1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,440 This morning I suppose that all of us in some way can identify with that because we have 2 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:11,440 known weaknesses. 3 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:18,560 Maybe even this morning we feel that weakness and the Lord's strength is perfect. 4 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:19,840 What a reassuring note. 5 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:25,880 This last week it was a privilege for me to be with some of our single again people. 6 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:32,280 We have a very fine ministry to those who are single again. 7 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:37,000 We were talking together about Titus but we got into the matter about the fact that some 8 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:43,280 doctrines are essential and some are considered non-essential. 9 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:49,840 Essential doctrines are those that are fundamental to Christian orthodoxy, whereas non-essential 10 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:58,720 doctrines are those which may be precious to us but about which there can be some latitude 11 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:01,600 even with committed Christians. 12 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:07,160 The first, that is the essential doctrines, must never be compromised. 13 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:09,800 The latter should not ever become divisive. 14 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:16,920 It is sad isn't it that too often we Christians seem to focus our energies in the fighting 15 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:23,160 with other believers over non-essentials than we do in focusing our energies advancing the 16 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:29,120 primary doctrines and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 17 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:36,360 What we are going to be talking about the next four weeks is one of those essential 18 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:43,040 fundamental doctrines to our faith that must never be negotiated or surrendered. 19 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:51,680 We are going to talk about the cross sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. 20 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:57,080 That is at the very heart of our Christian faith and it is the cord that ties together 21 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,160 all of the scriptures. 22 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:07,360 We might think that all Christians using that term in the broadest sense would accept Christ's 23 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:11,080 sacrifice as being essential to the Christian faith. 24 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:13,120 That is not the case however. 25 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:20,480 In an article from World Magazine called Paul's Poster Child and subtitled the world's weird 26 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:24,520 stuff is no weirder than the churches. 27 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:30,440 There's a report about a conference that was held here in Minneapolis last fall. 28 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:40,360 It was a conference that was called Reimaging 93 and it was sponsored by and financially 29 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:46,400 supported by the Presbyterian Church USA. 30 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:53,640 The conference glorified lesbianism and some of the conference speakers advocated adding 31 00:02:53,640 --> 00:03:01,280 books to the Bible to justify feminist and homosexual activism. 32 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:09,320 One of the speakers in this conference, and by the way they worship the goddess Sophia. 33 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:15,280 Remember this is sponsored by one of the leading mainline denominations in our country. 34 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:23,400 They worship the goddess Sophia and at what they called the ladies supper, their communion 35 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:31,520 service, they prayed Sophia creator God let your milk and honey flow. 36 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:35,280 Sophia creator God shower us with your love. 37 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:41,960 I need to say that certainly not all Presbyterians would identify with this. 38 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:49,080 Some are very angry about it but it shows how apostate some leadership in that denomination 39 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:50,080 has become. 40 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:56,400 One of the speakers from Union Theological Seminary in New York City said I don't think 41 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:03,640 we need the atonement at all. 42 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:07,880 That has to do so much with death. 43 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:14,160 I don't think we need folks hanging on crosses and blood dripping and weird stuff. 44 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:18,280 We just need to listen to the God within. 45 00:04:18,280 --> 00:04:28,960 What I'm saying to you this morning is that the cross sacrifice of Jesus Christ is in 46 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:37,240 fact the very heart and the core of Christianity and to deny it as did that conference is to 47 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:41,640 be absolutely apostate from the Christian faith. 48 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:43,920 I agree with Dr. F.E. 49 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:50,600 Marsh who said remove the atonement from the Bible and we have a casket without the treasure, 50 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:57,480 a body without the spirit, a tree without a root, a house without the foundation, a 51 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:03,760 sky without the sun, a checkbook without the balance at the bank, and a gospel without 52 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:06,840 the message. 53 00:05:06,840 --> 00:05:12,560 I invite you to open your Bible with me to Luke chapter 24 as we begin today. 54 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:18,560 As two unnamed disciples of Jesus returned home on the Emmaus Road they were confused 55 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:22,760 about the events that had happened in Jerusalem the weekend before and they were unbelieving. 