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Summary

I am and there is no one beside me But the evil shall come upon you which you cannot charm away Disaster shall fall upon you which you will not be able to ward off and ruin the shall come on you suddenly of which you know Nothing Isaiah already saw the downfall of Babylon already saw When you go to 48 You've got some classic law and and gospel that go on in chapter 48 The first portion of chapter 48 Is is really giving the law against the house of of Jacob the hardness of their hearts the second portion of 48 Um is a word of invitation To leave Babylon and to trust in the Lord So let's go to a 48 will pick up in in 17 Thus says the Lord your Redeemer the Holy one of Israel I am the Lord your God who teaches you for your own good Who leads you and the way you should go Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments and your prosperity would have been like a river in your success like the waves of the sea Your offspring would have been like the sand in your descendants like its grains their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me Go out from Babylon flee from Caldia Declare this with a shout of joy proclaim it Send it forth to the end of the earth say the Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob Verse 20 here tells the people this word of prophecy that when the time comes they are to announce to the ends here of the earth with Shouts of joy their redemption here from Babylonian captivity And when you think of us God has redeemed us in a much greater way hasn't he Then a release of the people out of captivity we've been redeemed through the cross of Jesus Christ and may we As his redeemed people announce with great joy what God has done If God called the people to announce with great joy here The redemption from the Babylonian captivity how much more how much more Do we have the joy and are we cold to express that joy and that reality In terms of what God has done for us in Christ So We've seen here now today the raising up a Cyrus The return of the Jews to Palestine to rebuild Jerusalem in the temple That word of prophecy here Ultimate purpose Deserving the people out of which the Messiah will come and redeem the world We've seen that whatever God makes of us Are we broken or whole our purpose is to give him glory We've seen How the hidden God speaks through his word and if we want to know Who he is and what he says We don't go inward We go outward to the word We've seen the total helplessness of idols and our temptation to create our own idols in whatever form When we cry out with the with the why me And we've seen how God has redeemed us in a much greater way No wonder we can announce with joy Well, we'll continue next week as we turn to chapters 49 to 52 Heavenly Lord, we thank you so much for your word. Anytime we watch anything that touches on a theological notion I go this is just this just bad theology and and she started stopping me as we're watching something she just says mom I know I know it's I'm not turning to this for theology I'm turning it to it for fun but anyway so so there you go the Nephilim the great mystery not as exciting as we think or as as sometimes it's portrayed but but it makes more sense it's more realistic and so there we go all right so we started in Genesis now we're going to jump all the way to revelation there is um revelation is I mean we could I know we talked about this last year we could spend just years in revelation and still um be fascinated and find more uh we're gonna go to revelation 12 revelation 12 so we started in Genesis the very first book of the Bible and we're going all the way to the end to revelation the very last book in the Bible so we're making it very easy to find today um we don't even have to open to the middle and then flip we just know you either go to the front of the back so we're in the back of the Bible revelation verse 12 um so have you ever been reading in Daniel it also has this where where you read and it talks about a time times in half a time and we kind of read past that and go yep okay sounds good what is time times and half a time so that is what we're going to be looking at today so we're going to start with verses uh one through six because this is very interesting remember how we talked last year about how revelation goes in these cycles right it's cyclical writing and so here we're going to find in these first six verses of chapter 12 we find that um that it's it's a quick version of then what is laid out in the rest of 12 so let's go ahead and read verses one through six where John is seeing the vision and he says a great portant appeared in heaven a woman clothed with the sun with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of 12 stars she was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs in the agony of giving birth then another portant appeared in heaven a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven diadams on his heads his tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born and she gave birth to a son a male child who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron but her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne and the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God so that there she can be nourished for 1,260 days okay so a great sign it begins by saying a great sign a great sign is it's pointing to something of importance remember how we hear that there will be signs and wonders that Jesus did many signs and wonders he is it that is always pointing to something of divine importance that's happening a visual representation of something divine right we know that when Jesus performs miracles something divine is happening right there we know that anytime there's a sign given there's something divine that's happening that's going on so so this woman is wearing a crown of 12 stars on her head now a crown was given in reward for a contest it was it was it showed a victory and this crown of of 12 stars it represents 12 of the 24 elders that were around the throne of God so in the throne room we read about the 12 elders that are praising and worshipping the Lord and we knew when we talked about this last year we talked about how 12 those 12 of those 24 represented or were the 12 tribes of Israel and the other 12 were the 12 apostles so you have the Old Testament and the New Testament coming together and you have the 24 represented so you have you have this woman who is wearing the crown of 12 stars on her head and prior to the child's birth the 12 stars are representing the 12 tribes of Israel it's those those 12 tribes so it's really that old testament people that are being represented here it's it's all the people of God in the Old Testament that are represented then after the child is born the 12 stars are representing the other 12 elders that are that are the 12 apostles which represents the New Testament Church which represents the people of God both both of the Old and the New it's it's the complete people of God the stars are signifying that the woman represents the entire people of God Israel and the New Israel the Old Israel and the New Israel Mary is is the model of the woman or for the woman she's also the model for and represents the church so here we have this woman and and and she is I mean we know that Mary did give birth to Christ but we also know that the church is referred to as a bride remember in the Old Testament how consistently the prophets write and and God writes through through them talking about the the unfaithful bride that is the church and then afterwards we hear in the New Testament about the church that is adorned as the bride for Christ right the bride of the lamb so the church is adorned with the sun and crown of stars God loves and honors his people God loves his people his people of all his people of now and his people to come God loves all of his church the moon that is under the woman's feet that shows that she's the dominant earth entity in his creation so everything everything in creation is governed for the benefit of the church the church is to increase to be cared for the church is protected by God the dragon