Jesus The Messiah
The Gospels
Message #10
Our subject today is far, far too big to teach in one session. In fact, I’ll be teaching this subject (in some way) the rest of my life. Jesus – The – Messiah. No bigger subject. No more all-inclusive subject. No other single subject that encompasses all the Bible. Jesus – The – Messiah. We cannot absorb this subject in one message. We can’t fully absorb this subject in a lifetime.
The incarnation, sacrificial death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the absolute fulcrum of human history. All of God’s Word before it – points to it. All of God’s Word after id – spring forth from it. It is the fulcrum, the hinge, the turning point of the history of all of God’s creation. In Jesus Christ, God became man and came to earth himself in order to redeem Mankind. The Great Reconciliation of sinful man to a Holy God is completely fulfilled in Christ. God himself is fulfilling his own plan of redemption IN Jesus the Messiah.
Remember, God wrapped up the Old Testament with two promises to his people. 1). A Messiah and 2). A New Covenant. But when the Old Testament ends, most Israelites are still in exile. Some had returned to the Promised Land and a smaller Temple had been rebuilt, but things were nowhere near the same as the New Testament opens – things had not really improved much for Israel.
Rome now ruled the land. Herod had built a new Temple for the Jews, a kind of a huge remodel to the existing Temple. Israel was worshiping and sacrificing in the Temple again, but they were under Roman rule, and they looked nothing like The Kingdom of God, not in the way they thought the “Kingdom of God” should look anyway. Most of Israel believed God would still restore the Kingdom, but they were deeply divided on the how.
The Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes… they all had radically different ideas on how God was going to make good on his promised, and right into this mess, Jesus Christ was born to a young, humble, “Betrothed” couple from Nazareth… who both happened to be descended from the Line of David. Jesus came into this world in a way that defied every religious group’s expectation. Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes – Jesus defied some part of the assumptions of each of these groups, which should be a strong lesson regarding our own religious assumptions.
Guys, we have got to get to know Jesus for WHO the Bible says he IS. It takes all four Gospels to begin to scratch the surface of who Jesus Christ IS.
MATTHEW shows Him as “King of The Jews”
MARK shows Him as “Servant of the Lord”
LUKE shows His Humanity as “Son of Man”
JOHN shows His Deity as “Son of God”
We most often have new believers read John because of its clear presentation of Jesus as Son of God and Savior. But to get an initial “life changing” overview of the life of Jesus, I recommend a book called The Story of Jesus which is the text of the NIV Bible with all four Gospels put together. It’s the life of Jesus as one seamless story. We’ve got to get a firm grasp on the life of Jesus Christ because it is the turning point of human history!
Regardless of what secular humanists do to our dating system, too late! The world’s calendar turns on the life of Jesus, and we – as his followers – should have a very firm grasp on his life, death, and Resurrection. So, grab The Story of Jesus in the NIV for a compilation of the life of Jesus, or read through the Gospels (in a version you understand) and pray God would reveal to you WHO Jesus Christ really IS.
And what is it that we really need to grasp as we’re learning about the life of Jesus Christ? Is it that he seemed to be a Good Teacher? Or that he had some good ideas (that if mixed with Oprah’s) could really help? In Matthew 16, Jesus asked his Disciples a question for this same reason… so see if they were grasping the highest priority of his life on earth. Jesus was in the Northern Galilee with his Disciples (favorite place). And in Matthew 16, verses 13-15 we read,
Matthew 16:13-15 (ESV)
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
THAT is the highest priority question you will ever be asked in your life.
WHO do YOU say Jesus Christ is?
And in the next verse, Peter gets it right (highest priority).
Matthew 16:16 (ESV)
16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
In Hebrew – You are the MESSIAH
Peter is saying to Jesus, you are the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises. You are the One Promised from God. The One who will fulfill and accomplish God’s plan. THIS is the purpose of the Gospels… to show us the Messiah – the Christ – has come from God – to fulfill God’s plan. In fact, at the end of John’s gospel, John says there were many signs done by Jesus Christ that could not be included. And then he says in John 20, verse 31,
John 20:31 (ESV)
31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John’s gospel and the other Gospels have been written that you may believe that Jesus IS the Christ (Messiah) and that BY believing you may have LIFE in his name.