56 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:29,360 They had been in the city for the Passover feast, had witnessed Christ's crucifixion, 57 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:35,480 had heard accounts of his resurrection early that very day, and then left the city overcome 58 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:38,040 with sadness. 59 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:44,680 As they journeyed discussing the events of the weekend they were unknowingly joined by 60 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:51,760 the risen Jesus himself who interrupted their conversation. 61 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:58,000 As they reviewed for him the happenings of the recent days Jesus rebuked them for their 62 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:04,440 unbelief and began a Bible study with them right there as they walked along. 63 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:12,640 It says in verse 25, he said to them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that 64 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:18,600 the prophets have spoken, was it not necessary? 65 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:21,560 The word means essential. 66 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:28,880 Was it not absolutely a must for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his 67 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:29,880 glory? 68 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:36,000 And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, he explained to them the things 69 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:40,520 concerning himself in the scriptures. 70 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:46,680 Later when he met with his entire group of disciples he did the same thing, verse 44. 71 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:52,360 These are my words, he said to them, which I spoke to you while I was still with you, 72 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:57,960 that all things which are written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the 73 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:02,280 Psalms must be fulfilled. 74 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:07,120 So Jesus points to each of the divisions, the Hebrew divisions of the Old Testament 75 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:15,360 scriptures and he says that there is content in each of those divisions regarding his suffering 76 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:19,760 and his glory. 77 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:26,080 Now the Hebrew divisions of the Old Testament are the law of Moses, which is the Pentateuch, 78 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:37,880 the first five books, the prophets, which include Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, 79 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:42,040 as they divide them, four books. 80 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:49,200 And then four latter prophets, they identify as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve. 81 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:53,560 In their counting of the Old Testament the Jews lump together what we call the minor 82 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:59,140 prophets, twelve of them, and call that one book. 83 00:07:59,140 --> 00:08:04,280 And then there is the third division, the Psalms or the writings, as they are sometimes 84 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:11,400 called, which include Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, 85 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:16,600 Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles. 86 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:22,320 And so they divide the Old Testament differently than we do, but it's important to understand 87 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:30,760 that the books accepted as inspired by God were exactly those that we have today in our 88 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:35,600 Old Testament, though we divide them up differently. 89 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:42,460 So Jesus says the Old Testament points to me in my sacrifice. 90 00:08:42,460 --> 00:08:46,760 So this morning I want to talk about this fact that Christ's sacrifice for humanity's 91 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:59,240 sin is the continual and consolidating theme of the Scriptures. 92 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:03,120 We don't have time to go into all of the ways in which this is true, and so we're going 93 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:09,440 to turn to each of the Old Testament divisions as Jesus outlines them here. 94 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:14,400 We're going to pick with one book and look at a few themes from those books. 95 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:16,960 We begin with the Law of Moses. 96 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:25,920 So let's go back to the book of Genesis, where we can find the sacrifice of Jesus Christ 97 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:30,800 intimated or actually predicted. 98 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:38,120 Genesis chapter 2 is where we begin, verses 21 to 23. 99 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:46,480 Here we see the sleeping Adam as a picture of the sacrificed Christ. 100 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:53,120 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept. 101 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:58,080 Then he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 102 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:04,520 The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which he had taken from the man and brought 103 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:11,500 her to the man, and he said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. 104 00:10:11,500 --> 00:10:17,200 She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. 105 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:27,240 God put Adam to sleep so that he might create from Adam's side a counterpart for him who 106 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:29,840 is called the woman. 107 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:35,640 The word man in this text is the word ish. 108 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:38,880 The word woman is ish-ah. 109 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:40,360 The two words are related. 110 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:44,480 Ish-ah comes out of ish. 111 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:48,800 The woman is the counterpart for the man. 112 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:55,680 He was wounded in order that God might form for him his wife. 113 00:10:55,680 --> 00:11:02,760 And then God presented to Adam his bride, and immediately there was this identity, there 114 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:08,000 was this union that was obvious to him. 115 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:12,680 And he said, This is the bone of my bones. 