Series: John
Title: The Message of the Book
Text: John1: 45
Date: Nov 22, 2020
Place: SGBC, NJ
Subject: The Message of the Book
John 1: 45: Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto
him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write,
Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
Have
you noticed how often those who Christ called are said to have known that the
scriptures taught of the coming Messiah?
Philip and Nathaniel knew the scriptures. The woman at the well knew the
scriptures. So many that our Lord came
to, though they were yet lost, they were students of the word.
I
asked a young person this week, do you read the scriptures? Do you take the things preached and look them
up in the word? God has given us the
gospel. This is light. We do not earn salvation. But God says walk in the light he has given
and he will give more light. So today I
want to speak on The Message of the Book—the message of all the scriptures is
Christ.
Proposition: All the old testament law and prophets (including
the Psalms) have one message: the Lord Jesus Christ who is the salvation of his
people.
John 1: 45: Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto
him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write,
Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
MOSES IN THE LAW
Most wrote of Christ in the
first five books of the bible, including the law of Sinai. All declares Christ who alone saves God’s
elect.
The self-righteous
Pharisee’s thought themselves righteous and despised others. So they rejected Christ for Moses, particularly,
for the old covenant law. Christ said, “You
search the scriptures: for in them you think you have life and they are they
which testify of me. And you will not
come to me that you might have Life” (Jn 5: 39-40). They read scripture as we all do at first,
seeking what they must do to earn eternal life.
But the scripture speaks of Christ.
They command us to come to Christ that we might have Life by his works not our own. Christ told them, ‘Had ye believed Moses,
ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me (Jn 5:46).
When Christ opened the understanding of the two on the
road to Emmaus “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded
unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Lu 24:27).
As soon as Adam fell in the garden and plunged all into
spiritual death, Moses wrote of Christ the seed of woman—the salvation of
his people.
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the
woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise his heel.
Christ is pictured in Noah’s ark—Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord—he was of the
election of grace, chosen freely by God by grace in Christ. So God preached the gospel to Noah and shut
Noah and his family up in the Ark—“of God are ye in Christ Jesus”—all God’s
elect were in Christ on the cross. The
flood of God’s justice fell on Christ like the rains came down on the ark. But all his elect were safe inside Christ our
Ark. That is salvation in a picture.
The Hebrew writer tells us Moses spoke of Christ when
he wrote of Melchizedek in Genesis 14:18. When we read the old testament, if using a
Cambridge bible use the marginal reference.
Often we find the word expounded in the new testament.
Hebrews 7: 1: For this
Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham
returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; 2: To whom also Abraham
gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and
after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; 3: Without father,
without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of
life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually…8: 1: Now
of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high
priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the
heavens;
Moses wrote of Christ who is the Lion of the tribe
of Judah.
Genesis 49:10: The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the
gathering of the people be.
When John beheld the revelation of Christ, no man was
found worthy to open the book and John began to weep.
Revelation 5: 5: And
one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of
Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the
seven seals thereof. 6: And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and
of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been
slain,…
God’s people are not gathered to Mt Sinai, we are not
gathered to earthly Israel or to a church denomination. God draws us to Shiloh, the Lord Jesus—unto him
shall the gathering of the people be. John
the Baptist was drawn to him. Andrew, John,
Peter, Nathaniel, Philipp. All God’s
elect are drawn to Shiloh. Our Lord
said,
John 6:37: All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out.
All the old covenant law spoke of Christ. God’s people delight in the ten commandments
in our inner man. One, because Christ
uses the law to teach us our sin and inability to come to God by the works of
the law. Two, he reveals Christ is the
righteous love that established the ten commandments for his people—Christ is
the Righteousness of God for his people.
Believing on Christ we establish the law even as Abraham did who did 430
years before Sinai.
And Christ is everything typified in the ceremonial
law—High Priest, Lamb, Brazen Altar, Mercy Seat, Tabernacle—it all pictured
Christ—but Christ is the express image. Why
does God command us not to go back to the ceremonies and days of the old
covenant law? If you have a picture of a
loved one who you long to arrive, you hold on to the picture and long for the
day they arrive. But once they arrive in
person, if you turn from them back to the picture then there is a problem. Nathaniel
said Christ is here!
