Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20030112.htm

JESUS CHRIST IN OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY
Part XXII: Clearing Up Doubts About The Christian Faith
(Isaiah 52:13-53:12 with the New Testament)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Though we gather today to worship Jesus Christ as God and Savior, many people from a wide variety of backgrounds would challenge the validity of our Christian faith:

(1) Black Muslim leader, Wallace D. Fard claimed: "Jesus was only a prophet and not the equal of Moses and Muhammad, and His religion was Islam, not the Christianity of the Pope of Rome.'" (Pittsburg Courier, 1959 as cited in Moody Monthly, July-Aug., 1979, "A Catalogue of cults: Where they stand on the deity of Christ."

(2) The many millions of Muslims in the world who hold to the Islamic religion assert "Islam does not accept that he [Jesus] was crucified, died, then was resurrected. Islam believes he was taken to heaven without dying, without suffering the pain of death." (a quote from Seyyed Hossein Nasr as cited in "Who Was Jesus?" by Josh Simon, Dec. 1994 issue of Life magazine)

(3) Freemasonry holds as Albert Pike writes in his "Morals and Dogma" that "We tell the sincere Christian that Jesus of Nazareth was but a man like us.'" (Ibid., Moody Monthly)

(4) Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy claimed Jesus "was a mere man who demonstrated the Christ (i.e., a divine idea). It doesn't matter whether Christ ever existed, and His blood doesn't cleanse from sin." (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, The First of Christ Scientist and Miscellany, both by Eddy as cited in Moody Monthly, Ibid.)

(5) Jehovah's Witnesses claim Jesus was created by God, and Mormons teach Jesus is a preexistent spirit who was the child of Adam and Mary -- not of the Holy Spirit and Mary, Ibid., Moody Monthly.

(6) Some deny Jesus really existed. Peter A. Bien, professor of English at Dartmouth College, said: "I realize much of what we know about Jesus is novelistic. But I act as if it isn't." (Ibid., Life, p. 68)

(7) Even leaders in Christendom doubt Jesus' validity. As the Episcopalian Bishop of Newark, N. J., Bishop John Spong said, "If Paul was going to create a person out of whole cloth, he never would have located him in this scrubby, dirty little Galilean town." (Ibid.)

Well, CAN we VALIDATE the Christian faith in light of the many around us who would CHALLENGE its credibility?

