The Messiah

All right, well next Sunday we are going to be starting a new series working through the Gospel of Luke.

But before we get to that, I wanted to take a moment this Sunday to look back into the Old Testament Scriptures.

What did God say before Jesus came about the Messiah?

What were some of the expectations that people might have had about the Messiah in Jesus' day

if they were carefully listening to the Scriptures of the Old Testament?

The Old Testament Scriptures point to Jesus in countless ways.

But for this morning, we're just going to be doing a little sampling of some of them,

some of those passages, specifically the ones that talk about the coming of the Messiah.

We start here.

What does the title Messiah even mean?

The word Messiah comes from the Hebrew, Mashiach, and that word means anointed one.

To anoint someone was to pour oil over their head.

And doing that signified that they were being set apart from other people for a special role.

At God's command, Moses anointed his brother Aaron and Aaron's sons to serve as God's priests at the tabernacle

just after God led Israel out of Egypt.

Pouring a special oil onto their heads was a visible and tangible symbol

that God himself had chosen these men to serve in a particular unique way.

But anointing was also practiced in ancient times at the installation of a king.

There's a reference to an anointing ceremony in the period of the judges

after Israel had come to rest in the land of Canaan.

And this particular reference from Judges chapter 9 was not a good anointing.

Judges 9 · chapter mention

There were some men in Israel and they anointed a man named Abimelech and they crowned him as their king.

But Abimelech was a treacherous and murderous man.

And God actively opposed him.

This man governed Israel for about three years.

And then he was killed.

This was a case of some of the Israelites choosing a man for themselves.

But he was definitely not God's choice for his people.

Though this is the first time in the Bible that we see this act of anointing,

pouring out oil in connection with the selection of a king.

Well, sometime after this in Israel's history came the prophet Samuel.

This is about 1000 BC.

And God chose Samuel to speak on his behalf to the people of Israel from the time Samuel was a boy.

Maybe you know the story.

You can read about it in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel.

And there are several references in those books to the anointed one of God.

And none of these references have to do with the priests.

They all have to do with a king.

In fact, by the time we come to 1 Samuel, we see that the men serving as priests in Israel are corrupt.

They're doing all kinds of wicked things.

And the eyes of the people in Israel have wandered away from God and away from his tabernacle.

And they're looking instead at the gods of the nations around them.

Nations, and they have rulers, and they have kings.

God hints at what is soon to take place in those days through the prophetic prayer of Samuel's mom.

Just after the birth of Samuel.

We can read her prayer in 1 Samuel 2, verse 8.

1 Samuel 2:8

She's praying to the Lord and she says this.

He, that's God, raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap.

He seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.

So who receives a throne of honor?

The poor man that God raises up from the dust.

She continues on.

He will guard the feet of his faithful servants.

But the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.

It is not by strength that one prevails.

Those who oppose the Lord will be broken.

The Most High will thunder from heaven.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.

She concludes her prayer with these words.

He, that is, the Lord Most High, will give strength to his king.

And he will exalt the horn of his anointed.

The people of Israel, up until this point in the story, have been under the attack.

They've been under the dominion of various kings of the surrounding nations for the past 400 years or so,

since the death of Joshua.

And by God's grace, he raised up champions for them.

Men who led and judged the people of Israel and even some women.

And some of these guys were regional.

All of them were temporary and short-lived.

Abimelech might have been anointed and named king by those scoundrels who ran with him.

But he wasn't much of a king.

More and more, the people in those days wanted to have a great and powerful king of their own.

Like they saw the other nations around them having.

They wanted to be like the nations around them.

Yet even as Samuel is born, Hannah, his mom, prays prophetically at the tabernacle.

She says,

For anyone with ears to hear, God was speaking through Hannah that day.

He was promising that there was coming a king of God's choosing.

A king whom God would anoint.

For his people.

Well, just a little later on in the story, after Samuel has grown up a bit,

God sends this man without a name, at least not in the scriptures,

to Eli, the priest at the tabernacle.

And these are his words to Eli.

He says to Eli, this is God speaking through the man,

I will raise up for myself a faithful priest

who will do according to what is in my heart and mind.

I will firmly establish his priestly house and they will minister before my anointed one.

Always.

There was no king in these days.

And yet God says, I'm going to deal with the corrupt priests.

I'm going to replace the whole family of the priests

that are currently in charge with a man who will be faithful and his sons.

And they will serve before my anointed one.

Again, God speaking of a man of his choosing who is coming.

