Turn back in your Bibles to Ezra
chapter 1. Ezra chapter 1. And while you're turning there,
I want to read you something out of Luke 24. And I like to
do this whenever we're turning back to the Old Testament Scriptures. Luke chapter 24, and listen to
what the Lord Jesus, after His resurrection, after He revealed
Himself to those disciples, in verse 44, it says, "...and He
said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you
while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled
which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets,
and in the Psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding
that they might understand the Scriptures." Now, we only understand
the Scriptures to the degree that we understand what they
say about Christ. And this book that we are looking
at this morning that bears the name of Ezra is the book of this
prophet Ezra. He's one of the prophets. And he, like every one of the
prophets, And like Moses in the five books of Moses that begin
the Bible, and every other writer of Scripture, he was writing
about the Christ. And the book of Ezra records
a time of history in the life of Israel when they had been
in captivity for 70 years. Jeremiah had prophesied the captivity,
70 years of Sabbaths which they had not observed, and the decline
and the captivity of Israel is recorded in the second book of
the Chronicles. Let me just read you a couple
of verses in that book. It says, "...and them that had
escaped from the sword," those that were not killed, that were
left alive, "...carried he away to Babylon, where they were servants
to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia,
to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until
the land had enjoyed her sabbaths, for as long as she lay desolate,
she kept sabbath to fulfill threescore and ten years." And then the
next verse makes the same statement that Ezra begins with. But Jeremiah had not only prophesied
that they would go into captivity, he had also prophesied of their
deliverance and release from captivity. In Jeremiah 29, he
says, "'For thus saith the Lord, that after 70 years be accomplished
at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word toward
you in causing you to return to this place. For I know, the thoughts that I think toward
you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to
give you an expected end." That is exactly what God thinks toward
all of His spiritual people. He knows the thoughts that He
thinks toward them, and He has thoughts of peace concerning
them and not evil, and He has purpose to give them an expected
end. and to further confirm the truth
of God's Word and His promise and His faithfulness, it was
prophesied of even the one that God had appointed to be that
deliverer. Who in the world could deliver
them out of the mighty hand and power of Babylon? Well, God not only said that
someone would, but He said also who it would be. A Persian king
by the name of Cyrus. And I want you to look back here
in Ezra 1, and let's reread those first four verses, where he says,
"...now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia." The first
year. that the word of the Lord by
the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up
the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia. Do we not read in the Scriptures
that the heart of the king is in the Lord's hand, and like
rivers of water He turns it whithersoever He will? And so he stirs up the
spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout
all his kingdom, and he put it also in writing, saying, Thus
saith Cyrus, king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given
me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he hath charged me to build
him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among
you of all his people? His God be with him. and let him go up to Jerusalem,
which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of
Israel. He is the God." which is in Jerusalem, and whosoever
remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of
his place help him with silver and with gold and with goods
and with beasts beside the freewill offering for the house of God
that is in Jerusalem." Now, my message this morning
is simply this, Cyrus, a picture of Christ. As a matter of fact,
the very name Cyrus in the Persian means something like Koresh. Which, if you remember, the man
who destroyed himself and a lot of other people with him, called
the branch Davidians, he called himself David Koresh and claimed
to be the Messiah. Wrong man. But this Cyrus is
the Lord's anointed, and his proclamation as the type of the
Lord Jesus Christ, his proclamation is like another proclamation,
the proclamation of the gospel. You see, that's what the gospel
is said to be in Scripture. It is a proclamation, a declaration,
a report, which is none other than the testimony of the Lord. And in like manner, the Lord
Jesus issues this proclamation, and He issues this command as
He did in Matthew 28. It says, "...and Jesus came and
spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven
and in earth, Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end
of the world." Now, likewise, not only did Ezra, but also Daniel
and Isaiah, they also spoke of this Cyrus. In Daniel 10, it
says, the vision. In other words, Daniel,
just like every one of the Lord's people, he causes them to have
an understanding. That's what John says. He has
given us an understanding that we may know the true and the
living God in Jesus Christ. But hold your place here and
turn also to Isaiah. Isaiah, who is another prophet,
some think a more significant prophet maybe than Ezra, but
the thing that makes each one of the Lord's prophets major
and not minor is the one they spoke of. the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah chapter 44, beginning