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "Due to an exposure to competing ideas, I or a friend has deep DOUBTS about Christianity. Can you address these doubts?"
  1. The RISEN Jesus told His disciples on the road to Emmaus how He fulfilled Old Testament Messianic prophecies, Luke 24:25-27.
  2. As these men were edified by Christ's teaching of those passages (Luke 24:32), we also view them, following the list of prophecies named in the Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, s. v. "Messianic Prophecies."
  3. The Old Testament Isaiah 52:13-53:12 prophecies with the Four New Testament Gospels of Jesus of Nazareth, when viewed in their contexts, give rich evidence for the validity of the Christian faith:
    1. In 1947, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran in Israel included the find of a complete scroll of Isaiah dated 150 B. C., cf. Zondervan Pict. Ency. of the Bible, vol. Three, p. 321. Though the original book of Isaiah was penned many centuries earlier, and this scroll was a scribe's copy of the original, the find still confirms the contents of Isaiah's prophecies predate Christianity by over 150 years!
    2. Well, Isaiah 52:13-53:12 offers many detailed predictions that were fulfilled only in the death, resurrection, exaltation and intercessory works of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the New Testament:
      1. Isaiah 52:13 predicted God's Servant would function wisely and be highly exalted. Jesus of Nazareth showed great wisdom and later ascended to heaven according to Luke 1:80; 2:40, 52; 24:50-51.
      2. Isaiah 52:14 predicted God's Servant would have his face marred by others, something Jesus experienced in Luke 22:63-64.
      3. Isaiah 52:15 predicted this mistreatment of God's Servant would atone for the spiritual cleansing of nations, something the Gospels claim of the sufferings of Jesus of Nazareth, cf. Mark 10:45 et al.
      4. Isaiah 53:1-3 predicted the teachings and Person of God's Servant would be rejected, something Jesus experienced in Mtt. 27:39-44.
      5. Isaiah 53:4-6, 10b, 11c predicted God's Servant would be made a substitutional sin offering unto death for the sins of Israel (and the nations, cf. 52:15a), something the New Testament books often claim of Jesus, cf. Mtt. 20:28; Heb. 9:28 and Rev. 1:5b.
      6. Isaiah 53:7 predicted God's Servant would be silent before His tormentors as is a sheep before its shearers, something Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled according to Mtt. 27:12-14.
      7. Isaiah 53:8 prophesied God's Servant would die for the redemption of the world while none of His generation understood this at his death, cf. Ryrie St. Bib., KJV ftn. to Isa. 53:7-9; this is exactly what Jesus of Nazareth experienced according to 1 Cor. 2:7-8.
      8. Isaiah 53:9 predicted God's Servant would be buried with the wealthy since He was sinless; Jesus of Nazareth was buried in a rich man's, rock-hewn grace according to Mtt. 27:57-60.
      9. Isaiah 53:10 predicted after God's Servant was made a sin offering unto death, God would prolong His days (implying resurrection); Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead following His death for sin as God's Sin Offering according to Lk. 24:25-26 and 1 Cor. 15:3-8.
      10. Isaiah 53:11a predicted God would be satisfied with the Servant's death so that those who acknowledge God's Servant by faith would be justified from sin by God; according to Romans 3:24-26, this is exactly what occurs in regards to those who now believe in Christ!
      11. Isaiah 53:12a,b,c claims God would give His Servant greatness due to His substitutionary death for men, a fact Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled according to Philippians 2:5-11.
      12. Isaiah 53:12d predicted God's Servant would make intercession for transgressors following His death and resurrection, something Hebrews 7:23-25 says Jesus now does for those who trust in Him!
    3. In fact, Isaiah 52:15b with 53:12a predicted God's Servant will be exalted to rule and divide the spoil of kings and nations, something predicted of Jesus of Nazareth in His coming reign in Rev. 1:5a,b, 7.
    4. As Jesus of Nazareth both fulfilled and will yet fulfill such predictions in His predicted future reign on earth, and as these prophecies were made long before Christianity existed, the Christian faith of salvation from sin by faith in Christ's substitutionary atonement is VALID!
Application: (1) If we doubt the TRUTH of the Christian faith, we can recall (a) the evidence of the PRE-Christian era's Isaiah Scroll discovered at Qumran in 1947 and dated 150 B. C., and (b) the DETAILED WAY in which Jesus of Nazareth ALONE fulfills the Isaiah 52:13-53:12 predictions about His suffering, death, resurrection, exaltation and intercessory ministries. Then, (2) we can BELIEVE on Jesus Christ to be justified by God, and (3) share this news with others who doubt Christianity's validity!

Lesson: Because of the DETAILED FULFILLMENT of what WE can validate TODAY as GENUINE PROPHECY in OLD TESTAMENT Scriptures, and that by Jesus of Nazareth regarding Isaiah 52:13-53:12, the Christian faith is VALID, and Christ's GOSPEL is to be BELIEVED!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 The June, 2000 issue of Reader's Digest ran an article focusing on the 1999 book by Jeffery L. Sheler, Is the Bible True? After detailing various recent archeological finds in the Middle East, he said: " . . . in extraordinary ways, modern archeology is affirming the historical core of the Old and New Testaments . . ." (Ibid., p. 188)

Just regarding the historicity of the events surrounding the life of Jesus of Nazareth alone, Sheler supplies the following examples:

(1) In 1968, the remains of a man who had been crucified were found in a cave in northern Jerusalem. This was the first find of a crucifixion victim though many Roman records had claimed many had been executed this way. The victim's shin bones had been broken, corroborating the John 19:32-33 description of the soldiers who broke the legs of the two thieves crucified with Jesus. Also, the body had been buried in a family grave, showing the Romans occasionally would let family members keep such a victim's body in corroboration of the New Testament's record that Joseph of Arimathea acquired Jesus' body from Pilate for burial in his own grave, cf. Mtt. 27:57-60.

(2) In 1990, workers found a burial chamber on the Temple Mount, a chamber with 12 limestone ossuaries. In one of these ossuary containers were found the bones of a man, "Joseph, son of Caiaphas." "Experts believe these are the remains of Caiaphas, the high priest of Jerusalem, who, according to the Gospels, was involved in the arrest of Jesus, interrogated him and handed him over to Pontius Pilate for execution" writes Jeffery Sheler. (Ibid., p. 193)

(3) Decades earlier, in Caesarea Maritima, an "ancient seat of Roman government in Judea, a stone slab bearing a badly damaged inscription was uncovered. According to experts, the complete inscription may have read Pontius Pilate, the prefect of Judea, has dedicated to the people of Caesarea a temple in honor of Tiberius.'" (Ibid.) This is the only inscription ever found with Pilate's name, so, according to Jeffery Sheler, "the man depicted in the Gospels as Judea's Roman governor had the authority ascribed to him by the Gospel writers." (Ibid.)