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:35.960 or a robot or something. There's no such thing as a humanity in an 162 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:39.480 individual form. There is only as a creature. There is only a human 163 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:45.399 being. And that's who Jesus will be. He will be born of a 164 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:52.720 specific human person, Mary. He is Mary's son. He will be conceived, 165 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:56.519 he will be born, he will be named, just as all of 166 00:14:56.600 --> 00:15:05.039 us were and is. The that Jesus is fully human is confirmed by many, 167 00:15:05.080 --> 00:15:09.240 many other passages of scripture in many ways. I'll give you just to 168 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:13.440 this morning. John one fourteen. We read that the word a way of 169 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:22.799 describing Jesus was made flesh, flesh and Hebrews to fourteen. He also himself, 170 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:30.240 likewise took part of the same, same, what same nature, by 171 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:35.879 partaking of flesh and blood like you and me. So Mary would bear a 172 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:39.159 son, not a mannequin, not a robot, not an idea, not 173 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:46.039 a feeling, a son, a son with a name. He was a 174 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:52.320 different kind of man, though, particularly as we see here in his birth. 175 00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:58.919 His birth, though he was truly human, was a miraculous birth. 176 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:03.480 Now, as you all know, normally, human life, and as Mary 177 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:07.399 knew as well, human life is produced through the joining of a male and 178 00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:11.559 a female. And God produces children this way all the time. Right, 179 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:18.039 there are billions of us right that he has produced this way. He uses 180 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:25.360 normal means according to his normal created order. But just because God uses normal 181 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:30.720 means and we are produced according to our kind in a normal way, that 182 00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:36.440 doesn't mean that God is restricted to that. Right. He's God. Right, 183 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:41.320 he can use normal means and normal operations, and he can use extraordinary 184 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:45.960 means and and extraordinary operations. He does that. For example, with Elizabeth 185 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:49.879 that we read in her old age was barren. She wasn't able to have 186 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:56.039 a child, and yet God produced a child in her um a miraculous thing. 187 00:16:56.679 --> 00:17:00.279 Yes, still the joining of male and female, but past an age 188 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:04.519 where that was possible for her. We have ex other examples of that in 189 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:08.960 scripture as well. Right, sarah Um was unable to produce a child. 190 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:12.799 She laughed when she heard that she was going to have a baby be in 191 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:18.519 my old age. I don't think so, And yes she did. All 192 00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:22.319 right. God uses normal means, but he doesn't have to use them. 193 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:26.279 He's God, he's not bound to them. And we have actually other examples 194 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:33.880 of human beings produced outside of normal means even outside of the joining of male 195 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:41.200 and female, who am I talking about? Yeah, Adam. Adam, 196 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:47.119 a real human being out of which all of humanity came to be, was 197 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:52.880 formed out of what dust. If God can form Adam out of the dust 198 00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:57.799 of the ground, surely he can form a child in the womb of Mary 199 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:03.960 