Week 7 - Day 1
THE STORY
Rescue (New Testament)
PROMISE AND FULFILLMENT
For the last two weeks we saw how God’s Rescue plan started in the Old Testament. To summarize, we covered:
God’s promise to bless Abraham and make him a blessing to the whole world
God’s deliverance of the Israelites from the Egyptians and the giving of His law
God’s gracious provision for forgiveness through the sacrificial system
God’s strength in giving His people their own land as He promised Abraham
God’s promise to King David to always have one of his descendants on the throne
God’s loving discipline that sent His people into exile from the Promised Land for 70 years only to resettle them back home
And finally God’s honor-bound commitment to fulfill His Rescue mission by sending the Promised Rescuer
This week we will turn to the New Testament. Once again, if the Old Testament is about God’s Promised Rescue and Rescuer, then the New Testament is the fulfillment of that promise. The Apostle Paul makes this comment about the promise and fulfillment from the Old Testament to the New Testament.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV)
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
And to get a little ahead of ourselves. When Jesus walked with two of His disciples who didn’t recognize him and couldn’t believe the report that He had died and come back to life, He said:
Luke 24:25-27 (NLT)
“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.
The Scriptures that Jesus is referring to are the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible. The Story in the New Testament, then, turns its full attention to Jesus, the Christ, the promised Messiah, the Anointed One—The Rescuer.
BIRTH
Through Jesus Christ, God has come to our Rescue. So to speak, He has jumped right into the turbulent waters of our rebellious world to save us.
Luke gives us the angel’s pregnancy announcement to his mother Mary.
Luke 1:26-38 (NLT)
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail.”
Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
What did the Angel Gabriel tell Mary about who this child would be?
Why is Jesus no mere human being?
What is Mary’s response to Gabriel’s announcement?
Matthew now gives us the angel’s pregnancy announcement to his earthly “father” Joseph.
Matthew 1:18-25 (NLT)
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’” (Quoting the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah from Isaiah 7:14)When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
Keep in mind that Isaiah’s prophecy about This Child was written 700 years before the birth of Jesus.
What did the Angel Gabriel tell Joseph about who this child would be?
Why is Jesus no mere human being?
What is Joseph’s response to Gabriel’s announcement?
Putting it all together, because of Jesus’ miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit, Jesus is both fully God and fully human. Jesus has an exalted dual identity. He is a man who is God Himself.
JESUS’ PERSONAL CLAIM
Later in His life and ministry, Jesus confirms His exalted dual identity as a man who is God Himself. Jesus makes an astonishing claim that He and the Father are one. The people’s violent reaction help us understand what Jesus really meant.
John 10:30-33 (NLT)
“The Father and I are one.”
Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?”
They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”
Why did the people pick up stones to kill Jesus?
Jesus indeed claimed to be a man who is God. Do you believe Him?
The Good News is that God doesn’t leave our Rescue to someone else. Through His Son Jesus, God has personally come to our Rescue.
We can picture our Rescue like this:
In light of what you have discovered through the Bible readings and your personal reflections, how will you respond? Finish this sentence: I will …