The story is told about a farmer and his wife
who went to town together. It seems that the
man had an appointment with the doctor for a
checkup and his wife wanted to be there. Isn't
that always the case? They just don't trust you
to understand what the doctor says and bring
it back home. She wanted to go and be with him
and so after the examination, the doctor sent
the man out and had his wife come into the office.
And he handed her a piece of paper saying, here
are the things that you need to do for your husband,
or he will surely die. Fear gripped her heart
as she silently read down the list. It said,
number one, fix your husband a hot breakfast
every morning before he goes out to milk the
cows at 5 o 'clock. Two, surprise him with a
homemade pie or cake every day at lunchtime.
Number three, after lunch, insist that he lie
down in the hammock and take a nap. Bring him
the newspaper and a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade.
Number four, always let him hold the remote.
And watch the ball game whenever he wants to.
Bring him a bowl of ice cream and homemade cookies
while he watches. On the way home, The farmer
looked over to his wife and asked her, well,
honey, what did the doctor say? How am I doing?
She looked at him and said, he says you're surely
going to die. You're surely going to die. Now
that man is in a deep pit. And perhaps it's something
like the pit that David was in when he wrote
Psalm 40. I invite you to open your Bible there
with me as we continue this theme of the carols
of the Christ, thinking today about His incarnation.
Psalm 40 is a composition of David. These are
his words. God had delivered David from a pit
of destruction out of miry clay, says his poetic
heart. God has set him free, has brought him
up out of the pit. God has set his feet upon
a rock and put a new song in his mouth. This
hymn or this psalm praises God for a past rescue,
but it also leads to yet another prayer of David
for deliverance that was needed at the moment
it was written. When, as he says in verse 11,
there were evils beyond number that surrounded
him. And in verse 14 he says there were some
even at that moment that sought to destroy his
life. So here is a psalm of praise to God for
past deliverance and petition to God for yet
another need for intervention. Placed into this
setting is a lyrical jewel of exquisite devotion
to God. These are verses 6 through 8, our text
for today. Sacrifice and meal offering thou hast
not desired. My ears thou hast opened. Burnt
offering and sin offering thou hast not required.
Then I said, behold, I come. In the scroll of
the book it is written of me. I delight to do
thy will, O my God. Thy law is within my heart.
This was an expression of David. As he told of
his heart's devotion to the Lord, I delight to
do your will, O God. Now the Holy Spirit picks
up these verses and transports them into the
New Testament and puts them in a certain context
and I invite you to look there with me now in
Hebrews The author here is telling us how the
sacrifices of old, in the Old Testament, were
not able to take away sin. They atoned for it,
they covered it, but they didn't take it away.
And he acknowledges in verse 4, it is impossible
for the blood of bulls and goats to take away
sins. Therefore, when He comes into the world,
now the question, who is He? And if you look
back through the context here, you come back
to Christ. When Christ comes into the world,
He talks about that in verse 26, the middle of
the verse. He says, now once at the consummation
of the ages, He has been manifested to put away
sin by the sacrifice of Himself. That is Christ
So in verse 5 he says now when he comes into
the world He says Sacrifice and offering thou
hast not desired but a body thou hast prepared
for me In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin thou has taken no pleasure Then I said
behold I have come in the scroll of the book
it is written of me to do thy will Oh God The
text that we've read clearly points our minds
in the direction of Messiah's incarnation of
His coming into the world as one of us. Now most
of us here today know the familiar gospel story
of Jesus' birth. We know about the coming to
Bethlehem and there was no room in the inn and
how they were given the place in the manger where
Mary gave birth to the child. They wrapped him
in claws and laid him in a manger. And we know
about the shepherds out on the hillside getting
the news that a savior has been born. And they
come to Bethlehem and they worship him. And later
the wise men come from the east and they worship
him and offer him gifts. We know that story.
But what we have here is the news behind the
news that came from the heavens that night to
the shepherds. As Paul Harvey likes to say, here
is the rest of the story that allows us to hear
the Messiah Himself speak to God His Father as
the miracle of Bethlehem unfolds. And what Messiah
says to His Father are words of devotion to Him,
Christ's incarnation. His coming to earth is
a declaration of His devotion and obedience to
God's plan for Him. His coming to earth, His
incarnation, becoming a man, is a declaration
of His heart devotion to God, His obedience to
the will of God. I hope that as we study that
theme out a little bit in our text this morning
that we will deeply desire to do the same. That
is to be obedient to God's plan for our lives.