Now, the tipping point, the final word on this… is that the Gospels show us clearly that Jesus was both fully man and fully God because ultimately, we realize that no earthly man could ever be God’s Messiah. Jesus was fully man – Matthew traces his family tree back to Abraham. Luke traces his family tree back to Adam.
Hebrews 4:15 says Jesus was tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sin.
The Gospels say Jesus grew hungry, and tired, and he wept. The pain he felt at every step of the way to the Cross was just as one hundred percent real as if you were experiencing the same pain yourself.
Jesus was FULLY MAN and
Jesus was FULLY GOD.
John Chapter 1 explains that Jesus did NOT begin his existence at birth, but that he has always existed. One of John’s favorite names for Jesus is The Word. LOGOS – literally God in Expression (Jesus IS the Word). And John 1, verses 1-4 say this,
John 1:1-4 (NLT)
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.
And then John 1, verse 14 says,
John 1:14 (NLT)
14 So the Word (God in expression) became human and made his home among us . . .
Jesus Christ is GOD in the flesh. Now, there is only ONE God and the Bible teaches he exists as three distinct Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ONE God – three Persons! And Jesus is God in the Flesh, and the four Gospels give us the divine picture of Jesus AS God in the Flesh.
We can look at the entire Bible, and it seems so clear – in Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s Plan of Redemption. But in spite of the undeniable miracles and proofs, still the Jewish religious community (for the most part) rejected Jesus as the Messiah. Their self-focus and their religious confidence blinded them to who Jesus Christ really was and we need to be careful we don’t suffer the same blindness. Their blindness didn’t come from not hearing the truth but refusing to believe the truth like so many people today. Jesus didn’t hide who he was – he made it pretty clear, and like today, it was the hardness of the people’s hearts that kept them from believing – NOT the lack of evidence.
In Luke 24, after the Resurrection, Jesus reminded his Disciples,
Luke 24:44 (NLT)
44 . . . “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
The Old Testament (that the Jews call the Law and the Prophets) made it perfectly clear WHO the Messiah would be. And when his Disciples were unsure about the way things were going, Jesus told them all that’s written about me in the Law – the Prophets – (and the Psalms)… it all must be fulfilled. Every prophecy must be fulfilled.
The Greek version of the Old Testament (Septuagint) was finished (in writing) in 270 BC (two hundred seventy years before Christ). In the Septuagint there are three hundred prophecies about the coming Messiah’s life on earth, and Jesus Christ fulfilled every single one of those prophecies written two hundred seventy years before his birth. To try to get an idea how big that is, let’s take just eight of the Old Testament prophesies Jesus fulfilled during his life.
In Micah 5:2, the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
In Zechariah 9:9, the King would be presented to Israel on a donkey. The exact day, by the way, is given in Daniel 9:25, and Jesus’ Triumphal Entry was on that exact day.
In Zechariah 11:12, the Messiah would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver.
Zechariah 11:13, it says the betrayal will occur in the Temple, but the money will end up in a potter’s field.
Zechariah 13:6 says he’ll have wounds in his hands.
Isaiah 53 says he’ll be charged with a capital crime and plead no defense
And Isaiah 53 says he’ll die with criminals, but be buried with the rich.
Psalm 22 was written seven hundred years before the crucifixion was invented, describes the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in exact detail.
To figure out what the chances are of ONE person fulfilling just eight of these prophecies, you have to use composite probability because these eight events have to occur one on top of the other.
Chuck Missler has done the math for us. He says the chance of one person on earth meeting these eight composite prophecies is 1 to 10 to the 17th power.
How do we grasp that? Missler says the best way to get a picture of this is to imagine a bowl filled with silver dollars and one of the silver dollars has a mark on it. The chances of Jesus Christ meeting these eight composite probabilities are the same chances of you reaching in that bowl and grabbing that one marked silver dollar.