Well, as the story of Israel continues,

in the days of Samuel, we see Israel's first king rise to power.

A man named Saul.

And Saul is indeed anointed by God in the sense that God has Samuel,

his prophet, go and pour oil over his head.

But as the story goes on, we start to see that Saul is more of a king of the people's choosing

than of God's.

God allows him.

God puts his choice behind the choice of the people.

But we start to see that this man is more of a reflection of the people,

the kind of king that they are desiring in their faithlessness

and not the kind of king that God has in mind for his people.

And so there comes this moment when after Saul disobeys

and disregards God for the last time when God rejects Saul as king.

And even though Saul continues to be on the throne of Israel

and sit there as king,

God begins to raise up the king of his choosing.

God sends the prophet Samuel to the little town of Bethlehem.

And Samuel is there for the express purpose of anointing Israel's next king.

But even Samuel is surprised.

When he comes to the end of Jesse's sons,

having considered all of them,

some of them fine-looking men,

and God says,

Nope.

Do not consider his appearance

or his height,

for I have rejected him.

The Lord does not look at the things people look at.

People look at the outward appearance,

but the Lord looks at the heart.

So none of them are the ones that I have chosen,

says the Lord.

It's the last,

the last son,

the youngest son,

the least son,

the one who is left out in the fields

to tend the sheep.

So Jesse sent for him,

the youngest son,

and had him brought in.

He was glowing with health

and had a fine appearance

and handsome features.

Then the Lord said to Samuel,

Rise and anoint him.

This is the one.

So Samuel took the horn of oil

and anointed him

in the presence of his brothers.

And from that day on,

the spirit of the Lord

came powerfully on David.

Think back to the words of Hannah

as she prayed

when Samuel was just a little baby.

He raises the poor

from the dust,

seats them with princes

and has them inherit

a throne of honor.

There David was,

sitting in the dust

with the sheep,

quite literally.

And the rest of 1 and 2 Samuel,

these books of the Bible,

is the story

of how God raised David

up from the dust

and seated him

on the throne

of Israel.

And so this is the backstory

of this title,

Messiah.

Messiah.

David was God's anointed one,

God's Messiah

in his day.

He was the chosen king of God

and his kingdom

became very great.

From that time on,

every time we read

that title,

anointed one or Messiah

in the Old Testament,

almost always it refers

to David

or to another kingly figure.

There's a couple exceptions

to that,

maybe a chosen prophet

or a special servant

of the Lord

here and there.

But mostly,

that word,

anointed one,

refers to some kind

of king.

And that gets us

thinking maybe,

where did this whole idea

even come from

or start in the first place?

Of God giving a king

to his people.

We might think back

to the Garden of Eden

where God commanded Adam

to subdue the earth

and rule over

every other living thing.

We see there

that God's intentions

and plan for man

were noble.

But we know the story.

Adam disobeyed God

and he plunged humanity

into sin

and rebellion.

Later on,

we see that God

begins to build

for himself a people

as he makes

great promises

to a man named Abraham

and his offspring.

Abraham is promised

to become

the father of nations.

And at times,

God subdues

and humbles kings

under Abraham.

And yet,

at the end of Abraham's life,

he's still very much

a shepherd

and a nomad

living amongst

a settled people

in Canaan.

Well,

Abraham fathers Isaac

and Isaac fathers Jacob.

And to Jacob,

God gives the name Israel.

Israel becomes

the father of 12 sons.

And on his deathbed,

Israel blesses his sons.

By the Spirit of God,

he speaks a blessing

to each of them.

And these were his words

to Judah.

The scepter

will not depart

from Judah,

nor the ruler's staff

from between his feet

until he

to whom it belongs

shall come

and the obedience

of the nations

shall be his.

Amen.

Could it be

that some 800 years

before David,

that little boy

in Bethlehem

was even born,

that little boy

born in Judah,

God was already

planning something amazing.

a king

who would rule

over a great kingdom.

And then 400 years

after that,

as Israel was first

entering the promised land,

God spoke

through Balaam,

who was not even

an Israelite,

about a coming king.

Balaam said,

I see him,

but not now.

I behold him,

but not near.

A star

will come out

of Jacob.

Jacob,

a scepter

will rise

out of Israel.

He will crush

the foreheads

of Moab,

the skulls

of all the people

of Sheth.

This was all

part of God's plan

long before

any of it came to be,

to give a king,

for God to choose

a king

for his people.

And David

was a fulfillment

of all these prophecies

that God gave.