in verse 21. Remember these, O Jacob and Israel. You see, the message of Scripture
is not only about the Lord Jesus Christ, but it is always to God's
elect. It always speaks the promises
of God in Christ to them, and here is a picture of them in
two names. Remember these, O Jacob and Israel. That's the same man. But the
name Jacob is given to describe us for what we are by nature
and what we are in and of ourselves, nothing but sinners, connivers,
and tricksters. Whereas the name Israel, which
God also named this man Jacob by grace, that is what we are
by God's grace in Christ. It says, a prince of God, a son,
a child of God. Remember these, O Jacob and Israel,
for thou art my servant. I have formed thee, thou art
my servant. O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten
of me." He will never forget that covenant people. that He
loved with an everlasting love. He says He will never leave them
or forsake them, no matter how they appear to be at any time
on this earth. Why? He says, I have blotted
out as a thick cloud thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins, return
unto Me For I have redeemed you. I bought you with a price. You belong to Me. I'm not going
to let anybody else have you. You belong to Me. Sing, O ye
heavens, for the Lord hath done it." shout ye lower parts of
the earth, break forth into singing ye mountains, O forests, and
every tree therein. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob,
and glorified himself in Israel." Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer,
and He that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that
maketh all things, that stretches forth the heavens alone, that
spreadeth abroad the earth by myself, that frustrateth the
tokens of the liars. and maketh diviners mad, that
turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish,
that confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel
of his messengers, that saith to Jerusalem..." What's that? The church. There are two names
given in Scripture, especially in the Old Testament, that are
given of God to describe this city, this place, which is none
other than the church, the true church. And one of them is Zion,
and the other, which means the same thing essentially, is Jerusalem,
the city of the king, or the city of peace, that saith to
Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited. You're going to be inhabited.
And to the cities of Judah ye shall be built, and I will raise
up the decayed places thereof, that saith to the deep, Be dry,
and I will dry up thy rivers." That's God. And that's the language
of God. It all depends, with regard to
his church, on what he'll do. And he speaks in such a way that
we know that as God, there is no possibility of him failing,
and he will do it all through this One, the Lord Jesus Christ. Because he says in verse 28,
that saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all
my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, and to the
temple Thy foundation shall be laid." And what follows in chapter
45 is a further description of a prophecy concerning Cyrus and
a description of him and what will be accomplished by him as
a picture and type of Christ concerning the people of God. Now, how is Ezra, I mean, how
is Cyrus like the Lord Jesus Christ? What is there in this
prophet's writings, as Christ says in Luke 24, concerning him? You see, if we preach the gospel,
it has to be about Jesus Christ. But it is not, as some do, just
occasional dropping his name like we're trying to impress
somebody in a conversation by name-dropping somebody we know
or somebody famous. It has to do with what he does.
It has to do with something that brings glory to him and at the
same time saves our souls. How is he, Cyrus, like the Lord
Jesus Christ? Well, Cyrus says in that first
year when he is reigning over now everything virtually in the
world, look back in Ezra chapter 1 and verse 2, what does he say? He says, "...the Lord God of
heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth." In other
words, this king, Cyrus, He acknowledges a truth that most in power, I
dare say 99% in power, would never acknowledge or recognize,
and that is the fact that God Almighty is the One who has raised
Him up to power. The man He conquered didn't acknowledge
that. Nebuchadnezzar stood over Babylon
and he said, Oh, this great Babylon that I've built with my own hands
for my glory. And that's most of us. But what
he's doing is he's acknowledging that the Lord God of heaven has
given him all the kingdoms of the earth. And that is absolutely
true in the very highest sense in Jesus Christ, in the man Christ
Jesus. Actually, what he is stating
here is this, as far as the world is concerned, I am now, by God's
own bidding, the absolute sovereign. of this world. He's the King of Kings. In John 17. When he prays to
the Father, it says, "...these words spake Jesus, and lifted
up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son
also may glorify Thee, as Thou hast given Him power over all
flesh." to Christ the Son, who has come
into this world, been made flesh, and dwelt among us, He has given
to Him power, sovereign power and authority over all flesh,
Jew and Gentile, male and female, black and white, young and old,
giving him power over all flesh. Now listen to this, that he should
give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. As the God-man, what will Jesus
Christ do with this power given to him by the Father in order
for him to accomplish something in particular. What is it? The
one who has mercy on whom he will? The one who is gracious
to whom he will? The one who can harden whom he
will? It is that he can give eternal
life. Do what? Give it to as many as
the Father has given to Him. Now, you just go read John 17.