THE PROPHETS
The prophets all wrote of Christ. Philipp said, “We found him of whom Moses
in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Act 3:24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and
those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of
these days.
Samuel was a prophet.
He himself typified Christ. He
was born of God to Hannah as a miracle gift of God like Christ. Samuel served the Lord from his youth as
Christ did. But Samuel wrote of Christ—he
wrote the Lord’s word to David concerning Christ, the Son of David.
2 Samuel 7: 12: And
when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set
up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish
his kingdom. 13: He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the
throne of his kingdom for ever. 14: I will be his father, and he shall be my
son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with
the stripes of the children of men:…16
And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before
thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
Isaiah declared
Isaiah 7:14: Therefore
the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:6: For unto
us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon
his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty
God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 11:10: And in
that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the
people; to it [to him] shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
Christ Jesus is the true Son of David who is the King
of eternal Israel, David’s Son and David’s Lord.
Acts 2: 25: For David
speaketh concerning him, [these are Christ’s words written by David] I foresaw
the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not
be moved: 26: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover
also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in
hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 28: Thou hast
made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy
countenance. [now listen to Peter] 29: Men and brethren, let me freely
speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his
sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30
Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath
to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise
up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He
seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not
left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption…34: For David is not
ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord,
Sit thou on my right hand, 35: Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
Christ is the Branch,
the Lord our Righteousness spoken of by Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zacharia—the
church wears his name because we are clothed in his righteousness.
Jeremiah 23:6: In his
days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name
whereby HE shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Jeremiah 33:16: In
those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is
the name wherewith SHE shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.
Christ is the true Shepherd described by Ezekiel. Micah declared his birth place.
Micah 5:2: But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he
come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been
from of old, from everlasting.
Christ
is the Messenger of the Covenant promised by Malachi. Zechariah declared the price of Christ’s
betrayal by Judas.
Zechariah
11:12: And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not,
forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.
Christ
is the Messiah who Daniel prophesied was to be cut off, not for himself, but
for the people.
ARE
WE TO SEEK LIKE IN THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS?
Can we
find life by our hand? Is life to be
found by doing the law and the prophets?
We have
sinned. We need a perfect righteousness. Our nature is corrupt. We need to be created anew in purity. We cannot seek life in the scripture by our
hand. But the law and the prophets and
the Psalms bear witness of Christ who is Life.
He is Life because he is Righteousness.
Life is Christ Jesus our Lord.
Moses represents the law and the prophets. He was a prophet and the law came by him. So
when the children of Israel came to the border of Canaan, God would not let
Moses deliver them into the promised land because he represented the law. But representing both the law and the prophets,
Moses laid his hands on Joshua bearing witness that Joshua [Savior] would
deliver the children into Canaan. It pictured the law and the prophets bearing
witness that Christ is the Righteousness of God by whose faithful obedience his
people are delivered.
Romans 3: 20: Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21: But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law
and the prophets; 22: Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus
Christ unto all and upon all them that believe:
Moses
represented the law and the prophets. The
law cannot deliver us into the heavenly promise and the prophets cannot deliver. Joshua represents Christ. Both the law and the prophets bear witness
that Christ is the Righteousness of God, our Deliverer! His name is Jesus/Joshua for he shall save
his people from our sins.
On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses (law) and
Elijah (prophets) appeared with Christ. When Peter suggested they worship all three,
God spoke from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased. Hear ye him.” When Peter looked again there stood none
but Christ. The law and the prophets
bear witness that Christ is the one who pleased God for his people.
The whole bible has one message. It is the commandment of God the Father that
his people hear Christ, believe on Christ, worship Christ, follow Christ and
give Christ all the glory! When Philip
said to Nathanael, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law and the
prophets did write” Nathanael knew Philip was saying, “We have found the
Christ!” Christ is the Savior who alone saves his people from our sins. All the old testament saints saw afar off and
were saved by the same Christ we trust and worship. Search the scriptures looking for Christ. God may just reveal him to you.
Amen!