Now, the only question is, how big does the bowl have to be to fit this number of silver dollars 10 to the 17th power? The bowl has to be the size of Texas, covered two feet deep in silver dollars, with just one marked.
You can fly over the State of Texas, reach down and grab one at chance, and the chances of you grabbing the marked one is the same as the chances of Jesus Christ coincidentally meeting just these eight composite prophecies. Not to mention the other two hundred ninety two prophecies he also met.
Why didn’t the Jews see it?
Why don’t people see it today?
Because they don’t want to see it – the hardness of their hearts blinds their eyes. But we must continue to pray for them and love them and continue to show them Jesus – until they are willing to see.
The entire Bible (and especially the New Testament) points the way to Jesus Christ and more specifically to WHO Jesus Christ IS. And God’s Plan of Redemption: Genesis to Revelation ultimately demands that we come to terms with WHO Jesus IS and how he alone is the center of God’s plan. The Old Testament made it so clear God would establish his Kingdom which would include salvation and new life for his people, and at the very beginning of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus made it clear. In mark 1, verse 15, Jesus proclaimed,
Mark 1:15 (NLT)
15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” [Jesus] announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”
The four Gospels make it clear.
The time promised by God had come at last
The Kingdom of God was near…
and the way to enter it was to repent of your sin
and believe the Good News of Jesus Christ.
When God promised Abraham all the nations would be blessed through his descendants, he was referring to Jesus.
Galatians 3:8 explains how that happened. When God made his covenant with Moses and gave Israel the Law – that Law of Mosses – would ultimately be fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Matthew 5:17 Jesus said he came to fulfill the Law. When God dwelt with Israel, in the Tabernacle and Temple, it was a picture of God dwelling with Man that became a reality in Jesus.
John 1:14 says “The Word” became flesh and dwelt among us. When God promised David his throne would be established forever, he was referring to the eternal reign of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 19:16 says when Jesus takes control of this world it’s as the eternal King of kings and Lord of lords.
Reading the four Gospels should leave us with only one choice – do we believe WHO Jesus Christ IS – or not? It’s often been said that if you truly consider the life of Jesus that you must choose one of two things about Jesus… either he was a lunatic or he was Lord! Because the Bible does not give you any other options – Lord of All or not Lord at all! And each of us must come to grips with whether we truly believe that or not.
One reason the Jews just couldn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah is because he allowed himself to be executed as a common criminal without even putting up a fight. Israel was looking for a victorious King, a conquering King and they could not grasp victory through death and that is some people’s problem today, they don’t understand the victory through death concept of Jesus Christ.
Even the closest Disciples didn’t really understand the victory through death path that made Jesus the Messiah. Yet all of the Gospels are very clear – God became man to die in man’s place – to be our sacrifice for sin before Jesus was even born. An Angel told Joseph…
Matthew 1:21 (ESV)
21 . . . and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
In John 1, verse 29, when John the Baptist saw Jesus coming, he said,
John 1:29 (ESV)
29 . . . Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
1 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV) says,
7 . . . For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
Here’s the deal… Israel wanted a victorious King and they got the most victorious King God could ever give them. Israel wanted a conquering Messiah, and they got the most conquering Messiah God could ever give them.
Because the problem (ultimately) is sin equals death (Romans 6:23). Your eternal problem, your ultimate problem, the problem that stands between you and God is sin. And Jesus, the conquering Messiah, the victorious Christ came to conquer your sin problem, came to give you victory over your sin. The enemy that you can’t beat on your own – is sin, and Jesus came to victoriously conquer – that enemy.
Ephesians 2:4–5 (NLT)
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,
5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead . . .
God’s Plan: From Genesis to Revelation is to exchange your death in sin for his life in Jesus Christ.
Jesus is Messiah – because he conquered the enemy no other King could ever conquer and he did it by taking our place – in death.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)
21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
This is the fulcrum, the hinge, the epicenter.
