Josh Benner

Category: Theology

  • Sermon: Walking on Water – John 6:16-21

     16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. 

           Prayer 

    Our heavenly Father, 

    On this father’s day, I do want to pray for the dads in our church. No matter how young or old a father is, they have opportunities to bless, to love, and to share wisdom with their kids. It is a sacred role which you have created. 

    Lord, it is a day that can mean different things to different people. Some of us no longer have our father’s with us. Some of us might have had difficult relationships with our fathers. We thank you for the men in our lives who influenced us and helped shape us into the people we’ve become. 

    And with all of their greatnesses and imperfections, Lord may our earthly fathers point us to you, our true and perfect heavenly father. 

    You rule and reign with sovereign authority. 

    You know our needs better than we do. 

    You know the number of hairs on our heads. A sparrow does not fall without your knowledge. That is your exhaustive knowledge of our world. 

    You know the situations of our past, our present, and future. 

    Lord, you are our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

    In the stressful times, instead of trying to control situations, manipulate situations, worry about situations, grumble about situations, may we instead turn to you and trust in you. 

    In times of uncertainty, may we be certain of your goodness. In times of suffering, may we rejoice knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts. 

    Lord, may we trust that there is nothing in our lives, no matter how big or small which falls outside of your sovereign will. May we remember that you are eternal and eternally faithful to your promises and Word and that you never leave us nor forsake us. 

    Lord, in the frightening times of life, may we draw near to you not run from you. 

    Lord, please bless our time as we study your Word. 

    May we again be reminded of your gospel and rejoice in your Son who has come into the world so that we can be forgiven of our sins. 

    In Jesus’ name, Amen.

           Series context  

    We’re continuing in the Gospel of John this morning. Last week, we looked at Jesus feeding the multitudes. 

    This week, we look at the story of his disciples being caught in a storm and Jesus walking on water. It’s another one of his greatest hits and best known and loved stories in the gospels. 

    This event is recorded in three of the gospels. Matthew, Mark, and here in John. In all three of those gospels, it appears directly after Jesus feeds the multitudes. 

    John’s version of the story is the shortest by a significant margin. Matthew’s account is more than twice as long as John’s, but that makes the account no less important.  

    Also, I should mention that a good exercise to do sometimes when reading a story that’s recounted in more than one gospel is to look at the stories and see what one writer emphasizes more or less than another.

    Before we jump into our passage, I just wanted to make one more comment. Last week, we talked about how John chapters 6-8 echo a number of themes found in the Exodus. We’ll see that again in our passage this week. 

    Last week, we saw it in the time of year. It’s Passover, the same time of year when the Israelites had been freed. When Jesus feeds the multitudes, it alludes to the Lord providing manna during the Exodus journey. 

    In Jesus walking on water, it echoes the crossing of the Red Sea. In the preceding passage, the current passage, and next week’s passage, John continues orienting the geography of these events around the Sea. And that will be especially relevant today. 

    So we’ll jump in and this week we will again look at this passage in three scenes. A setting, a conflict, and a resolution. 

     First scene – Setting

    After the feeding of the multitudes, last week’s passage concluded by telling us that Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself (John 6:15). 

    Just as Moses has gone up to Mount Sinai alone, Jesus departs from the multitude of people to be by himself on the mountain. 

    Verses 16-17: When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 

    So there’s a shift in time of day.  It’s now evening. 

    And so the disciples go down to the sea. Last week’s passage told us that they were next to the Sea of Galilee. 

    Now, when I hear that something is called a “sea,” I tend to think that it’s a small ocean. But the Sea of Galilee here is actually a large lake. Not impossibly large. If the Sea of Galilee were in America, it would be the 80th largest lake in America. 

    The important thing about this lake isn’t the size but it’s geography. It’s more than 650 feet below sea level, but you have hills and mountains around the lake and so it can be susceptible to severe weather as cold air coming from over the mountains mixes with the warm air over the lake. 

    Verse 17 tells us that the disciples get into a boat and start heading for Capernaum. It’s probably about five miles away from where they are. 

    John  also mentions that it’s dark. Solidifying the mood of the story. He’s already said it’s evening and now he mentions darkness. 

    Light and darkness continues to be an important theme woven throughout John’s Gospel. Yes, it’s dark, literally, but it’s also dark in the sense that they do not have the light of Jesus with them. It’s one of the few places in this gospel where there’s a temporary absence from Jesus in the story. 

    Second scene – we see the conflict 

    Verse 18 into 19: The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles

    The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 

    It can be easy to just glance at that clause and keep on reading. That’s a very brief description but they were in a precarious situation. They’ve gone about three and a half miles. 

    Based on the other gospel accounts, we know that it’s about 3 in the morning. Keep in mind that some of the disciples were professional fisherman. They knew how to sail a boat. The trip should have taken an hour or two. 

    But they get caught up in poor weather. It’s night, it’s dark, waves on the Sea of Galilee can be fierce in poor weather. They’re undoubtedly getting exhausted as they struggle with this storm. 

    It would be a frightening situation. But then Jesus enters the story. 

    Third scene – we see the resolution 

    Verses 19-20: they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”

    The disciples see Jesus walking to them and they are frightened. None of the gospels mention that the disciples were actually fearful of the weather. 

    All three gospel accounts mention that the disciples were frightened when they saw Jesus walking on water. 

    Matthew 14:26: when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.

    They’re fearful because they don’t realize it’s Jesus. 

    In ancient thought, the sea was often thought as being an unfriendly and hostile environment.

    For some in the Greco-Roman world, they thought that if you drowned, you could not go to heaven and that your soul was lost. For the disciples, they might have thought that Jesus was an unfriendly spirit coming for them. 

    But instead, it’s Jesus. In the disciple’s time of need, Jesus shows up. He’s Lord even in the storms. He’s Lord even when a situation seems hopeless. He’s Lord even when we’re afraid. 