But then,

God adds even more

to the promise

in David's day.

Not just of a king

who will rule,

David was that.

Not just of a great kingdom,

David had that,

but he adds the promise

of an enduring kingdom.

To David himself,

God says this,

he says,

when your days are over

and you go to be

with your ancestors,

I will raise up

your offspring

to succeed you.

one of your own sons,

and I will establish

his kingdom.

He is the one

who will build

a house for me,

and I will establish

his throne

forever.

I will be

his father,

and he will be

my son.

I will never take

my love away from him

as I took it away

from your predecessor.

I will set him

over my house

and my kingdom

forever.

His throne

will be established

forever.

And so,

even though we have

a Messiah,

an anointed one,

David,

God's saying,

it's going to continue,

it's going bigger than this.

There's a son of yours

that's going to come,

and he's going to rule

as king

forever

over an enduring

kingdom.

I will be a father

to him

and establish

his throne.

The immediate

fulfillment of that

word was Solomon,

the son of David,

and his kingdom

was truly greater

than his father's.

Solomon expanded

the kingdom

by the wisdom

that God gave him,

but then after

Solomon died,

the kingdom of David

and the kingdom

of Solomon

became fractured

and divided,

and it spiraled

down.

The kingdom

of David

and Solomon

became as a memory

of the good old days,

that golden century

to which we long

to return.

Nations

and powers

rose around

Israel,

empires rose up,

in fact,

God even says,

he even takes

the credit

for raising

them up

and for using

them to punish

the people

of Israel

for their

unfaithfulness

to him.

The words

of the prophets

spoken through

those days

are difficult.

They are heavy.

God was very

angry at how

his people

turned away

from him

to all manner

of wickedness,

and yet,

because God

is merciful

and compassionate

and faithful,

he was not

finished

with Israel.

God did not

intend to go

back on his

word.

Even through

the prophets

in those

dark days

of the kings

and through

the time

of the exile

and even

afterwards,

through the

prophets,

God spoke

again and

again and

again of a

coming anointed

one,

a coming

Messiah.

Listen to the

words God spoke

through the

prophet Micah.

This is like

hundreds of

years after

David lived.

Marshal your

troops now,

city of

troops,

for a siege

is laid

against us.

They will

strike Israel's

ruler on the

cheek with a

rod.

But you,

Bethlehem,

Ephrathah,

though you are

small among

the clans of

Judah,

out of you

will come for

me one who

will be ruler

over Israel

whose origins

are from of

old,

from ancient

times.

Therefore,

Israel will be

abandoned

until the

time when

she who is

in labor

bears a

son and

the rest of

his brothers

return to

join the

Israelites.

He will

stand and

shepherd his

flock in the

strength of

the Lord,

in the

majesty of

the name of

the Lord

his God,

and they

will live

securely,

for then

his greatness

will reach

to the ends

of the earth.

So there's

another ruler

coming,

there's another

king of

God's choosing,

and he's

coming out

of the little

town of

Bethlehem.

He's a

king whose

very existence

goes back to

older times,

to ancient

times.

for the

present,

Micah says,

Israel will

be abandoned

for a

time.

Punishment

for sin

will come,

but then

a woman

will give

birth to

a son,

and this

son of

hers

will stand

and shepherd

his flock.

You think

back to

David,

he was a

shepherd.

shepherd,

he will

shepherd his

flock by

the power

of God,

and his

flock will

live securely.

Why?

Because his

greatness,

the greatness

of this

son born

to a woman

in Bethlehem,

his greatness

will reach

to the ends

of the earth.

We're talking

a global

kingdom.

Listen to

the words

God spoke

long ago

through the

prophet

Zechariah,

again,

centuries

after David

lived,

still centuries

before Jesus

came.

Rejoice

greatly,

daughter

Zion.

Shout,

daughter

Jerusalem.

See,

your king

comes to

you,

righteous

and victorious,

lowly,

and riding

on a donkey,

on a colt,

the foal

of a donkey.

I will

take away

the chariots

from Ephraim

and the

war horses

from Jerusalem

and the

battle bow

will be

broken.

He will

proclaim

peace

to the

nations.

His rule

will extend

from sea

to sea

and from

the river

to the

ends

of the

earth.

So God's

going to

make the

wars

cease.

He's going

to bring

lasting

peace.

He's going

to do it

through a

king who

will rule

over all

the earth

and that

king is

the one

who will

come to

you,

Jerusalem,

in a

lowly

manner,

riding on

a donkey.