116 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:14,680 Her flesh comes out of my flesh. 117 00:11:14,680 --> 00:11:19,800 She is ish-ah. 118 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:21,840 How does this picture Jesus Christ? 119 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:27,760 Well, Jesus Christ is called in the New Testament the last Adam. 120 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:34,400 He is the great cosmic counterpart to the first Adam. 121 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:45,480 Jesus Christ slept a deeper sleep, the sleep of death, that by his sacrifice God might 122 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,880 create for him a bride. 123 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:52,080 You say, Where do you see that in the New Testament? 124 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:58,080 Well turn to Ephesians chapter 5, where in fact we see the very verse that we've read 125 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:00,280 from Genesis quoted. 126 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:08,320 This is perhaps the greatest passage in the entire New Testament on the husband-wife relationship. 127 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:14,560 I want you to see verse 25, where husbands are commanded to love their wives just as 128 00:12:14,560 --> 00:12:22,800 Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having 129 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:28,000 cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present to himself 130 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:33,920 the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she 131 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:36,160 should be holy and blameless. 132 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:43,360 So are husbands also to love their wives as their own bodies. 133 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:47,280 He who loves his wife loves himself. 134 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:52,600 Verse 30, We are members of Christ's body, for this cause, he quotes from Genesis, shall 135 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:58,400 a man leave his father and his mother, shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall become 136 00:12:58,400 --> 00:12:59,400 one flesh. 137 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:07,440 What I'm saying to you here is that in the sleeping Adam in the book of Genesis we have 138 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:17,000 a picture of the last Adam, who also slept in death, that out of his love there might 139 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:25,800 be called forth a bride, a bride one day to be presented to him, a bride with whom he 140 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:34,640 is in perfect union, and with whom he identifies so thoroughly that they can be said to be 141 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:36,400 one. 142 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:41,920 That bride of course is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. 143 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:49,040 So we begin here, and I wonder if Jesus didn't begin here, in pointing to himself as he went 144 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:51,360 to the law of Moses. 145 00:13:51,360 --> 00:14:00,320 Undoubtedly that is how Paul later was given this insight as to the significance of the 146 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:08,040 marriage union and the relationship between Jesus Christ and his bride, the church. 147 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:14,400 Now in Genesis once again let's turn just a page or two over to chapter 3, where we 148 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:22,100 come to the statement of God to Eve after the fall into sin. 149 00:14:22,100 --> 00:14:33,400 And he says, first to the serpent, verse 15, I will put enmity between you and the woman, 150 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:36,960 and between your seed and her seed. 151 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:42,240 And he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel. 152 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:46,880 To the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. 153 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:52,000 In pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and 154 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,200 he shall rule over you. 155 00:14:55,200 --> 00:15:03,440 We have here in this text the judgment of God upon sin in the world. 156 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:08,840 And to the woman he says, you shall bear children and do so in pain. 157 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:17,800 To the serpent he says, from the childbirth of the woman, from her seed, there will be 158 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:27,280 eventually a death blow dealt to you, Satan, although in the process you will bruise his 159 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:29,400 heel. 160 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:34,800 He will crush your head. 161 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:45,920 From humanity, whom Satan defeated in the garden, would come Satan's defeat from the 162 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:47,920 God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. 163 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:56,080 And remember, when he defeated Satan, he defeated him not only as God, but he defeated him as 164 00:15:56,080 --> 00:16:01,000 perfect and complete man as well. 165 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:07,300 And so as the seed of the woman, he crushed the head of Satan, though in the process he 166 00:16:07,300 --> 00:16:11,520 himself experienced suffering. 167 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:18,640 Jesus Christ was born as a human, that he might carry out this defeat and redeem men 168 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:19,640 from their sin. 169 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:29,280 I invite you to turn to Galatians chapter 4 in the New Testament. 