The Declaration of Jesus Christ - The Messiah

Q: What does the Bible say about the Messiah?

The Bible teaches that the Messiah is Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. The Messiah, central to the Bible's message, is described throughout the Old Testament. Paul highlights this in Acts 13, where he asserts that Jesus Christ is the promised Savior. From the seed of Abraham to David, the prophecies point to Jesus as the one who would bring redemption. The entire narrative of the Old Testament is aimed at this pivotal figure, and understanding Him is key to grasping the true meaning of the Scriptures.

Q: How do we know Jesus is the true Messiah?

Jesus fulfills numerous prophecies, confirming His identity as the Messiah foretold in Scripture. In Acts 13, Paul clearly explains that Jesus fulfills the prophecies made by the Old Testament prophets. These prophecies included His lineage from David, His virgin birth, and the details of His suffering and death. The historical account of His life, death, and resurrection serves to establish Him as the awaited Messiah. Furthermore, the continual fulfillment of Scripture in His ministry reinforces that belief in Him is not just faith but grounded in the evidence of divine revelation.

Q: Why is the coming of the Messiah important for Christians?

The Messiah's coming signifies hope, salvation, and the fulfillment of God's promises to humanity. The importance of the Messiah's coming for Christians cannot be overstated. In Acts 13, Paul emphasizes that through Jesus, God fulfills His promises of mercy and salvation. The Messiah's arrival is validated through His resurrection, which assures believers of eternal life. Moreover, recognizing Jesus as the Messiah provides a cornerstone for Christian faith, as it signifies God's initiative in redemption, demonstrating His love and justice. Without this understanding, the entirety of the Old Testament and Christian doctrine would lose their significance.

Q: What does Acts 13 teach about God's sovereignty?

Acts 13 illustrates God's sovereignty in salvation through the election and fulfillment of His promises. In Acts 13, Paul addresses God's sovereignty by outlining how all events in salvation history—such as Israel's election, the coming of David, and ultimately Christ—are part of God’s divine plan. The sermons in Acts highlight that even the rejection of Christ by His own people serves to fulfill the Scriptures and God's purpose. This understanding of God's sovereignty reassures believers that their salvation is not random but orchestrated by the Almighty, emphasizing His control over both history and individual lives.