    Jesus sees the disciples struggling in this storm from several miles away. He walks out in this storm with waves crashing down on him and walks out to the boat with his disciples. 

    This is an allusion to a few events in the Old Testament. 

    It’s an allusion to creation. 

    Genesis 1:2:  The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 

    Jesus is the Lord who was in the beginning and who made all things. In both creation and this miracle, we see the dominion of the Lord over the water. 

    As I referenced in the beginning, we again see allusions to the Exodus in this event. 

    In Exodus, God had worked miracle after miracle to free the Israelites. He had brought plagues upon the Egyptians. He had displayed his righteous judgment upon Egypt for their treatment of the Israelites and refusal to release them. 

    But as a final step before entering into the wilderness, the Israelites were confronted by the Red Sea with the Egyptian army following behind them. 

    Did they trust in the Lord? Did they look at how far God had already brought them? 


    Exodus 14:10: When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly.

    The people question why they’ve been brought into the desert to die and talk about how things hadn’t been so bad in Egypt. 

    Their minds go to absurd places. Moses responds. From Exodus 14:13:  And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today.” 

    What happens next is one of the best-known events in the Bible. Through the mediation of Moses, God parts the waters of the Red Sea and enables the Israelites to pass through on dry ground and to escape their Egyptian persecutors. 

    For the disciples, in their time of need, it is Jesus who comes to their rescue. Not by walking through the sea but by walking on the sea. Again. Remember the time of year. It’s Passover and here you have Jesus walking on water to come to the rescue of his disciples. 

    And if you read chapter 6 in one sitting, John keeps orienting the story with its proximity to the Sea. He keeps bringing it back into the story for emphasis. 

    And the similarities to Passover do not end there. To quote again from Exodus 14:13: Moses had said to the Israelites Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord

    Jesus similarly tells the disciples not to fear. 

    Verse 20: 

     But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”

    Don’t be afraid. In the Exodus, Moses was able to tell the Israelites not to fear because of the Lord who was bringing salvation. Jesus can definitively say not to fear because he IS the Lord who brings salvation. 

    Where he says “It is I,” we lose the meaning in translation. Literally what Jesus says in Greek is “I am, do not be afraid.” 

    In the following section, Jesus will give the first of what are known as the “I am” statements which are statements Jesus makes which further disclose his Messianic identity. 

    It’s possible that his point is simply to say “it’s me, don’t be afraid.” In the Greek, that’s possible. And perhaps the disciples didn’t catch the reference in the moment. 

    But given all of the allusion back to the Exodus, I believe Jesus’ “I am” statement is again referring back to the Old Testament. 

    In Exodus, when God first appears to Moses and tells Moses that he has been chosen to lead the Israelites out of slavery, Moses asks God to reveal his name and the Lord says to Moses in Exodus 3:14: “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”

    What does that mean? 

    I am. 

    That’s been debated since before the time of Christ. 

    In part, it speaks to God’s self-existence. That God is being in itself. That God is so uniquely and purely himself. 

    And so you have Jesus on the Sea near the time of Passover, coming to rescue his disciples and telling them not to fear because “I am” is with them.” 

    In the storm, knowing of the life and glory that was in Christ was the reason why the disciples were told not to fear. 

    You might be tempted to think “Yeah, but they actually had him with them. I wouldn’t be afraid if Jesus was with me either.” 

    How does Matthew end? 

    Jesus says: I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). 

    John 15;26, Jesus talks of the helper he sends us. The Holy Spirit: When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

    The Bible says that Jesus prays for us. 


    Hebrews 7:25: he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 

    Later in John’s Gospel, Jesus will say that he has gone to prepare a place for us. Fear not. For we have a wonderful savior. Is that always easy? It’s not. We’re still fallen and sinful. The world around us is fallen and sinful. 

    But one of the great temptations that we face is to doubt God when things don’t go the way we should. We so often put more stock into our will being done, than God’s perfect will being done. If you know Christ, then 100 percent of the things that happen in your life are for your ultimate good. Again, in the eyes of the world, that’s nonsense. In the eyes of the world, the cross is foolishness. 

    But to those who are being saved, it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18-20). 

    When God tells us to fear not it is not because every situation will always work out the way we think it should or the way we want it to. 

    We’re told to fear not BECAUSE every situation will work out to our great God’s sovereign will. 

    Did you know that the most common command in the Bible is to not fear. 

    An article on Crosswalk brought up that generally when the Bible tells us not to fear, it doesn’t just say that in isolation. 

    In other words the Bible doesn’t say “don’t fear. All right, onto the next thing.” 

    It says “fear not” and grounds that in a truth about who God is. 

    We actually saw that in the Exodus verse where Moses was addressing the Israelites. Final time quoting from Exodus 14:13: Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today.” 

    God tells Abraham in Genesis 15:1: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

    Genesis 26:24, God is speaking to Isaac: “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.

    Lots of other examples. In the Bible, people are told not to fear because God will fight for them (Joshua 10:8). 

    Joseph is told not to fear taking Mary as his wife because the child she was carrying had been conceived of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20). 

    In Luke, we’re told not to fear because God has given his kingdom (Luke 12:32). 

    I think that’s really something that should be instructive for us. When we’re fearful, or worried, or stressed, don’t put the pressure on yourself to just will yourself to not feel that way. 

    But instead, fill your mind with what God has said in his Word and hold to that in the difficulties. 

    Don’t just tell yourself to not fear, but tell yourself why you can trust in God. 

    Jesus says: “I am. Do not be afraid.” 

    Let us go to him in the times where we fear. 

    Jesus is Lord of the storm. 

    We’ve had a lot of storms as a society this year. 

    For some of us, health issues. 

    For others, struggles in our family.