then is sitting here it's just incredible imagery this dragon that is just waiting for this child to be born to debour him so so we see that the dragon at the start isn't again or isn't after the woman the dragon wants to destroy the child the dragon wants has a focus against the child that's where the warfare is all centered but the child escapes the dragon and that's when the dragon turns his rage toward the woman so if you keep your hand in revelation and if you go to Psalm 2 now we're going to open to the middle of our Bibles into Psalm 2 please it's just incredible when you get into you know I like the the Lutheran the Lutheran way of understanding that scripture interpret scripture because it helps to clarify it helps a lot to make sense of what doesn't seem to make sense and we see that that God has it he has what he wants us to know in his word so so it's just kind of cool that's a total aside but it's just it's just really cool to see how God gives us always through his word understanding so so in in Psalm 2 we read we read about the prophecy of this so reading in Psalm 2 it says why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and his anointed saying let us burst their bonds a sundering cast their cords from us he who sits in the heavens laugh the Lord has them in derision then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them within his fury saying I have set my king on Zion my holy hill I will tell of the decree of the Lord he said to me you are my son today I have begotten you ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession you shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel now therefore oh kings be wise be warned oh rulers of the earth serve the Lord with fear with trembling kiss his feet or he will be angry and you will perish in the way for his wrath is quickly kindled happy are all who take refuge in him so we see that in Psalm 2 God is telling us that he will anoint his king he will install his king who is the anointed one and in Psalm 2 verse 9 when it talks about the iron rod it's looking past the present age where gods or Christ rain is hidden right it's looking past that into the future rain when Christ's rain will be revealed in power and with glory and so it's light in light of the future rain the the future rain of Christ the kings kings are told fear worship and serve the Lord in that knowing that this rain indeed is coming and so this is what is the kings and those of us on earth are invited to to fear and worship so that that the escape of the wrath of God can happen remember happier all who take refuge in him we know that the rain the eternal forever rain is the Lord's and so when he comes again in all power and glory and and his kingdom is no longer hidden from the world we know as believers we do not need to tremble because our time now is is revering the Lord our king and and we know his kingdom is to come so that is that is an invitation and a warning right that that those who who revel in the worldly rain and the reign of the dragon gods wrath indeed will come upon them the dragon the dragon though can only look toward or look forward to his complete termination his a complete termination of his of his rule and so he's furious with this child he's furious with this child and that's where he wants to to snatch the child in Luke chapter one verses 31 and 32 we find out that the male child that is to be born to marry is to rule on the throne forever we know that his his rule and reign will be forever it is eternal and Jesus declares in his ministry over and over again that he is the shepherd he is the one who has come to call and gather the sheep just as God had promised so so in verse five going back to Revelation in verse five we read she gave birth to a son a male child who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron but her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne a lot happens in that phrase in this phrase we have the incarnation we have the ministry of Jesus we have the passion the death the resurrection and the ascension in just a little phrase so so so we have the sum of our whole everything that we know about Christ all in those few words that the child was born and snatched up to God Jesus the child he is exalted and enthroned it is not the dragon it is not the dragon who prevailed it is Christ it is the child born who prevailed praise the Lord the dragon couldn't destroy the child at his birth so now now we're going to jump down so so those verses one through six that an overall explanation of what's happening here then then John in his writing with the prophecy he comes back then beginning in verse seven and goes back over it and explains what happens and tells of it in more detail so in that we hear beginning in verse seven war broke out in heaven Michael and his angels fought against the dragon the dragon and his angels fought back but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven the great dragon was thrown down that ancient ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan and deceiver of the whole world he was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him then I heard a loud voice in heaven proclaiming now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down who accuses them day and night before our God but they have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony for they did not cling to life even in the face of death rejoice then you heavens and those who dwell in them but woe to the earth and to the sea for the devil has come down to you with great wrath because he knows that his time is short okay a couple of things here why I keep highlighting that that this you know the first six verses give a shortened version and then we come back to get more details because when when one reads revelation in a linear fashion then we see that there are that that they're they're really then are two dragons how does this work and you see this timeline getting really muddled and very confused so when we understand that we're coming back to to the deeper explanation or more details it makes it clearer does that make sense yes oh good I'm so glad I also I also want to highlight I just find it so amazing these incredible descriptions of the serpent of the devil given where where it is it is in verse um verse 10 and into 11 it talks about um the accuser the accuser who accuses that day and night before our God and isn't that exactly what the devil does but stand there first saying you know come on it's okay you know tempting us warring us into sin we sin and then he says can you believe what you just did you should be ashamed you are unworthy you are un-savable right isn't that what the great accuser does I love those verses just it's just anyway so um so the dragon can't destroy child that has then the woman this this first Mary is now the church it's both the old and the new Israel um and and we read about that where where Paul in Romans writes about there's no longer Jew in Greek but but we're one in Ephesians chapter two we we read all about um the unity of who we are in Christ right that we are no longer separated but we are one we read in the New Testament in Paul where he talks about um you know we're all one in the Lord one Lord one spirit one baptism for the forgiveness of sin and so we have this unity and um let's go ahead and go back to Revelation verse 13 so when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child so he's pursuing after this woman he can't he cannot defeat the child and so he goes after the woman he goes after the church but the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she could fly from the serpent into the wilderness to her place where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time see time and times and half a time okay we're gonna math that's okay this is this is simple math okay yes so we have we have time that's one we have times so that's two so we have that and then we have half so that is time times and half a time one plus two is three plus half is three and a half simple math now I'm gonna explain what this even means so so um three three and a half is half of number seven right so the number seven