Let's turn in our Bibles to Acts
chapter 13. Acts chapter 13. I've been reading this past week
the messages in the book of Acts preached by the apostles. I found
this very interesting. The messages preached by the
apostles in the book of Acts. Peter's sermon at Pentecost,
Stephen's sermon before they stoned him, Peter's sermon to
Cornelius, they went down to Cornelius and preached to his
household, Paul's sermon at Mars Hill, and then this sermon here
in Acts 13, it's so interesting and instructive. I've studied
what these men preached, it's so contrary to most of the preaching. I'm not talking about these sovereign
grace preachers. They preached like these men.
But most preaching today is not even akin to the type preaching
these men did. What they preached and how they
presented the gospel message. And what I'm thinking about doing,
beginning with tonight, is not in succession, but preaching
several messages using these sermons. Now here's a message
Paul preached right here. He preached it in Antioch. He
preached it in the synagogue. He preached it to a large crowd
of religious people. And that's what we're doing today.
We're preaching on television. I'm preaching to religious people.
Just about everybody in Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia and
Southern Ohio is religious. And Paul preached this to religious
people. And I want us to look at it.
Just look at it verse by verse as the Lord gives us some liberty
in the Spirit. And I want you to notice this
first. The message seems to have four
divisions. And each one, Paul pauses and
begins this way, Ye men of Israel, or men and brethren. Look at
verse 16. Paul stood up, beckoning with his hand, and he said, Men
of Israel, and ye that fear the Lord, You that fear God, give
audience. Now that seems to be one section.
Now you listen to me, he said, you men of Israel, you men that
fear God, you religious folks, you have a zeal for God, you
listen to me, you give me some, your ear, give audience. Now
down in verse 26, he seems to start, picks up a second point,
and he begins in verse 26, now men and brethren, he has concluded
that first point, and he says in verse 26, now men and brethren,
Children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth
God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. This message
that I'm, and this point I'm making, is sent to you. Now,
down in verse 38, he seems to have concluded that
point, and I'll try to show you what the point is. Verse 38,
he says now, Be it known unto you men and brethren, Be it known
unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached
to you the forgiveness of sin. That was his third point. Now
then, verse 40, he doesn't say men of Israel or men and brethren,
but he comes to a conclusion, conclusion of his message. Beware
therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the
prophets, behold you despisers. Behold, ye despise it, and wonder
and perish. For our work is a work in your
days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man
declare it unto you." Here's the sermon. You'll find it interesting,
so let's look at it. Let's go back to verse 15 and
start here, verse 15, chapter 13 of Acts. And after the reading
of the law and the prophets, The rulers of the synagogue sent
unto them, saying, I hear Paul and these men were visiting in
the synagogue, probably on the Sabbath day, and they said, Ye
men, brethren, if you have a word of exhortation for the people,
say on. And that's when Paul begins.
And his first point is the coming Messiah, the coming Messiah. And I said this on television
this morning, the whole Old Testament. It contains one message presented
in so many different ways. The Messiah is coming. The Messiah
is coming. That's what the woman at the
well said to our Lord. I know the Messiah is coming.
Even this woman knew the writings of the prophets. The Messiah
is coming. And that's where Paul starts. Then Paul stood up and
beckoning with his hands said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear
God, give audience. The God of this people of Israel
chose our fathers as a sovereign God and a chosen people. That's where it starts. The God of this people of Israel
chose our fathers. There's no compromise there.
There's no backing down. You've got a God and you've got
a God of election and choice. And listen, and He exalted the
people. when they dwelt as strangers
in the land of Egypt, and with a mighty arm brought he them
out of Egypt." In other words, it's what John read a while ago
in Psalm 37, the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord.
I want you to turn to Exodus chapter 6. Just hold that place
there where Paul is preaching. What he's referring to here,
he said the people, God, the sovereign God, chose Israel and
led them out of Egypt by His power with a mighty arm, with
a high arm. Listen to Exodus 6, verse 6. Wherefore say unto the children
of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under
the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their
bondage. I will redeem you with a stretched
out arm and with great judgment. I'll do it by my power. Salvation
is of the Lord. Let me show you another Scripture.
Exodus 13. Exodus 13, 14. This thing of salvation is a
miracle of God's grace and a miracle of God's power. I'm not ashamed
of the Gospel. It's the power of God unto salvation. Exodus 13, verse 14. And it shall be, when thy son
asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? That thou
shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out
from Egypt, and from the house of bondage, by his strength,
by his power. Now verse 16, And it shall be
for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine
eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out
of Egypt." All right, back to our text, back to Paul's preaching. And then he goes on in verse
18, with a high hand he brought them out of Egypt, but he chose
them and sovereignly delivered them. Now verse 18, And about
the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness,
And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan,
he divided their land to them by lot. After that, he gave unto
them judges about the space of 450 years, until Samuel the prophet. And afterward, he's talking about
Israel now, the chosen people. Afterward, they desired a king.
And God gave unto them Saul, the son of Seth, a man of the
tribe of Benjamin, by the space of 40 years. These people need to hear the
gospel, and that's what they hear. It all starts in the Old
Testament. You see, Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures. He rose again according to the
Scriptures. Let me show you something. Turn to Acts 10, just a moment. Here's a verse you need to underline.
Acts 10, verse 43. Listen. To him give all the prophets
witness. What are the prophets? The Old
Testament prophets. To him. To him give all the prophets
witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall
receive remission of sins. All right, back to the text.
And this is what Paul is doing here. He says in verse 21, afterward
they desired a king, and God gave unto them Saul the son of
Seth, a man of the tribe of Benjamin by the space of forty years.
And when he had removed Saul, he raised up unto them David
to be their king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I
have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which
shall fulfill all my will. And of this man's seed, hath
God, according to his promise, his promise to Adam and Eve in
the garden, the seed of woman, his promise to Abraham when he
showed him the stars of the sky, the seed of Isaac, his promise
to Moses, he'd raise up that prophet, his promise to David,
the fruit of thy boughs shall sit on thy throne, his promise
to Isaiah, behold, a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son,
Under us a child is born, a son is given, the government shall
be on his shoulders. Of this man's seed hath God,
according to his promise, raised up under Israel a Savior, Jesus
Christ." Jesus Christ. I made a point on television
this morning that I think is a vital point. Without Jesus
Christ, the Old Testament is meaningless. Now, without Jesus
Christ, the Old Testament is meaningless. Now, where's the
temple? Where's the tabernacle? Back
there in the Old Testament, there was a tabernacle where the people
came. There was a tabernacle, the scriptures played on it.
It was separated into two parts, the holy of holies and the holy
place. Where's the tabernacle? In that holy place was an ark. Where's the Ark of the Covenant?
Over that Ark was a mercy seat, which was sprinkled with the
blood of atonement. Where's the mercy seat and where's
the atonement? And on either side the cherubims
and God said, I will dwell between the cherubims over the mercy
seat and that's where I'll meet you. Now where are the cherubims
and where's the mercy seat and where's the atonement? And again,
where's the priest? All these hundreds of years have
come and gone since 70 A.D. There's no temple. There's no
tabernacle. There's no holy of holies. There's
no mercy seat. There's no atonement. There's
no priest. There's no high priest. Yes,
there is. There's a tabernacle. He tabernacled
among us. There's a mercy seat. God has
set forth His Son to be a mercy seat. There's a high priest. We have a high priest. which
can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. For he was
a man and tempted and tested in all points as we are, yet
without sin. We have an atonement, and here it is right here. Of
this man's seed, God according to his promise raised unto Israel
a Savior, Jesus Christ. And God has made this same Jesus
whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. And then he tells
the witness, verse 24. When John the Baptist, now John
the Baptist is the last of the Old Testament prophets, and these
people knew about John. When John had first preached
before his coming, before the coming of Christ, the baptism
of repentance to all the people of Israel, and as John fulfilled
his course, his ministry, came to the end of his ministry, he
said, Whom think ye that I am? I'm not he. I'm not the Christ. I'm not that prophet. I'm a voice
in the wilderness. Behold, there cometh one after
me. And he identified him, the Lamb
of God, whose shoes of his feet I'm not worthy to loose. That's
point one. The Apostle Paul preaching to
this crowd of people settles this issue once for all. The
Messiah, the seed of woman, the seed of Abraham, the son of David,
the coming Messiah, is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He's the
fulfillment of all these things. He's our tabernacle. He's our
covenant. He's our mercy seat. And there
he starts verse 26. Now listen. So men and brethren,
men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever
among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation,
this glorious redemption sent. God has sent this message to
you. He sent it to you by his prophets,
he sent it to you by his apostles, he sent it to you by his Son.
God who spake to our fathers with the prophets, hath in these
last days spoken to us by his Son. This is my beloved Son. Hear it! God sent this message
to you. Now listen to this. For they
that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew
him not, they knew not the Christ, he came in his own, his own received
him not, he was in the world and the world knew him not. No,