170 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:40,200 Galatians chapter 4 and verse 4, where it says, But when the fullness of the time came, 171 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:46,000 that praise is not used in Genesis, but God is obviously there pointing to the future, 172 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:50,640 when the seed of the woman would come. 173 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:59,400 And he says, When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, 174 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:05,040 born under the law, in order that he might redeem those who were under the law, that 175 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:10,480 we might receive the adoption as sons. 176 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:13,560 What is the significance here of being born under the law? 177 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:18,360 Well, he says that he might redeem those who were under the law. 178 00:17:18,360 --> 00:17:19,760 Well, what redemption was needed? 179 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:26,720 Well, look back in chapter 3 verse 13, where it says, Christ redeemed us from the curse 180 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:28,960 of the law. 181 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:36,680 You see, the curse of the law upon humanity is that man is sinful, and the law demands 182 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:39,960 perfection. 183 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:42,680 It also demands the death of sinners. 184 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:48,160 Therefore, that is the curse of the law upon humanity. 185 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:54,800 But Jesus Christ was born of a woman under the law, that he might eventually go to the 186 00:17:54,800 --> 00:18:02,680 cross and there pay the redemption price for humanity, and redeem humanity out from under 187 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:08,360 the curse of the law because of man's sin. 188 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:15,160 Turn also to Hebrews chapter 2, where this theme is picked up again with a bit of a different 189 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,000 emphasis. 190 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:23,720 In verse 14, So then the children share in flesh and blood, since the children share 191 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:33,200 in flesh and blood, he himself, Christ the Son, likewise also partook of the same, that 192 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:40,680 through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, 193 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:48,960 and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 194 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:54,560 And so the Lord Jesus Christ partook of our humanity, he came through the childbirth of 195 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:59,080 Eve and her descendants, and finally Mary. 196 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:05,760 He was born of a woman under the law, that he might redeem us from the curse of the law, 197 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:12,280 and destroy the one who held the power of death over us, that is the devil. 198 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:16,480 And this he accomplished through his cross sacrifice. 199 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:25,920 And so the sacrifice to Christ is in the law, in the sleeping Adam, in the seed of the woman, 200 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:31,640 and in one of the places that we'll see in Genesis chapter 3 verse 21. 201 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:45,760 It says, And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them 202 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:54,480 to cover their nakedness and their shame, and to restore them to his fellowship. 203 00:19:54,480 --> 00:20:02,800 God killed an animal and provided the skin of that animal as a covering for them. 204 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:10,920 Thus you see through the death of an innocent substitute, their need was provided for. 205 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:20,560 And so the Lord Jesus Christ was slain as a sinless substitutionary sacrifice, that 206 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:28,000 we might receive the covering of his righteousness for our need, and through that then might 207 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:31,680 be restored to God. 208 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:42,080 I remind you of 2 Corinthians 5, 21, for God has made him, Christ, who knew no sin, to 209 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:52,920 become sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 210 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:58,480 The shedding of his blood on the cross was the satisfaction that God needed, so that 211 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:03,200 he could extend mercy and grace and forgiveness to us. 212 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:09,160 Romans chapter 4, Romans chapter 3 verses 21 to 25. 213 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:15,400 Now there are many other pictures in Genesis of the sacrificed Christ, Abel's offering, 214 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:24,200 Noah's ark, the offering up of Isaac, the suffering and the glory of Joseph. 215 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:32,720 We must stop at this point as we examine briefly how the law of Moses said that the Christ 216 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:36,200 must suffer. 217 00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:43,040 The second division of the Old Testament Jesus pointed to was the prophets. 218 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:46,800 We will turn to one prophet, a minor prophet as we call them. 219 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:49,680 It doesn't mean the message is unimportant. 220 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:54,120 It means that the scope of his ministry was not as broad as some of the others. 221 00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:58,400 We turn to the book of Zechariah. 222 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:05,040 Now there are other prophecies of the sacrificed Christ that occur in the prophets, most notably 223 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:14,800 Isaiah's suffering servant of the Lord in Isaiah 53 and Jonah, who spent 3 days and 224 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:18,840 3 nights in the grave of a fish's belly. 225 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:22,440 But we're going to look at Zechariah. 226 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:30,760 In Zechariah chapter 13 and verse 7 we have a famous prophecy that is called the smitten 227 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:35,520 shepherd prophecy. 228 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:43,840 The Lord speaks and says, Awake, O sword, against my shepherd and against the man my 229 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,840 associate declares the Lord of hosts. 