is very key here okay so when we read um we read earlier in Revelation we read about um about a 1,260 days uh that the witnesses of God are on the earth right and we read about um 1,260 days where where the city is trampled right and and so this is a very figurative language um three and a half years equals 1,260 days so we we're coming to look at this figuratively um and not linear so it's not that there will be two prophets proclaiming for three and a half years exactly and then there will be burning in the city for three and a half years exactly and then but it's it's figurative so the two the the prophets the witnesses of God were in that time period okay so um but we're talking about times time time times and and half a time um so so three and a half is half of seven seven is God's number seven is God's number remember he created in seven days and created in six rested on the seventh but but it's the seven days of creation um so so we have this this fullness in the number seven the fullness of of God well three and a half is half that is the devil's mockery of God three and a half is the devil's mockery of God and until the completion of God's time we are in a period of the devil's mockery we're in a period of the devil the accuser wreaking havoc and accusing doing all he can to torment the the church so he chased after the woman the woman went into the wilderness and she was in verse 14 it says that she is nourished for a time and times and half a time so we are currently in the time and times and half a time but the woman remember at this point is the church she is the church let's go back to Revelation to read in verse 15 then from his mouth the serpent poured water like a river after the woman to sweep her away with the flood but the earth came to the help of the woman it opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth then the dragon was angry with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her children those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus so remember the dragon now is being referred to as the serpent where do we first see the serpent genocents in the Garden of Eden who deceive, eve and Adam right and is also told by God that he will be crushed that he will be crushed by Eve's offspring so now the dragon the serpent has been trying to devour this child can't cannot destroy the child he chases after the woman chases after the church continues to hound after the woman but the woman is cared for she is nourished she is nourished by creation she is provided for and we know that as the church we are under complete and the church being you know believers we are always under fire by the the serpent by the devil the dragon but we are nourished week after week with word and sacrament we are nourished day after day with word right and so we're always nourished and kept in in God's reign and rule by his mercy and by his grace so um yeah so God cares for the woman in the wilderness the serpent still causes a lot of pain a lot of anxiety and we see that he turns to then torment the rest of her seed. Now what's really interesting is that in order to be a Jew you can be a practicing Jewish person or you can be culturally Jew you don't have to be both anyone whose mother is Jewish is automatically in the tribe is is part of the Jewish people that being said and I cannot remember exactly when that switch occurred but during Jesus' day he was he found his lineage through Joseph because Joseph is descended so it used to be found through the father's line but now and for a long time now I can't remember I've looked this up before but now it is through the mother's line that that heritage is found and there are a lot of Jews today who are culturally Jewish but but not practicing their faith we have some key teachings that we are familiar with that they they turn to which the Torah is one Torah well write down some words Torah and this specifically we think think of it as law but really the the translation of Torah is arrow that hits the mark arrow that hits the mark and see it's a picture language it's a picture language so so the Torah itself is the Pentateuch it's the first five books in the Bible Genesis hot diggity dog that's awesome yes it's the first five books in the Bible and those all point to how one can hit the mark right the Jewish people if they follow what is in the first five books of the Bible they can hit the mark exactly the tonk is it is the whole of the old testament and that is and I will say the the Hebrew words are really fun to say so you're welcome to say any of them out loud I'm not gonna blame you but that takes both the Torah the Pentateuch and it takes the oral tradition because everything was handed down through oral tradition it takes that and it's compiled into the tonk and that is all all together so that is what we know as the old testament it is the writings it is the prophets it it goes off of the Torah and then within that we have 613 myths both yeah yeah 613 and this is these are the laws these are the commandments so 613 commandments within the tonk and tradition the oral tradition and tradition itself is very very important in the Jewish culture and religion it's all in there the Talmud is a combination so there are a lot of writings but remember that within Judaism there's a lot of a lot of discussion the debates that they have that we read about when Jesus is sitting there with religious leaders and they're debating that's called pillpool and so that is something that they engage in all the time so they take the pillpool they take the the teachings and they compile them and so the Talmud has it has a rabbinical commentary it has the oral tradition it has the written word together and it's all compiled and then it's it's read every week in synagogue so that's a very very very very basic overview of some of their writings some of their key teachings and this is this is where we start to find that with a lot of their key teachings and a lot of of their kind of values as a as a people we have a lot in common which can be a wonderful bridging point but it also has been historically a place of real contention and we're going to find how that is so one of their or their first key teaching is that they they believe in monotheism they believe that there is one god there is only one god and so so in the Jewish faith we as Christians who confess a triune god one god but three and one we are seen to be monothe or polytheistic we're seen as worshiping three gods where we know that that and it's I mean we are not going to get into the Trinity right now but not doing that but we know that we have one god um three persons in one god and um but they they have one god one god alone Yahweh which they do not say the name they have several different names but that is too holy to even speak um and we see that we see Yahweh like that um and that that is the name there is um the name that they use in place of this um is adonai which means gods which is very interesting because we have the triune god three and one and when they pray and use the name of god they say adonai which is plural um so it's kind of interesting but um what was I saying thank you okay so you will see um you'll see in the Bible when they when they in the Jewish Bible when it's this when it's Yahweh you will see capital L-O-R-D with O-R-D in lower case but when they would come across that they would not say it that's it adonai or Elohim um not not not the name no like an English uh speaking Jewish person may say Lord but not when reading scripture they're coming into contact with the the holy name and so they do not say that um and that is taking the do not use your Lord's name in vain that is taking that to a very severe degree they don't want to even risk saying it wrong so they don't say it at all yeah yep yep absolutely I was just gonna just gonna get there very cool um so they have a they do not want to cross the line at all um so they they stick with this now we will hear the word um Jehovah right and that is a mixing it's actually an accident that is a mixing of adonai with Yahweh or Elohim with Yahweh so it's mixing the holy and mixing um with the the word that they