ALL of God’s plan before this – points to it.
ALL of God’s plan after this – springs forth from it.
And NONE of the rest of it matters unless you first surrender your life to the epicenter of God’s plan…JESUS – the Messiah.
The incarnation, sacrificial death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the absolute fulcrum of human history. All of God’s Word before it – points to it. All of God’s Word after id – spring forth from it. It is the fulcrum, the hinge, the turning point of the history of all of God’s creation. In Jesus Christ, God became man and came to earth himself in order to redeem Mankind. The Great Reconciliation of sinful man to a Holy God is completely fulfilled in Christ. God himself is fulfilling his own plan of redemption IN Jesus the Messiah.
Remember, God wrapped up the Old Testament with two promises to his people. 1). A Messiah and 2). A New Covenant. But when the Old Testament ends, most Israelites are still in exile. Some had returned to the Promised Land and a smaller Temple had been rebuilt, but things were nowhere near the same as the New Testament opens – things had not really improved much for Israel.
Rome now ruled the land. Herod had built a new Temple for the Jews, a kind of a huge remodel to the existing Temple. Israel was worshiping and sacrificing in the Temple again, but they were under Roman rule, and they looked nothing like The Kingdom of God, not in the way they thought the “Kingdom of God” should look anyway. Most of Israel believed God would still restore the Kingdom, but they were deeply divided on the how.
The Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes… they all had radically different ideas on how God was going to make good on his promised, and right into this mess, Jesus Christ was born to a young, humble, “Betrothed” couple from Nazareth… who both happened to be descended from the Line of David. Jesus came into this world in a way that defied every religious group’s expectation. Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes – Jesus defied some part of the assumptions of each of these groups, which should be a strong lesson regarding our own religious assumptions.
Guys, we have got to get to know Jesus for WHO the Bible says he IS. It takes all four Gospels to begin to scratch the surface of who Jesus Christ IS.
MATTHEW shows Him as “King of The Jews”
MARK shows Him as “Servant of the Lord”
LUKE shows His Humanity as “Son of Man”
JOHN shows His Deity as “Son of God”
We most often have new believers read John because of its clear presentation of Jesus as Son of God and Savior. But to get an initial “life changing” overview of the life of Jesus, I recommend a book called The Story of Jesus which is the text of the NIV Bible with all four Gospels put together. It’s the life of Jesus as one seamless story. We’ve got to get a firm grasp on the life of Jesus Christ because it is the turning point of human history!
Regardless of what secular humanists do to our dating system, too late! The world’s calendar turns on the life of Jesus, and we – as his followers – should have a very firm grasp on his life, death, and Resurrection. So, grab The Story of Jesus in the NIV for a compilation of the life of Jesus, or read through the Gospels (in a version you understand) and pray God would reveal to you WHO Jesus Christ really IS.
And what is it that we really need to grasp as we’re learning about the life of Jesus Christ? Is it that he seemed to be a Good Teacher? Or that he had some good ideas (that if mixed with Oprah’s) could really help? In Matthew 16, Jesus asked his Disciples a question for this same reason… so see if they were grasping the highest priority of his life on earth. Jesus was in the Northern Galilee with his Disciples (favorite place). And in Matthew 16, verses 13-15 we read,
Matthew 16:13-15 (ESV)
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
THAT is the highest priority question you will ever be asked in your life.
WHO do YOU say Jesus Christ is?
And in the next verse, Peter gets it right (highest priority).
Matthew 16:16 (ESV)
16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
In Hebrew – You are the MESSIAH
Peter is saying to Jesus, you are the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises. You are the One Promised from God. The One who will fulfill and accomplish God’s plan. THIS is the purpose of the Gospels… to show us the Messiah – the Christ – has come from God – to fulfill God’s plan. In fact, at the end of John’s gospel, John says there were many signs done by Jesus Christ that could not be included. And then he says in John 20, verse 31,
John 20:31 (ESV)
31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John’s gospel and the other Gospels have been written that you may believe that Jesus IS the Christ (Messiah) and that BY believing you may have LIFE in his name.
