Jesus Is the Christ

Q: What does the Bible say about Jesus as the Christ?

The Bible declares that Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and the promised Messiah. The book of Hebrews clearly articulates that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecies concerning the Redeemer. As stated in Hebrews 1:8, God Himself affirms Jesus' divinity, saying, 'Thy throne, O God, is forever.' This demonstrates that Jesus is not only the promised Messiah but also the Son of God, whose role encompasses all of the prophetic messages, sacrifices, and ceremonies depicted in the Old Testament. Furthermore, Hebrews emphasizes the superiority of Christ over the angels, Moses, the law, and the Old Testament priesthood, asserting His central role in God's salvation plan.

Q: How do we know that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament promises?

Hebrews connects Jesus to every promise and prophecy through types and shadows found in the Old Testament. Hebrews illustrates that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament by showing Him as the culmination of the promises made throughout Scripture. For instance, the seed of woman mentioned in Genesis foreshadows Christ, as does the Passover lamb, which represents His atoning sacrifice. The entire sacrificial system, priesthood, and various types highlight how Jesus fulfills the roles of prophet, priest, and king. Hebrews also states that all the prophets bore witness to Christ, indicating that every aspect of the Old Testament anticipates His coming and mission.

Q: Why is understanding Jesus as the Messiah important for Christians?

Understanding Jesus as the Messiah is crucial for recognizing God's complete plan of redemption for humanity. Comprehending Jesus as the Messiah is vital for Christians as it provides an understanding of God's redemptive work. Hebrews emphasizes that without recognizing Christ's fulfillment of the Old Testament, the ceremonies and sacrifices have no meaning. Jesus is shown to be our High Priest, the true rest for believers, and the ultimate sacrifice that purged our sins. The assurance of salvation hinges on recognizing Jesus as the centerpiece of Scripture and the only path to reconciliation with God. His role as the Redeemer fulfills the long-held hopes of the people of God, illustrating the consistency and faithfulness of God's promises.