Not a

war horse,

but a

donkey.

Consider the

words that

God spoke

long ago

through the

prophet Isaiah.

Again,

centuries after

David lived,

still centuries

before Jesus

came,

Isaiah said

this,

nevertheless,

there will be

no more gloom

for those

who were

in distress.

In the

past,

he humbled

the land

of Zebulun

and the

land of

Naphtali,

but in

the future,

he will

honor

Galilee

of the

nations

by the

way of

the sea

beyond

the Jordan.

The people

walking in

darkness

have seen

a great

light

on those

living in

the land

of deep

darkness,

a light

has

dawned.

You have

enlarged

the nation

and increased

their joy.

They rejoice

before you

as people

rejoice at

the harvest,

as warriors

rejoice when

dividing the

plunder.

For as in

the day of

Midian's

defeat,

you have

shattered

the yoke

that burdens

them,

the bar

across their

shoulders,

the rod

of their

oppressor.

Every

warrior's

boot

used in

battle,

and every

garment

rolled in

blood

will be

destined

for burning,

will be

fuel for

the fire.

For to

us,

a child

is born.

To us,

a son

is given.

And the

government

will be

on his

shoulders.

And he

will be

called

Wonderful

Counselor,

Mighty

God,

Everlasting

Father,

Prince

of Peace,

of the

greatness

of his

government

and peace.

There

will be

no end.

He will

reign on

David's

throne and

over his

kingdom,

establishing and

upholding it

with justice

and righteousness

from that

time on

and forever.

The zeal of

the Lord

Almighty

will accomplish

this.

So God's

going to

make the

war cease,

he says,

so much

so that

the warrior

will burn

his old

blood-stained

uniform that

he was

saving in

case he

needed to

go to

war again

sometime.

The peace

just keeps

going.

Don't need

this anymore.

Let's burn

it.

Why?

The peace

keeps going

because to

us,

a child

is born.

To us,

a son

is given.

And he

will rule.

The government

will be on

his shoulders.

He will

take up

the throne

of David.

He will

establish it.

He will

uphold it

from that

time on

and forever.

And it's

going to be

a kingdom

of justice

and righteousness,

he says.

No more

government

corruption.

And the

light

of this

is going

to peak

over the

horizon

where?

In

Galilee.

By the

little path

that goes

along by

the sea

north of

the Jordan

River.

That's

where it'll

first break.

Listen to

the words

God spoke

long ago

centuries

after David

lived,

centuries

before Jesus

came.

Also from

the lips

of Isaiah,

Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

11.

A shoot

will come

up from

the stump

of Jesse.

From his

roots

a branch

will bear

fruit.

The spirit

of the

Lord will

rest on

him.

The spirit

of wisdom

and of

understanding.

The spirit

of counsel

and of

might.

The spirit

of the

knowledge

and fear

of the

Lord.

And he

will delight

in the fear

of the

Lord.

He will

not judge

by what

he sees

with his

eyes or

decide by

what he

hears with

his ears.

But with

righteousness

he will

judge the

needy.

With

justice he

will give

decisions

for the

poor of

the earth.

He will

strike the

earth with

the rod

of his

mouth.

With

the breath

of his

lips he

will slay

the wicked.

Righteousness

will be his

belt and

faithfulness

the sash

around his

waist.

The wolf

will live

with the

lamb.

The leopard

will lie

down with

the goat.

The calf

and the

lion and

the yearling

together and

a little

child will

lead them.

The cow

will feed

with the

bear.

Their young

will lie

down together

and the

lion will

eat straw

like the

ox.

The infant

will play

near the

cobra's

den.

The young

child will

put its

hand into

the

viper's

nest.

They will

neither

harm nor

destroy on

all my

holy mountain

for the

earth will

be filled

with the

knowledge of

the Lord

as the

waters cover

the sea.

Do you

hear this?

God's going

to bring a

righteous and

just ruler

to power,

one who will

deal with the

wicked,

one who will

bring a

peace so

deep to

this earth

that even

the dumb

animals can

feel it.

Even the

animals won't

dare to

harm each

other or

to harm a

child because

that's how

full of the

knowledge of

the Lord

they will

be when

this king

comes and

his presence

fills the

earth.

There will

be justice,

true justice,

even for the

poor and the

needy,

the weak and

the powerless.

No more

bribes,

no more

corruption,

and who

will bring

all this

about?

A branch

which springs

up from the

stump of

Jesse,

the father

of David,

a man whom

God himself

will put his

spirit upon.