For there is no greater joy that we can know
than that our lives would find their place in
God's plan. And we follow that with all of our
devoted hearts. There's no greater joy that we
can know than that. There are two truths about
the Messiah that unfold in our text. I'd like
for us to look at them together. The first truth
about Messiah is the truth about His person,
the truth about Christ's person. We learn something
about who He is in our text. First of all, He
is the Son of David. Who was it that wrote these
words? Behold, I come. It was David. David penned
those words himself. They were expression of
his poetic heart, loving God. But David wrote
those words, as it were, as a script. For his
greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the
Son of David, Christ came from David's line,
from the line of Judah, one of the twelve sons
of Israel. He came in fulfillment of God's covenantal
promise to David for a descendant of David's
who would establish David's throne, his kingdom.
And God promised that that kingdom would be forever.
When the angel appeared to Mary and foretold
the birth of the one that was to be conceived
in her womb, he said, and the Lord God will give
to him the throne of his father David. And so
the first truth is the truth about Christ's person,
that he is the son of David who wrote these words,
lo I come, I as the son of David come. Secondly,
we see that he is the subject of prophecy. As
he comes, he says, In the scroll of the book,
it is written of me." Now the question is, what
scroll of the book is in mind? Well, David undoubtedly
had in mind the law, the Torah, the Pentateuch
written by Moses, the first five books of the
Bible. He says, in the law, in the Torah, it
is written of me. Well, Messiah adopted those
words as well, and how much more did they write
of Him? In Genesis we see the Messiah as the
promised seed of the woman who would crush the
head of the serpent though his heel would be
bruised. We see him as the substitutionary ram
who took the place of Isaac there on the mountain
of sacrifice. We see him as the ladder that reaches
into heaven in Jacob's dream and Jesus is that
ladder and the way to God. We see him in the
prophecy that was given to Judah by Jacob as
he lay dying. And that was that the scepter,
the right to rule, would belong to his family.
We see him in Exodus as the Passover lamb whose
blood was sprinkled on the doorpost so that the
angel of death and judgment would pass over those
who had the blood in place. We see Him as the
tabernacle and all of its furnishings that point
in so many different ways to Christ. We see Him
in Exodus as the mercy seat where the blood was
sprinkled, the place of fellowship. Jesus has
become our mercy seat where we meet with God.
In Leviticus we see Him as the sacrifices. God
there in that book outlined the various sacrifices
the people were to bring to the altar. And Jesus
in a wonderful way is pictured in every one of
those sacrifices. We see him in Leviticus likewise
in the feasts of the Lord, those annual festivals
and celebrations when the people of Israel would
come together and observe ritual. Jesus is pictured
in his ministry as seen in those feasts of the
Lord. Again we see him in numbers. as the brass
serpent that was lifted up so that those who
had sinned might look at the serpent and in that
act of faith for God's provision be healed and
delivered from judgment. Jesus is like that serpent.
He was lifted up on the cross that men might
look to him and be saved from judgment. We see
him as Aaron's staff or his rod that burst to
life. in numbers. And then in Deuteronomy we
see the places of refuge established. Jesus is
the ultimate refuge. In Him we have God's provision
for refuge. And then in Deuteronomy we see Him
as the promised prophet, who would be like me,
says Moses. So He is the subject of prophecy.
In the scroll of the book it is written of Him.
and in hundreds of other ways throughout the
whole Old Testament, we see prophecy after prophecy
that point to Christ. Now the truth we see about
him is that he is the son of David, he is the
subject of prophecy, and third, he is the servant
of the law. He says, thy law is within my heart.
That can be said of no mere man. For we are born
with hearts that are hardened in rebellion against
God But Jesus could say uniquely Thy law is within
my heart When he came he came completely devoted
to the righteous law of God He was determined
to obey its every requirement and was able to
do so Because of the righteousness of his heart
Every jot and every tittle of the law was fulfilled
in Jesus and in His righteousness. He Himself
said in John 4, my food is to do the will of
Him who sent me. The law is the moral expression.