And if you come out of John 17 with this notion of universalism,
that God loves everybody, Christ died for everybody, and God is
trying to save everybody, you have read that with blinders
on. because he speaks again and again
of this people from out of the world that the Father has given
him. Daniel says, "...and in the days
of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which
shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be
left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume
all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever." Why? Because this came. has power
over all kings, power over all flesh, power over all kingdoms. And His people shall be raised
up from all these earthly kingdoms, and there'll be this one kingdom,
and it's the kingdom of Him who has been given of God power over
all flesh, the Lord Jesus. In Revelation 11, It says, "...and
the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven
saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms
of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and
ever." He's committed everything into the hands of the Son. As a matter of fact, let me read
you something in John chapter 5. In John chapter 5, And in
verse 22, it says concerning this same one, something of the
same thing, it says, "...for as the Father raiseth up the
dead, and quickens them, even so the Son quickens, or raises
from the dead, whom He will. For the Father judgeth no man."
but have committed all judgment unto the Son." One day, the Lord
Jesus Christ, who has been given all the kingdoms of the earth,
he'll sit as the righteous judge and execute the sentence of righteous
judgment upon every unbelieving soul and cast them into outer
darkness. God has given him that power. But 2,000 years ago, he acted
also as the righteous judge. when He judged the sins of all
His people in Himself and on Himself at the cross. That's it. But not only is he the one who's
the sovereign ruler, even the judge over all things, but Cyrus
is also said something else. If you look back in Isaiah 44
and that 20th verse, it says that he is the one that says
of Cyrus, that is, God says of Cyrus something that is said
also of Christ. What is it? He's my shepherd. You see that? "...that saith
of Cyrus, He is my shepherd." You see, God has some sheep.
Sheep are not goats, and goats are not sheep. Goats do not become
sheep. God's people are described by
God as the sheep of my pasture. He says of Christ, He's my shepherd. You know what His people say?
They say just what David said. The Lord, Jehovah Jesus, the
Lord is my shepherd. God said, He's my shepherd. His
people are brought to confess, He's their shepherd. Is He your
shepherd? He said, The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want. I won't want, I won't be in need,
I'm not in need of anything. I have it all because Christ
is all, my shepherd is all. And most importantly, when I
lay down to die, when I come to the valley of the shadow of
death, I'll fear no evil, because my shepherd is with me. I will
not mourn of righteousness when I stand before God. I will not
fear when I stand before God. The Lord is my shepherd. It is the responsibility of the
shepherd to take care of the sheep, not the sheep to take
care of the shepherd. Most people are here today, something
like this, you need to do something for Jesus. But here's the gospel,
Jesus has done something for His people. Turn over to John
chapter 10. John chapter 10, where most clearly,
most plainly, If you look down in John chapter 10 at verse 11,
this is the Lord Jesus Himself speaking here. He says, I am
the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life
for everybody? No, for the sheep. Now let me say this. This is
Jesus that supposedly dies for everybody. make something possible
or available to you if you'll only improve on it or believe
it or something. That's not the one here. The
one that God says is my shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, the true
Jesus, He said He gives His life for the sheep. Look down in verse
14. I am the good shepherd, and know
my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even
so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep."