230 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:54,160 Like the shepherd that the sheep may be scattered and I will turn my hand against the little 231 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:55,160 ones. 232 00:22:55,160 --> 00:23:02,720 Here is a prophecy that was fulfilled in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the 233 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:05,680 scattering of his disciples. 234 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:14,720 In Matthew, the Gospel of Matthew chapter 26 and verse 31, Jesus said to his disciples, 235 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:19,920 You will all fall away because of me this night for it is written, I will strike down 236 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:25,720 the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered. 237 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:34,920 So the Lord Jesus himself points to Zechariah's prophecy as being applied to him. 238 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:40,960 In Zechariah there is one who is speaking who identifies himself as the Lord of hosts 239 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:44,480 or the Lord Almighty. 240 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:50,240 Therefore he commands the sword as though it were personified. 241 00:23:50,240 --> 00:24:00,520 He speaks to the sword and commands the sword to strike, to strike the shepherd. 242 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:05,800 That's interesting that the word sword here is masculine. 243 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:12,100 The word strike is masculine whereas the word sword is feminine. 244 00:24:12,100 --> 00:24:18,040 You would expect that the two would agree but that is not the case. 245 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:20,720 So what is the significance of that? 246 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:28,440 Well it means that it is God who initiates this violent action. 247 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:35,160 It's not the sword itself, it's God who initiates the striking of the shepherd. 248 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:42,360 The shepherd whom he describes as being close to me or my associate. 249 00:24:42,360 --> 00:24:49,940 This word is found only in the book of Leviticus outside of this one text in the Old Testament. 250 00:24:49,940 --> 00:24:53,320 It means one who is a near neighbor. 251 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:59,560 One commentator tells us the significance with these words, the shepherd is one who 252 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:06,120 dwells side by side with the Lord his equal. 253 00:25:06,120 --> 00:25:13,320 And so Jehovah God the Lord of hosts is speaking of the shepherd in this text as his equal. 254 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:21,800 May I remind you of John chapter 10 where Jesus said I am the good shepherd. 255 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:29,160 The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 256 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:39,320 And then at the end of that text in verse 31 he says I and my father are one. 257 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:45,640 Underscoring the oneness of the father and the son picking up on that same theme from 258 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:51,920 Zechariah who said the shepherd and God are equals. 259 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:57,600 And the father says sword strike the shepherd. 260 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:02,920 And so we have the suffering of this smitten shepherd. 261 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:08,400 Just quickly turn back to chapter 12 of Zechariah verse 10 where this prophecy is given. 262 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:14,520 I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit 263 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:23,880 of grace and of supplication so that they will look on me whom they have pierced. 264 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:25,600 Who is speaking in this case? 265 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:32,800 Well if you look back up through the paragraphs you find it is the Lord himself who says they 266 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:38,360 will look upon me whom they have pierced. 267 00:26:38,360 --> 00:26:48,760 In this case it is John in his gospel in the 19th chapter who refers to this text when 268 00:26:48,760 --> 00:27:01,640 he says in verse 35 verse 37 and again another scripture says they shall look on him whom 269 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:02,640 they pierced. 270 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:11,680 It is interesting that when Jesus appears to John in the book of Revelation and says 271 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:20,640 that he is coming again he refers to the fact that they will see him who pierced him. 272 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:28,320 And so not only is the smitten shepherd in Zechariah a picture of the suffering Christ, 273 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:36,040 the sacrificed Christ, but so is the Messiah who is pierced in chapter 12 and verse 10 274 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:38,640 of Zechariah. 275 00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:44,600 I want to close by turning quickly to Psalm 22 to the third division of the Old Testament 276 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:48,760 that Jesus pointed to. 277 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:54,600 Psalm 22 is perhaps one of the most significant of the Psalms called Messianic. 278 00:27:54,600 --> 00:28:04,960 In verses 1 through 18 we see his suffering, verses 19 through 31 his glory. 279 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:15,560 As most of you are aware in this Psalm we have the grisly details of a crucifixion described 280 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:23,360 to us hundreds of years before the Romans used it as a means of execution. 281 00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:35,200 For example, he says in verse 15, my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue 282 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:42,520 cleaves to my jaws, speaking of his thirst. 283 00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:50,120 Verse 16, the dogs have surrounded me, a band of evildoers has encompassed me. 284 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:58,520 Here is the Christ looking down from his cross at the Romans gathered around at his feet. 285 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:04,360 They pierced my hands and my feet. 286 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:07,760 I can count all my bones. 