How God prepared for Jesus' Arrival - P2

In yesterday's Blog we considered how God had been working behind the scenes in the 400 year time period between Malachi and Matthew.  In today's blog we continue noting the remarkable events that transpired in preparation for the arrival of Jesus Christ.

1. The World's first Bible Translation to be used by the Apostles
In 275 b.c a Governor in the Greek speaking city of Alexandria Egypt desired to gather 70 Jewish scribes together to begin the translation of the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek.  This project was called the "Septuagint" ("sep-too-a-jint" meaning "The seventy") and made this effort the first time the Bible has been translated into another language.  By the days of Jesus, the Old Testament in Greek was regularly used.  In fact, this translation is the one used in virtually all Old Testament quotations in the New Testament. 

2. The Roman Roadway System, perfect for doing missionary work
It was through Rome that the Roman roadway system - stretching some 50,000 miles throughout the Mediterranean world-came into being.  According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, this roadway system took over 200 years to build! That system would make it possible for The Apostles to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Rome had instituted a policy called "Pax Romana", which simply meant they were willing to tolerate the existence of other lines of thought and the exchange of ideas (providing of course you gave homage to the Emperor).  These factors set the stage for what would become the missionary activity of the early church.

3. The Jewish Synagogue, ideal for spreading God's word throughout every city
Over time Judaism saw itself being de-centralized.  In every town Jewish centers - called "synagogues" (translated roughly to mean "gathering places") sprang up.  In order to have a Synagogue, as long as you had 100 Jewish men and a copy of the Old Testament scriptures, you could form a synagogue.  This set-up would make it easier in time for Christian missionaries - like the Apostle Paul - to go into a given city and speak at the local Synagogue.

Thank you Lord for the times and seasons you orchestrated to set the stage for the arrival and sending of God the Son, Jesus Christ.  As I close today's blog, I remind the reader of Galatians 4:4, which summarizes everything we have been exploring: "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, ⁵ so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons."

How God Prepared for Jesus' Arrival - Part One

Last week I had preached a message on "Scripture's Bird's Eye View - Part One - The Old Testament".  In that message we saw ten themes for the Old Testament - functioning as ten theological torches that mark the road of redemption running from Genesis to Malachi.  We noted the tone, the perspective of the Old Testament, to be that of "Pre-Cross". 

In this blog I want to explore the time that existed between Malachi to the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew.  In your Bible, you will find a blank page between those two books.  Trust me, that blank page was anything but blank in the plan of God.  Some 400 years lie between Malachi and Matthew, wherein God was preparing Israel and the world for the coming of Pre-existent God the Son, Jesus Christ. 

Many call that period "The Silent Years" - Silent because God did not reveal anything in terms of written scripture for that period of time.  Though God's voice was silent, though His face of glory remained hidden for that time, His hand of Sovereign guidance (that is, Providence) was clearly at work.  Below are some events and people God was orchestrating together to prepare the time for the coming of His Son.  Today we will note the first three of those events, with a continuation in tomorrow's blog.

1. How God set the right world climate for Jesus' arrival
Daniel predicts in his book about this period of time, as well as our current period, the massive change and shifting of empires and nations by God.  At the end of the Old Testament we see the ending of the Babylonians and the beginning of the Persians.  The book of Esther rounds out the Old Testament with the people of God being under the dominion of Persia.  Daniel saw a vision of these empires in the great statue of Daniel 2.  He saw a head of gold - Babylonia and he saw a chest and arms of silver - Persia.

2.How God prepared for the language of the New Testament
However Daniel saw two other features of this massive statue - namely a belly and thighs of bronze and legs made of iron.   History bears out that these last two features reference the empires of Greece and Rome.  Greece conquered Persia under Alexander the Great.  It was through Alexander that the spread of the Greek culture and language took place.  It was because of the spread of Greek that the Apostles would write the entire New testament in that same language.  Rome then came after Alexander's death and conquered Greece.  Rome would be used of God in the days of Jesus. 