are allowed to speak the name that they are allowed to speak so Jehovah is actually a um uh an error in pronunciation so um but as a Christian people we we know when someone uses the word Jehovah we know what it means and um don't don't rebuke anyone um if they use Jehovah because we know that we know um the Messiah so the Jewish people did believe in a Messiah and they believed that the Messiah would bring about a certain rule and reign and power for the Jewish people there would be no more oppression for the Jewish people and through the years um that has kind of gone by the wayside they kind of say well there could be a Messiah there couldn't be it's not like they are waiting with anticipated breath for a Messiah because history has taught them kind of a dashed hope dashed dream they had other Messiah's prior to Jesus who um who died who were killed so then Jesus comes along and they put all their hopes into or you know a lot of the people put all their hopes into Jesus and then what happens they watch him die and so then when he is resurrected they deny or they reject his resurrection because he still died and Rome is still oppressing them so the Messiah has a lot of political um leaning in power and need and deliverance built into it in the Jewish uh into the Jewish people so there have been many Messiah's in history according to the Jewish understanding but um but through history with their hopes being dashed with them still being persecuted or oppressed um they kind of like modern day Judaism um thinks it's a cute cute story um yeah when they when you're here fighting the Messiah but didn't part of them looking for the Messiah as a blocker coming back you know the coming back in the summary you're using the Messiah is some like a flat against Rome back yeah they wanted a Messiah to fight against Rome and some of them but there's only you who released the Messiah as a spiritual the Messiah with Judaism the Messiah um had a spiritual component but it had a political component that um and that's where the political aspect um it didn't follow through they still were oppressed the whole call for the Jewish people as a tribe was to be separate to be a people unto themselves and that is why you don't have you know Jewish missionaries going out and and trying to convert people into Judaism because if you are if you are Jew a Jew then you would be so um by birth or if you married into it but they do not like like as a whole and this is this is a lot of generalizations so if you have Jewish neighbors or friends um and and you're sitting there going that's not my experience absolutely this is on a whole um generalizations um and and every you know every individual is going to be different um but they are to be a separate people and um yeah we'll go ahead and jump there right now so this is where the um the Holocaust and when speaking with our Jewish neighbors the Holocaust is so important to keep in mind because in the 1900s the Jews let down their guard and they got familiar with their neighbors with their people with their community and they did not expect the cruelty and the the just utter evil to happen to them because they were neighbors they had mingle they had intermingled and um and so the Holocaust is very very important to keep in mind and I think it's an important this is kind of an aside but I think it's important for us to keep in mind anyway because that is a a just evil outright evil in front of our faces our kids need to understand that evil exists in this world and um I just think that's a total aside but we need to understand that evil exists in the world and and how um we how we live um in opposition to that one of the things with the Holocaust that caused a lot of um of breaking between the Jewish people and their Christian neighbors is that Martin Luther's writings were used in defense of the Holocaust um now I think that it's important for us to know this and uh I I like how this author puts it um so so Luther was not inherently anti-Semitic um early in his career he has writings that are very loving um for the Jewish people calling Christians to be kind and loving to their Jewish neighbors so there was no question that he had entered into um into ministry loving his Jewish neighbors and and and supporting that um and then Luther had a writing that was against the lies of um oh it's on the Jews and their lies it was written in night in 1543 and and he argued that Jewish synagogues schools and prayer books should be burned that rabbis should be for forbidden to preach and homes property and money should be confiscated and the 1930s Germans um used that and so in the Holocaust museums you will very possibly find writings of this writing of Martin Luther as an excuse and that has damaged greatly the trust and the relationship between Christians and their Jewish neighbors now in a sermon three days before Luther died in um he again let me find this here he returned back to um back to the position that he had in 1523 so he again spoke of loving the Jewish neighbor um so it really stinks it's very unfortunate that his writing is preserved that was used in a very very bad way yes there was um uh did it did it did it did it did it hold on a second here let me find it yes I've read I've read all of this there's a lot of information in here so um okay so it was a religious dispute um so he had written he had written a treatise in 1523 that was entitled Jesus Christ was born a Jew and he wrote of the Jews as an honorable people who are the lineage of Christ advising a gentle approach for them and speaking against the very things he wrote in 1543 but um but in 1543 um as he had been having some success at witnessing to Jewish people in and around Vittenburg um he came under attack by local Jewish anti-missionaries who called Luther a false teacher and that Christ was a false Messiah and that Christianity was a false religion and so those are the lies that he was responding to um and Luther um for all the good and the the wonderful um direction that he put us as a Christian people on the path with scripture being scripture being scripture right the word alone faith alone grace alone um he was human and he sinned and um and he did did come back and um and again to return to the 1523 treatise um in in being kind and gentle with our Jewish neighbors um he was definitely one of those that was loud, brash and spoke possibly um just out of emotion we don't know fully what his intention was and i bring that up because when we speak with our Jewish neighbor this easily could be brought up that's been brought up to me when i was when i was in Lutheran seminary one of my family members who i did not grow up Lutheran one of my family members said Luther's the reason for the Holocaust how do you feel about that? So um so have to go back and and look at that and um and you know when when evil is at hand it will seek anything and everything to um to move forward right but ultimately God's word prevails and God's goodness prevails and and he keeps his hand upon us so i do want to bring that up because there's no way when you are speaking with um a Jewish whether they are a faithful practicing Jew or a tribal Jew right ethnically a Jewish person um the Holocaust will come up and um so i think that that's that's important to know so um another very key teaching in Judaism is tikun olam which means repair of the world so they do not have a teaching of original sin they absolutely do not believe in the depravity of man um but they do have an obligation to works and the obligation to works is in order to achieve a more perfect world yes yes where did the good marker go there we go sorry okay tikun olam okay so tikun olam is repair of the world um and holoca will write that one down too holoca is an important part of this holoca is the walk so we've got repair of the world and we've got the walk and the walk is really that daily living guided by a system of ethics and study of God so it's this is where you are you are walking repairing the world by studying the word of God and living under the systems of ethics that God's word gives so it's a constant um a constant happening and part of that a huge part of that is shabbat or sabbath and it's resting as a people together away from the rest of the world and so they go to synagogue and they come together and that time is um studying God's word it is praying it is fellowship sounds very familiar to the first church in Acts 2 where they were devoted to the fellowship the teaching of the apostles breaking of bread and prayer that is a great example of um of sabbath because they are spending life together at least once a week they are coming together shutting out the rest of the world and and really living as a people um it's it's done as a community and you get the fullness of the community in that um midrash I dare you say midrash so pillpool is debate right that's that's where they get in and midrash is where um one is seeking answers to religious questions so pillpool we we read about that in the bible where where there is discussion amongst the scholars amongst the religious authorities and Jesus they're engaging in pillpool when they're debating over things then there's also where when at the feet of the rabbi and the rabbi is sitting there teaching that is midrash where people can ask questions and the rabbi can teach can give religious answers so a good example comes up in our reading today where Jesus has been has been sitting there teaching and blessing the children and and he gets up to go and and a young man comes and he he kneels down before Jesus and he says what must I do to inherit eternal life that is where he is seeking an answer to a religious question that would be an example of midrash um so something that is absolutely key in Judaism is and this goes along with the um with the uh monotheism goodness gracious the monotheism is um they're uh oh yeah yeah they're shema or shema which if you open your bibles to Deuteronomy six we'll find this Deuteronomy six and you guys already know where Deuteronomy is that was awesome you all know the Pentateuch so well so I'm going backwards so Deuteronomy is the fifth book in the Bible it is the fifth book of the Pentateuch we're going to Deuteronomy six starting in verse four where it says here oh Israel the Lord is our God the Lord alone you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away when you lie down and when you rise bind them as a sign on your hand fix them as an emblem on your forehead and write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates twice a day morning and evening the Jewish people are to do the shema and it begins with that with that proclamation here oh Israel the Lord your God is one or the Lord is your God the Lord alone and and then there is a response and then the rest of those verses is is read then they they have another portion of Deuteronomy that they read and then it ends every shema so twice a day every shema ends with numbers 15 so let's go back to numbers let's just back one chap or one book numbers 15 verse 37 through 41 or verses 37 through 41 where it says the Lord said to Moses speak to the Israelites and tell them to make fringes on the corners of their garments throughout their generations and to put a blue cord on the fringe at each corner you have the fringe so that when you see it you will remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them and not follow the lust of your own heart and your own eyes so you shall remember and do all my commandments and you shall be holy to your God I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God I am the Lord your God so again you begin your prayers with hero Israel the Lord is your God alone and then you end with the Lord's words that he is your God he is your Lord so that begins everything and just like we were talking about their belief in the monotheistic you know one God alone that is built into everything so we have as a people I say ethics guidance and and laws now the 613 a good portion of those are not doable because the temple was destroyed in 70 AD so so they do not have they cannot follow all 613 but the ones that they do have they do they are still expected to follow so they believe that God is is God there's one God they do not believe that there's a Messiah they've been disappointed and so they're not going to do that again very guarded because of the history especially the Holocaust and then the the feast and the festive gosh there's so much to get through and okay we may do a little more Judaism next week too because it's fascinating because we a misconception is that by the Christian churches that we don't have to say anything to our Jewish neighbor that that we really are worshipping the same God that we really are basically in line with our Jewish neighbor but we're not because they deny Christ they deny his death and yes resurrection yet yes well the sacrifices and the offerings they are not they they can't do the sacrifices right now this goes in with the 613 myths and they can't do that so everything they can do they are still obligated to do but this is where we come into that interesting kind of division where you have for lack of better term several denominations within Judaism where some really it is all cultural right we are part of we are Jewish because we're part of this tribe but there is no religious significance to it and they actually have what they refer to like Exodus the story of being brought out of slavery from Egypt there are some sex and Judaism that refer to that basically as grandmother's stories it's a little better a little more reverent than an old wives tale but not much it's it's a cute story oh gosh what is that called a a Bubba Mace a Bubba Mace yes so so even though they go through these in their feasts in their festivals which we need to get to oh my gosh they're they're just stories so so with this man what what what this previous Jewish man who is now Lutheran pastor I almost said Lutheran rabbi oh my goodness this Lutheran pastor he says that that it is harmful for us and it is not loving and not kind for us to not share with our Jewish neighbors we are we will I we're just gonna have to you know what we were gonna do five different religions but we may just do one no we will we will do some more but but we have to there's so much built into this that is just fascinating that we have to return to this I was gonna say something else and I can't remember what it was but it's just amazing we are next week we'll touch on the on the feasts and how there's so much that is built into the Jewish faith that points us directly to Christ and this is why you know I thought oh we'll start with Judaism because it's just this easy link and then I start reading and I'm like wow this is amazing and there is a lot more to it than what I expected and I also want to get into the how are we not worshiping the same God because that's that how does that make sense but we're gonna we're gonna do those two things since we are definitely returning to this is there anything else that we definitely want to touch on next week with Judaism oh they are traders yes so he asked he said what about Messianic Jews like there are there are Jewish converts to Christianity and and Jewish people the Jewish people are fine with with whatever anyone else in the Jewish tribe wants to believe they are fine with Christians who are Gentiles but a Jewish Christian is the only thing that they have that is like a heretic or a traitor no they they are no longer to be considered Jewish yes so you have okay so you you know someone who was Catholic then converted to Messianic Jewish which that is a Jewish person who who follows this with the understanding that Jesus has died for our sins and and right so I feel sad because then they have just put themselves under the burden of the law right um although I so I grew up Catholic so I will say I mean kind of under the burden of the law as a Catholic too but um yeah interesting very very interesting okay yes prophecies that point towards Christ well they don't read some of them they skip right over them legitimately yep yes yes yes yes sorry differences that the modern okay and that's another that is another thing that I didn't get to yet I'm telling you there is so much to cover it is just unbelievable it was like opening just it was just