The Bible - Jesus' Story Part 1

HOPE CHAPEL Sunday Service Notes

Teaching Series: “The Bible - Jesus’ Story”
Today’s Topic: “Week 1: Jesus In the Bible - Introduction”

When we say that the Bible is God’s Word, we are saying that it was written by Him, for Him and about Him.  The central character of the whole Bible is Jesus - the Messiah, God-incarnate, the sacrificial Lamb and returning King.  During these next five weeks, I want to demonstrate for you how Jesus is found throughout the entirety of Scripture–from Genesis’ very good Creation to Revelation’s Alpha and Omega–the beginning and the end.

Youtube video from “The Bible Project - Messiah” 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dEh25pduQ8

At the start of our previous teaching series, “In the Beginning” from Genesis 1-3, I began with the subject of God–from whom all things find their source.  I would like to begin this series with an introduction that includes a review of the subject of God because Jesus is God; basic Bible facts; the Bible as the book about Jesus; and what Jesus had to say about His connection to the Tanak or Old Testament.

JESUS IS GOD

• Colossians 1:15-16 - “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.  He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see--such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.  Everything was created through him and for him.”

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To disregard the Bible’s claim that Jesus was God is to reject it entirely.  We must either believe what it clearly says, or deem it unreliable and throw it away.  We may wish to pick and choose which parts of Scripture we prefer, but we do not possess the ability to discern which parts are reliable and which are not.  The Bible claims to be “ inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:16)–all of it; we must either accept it at face value, including the claims of Christ’s deity, or reject it out of hand.

Review - God’s Attributes, therefore Jesus’ Attributes (refer to Sunday Notes - July 5, 2020)

• Self-existent and eternal - not created, but has and will exist for all eternity
• He is a personal Spirit - not an ‘it’ or ‘thing’ - until He submits Himself to the will of His Father and becomes the God-man (Philippians 2)
• Eternally existent as three-persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit
• Transcendent and immanent - far off (unconstrained), yet close up (able to interact with individuals)
• Ruler of all - seen and unseen
• Source of all good things

BIBLE FACTS - A truly amazing book!

• 66 Books - 39 Old Testament / 27 New Testament
• It was written over the course of about 1500 years
• Written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek
• Around 40 recognized authors contributed to its writing- kings, farmers, fishermen, a tentmaker, homeless prophets, a doctor, a professional scribe, vocational musicians, pastors, etc.
• 1+2 Samuel, 1+2 Kings, 1+2 Chronicles were originally written as single books, but to make duplication and handling easier, each was divided in half
• The Books of the Bible do not appear in their chronologically written order–it is thought that the Book of Job is the oldest of all the books of the Bible

JESUS AS THE CENTRAL CHARACTER OF THE BIBLE

Jesus at the Beginning

• John 1:1-3 - “In the beginning the Word already existed.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He existed in the beginning with God.  God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.”
• Genesis 3:15 - “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Jesus was both present and promised at the Creation.  He is God making it all, yet is also to be the ‘offspring’ that will bring about the demise of the serpent–both in His death on the cross and as the One who will send Satan to his eternal punishment in hell (Revelation 20:10).

Jesus as the Climax - Incarnation, Death and Resurrection

• John 1:14 - “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”
• Colossians 2:9 - “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.”
• Hebrews 1:3 - “ The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.”
• John 20:30-31 - “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

The birth of Jesus introduced the world to God incarnate–the one and only God-man, Jesus.  He was miraculously born of a virgin; the stories surrounding His birth are well known–an angel choir, shepherds, wisemen, a murderous king and escape to Egypt.  At the age of 30, He began His ministry–appointing disciples, teaching people the ways of God and performing miracles.  He lived a perfectly sinless life, yet was murdered by the religious leaders because of envy.  But He did not stay dead, He rose again and over the course of 40 days appeared to many, leaving behind a slew of witnesses that went out and spread the good news.  Before He left, He promised to return...and today we wait for that promise to be fulfilled.

Jesus at the End

• Revelation 22:12-13 - “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

Jesus is both the ‘lamb that was slain’ and the ‘rider on the white horse.’  He is able to ‘open the seal’ and He is the One who ‘makes all things new.’  His Bride is the Church and He will reign as King–One with the Trinity.

JESUS APPLIED THE OLD TESTAMENT TO HIMSELF

• John 5:39 - “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me.”
• Luke 24:25-27 - “Then Jesus said to them, ‘You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures.  Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?’  Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
• Luke 24:44-48 - “Then he said, ‘When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.’  Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.  And he said, ‘Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day.  It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ You are witnesses of all these things’.”

The people of Jesus’ day were so convinced that the Messiah would come as a conquering king that they missed the clear words of prophecy that He would suffer, die and be resurrected after three days.  Often, as Jesus went about His ministry, He pointed out how His actions and words were fulfilling Scripture, but the people remained blind to the truth because of their set minds; even those who believed Jesus was the Christ, failed to read the Old Testament prophecies correctly until He revealed it to them after His resurrection.

Summary:
The Bible truly is the Story of Jesus:

• His eternal existence as God
• His participation in the whole of Creation
• His predicted incarnation as the Messiah
• His life, death and resurrection
• His Church carrying on His mission, empowered by His gift of the Holy Spirit
• His promised return as King
• All things will be made new, just as it was at the Creation, and God will dwell with His people!

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Next week: "Jesus in the Old Testament"