Listen to the

words God

spoke long

ago.

Centuries

after David

lived and

centuries before

Jesus came,

also words of

Isaiah from

Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 42 · chapter mention

42.

Here is my

servant whom

I uphold,

my chosen one

in whom I

delight.

I will put my

spirit on him

and he will

bring justice to

the nations.

He will not

shout or cry

out or raise

his voice in

the streets.

a bruised

reed he

will not

break and

a smoldering

wick he

will not

snuff out.

In

faithfulness he

will bring

forth justice.

He will not

falter or be

discouraged till

he establishes

justice on

earth.

In his

teaching the

islands will

put their

hope.

hope.

This is what

God,

the Lord

says.

God's going

to bring

something truly

amazing about

on this

earth.

Not just

justice for

Israel but

justice for

the nations.

And not

some sick and

twisted form of

justice like

that proclaimed

by a wicked

tyrant who

simply exterminates

everyone who

disagrees with

him and rules

by terror.

but this

servant of

God will

bring forth

justice in

faithfulness.

He will be a

ruler who

deals gently

with the

weak and

the hurting.

He will be

the hope and

light of the

nations.

This passage

goes on.

I the Lord

have called

you in

righteousness.

I will take

hold of your

hand.

I will keep

you and will

make you to

be a covenant

for the

people and

a light for

the Gentiles

to open

eyes that

are blind,

to free

captives from

prison,

and to

release from

the dungeon

those who

sit in

darkness.

He himself

will be a

covenant

between God

and man.

He will be

the hope and

light of the

nations.

Who will he

be?

He will be the

servant of

God's choosing.

The one in

whom God

delights.

The one

upon whom

God puts

his spirit.

He will be

one who

opens the

eyes of

the blind.

One more

from the

prophet

Daniel.

Daniel had

a great

vision given

to him by

God.

Again, this is

centuries after

David lived and

this is centuries

before Jesus

came.

What did

Daniel see in

this vision?

In my vision

at night, I

looked and

there before me

was one like a

son of man

coming with the

clouds of

heaven.

He approached

the ancient of

days and was

led into his

presence.

He was given

authority,

glory, and

sovereign power.

All nations

and peoples of

every language

worshipped him.

His dominion is

an everlasting

dominion that

will not pass

away and his

kingdom is one

that will never

be destroyed.

So someone's

going to have

dominion over

all the nations

and peoples of

every language.

It's a

dominion that

will last

forever.

It's a

kingdom that

will never

pass away or

be destroyed.

And on the

throne of this

kingdom is

someone who

has been

given authority

by God.

A sovereign

of God's

choosing.

Who is it

that will

rule and

reign?

It is a

son of

man whom

God will

give this

to.

A king of

his choosing.

A man of

his choosing.

I think we

all know who

that person

is.

But in the

weeks and

months ahead

we're going

to be working

our way

through Luke's

account of

all that

happened with

Jesus when

he first

came.

We're going

to hear it

and see it

from Luke's

well-ordered

account.

And we're

going to see

how Jesus

really is.

That one

that was

foretold.

The Messiah

that we've

been waiting

for.

The one

who came

and fulfilled

much of

what was

promised.

And the

one who

will come

again and

fulfill the

rest of

what God

has promised

someday.

Can you

imagine what

it must have

felt like in

Israel for

the faithful in

Israel who

had heard all

these words of

God spoken

through the

centuries?

Can you feel

the longing that

they would have

had for all

of this to

finally come

true?

for God's

chosen king,

God's Messiah

to come.

And the

years went

by.

Decades

turned into

centuries.

After the

prophet Micah

spoke were

400 years

of silence.

No word

from God,

no word

from the

prophets.

But then

finally as we'll

hear next

Sunday,

God breaks

the silence.

let's pray.

Father in

heaven,

only you

can tell

the future

and then

bring it

about.

It's

amazing when

we look back

over your

story,

how you

were hinting

at what you

were going

to do.

You were

telling of

it

thousands

of years

before it

happened.

And that

there's still

more to

come.

We're in

awe.

We long

for that

kingdom that

we read

about,

Lord.

And we

know that

it will be

your son

on the

throne.

I pray that

we would all

know that,

that we would

trust it with

all our

hearts,

and that

we would

live in

light of

that.

Give us

strength.

Give us

understanding.

Give us

wisdom.

Bless us as

we go from

here today,

Lord,

into the

world with

the news of

this king.

In Jesus'

name,

amen.

Amen.