    I think for all of us, we struggle with all of the little losses we’re going through right now. And those do matter too. Watching a game, going to a restaurant, traveling, the little things that add the little joys to our lives.

    I don’t know if I can think of a time in my lifetime where there was more uncertainty and angst about the future. There are concerns over the economy and what that will look like in the coming years. 

    There are worries about societal upheaval. There are worries about the future and the unknown. There are worries about our churches. Not just this church but churches throughout our nation and world. There is fear of the impact of that. There are fears for our society as America seems to be becoming increasingly secular. 

    In the Book of Revelation, also written by John, he has a vision of Christ and is terrified. 

    Revelation 1:17-18:

    17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

    God is still on the throne. 

    Fear not, for we have the God of the universe. 

    He is good. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He hasn’t forgotten us. And he loves us. 

    In Matthew 10, Jesus says:

    Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:28-31)

    Again, the subject of fear comes up. Jesus is Lord of the storm. 

    Final verse of the passage. The disciples now realize that it’s Jesus. They’re relieved. 

    Verse 21: Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. 

    They want to take Jesus into the boat with them, but Jesus has just nonchalantly worked another miracle. 

    The story ends with them safely reaching the shore. 

    I love this quote from Herman Ridderboss in his commentary on John: “in virtue of the glory given him by God, no darkness was too deep, waves too high, or sea too wide for him to find them and be with them in the midst of that tumult.”

    Jesus is the God who sees us in our struggles. He’s the God who comes to us in the storms. He’s the God who’s there at our lowest moments. He’s the God who tells us not to fear. Because the safest place to be is in his presence. Even if our body dies, for those who believe in the gospel of Christ, we are eternally secure with him. We don’t always see him. But in whatever we face, he sees us. He knows what we need. 

    Will you trust in him? 

  • In the beginning was the word – 4 things we learn from the opening of John’s Gospel

    The gospel of John opens up with a profound theological affirmation about the nature and identity of Jesus.

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
    -John 1:1-3

    These three verses at the beginning of the Gospel of John give us four fundamental truths about Jesus. 

    I. Jesus is eternal 

    “In the beginning was the Word.” 

    John opens up by referring to Jesus as The Word. I take it almost as a title for Jesus in the beginning of John. In the Old Testament, it is through the word of the Lord that God creates, speaks to his people, makes his promises, and points people to truth. In Jesus, we see the ultimate disclosure of divine love, wisdom, truth and salvation, and so it is therefore fitting to refer to Jesus as the Word. 

    There was never a time when the Word was not. 

    And this is very important because right from the beginning of John, it confronts a common error that has existed in the church essentially since the time of Christ. 

    And that error is thinking Jesus is created. Or thinking that God made Jesus. Or thinking that he was a really good man who was given a promotion and became divine. 

    He has always existed. This is something that will continue to unfold throughout this passage, but Jesus is not a created being. 

    II. Jesus has fellowship with God. 

    The verse continues “and the Word was with God.” Another absolutely monumental and profound reality from this passage. Think about this for just a moment. The Old Testament is filled with lofty language of the majesty of God. Rightfully so. 

    Exodus 33, Moses wants to see the glory of God (Exodus 33:18). 

    God tells Moses in Exodus 33:20: you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live

    It’s because God is so vibrant and righteous and full of life that it is completely overwhelming for fallen and finite people. 

    But in that story, we see the glory of the Lord is revealed to Moses and Exodus 34 tells us that when Moses came down from the mountain, his skin was so radiant from beholding the glory of God that people were afraid (Exodus 34:29-30). 

    He shined so brightly that he had to wear a veil. 

    1 Kings 8, the Ark of the Covenant is brought into the Temple. And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord (1 Kings 8:10-11). 

    The glory of the Lord was so overwhelming that the priests could not stand to minister. 

    Isaiah 6, the prophet is given a vision of the throne room of God and he is terrified: 

    Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5)

    The presence of the Lord is completely awesome as you behold his glory and majesty and life. If you’ve ever stood at a great waterfall, as the hundreds of thousands of gallons of water crash over the edge every minute, you can feel the power and rush of the water. That’s awe inspiring in its own right, but it’s no comparison to encountering the eternal and almighty God of the universe. And yet, with Jesus, we’re told that the Word was with God. 

    Jesus can see God, he can behold the glory of God because he himself is glorious and righteous.

    In the beginning, there was fellowship with Jesus and God the Father. 

    III. Jesus is God

    The text continues “and the Word was God.” The central theme of John’s Gospel. The Lordship of Christ. 

    Something to consider…

    Borrowing from Wayne Grudem in his book Systematic Theology: Historical, Orthodox, Biblical Christianity believes the following. There is one God. God is three persons. Each person is fully God. 

    Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

    While you can’t build an entire theology of the Trinity from this passage alone. But this passage affirms that Jesus is God and also that there is distinction between Jesus and God. In his commentary on John, Leon Morris talks of Jesus and God the Father and says “the Word and God are not identical by they are one.” We don’t have to know exactly how it’s simultaneously true that we have one God, who is three persons, and each person is fully God. But the Bible affirms all three of those statements. 

    Theologically, this matters tremendously. And we have all of these affirmations right from the beginning of John’s gospel. 

     If Jesus were not God, then he would not be a worthy sacrifice for our sins. If he were just a great man, he would still be fallible. If he were just a great teacher, he could still be wrong . If he were just a great leader, he would still be finite. 

    But he is the perfect God of creation. He entered into a sinful creation to redeem humanity. 

     It also matters because if Jesus were less than God, then not only would he be unworthy of our worship, but the very act of worshipping him would be blasphemous. 

    From the beginning of the Ten Commandments. 

    Exodus 20:2-3: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

    We’re told elsewhere in the Bible that God is a jealous God. 

