As one drives cross -country, occasionally one
comes to a sign along the interstate that says,
scenic view. And there's the temptation to pull
off to the side, spend a few moments relaxing,
perhaps resting, and looking at the view that
is offered. We have been on a long journey in
Romans, having been there since sometime last
spring. We're going to take a few weeks now for...
a rest and relaxation from that to look at the
scenery particularly as it relates to the season
of the year that we're in right now some people
bemoan christmas arrival they feel that it's
so commercial that's lost its meaning and in
some respects i guess that's true but i'm one
of those who really enjoys christmas i enjoy
getting into it i'm glad for any opportunity
we have to present the savior and during this
time of the year people are more oriented that
way, I guess, to receive that kind of input.
So I think we should take every advantage that
we can for Christmas. By the way, we're going
to be having some very special music here next
Sunday night, and our choir and orchestra will
be presenting 90 minutes of Christmas music.
I hope that you can come and join us then, and
invite someone to come along and share. Sometimes
people who aren't prone to visit church at other
times of the year will come at Christmas time.
This will be an opportunity for you to invite
that friend, perhaps, that you've been wanting
to invite for some time. But as we take a look
at the scenery this morning, we're going to do
so by starting in Luke chapter 24. If you're
looking for God, the place to find him is in
the Bible. If you want to meet him in person,
then read about Jesus Christ. I heard a story
several years ago about a Russian cosmonaut.
who upon arriving back on the earth from his
orbits around the world, proclaimed arrogantly,
well, I didn't see any God up there. Someone
made the reply, if he had only taken time to
step out of his capsule without his space suit
on, he would have seen God. Well, of course,
that's true, I suppose. But if we want to see
God, we see him in his son, Jesus Christ. And
Luke chapter 24 gives us a verse that's going
to be a touchstone for us. as we proceed through
the next three weeks with the theme, An Old Testament
Christmas. Jesus said, search the scriptures.
These bear witness of me. He also says in verse
44 of this chapter we're looking at, these are
my words which I spoke to you while I was still
with you, that all things which are written about
me in the law of Moses, and the prophets and
the Psalms must be fulfilled. So our Lord tells
us that in each section of the Old Testament
scriptures, as the Jews commonly divided the
Old Testament, there were things written about
him. That is, as we go to the Law of Moses, we
should find Jesus Christ there. The prophets
tell us about him. As we read the Psalms, he
is there. That's the division for the next three
weeks. Today we're going to look at the Law of
Moses and discover some Christmas truths in the
Pentateuch. Would you turn with me first, please,
to Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, as we examine
some of the prophecies in the Law of Moses about
Christ's first advent. Genesis chapter 3 records
the historical fall of man. into sin. When God
came into the garden after man's disobedience,
he spoke to each of those involved. First the
serpent, which was indwelt by Satan, then to
Adam, and finally to Eve. In verse 15, in the
section dealing with Satan, the serpent, we have
this word. I will put enmity between you and
the woman and between your seed and her seed.
He shall bruise you on the head and you shall
bruise him on the heel. I would like to say that
there's more there in that verse than saying
that people are going to be afraid of snakes
and try to kill them when they see them. And
that may well be involved here. I certainly dislike
snakes and try to send them to the reward every
chance I get. But there's a lot more here in
the story of snakes and mankind. This verse is
called the Protevangelium. That is a word that
simply means the first gospel or the first word.
It is the beginning of messianic prophecy. That
is prophecy that a Messiah or a Redeemer would
come for mankind. This is not the first thought
that God had about man's redemption. In fact,
the Bible tells us that before God even created,
He had already planned out how he was going to
redeem mankind. Jesus Christ, his son, is called
the lamb who was slain from when? Before the
foundation of the world. So before the world
was even laid, the plan of Calvary, the cross,
his blood being shed, the resurrection, was all
in God's mind and God's purpose. So this is not
the first thought that God had. about our redemption,
but it is the first prophecy or the first word
about it in his revelation. One of the things
we need to keep in mind about the Bible is that
it is a progressive revelation. That is, God
throughout the book progressively reveals truth
to us. And that's why it's dangerous to go to
any one verse or one section and build a whole
doctrine on that verse or section. We need to
see what the whole Bible teaches about it. This
is the first verse that deals with the doctrine
of salvation. If you have a good study Bible,
it probably has references that will start you
here, will lead you right through the book of
Revelation, studying the doctrine of salvation.