amazing amazing and that's also why I say like this is a great book but be ready because you will dive in and then have a hundred more questions and then go on all sorts of tangents is so we have a lot to cover next week god bless and we will we will continue diving into Judaism next week thank you Good morning. I think of Christmas I mentioned that in my sermon today we took a look at a portion of the great great hymn joy to the world so it's not surprising that perhaps Christmas was on my mind as I came to prepare this class there are there are so many great hymns aren't there and remember great hymns are those hymns that preach one of the great hymns associated with Christmas is the hymn what child is this just a beautiful rich hymn lifting up the imagery of Mary and the infant Jesus it's so beautiful there's a tranquility and a peacefulness about it but one of the stanzas that you sing some of the words are nails spear shall pierce him through the cross be born for me for you hail hail the word made flesh the babe the son of Mary it can be almost a shock when one comes to those words you surrounding the services of Christmas Eve it's such a beauty and the and the scene of the birth of the long anticipated Messiah of the world seen Mary and Joseph and the baby and there's this beautiful beautiful tranquility that surrounds that service service ending with silent night and the candles reminding us that Jesus Christ is the light of the world and so when you have a hymn associated with Christmas and oftentimes sung on Christmas Eve that talks about nails and spear piercing him through the cross be born for me and you it is almost a shock isn't it but that hymn is so helpful for us because it reminds us of why Jesus Christ came why there was the incarnation why there was the inflection of the second member of the Trinity Jesus came he was born to go to the cross he was born to bear our sin upon the wood of the cross that tree towers above all other trees in Holy Scripture is one was through the seasons of the church here I think also not only of Christmas I think also of a particular week holy week and one of the services of holy week is good Friday such a contrast isn't it the service on Christmas Eve the gradual extinguishing of lights the removal of the linens and the paramins the draping in terms of the black cloth that goes upon the pulpit and upon the altar we leave in silence we leave in darkness having been reminded in a special way of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ that service called good Friday which begs the question what what's good about it it is just as an incredible event that happens it is so unfair to the Lord Jesus Jesus never sinned and yet there he is receiving the death penalty on a cross between two guilty criminals looked at it from the human point of view one would have to say what is good about that how one how unjust is that that's why Friday has to be understood from the vantage point and the perspective of God because when we see it from God's perspective that's why we call that day good turn over please to the book of Hebrews the 12th chapter good way to find Hebrews is just a turn to the last book revelation start working your way slowly back towards Matthew you're going to cross over the Johns Peter James and then you come to the book of Hebrews Hebrews chapter 12 please verse 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfector of our faith who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross disregarding its shame and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God the joy that was set before our Lord was the joy of winning salvation for us remember when the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross he took our sin upon him he took the wrath of God that should fall upon us he took it upon himself he paid the penalty he cried out to tell the story paid in full the sin death paid and the joy that was set before him was the end result then of the cross forgiveness reconciliation redemption turn please to Isaiah the 53rd chapter good good way to find Isaiah is open up to the middle of the Bible you'll find Psalms and then start moving right Psalms Proverbs ecclesiasties song of Solomon and then Isaiah Isaiah chapter 53 verse 10 Isaiah 53 verse 10 yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain I like how the N.A.S.V the new American standard version translates that it says but the Lord was pleased to crush him and so this verse here that looks ahead to the Messiah on the cross the Lord was pleased to crush him because it's pleasure that which is born of what would come about because of the cross this incredible incredible act of God born of grace turn it with me now please to Matthew chapter 26 because I'd like to explore this with you this the greatest tree the cross of the Lord Jesus let's go to Matthew chapter 26 the first book in the New Testament Matthew chapter 26 and picking up in verse 36 then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane and he said to his disciples sit here while I go over there and pray he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebede and began to be grieved and agitated then he said to them I am deeply grieved even to death remain here and stay awake with me and going a little farther he threw himself on the ground and prayed my father if it's possible let this cup pass from me yet not what I want but what you want then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping and he said to Peter so you could not stay awake with me one hour stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak again he went away for the second time and prayed my father if this cannot pass unless I drink it your will be done again he came and found them sleeping for their eyes were heavy so leaving them again he went away and prayed for the third time saying the same words then he came to the disciples and said to them are you still sleeping and taking your rest see the hour is at hand and the son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners get up let us be going see my betrayer is at hand the very beginning of that reading is the reference to the place called Gethsemane to the garden Gasemani Gasemani had trees they were all of trees so here in a garden surrounded by trees there we find the Lord Jesus with that image in mind think back to what we studied in Genesis with the two trees in the garden for there in the garden our first parents Adam and Eve there they were surrounded by trees and it was there that all suffering began let's turn back there please to Genesis chapter 2 Genesis chapter 2 verse 16 Genesis 2 verse 16 and the Lord God commanded the man you may freely eat of every tree of the garden but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it you shall die then now please to Genesis 3 picking up in verse 16 to the woman he said I will greatly increase your pangs and childbearing in pain that you shall bring forth children yet your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you just a little to side on that this of course is after the fall the desire here your desire shall be for your husband that word there in the Hebrew it means a hungering intent upon in other words because of sinfulness the the woman will want to dominate the man but notice the the same sin here that dominates the man it says yet your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you so born out of sinfulness what can so often manifest is a husband and a wife trying to trying to dominate the other that's all the result of the fall that is it that's the opposite of submitting to one another as servants back then again please to Genesis 3 verse 17 to the man he said because you've listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you you shall not eat of it curse it is the ground because of you in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you and you shall eat the plants of the field by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground for out of it you were taken your dust and to dust you shall return jumping out of verse 22 then the Lord God said see man has become like one of us knowing good and evil and now