    But the gospels show people worshipping Jesus. He never corrects them or deflects worship when that happens. That is either blasphemous or warranted. There’s no middle ground. It is either acceptable to worship Jesus or it is not. 

    There reason why it’s warranted, why it’s acceptable is because Jesus is God. 

    Part of the reason why I love John’s Gospel is that it constantly confronts us with absolute claims about Jesus. Chief among them is that Jesus is God. That’s an absolute claim. It’s either true or it’s not. If it’s true, the only response is to believe in him, to worship him, to trust in him. 

    If it’s not, the rest of this gospel is meaningless and blasphemous. 

    IV. Jesus made everything 

    Verse 3:  3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

    Again this is speaking to the divinity of Jesus. All things were made through him. All means all. 

    The ground, the trees, the sand of the beaches, the stars in the sky, the air we breathe, the materials we use to build things, all of it was made by Jesus. 

    He made every person. Each of us has billions of cells in our bodies. Incredible complexity and structure just within our own bodies. 

    He made the universe! 

    To put that in perspective, if you had an atlas of every galaxy in the entire universe and each page represented an entire galaxy, and if you spent just one second on every page and continually turned pages in the atlas, it would take you more than 31,000 years to flip all the way through the atlas. 

    The universe is incredibly, unfathomably big. There are more stars in the sky than there are grains of sand in all the beaches of the world. Yet there are more trees on earth than there are stars in our one galaxy. And that’s just looking at the amazing size of of our universe. 

    There is amazing creation within our world. New species of animals are still being discovered. 

    Did you know that? And they’re not all insects or really small animals. Since 2000, there have been new species of primates discovered. We don’t even yet know everything on our own planet. 

    Yet Jesus made it all. 

    There are other passages in the New Testament which speak to this fact. 

    Colossians 1:16

    16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

    We see this language as well in the opening chapter of the Book of Hebrews.

    Hebrews 1:10 referring to Jesus says: You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;

    Jesus is the creator. He made everything. And John states it both ways. He made everything. And also there’s nothing that he didn’t make. 

    He’s a mighty God. It’s a lofty passage. It’s a confrontational passage. You affirm these truths or you don’t. Our society often likes to treat Jesus as something you can take or leave. 

    Gravity isn’t something that you can take or leave. Arithmetic isnt’ something that you can take or leave. Breathing isn’t something that you can take or leave. 

    Jesus isn’t something you can just take or leave. Jesus isn’t just a nice person or a nice idea. He’s the Lord of creation. 

    Many cherry pick certain teachings. Others treat him as a great teacher or a great religious leader. Jesus isn’t one good teacher among other great teachers. He’s God. 

    The sages of other major religious traditions were born. Buddha wasn’t there in the beginning. Mohammad wasn’t there in the beginning. 

    But in the beginning was the Word. 

    There have been great leaders in the world who have influenced nations and movements. Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Gandhi. Some like to just act like Jesus was a wise peace maker who came with a good message. 

    He’s so much more than that. 

    In the beginning was the Word. 

    And the Word created all things. 

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  • The Word became flesh: what it means when the creator enters creation

    In one of his stand-up specials, the comedian Jim Gaffigan talks about camping. In the monologue, Gaffigan mentions that his wife enjoys camping and says that it’s a tradition in her family. 

    During the bit, Gaffigan describes himself as being “indoorsie.” 

    But he points out that it used to be a tradition in everyone’s family before we invented the house. 

    He asks “If it’s so great outside, then why are all the bugs trying to get in my house?”

    Full disclosure. 

    I don’t enjoy camping. 

    I don’t understanding leaving the comfort of home, of a bed, of air conditioning, of indoor plumbing, of restful sleep. But it’s interesting to consider leaving my house to go into the woods. And I think about that and I think of what Jesus left to come into the world. Jesus left heaven to come into the world. 

    I like my home. 

    But that’s not heaven. 

    He left the most perfect and spectacular place in creation to come into our world. 

    He left a sinless place to come into a fallen world. He left a place of perfect beauty for a world that has gray skies and thunderstorms. He left a place of adoration for a world where he faced condemnation. 

    John 1:14 says: 
    And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

    Old Testament background

    In the Old Testament, people originally exist in perfect fellowship with God. Because of sin, fellowship with God was tarnished. The unencumbered closeness to God was lost due to sin. 

    We were no longer holy. But the story doesn’t end there. Throughout the Old Testament, we see God bringing redemption to his people. God makes a covenant with Abraham. We see God’s continued faithfulness to his covenant. 

    Fast forward. 

    The Israelites were held in captivity in Egypt. After God had miraculously freed them, and while the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God gave them instructions for a structure called the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a tent that the Israelites were to travel with and it was a symbol for God’s presence with his people. 

    It was a piece of what they had lost.

    Sometimes it’s called the tabernacle. Sometimes it’s called the tent of meeting. 

    Exodus 40:34-35: Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

    Exodus spells out very specific instructions on how the tabernacle was to be built, what types of items would be placed inside the tabernacle, etc. The instructions are so specific because it is a sacred and holy place. 

    Again, it represented the very presence of God in the world.  But this was pointing forward to something greater. 

    The temple. 

    When the Israelites entered the land, part of their purpose was in constructing the temple. As the tabernacle had been portable, the temple was meant to be permanent. The overarching purposes were still the same. Most notably, it was where God met his people in the word. It was his presence in the world.  The temple was the place where sacrifices were made. 

    For the priests, there were specific instructions on what they had to do to prepare to enter into the Temple It was a sacred place. As with the tabernacle, not just anyone could go into the temple. The priest couldn’t just go into the temple any arbitrary way they wanted. 

    It was a holy place. The temple was completed during the reign of Solomon 

    1 Kings 8:10-11: And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

    In both places, when the presence of the Lord comes into the temple, people can’t even stand in it because the presence is so glorious. The temple is hugely important in the Old Testament. Building the temple is important. The specific instructions for the temple are important. 