But this is called the Protevangelium because
it is the first word about salvation for man.
Just as man had brought destruction, so a man
would bring... redemption, and restoration. Now,
there are three specific prophecies given in
verse 15. First, the prophecy about enmity, a
very strong word. Literally, it means blood lust.
That is, it is a hatred, it is an enmity to the
point of shedding blood. It says that there will
be enmity between the serpent and the woman,
The seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.
The second prophecy is that he, the seed of the
woman, shall bruise you on the head. In other
words, the seed of the woman, who is prophesied
here, would literally crush the head of the serpent.
That is to utterly destroy him. Now, it's not
just the snake that is being spoken to here,
but it is Satan who is in the serpent. I think
you understand that. And then the last prophecy,
the third one is, you shall bruise him on the
heel. In other words, you, serpent, Satan, will
cause suffering to the seed of the woman. Speaking
about the suffering, the passion of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Those are three specific prophecies
that we find here in this text. I'd like to make
two or three observations on the text, and then
we'll move on to another location. First, what
is said here is a declaration of war for all
of time. Although Satan claimed the first victory
there in the Garden of Eden, the war was not
to be his. In fact... The war's outcome is already
declared here. Though the serpent Satan had achieved
the first victory in causing Eve to be deceived
and Adam then to sin, the war was not his. The
battle was his. The war belongs to the seed of
the woman, Jesus Christ. His is the victory,
for he would crush, utterly destroy, The serpent,
Satan. A second observation. We have here the
first suggestion of the virgin birth of the seed
that was to come. Because he says it is the seed
of the woman. It is her seed. Normally, when
the Bible uses that kind of terminology, it speaks
about the seed of a man. As far as I know, this
is the only place in the Bible where this kind
of imagery is used in the seed of the woman.
And the reason for that is clear, because Jesus
Christ was born fully human, but only of Mary.
There was no man involved. Mary conceived by
the Holy Spirit. So he could not be called the
seed of a man, the seed of Adam, but accurately
the seed of the woman. And so we have here the
first suggestion of the virgin birth. It is later
specifically prophesied as well as fulfilled.
A third observation is this, that just as the
woman's seed is a person, so I believe ultimately
the seed of the serpent or Satan will be a person.
And I speak of the Antichrist, the one who will
come and embody evil. He will personify lawlessness.
He will be a man who will be Satan indwelt to
come upon the scene at the end of time, at the
end of this time, the last days, the end of this
age. The outcome of the battle will be just as
it is prophesied here. Antichrist and his armies
will be utterly crushed and destroyed with the
second coming of Jesus Christ. And he, Antichrist,
will be cast alive into the lake of fire to be
followed a thousand years later, according to
Revelation chapter 20, by Satan himself. And
so the seed of the woman, Jesus Christ, will
return to the earth in power and glory and victory
and utterly destroy the dominion of Satan, ultimately.
In the meantime, though... The battle wages.
The victory, however, is sure. And so we have
in Genesis 3 .15 something written about Jesus
Christ and the law of Moses, just as Jesus said
we would find here. But there's more. Turn over
a few pages to Genesis chapter 12. The prophecy
about the coming Redeemer. begins to be more
specific in Genesis 12 with the call of Abraham
out from his family, his background, his idolatry,
to know the true God. And God gives great promises
to Abraham. We have in verses 1, 2, and 3 of
Genesis 12 a marvelous promise to him. I will
read only verse 3, though, where it says, And
I will bless those who bless you. And the one
who curses you I will curse. And in you, says
God, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
What a marvelous statement this is to make to
any man. To Abraham, God says, in you all the
families of the earth will be blessed. Now we
will see in a few moments the significance of
that statement. But for the time being, just
turn over a page or two to Genesis chapter 15.
We find here another word from God to Abraham.
God promises Abraham in this vision a great reward.
Abraham laments the fact that he has no heirs.
God said, yes, Abraham, you will have an heir.