out of whatever he wants. I don't know exactly what he used or how 200 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:07.200 he used it. He doesn't tell us, but he's did it, and 201 00:18:07.240 --> 00:18:11.400 he certainly can. And just as Adam, and we might add Eve as 202 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:15.000 well, who was formed out of a rib from Adam's body, just as 203 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:21.400 God can produce the beginning of all humanity and all of humanity flowing from these 204 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:26.519 two very real human beings, he can do it again, and he does 205 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:36.480 in Jesus. This makes Jesus different than John, different than Isaac, and 206 00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:41.920 it marks him as human like Adam, but also kind of a new Adam. 207 00:18:42.079 --> 00:18:47.519 Right, Jesus becomes he is marked here as as this one who has 208 00:18:47.559 --> 00:18:52.519 this miraculous birth, as one who represents a new humanity, a new beginning, 209 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:57.440 who will represent a new humanity, a new beginning. And Scripture actually 210 00:18:57.480 --> 00:19:03.880 talks about Jesus this way in Romans five, and in First Corinthians fifteen he's 211 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:08.720 called a second Adam, and he is compared to Adam, and in various 212 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:12.799 ways. We'll save that for another time. The point here is just now 213 00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:19.839 that Jesus is truly human, and he is born in this he and he 214 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:26.279 becomes human in this very miraculous way. It shows us his place and his 215 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:32.640 importance in the history of the world, and it reminds us that God is 216 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:41.160 at work. Next we come to his name, Jesus, the precious, 217 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:47.880 wonderful name of Jesus. Now, the name of Jesus, like his humanity, 218 00:19:48.039 --> 00:19:55.680 is both ordinary and special. It's a Greek version of Yeshua or Yashua 219 00:19:56.039 --> 00:20:03.200 or Joshua, a common Jewish name common used frequently. We see it in 220 00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:07.640 both the New Testament and the Old Testament. We have lots of examples of 221 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:14.240 it outside of Um, outside of the Bible as well. But though it's 222 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:22.119 a common Jewish name, still used commonly in various forms UM today, I'm 223 00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:26.240 Joshua, included Jesus, Jesus, and many many others. Many of the 224 00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:33.359 versions of this it's also very special. Even though it's a common name. 225 00:20:33.880 --> 00:20:42.240 It means yahweh is salvation, and that's a very special thing. He has 226 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:48.920 given a name that points to his significance. He will be the savior of 227 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:53.519 his people. It also points to the one on whom he probably the most 228 00:20:53.839 --> 00:21:00.440 famous Bible or Joshua in the Bible and the most famous other most famous Joshua 229 00:21:00.440 --> 00:21:04.039 in the world, the Joshua the Old Testament, who would bring to completion 230 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:11.119 that work of exodus of God's people. He would bring Jesus would bring us 231 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:15.440 out of darkness like Moses brought his people out of Egypt. But he would 232 00:21:15.480 --> 00:21:22.759 also bring his people into the Promised Land, as Joshua did. Moses died 233 00:21:22.119 --> 00:21:27.480 before entering the Promised Land. Joshua took that ministry in that office of Moses 234 00:21:27.640 --> 00:21:33.160 and continued it on. Jesus does both. He is both the Moses and 235 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:37.759 the Joshua. And that includes, by the way, perhaps the thing Joshua 236 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:44.480 was most famous for, which is the defeat of the enemies, the salvation 237 00:21:44.599 --> 00:21:52.160 that comes Yahweh's salvation, the salvation that comes would become would come. I'm 238 00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:57.599 demonstrate a power over the powers that are arrayed against God and his people. 