There's a passage of scripture
over in the book of Hebrews, chapter 1, verse 8, in which
the apostle writes these words, But unto the Son, but unto the
Son, Jesus Christ, the Father saith, Thy throne, O God, is
forever. The title of this message today
is Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the Christ. Now, my friends, if I had the
ear of every person in this tri-state area interested, really interested
in knowing God, if I had the ear of every person in this area
truly interested, really interested in knowing the gospel and knowing
how a holy God can save sinful men. I would urge all of you
to study the book of Hebrews. I do not know of any epistle
or book in the New Testament, or the Old Testament for that
matter, that brings together both the Old Testament and the
New Testament like the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews
brings together the Old Testament and the New Testament as no other
epistle. All of the prophecies of the
Old Testament, all of the promises, all of the pictures and patterns
of the Old Testament are fulfilled in Jesus Christ our Lord, and
this is revealed in the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews
shows the superiority of Jesus Christ over the angels. over
Moses, over the law. The book of Hebrews shows the
excellency, if there's a word that would describe the book
of Hebrews, it would be the word the excellency of Christ. The
excellency of Christ. Over the Old Testament priesthood,
over the Old Testament sacrifices, over the Old Testament tabernacle,
over the Old Testament laws, Hebrews shows the glory of Christ,
the glory of the new covenant over the old covenant with its
ceremonies and its ordinances. And I'll tell you this, the book
of Hebrews reveals the true rest, R-E-S-T, rest, the rest for those
who believe. the rest of Christ. He said,
I'll come unto me all ye that labor and heavy laden and I'll
give you rest. We have ceased from our labors
and entered into his rest. And there's no book like the
book of Hebrews in revealing the rest that the people of God
have entered who believe on Christ. Now the message and theme of
the Old Testament, many of you have heard me say this many times,
the message The theme of the Old Testament is this. Someone
is coming. Someone is coming. Someone is
coming to this earth. This is the message of the Old
Testament. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua,
Judges, Ruth, all the way through the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Song
of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, all of these books in
the Old Testament. The theme and the message of
the Old Testament is someone is coming to this earth. You
know, Job said that. Job said, I know that my Redeemer
liveth, and that at the last day he'll stand on this earth. Someone is coming to this earth
who shall fulfill every promise, every prophecy, every picture,
every type, every sacrifice of the Old Testament. And this someone,
this someone, will redeem. He will redeem spiritual Israel
from all their sins. You remember the woman at the
well? She said, I know that the Christ, the Messiah, is coming
and he'll tell us all things we need to know. She knew these
Old Testament scriptures, that someone is coming to the earth
who shall fulfill all the promises and pictures and prophecies of
the Old Testament. And my friends, that someone
is Jesus Christ. That's what Hebrews is all about.
Hebrews reaches back into the Old Testament and shows all of
the ceremonies and sacrifices and types and pictures fulfilled
in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's right. You see, Jesus
Christ is the seed of woman. When Adam had fallen in the garden,
and God pronounced a curse upon him and a curse upon the woman
and a curse upon the serpent, and he said, He said to the serpent,
the seed of woman, the seed of woman shall bruise thy head,
destroy thy power. And that seed of woman is the
virgin son, Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ is that prophet
like Moses over in Deuteronomy. Moses wrote, he said, the Lord,
the Lord hath declared that he'll raise up a prophet like unto
me out of the midst of the brethren and him you shall hear. He'll
tell you all things. That's what this woman at the
well was quoting, that passage from Deuteronomy 18. Jesus Christ
is that prophet. You know, the father said, this
is my son, hear him, hear ye him. And Jesus Christ is the
seed of Abraham. He's the promised seed of Abraham,
the miracle son. Jesus Christ is the priest of
the most high God. Melchizedek met Abraham out there
in the wilderness. And the fulfillment of Melchizedek's
appearance is Jesus Christ. Hebrews tells us that four or
five times in Hebrews it says, and Jesus Christ is a priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek. And Jesus Christ is David's son,
King of kings, Lord of lords. Jesus Christ is the Passover. He is the Passover. Paul writes
that, Jesus Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us, and Jesus
Christ is that rock that followed them. In other words, the entire
Old Testament Scriptures are revealed in the book of Hebrews.
The book of Hebrews. Our Lord told those Pharisees
in John 5, He said, you search the Scriptures, you search the
Scriptures, you do, for in them you think you have life. But
they are they which testify of me. The message of the Old Testament
is Jesus Christ. And that's revealed to us here
in this book of Hebrews. In Acts 10.43, the Scripture
says this, To him give all the prophets witness to Christ. What's
the message of the prophets? Christ. What's the message of
the Psalms? Christ. What's the message of
Moses? Christ. To him give all the prophets
witness that through his name, Whosoever believeth in him shall
receive remission of sins." Actually, without Jesus Christ, the Old
Testament scriptures have no meaning. Oh, you've got a bunch
of priests running around, you've got animals shed, you've got
different promises and prophecies, you've got a tabernacle, you've
got a holy of holies, you've got a mercy seat, you've got
an atonement, you've got rocks being smitten and water coming
out of them, you've got an art made that floated on the sea
of judgment, you've got all of these things, scapegoat, you've
got bullocks and rams, you've got all these things, but they
have no meaning without Jesus Christ. There's no meaning. There's
no value to us whatsoever. Where is the temple now? Right
now, today, where is the temple? Where's your temple? Where's
your tabernacle? Where's your high priest? Where's
your mercy seat? Where's your atonement? Where's
your prophet? You see, you've got none. We've
got no tabernacle. We've got no high priest. We've
got no mercy seat. God said, I'll meet you at the
mercy seat. He said, there at the mercy seat, over the ark,
over the broken law, between the cherubims, my glory will
be revealed and I'll meet you at the mercy seat. Where's your
mercy seat? I've given you the blood upon the altar to make
an atonement, atonement for your soul. Where's our atonement?
Where's the prophet? Well, in answer to all those
questions, we turn to the book of Hebrews. And here all of it's
revealed. Everything that the Old Testament
has to say about the Christ, about the Redeemer, about the
Messiah, is right here in the book of Hebrews. That's the reason
I say if I had the whole world as an audience tonight, that's
what I'd preach, the book of Hebrews. in verse 1. Let's turn
to Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1. Go there. Let's just begin right
there. Hebrews 1 verse 1. And it begins with God. That's
the way the Old Testament began with God. In the beginning, God.
And that's the way the book of Hebrews begins. God. God who
at different times and in various ways spake in times past to our
fathers by the prophets. In other words, in the Old Testament,
in times past, in the Old Testament days, God spoke to the fathers
by the prophets. He spoke to the prophets and
the prophets spoke to the fathers. Well, who were these prophets?
It says God, in times past, in different ways, spoke to our
fathers by the prophets. Who were these prophets? