Dr. Michael Brown - Finding Jesus in the Old Testament Pt 1

finding Jesus in the Old Testament what we want to do is be true to the Scriptures as opposed to try to manufacture things that are not there that are exciting and amazing what we want to do is do our best to be fair to the Scriptures and to say where can we rightly find Jesus Yeshua in the Hebrew Bible some years back probably the early 90s there is an Orthodox Jewish man from Israel who had come to faith in Jesus and had come over to the States with his family he knew very little English I was the main one that was supposed to speak in Hebrew with him but my modern Hebrew is not as strong as my Biblical Hebrew so he was coming to one of my classes that I was teaching on Messianic prophecy and we were going through the Hebrew Scriptures comprehensively to see where there are legitimate prophecies of Jesus there and he could only understand some of the class in English but we were looking at the Hebrew Bible a lot and while the class was going on because he didn't understand something but he was just reading through the scriptures in Hebrew and every so often he'd raised his hand and he say uh negotiation is a issue I think that this is Jesus and he'd point to a verse and I thought what I I never saw that as pointing to Jesus and what it was was he had a rabbinic way of reading the scripture and and his rabbinic way of reading the scripture the way he grew up in that everything is a reference to God's law and God's teaching and God's commandments and now he just kind of took over that mindset and every passage is like every log was about Jesus and I found it so interesting it reminds me of the story of a guy that was in seminary and he comes into class he's a little bit distracted and and the professor is talking he says you will not believe what I saw on the way into class today he said he was just sitting there with his little belly and and this furry tail he was just so cute and the guy in the back that the Strega sigh those Jesus it's always Jesus stuff had some squirrel he saw something but the guys that as always you're always gonna make it about Jesus that's not our goal I I have heard bizarre things such as in Exodus to 17th chapter when Aaron and her ax held up the hands of Moses and when his hands were held up that Israel triumphed over the Amalekites as Joshua did battle that that his hands were held in the sign of the Cross aside from the fact that there's euro evidence that aside from the fact that that's an illogical way to stand on either side and hold someone's hands up it's one of those things where we needlessly are trying to read something into the scripture that's not there or for example Exodus the fifteenth chapter it talks about when the children of Israel came to the waters the the undrinkable water the waters of Marah that God instructs Moses to throw a tree into the water and when the tree was thrown into the water it made the bitter waters sweet right well rabbinic exegesis rabbinic interpretation always looking for references to God's Torah God's law sees that it says that Moses yoga he he through he cast the tree into the water and that word Java is apparently related to Torah Torah teaching this as you see it's the the teaching of the law that makes the bit of water sweet just reading something to the text that's not there but in the same way early church fathers looked at the text and said wait a second it's the tree that's thrown into the waters and the tree speaks of the cross and this is speaking of the cross making the bitter water sweetened hell no that's just as wrong that's just reading things into the text that aren't there but on the other hand we know that the New Testament authors are constantly pointing back to what is written and that the primary credentials for Jesus being the Messiah are not the signs wonders and miracles they are important but they are simply confirming that he is the one it's spoken of in the Hebrew Bible so just take a look at a few passages with me in the New Testament all right we'll start in John chapter 1 John chapter 1 this is right at the beginning of Yeshua ximena stre and it says in verse 43 the next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee finding Philip he said to him follow me Philip like Andrew and Peter was from the town of Bethsaida Philip found Nathanael and told him we have found the one Moses wrote about in the law and about whom the prophets also wrote Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph so they are immediately identifying him with someone spoken of in Scripture in particular spoken about by Moses and the prophets when you get to John the fifth chapter Jesus is rebuking some of the religious leaders and look at what he says to them beginning in verse 45 John 5:45 but do not think I will accuse you before the father your accuser is Moses on whom your hopes are set if you believed Moses you would believe me for he wrote about me Jesus is explicitly saying that Moses wrote about him meaning in the five books of Moses now if you'll look in Matthew chapter 5 Matthew chapter 5 the Sermon on the Mount verse 17 notice what Jesus says there Matthew 5:17 do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets I didn't come to abolish but to fulfill in other words everything that comes before me is ultimately pointing towards me and I will not nullify or abolish it I will rather bring it to its fullest meaning after he dies and rises from the they're two amazing accounts in Luke's Gospel beginning in Vernon in chapter 24 Luke chapter 24 when Jesus meets the two disciples on the road to Emmaus begins to talk with them it says in verse 16 but they were kept from recognizing him remember he's died he's risen from the dead but at this point it's just a rumor that he's risen from the dead these disciples are downcast because they really thought that Jesus was the Messiah and was going to bring about radical change for the nation he asked them what are you discussing together as you walk along they stood still their faces downcast one of them named Cleopas asked him are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days what things yes about Jesus of Nazareth they reply he was a prophet powerful and word indeed before God and all the people the chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death and they crucified him but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel what is more it's the third day since all this took place in addition some of our women amazed us they went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find his body they came and told us they'd seen a vision of angels the city was alive than some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said but him they did not see he said to them how foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory and beginning with Moses and all the prophets explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself and then he meets with his eleven disciples and it says in verse 44 he said to them this is what I told you was still with you everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses the prophets and the Psalms then the open their minds so they could understand the scriptures he told them this is what is written the Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem so when he speaks of the law