3. God spares Jerusalem - the city where Jesus would be crucified hundreds of years later
History records for us an interesting meeting between Alexander the Great and Jaddus the Jewish High Priest in Jerusalem.  As Alexander was conquering the land around Israel, he and his army approached Jerusalem.  According to the first century Jewish Historian Josephus, Alexander the Great sent a message to Jaddus to surrender or face defeat.  Jaddus' replied that he could not surrender, due to the fact that he had submitted to Persian rule.

History then tells us that Alexander began to approach Jerusalem, and as he drew near, Jaddus came out to meet Alexander the Great.  When Alexander saw the High Priest and his fellow priests dressed in white, and the name of God stamped in gold on the High Priest's mitre (his hat or turban), Alexander's heart began to soften.  Apparently the High Priest had read in the book of Daniel about Greece conquering Persia.  Alexander was so moved by this man, and was so impressed by what he heard from the text of Daniel about himself, that he chose to spare Jerusalem. 

Application for your own life
The God of the Bible prepared from all eternity for Christ's arrival.  History is a demonstration of that fact, and the Bible is the flawless revelation of how God was to bring His eternal purposes and historic plan together in Jesus Christ.   Remember, dear friend, that God's silence does not always mean God's absence.  God's deeper work a lot of times is operating in our lives so that we can be prepared, through His word, for a more profound walk with Jesus Christ.  Tomorrow we will continue exploring how God has prepared for Jesus' arrival.

The Old Testament's Converting Power

      Paul writes to his young protégé, Timothy, in 2 Timothy 3:15: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ.”  The Greek text of this verse is rich in Old Testament imagery.  It reveals quite literally, these texts “have the inherent ability to make me comprehend the wisdom of salvation” (author’s translation).

I remember one time hearing of theologian R.C Sproul’s testimony of how he was brought to Christ.[i]  It was of all passages Ecclesiastes 11:3: “If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.”  Sproul comments about how suddenly God showed him that he was that tree, dead, and lying on the ground, in need of salvation.  Sproul wryly points out that he is probably the only person in the history of the church that was saved as a result of that passage.

Clearly the mark of Divine Inspiration lies in the scripture’s ability to affect someone’s salvation.  The Old Testament has this quality.  In the famous passage John 3:16, John appeals to the holding up of the serpent in Numbers 21 to highlight the significance of Christ’s impending crucifixion that is recorded at the end of the Gospel of John. 

Perhaps the most dramatic example of the effectual (the ability to affect) nature of the Old Testament’s ability to bring about salvation is by noting the Apostle Peter’s Preaching on the day of Pentecost.  Peter quotes at length no less than 6 Old Testament passages in unfolding the promised coming of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s resurrection and the need for salvation.  3,000 people get saved, and the church is officially born.  Truly this demonstrates a sample of how effective the Old Testament can be in God calling men and women to Jesus Christ.

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[i] Dever Mark, J. Ligon Duncan III, R. Albert Mohler Jr., C.J. Mahaney: Preaching from the Cross.  Crossway Books.  Wheaton, Illinois.  2007

The Old Testament's Explanation of the Cross

Why did God the Father have to send God the Son to die on a cross?  Why did God the Son voluntarily do this?  Why was there no other option but this one?  The Old Testament gives us two reasons behind God’s plan of salvation: Consider the pattern and the prophecies. 

a.    God’s Pattern for salvation was set in the Old Testament

Concerning God’s plan of salvation to save sinners, the pattern for innocent substitutes dying in the place of guilty people was set in Genesis 3:21, when God provided coats of skin for Adam and Eve.  The blood itself is the physical emblem of the soul.  In Leviticus 17:11 we read: The life of the flesh is in the blood…”  In the Hebrew text this can literally be rendered: “The soul of the flesh is in the blood”, indicating the physical connection between blood and the human soul.  When Christ came to die on the cross, He fulfilled this picture by shedding His own blood, which alone is the source of salvation and must be applied by faith in the lives of those so affected by the Grace of God (Ephesians 1:7). 

b.    God gave Old Testament prophecies detailing the event of the cross

No other chapters in the Old Testament predict the necessity and the event of the cross like Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53.  Psalm 22:1 describes the very words Jesus would utter at the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.”  Verse 8 of the same Psalm also tells us what the scribes would say to Jesus as they passed by the cross.  In Psalm 22;14, we see reference to Jesus’ bones being out of joint, a common trauma associated with crucifixion.  In verse 18 we see how the soldiers would be casting lots for Jesus clothing. 