239 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:03.759 We read and call Ushings two fifteen for example, that Jesus disarmed the rulers 240 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:10.720 and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in himself. 241 00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:15.680 Not amazing. So when you think and you read about the Old Testament, 242 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:19.359 when you read about the battle at Jericho, right, for example, and 243 00:22:19.400 --> 00:22:23.440 the walls came tumbling down, right, and you think about all of the 244 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:27.480 different battles that Joshua fought, and the way that the enemies when in the 245 00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:30.519 hand, when Joshua was in the hands of the Lord, they just fell, 246 00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:34.039 they fell, they were It was like he almost had to do nothing. 247 00:22:36.200 --> 00:22:41.599 Blow the trumpets of judgment and right, same thing. When Jesus comes, 248 00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:48.400 he comes oftentimes in surprising ways. He comes in weakness, he comes 249 00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:53.880 in humility. He comes and he just conquers sin, He just conquers death, 250 00:22:55.000 --> 00:23:00.519 he conquers the devil. It's amazing. So this is Jesus, this 251 00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:04.920 is Joshua. Al right, next week come to verse thirty two, and 252 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:11.079 he will be great. Megas is the Greek word Greek word mega. Right, 253 00:23:11.279 --> 00:23:15.039 he is great, He will be great, he will be called great. 254 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:21.759 This greatness here most likely refers to his pre eminence in all things. 255 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:27.200 Of course, according to his divinity, we read that John write, his 256 00:23:27.319 --> 00:23:32.799 cousin, who has prophesied about here as well, once he is born and 257 00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:41.160 comes and becomes John right the Baptist later on that that prophet John, speaking 258 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:48.359 about his cousin, says in John one we read John testified about Jesus, 259 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:52.079 and he cried out, saying, this is he of whom I said, 260 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:56.720 He who comes after me has a higher, a greater rank than the one. 261 00:23:56.519 --> 00:24:04.440 Then I why because as he existed before me. John, his older 262 00:24:04.519 --> 00:24:12.799 cousin by six months or something like that, says he existed before me. 263 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:22.279 How can he say that when he knows full well as his mother and his 264 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:29.400 aunt would testify to that Jesus was conceived after himself, because he knows that 265 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:33.880 Jesus is the Lamb of God, who is sent by God, who is 266 00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:40.200 God, who came to take away the sins of the world. An amazing 267 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:47.400 confession of faith behalf of John. The Baptists. Jesus is great according to 268 00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:56.000 his divinity, he is God, but also according to his humanity. People 269 00:24:56.759 --> 00:25:02.759 picked up on this, We might say John eight fifty three, um nay, 270 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:07.160 sayers say, surely you are not greater than our father Abraham, who 271 00:25:07.240 --> 00:25:11.960 died the prophets died to who do you make yourself out to be? People 272 00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:21.559 perceived his greatness in well all kinds of ways, his miracles, his teaching, 273 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:29.039 he spoke with authority um the way in which he he loved and cared 274 00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:34.160 and pitied, the wisdom with which he carried himself and lived his whole life. 275 00:25:36.440 --> 00:25:41.240 Who is this Jesus, they wondered, And that greatness of him would 276 00:25:41.240 --> 00:25:45.319 be made known. Jesus prophesies in Matthew twelve, and he says, the 277 00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:51.200 Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will 278 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:55.200 condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the 279 00:25:55.200 --> 00:25:59.680 wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon. Is here. 280 00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:03.759 He's referencing this time when the great king Solomon, the son of David, 281 00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:10.720 was visited by the by the Queen of Sheba. The Queen of Sheba comes 282 00:26:10.759 --> 00:26:14.799 and she's amazed at the wisdom of Solomon, the greatness of his power, 283 00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:18.920 the the the extent of his wealth, the extent of his wisdom. She's 284 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:26.359 just blown away. And Jesus says, she will rise up with this generation 285 00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:30.960 at the judgment, and she will say something greater than Solomon is here. 286 00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:40.400 Jesus will be shown to be the great one, the greatest one. And 287 00:26:40.440 --> 00:26:49.240 I love this passage later in John's life after he is um, Um, 288 00:26:51.799 --> 00:26:56.920 I'm sorry. Later, not in John's life, Um, but in Um 289 00:26:56.079 --> 00:27:00.640 John the apostles life. Um. He has his vision, the different John. 290 00:27:00.680 --> 00:27:06.519 And he says in Revelation five twelve, seeing hearing the voices in in 291 00:27:06.640 --> 00:27:11.559 heaven, he hears them saying with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb 292 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:18.079 who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and 293 00:27:18.119 --> 00:27:26.920 glory and blessing. He will be called great, not just by those here 294 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:33.240 on earth, but the angels, Gabriel and others surrounding the throne of the 295 00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:37.599 Lamb, singing out with a loud voice, worthy as the lamb who was 296 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:45.119 slain, slain, died to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and 297 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:49.759 glory and honor and blessing. Alright, continuing on, Not only is he 298 00:27:49.839 --> 00:27:53.359 great, are Jesus? He is called the son of the most High. 299 00:27:53.920 --> 00:27:59.039 Now there's only one who is most high, and that is God alone. 300 00:27:59.759 --> 00:28:03.680 And God, as we know from the scriptures, is not most high by 301 00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:11.759 just degree, but qualitatively different, a different degree, a different kind of 302 00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:18.160 greatness. Why he is holy, he is set apart you. You can't 303 00:28:18.240 --> 00:28:22.359 just sort of extend humanity out and find to the highest point and say, 304 00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:26.920 okay, that's God. No, you extend humanity out to the highest point 305 00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:30.599 and then you make a hard line break, and then you put something above 306 00:28:30.680 --> 00:28:37.599 that and a whole other category and you say that's God. This distinction between 307 00:28:37.599 --> 00:28:44.240 the creator and the creature is not just a spectrum. God is not a 308 00:28:44.319 --> 00:28:52.359 creature. He is unto himself. He is the most High, above the 309 00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:56.960 heavens, above the earth, the one who made them and all that is 310 00:28:56.960 --> 00:29:03.119 in them, the one through whom all all things exist and are upheld. 311 00:29:03.799 --> 00:29:11.839 And this one, this Jesus, is the son of the most High. 312 00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:18.200 Act says, the most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, 313 00:29:18.519 --> 00:29:29.359 quoting Solomon Mark five seven. A demon says, crying out with a loud 314 00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:32.640 voice, what have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the 315 00:29:32.680 --> 00:29:37.680 Most High God? I adjure you, by God, do not torment me. 316 00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:44.680 Jesus as the son of the most High. We see is identified in 317 00:29:44.759 --> 00:29:49.240 these passages and in this language as both being what we say consubstantial with the 318 00:29:49.319 --> 00:29:55.599 Father, meaning that he and the Father are together with the Holy Spirit, 319 00:29:55.799 --> 00:30:00.160 one God, one God, the Most High God. It is also distinct 320 00:30:00.279 --> 00:30:07.079 from the Father in his relationship with them. How well, from here, 321 00:30:07.079 --> 00:30:11.359 in other passages in the Word, we read that he is eternally begotten. 