of Moses the prophets and the Psalms he's most likely pointing to a three-fold division of what we call the Old Testament the way we have the Old Testament we have a four-fold division how is it divided on Bibles we have first the law of Moses right the five books then we have the historical books beginning with Joshua judges then we have the wisdom and poetry literature's of Psalms Joel proverbs then we have the prophetic books ending with Malachi the ancient tradition that's followed in other Jewish circles that that reflects one ancient Jewish order another ancient Jewish order divides the Bible into three parts the Old Testament into three parts so the law of Moses and then the prophets which include Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel and the twelve minor prophets Daniel is not listed there and then what's called the writings which is everything else and the most prominent book in the writings is Psalms it seems that that's what Jesus is saying here where it refers to the law of Moses the prophets and the Psalms meaning the whole of the Old Testament the whole of the Hebrew Bible and by the way if you've ever heard reference to the Tanakh and wondered what is the Tanakh that's the Jewish way of saying the Old Testament to a Jewish person that's not the Old Testament this is the Bible right so TANF stands for those three Hebrew divisions the T is Torah which is teaching or law meaning the five books of Moses the end is nivea meaning prophets so that's I say Jeremias econ the twelve minor prophets and the leska - viim is writings and just if you get online and just search for ton off TA and akh you'll find the information so Torah the five books of Moses NIV iam the prophets and spell it however you like cuz it's your writing in English not Hebrew so spell it however you can remember how to pronounce it naveen prophets and then convene the writings that's everything else that's the order that's that's followed in Hebrew Bibles we follow the order from the ancient Greek translation called the Septuagint so again same books just different order for some of them but the exact same books point is here he's saying that what happened in my life my death and my rejection and my resurrection this was foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures if it wasn't for told in the Hebrew Scriptures we could rightly ask well who are you why should we believe you why should we consider you to be the Messiah obviously the foundation is what is written and everything had to be tested by what is written and it is to that that Jesus pointed and you see when you get to the preaching in the book of Acts that yes they declared his resurrection and yes they declared the witness of the power of the Spirit but the foundation of their preaching was on what is written so in Peters message in Acts chapter two he first points back to Joel to the outpouring of the spirit that the Prophet Joel spoke about then he quotes from Psalm 16 and he quotes from Psalm 110 in fact Psalm 110 is the most quoted passage from the Old Testament of any speaking of the Messiah being raised up to sit at God's right hand until his enemies be made a footstool if you look at Peters preaching in Acts chapter three he quotes from Deuteronomy 18 about God raising up a prophet like Moses and then he says this in acts 324 indeed all the prophets from Samuel on as many as have spoken have foretold these days days so in order for our faith to stand we must be able to make a legitimate case for Jesus Yeshua being clearly prophesied in the Hebrew Bible being the one of whom Moses and the prophets spoke so let's start then in the law and let's ask where and when did Moses speak about Jesus now some point to God's acts and creation and the Spirit working in creation and light shining in darkness and things like that but that's certainly nothing that you could present to a Jewish person and say see look at this you should believe in Jesus based on this we get to Genesis chapter 3 Genesis chapter 3 and there's the famous word in verse 15 where God tells the snake I'll put in with the enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers he'll crush your head and you will strike his heel some have said that this is clearly a prophecy of the Messiah because Satan was greater than man and it was Satan working through the the snake and therefore they needed someone greater than man to defeat the snake I remember teaching an adult Sunday School class in the church in which I was saved and if you're just reading this in context your immediate response would be it's it's a prophecy about human beings killing snakes and the hostility between man and snake etc and the snake strike in the human being seal I don't think they're just reading it first time we're hearing it the first time you'd be thinking Messianic prophecy so I was I was teaching an adult Sunday School class on Messianic prophecy maybe three four years old in the Lord and I don't know maybe 10 people in the class and I said I know it's impossible for us to do this to go back and take away everything we know but but if you could picture being Adam and Eve and hearing this word spoken would you have interpreted it as a messianic prophecy in other words there is there anything in the text here here verse 14 the Lord said to the serpent because you've done this deceive the the woman cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals you'll crawl on your belly and you lead dust all the days of your life and I'll put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers he'll crush your head and you'll strike his heel to the woman he said I'll greatly increase your pains in childbearing with pain you'll give birth through children etc I said if you just heard that if you're Adam and Eve hearing those words would you have taken it to be a messianic prophecy I remember one dear brother raised his hand and said well if I was Adam and Eve I would realize that the snake was too powerful for me and I would need someone greater than me to kill the snake and therefore I would see this as a prophecy that God himself would take on human form and destroy the stakes you could see this as a prophecy of the Incarnation one of the greatest mysteries of all that God did God taking on human form you would see that prophesied right here in an unbiased way I mean that the thought of it was it was wonderful and that he was such a committed believer and and saw things so clearly that he couldn't see it any other way but to look at this as a direct messianic prophecy I think is a mistake to look at it as ultimately pointing forward to a larger triumph of God over over Satan I would see that and Paul quotes it in Romans 16 that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your foot with imagery here but to look at it as a direct messianic prophecy I think it's a mistake also when it talks about I'll put enmity between you and the woman between your seed and her seed people said well a woman doesn't have a seed this is a prophecy of the virgin birth again I would strongly question that I would say here where it's a seed it just means offspring by the way I'm not sure what those sounds are but if there's anything that I'm doing or can do differently just let us know by the this is the difference between a Baptist Church in the charismatic church Baptist Church it's a technical problem charismatic church it's demonic attack if it keeps happening we know it's demonic right okay so when does Moses speak about Jesus genesis 3:15 could be a distant reference I wouldn't looked at as a clear prophecy the first time I would say is in Genesis chapter 12 Genesis chapter 12 where the Lord it said to Abram leave your country your people in your father's house they'll go to the land I'll show you I'll make you into a great nation I'll bless you and I'll make your name great you will be a blessing I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses real curse and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you here's the promise to Abraham seed that through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed and this is reiterated to Isaac and to Jacob so in other words this is not just a promise of Abraham's future greatness that he'll be Abraham and the father of Isaac and the father of Jacob who's the father of the nation of Israel no it will be more than that through your seed the whole world will be blessed when Paul says in Galatians 3 that that the gospel was preached to Abraham I believe this is what it's talking about this reference that through your see the whole world will be blessed and if we jump ahead to Genesis chapter 49 Genesis chapter 49 as Jacob is prophesying to his sons before he dies in verse 9 Genesis 49 9 you are Alliance Cobo Judah you returned from the prey my son like a lion he crouches and lies down like a lioness who dares to rouse him so this is a prophecy to Judah the scepter will not depart from Judah nor the ruler's stand from between his feet until he comes to whom it belongs some translations say until Shiloh comes and the obedience of the nation's is his so there you have the name shins again who will now be obedient to this one who comes from the line of Judah so this is just to say that within Genesis we have a promise of the whole world being blessed through the seed of Abraham and now specifically we're told that the ruler that will come will come from the line of Judah and the people's the nation's again peoples nations the whole world will be obedient to him so this is something of great significance especially because the authority that was given to Judah the rulership authority through the line of David ceased many centuries ago and therefore this prophecy had to come to pass before that time but just to say this the promise of universal blessing the whole world being blessed through the seed of Abraham and then specifically the rulership and leadership coming through Judah that will bring the worldwide obedience we now have the foundation of Messianic prophecy also in the book of Genesis we have the account of the binding of issac in Genesis chapter 22 in Judaism it's well known as the ark a DA a ke da h ok da a ke D aah meaning binding excuse me specifically the binding of issac now what's interesting is that in Jewish tradition isaac was not a little boy when this happened which is the the most logical reading of the text rather he was a grown man of 37 years old so in Jewish tradition Isaac becomes an even greater hero than Abraham because Isaac willingly is laying himself down uh-huh you weren't praying hard enough should we switched you to the mic all right now if it happens with this mic then we start going around trying to see where the resistance is coming from okay Genesis 22 The Binding of Isaac in Jewish tradition this was viewed as if he actually died Jewish tradition even speaks of the blood of Isaac or the ashes of Isaac that's how much of a self sacrifice this was viewed as but the text as we have it puts the emphasis on Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his only son and of course God does not want human sacrifice Jesus willingly laid his life down to die for our sins that is different than human sacrifice someone offering up a child ultimately God did not want that this was something that was done in the ancient world and that probably would not have been foreign to Abraham God didn't want that it was a test but Abraham demonstrated his love and loyalty by his willingness to give his one and only Son the word in Hebrew that's used for for one and only it's the equivalent Greek word of that that's used in the New Testament when it speaks of Jesus as God's unique son or one an only Son so Abraham demonstrated his love for God by his willingness to give up his one and only Son and of course God demonstrates his love for us by giving us his one and only Son not only so but Isaac's willingness to go to the place of sacrifice prefigures Yeshua's willingness to go to the place of death in fact one Jewish tradition says as he's carrying the wood for the sacrifice for the altar that he's going to be burned on himself or sacrificed on himself that it's like he's a man going to the cross carrying the cross beam but there's something else that's interesting in the text when Isaac asks the question in in verse 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham father yes my son Abraham replied the fire and wood are here Isaac said but where is the lamb for the burnt offering Abraham answered God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering my son and then what happens a little bit after that what do they find caught in a thicket a ram so it's an interesting thing that Isaac asked where is the lamb and Abraham says God will provide the lamb and yet here there's a ram provided there is a lamb still to be provided by God and it's no surprise that when Jesus then comes on the scene that John the immerser John the Baptist sees him in John 1:29 and says behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and that's how he's referred to often in the New Testament we can also look at the example of Joseph again this is not quoted in the New Testament but this could have been something that Jesus opened his disciples eyes to see that we know what happens to Joseph he gets sold into slavery in Egypt and it looks like he's gonna die there instead God raises him up to become the savior of the Gentile world yet when his own brothers see him they don't recognize him it's only the second time around that they see him and recognize him he's revealed to them so in a way it parallels what happens to Jesus how he is given over to the Gentile world he's he's looked at as the savior of the Gentile world but not part of our family not one of us and then of course in the second coming he'll be recognized by his own people as his own brothers recognized him on their second trip to Egypt again not meant to be an exact parallel but is there a foreshadowing there when we we get into the book of Exodus of course we have the Passover and it's with the blood of the Lamb that the children of Israel are rescued that as long as they are under the protection and covering of the blood of the Lamb that they themselves are freed from the destroying angel that comes through and kills all the firstborn in Egypt it's also interesting though that that we have certain pictures of God appearing we have it in the book of Genesis we have it in in the book of Exodus as well so let's just take a look at some of these appearances sometimes these are called theophanies meaning divine appearances and and the question is is this the Son of God appearing in the Old Testament is this the Son of God making himself known in the Old Testament so take a look for example in Genesis chapter 18 Genesis 18 verse 1 it says the Lord in Hebrew Yahweh the Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of mom ray while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent and the heat of the day Jewish tradition says well it was the Lord appearing through three angels and one of them was Raphael who was there to heal abraham after his circumcision because the end of the 17th chapter said that abraham and all the males of this household were circumcised so Jewish tradition says that the angels were fulfilling the obligation of visiting the sick and one of them Raphael was there to heal Abraham but as you read the text you see that Abraham is quite well at this point is actually running around to get things done so the idea that this is visitation of the sick after circumcision obviously doesn't work but it doesn't just say that three angels appeared representing the Lord it says that the Lord appeared and as you'll read through the text you'll see that there's a dialogue that ensues between Abraham Sara and the Lord it's back and forth conversation you left I didn't let I heard you laugh no I really it's a back and forth conversation all right and then it says in verse 16 when the men got up to leave they looked down towards Sodom because there there before going to Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham walked along with them to see them on the way then the Lord said shall I hide from Abraham what I'm about to do and he speaks about how Abraham is going to become a great nation and how God is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah of course Abraham's nephew lot and his family are there so there's an extensive dialogue now between Abraham and the Lord extensive back and forth dialogue and then it says they in verse 33 when the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham he left and Abraham returned home so it's pretty clear right the Lord appears to Abraham at least one of these three men is the Lord Himself speaking directly back and forth to Abraham Sarah now Abraham is walking out with the men has an extended conversation with the Lord back and forth extended conversation when the conversations done the Lord leaves right chapter 19 verse 1 the next verse the two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening so what happens yahweh appears with two angels to abraham has extended conversation with him when he's done talking with abraham he leaves and the two angels go over to sodom when you read the text plainly if you just take it to me what it means this is God appearing in earthly form in the Old Testament and having an extended conversation with Abraham and eating and drinking with him now when you go to the book of Exodus you have God appearing in the in the flame of fire the angel of the Lord appeared in Exodus 3 but when you get to Exodus 24 there's something very significant here Exodus 24 this is after the giving of the book of the Covenant to Moses to give to the Israelites on Mount Sinai Exodus 24 1 then he said to Moses come up to the Lord you and Aaron Nadav and Avihu and 70 of the elders of Israel you who are you are to worship at a distance but Moses alone is to approach the Lord the others must not come near and the people may not come up with him so here's an invitation and it's interestingly spoken come up to the Lord not come up to me but come up to the Lord as if another person is speaking so this is now 74 people and it says in verse 9 Moses and Aaron not of a Navajo and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire clear as the sky itself but God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites they saw God and they ate and drank a divine appearance elsewhere when you get to the book of Deuteronomy you see in the fourth chapter that emphatically over and again God says look you saw no form you saw no form on Mount Sinai God did not reveal himself like this to the nation as a whole but he did reveal himself to the seventy elders and the four others on Mount Sinai they saw the God of Israel elsewhere we read you cannot see God and live Exodus 33 God tells Moses you can't see my face and live you can just see my glory basically as I as I passed by here it says that they saw the God of Israel and he didn't strike them that it was just a vision otherwise it wouldn't say he didn't strike them down this is one of the places that we have in the Hebrew Scriptures Genesis 18 being another important place one of the important places where God visibly reveals himself to the children of Israel and yet we know at the same time that God cannot be seen how do we know it well the New Testament tells us New Testament tells us finally here take a look with me take a look with me John chapter one what's written in John 1 verse 18 no one has ever seen God that's resent the God the one and only who was at the father's side has made him known 118 no one has ever seen God it's pretty plain here's another reference and there are more but here's another one first Timothy chapter 6 first Timothy 6 verse 15 speaking of God the blessed and only ruler the king of kings and Lord of lords verse 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light who no one has seen or can see 1st Timothy 6 16 he dwells in unapproachable light no one has seen him or can't see him and yet he's clearly been seen this is one of the things that we seek to open up to Jewish people that God has seen and unseen he's visible and invisible he's imminent transcendent he's touchable and he's untouchable how can this be at one at the same time well God is complex in his unity there's one God and one God only but complex in his unity Father Son and spirit the father is the source of all things all things come from him but no one can see him he dwells in unapproachable light he reveals himself to us through the Sun right John 1:14 the word was made flesh and we beheld his glory the glory is the only begotten of the father one and only of the father or John 14 where Jesus says to his disciples if you've seen me you've seen the father or Colossians 1 that says he's the image of the invisible God or or Hebrews 1 that he's the Express representation of God so he's hidden and yet revealed so the father the source of all things we prayed to him as Abba Father for that reason all things come from him they come through the son he creates all things through the son and he reveals himself through the son that's how we see God through the son and then he works invisibly among us by his Spirit these are some of the ways in which Moses spoke of Jesus and when Jesus says in John 8 that Abraham saw my day and rejoiced the question is how did Abraham see Jesus Day and rejoice was it a vision that he had of crucifixion resurrection possible possible but that's assuming a lot what was it something that happened with The Binding of Isaac where God gave him insight this is a prefiguring of what's going to happen with your greater seed in the future possible is it possible he saw the fruit of his worldwide rule in the whole world being blessed him possible we don't know but we know that Jesus can say that Abraham saw his day and rejoiced now when we we get into the the sacrificial system we see the great principle in Leviticus 