And in verse 15, he took him outside and said,
now look toward the heavens and count the stars
if you're able to count them. And he said to
him, so shall your descendants be. And so to
Abraham is given this great promise, not only
would the families of the earth be blessed through
him, but his own descendants would be like the
stars of the heavens in their number. And then
over to chapter 22. In this chapter, we find
the offering up of Isaac. And after that experience,
it says in verse 15, the angel of the Lord called
to Abraham a second time from heaven and said,
By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because
you have done this thing and have not withheld
your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly
bless you and I will greatly multiply your seed
as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which
is on the seashore. and your seed shall possess
the gate of their enemies. And in your seed all
the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because
you have obeyed my voice. Here God says something
further to Abraham. He says it will be in your
seed that all the families of the earth will
be blessed. What is the meaning of that? Why
does God say to Abraham, it will be in your seed?
that all the families would be blessed. We have
the answer to that in the New Testament. Turn
with me to Galatians chapter 3. We'll come back
to Genesis in a moment, but first let's look
at the New Testament explanation of these words
to Abraham. In Genesis chapter 3, let me point
out to you first verse 8. Galatians 3 .8 And
the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify
the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand
to Abraham, saying, All the nations will be blessed
in you. Let's skip down to verse 16. Now the
promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.
And then the Apostle Paul, and the Holy Spirit
speaking through him, comments upon that thought.
He does not say, and to seeds, as referring to
many, but rather to one, and to your seed, that
is whom? Christ. And so the apostle says it is
Jesus Christ who is the promised seed of Abraham,
through whom the blessing would come to all the
families of the world. A marvelous thing. And
if you know your Bible, you know that God kept
that line clear. From Abraham it passed down
to which of his two sons? Isaac. Ishmael was
set aside because he was born of the flesh. But
Isaac was a supernaturally born child. The lion
came through Isaac and then to Jacob. Isaac's
other son, Esau, was set aside. God chose Jacob.
So half of the family again was lopped off, put
away. After Jacob, the line of the Messiah passes
to which of his 12 sons? To Judah. To Judah.
And so 11 twelfths of the family then are set
aside, and God zeroes in on Judah and his tribe.
And on it goes through the Old Testament, finally
to come to the famous David. And on it goes down
to Jesus Christ. And you find the full genealogy
and lineage of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1 and
in Luke 3. You can trace it there, right back
through the Old Testament. Jesus Christ is the
promised seed. It is through him that the blessing
will be fulfilled. And I would say to you today
that what God promised to Abraham in terms of
blessing as well as a geographical possession.
real estate will yet be his and that of his earthly
descendants. It will be his when the seed, Jesus
Christ, comes back to the earth to reign over
the kingdom. We call that the millennium, the
thousand -year reign of Christ. What God promised
to Abraham was an irrevocable covenant, which
he will fulfill and must fulfill. because of
Jesus Christ, Abraham's seed. And so we see in
the law of Moses that Jesus Christ is seen in
the protevangelium, in the first word of redemption
in Genesis 3. Jesus Christ is found in the promised
seed, the blessing that would come to Abraham,
Genesis 12. And now turn with me to the book
of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 18, another
of the books that Moses penned. Deuteronomy is
sometimes called the constitution of Israel's
theocracy. It outlines for the nation how they
were to be governed and how they were to live
as God reigned over them directly. Deuteronomy
was the favorite book of the Lord Jesus Christ,
apparently. And did you know it is quoted more
often in the New Testament than any other book?
That is, in more books of the New Testament than
any other book. I think some 17 books of the
New Testament have quotations from the book of
Deuteronomy. How much time do you spend in Deuteronomy?
Our Lord spent a lot of time here. In chapter
18, verse 15, we have... a reference to him.
Moses says, The Lord your God will raise up for
you a prophet like me from among you, from your
countrymen. You shall listen to him. And in verse
17 he says, And the Lord said to me, They have
spoken well. I will raise up a prophet from among
their countrymen like you, and I will put my
words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them
all that I command him. And it shall come about
that whoever will not listen to my words, which
he shall speak in my name, I myself will require
it of him. So there's a strong word of exhortation
to listen to this prophet who was to come. The
Jews, frankly, did not understand this to be
a messianic prophecy. Let's take time to look
in John chapter 1 and prove that for just a moment.