and other sheep I have which are not of this foal, them also
I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall
be one foal and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love
me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No
man takes it from me, But I lay it down of myself, I have power
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my Father." Well, they took his life. Well,
it says here he laid down his life. Willingly, voluntarily,
according to the purpose of God, at a particular time, in a particular
place, and in a particular way. He laid down his life for the
sheep. He did. Look down at verse 24. Then came the Jews round about
him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us doubt? If thou
be the Christ, tell us plainly. And Jesus answered them, I told
you, and you believe not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because you're
not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand. and my Father are one." God said
of this Cyrus, who's a type of Christ, he's my shepherd. In Hebrews it says, "...now the
God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great Shepherd of the sheep." through the blood of the everlasting
covenant. Peter says, and when the chief
shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that
fadeth not away. He said, for you were as sheep
going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop
of your souls. What did the shepherd do? He
said, I lay down my life, I give my life. What is it to do that? It's to die. It's to die the
death of the cross. is to die as a substitute in
the place of the sheep, to die vicariously, to die before the
justice of God, to die and to do so to establish righteousness,
that God can be just and yet declare those He dies for to
be righteous. I love to read the prophecy of
Zachariah. Because Zechariah most clearly,
as well as Christ, and really all the prophets, gives a much
clearer picture of what it is for the Lord Jesus to be our
Shepherd. How many times have you seen
the so-called pictures of Jesus, and He's a very amiable, benevolent-looking
fellow, carrying a little lamb in His arms, you know? No, in
order to save His sheep, a shepherd has to die in their place. So when Zachariah records in
Zachariah 13 this prophecy, he does so concerning Christ. And
God says through him, Awake, O sword, against My shepherd. against the man that is my fellow,
saith the Lord of hosts." Can't be but one, the God-man. He says, "...awake, O sword,
and smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. Oh,
but I'll turn my hand upon the little one." And it shall come
to pass that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein
shall be cut off and die, but the third shall be left therein.
And I'll bring the third part through the fire, and I'll refine
them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried.
And they shall call on my name, and I'll hear them. I'll say,
It is my people, and they shall say, The Lord is my God. But if you look back in Isaiah
44 and verse 28, he says something else about Cyrus. He says, "...he is my shepherd,
and shall perform all my pleasure." Pity the souls. who are told
week after week after week after week what they must do to please
the Lord. Of God's Cyrus, he says, he shall
do, he shall perform all my pleasure. In other words, he'll accomplish
my will. He'll carry out my purpose. Isn't that what Cyrus did? He
carried out what God purposed, promised, prophesied that He
would do. That's exactly what He did. He
had to, to be a type of Christ. Because it is said of Christ,
by God Himself, through the prophet Isaiah, Yet it pleased the Lord
to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand." You see, when the Father made his soul,
an offering for sin, he saw not only the Lord Jesus Christ, but
he as a representative man, he saw all his people in him. What
must happen to those who sin? They must die. And so here is
Christ dying on that cross, and all His people dying in Him,
dying to sin, it says, dying to the law, satisfying God's
justice, but when He raises from the dead, they're raised with
Him. Hebrews 10, the Messiah had said, and now the writer
of Hebrews says of Christ, in burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin, thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, who the Messiah,
God Cyrus, Then said I, Lo, I come, it is in the volume of the book
that it is written of me to do thy will, O God." What did he
come to do? The pleasure of the Lord. Above,
when he said, Sacrifice and offering, and burnt offerings, and offering
for sin, thou wouldst not, neither hath pleasure therein, which
were offered by the law. Then said I, Lo, I come. It's written in the volume of
the book of me. It's written in the writings
of Ezra. It's written in the writings
of Isaiah. It's written in the writings
of all the prophets concerning me. I'm come. to do thy will. And you ought to seek, as the
Lord's people, if you be such, you ought to seek to do the Lord's
will, which He records in those pages in the New Testament concerning
your conduct of life and your character. You are to do those
things. But don't you ever forget this,
Christ doing the will of God is all our salvation. He is doing
the will of the Father. The psalmist said, do good in
thy good pleasure, undesign, build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Which brings me to the next thing.
It says of Cyrus that he was to be chief in making sure that
a certain particular building was built, the temple. If you
look in Isaiah 44 and verse 28, he says, "...he'll perform all
my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, and to the
temple Thy foundation shall be laid." That's exactly what he
said in Ezra. But all that's simply pictures.
It is God's entrusting the building of the church to Christ, the
building of this spiritual building. The Lord's church, the Lord's
people, God's elect, they are so many times described corporately
as a building. the salvation of his people,
the building of this temple. What went on in the temple? What
will build this building? What went on with the temple?