322 00:30:12.200 --> 00:30:18.200 He has begotten of Mary. Yes, according to his humanity, but according 323 00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:23.960 to his divinity, he is also begotten, but eternally. So Jesus doesn't 324 00:30:25.079 --> 00:30:30.519 come into being at some point in time. He always is coming. Uh, 325 00:30:30.599 --> 00:30:34.359 he is always being in some sense or other, of the Father, 326 00:30:36.079 --> 00:30:41.359 eternally begotten. It's difficult for us to understand these things because we only know 327 00:30:41.519 --> 00:30:47.920 things in the sense of time, and so our language here meets its limits. 328 00:30:48.440 --> 00:30:53.480 And we are simply trying to express the language and the grammar that God 329 00:30:53.559 --> 00:31:00.240 himself has revealed to us, that we might praise him and that we might 330 00:31:00.279 --> 00:31:04.480 know him as we are, that we might say, at the bare minimum 331 00:31:04.480 --> 00:31:08.720 with the demons, that Jesus is the son of the Most High, and 332 00:31:08.759 --> 00:31:15.160 hopefully even more than that, put our faith in him and trust him and 333 00:31:15.240 --> 00:31:22.000 love him as the son of God. Finally, and I'll conclude with this, 334 00:31:22.079 --> 00:31:27.480 as we think about the identity of our savior Jesus, son of Mary, 335 00:31:29.400 --> 00:31:38.799 a human, a divine great that he will also be. He will 336 00:31:38.839 --> 00:31:44.000 also um. He will also be the son of David. We read that 337 00:31:44.119 --> 00:31:47.279 he um here and this is verse thirty two. The Lord God will give 338 00:31:47.319 --> 00:31:52.359 to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the 339 00:31:52.359 --> 00:31:57.440 House of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom. There will be no end 340 00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:05.920 here. Uh. The I almost said, prophet, but that would work 341 00:32:06.119 --> 00:32:08.680 right. The messenger, this prophet, this this one who comes to speak 342 00:32:08.720 --> 00:32:16.319 the word of the Lord Angel Gabriel. He brings to our minds various passages 343 00:32:16.359 --> 00:32:24.920 in the Old Testament in which a certain person is promised, particularly a son 344 00:32:25.039 --> 00:32:30.680 of David, who would be given a throne that would last forever. You 345 00:32:30.680 --> 00:32:36.960 remember, David wanted at David um wanted at one point to build a house 346 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:39.559 for the Lord, a temple, and the Lord said, no, However, 347 00:32:39.799 --> 00:32:45.400 I will establish your kingdom forever through a son of yours who will build 348 00:32:45.400 --> 00:32:50.279 a temple for me, and and as he and if he obeys me, 349 00:32:50.359 --> 00:32:52.319 and if he follows me, and if he does all that I have called 350 00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:58.440 him to do, of his kingdom, there will be no end. Now, 351 00:32:58.799 --> 00:33:01.240 remember Solomon that we about a moment ago from the queen of the South, 352 00:33:01.680 --> 00:33:06.920 Queen of Sheba. And it seemed for a time that Solomon would be 353 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:08.880 that one. He was a son of David. He built a temple to 354 00:33:08.920 --> 00:33:15.079 the Lord. He was great in so many ways, but he did not 355 00:33:15.200 --> 00:33:21.240 follow the Lord in every way. In fact, in some very significant ways, 356 00:33:21.279 --> 00:33:25.400 he fell from the Lord, and from those sins, generation after generation 357 00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:34.200 of Israel fell. The House of Jacob was eventually exiled, the temple was 358 00:33:34.279 --> 00:33:39.440 destroyed. The holy spirit that overshadows Mary here lifted up out of the temple 359 00:33:39.680 --> 00:33:45.440 and left, and God sent his people away this land which Joshua had brought 360 00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:51.880 them into. Now they were exiled from some ways that the scripture speaks about 361 00:33:51.920 --> 00:33:58.480 it as the land vomiting them out. It's a pretty graphic image for those 362 00:33:58.480 --> 00:34:05.319 of you who may have been sick late right in your bathrooms, feeling very 363 00:34:05.400 --> 00:34:10.119 uncomfortable. It's a gross thing. It's the thing that you want to end. 364 00:34:10.119 --> 00:34:15.920 And that's how the land is pictured, just expelling forcefully, getting rid 365 00:34:15.960 --> 00:34:21.639 of this vile thing that was inside of it. And what was that thing 366 00:34:21.920 --> 00:34:30.920 that had to be expelled and ejected? The house of Jacob, the kingdom 367 00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:39.679 of Solomon, David's people. For a while it seemed as off all hope 368 00:34:39.719 --> 00:34:45.440 would be lost. There were times where hope was promised and it came in 369 00:34:45.480 --> 00:34:47.800 a way. The people were brought back in the temple would be built. 