    But this points forward to an even greater temple. To an even greater example of God’s presence with his people. 

    Meaning of John 1:14

    “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory.”

    The word translated as “dwelt” more literally means that Jesus tabernacled among us, that Jesus pitched a tent among us. It’s the same word for tabernacle that was used centuries before Christ when the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew to Greek. 

    Jesus is the tabernacle. He is the greater temple. He is the presence of God with his people because Jesus IS God with his people. So it’s not simply saying that Jesus dwelt among us. But rather: in Jesus, we see God became flesh and tabernacled with his people.  

    Instead of a tent or a building, we have a person, we have God himself. 

    The greater tabernacle, the greater temple. And he’s greater because he’s everything these places were meant to represent. It was only the priests who could go into the tabernacle and the temple. A priest serves as a mediator between man and God. 

    Jesus is the greater priest. It is he who restores our relationship with God. These man made structures were where sacrifices were offered. Jesus himself is the sacrifice. And as I’ve said, the tabernacle and the temple represent the presence of God with his people. 

    In Jesus, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. 

    The Word made his dwelling among us. He pitched a tent among us. He tabernacled among us. The God who created the world came into the world to save the world. 

    There was no other way for a sinful people to be reconciled to the Lord than through God himself coming into the world. But because of his love for us. Because of his goodness. Because of his grace.

    The creator entered creation. In his commentary on John, the late New Testament Grant Osborne says of this verse “In my opinion, this is the single greatest sentence ever written in the history of human language, the deepest theological statement ever written. No finite human being could ever enter the realm of God and join his family. It could only come to pass if God himself were to enter the realm of humanity.”

    How do you make yourself right before a Holy God? How do you earn standing before a perfect God? How do you deserve blessings before an all powerful God? You don’t and you can’t. 

    Our world likes to have a very casual and cavalier attitude that we can just walk into the throne room of heaven, that we can just walk into the presence of God on our own terms, just because we feel like it. We like to believe that we’re special, we’re good, we’re worthy on our own. 

    Jesus has shown us that he is the way but we want to go our own way. Imperfect people are not worthy of a perfect and holy God. But the word became flesh and dwelt among us. That’s not our goodness. 

    It’s his goodness. 

    He made a way for us to be with him, even though we do not deserve it. The Word became flesh. God became one of us so we could be with him. He is a personal God. It doesn’t get more personal than Jesus entering his creation. 

    Sometimes it can be tempting to doubt if God really knows what we’re going through when we’re struggling. It can be tempting to wonder if God really cares.  

    He knows. 

    He knows what it’s like to live in a sinful world. He knows what it’s like to have people oppose him and not like him. He knows what it’s like to be hated for no reason. He knows what it’s like to be slandered. He knows what it’s like to cry. He knows what it’s like to be let down. He knows what it’s like to be betrayed. He knows what it’s like to suffer and feel pain. He knows what it’s like to face injustice. 

    It can be easy to focus on Christ’s glory and divinity to the point where we forget his humanity. But we see his humanity in this passage. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. It’s often said of people in politics who have opinions on public policies. We feel like they can’t relate to the average person. 

    There’s the old saying not to judge a person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. Jesus lived a lifetime in our shoes. Sometimes God can seem distant. He’s a personal God who invites us to know him. He joined us in our humanity. He came to earth so that we could have heaven. He died so that we could have life. He was forsaken so we could be children of God. 

    Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to like and subscribe.

  • You’re (probably) misquoting Philippians 4:13 – and why it matters

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    I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
    -Philippians 4:13

    According to Bible Gateway, Philippians 4:13 is the second most popular verse in the New Testament, only behind John 3:16. It’s a verse memorized and beloved by many.

    But for as popular as this verse is, it’s also often misunderstood and taken out of context. The context of the passage must always influence how we interpret it.

    And what’s the context?

    Paul has just said, in verse 12 that he knows the secret of how to be content in both good and bad circumstances. And it is in the light of that that he says these glorious words. The secret to being content: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

    I did some searches online of people quoting this verse. Instagram, popular photo sharing sight, people have quoted this verse over 56,000 times. The most common references I saw were people quoting it in regards to some sort of exercise or fitness goal. I saw others quote Philippians 4:13 after winning beauty pageants or graduating from college.

    Some people, to my surprise, used it in reference to their diet: “Pre workout meal coming up. Healthy creamy chicken with mushroom and sundries tomatoes + brown rice” Philippians 4:13.

    I think this verse almost always gets quoted in conversation with some sort of goal.

    “This is what I want to do. And it’s me and Jesus.” I’m going to win that pageant, I’m going to run that marathon, I’m going to get that promotion because I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

    And certainly, Jesus is the God of everything in our lives. It’s GOOD to look at everything we do through the lens of walking with Christ.

    But Philippians 4:13 has nothing to do with accomplishing your personal goals. Philippians 4:13 is a verse that’s not about us. It’s about Jesus. The verse is not about the power of positive thinking, that you can accomplish your goals with Jesus. It’s not saying that you can overcome hurdles because of Jesus. It’s not telling you that you can do anything you set your mind to because of Jesus.

    Those things might all be true also.

    But that’s not what this verse is saying. The verse isn’t saying you can accomplish your dreams, it’s saying that you can survive your nightmares.

    And again, I know that goes against the popular keychain, coffee mug, t-shirt, poster interpretation of this verse.

    My point isn’t to ruin a verse for you that you might love. It’s to point you to the glorious Lord Jesus. Because our life is more than personal goals. It’s that when we have been run over, conquered, defeated, everything is going against us, that we can be content and walking in joy because of knowing Jesus.