In Isaiah 53:5 we see prediction of the Messiah being wounded, bruised and receiving stripes on His back.  In 53:9 we are told he would be laid in the borrowed tomb of a rich man, fulfilled in Matthew 27:57. 

Remarkably, the torture described by these two chapters occurs centuries before the crucifixion (Psalm 22 occurs 1,000 years and Isaiah 53 occurs 700 years before the event).  Furthermore, crucifixion as a form of punishment was not to be invented until the Romans conquered Greece some 450 years after Isaiah’s time. 

Focusing on these Old Testament texts enables us to see that the cross was not an accident, but central to God’s plan for history. 

Practical uses for the Old Testament

      Practical usages of the Old Testament


      IN GRIEVING

Who has not heard Psalm 23 quoted or referenced at a funeral service?  What do you do when you or someone you know loses a child?  You turn to 2 Samuel 12:23 where David, in grief over the death of his son, states: “But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again?  I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”  Most throughout church history have appealed to this text to conclude that a child who suddenly passes away before the age of accountability is ushered safely into the presence of God.  Jesus of course maintains this consistency of this truth by noting the unique grace that children have before ditinguishing between righteousness and unrighteousness (the age of accountability) in passages such as Matthew 18:10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that ^(J)their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven."


WHEN FACING ANXIETY

What happens when you are facing anxiety, or uncertainty?  Passages such as Zephaniah 3:17 reminds us that God rejoices over us with singing, and quiets us with His love.  Psalm 55:22 tells us: "Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken."  In the New Testament, Peter mentions this antidote to worry - "casting one's cares upon the Lord", in 1 Peter 5:7. 

WHEN MAKING DECISIONS

How about guidance for making decisions or knowing God’s will on a given matter? Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding.  In all of your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”  Proverbs 24:6 tells us that: “For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counselors there is safety.” 

Appealing to the wisdom of scripture in our decision making is re-echoed in passages such as Philippians 2:15-16 "so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain."  These are but a few examples of the Old (and New) Testament’s ability to capture the wide spectrum of human emotion responding to life situations. 

Principles to effective application of the Old Testament

1. Every New Testament Doctrine has an Old Testament Testament Example. 

As you grow more familiar with the contents of the Bible in your study and reading, you will begin to see how the Old Testament gives concrete illustrations of truth that becomes fully developed in the New Testament.  For instance, I know that the life of Abraham gives a concrete illustration of the walk of faith which is fully unfolded in the New Testament book of Romans (especially Romans chapter 4).

2. Whenever you are studying anywhere in the Old Testament, find the connection to Christ

Though I may not find Christ in every verse of scripture, yet from every verse of scripture I can find my way to Jesus Christ.  The aim of the Old Testament is to point us to the One it anticipated.  As in the study of the New Testament, the Old Testament carries that same quality of being used by the Spirit of God to bring us to a meeting point with Jesus Christ.  (Please compare John 5:39).

3. Be aware of the distinctions between the Old Testament and New Testament

As much as I advocate the unity of all scripture, there are some differences that you as a Bible student need to keep in mind when determining how to apply Od Testament truth.  First, is the concept repeated or reinforced in the New Testament?  Animal sacrifices for instance ceased in the New Testament because of Christ's work on the cross.  Though they can be valuable in illustrating what He's done, yet it would be quite inappropriate for the Christian to perform them.

Second, be sure that your application of Old Testament truth does not conflict with explicit New Testament teaching.  Understanding that the nature of God's revelation of His truth is progressive in the Bible, I need to make sure that when using an Old Testament text, that I have connected it to a New Testament verse that speaks on the same subject.