17:11 that the reason for blood atonement is because the life is in the blood so Leviticus 17:11 tells us that's why God gave it on the altar it's life for life right the innocent taking the place of the guilty and so for example on the day of atonement two animals would be sacrifice in the midst of other sacrifices two goats one whose blood would bring cleansing for the sins of the people of Israel the other on whom they would lay their hands confess the sins of Israel over at the high priest would do this and send the goat into the world of the so-called scapegoat because the goat that escaped into the wilderness and there's debate exactly how to translate that the Hebrew word it was the goat for Azazel specifically what Azazel means but the point is simply this that the the sins of the nation were laid on the hands of this innocent spotless animal that then carried it away so there's the cleansing blood there's the carrying away of sin this is prefiguring what Jesus does on the cross in fact if we look at the Ministry of the high priest if we look at some of the key texts in the book of Exodus about the the high priest the one who would intercede for the people intercede for the nation that he literally carried on his shoulders that the the burden of the tribes of Israel he was the great interest intercessor for the nation and I want to show you something very interesting in the Book of Numbers and and I daresay you might have read numbers for years and never noticed this numbers chapter 8 the Levites here are set apart for service in the sanctuary numbers chapter 9 now notice this verse 5 the Lord said to Moses take the Levites from among the other Israelites and make them ceremonially clean goes through this now verse 9 bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting and assemble the whole Israelite community you are to bring the Levites before the Lord and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them so notice this the Levites are brought forward because the Levites take the place of all the firstborn of Israel any firstborn male animal was sacrificed to the Lord and he firstborn Israelite male was given over for the Lord's service here the Levites take their place that's how God set it up so notice the Levites are brought forward and the people lay their hands on the Levites right because the Levites are taking their place got it Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord is a wave offering from the Israelites so they may be ready to do the work of the Lord so the Levites the Israelites lay hands on them and they are set apart as an offering to the Lord the Levites the people then I killed there's a living offering right so there so you lay your hands on them they are taking your place right and then they are now offered up to the Lord now look at this verse 12 after the Levites lay their hands on the heads of the bowls use the one force in offering to the Lord the other for a burnt offering to make atonement for the Levites so the children of Israel lay their hands on the Levites the Levites laid their hands on the animals the animals are then sacrificed in their behalf so you can see this idea of substitution yes very clearly and a priestly ministry or Levitical ministry taking the place of the people now now look at this verse 19 of all the Israelites I've given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons to do the work at the tent of meeting on behalf of the Israelites and to make atonement for them so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary so the Levites basically as someone said serve as a lightning rod to attract God's wrath if there's going to be judgment they are the ones that are that are there to intercede they are the ones that are to take the place of the nation now I'll show you something else very interesting numbers chapter 35 so you understand why I read that yes to give the idea of the Levites being an offering for the Israelites taking the place of israelites and then the levites lay hands on physical offerings animal offerings which take their place substitution substitution when Jesus hangs on the cross he dies as our substitute he the righteous one takes the sins of the unrighteous so Deuteronomy 35 excuse me numbers 35 numbers 35 lays out the requirements for the cities of refuge why well if there was an accidental homicide you needed a place for that person to flee and and it says this verse 15 these six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites aliens and any other people living among them so that anyone that was killed another accidentally can flee there now what was the what was the problem the problem was that bloodshed polluted the land verse 31 do not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die he must surely be put to death verse 33 do not pollute the land where you are blood bloodshed pollutes the land and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed except by the blood of the one who shed it all right so you have a problem someone murders a person in cold blood the land is polluted how can we make atone for that how could we fix that only one way put that person to death life for life he took a life who loses his life now it's Homans been made in that respect okay problem blood was shed someone was killed but it was accidental but still pollutes the land but this person can flee to the city of refuge and no one can touch him there how long does he have to stay there well the rest of his life correct unless something happens let's just see what it says here tells us that verse 25 the Assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the Avenger of blood send them back to the city of refuge to which he fled he must stay there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil so he stays in the city of refuge the rest of his life or if the high priest dies first he's free why because the high priest takes the place of the people and his death substitutes for their death and his death some maybe you had five people in cities of refuge directional homicides when the high priest dies they all go free and Jewish traditional literature asks the question well what made atonement was it the the years that the man spent in exile in the City of Refuge no it was the death of the high priest that atoned this is in traditional Jewish literature these are ways that Jesus can say look it says in Psalm 110 about the Messiah that he'll be a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek so the Messiah was to be not just a king but also a priest and here we see not just the Levites taking the place of the rest of the people and being an offering for the rest of the people but we see also here that the high priest was the representative intercessor for the nation and that his death in that sense had atoning power and could release people from the city of refuge these are easily things to which Jesus could appoint it in the five books of Moses and then of course there's the the prophecy of the messianic king and numbers the 22nd chapter but that's speaking more of a of a future rain or in numbers 24 and the Balaam prophecies that go from 22 to 24 and then Deuteronomy 18 is another passage that Jesus could have pointed to about a prophet like Moses that God would raise up you say yeah but but that's not talking about the Messiah