    And that’s something else I notice when I look at people quoting Philippians 4:13. It’s always when something really good is happening in someone’s life.

    I don’t see people saying “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” when they’ve just lost a job. When they can’t afford to pay utilities. Philippians 4:13 is just as true in the bad times as it is in the good times.

    Because our contentment and joy and satisfaction need to always be found in Christ.

    This verse isn’t just calling us to be cheerleaders for God when we’ve finally gotten to the top of the mountain. But to always be praising the glorious God who invites us into life when we are at the bottom of the valley. But how do we do at embracing the reality of it?

    The secret of contentment in good times and in bad is knowing that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. When things really do get tough, when there is total upheaval and uncertainty, are you still able to walk confidently in faith knowing “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me?”

    In America, things are so comfortable for us, you have people living their lives thinking that they don’t need God. That they’re fine on their own. But what about when you’ve lost everything? What about you’re at your lowest?

    What about when you’re going through the worst experience of your life? In those moments, do you turn your back on God. Do you get mad at God? “Why would he do this to me?” Or do you walk with God? Do you rely on God more fully? Do you trust in Him more deeply?

    I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

    Are you still able to say that when the going gets tough?

    Originally published April 26, 2018

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

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  • Sermon: A book all about Jesus – John 5:37-47

                Prayer 

    From Matthew 5: 

    13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 

    14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 

    Our heavenly Father, we again come to you in praise and rejoicing that we are again able to meet in person. May you bless our time in your word. May our lives be transformed by the truth of your scripture. May we point to Christ. Lord, we continue to pray for our peace in our nation. There has been so much violence and destruction in recent weeks. May we continue to grow in grace and love. 

    Lord, may we shine with a light that is evident to all of those whom we meet. May we have a burden that we are your ambassadors in the world. That how we talk, and act, and treat people, and love people is all meant to be a reflection of the great God whom we serve. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

                Text: John 5:37-47

    37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people.

     42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” 

    We’re finishing up John 5 today. 

    The last time we were in John, two weeks ago, Jesus was talking of those who bore witness to him. And we talked about three witnesses to Christ: John the Baptist, the works of Christ, and God the Father.  In our passage today, we see a fourth witness to Christ. The scriptures themselves witness to the truth of who Jesus is. 

    I will say up front that I LOVE this passage. Jesus is making the concluding remarks of a speech to the Pharisees which began in verse 19. Last time we were in John, we quoted part of verse 37. Jesus was talking of God as a witness to his messianic identity. 

    And that’s where we’ll start this morning. And this is my plan for us today. We’re going to talk about the passage and the end of the section will lead into some closing remarks on the scriptures and how they point to Christ. 

    First point I want to make from our section. 

    1. Misunderstanding the Bible 

    Quoting from verses 37-38: And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 

    Once again, a couple weeks ago, I talked about how God bears witness to Christ, and our passage this morning points to how the scripture bears witness to Christ, but Jesus will talk of God to lead into the scriptures as a witness to his Messianic identity. 

    Jesus begins in our passage by saying that God has sent him and that God bears witness to him. And then Jesus tells the pharisees that they have never heard the voice of God, nor seen God, nor do they have the word of God dwelling in them. Saying the true thing is not always the popular thing. And Jesus, once again, does not mince words with the pharisees. He says that they have never heard the voice of God. 

    Keep in mind the context of what he’s saying. He’s talking to the experts of the Old Testament. The Pharisees. God had given his word to the Jewish people. It was a point of pride. 

    And they have Jesus speaking to them. Jesus is God incarnate, speaking the words of God. In 3:34, Jesus says: he whom God has sent utters the words of God.

    Also remember how John’s Gospel begins. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God(John 1:1). 

    Jesus is the Word of God whom the pharisees don’t hear. There’s the irony that the pharisees are listening to God speak to them and they don’t hear what he’s saying.  Moses had heard the literal voice of God in the Old Testament. And an idea that will come up at the end of this passage is that if the pharisees had been true followers of Moses, they would have recognized Jesus for who he was. 

    It’s also true that the pharisees often missed the heart of God’s teachings. It can be easy to know a lot about the Bible but to not have it truly changing your heart. I remember when I was in seminary and we’d pray before classes. A common refrain was that we would ask God to grow in heart knowledge, not just head knowledge. 

    As James prays: that we would be doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22).  Let’s consider for just a moment that confrontation which inspired this entire speech which the Lord Jesus has been giving. It began with Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath, which the pharisees had considered a violation of the law, because they had such a restrictive view of what it meant to follow the Sabbath. 
    Jesus says that they have never seen God’s form. Again, there’s irony in that they have God incarnate telling them that. They’re actually looking at Jesus who is God on earth and they don’t see him for who he is. But it’s also true that Jesus has seen the Father and they have not.  

    In verse 38, he’s already told them that they’ve never truly heard from God, and here he’s saying God’s word is not abiding in them. When Jesus says that they do not believe in the one whom the Lord has sent, Jesus is obviously referring to himself. 

    Jesus continues his harangue against the pharisees.

    2. the scriptures bear witness to Christ

    Verses 39-40: You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 

    Jesus acknowledges that the pharisees do study the scriptures, but as D.A. Carson says “there is nothing intrinsically life-giving about studying the scriptures.” At least, there’s not if you miss the ultimate meaning and purpose of the scriptures in pointing to the glorious and gracious God who has made a way for fallen man to be redeemed. Plenty of people value the moral teachings of the Bible, even many non-Christians would affirm that. But that is not the soul-saving point of God’s Holy Word. 

    People can study the scriptures. A person can know the Bible backwards and forwards. But if you don’t understand that it is Christ to whom the scriptures bear witness, you’ve missed the whole point of the Bible.

    When I was in seminary, in one of my preaching classes we had to do a sermon, but before doing the sermon, we had another long list of things to do. We had to translate the passage from the original language, give grammatical comments on the text, give a grammatical outline, a sermon outline, on and on and on. 