More points could be brought out, but I hope this aids you, dear Christian, in your walk with the Lord. 

Knowing Christ in the Old Testament

I can’t think of any more important reason for studying the Old Testament than in the fact that Christ Himself is known through its pages.  For instance, Luke 24:44-45 records these words of Jesus to His disciples following His resurrection:  “And he said unto them, ‘These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me.’  (45) Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.” 

Though I might not be able to find Christ in every verse of scripture, yet from every verse of scripture I can find my way to Christ.  It is no wonder that throughout Christ’s ministry He did everything in fulfillment of the Old Testament.  When He was born, nearly 100 Old Testament passages were fulfilled.  In the course of His ministry the Four Gospels allude or reference over 600 Old Testament scriptures.   Jesus tells us this in John 5:39 “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” 

We learn from Genesis 3:15 that as the “Seed of Eve” He would become involved in a cosmic battle with Satan, and accomplish victory.  We know from Proverbs 30:5 and Psalm 110 that God the Son has been eternally by the Father’s side.  According to Isaiah 6 and John 12:41, this “Son” is as much God as the Father is God.  Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6-7 tells us that in being God, somehow He would become a man by being virgin born and someday ruling on the Throne of David in Jerusalem.  In Isaiah 55:1 He makes a passionate plea for all those who thirst and are hungry to be filled.  If for nothing else, getting to know Christ through the study of the Old Testament is strong enough reason to survey its contents. 

The Awe of the tremors of God's Holy presence

Have you ever experienced an earthquake?
Earlier this week the news had reported an earthquake occuring in the middle of Virginia.  My sister-in-law, who lives near Philadelphia, several hours away from the epi-center, told my wife that things on her wall were shaking.  I can recall my own experience of an earthquake when we had lived in a town North of Tulsa.  There had been a confirmed magnitude 4.3 earth tremor with its epicenter in Norman Oklahoma, several hours from where we had lived.  At the time I working in a church building, when suddenly the books on the shelves "rubbed" against one another.  Even though this event was small in comparison to many earthquakes we hear about, still it was enough to cause excitement and wonder.

What happens when God is on the moveIn Amos 1:1 we read these words: "¹The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake." Notice the underlined words?  Amos, a shepherd, was beginning his ministry in a time where there had been a great earthquake in Israel.  Other prophets, such a Zechariah, speak of this same earth quake in Zechariah 14:5.  What was going on that made this earthquake occur?  In the simplest terms: God was on the move. 


A king's wrong move
According to commentators and ancient Jewish Historians such as Josephus, a King, Uzziah (who we read about in 2 Chronicles 26), had entered into the holy place of the temple grounds.  Now though he was King, he was in a place where he should not had been.  According to history and 2 Chronicles 26, when Uzziah made this fatal mistake, God struck him with leprosy.  Apparently at the exact same moment a huge earthquake struck Jerusalem, causing a major crack to open up the roof in the temple, letting light in, where then Uzziah was struck with leprosy.  It was in that same year that Uzziah would die.  Isaiah 6:1 records these words: "¹In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." 


How often we ignore the tremors of His Holy Presence
When my own "earth shaking experience" occured that morning near Tulsa, I thought of how many times does God move in our midst? How many people miss the "tremors" and "seismic shifts" that occurs when He moves?  Some people I had talked to at that time had not even realized there had been an earth quake.  However by the end of the day, everyone knew, due to news reports and media outlets.

Lets never lose the awe of God
Now I suppose by next week, the earthquake in Virginia will begin to fade into memory.  But I would bid the reader not to treat God in that same fashion.  Rumblings are taking place.  In some ways it is disturbing what is going on in our churches, our lives and our cities.  However, three prophets, Amos, Isaiah and Zechariah, were called by God to report all they saw and heard.  Holy God is desiring sole allegiance and covenant unity with His people.  May we never lose the awe and fear of our Holy God.