yet the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath
day, Christ is the Passover. Oh, thank God that your eyes
have been opened to see that. Your ears have been opened to
hear that. Christ is that rock. Christ is that high priest, that
atonement, that mercy. But they heard this read every
Sabbath day and they fulfilled the scriptures. in condemning
him. It says all the way through the
Old Testament that, well let me show you an example, let me
just turn to it, don't you turn to it, listen to Psalm 2. The
kings of this earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together
against the Lord and against his anointed saying let us break
their bands asunder and cast their cords from us. Isaiah said
he shall grow up as a tender plant, as a root out of a dry
ground. He hath no form or comeliness.
When we shall see him, there's no beauty that we should desire
him. He's despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief. And we hear as it were our faces
from him, he's despised and we esteem him not. And Paul says,
our rulers and elders, right down there in Jerusalem, When
they rejected him and when they condemned him, they fulfilled
what God wrote of him and them. But that's not all, listen. Verse
28, And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired
they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had, listen,
fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the cross.
And I'll tell you, when Judas came and took the 30 pieces of
silver and betrayed the master, he did what the Old Testament
said he'd do. When these men, the soldiers, took him in the
soldiers' hall and spit upon him and smote him with a palm
and crowned him with a crown of thorns and mocked him as king,
they fulfilled the Scripture. When they laid that cross on
his back and led him outside the city walls, made him bear
his own cross, they fulfilled the scriptures. When they pierced
his hands and feet and stood there and watched him suffer
and die and walked about the cross laughing and mocking, they
fulfilled the scriptures. When they cast lots for his garment,
they fulfilled the scriptures. Let me show you that. Turn with
me to John 19. Hold Acts 13. This is what Paul
is saying. Turn to John 19. This is interesting. Now John 19, verse 28. John 19,
28. After this, Jesus, knowing that
all things were now accomplished, that the Scriptures might be
fulfilled, said, I thirst. John 19, 28. That the Scriptures
might be fulfilled. Verse 36. Verse 36. For these things were done that
the Scripture should be fulfilled, a bone shall not be broken. Verse
37, and again another Scripture said, they shall look on him
whom they pierced. When Paul was preaching, he said,
men and brethren, I told you now the Messiah, the Christ,
of David's seed, to him give all the prophets witness. He's
the fulfillment of everything written. But men and brethren,
he said, listen to me. and elders, because they knew
him not. And they didn't know the scriptures that were read
to them every Sabbath day. You see, today's generation of
religionists are not the only people that read the scriptures
but don't understand them. That read the scriptures and
don't receive them. These men read the scriptures
and didn't believe them. And when they condemned him,
they fulfilled the scriptures. And when they nailed him to a
cross, after they'd fulfilled everything written of him, They
took him down. Now here's the good news. Listen.
This is great. Verse 30. God raised him from
the dead. And he was seen many days of
them which came up with him from Jerusalem, from Galilee to Jerusalem,
who are his witnesses unto the people. And we declare unto you
good news, gospel, glad tidings, how that the promise which was
made unto the fathers, the promise which was made to the fathers,
God hath fulfilled the same unto us, their children, in that he
hath raised up Jesus again. I tell you this, when those rulers
and elders who didn't understand Scripture read to them and condemned
Christ, they fulfilled the Scriptures. When they nailed Him to that
cross and did all that they did, they fulfilled the Scriptures.
But in all this, Bob, God fulfilled something. He fulfilled His promise
to you of life eternal. That's He fulfilled. Everybody's going to serve God's
purpose. It doesn't matter to me who it is. He's going to serve
God's purpose. Even Pharaoh, he said, I raised
you up to show my power in you. Everybody's going to serve God's
purpose. And these people serve God's purpose, and in serving
God's purpose, He told us in verse 32, I declare unto you
good news, how that the promise made to the fathers, what was
the promise to the fathers? Mercy, grace, life, forgiveness, salvation. And God fulfilled
it unto us, those prophet children. They didn't see it fulfilled,
but we do. In that he raised up Jesus, as it is also written
in the second Psalm, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten
thee. And as concerning that he raised
him from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said
on this wise, I give you the sure mercies of David. What are
the sure mercies of David? We sang about it. Surely, goodness
and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. David said
that. Surely, certainly. Those two things, God's goodness
and God's mercy. And we'll give you where? In
Christ. In Christ, the sheer mercies
of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, I shall
not suffer thine holy one to seek corruption. Now brethren,
listen to him. David, and these men held Moses
and David and Abraham in such high regard, but he says David
after he had served his own generation by the will of God. He fell on
sleep. He was laid unto his fathers,