that's talking about in every generation God would give it Israel prophets well that's true but not totally true God says beginning in verse 9 of Deuteronomy 18 when you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nation's there they go to necromancer's and fortune tellers and all these false prophets things don't go to any of them verse 14 the nation's you'll dispossessed listen to those who practice sorcery determination but as for you the Lord your God is not permitted you to do so the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers you must listen to him all right in God says in verse 18 to Moses I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers so it's basically saying as you come into the land of Canaan I'll raise a prophet free you won't have to go to the soothsayers and the necromancers and these others so certainly in every generation there was an expectation that God would raise up a prophet or prophets who would bring the truth of the word to the people would would say what God was saying to the people and yet when we get to Deuteronomy 34 we read something very interesting Deuteronomy 34 speaking of the death of Moses and then the years that followed verse 10 since then no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses whom the Lord knew face to face so on the one hand it says twice in Deuteronomy 18 God will raise up a prophet like Moses when we get to Deuteronomy 34 it says no prophet like Moses has been raised up that's why if you remember in the Gospels it tells us that when John the immerser began to minister when John the immerser began to to speak they said to him are you the Messiah are you the Prophet are you the Prophet what what prophet we know from ancient Jewish documents that there was an expectation that there would not just be a messianic figure that came to redeem Israel but there would also be a great prophet that God raised up and part of the anticipation goes back to Deuteronomy 18 on the one hand it did speak of a prophet for every generation but it also spoke of a prophet like Moses and Deuteronomy 34 says no prophet like that is risen up yet who is there and the level of Moses that that came with such signs and wonders and miracle had that intimate relationship with God so there was an expectation of a greater profit to come that's why Peter quotes that and says whoever does not listen to this profit this greater profit this prophet like Moses Jesus whoever does not listen to him will be cut off so these are some of the ways in which Jesus could have opened up his disciples eyes or challenged the religious leaders and said look Moses spoke about me and you're not believing Moses because he spoke about me now it's true that the New Testament writers quoted from the Old Testament in many different ways sometimes they quoted as direct prophecy this prophet spoke this David saw this in the spirit this is what it's talking about other times they're saying as it happened to Israel so also what happened to Messiah as it happened to Moses is it happened to David so also it happened to Messiah let me give you a classic example Matthew chapter 2 Matthew chapter 2 I apologize for using so much scripture while teaching the word Matthew chapter 2 verse 13 when they had gone so you shoe and his family an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in the dream get up he said take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt stay there until I tell you for Herod is going to search for the child to come so remember just as when Moses was born Pharaoh was trying to wipe out all the Israelite males and obviously the enemy Satan sensing that it was time for deliverance to come and God's going to raise up a deliverer so Pharaoh wants to wipe them out in advance he doesn't know what's coming but he wants to wipe him out in advance so the same with Herod here he's specifically told about messiahs about to be born in Bethlehem so what does he do he got to wipe them out now all right all the let's get the rough timeframe here within two years kill all the the male babies in Bethlehem so Joseph being warning to dream fleas they go to Egypt stay there until I tell you for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him so he got up took the child and his mother during the night left for Egypt where he stayed until the death of Herod and so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet out of Egypt I called my son well if you all share this with a rabbi or a counter missionaries Jewish teacher educator working against us they'll say that's not a prophecy at all in fact it's completely taken out of context in fact it text says the opposite of what you think it says and Matthew's trying to trick you that's why he only quoted from the second half of the verse if you look at the whole verse in Hosea you'll see it has nothing to do with Jesus nothing to do with the Messiah it has to do with Israel you'll see it's not even a prophecy you'll see its history and you'll see it's not positive it's negative that's why Matthew only quoted Hanford he's trying to trick you so you go to Hosea you think okay let's look at this and and you go to Hosea and verse chapter 11 verse one and to your surprise you read when Israel was a child I loved him and that of Egypt I called my son but the more I called Israel the further they went from me they sacrificed to the balls and they burned incense to images was i o taught at fry him to walk taking them by the arms but they did not realize it was I who healed them so rabbis would say number one that's not a prophecy it's looking back at history number two the son there is not Jesus it's Israel number three it's it's a rebuke of Israel correct exactly Matthew knew all of that and he assumed when he quoted half the verse that his readers Jewish readers would know the whole verse it's just like if I said you know for God so loved well you fill in the rest of the verse what's his point his point is that has it happened to Israel the nation in its infancy Israel God's firstborn son called out of Egypt as a child the same thing happened to the Messiah God's greater firstborn son oh this is a parallel it's meant to be that Matthew is quite aware of what he's saying and doing and his understand excuse me his understanding is that his readers will understand what he's doing as it happened to Israel so also what happened to Messiah and strikingly Israel is called God's firstborn son messiahs called God's firstborn son and they're both in their infancy called out of Egypt by God parallel as it happened to Moses crowd tries to destroy him before he's born so what happened to Jesus Harry tries to destroy him before he's born as it happened to Israel God's firstborn son called out of Egypt and infancy the same thing with Jesus or in their early years called out of Egypt the same way psalm 41 is quoted by Jesus about Judas the one weight with me has lifted up his heel against me he has betrayed me you say wait a second Psalm 40 wanted talks about the psalmist's in David's turn about his own sin there and psalm 41 how can that apply to Jesus all Jesus is saying is just as David was betrayed by a close friend so also I'm betrayed by the close friend that's all what's the point the point is that the whole of the Hebrew Bible is pointing towards him the point is that the whole of the Hebrew