John chapter 1. Some of the leaders of the Jews
come to John the Baptist here. And they ask him,
who are you? Verse 19. He confessed, did not
deny. He confessed, I am not the Christ. John
1 .20. And they asked him, what then art thou,
Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the prophet?
He answered, No. Then down in verse 25, And they
asked him and said to him, Why then are you baptizing
if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the
prophet? So you see there clearly the Jews identified
this prophet with someone other than the Christ,
the Messiah. Do we have then any authority for
saying that Deuteronomy 18 .15 refers to Jesus
Christ? Yes, we do. Turn to the book of Acts.
In chapter 3 of Acts, we have a sermon of Peter,
the Jewish leaders. He recounts for them some
of the events of the recent days in Jerusalem.
In verse 19 of Acts 3, He says, repent therefore
and return that your sins may be wiped away in
order that times of refreshing may come from
the presence of the Lord and that he may send
Jesus the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven
must receive until the period of restoration
of all things, about which God spoke by the mouth
of his holy prophets from ancient time. Moses
said, The Lord shall raise up for you a prophet
like me from your brethren. To him you shall
give heed in everything he says to you. And it
shall be that every soul that does not heed that
prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among
the people. And so he quotes from Deuteronomy
and applies it to Jesus Christ. And that's made
clear by the following three verses concluding
that chapter. And so we have authority to say
from the Holy Spirit himself. that Jesus Christ
is that prophet that is pointed to by Moses in
Deuteronomy. Now, what did Moses mean when he
said, the Lord God will raise up from among you
a prophet like me? What is the significance of
that, like me? Well, it seems to me that Moses
filled two important offices for the Jews. First,
he was their deliverer. It was he that God chose
to go back to Egypt and to bring the people out
by his mighty power. They were redeemed under
his leadership. He was their captain, as it were,
to bring them out from bondage to liberty. And
secondly, he was the revealer of God to them.
He was the one who went to the top of Mount Sinai
and received the Ten Commandments. It was through
him that God spoke to the people. In fact, the
word prophet is used of Moses in Deuteronomy
34. Do you see how those two offices are fulfilled
in Jesus Christ? He is the deliverer of all men,
those who trust him. He is the Redeemer who leads
the one who trusts him out of bondage and sin
into the glorious liberty of the children of
God. And he is the one who reveals God fully
and completely to us. God, who in various ways
and times spoke in days past to the fathers by
the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto
us by his whom? His Son. In John 1 .18 it says,
No man has seen God at any time, but that Jesus
Christ has exegeted him. In other words, he has
revealed God. Jesus said, He who has seen me
has seen the Father. He says, I do not speak
words for myself, but everything that my Father
says, that's what I speak. And so you see, he
is the prophet. in that sense, the consummating
sense, the fullest, most complete sense. He is
the prophet, and he is the one that Moses spoke
of in Deuteronomy 18. And that's why Jesus was
able to say in Luke 24, things are written about
me in the law of Moses. I've often wondered about
the manger scene in this last week. I just wondered
what went through Mary's mind. There's no answer
to this. It's just one of those things you wonder
about. Like the song says at Christmas, I wonder
as I wonder. Well, I do a lot of wondering of
both kinds. I wonder what went through Mary's
mind as she looked down in the face of that child
and the child opened his eyes and looked into
her eyes for the first time. As their eyes first
met, she realized, because of what the angel
said, who this child was. What must have gone
through her mind as she looked into his eyes
and realized that this is the revelation of God
in this person, this baby. I tell you, that's
a mystery. My soul shrinks back in awe at the
very thought of that. Jesus Christ is the one
that Moses spoke about in Deuteronomy 18. Finally,
I'd like for us to think about the tabernacle.
The tabernacle was God's provision for worship
for Israel. He desired to dwell among his people,
but There had to be a sacrificial system established
so that their sins could be atoned for and he
could be there. So he established that priesthood,
the priesthood of Aaron. And he had them build
a tabernacle as part of that. The tabernacle
was a tent. It was a tent that was only 15 feet
wide, 45 feet long, and 15 feet high. There was
a tent that would fit in this auditorium today,
right where you're sitting. It was not a large
tent, 15 by 45 by 15 was its size. Around it
was a fence, a fence that was 7 feet high, that
was 150 feet long and 75 feet wide. The tabernacle
had two rooms. The first room was called the
holy place. It was 15 feet wide and 30 feet long.
