Easter 2006 (Part One)

LK 24:44 He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."

LK 24:45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

Three marvelous statements concerning the Lord Jesus:

Everything written about the Lord Jesus Christ must be fulfilled.

Everything written about the Lord Jesus Christ can be understood.

Everything written about the Lord Jesus Christ can be summarized or boiled down.

- The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.

- Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations.

- You are witnesses of these things.

- The Promised Power of the Holy Spirit will come to give you the power to proclaim this gospel.

Try to feel some of the things that the disciples were feeling that day. They were the ultimate bundle of nerves! Look at Luke 24:36-43.

I think that if we were there we would have probably heard some of those nervous laughs that come out of us when we are working through something very difficult.

The kind where we go from laughing to crying and back to laughing in a single breath.

If we had any quirks or twitches, we would probably be doing them (my wife says that when I am under duress, I turn on my wedding ring and stare at it).

Have you ever heard the phrase, “sweating bullets”? These fellows had sweated about 300 rounds and were loading their clips for more.

This was hard!

We are talking about the fulfillment of the plan of God for all the ages!

The Lord Jesus Christ had been crucified, buried, and just rose from the dead.

Let’s try to get a grasp of what is taking place here.

Now, let’s look at the first of three marvelous statements concerning the Lord Jesus.

I. Everything written about the Lord Jesus Christ must be fulfilled (Luke 24:44).

24:44 Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. The three parts of the Hebrew OT (Psalms was the first book of the third section, called the Writings), indicating that Christ (the Messiah) was foretold in the whole OT.

"Law ... Prophets ... Psalms" expands "Moses and all the Prophets" in v. 27 by adding the Psalms as a major component of the third division of the OT, the so-called Writings.

What was written about Christ in the Law of Moses?

The serpent’s head will be crushed; the Savior’s heal will be bruised (Genesis 3:15).

Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness (Numbers 21:7-9 cf. John 3:14).

Jesus declaration of his impending crucifixion resulting in the peoples response “from the law” (John 12:20-36).

What was written about Christ in the Prophets?

LK 18:31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. 33 On the third day he will rise again."

Birth of Messiah in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2 cf. Matthew 2:1-6).

MT 2:3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:

MT 2:6 " `But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for out of you will come a ruler

who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.' "

John the Baptist (Malachi 3:1 cf. Mt. 11:7-10; Mark 9:12-13; Luke 3:1-7; Luke 7:24-28).

MK 9:12 Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him."

LK 3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar--when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene-- 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

"A voice of one calling in the desert,

`Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for him.

LK 3:5 Every valley shall be filled in,

every mountain and hill made low.

The crooked roads shall become straight,

the rough ways smooth.

LK 3:6 And all mankind will see God's salvation.' "

LK 7:24 After John's messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 25 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written:

" `I will send my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way before you.'

LK 7:28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

Strike the Shepherd (Zech. 13:7 ct. Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:26).

Isaiah’s prophecy of the anointed One is fulfilled (Isaiah 61:1-2 cf. Luke 14:16-20).

Isaiah’s prophecy of the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12).

The prophecy of the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31 cf. Hebrews 8, 9, 10).

What was written about Christ in the Psalms?

Kiss the Son (Psalm 2:10-12).

Wrangling over Jesus claim to be the Son of God (Jesus quotes Psalm 82:6 cf. John 10:34-42).

Angels will protect the Messiah (Psalm 91:11 cf. Luke 4:9-12).

Offering of the Christ (Psalm 40:6-8 cf. Hebrews 10:1-7).

Hosanna cry of the Triumphal Entry (Psalm 118:25-26 cf. Mt. 21:1-9; Mk. 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-38; John 12:12-15).

Soldiers dividing up the clothes of Jesus (Psalm 22:18 cf. Luke 23:34).

Hideous spectacle of the Christ on the cross (Psalm 22:17 cf. Luke 23:35).

Scornful mocking of the rulers at the foot of the cross (Psalm 22:7-8 cf. Matthew 27:40 and Luke 23:35).

Gall and vinegar given to Jesus – “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst” (Psalm 69:21 cf. Luke 24:36-37).

Desperate cry from the cross – “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!” (Psalm 22:1).

Surrendering prayer from the cross – “Into you hands I commit my spirit” (Psalm 31:5 cf. Luke 24:45).

The distant on looking of the followers of Jesus – “My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away” (Psalm 38:11 cf. Luke 24:49).

(Everything written about the Lord Jesus Christ must be fulfilled)

All of this has just happened.

Now it was time to draw close.