Scriptures is testifying to him as it happens to Israel as a nation as it happens to Moses this happens to David so also it happens to the Messiah these are not primary proofs this is kind of like the the decoration on the tree or the frosting on the cake the primary proofs have to do with the explicit passages that speak of Jesus dying for our sins like Isaiah 53 that speak of him rising and ascending to the right hand of God like Psalm 110 that speak of his priestly ministry on our behalf like Zechariah 6 these are the more explicit passages that speak of these things and passages that would indicate that the Messiah had to come before the second temple was destroyed all these are the foundational teachings then these other allusions and as had happened to Israel's that happened to David as it happened to Moses that's like I say icing on the cake or decorations on the tree not only so but because the writers of the New Testament were all Jews with the possible exception of Luke some would argue he was Jewish as well but they were all living in the Jewish world they also understood the Jewish mindset Jewish forms of interpretation and they sometimes use plays on words and things like that just like Jewish teachers did just like the Hebrew Bible does for example in Genesis 11 it tells us that we have the name BA Val right bable bable on we have name ba Val because their God confused the tongues what's the Hebrew word for confused Baal wall so it's telling us we have the name ba Val because their God Baal walled the tongues confused the tongues but that's not where Bevelle comes from bobby'll we all know an ancient Semitic languages would be Bob either gate of the gods that's what it means Bob al in Hebrew would be the same thing gate gate of God gate of the gods so why does Genesis 11 get it wrong it doesn't get it wrong it's a play on words it's not meant to give you a scientific definition of explanation it's a play on words just like saying yeah they call him Mike because he always has a Mike in his hand no one's thinking that that's how I got my name here I'll give you another example Jacob right what does Jacob mean someone tell me what does Jake it mean cheater all right you're gonna name your kid cheater what you mean name let's name him cheater oh thank god we're having a twins all right let's all right 20 you know that come out okay let's name this one it's like Harry look okay we'll name that one Harry or and that one we'll call it the Sivir yeah we're like novel fool right what parent is gonna name their kid novel fool the fact is just like in English there are different words that can have different meanings or words that sound alike the same in Hebrew all right so initially why is he called Yaakov because he's grabbing the the a keV the ankle right he's grabbing the ankle of his brothers so he's called Yaakov ankle grabber let's name him ankle grabber that even there it's a play on words okay Yaakov from what we can tell from other Semitic languages meant something like he will protect something like that and it just could have been short for gob will protect no words it was a good name but it also rhymed with the root for ankle a keV okay so let's call them ankle grabber and then also sounds the same as the root for it to deceive so later on today your name is rightly called deceiver because you deceive just like saying that's why they call you Mike because you're always holding the mic that was just play on words we may not know that reading it today but someone reading it in ancient Israel would know that the New Testament writers did that same kind of thing so probably the most classic example the most interesting example is found in Matthew the second chapter and it's one that's raised a lot of eyebrows over the years Matthew chapter 2 back there again and they went so Jesus went with the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth so what so was fulfilled what was said through the prophets he will be called the Nazarene now in your Bibles doesn't have those words he will be called the Nazarene in quotes yeah that's how it is in Bible in front of me there no quotes when it was written in Greek and they really shouldn't be quotes there because there's no verse that says that notice this so was fulfilled what was said through the prophets plural the only time Matthew uses that formula and speaks of prophets plural not prophet singular is the prophet Isaiah said of the Prophet Jeremiah said but prophets plural so he's talking about the testimony of several prophets figure it at least three I mean could be two but seems to be a plural number here suppose the field was said through the prophets he'll be called that's true when did the prophets ever say that well it's not actual verse there's no verse that says it the critics say well we made up over he made up a verse that's a great way to win people who know the scriptures make up a verse to back your case especially when you have nothing to gain from it there was nothing of significance of prophetic significance that he lived in Nazareth no I'm saying it's not as death it's not his resurrection it's not the heartbeat of his message in ministry ah well on the one hand what what did what did Phillips say when he heard about Nazareth in John 1 can any good thing come out of Nazareth huh Messiah come from Nazareth you kidding me Nazareth a little town in Galilee what no I expect that so on the one hand it speaks of his lowliness and in any of the prophets that spoke of that his lowliness or is being rejected that could tie in with that but not only so what's written in Isaiah 11:1 one of the most important messianic prophecies in the whole Bible it speaks of the the root of Jesse right it speaks of the the branch the stump and the the Hebrew word used there is net ser there will be a net ser from Jesse from David and net ser is a play on words with not Sarat Nazareth so elsewhere the Messiah's called the branch using a different word in zechariah 3 in zechariah 6 he's called some off the branch same word used in jeremiah 23 and Jeremiah 33 the Messiah snare is called semuc branch here he's called branch is the word net ser and it seems what matthew is doing is giving you a little hint you got a dig I mean this is this is what scholars have seen that Matthews giving you something that if you'll dig you'll discover and it's one of these things when she discovers her oh that's what he was talking about so he wants you to look okay what's this what's this hint well the one hand the size a branch that also speaks of as his lowliness just like a you know a twig or a chute or you're coming out of a stump and specifically and I say 11-1 he's called a net ser which is play on words with not sarah nazareth and then another prophet spoke of his lowliness and being rejected that's what he's saying he's saying that he lives there and it is appropriate place to live as the prophets described but you got to dig to see where the prophets describe it that's what he's expecting you to do to dig and make this discovery but this is not a primary or primary prophecy about Jesus being the Messiah it's no no no it's not this this is just decorations on the tree this is icing on the cake the passages that most clearly lay these things out are the larger indisputable text like Isaiah 53 which speaks of Messiah dying