Now, the tipping point, the final word on this… is that the Gospels show us clearly that Jesus was both fully man and fully God because ultimately, we realize that no earthly man could ever be God’s Messiah. Jesus was fully man – Matthew traces his family tree back to Abraham. Luke traces his family tree back to Adam.
Hebrews 4:15 says Jesus was tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sin.
The Gospels say Jesus grew hungry, and tired, and he wept. The pain he felt at every step of the way to the Cross was just as one hundred percent real as if you were experiencing the same pain yourself.
Jesus was FULLY MAN and
Jesus was FULLY GOD.
John Chapter 1 explains that Jesus did NOT begin his existence at birth, but that he has always existed. One of John’s favorite names for Jesus is The Word. LOGOS – literally God in Expression (Jesus IS the Word). And John 1, verses 1-4 say this,
John 1:1-4 (NLT)
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.
And then John 1, verse 14 says,
John 1:14 (NLT)
14 So the Word (God in expression) became human and made his home among us . . .
Jesus Christ is GOD in the flesh. Now, there is only ONE God and the Bible teaches he exists as three distinct Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ONE God – three Persons! And Jesus is God in the Flesh, and the four Gospels give us the divine picture of Jesus AS God in the Flesh.
We can look at the entire Bible, and it seems so clear – in Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s Plan of Redemption. But in spite of the undeniable miracles and proofs, still the Jewish religious community (for the most part) rejected Jesus as the Messiah. Their self-focus and their religious confidence blinded them to who Jesus Christ really was and we need to be careful we don’t suffer the same blindness. Their blindness didn’t come from not hearing the truth but refusing to believe the truth like so many people today. Jesus didn’t hide who he was – he made it pretty clear, and like today, it was the hardness of the people’s hearts that kept them from believing – NOT the lack of evidence.
In Luke 24, after the Resurrection, Jesus reminded his Disciples,
Luke 24:44 (NLT)
44 . . . “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
The Old Testament (that the Jews call the Law and the Prophets) made it perfectly clear WHO the Messiah would be. And when his Disciples were unsure about the way things were going, Jesus told them all that’s written about me in the Law – the Prophets – (and the Psalms)… it all must be fulfilled. Every prophecy must be fulfilled.
The Greek version of the Old Testament (Septuagint) was finished (in writing) in 270 BC (two hundred seventy years before Christ). In the Septuagint there are three hundred prophecies about the coming Messiah’s life on earth, and Jesus Christ fulfilled every single one of those prophecies written two hundred seventy years before his birth. To try to get an idea how big that is, let’s take just eight of the Old Testament prophesies Jesus fulfilled during his life.
In Micah 5:2, the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
In Zechariah 9:9, the King would be presented to Israel on a donkey. The exact day, by the way, is given in Daniel 9:25, and Jesus’ Triumphal Entry was on that exact day.
In Zechariah 11:12, the Messiah would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver.
Zechariah 11:13, it says the betrayal will occur in the Temple, but the money will end up in a potter’s field.
Zechariah 13:6 says he’ll have wounds in his hands.
Isaiah 53 says he’ll be charged with a capital crime and plead no defense
And Isaiah 53 says he’ll die with criminals, but be buried with the rich.
Psalm 22 was written seven hundred years before the crucifixion was invented, describes the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in exact detail.
To figure out what the chances are of ONE person fulfilling just eight of these prophecies, you have to use composite probability because these eight events have to occur one on top of the other.
Chuck Missler has done the math for us. He says the chance of one person on earth meeting these eight composite prophecies is 1 to 10 to the 17th power.
How do we grasp that? Missler says the best way to get a picture of this is to imagine a bowl filled with silver dollars and one of the silver dollars has a mark on it. The chances of Jesus Christ meeting these eight composite probabilities are the same chances of you reaching in that bowl and grabbing that one marked silver dollar.
Now, the only question is, how big does the bowl have to be to fit this number of silver dollars 10 to the 17th power? The bowl has to be the size of Texas, covered two feet deep in silver dollars, with just one marked.
