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Saturday, December 7, 2013

P2/11 Discovering the Identity of Jesus - how God's plan led to a promise which leads to the Person of Christ


Matthew 16:15 "He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Note to the reader: These next several posts are designed to present a cultural, historical and theological study of Jesus Christ and the facts behind the crucifixion.  In yesterday's post we began considering the Old Testament's anticipation and prediction of the coming Messiah revealed in the New Testament. I have chosen to present this material partly in response to the History Channel's recent series: "Bible Secrets Revealed" and partly to give the readers of this blog a chance to see what the Four Gospels truly say about Jesus Christ.  This particular series of blogs are more concerned with explaining the contents and validity of the four Gospel accounts.  The reader is invited to visit my other blog site to read a critique of the latest episode of "Bible Secrets Revealed" at: http://biblicalexegete.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/p2-critique-of-episode-4-of-bible-secrets-revealed-the-real-jesus/

In today's post we consider lesson #2 and four particular meetings whereby God made promises and predictions to His people in the Old Testament about the promised Messiah. These gradual identifications and predictions prepared the way for what would be Jesus Christ's first coming in the New Testament Gospels. 


Discovering the Identity of Jesus


OLD TESTAMENT BACKGROUNDS LEADING TO A PROFILE THAT CAN AID IN IDENTIFYING JESUS

Lesson Two: Significant Meetings between God and key people


1. Meeting One: God’s promise to Eve – Genesis 3:15 From the entirety of humanity will come one to crush the serpent and bring about the reconciliation between God and man.
THUS GOD'S PLAN AT THIS POINT IS TO BRING ONE INDIVIDUAL FROM ALL HUMANITY TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF SATAN

2. Meeting Two: God’s Promise to Abraham – Genesis 12-17 From the people within Abraham’s descendants (Israel), will come about one whose life will bless the world

THUS THE PLAN BECOMES MORE SPECIFIED IN A PROMISE. WHAT IS THE PROMISE? TO HAVE A PARTICULAR SAVIOR COME FROM A PARTICULAR NATION, ISRAEL

3. Meeting Three: God’s Promise to David – 2 Samuel 7:13-16 From David’s Kingly line of descendants will come a King who will bring about peace

THUS THE PROMISE IS EVEN FURTHER NARROWED DOWN TO HAVING THIS AGENT OF SALVATION AND HOPE COME FROM THE BLOODLINE OF ONE INDIVIDUAL WITHIN THE NATION

4. Meeting Four: God’s revelation to David and Isaiah- Psalm 22 , 68 and Isaiah 53 – God reveals to both prophets that this agent of salvation will have to suffer, die and rise from the dead in order to complete God’s plan of salvation

THUS THE PROMISE IS RECEIVES SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION REGARDING BOTH ITS PURPOSE, MEANS OF FULFILLMENT AND THE NATURE OF THE ONE WHO WILL ACCOMPLISH IT 

So what exactly is involved in this plan of salvation?
1). A progression is made from a general plan to that of a specific person. Think of a "funnel effect", wherein beginning with Eve and all of humanity, to Noah, Shem and then Abraham. God then focuses upon taking the plan of salvation and specifying it in the form of a promise to Abraham annd his descendants, which would become a nation - Israel (through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob). Through the continuation of redemptive history, God narrows the funnel even further to a tribe with Israel (Judah) and then later on to an individual's bloodline with Judah (David's bloodline). According to Matthew's Gospel, 42 generations stretch from Abraham down to Jesus.  It will be in our next several posts that we will discover how exactly God took the promise and narrowed the funnel to its narrowest point in Jesus Christ.

2). Jesus Christ, in the realm of his humanity, can only be the right one by reason of His having the right blood (descendant of Abraham and David) as well as shedding His own blood on the cross (Isaiah 53) and rising from the dead (Psalm 16). Furthermore, this same Person must be Divine in order to come and bring about the completion of fulfilled prophecy. (Psalm 2; Psalm 110; Proverbs 30:4-5; Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 61; Micah 5:1-3; Malachi 4)

3). Though the promise is specific, the implications and results are far reaching. 


More tomorrow.....