370 00:34:47.800 --> 00:34:53.199 But at the time of Jesus, here who's reigning in the temple. Who's 371 00:34:53.440 --> 00:35:00.159 who's leading God's people? This one who was about to commit in fantasize herod 372 00:35:01.679 --> 00:35:07.880 and priests and rulers who are making back room deals and and and caring only 373 00:35:07.920 --> 00:35:19.400 in all about political power and their authority in their place. This kingdom that 374 00:35:19.519 --> 00:35:24.760 was promised has not come about yet. And now an angel is sent from 375 00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:30.519 God, comes to this marriage, comes to Mary, comes to Joseph, 376 00:35:30.559 --> 00:35:35.639 comes to the house of David through this couple, and says to them, 377 00:35:35.679 --> 00:35:40.880 don't be afraid, because the sun is here. Your son will be the 378 00:35:42.119 --> 00:35:49.079 son and his kingdom will have no end. It also points to those prophecies 379 00:35:49.079 --> 00:35:52.360 and Daniel, in which there was a kingdom that would come and smash all 380 00:35:52.400 --> 00:35:59.000 the kingdoms of this earth and be established as a kingdom that would be forever. 381 00:36:00.119 --> 00:36:05.400 That one. That individual who does those things is called and Daniel the 382 00:36:05.440 --> 00:36:09.519 son of Man, and it's the chief way Jesus used to describe himself throughout 383 00:36:09.559 --> 00:36:21.599 the Gospels. This is who Jesus is. This is who Jesus is. 384 00:36:22.480 --> 00:36:27.719 Jesus is the son of David. He is the one to come. He 385 00:36:27.880 --> 00:36:31.480 is the one to establish the kingdom of God forever, the House of David, 386 00:36:31.559 --> 00:36:35.760 the House of Jacob, to be a light to the nations and a 387 00:36:35.840 --> 00:36:42.360 salvation to the world. He is the most high God. He is Yahweh. 388 00:36:42.400 --> 00:36:45.239 He is the one. He is the Joshua. He is the one 389 00:36:45.280 --> 00:36:50.920 who comes into the world to save and bring salvation. He's the one who 390 00:36:50.920 --> 00:36:55.280 brings the people out of the slavery of Egypt and the slavery of sin and 391 00:36:55.320 --> 00:37:01.679 slavery to the devil, and sets us free. M He is great, 392 00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:09.960 he is divine, and he is human. He takes on flesh and blood 393 00:37:10.760 --> 00:37:19.599 and becomes great in the most unusual way by becoming a servant, by suffering 394 00:37:20.239 --> 00:37:24.079 and dying. You would think of this one of who, this great Joshua, 395 00:37:24.199 --> 00:37:28.840 this kingdom, Who, this king who would establish a kingdom that has 396 00:37:28.920 --> 00:37:35.519 no end, would come through Mary's womb out into the world in a blazing 397 00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:44.079 glory and just vanquish everything immediately, but he doesn't. He's born in a 398 00:37:44.159 --> 00:37:49.559 manger. He is suffered in this world. He suffers in this world, 399 00:37:49.599 --> 00:37:58.719 and eventually he's crucified on a cross. And God does that not to show 400 00:37:58.800 --> 00:38:02.960 that Jesus is great, is not great, but to show that he has 401 00:38:04.119 --> 00:38:09.639 the greatness of God. In Jesus. God confounds the wisdom and the power 402 00:38:09.719 --> 00:38:15.400 of this world by accomplishing the greatest things that have ever been done in the 403 00:38:15.440 --> 00:38:24.239 world through the weakest, as most humblest ends. In Elizabeth, she's barren. 404 00:38:25.920 --> 00:38:30.920 She's not the most fertile woman whoever was. She's barren. And in 405 00:38:31.079 --> 00:38:37.440 Mary she doesn't even have a husband. She is a virgin. And she 406 00:38:37.480 --> 00:38:42.840 says, how will this be? And how does God respond? He says, 407 00:38:43.480 --> 00:38:46.760 the Holy Spirit will come upon you. The power of the most High 408 00:38:46.800 --> 00:38:52.400 will overshadow you. Therefore the child will be born, will be called Holy, 409 00:38:52.079 --> 00:38:59.119 the Son of God. And then regarding Elizabeth, she will have this 410 00:38:59.239 --> 00:39:02.639 child in her own old age. And then he says, nothing will be 411 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:10.719 impossible with God. Jesus is who he is because he's God, and he 412 00:39:10.880 --> 00:39:16.280 comes in the way that he comes, in human flesh, suffering, dying, 413 00:39:16.400 --> 00:39:22.000 and being raised and being seated at the right hand through now whom now 414 00:39:22.039 --> 00:39:27.719 the angels proclaim, and all his glory. He comes in this way to 415 00:39:27.800 --> 00:39:32.000 show us the greatness of God, to show us that our salvation does not 416 00:39:32.159 --> 00:39:40.880 come through anything except through Him, except through God, who is our salvation. 