You can fly over the State of Texas, reach down and grab one at chance, and the chances of you grabbing the marked one is the same as the chances of Jesus Christ coincidentally meeting just these eight composite prophecies. Not to mention the other two hundred ninety two prophecies he also met.
Why didn’t the Jews see it?
Why don’t people see it today?
Because they don’t want to see it – the hardness of their hearts blinds their eyes. But we must continue to pray for them and love them and continue to show them Jesus – until they are willing to see.
The entire Bible (and especially the New Testament) points the way to Jesus Christ and more specifically to WHO Jesus Christ IS. And God’s Plan of Redemption: Genesis to Revelation ultimately demands that we come to terms with WHO Jesus IS and how he alone is the center of God’s plan. The Old Testament made it so clear God would establish his Kingdom which would include salvation and new life for his people, and at the very beginning of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus made it clear. In mark 1, verse 15, Jesus proclaimed,
Mark 1:15 (NLT)
15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” [Jesus] announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”
The four Gospels make it clear.
The time promised by God had come at last
The Kingdom of God was near…
and the way to enter it was to repent of your sin
and believe the Good News of Jesus Christ.
When God promised Abraham all the nations would be blessed through his descendants, he was referring to Jesus.
Galatians 3:8 explains how that happened. When God made his covenant with Moses and gave Israel the Law – that Law of Mosses – would ultimately be fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Matthew 5:17 Jesus said he came to fulfill the Law. When God dwelt with Israel, in the Tabernacle and Temple, it was a picture of God dwelling with Man that became a reality in Jesus.
John 1:14 says “The Word” became flesh and dwelt among us. When God promised David his throne would be established forever, he was referring to the eternal reign of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 19:16 says when Jesus takes control of this world it’s as the eternal King of kings and Lord of lords.
Reading the four Gospels should leave us with only one choice – do we believe WHO Jesus Christ IS – or not? It’s often been said that if you truly consider the life of Jesus that you must choose one of two things about Jesus… either he was a lunatic or he was Lord! Because the Bible does not give you any other options – Lord of All or not Lord at all! And each of us must come to grips with whether we truly believe that or not.
One reason the Jews just couldn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah is because he allowed himself to be executed as a common criminal without even putting up a fight. Israel was looking for a victorious King, a conquering King and they could not grasp victory through death and that is some people’s problem today, they don’t understand the victory through death concept of Jesus Christ.
Even the closest Disciples didn’t really understand the victory through death path that made Jesus the Messiah. Yet all of the Gospels are very clear – God became man to die in man’s place – to be our sacrifice for sin before Jesus was even born. An Angel told Joseph…
Matthew 1:21 (ESV)
21 . . . and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
In John 1, verse 29, when John the Baptist saw Jesus coming, he said,
John 1:29 (ESV)
29 . . . Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
1 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV) says,
7 . . . For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
Here’s the deal… Israel wanted a victorious King and they got the most victorious King God could ever give them. Israel wanted a conquering Messiah, and they got the most conquering Messiah God could ever give them.
Because the problem (ultimately) is sin equals death (Romans 6:23). Your eternal problem, your ultimate problem, the problem that stands between you and God is sin. And Jesus, the conquering Messiah, the victorious Christ came to conquer your sin problem, came to give you victory over your sin. The enemy that you can’t beat on your own – is sin, and Jesus came to victoriously conquer – that enemy.
Ephesians 2:4–5 (NLT)
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,
5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead . . .
God’s Plan: From Genesis to Revelation is to exchange your death in sin for his life in Jesus Christ.
Jesus is Messiah – because he conquered the enemy no other King could ever conquer and he did it by taking our place – in death.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)
21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
This is the fulcrum, the hinge, the epicenter.
ALL of God’s plan before this – points to it.
ALL of God’s plan after this – springs forth from it.
And NONE of the rest of it matters unless you first surrender your life to the epicenter of God’s plan…JESUS – the Messiah.