287 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:09,600 They look. 288 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,280 They stare at me. 289 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:19,160 They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. 290 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:23,680 And I have only touched the surface of this Psalm. 291 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:31,720 Do you not see that a thousand years before Jesus was crucified David wrote about the 292 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:38,680 cross sacrifice of the one who would be his son? 293 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:46,880 Whenever you pick up your Bible, expect to see Jesus revealed in your Bible, and especially 294 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:55,080 expect to see his cross death, because the cross sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ is 295 00:29:55,080 --> 00:30:01,000 the continual theme of all of the Scriptures. 296 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:07,160 It is the rope that pulls it together and cinches it. 297 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:13,400 The point I'm making this morning in his death on the cross is the very heart of God's revelation. 298 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:21,460 It expresses the depth and width of his love for lost sinners like you and me. 299 00:30:21,460 --> 00:30:27,320 The cross death of the Lord Jesus Christ is the pivot of all of human history. 300 00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:31,480 It is the center of our story. 301 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:35,800 It is the center of God's plan for the ages. 302 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:39,960 Everything else that has ever happened revolves around the cross. 303 00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:41,960 It is the pivot. 304 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:51,600 The cross sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only hope for your soul and mind. 305 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:57,640 It is God's only provision by which we can be restored to him. 306 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:05,320 For there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. 307 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:13,920 Only one, and that is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, crucified for our sins. 308 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:23,280 There was a policeman years ago who was patrolling on night duty in northern England. 309 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:29,800 When he heard from the shadows a quivering sob, turning in that direction, he saw sitting 310 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:31,640 on the steps a little boy. 311 00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:38,680 Tears were rolling down his cheeks, and he said to the policeman, I'm lost. 312 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:41,440 Please take me home. 313 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:46,400 The policeman, of course, went directly to him and took him up in his arms and began 314 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:51,720 naming street after street that he knew, trying to help the little boy remember where he lived, 315 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:52,720 and he couldn't. 316 00:31:52,720 --> 00:32:00,200 He repeated the names of shops in the city, of hotels in the area, but all of that was 317 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:03,200 without success. 318 00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:06,960 And then he remembered that in the very heart of this city in northern England there was 319 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:11,320 a city, a church rather, that was well known. 320 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:16,840 And on top of this church was a large white cross. 321 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:22,600 And so he walked in that direction and pointed to the cross and said to the boy, do you live 322 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:25,380 anywhere near that? 323 00:32:25,380 --> 00:32:30,120 And immediately the boy's face brightened, his tears were gone, and he said, yes. 324 00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:31,960 Take me to the cross. 325 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:36,280 I can find my way home from there. 326 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:43,800 My friend, today if you're lost, you can find your way home from the cross of the Lord Jesus 327 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:45,480 Christ. 328 00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:47,440 Come to his cross today. 329 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:51,160 Understand that that sacrifice was for you. 330 00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:55,480 Come to the cross and find your way home to God. 331 00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:59,760 It matters not how far away you think you are. 332 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:02,200 How lost you feel. 333 00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:08,480 If you see that cross, know that that cross is for you to bring you to God. 334 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:10,960 And trust the Savior this morning. 335 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:12,960 Let's pray. 336 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:18,680 Father, we thank you for the plan of redemption. 337 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:24,160 A plan that is written throughout the warp and woof of the Bible. 338 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:29,720 A plan that is the heart of it all. 339 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:36,680 We thank you that Jesus had to suffer and die for us because that's what you designed. 340 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:43,680 And throughout your word you have woven in that story. 341 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:51,280 Today Father, that cross stands as a monument to your love. 342 00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:56,240 Many of us here have responded and we've come to the cross and we've found our way home. 343 00:33:56,240 --> 00:34:02,400 But there may be some friend who is here this morning who has not been able to find that 344 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:11,440 way but who today sees the cross as being the answer, the only answer for his soul. 345 00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:17,320 I pray today the Holy Spirit would awaken his conscience, convict him of sin, reveal 346 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:24,520 the Savior and bring him to the point of repentance and faith that he might be saved. 347 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:26,360 In Jesus' name, Amen.