That's not very big, is it? But the holiest,
or the holy of holies, was only 15 by 15. It's
a cubicle. Think of that. In that 15 -foot place
there is where God chose to dwell and to reveal
his presence by the Shekinah, the glory. The
visible expression of his presence. The tabernacle
was a tent that on the outside was covered by
goat skins and ram skins that were dyed red.
There was nothing very attractive about it. But
on the inside, a different story. It was exquisitely.
woven and crafted, beautiful colors and threads,
silver and gold that would be worth multiplied
millions today. It was all a part of the tabernacle.
Did you know that the tabernacle itself is a
picture or a type? of Jesus Christ? Let me just
explain it in one simple way. On his exterior,
Jesus Christ was not particularly attractive.
Isaiah the prophet said, he has no stately form
or majesty that we should look upon him, nor
appearance that we should be attracted to him.
When you looked at Jesus Christ, you looked at
one who appeared to be just another man. but
on the inside, something different. For he was
perfectly holy and righteous inwardly, and within
him dwelt the Shekinah of God, just like the
tabernacle. Those who looked beyond the flesh
and saw him perceived. who he was. Peter, for
example. Jesus said, who do you say that I am?
Peter said, you're the Christ, the Son of the
living God. See, Peter looked beyond the exterior.
In fact, there was even one time, wasn't there,
when the interior burst through the exterior
and the glory was made visible on his skin. That
was the transfiguration. That was one occasion.
The rest of the time, the exterior, very plain.
But the interior, absolutely unique. Within the
tabernacle, inside this holiest place, this little
15 -foot cubicle, was one piece of furniture.
It was called the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark
was a box or a coffer. was three feet, nine inches
long, two feet, three inches high and wide. And
within that box were three things. There was
the rod that Aaron had which budded, one of the
miracles in the wilderness. But then it was a
pot of manna that was preserved from the wilderness
wanderings. and also the two tablets of the law.
The Ark was made simply out of acacia wood that
was overlaid with pure and solid gold. The top
of it was solid gold and was the mercy seat where
the blood was sprinkled for the atonement of
the people's sin. That was the Ark of the Covenant.
Did you know that that also, that piece of furniture,
speaks of Jesus Christ in numerous ways? Let
me point out just one. It relates basically to
the Christmas story. That's why I point this
out. The makeup of the ark was of wood and solid
gold. That speaks about the two natures that
were united in Jesus Christ in that one person.
The wood speaks of his humanity, overlaid with
the solid gold which speaks of his deity. He
was perfect humanity and full deity in one person,
united and that forever. I think, too, it's significant
that the gold overlaid the wood because his deity
overshadowed his humanity. That's why he could
not have sinned in the temptation. And because
he could not have sinned in the temptation, his
temptation was worse, was more extreme than any
you and I have ever known. Now, if you have a
question about that, ask me afterward. Maybe
I can explain it more fully, but time permits
me to develop that. His deity overshadowed his
humanity, but the two were blessedly united.
And so we see him in the tabernacle, we see him
in the Ark of the Covenant. By the way, in Jesus
Christ is resurrection life as pictured by the
rod. In Jesus Christ is heavenly provision for
man's need as pictured in the pot of manna. In
Jesus Christ is perfect righteousness as represented
by the two tablets of the law within the Ark.
So there again you have a parallel to Jesus Christ.
But I want to talk finally about the veil. The
veil was a curtain that separated these two compartments,
the holy place from the holiest place, the holy
of holies. It was a veil. It was a veil of blue
and purple and scarlet made of fine linen. All
of that symbolically speaks of Christ's heavenly
origin, his royalty. The scarlet points to his
being a sacrifice. The fine linen in the scriptures
represents perfect righteousness. But in Hebrews
chapter 10, we are told that the body, the flesh
and blood body of Jesus Christ, is the parallel,
is the fulfillment of the veil in the tabernacle.