he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken he drove out the man and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life in the garden surrounded by trees there is Adam and Eve and there is the beginning of suffering born out of the fall into sin the second Adam the Lord Jesus Christ came to undo what the first Adam did let's go to Romans chapter 5 Matthew Mark Luke John Acts and then Romans Romans chapter 5 verse 14 yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam who is a type of the one who was to come so you've got the first Adam and you've got the second Adam the second Adam is the Lord Jesus the first Adam is considered a a type in other words he said a pattern that in some way would be followed by Christ let's examine that let's go to Luke the third chapter Matthew Mark and then Luke Luke chapter 3 verse 38 Luke 3 verse 38 here you have a long genealogy with regard to Jesus notice the last phrase son of enus son of Seth son of Adam son of God so you've got God and then by God's creative touch there is Adam now let's go to Luke the third chapter verse 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove and a voice came from heaven you are my son the beloved with you I am well pleased so there's the reference to Adam son of God notice the small letter S there of course and then you have reference to the son of God my beloved the father says Adam was created as a son of God God is or Jesus is God's beloved son he's a type Adam was tempted by Satan back into Genesis the third chapter again Genesis chapter 3 verse 6 so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food that it was a light to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise she took of its fruit and ate and she also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate Adam was tempted by Satan a type pointing ahead to the second Adam the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord Jesus Christ is tempted by Satan let's go to Luke chapter 4 Matthew Mark and then Luke verse 1 Jesus followed the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan was led by the Spirit in the wilderness where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil and remember with every temptation what Jesus did he kept saying it is written it is written it is written oh that is such a powerful word for us when we face temptation to say it is written in other words what is God's will for us Adam created as a son of God Christ is God's beloved son Adam was tempted by Satan the Lord Jesus was tempted by Satan Adam's response to the temptation was sin which led to death Jesus's response to the temptation obedience which leads to life through the cross let's go to Romans the fifth chapter Matthew Mark Luke John Acts and then Romans Romans chapter 5 verse 15 but the free gift is not like the trespass for if the many died through one man's trespass there's the first Adam much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abounded for the many and the free gift is not like the effect of one man's sin for the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification if because of the one man's trespass death exercised a minion through that one much more surely were those who received the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercised a minion in life through the one man Jesus Christ here's the point the second Adam began his greatest suffering in the garden surrounded by trees and in the garden of Gethsemane surrounded with trees there we find the Lord Jesus Christ who has come to deal with the sin and death and misery that is a result of the sin of humankind it's really Genesis 3 all over again isn't it but now the outcome has a joyous joyous ending turn please to Isaiah 53 Isaiah 53 verse 7 he was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he did not open his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before its shears is silent so he did not open his mouth oh the love of God for us in the Lord Jesus Christ Romans the 8th chapter verse 32 Matthew Mark Luke John Acts and then Romans he who did not withhold his own son but gave him up for all of us will he not with him also give us everything else it is the picture and the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ carrying on his back the very wood that his blood would soon stand to John 19 now please Matthew Mark Luke and then John John the 19th chapter picking up with verse 6 and halfway through that verse John 19 picking up in verse 6 all right let's just start right at the beginning when the chief priests and the police saw him they shouted crucify him crucify him Pilate said to them take him yourselves and crucify him I find no case against him and now to verse 16 then he handed him over to them to be crucified so they took Jesus and carrying the cross by himself he went out to what is called the place of the skull which in Hebrew is called golgotha there they crucified him and with him two others one on either side with Jesus between them Pilate also had an inscription written then put on the cross it read Jesus of Nazareth the king of the Jews golgotha golgotha typically is identified today because of this rocky outcropping near Jerusalem that resembles a skull interestingly tradition says that golgotha was so named because it was the place of Adam's skull or his grave now let me underscore that is not scripture that is tradition in the church so we can't say with any scriptural authority that that is the case but that is the tradition in the church therefore according then to this tradition the second Adam the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified over the grave of the first Adam Luther talked about it this way quote thus the center of paradise was where Jerusalem Bethlehem and Jericho were located later on the places where Christ and John spent the greater part of their life it is possible Luther says that later on Calvary where Christ offered himself for the sins of the world was located where the tree of the knowledge of good and evil had been while paradise was still standing thus so far as the place is concerned death and destruction through Satan would be matched by life and salvation one through Christ and when Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world on the cross paradise was regained go to John the third chapter please John chapter 3 verse 14 Matthew Mark Luke and then John John 3 will pick up in verse 14 and just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the son of man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life remember we had studied about that wooden pole upon which that bronze serpent was placed Luther referred to the Lord Jesus Christ as the serpent of salvation what he was drawing on was was this verse that on good Friday a new serpent was lifted up Luther said it was the serpent of salvation the Lord Jesus Christ and we look unto him for salvation well of course the story does not end with Jesus dead on the cross does it look turn with me please to Luke the 24th chapter Matthew Mark and then Luke Luke chapter 24 picking up in verse 1 but on the first day of the week at early dawn they came to the tomb taking the spices that they had prepared they found the stone rolled away from the tomb and when they went in they did not find the body while they were perplexed about this suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground but the men said to them why do you look for the living among the dead he is not here but has risen remember how he told well he was still in ghettily that the son of man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again then they remembered his words and returning from the tomb they told all this to the 11 and to all the rest the resurrection is the validation that the sacrifice for sin had been accepted look with me please at 1 Corinthians the 15th chapter Matthew Mark Luke John, Acts and Romans 1 Corinthians 1 Corinthians chapter 15 beginning with verse 12 now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead there is no resurrection of the dead than Christ has not been raised and if Christ has not been raised then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain we are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testified of God that he raised Christ when he did not raise if it's true that the dead are not raised for if the dead are not raised then Christ has not been raised if Christ has not been raised your faith is futile and you're still in your sins and those also who have died in Christ have perished if for this life only we've hoped in Christ we are of all people most to be pitied but in fact Christ has been raised from the dead the first fruits of those who have died for since death came through a human being the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being for as all die in Adam so all will be made alive in Christ the gospel what a glorious glorious word from the trees of Eden's garden to the burning bush on Sinai to a wood pole lifted up that had a bronze serpent upon it to which the people were called to look from the tram family tree of the Lord Jesus all the way to the cross our heavenly Father uses trees and wood to bless his people and the tree of trees the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ I pray these weeks of study have been a blessing to you the Lord be with you Hello and welcome to our fourth session in this class entitled, Trees in which we take a biblical examination of some of the trees that we see in Holy Scripture. Adam and Eve had everything down to the fact that they bore the image of God the idea of not having enough not being enough it wasn't even a question in their mind because they had never experienced lack they had never experienced anything outside of perfection they had never experienced anything outside of the completeness of God and then the devil comes that tricky serpent and whispers into Eve's ear and raises the question of enough in her life the temptation stirs in Eve's heart and she thinks maybe what she has isn't enough maybe there's more look with me please at chapter three beginning in verse six so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise she took of its fruit and ate and she also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate then the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked and they so did leave together and made loincloths for themselves eating fruit seems pretty innocent it's not a huge deal right to eat a fruit why is that really a big deal after all it looked good it seemed like it would be good to Eve was it a big deal yes it was a big deal because God had expressly forbidden it he had expressly forbidden eating of that fruit we like to judge sin and rank it some sins are worse than others some sins not so bad we can joke about it a little bit but sin is sin sin is sin all sin and sin is not determined by how you or I feel about it sin is not determined by whether we want to say something is right or wrong the whole series of acceptable sins with the big question mark it begs the question what sin is acceptable and the answer is a resounding none no sin is acceptable absolutely zero sin is acceptable even if everyone else does it sin is sin sin is wrong and sin earns the full wrath of God the Father Eve sinned when she questioned the word of God and determined for herself what would be right and good she tried to blame the serpent but the guilt lies directly on her shoulders for her own sin and just like Eve just like Eve we sin out of envy Eve envied God his wisdom Eve envied God his authority and his sovereignty and so she determined for herself that what she had the word of God was not enough and she ate of the fruit just like Eve our envy says that we what we have been given by God is not enough whether it is a matter of a material thing that God has blessed us with we see others who have more and we look at our blessing and say it's not enough out of envy we see the spouse of another person and look at our own spouse and say what God has given me in this spouse is not enough we see others who are wiser than us more talented than us more skilled than us funnyer than us and we envy because we are not enough in our envy we delight in the downfall of others when another struggles we take delight when another when another has a mishap we find little glimpses of joy or humor our envy our envy ultimately comes down to the envy we have over our own lives, over our own morality, over our own decisions that we do not hold the authority that we do not hold the ultimate wisdom that we do not hold ultimate sovereignty and we envy God we envy God and we determine for ourselves what is right and what is wrong in our gospel reading today we have that period where pilot is bringing Jesus before the Jewish people and he has a custom to turn over one of the prisoners to the Jewish people to release him and let him go free and surely he's expecting that he'll let Jesus go because as it said he knew that Jesus had been handed over by the chief priests out of envy the chief priests envy Jesus they envied the power that he had they envied the fluence that he had and they sought his downfall they sought his demise we envy God Jesus stood before the crowd in a crown of thorns and they mocked him and called for his crucifixion do you envy God in that moment they beat him and flogged him stripping away pieces of skin do you envy God they marched him through the streets holding across that he could barely carry do you still envy God they nailed him to two pieces of wood do you envy God Jesus hung there on the cross struggling for breath while those around him crucified with him taunted and tormented him the soldiers at the foot of his cross teased him mocked him while his mother and his friends stood by weeping unable to do a thing do you envy God on that cross the entire wrath of the father was poured out so heavily the burden of the sin of this world of all time all places all people thoughts words and deeds the punishment poured out upon the sun so devastating that he called out my God my God why have you forsaken me and he gave up his spirit to death do you still envy God they removed the body and buried it in a tomb Jesus had died if that had been you or I or any person to ever walk this earth the story would end there it would be done and it would be deserved and just but God God is God he is not you or I God in the second person of the Trinity Jesus Christ walked this earth to live the life that you and I cannot live he walked this earth out of his love for you and I so that when he died experiencing the full punishment unjust punishment of the father he could do what neither you nor I could do and he rose victorious he conquered death he conquered the grave he conquered your sin he conquered my sin even the sin of our envy Jesus did for you and for I what we could never do for ourselves or for anyone else from the beginning of your life of faith when you were born through waters of baptism you were born free you were born into salvation you were born into eternal forgiveness and you were born once again in the image of God and as Paul writes in Galatians it is no longer I who live but it is Christ who lives in me and in Christ you come before the father not enough in yourself but you are in Christ and in Christ you are enough because you stand redeemed in Christ and this was planned from before the beginning in Ephesians chapter one Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit writes he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love he destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will to the to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the beloved in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us what you have my brothers and sisters is Christ there is no need to be in Christ you have forgiveness in Christ you have salvation in Christ you have life in Christ and what you have in Christ is enough and so the joy that you have in Christ is enough the peace that you have in Christ is enough the love that you have in Christ is enough and so I encourage you I encourage you to live live in Christ because not only is Christ enough Christ is everything Would you open your Bible's please with me this evening to Exodus the 30-second chapter?

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