    It was a lot of work. And then you had to actually write the sermon. And it was a hard sermon to write because after spending time doing all of that, I didn’t truly understand the heart of the passage. My point is that you can spend lots and lots and lots of time studying the Bible and miss what it’s saying. 

    Similarly, a person can have long sections of scripture memorized. That’s fine. But are those verses impacting you? Are they impacting your life? Are they impacting how you look at God? Are they impacting your trust in Christ? Jesus says at the end of verse 39 that it is the scriptures which bear witness about him. It’s not the first time, nor is it the last time in this gospel that it talks of the scriptures as pointing to Jesus. 

    Put another way, Jesus is here speaking with the Pharisees and he’s telling them that they don’t truly know the scriptures, because they don’t know Jesus, and it is the scriptures which point to Jesus. 

    They had the attestation of the prophet who came before, John the Baptist. They saw the signs Jesus was doing. They had his teaching. They had reason to believe but did not. It’s not that they should have had a perfectly worked out theology of who Jesus was during his lifetime. The disciples didn’t even have that. But as the disciples saw the ministry of Jesus unfolding, they were drawn to this man and had a growing knowledge of who he was. When Phillip was called to be a follower of Jesus at the beginning of this gospel, he points to the scriptures. 

    John 1:45: Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

    When Jesus does his first sign, where he turns water into wine, John notes that this helped make sense of his entire ministry later on. 

    John 2:22: When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. 

    And then you have Jesus interacting with Nicodemus. Another of the pharisees, the teacher of Israel. An expert in the Law. John 3:10: “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?

    But the pharisees instead hated Jesus, plotted against Jesus, and ultimately set their actions towards crucifying Jesus. While it’s true that we have the whole story and the pharisees didn’t, they also had the chance to see, hear, and experience the ministry of Christ. So the pharisees are judged on account of their failure to recognize the scriptures as pointing to Christ. 

    Jesus continues speaking to the pharisees. He’s talked about the witness of the scripture. And now he comes back to a verdict against the pharisees. 

    Verses 41-42:  I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 

    Jesus says he doesn’t receive glory from people. He’s pointed to the witnesses of his works, of God, of the scriptures to his divine identity. Jesus is glorious because of who he is. The glory of Christ is not contingent upon the adulation of humanity. The earth revolves around the sun, regardless of if a person wanted to accept that or not. 

    Borrowing again from D.A. Carson: if Jesus primarily cared about receiving glory from men, he could pander to the pharisees. He could say what they wanted to hear. But then, what kind of a Messiah would he be? He came to do the will of the Father, not the will of men. 

    Verses 43-44: I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 

    Verse 43, Jesus points to God, in whose name has has come. 

    Jesus says that if another comes in his own name, they would receive him. It follows from the fact that they’re mistaken and blind to the true Messiah, that they therefore are going to be susceptible to following a false messiah. And historically, we know that there were many first century false Messiahs who came after Christ. 

    Instead, the leaders receive glory from one another. They’re looking for the Messiah, but for the wrong reasons. Not out of love for God, not out of a desire for truth, not to know salvation. The people wanted a Messiah, but not the Messiah who Jesus was. Not the Messiah who points out their sin, points out the flaws in their system, who wouldn’t do what they wanted him to do. 

    Our world can be just as susceptible to this. That’s part of why it’s important to come to Jesus, to come to the word of God in humility. If you’re never challenged by what Jesus is saying, you might simply be following a Messiah in your own making. We are sinful, and therefore there is a constant reformation of the human heart in encountering the person and teachings of Christ. Our default is sin, not righteousness. 

    3. The indictment of the pharisees

    45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” 

    Jesus is likely referring to the entire Old Testament and Mosaic Covenant. Moses is the accuser of the pharisees. It’s symbolic. It’s not to say that Moses is the divine judge. Obviously, Moses is just a man. But Jesus is saying to the Pharisees “you want to put so much stock in the Old Testament, you want to put so much stock in the Law of Moses, well if you really understood that, you would believe because Moses’ writings are all about me.” 

    Again, this is an indictment from Jesus to the pharisees. To truly believe in the writings of Moses is to believe in Jesus. And this is the point to which we’ve been building up this morning and where we will be spending the rest of our time. 

    In verses 39-40, Jesus said:  You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 

    And here at the end of the passage: If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” 

    The Bible is a book about Jesus. 

    First. You have prophecies which are fulfilled in Christ. 

    It’s amazing. You have some very specific prophecies about Jesus which are fulfilled in the New Testament. Think about it for a moment. You have where he’d be born and that his ministry would be preceded by a forerunner. He’d be born of a virgin. Hosea said that he’d travel to Egypt. We see this early in Matthew. Psalm 40 predicted that he would preach repentance to Israel. Psalm 78 predicted that he would teach in parables. 


    Isaiah 6:9 predicted that people would not listen to his teaching: “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 

    Other prophecies fulfilled in Christ. He would have a miraculous ministry. Isaiah 35:5-6: the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. 

    The Old Testament mentions that he would minister in Galilee and draw gentiles to himself. The Old Testament mentions that he would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, be plotted against, be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.

    You have prophecies that say he would be forsaken by God. Psalm 22:1: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? 

    Psalm 22:16 says that he would be pierced. This is often taken to be a prophecy referring to his crucifixion, in spite of the fact that crucifixion didn’t even exist at the time. Dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— 

    The Old Testament says that lots would be cast for his clothing and that those closest to him would abandon him. Psalm 41:9: Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. 