Well, an anointed, appointed priest took an anointed, appointed
sacrifice and laid it on an anointed, appointed altar and offered it
up for sins, the sins of that people that Israel represented,
a spiritual people. In Matthew 16, in responding
to what the Lord Jesus had asked Simon Peter about what was being
said about who he was, Peter said, Thou art the Christ. the Son of God, the Son of the
living God. And Jesus answered and said unto
him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood
hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, thou art Peter." Peter's name in Iraq,
Petro. And it was this very confession
that Peter had just confessed, not Peter himself, but what he
just confessed about this one standing before him being the
Christ. He says, "...and upon this rock
I will build my church." and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it." Paul says to those that he writes to, believers
in Corinth, you are God's building. I passed a church sign recently,
it says, we're building a building. We're building a house. I believe
that's what it said, we're building a house. That new construction
going on. And I thought about it. You told
the truth there. You're building it. But the psalmist
says in Psalm, I think it's 127, except the Lord build the house,
those that labor, labor in vain. No man except the God-man has
ever built the church. Christ. built the church. When Paul writes in Ephesians
2, he says, "...now therefore you are no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household
of God, and you are built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone in
whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy
temple in the Lord, in whom you are also built together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit." And we may miss the
goals of men. Somebody was saying something
about how that, Churches about this time of the
year, they begin to advertise about, let's enter into this
new season of the year with this and that and the other and prospects
and renewed efforts and all, just like as if it was a sales
season. We preach the truth, and the
Lord Jesus builds the building. He's already built it. He just
manifests who it is. If you turn over to 1 Peter,
1 Peter 2 and verse 4. 1 Peter 2 and verse 4. Peter says this concerning the
Lord Jesus Christ. He says, "...to whom coming as
unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of
God and precious." He refers to Christ as that living stone. the foundation. He says, you
also are living stones. Why? Because you're one with
the living stone. Or built up a spiritual house
and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God by Jesus Christ. Now, the church That is, each
one of God's people, each believer individually, is referred to
as the temple of the Lord. And all of them together, heaven
and earth, all are referred to corporately as the temple of
the Lord. For what? He says, to offer up
some sacrifices by the Lord Jesus Christ that will be acceptable
to God. But what is that? Well, he writes
in another place that the sacrifice that the Lord's temple individually
and corporately offer up are the sacrifices of praise and
thanksgiving. That is, God's believing people
not only believe on Christ as He says He is and for what He
says He's done, but they thank Him and praise Him for it. and
His church, wherever it's manifested on this earth, and forever shall
be in heaven, it will manifest itself as the Lord's building
and temple, because in His people, where His people meet, it's all
about Him. It has praise for Him. Not praise
in men, praise in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see this picture
of Cyrus. Cyrus was to the people of national
Israel as Christ is to God's spiritual Israel. He is the one
chosen, ordained, and anointed of God to be the Savior, Deliverer,
and King of His people. He is God's shepherd to give
and to lay down His life for the sheep as their substitute,
to die in their place for their sins, to seek them and to call
them and to bring them into His fold and to keep them. The pleasure
of the Lord, God's purpose of grace, His covenant, and His
will to save a people to the praise of the glory of His grace,
and in a way that's consistent with His holy justice, has prospered
in His hand. And He's released them from the
bondage of sin. redeemed them from the curse
of the law, satisfied the demands of justice against them, and
released them from the captivity of Satan." He's a picture of
Christ. You look in Isaiah 45, and you
go home and read all it says here in Isaiah 45, but listen
to what it says in verse 13. I have raised him up in righteousness. What God has done in Christ,
crucified, is right. I will direct all his ways. He shall build my city. He shall let go my captives,
not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts. It won't be
based on what they do. They don't have anything to pay.
They don't have anything to give. He'll do it all by His grace.
And they'll praise Me and thank Me forever. And that's why the
Gospel is called glad tidings, good news for sinners. And Paul says, this is a faithful
saying, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Did He? or didn't He? May the
Lord help us to see Him, to rest all our hope in Him. Cast away
all notions of anything we've done or experienced or anything
like that, and look to our Cyrus. Father, this day we give You
praise and we thank You for that One who, though pictured by Cyrus,
is far, far, far greater, the Lord Jesus Christ. who saves
His people from their sins. Lord, we look to Him and to only
Him. Rest in Him. Rejoice in what
He's done. Plead only His blood shed in
our behalf as our only righteousness. Teach us more about Him. Give
us faith to believe on Him. Call out your sheep Build your
building, and it shall be as the prophet said, when the last
stone is put in place, that it will be with shoutings of grace,
grace. We thank you and we pray in Christ's
name. Amen.