417 00:39:44.360 --> 00:39:46.599 So the question for you, now that you know who Jesus is, 418 00:39:49.719 --> 00:39:54.519 just do you do you really know him? Knowing Jesus is not just about 419 00:39:54.960 --> 00:40:00.119 remembering the right things to say about him, as we've seen even the demons 420 00:40:00.159 --> 00:40:06.360 are able to do that. There's no saving benefit. And simply knowing what 421 00:40:06.559 --> 00:40:10.159 is doctrinally, what is what is true, what is orthodox about Jesus, 422 00:40:14.119 --> 00:40:17.719 truly knowing him, In other words, benefiting from that knowledge. Living in 423 00:40:17.800 --> 00:40:22.440 that knowledge means not just remembering the truth, but living in light of it, 424 00:40:23.679 --> 00:40:31.159 but living in light of it. Wisdom is the application of knowledge. 425 00:40:32.159 --> 00:40:37.719 It's living in light of the truth. And somebody who knows something but doesn't 426 00:40:37.760 --> 00:40:42.920 really live in light of it, we'll often say they don't really get it 427 00:40:44.480 --> 00:40:49.199 right. And sometimes we don't really get it. We have misconceptions about who 428 00:40:49.280 --> 00:40:52.800 Jesus is, We have blind spots, We don't really appreciate the things that 429 00:40:52.880 --> 00:40:59.679 Gabriel says here to marry and to us, But hopefully in light of God's 430 00:40:59.719 --> 00:41:04.639 were today, we appreciate it at least a little bit more, and maybe 431 00:41:04.639 --> 00:41:10.280 for some of you a lot more. Praise be to God. Isn't it 432 00:41:10.400 --> 00:41:16.719 a good thing to know these things, to know that something has changed in 433 00:41:16.800 --> 00:41:22.440 the history of the world, and to know that when we put our trust 434 00:41:22.480 --> 00:41:29.000 in him, we are saved. Knowing Jesus is the son of the host 435 00:41:29.079 --> 00:41:32.400 High, Knowing Jesus is the one who became man. Knowing Jesus is the 436 00:41:32.400 --> 00:41:37.960 one who saved us, and to trust him for that means that we have 437 00:41:37.119 --> 00:41:43.119 life in his name. My prayer for you is that you get to know 438 00:41:43.280 --> 00:41:46.840 him, this one of whom Gabriel speaks, of whom God speaks through his 439 00:41:46.960 --> 00:41:52.599 servant, that you would get to know him better and better and better, 440 00:41:53.760 --> 00:42:00.440 and trust in him more and more and more. Living wise in light of 441 00:42:00.440 --> 00:42:09.199 the truth, in light of the word of God, Let's pray our Father, 442 00:42:09.320 --> 00:42:15.079 thank you for sending your son. Thank you also for giving us the 443 00:42:15.159 --> 00:42:21.199 light of this knowledge, that we might glory in him, that we might 444 00:42:21.320 --> 00:42:24.000 know him, that we might have salvation in him. We asked Lord that 445 00:42:24.039 --> 00:42:30.280 you would put the confession of his name on our lips, that we might 446 00:42:30.360 --> 00:42:37.519 confess our own sins and live perfect live, live up perfectly toward you. 447 00:42:38.800 --> 00:42:43.119 This we cannot do on our own, and this we will never do even 448 00:42:43.239 --> 00:42:47.840 in this life. But one day we will. We will live and truly 449 00:42:47.960 --> 00:42:55.480 live in Him, free from sin, totally free from death, totally free 450 00:42:55.559 --> 00:43:02.159 from the fear of the persecution of the a one, for Josha will have 451 00:43:02.280 --> 00:43:07.159 vanquished all Lord. Until then, we asked that you would help us to 452 00:43:07.159 --> 00:43:12.760 put our faith in Jesus and in Jesus alone. Let nothing else in this 453 00:43:12.880 --> 00:43:17.480 world and in our lives and in our hearts take his place. What could 454 00:43:17.519 --> 00:43:27.559 possibly deserve his place, Nothing and no one, Lord, strengthening us, 455 00:43:27.599 --> 00:43:35.039 strengthened in us a zeal for Jesus Christ to know him, to love him, 456 00:43:35.119 --> 00:43:43.360 and to believe in what is humanly impossible. When we consider our sins, 457 00:43:43.360 --> 00:43:47.440 when we consider our guilt, when we consider our shame, when we 458 00:43:47.639 --> 00:43:52.880 lose, when we feel the pressures of the world around us, when our 459 00:43:52.920 --> 00:43:57.840 minds and our hearts torment us, help us to look to the one who 460 00:43:57.920 --> 00:44:01.400 is above it all, and who is and yet who has come into this 461 00:44:01.559 --> 00:44:07.920 world to save us from it all. Lord, put our faith in Jesus 462 00:44:07.039 --> 00:44:12.679 Christ and in him alone. In his name we pray, Amen.