    The Messiah would usher in a new covenant. Jeremiah 31:31: the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah

    I realize that with some of these fulfilled prophecies, the Pharisees weren’t aware of them yet. Not to mention that we have the family he’d be born into. The tribe of Judah, a descendant of David. You don’t have control over where you’re born, or from what family you’d be born. You don’t have control over all of the events that happen in your lifetime. But we have all of these prophecies that point us to what would happen during Christ’s ministry. 

    A skeptical person could look at all of these and try to explain it away “well what if the writers of the New Testament just read through their Old Testament, pulled out these little details and reverse engineered the Jesus story.” 

    The answer is that that makes no sense when you recall that the apostles were persecuted and died for their faith. Why would they make up a story and then die for something they knew wasn’t true? 

    Well what if it’s a coincidence? 

    The idea that a person coincidentally had all of the Old Testament prophecies pointing is a bigger leap of faith that believing that Jesus is who he says he is. Perhaps some of you have heard this illustration. 

    A mathematician and astronomer named Peter Stoner calculated the odds of just 8 of the prophecies of Jesus coincidentally being fulfilled coming true. He said that the odds were 1×10 to the 17th power. Or 1 in 100 quadrillion. 

    Put more seriously, the odds of something that’s 1 in 100 quadrillion is as if you were to take silver dollars and cover the entire state of Texas 2 feet deep in the coins. You put a red dot on just 1 of those coins, you take a person and blindfold them and tell them they can walk wherever they want but that they need to pick up just one coin. The odds of that person walking all across Texas and picking up the one marked coin are about the same chances as Jesus fulfilling 8 prophecies. 

    But he fulfilled many more than that. The argument that it’s a coincidence is absurd. The scriptures literally point to Jesus. But prophecy is not the only way in which the scriptures point to Jesus. You have patterns, sometimes called ‘types’ of Christ throughout the Old Testament. 

    The lamb led to slaughter in Isaiah 53 is a type pointing us to Christ the greater lamb who was led to slaughter. 

    Isaac was a type for Christ in that he was the promised Son of Abraham. He was the Son who Abraham was asked to sacrifice, but at the pivotal moment, God said that he himself would provide the sacrifice. 

    Joseph was a type for Christ in that he suffered unjustly and was then exalted to save his people. What men meant for evil, God used for good. 

    Moses was a type for Christ in that he was a mediator between God and the people, but in Jesus, we see the greater mediator. Moses had to cover his face when speaking to God, Jesus is the one who has seen God. Moses was given the Ten Commandments on a mountain, Jesus spoke with authority in his Sermon on the Mount.  

    Joshua was a type for Christ in that he led Israel into the land, and Jesus leads his people into the greater land: the new Jerusalem, the new heaven and the new earth. 

    David, the great King of Israel who was the man after God’s own heart is a type for Christ, the greater king. 

    Jonah was a type for Christ as one who spent 3 days in the fish, Jesus spent 3 days in the tomb. 

    And there are many more people. And there are many other themes which show types or themes for Christ and what he’d fulfill. 

    Very briefly, we’ve talked about these themes before. Sonship is a theme in the Old Testament where Israel and the Davidic kings are called the Son of God. Jesus is the true Son of God who allows us to be adopted as God’s children. 

    In the Old Testament, priests offered sacrifices at the temple. Jesus is the great high priest, who is able to approach God and offers himself as a sacrifice so that we could be redeemed to God. As the temple is the presence of God in the world, Jesus is literally God in the world and the true temple. 

    Other themes. Sabbath. Faith in Jesus is what brings the true Sabbath, as we enter into God’s rest. You have the covenants of the Old Testament but Jesus both fulfills the Old Covenant and ushers in the New Covenant. You have creation, Jesus brings new creation. You have wisdom. Jesus is the perfect personification of wisdom. Jesus is the truer Israel who follows the law perfectly. 

    It all points to Christ. It’s all about Christ. The Old Testament feasts are all about Jesus. His crucifixion happened at the time of Passover. Passover was the celebration of God redeeming Israel from slavery in Egypt. It was commemorated by sacrificing a lamb. Jesus is the true Passover lamb who redeems sinful people from sin. 

    You have the Old Testament holy day of Yom Kippur: the Day of Atonement. They took two goats. One was sacrificed for sins. Again, symbolic of Jesus paying the ultimate price for sin. The other goat was sent out of the camp, which was a symbol of our sins being taken away from us.

    Everything in the Old Testament is about Jesus. The New Testament writers certainly thought that. They point to the presence of Christ in the Old Testament. 

    The writer of Hebrews talked of Moses’ trust in Christ. 


    Hebrews 11:24-26:By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 

    The Apostle Paul talks of Jesus’ presence with the Israelites in the wilderness. 1 Corinthians 10:2-4: All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

    Jude pointed to Jesus as the one who had redeemed the Israelites from Egypt: Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt (Jude 5). 

    This is debated, but I would even argue that Jesus is the fourth man in the fire furnace in Daniel, the heavenly figure with whom Jacob wrestled, and the king and priest, Melchizedek to whom Abraham gave homage. 

    If you read the Old Testament, you have all of these genealogies. Maybe it’s tempting to want to skip those or think they don’t matter. The genealogies form links in a chain which leads to Christ. 

    From Luke 24:26-27: Jesus is walking on the Road to Emmaus and he interacts with the two travelers. They don’t know that the Lord Jesus is in their midst and that he has risen. Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 

    The scriptures were explained from Moses and the prophets as pointing to Jesus. 

    Jesus is the key that unlocks the Bible. I truly hope that understanding this is something that is edifying and encouraging. That these are not just legends or stories. It’s the Word of God, written by different people in different cultures, in different centuries from fisherman to kings and from tax collectors to doctors. But it has a unified message from start to finish of pointing us to Jesus and his gospel. 

    The Bible is a challenging book. But it’s an impossible book if you don’t understand that it’s about Jesus. 

     39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

    The scriptures point to Christ. Therefore the scriptures point to life. 

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