and he saw corruption. So these promises are not written
about David. David is writing about the Son
of David. David saw corruption, but not Christ. You see, Paul
is showing these fellows that it is Christ. He is the Messiah.
But he whom God raised again saw no corruption. Now then,
there are four men and brethren. Isn't there some message? Ah,
I tell you, be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren,
that through this man, he calls him the Son of God, but he's
the Son of Man. This man, this God-man, through
this man. Let me read you some scriptures.
Just hold that right there and don't turn to listen to me just
a moment. This man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses.
This man, talking about Christ Jesus. Listen to this in Hebrews
7, verse 24. But this man, because he continueth
forever, hath an unchanging priesthood, this man, wherefore he is able
to save them to the uttermost that come to God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Hebrews 8, verse 3,
listen. Every high priest is ordained
to offer gifts and sacrifices that this man, it's necessary
that this man, has somewhat to offer. Listen to this one. Every
high priest standeth daily, ministering, offering oft times the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sin, but this man, this man, after
he'd offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the
right hand of God. That's what Paul said. Men and
brethren, through this man, this God-man, This perfect man, this
sinless man, this suffering man, this man of sorrows acquainted
with grief is preached unto you the forgiveness of sin, the pardon
of all iniquity. Listen, and by Him, by Him, all
that believe, believe on Him are justified, not guilty, totally
free from all guilt, justified from all things. past, present,
and future, from all things, listen, from which you could
not be justified by the law of Moses. That's the gospel. All
right, how does he conclude? Well, he doesn't conclude with
some presentation of the impotence of God. He doesn't conclude with
some appeal, a plea, helpless invitation for somebody
to let God show mercy, he concludes in this way, listen, beware therefore,
lest that come upon you which was spoken of in the prophets.
And this is what the prophets said. This is back when they
were talking about Christ's coming and Christ's sacrifice and Christ's
work. Behold ye despisers and wander
and perish. For I work a work in your days,
I work a work. God says, I work a work. It's
God's work. He was delivered by the determined
counsel and full knowledge of God. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. Thou shalt make his soul an offering
for sin. I work a work in your days, a
work which you shall in no wise believe, though a man declare
it to you. Now here's the finish, and when
the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles, who
were there and heard Paul, besought that these words might be preached
to them the next Sabbath. We want to hear this again. We
want to hear this again. And when the congregation was
broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed
Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, Persuaded them to continue
in the grace of God. Now read on. And the next Sabbath
day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of
God. But when the Jews saw the multitude, they were filled with
envy and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul,
contradicting and blaspheming. What on earth could they contradict?
What could they blaspheme? Paul had just picked up their
own scriptures and showed them the fulfillment of those things
in Christ Jesus. Where is the fulfillment of it?
Christ Jesus is the fulfillment. He's the rock. He's the Passover.
He's the brazen serpent lifted up. He's the high praise. He's
the mercy seat. There's no other fulfillment.
The Old Testament is worthless. It's worthless. And all those
things are worthless without Christ. But they contradicted
and blasphemed as me and today. All right, then Paul and Barnabas
waxed bold and said, it was necessary that the word of God should first
have been spoken to you. To the Jew first, also to the
Greek. But seeing you put it from you
and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, and that's
only in Christ, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the
Lord commanded us, saying, I set thee to be a light to the Gentiles,
of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the ends
of the earth. That's us, Gentiles. And when the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad, and they glorified the word of the Lord. And as
many as were ordained to life, eternal life, they believed. What did they believe? They believed
Paul's declaration of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Isn't that a beautiful
sermon? So clear, so plain, and so filled
with Christ. That's what these men preach.
They preach Christ. They preach Christ. Christ Jesus. Alright, Mike, come lead us in
closing here.

The Declaration of Jesus Christ - The Messiah

What does the Bible say about the Messiah?

How do we know Jesus is the true Messiah?

Why is the coming of the Messiah important for Christians?

What does Acts 13 teach about God's sovereignty?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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The Declaration of Jesus Christ - The Messiah

What does the Bible say about the Messiah?

How do we know Jesus is the true Messiah?

Why is the coming of the Messiah important for Christians?

What does Acts 13 teach about God's sovereignty?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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