for our sins knee of being rejected by the nation like Psalm 110 which speaks of his exaltation to the right hand of God those are passages that carry even more weight that are more fundamental let me just give you one more example then we'll just take a stretch break and come back and answer your questions Psalm 22 Psalm 22 is quoted verbatim by Jesus on the cross famous words in Aramaic would be a li a li lama sabachthani suits hebrew and aramaic hebrew lama of thani why have you forsaken me my god my god why have you forsaken me some of the mocking words of the religious leaders quoted verbatim from Psalm 22 I mean ironically as Jesus hangs on the cross my God my God why have you forsaken me why are you so far from saving me so far from the words of my groaning oh my god I cry out by day but you do not answer by night I'm not silent yet you are enthroned as the holy one you are the praise of Israel and you our fathers put their trust they trust you and you delivered them they cried to you and were saved in you they trusted and we're not disappointed but I'm a worm and not a man it goes on okay is this a messianic prophecy well it's not written as a prophecy it's written as the experience of the psalmist he started his own experience and feeling forsaken by God and given over to his enemies however as we read the psalm it seems to speak of a suffering beyond anything we know that happened in the life of David or someone else recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures and not only so it it seems to speak of a certain type of suffering that looks very much like crucifixion which did not exist in Old Testament times the the form of execution known as crucifixion was invented by the Persians as far as we know and then the the Greeks learned from the persians and the romans learned it from the greeks and ultimately because it was such a barbaric way to kill people that the romans ultimately stopped using it so the psalmist is speaking here by divine inspiration he's speaking of his own great sufferings and agony and if he's speaking of something beyond anything he ever experiences in that sense it's prophetic and in that sense Jesus fulfills that remember Matthew 5:17 didn't come to abolish but to fulfill so he takes this Psalm which only had partial application in the life of the psalmist and brings it to a full meaning and by the way it's very easy to write like that when you're writing poetically it's very easy right and he's these lofty terms that are you know impossibly exaggerated and they seem real but Jesus actually does it he he fulfils it so the psalmist says I'm a worm and not a man scorned by men despised by the people all who see me mock me they hurl insults shaking their heads he trusts in the Lord let the Lord rescue him let him deliver him since he delights them this is what some of the mockers say as Jesus hangs on the cross yet you brought me up out of the womb you made me trust in you even at my mother's breasts from birth that was cast upon you from my mother's womb you've been my god do not be far from me for trouble is near and there's no one to help many bowls around these strong Bulls of Bashan encircle me roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me I poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint my heart has turned to wax it has melted away within me my strength is dried up like a potsherd and my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth you lay me in the dust of death dogs have surrounded the abandon of evil man is encircled me our translations read they've pierced my hands and my feet others would argue it says like a lion there at life hands and feet in other words mauling and tearing either way a brutal description of what happens to the psalmist hands and feet I can count all my bones people staring gloat over me they divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing this is such a vivid description of crucifixion as such a vivid description of what happens to Jesus at this time that it's beyond striking and yet when written crucifixion didn't even exist as a method of punishment if the picture painted is one that that fits perfectly for crucifixion and then what happens is the cry for deliverance and then verse 22 I'll declare your name to my brothers in the congregation I'll praise you verse 24 for he's not despised or disdain the suffering of the afflicted one he's not hidden his face for him but is listening to his cry for help and then begins to proclaim what's going to happen in the future verse 27 all the ends of the earth will remember remember what my great deliverance from the jaws of death all the ends of the earth will remembering turns to the Lord and all the families the nations will bow down before him for Dominion belongs to the Lord he rules over the nation's all the rich of the earth will feast and worship all who go down to the dust will kneel before him those who cannot keep themselves alive posterity will serve Him future generations will be told about the Lord they will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn for he has done it so here is the psalmist delivered from the jaws of death and the deliverance is so great that people from the ends of the earth people from around the world and future generations of Israel will serve God because of it only Messiah fulfills that whatever meaning it had in the context of the Old Testament it was not fulfilled that was not filled up to the full measure because the psalmist did not suffer that full level of suffering nor was he delivered in such a way that brings praise to God to the ends of the earth Jesus comes along because the whole Hebrew Bible is his and takes it to its fulfillment dying for our sins rising from the dead you say yeah but it seems that the psalmist is delivered from death and before dying well I asked which is the greater deliverance from death that you're delivered from a temporary crisis only to die some years later or that you were delivered from the jaws of death itself after dying never to die again exalted to the right hand of God and which is going to bring greater praise to God to the ends of the earth so again I just gave you a sampling looked a little bit more in-depth into the five books of Moses but the whole point is to say that when rightly understood all of the Hebrew Scriptures are pointing to Jesus the Messiah but then in some very specific foundationally important ways they are directly prophesying about him and that's what we present to our Jewish friends how he would be a light to the Gentiles yet rejected by his own people as the Prophet said that when we was he was dying we would think he was dying for his own sins and on and on and we can even make a case that he had to die and rise before the second temple was destroyed therefore there's one candidate and one candidate only who can fulfill the prophecies all right so let's do this we will take a five-minute break we'll come back with QA

Channel: Grace Church St. Louis

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Keywords: dr. michael brown, dr michael brown, ask dr brown, michael brown, finding jesus, jesus, finding, finding jesus in the old testament, old testament, old, testament, grace church

Id: 6cdKrV7Df68

Length: 69min 5sec (4145 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 22 2018