Jesus said that is what I live for, to fulfill
God's law. And He Himself said I did not come
to destroy the law. but to fulfill it, the servant
of the Law. Now, for sinners, the Law is bad
news, because if we cannot live up to its standards,
it condemns us. But for the one who is Messiah,
to be subject to the Law and the servant of the
Law, gain the Law's approval, because He was
able to fulfill it in every respect. And so we
learned this about Jesus' person. But then secondly,
we learned this truth about Christ's purpose.
And that purpose unfolds in three thoughts that
come again from our text. The first thought is
this, that He came in a body. He came in a body.
If you notice carefully when we read the two
texts, The book of Hebrews changes a sentence.
That is, as the Holy Spirit causes the writer
of that book to record from Psalms, he records
from the Greek translation of the Old Testament,
the Septuagint we call it, and the Greek translators
understood the Hebrew differently, and they wrote
in a body, thou hast prepared for me. That's
interesting, isn't it? It seems to me that the
Holy Spirit, who inspired Psalm 40 and Hebrews
10, can change the words if He wants to. And
that's what He does. Because you see, it becomes
a very poignant point for Him. There are two
key words in Hebrews 10, in the quoting of Psalm
40 and Hebrews 10, that fit that context. One
of them is will. I delight to do thy will. And
the other is this, a body thou hast prepared
for me. Both of those words are key to communicate
in Hebrews chapter 10. That's why the Holy Spirit
allowed that writer to bring this in from the
Septuagint that said, a body thou hast prepared
for me. Now it's important to understand that
this means not just a body of flesh and blood,
but when it says a body you have prepared for
me, it means You have prepared for me to become
fully human It doesn't mean that he just lived
in a body As though were some sort of a container
that he entered into But it means that he actually
joined himself with humanity The Apostle Paul
writes about this in Philippians chapter 2 he
points to the humility of Christ the glorious
eternal Son of God who laid aside the outward
demonstration of His glory and was willing to
enter a human body and join Himself to human
nature. Think of this. Think of the wonder of
it that the eternal God Himself in His immensity
in his glorious attributes laid aside the outward
view of that glory and came down humbled himself
until he was able to enter into a cell within
the womb of a virgin and there grow into a baby
Paul says you think about that demonstration
of humility that this God that we worship Was
willing to become a servant to others And so
he writes Have this attitude in yourselves that
was also in Christ Jesus be willing he says to
lay aside your rights as Jesus did so that you
may serve others He goes on to write, who although
he existed in the form of God, did not regard
equality with God a thing to be grasped, but
emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant,
and being made in the likeness of men. Now that's
an interesting phrase, isn't it? Being made in
the likeness of men. Does that mean that he was
like what a man is, but not a real man? It does
not. Meyer has this to say regarding that term
likeness of men. He says, this expression does
not of itself imply, still less does it exclude
or diminish, the reality of the nature which
Christ assumed. That is declared in the words,
form of a servant. Paul justly says, in the likeness
of men, because, in fact, Christ, although certainly
perfect man, was by reason of the divine nature
present in him, not simply and merely man." That's
why Paul puts it the way he does, the likeness
of men. He's not denying that Jesus was fully
man, he's simply allowing room for the fact that
he was more than a mere human. More than a mere
man. And then he goes on to say in Philippians
2, and being found in appearance as a man, he
humbled himself. Appearance as a man. Meyer goes
on to say, men saw in Christ a human form, bearing
language, action, and mode of life, in general,
the state and relations of a human being. so
that in the entire mode of his appearance, he
made himself known and was recognized as a man.
In other words, as people looked at Jesus, even
when he was born in the manger, there was no
halo around his head as depicted on our Christmas
cards. And as they watched him teach and do his
miracles, there was nothing about him that looked
inhuman. He didn't look like an extraterrestrial.
He had the full appearance of a man, because
he was, although he was more than a man. As to
his purpose, Messiah says as he comes into the
world, he says to the Father, a body you have
prepared for me. Now the second thing we see
about his purpose is this, that he came to serve
God's will. He says, I delight to do thy will,
oh my God. We can't say that ourselves, can we?