For just as the veil was put there to hide the
glory of God, So Jesus Christ, when he was born
into the world, allowed his glory as God to be
veiled within our humanity, though sinless. And
when he died upon the cross, when his body was
broken for us, what happened to the veil that
was in the temple at that time? It was torn.
Before the veil separated God in his presence
from sinners, but when Jesus Christ died, the
way into God's holy presence was opened up for
all who will come through him. So you see, the
veil itself represents his coming in flesh, in
a body, which was offered on the cross for our
sins. And after he had been offered, there was
no need any longer for a veil. It was rent forever.
And now all who will may come into the very presence
of God and know him. Now after seeing all of
this Christmas in the law of Moses, let me just
give you a couple of applications before we leave.
Application number one. What we have seen this
morning should lead us to a deeper appreciation
of the Bible. That it is divinely authored. of
God himself. As someone has said, the new is
in the old concealed. The old is in the new revealed.
The new is in the old contained. The old is in
the new explained. Wherever you open this book,
it brings you to Jesus Christ and to God himself.
It is God's revelation of who he is. Do you respect
your Bible? You say, Pastor, I dust it all the
time. How tragic if that's your answer. Because,
you see, respect for the Bible is indicated by
how much time we spend in it, not by whether
it sits on the prominent place on the coffee
table or whether we carry it to church. Our respect
for the Bible is not even indicated by how much
time we spend in it doing lessons for some class
in college. Our respect for the Bible is indicated
by how much time we personally spend in it fellowshipping
with God. How much time have you spent in the
Bible in that personal way this last week? Will
you respond to what we have seen this morning?
by saying to God, I will spend 15 minutes a day
at least in this book. Will you do that beginning
today and through the rest of this week? Maybe
that will become a habit of your life. I pray
it will. Because you see, this book is divinely
authored. We see how it fits together in what
we've looked at today. Then a second application.
I pray that what we have said here today will
lead us to a greater worship of Jesus Christ
so that we recognize that history is his story.
He is the thread that ties it all together. He
is the most significant figure of all history.
He is the focus of all of God's purpose. God
has purpose to glorify himself in his son. We
do well if, like the wise men, we seek him. and
offer our gifts to him. If like the shepherds,
we respond by worshiping him. Are you worshiping
him? How much time do you spend with Jesus Christ?
Before we were talking about your time in the
word, let's talk about how much time you spend
in prayer and fellowship with God. Will you give
yourself? to greater worship of Jesus Christ
because of who he is? Will you? Will you this
week tell him more that you love him? Our worship
of him is also indicated by our obedience. If
our lives are being lived in disobedience, then
we cannot claim to worship him. Jesus said, why
do you call me Lord? And do not the things that
I say. It's a contradiction. You can't worship
him as Lord unless we're obeying him. Does the
word obedience express where your heart is today?
Where your lifestyle is? If not, will you commit
yourself today to obedience? By repenting of
the direction you're moving in? Coming to Jesus
Christ and giving yourself to him afresh and
anew? Finally, I'd like to apply this to anyone
who's here and has never trusted Christ. I hope
that today's message will give you a sense of
renewed urgency regarding your salvation decision.
Because to reject, or perhaps even worse, to
neglect Jesus Christ is to turn away from the
only redemption that God has ever promised, the
redemption he began to reveal back in the garden.
To reject Jesus Christ is to miss out on the
blessing that he has promised to give all nations
through Abraham's seed. To reject Jesus Christ
is to fail to grasp and to appreciate the full
revelation of God himself. To reject Jesus Christ
is to give up the only provision that God has
made for you to know him and to come into his
presence. Perhaps the most famous Christmas cartoon
of history was drawn by Von Shoemaker many years
ago. It's a cartoon that has appeared for a number
of years on the front page of Chicago Daily News
every Christmas Eve. It's a very simple cartoon
with just a Christmas tree and one package that's
left with a beautiful ribbon on it. And at the
bottom of the cartoon it says, The Unopened Gift.
And on the box it says, Eternal Life. And in
the background of the cartoon it says, For God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten
Son that whosoever believes on him should not
perish but have eternal life. Will you receive
that gift today? Father, I pray that you will
apply this message as it needs to be in our lives.
For Jesus' sake, amen.