Because the truth be known about us, we're sinners
and we don't like to do God's will. We run from
God's will, we resist God's will, but Jesus was
able to say, I delight to do. thy will." Back
in Psalm 40, that phrase that says in the New
Testament, a body you've prepared for me, it
says there, my ears hast thou opened. But that
could mean that the Lord God gave him a heart
to hear and to obey the word of God. That would
certainly be true. But it may be that there's
something more intended by this translation of
what the Hebrew said. My ears has now opened
it may relate to something God provided for in
the law when a slave Having served his indentured
service Desired not to be set free But to continue
serving his master It says in Exodus 21, verse
2, if you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve
for six years. But on the seventh year, he shall
go out as a free man without payment. And then
down in verse 5, it says, but if the slave plainly
says, I love my master, my wife, and my children,
and I will not go out as a free man, then his
master shall bring him to God. Then he shall
bring him to the door or the doorpost. And the
master shall pierce his ear, the slave's ear,
with an awl, and he shall serve him permanently."
Someone asked me after the first service, was
this the beginning of pierced ears? I'm not even
going to touch that one. But the fact is that
God provided for this, and the slave that willingly
continued serving his master out of devotion
and love, Had the mark upon his body that that
was the case his ear had been punctured and The
hole in the ear was a testimony that he was a
slave by choice Now the Lord Jesus coming into
the world says I Voluntarily give myself as a
servant. Oh God to your will I delight to do
your will." And so he is recorded in the Psalms
as saying, my ear thou hast opened. And he became
obedient even to the death of the cross. And
that brings us to the third idea about his person
that we see in the text. He came to offer sacrifice.
He came to offer sacrifice. You see, His death
was not merely an expiration. It was an expiation.
He came to provide through His death for the
penalty that the law demanded for sin. He Himself
had not sinned. He kept the law of God, as we've
said. But when He died, He offered Himself as
a sacrifice. Jesus Christ did not die as a martyr.
He died as a Savior. Now going back to Hebrews
10, this is very important of what He wants to
say. Because He is showing that Christ came into
the world to put away sin by the sacrifice of
Himself. That's back in chapter 9, verse 26.
And then in chapter 10, He explains, he says,
the law, since it has only a shadow of the good
things to come and not the very form of things,
can never by the same sacrifices year by year,
which they offer continually, make perfect those
who draw near. In other words, all of those sacrifices,
the repetition of them in the Old Testament,
could not make those who drew near to God righteous.
It was unable to attain that goal. It could cover
over their sins. It could not put them away.
He says otherwise would they not have ceased
to be offered. Because the worshippers having
once been cleansed would no longer have any consciousness
of sins. But in those sacrifices, he says, there's
a reminder of sins year by year. And so every
year as they would bring the sacrifice to God.
It would be a reminder of their sin. It was not
taken away. It was simply piling up under the
atoning blood of these animals. And then he says,
it's impossible that the blood of bulls and goats
can take away sin. You see, those sacrifices
simply could not do that. But then Messiah comes
into the world. And he says, a body you've prepared
for me. Sacrifice an offering you've not desired.
Whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sins.
You've taken no pleasure in them. That sounds
strange, doesn't it? Because God is the one who
set those things up. But it's simply an acknowledgement
by David in Psalm 40, and again by the writer
of Hebrews, that though God established that
Levitical sacrificial system, It could not make
men righteous. It could only cover up the sin
until sometime in the future the sacrifice could
be offered. And friends, that's why there's Christmas.
And so that God Himself in the sun could come
into this world in a human body. and fulfill
the law of God voluntarily and then lay down
His life as the sacrifice that would take away
sin. So Jesus the Messiah served the promises
of God, served the purpose of God. He served
the purpose of God not out of duty, but out of
devotion to the Lord. And folks, isn't that what
our calling is? Didn't He leave you and me an
example in this sense? Like Messiah, we should
serve God out of hard devotion and not out of
harsh duty. How do you see your Christian experience?
How do you see the Christian life? Is it something
heavy and it's a drudgery and it's an obligation
to you? Does being a Christian to you mean getting
on a treadmill and running as hard as you can
for as long as you can? Is it a performance?
My friend, if that is your understanding of Christianity,
then you need to go right back to the foundation
of your understanding and ask yourself the question,
have I understood the grace of God? Because you
see Jesus Christ by his death on the cross has
satisfied God And God's law and the judgment
upon sinners that comes out of the law He has
taken away sin as an issue between God and us
So that when we trust the Savior we receive the
righteousness of Jesus in place of our sin. The
sin is removed and then all of the righteousness
of the law that Jesus fulfilled is given to us
as a free gift. It's a wonderful thing. Now,
if we understand that, how can we possibly look
at the Christian life as some harsh obligation?
some duty we've got to fulfill. Should we not
rather see it as just the joyful response to
God who would do something like this for us?
Should we not be able then to say with Messiah,
Oh God, I delight to do your will. I delight
to do your will. The story is told about a young
man who was struggling with God's will in his
life and he didn't know if he was going to do
it or if he wanted to do it. His mother cut out
some letters from construction paper and put
it in his room. And it said, let God, let God.
The young man looked at that, and he wondered
what it meant. And he kind of resented her doing
it. And he went out the door, slammed the door.
And later he came back to his room, still in
turmoil. But in the meantime, when he had slammed
the door, The letter D had fallen off and it
said, let go. Right there is the issue of God's
will in you and me. We don't want to let go.
We want to be in control. We delight to do God's
will if He tells us in advance what it is and
it fits what we want. If it's convenient for
us. Jesus understood God's will. It was very
inconvenient. I delight to do your will. Your
law is in my heart. The story is told about Jack
who was walking too close to a cliff one day.
And he fell over. And as he was falling, he was
reaching for anything. He grabbed a hold of a
limb. that was sticking out from this cliff.
And then he looked down. He saw it was 1 ,000
feet to the bottom of the canyon, where he was.
And he looked up, and there was no way that he
could climb back up the steep wall of that cliff.
And so he hung there, and he began to yell, help,
help! Is anybody up there? Help! And he yelled
hour after hour until finally he heard a voice.
And the voice said, Jack. Jack, can you hear
me? He said, yes, I can hear you. I'm down here.
I can see you, Jack. Are you all right? Yes,
but who are you and where are you? He says, well,
I'm the Lord, Jack. I'm everywhere. The Lord?
You mean God? That's me. Well, God, please help
me. I promise if you'll just get me down from
here, I'll stop sinning. I'll be a really good
person. I'll serve you the rest of my life. Easy
on the promises, Jack. Let's just get you down
from there and then we can talk. And now here's
what I want you to do. Listen carefully. Oh,
I'll do anything you say, Lord. Just tell me
what to do. OK, Jack. Let go of the branch. What
I said let go of the branch just trust me and
let go There was a long silence finally Jack
yelled help help is there anybody else up there
Isn't it us God I want my options. I don't like
your way But God has this at a point folks where
there is no other way If you're here today thinking
that somehow you're going to hang on to your
own righteousness or hang on to your own way
of coming to God or your own religion, I want
to tell you it's a thousand feet down and there's
no way up. And there's one voice that's saying,
trust me. That's the voice of Jesus Christ. And
I hope that you'll do that today and let go.
And give yourself to Him. receive Him as your
Lord and Savior. But I'm not going to let those
of us who've done that off the hook because we're
almost worse than sinners at this. Jack is us
because we say, God, I want to do it my way.
God is saying, if you really want my will, then
let go. Stop trying to control your own life.
Let go and trust me. And I hope today you'll
do that. And that like Messiah, you'll serve
God's will out of a heart of devotion, that you'll
obey what God wants in your life, out of a heart
of joy and delight, like Jesus did. Let's pray.
With our heads bowed, if you're here today without
Jesus Christ as your Savior, I want to invite
you to Trust Him today. Receive Him as the Lord
of your life. Believing that His sacrifice for
sins was for you, that He's able to take away
your guilt before God and give you His righteousness.
Right where you're sitting, you can do that.
Just make that decision to let go and trust Him.
And my Christian brother and sister, some of
us are hanging on today too. And we want God
to show us in advance what His will is before
we say, I surrender. But God is saying, just
let go and trust me. And when we do that and
make that choice, then the joy of Messiah, we
will know in our own hearts. We will delight
to do God's will. God help us to do it. Father
I pray that you will apply this to our lives
and send us on our way more grateful than ever
for Messiah and his incarnation But also with
a heart response that we've let go And we're
letting you our God Have your way in our lives
in Jesus name Amen Well, thank you for worshiping
with us and As you go, would you greet one another?
We also invite you, visitors, to come by the
reception area in the back. We're dismissed.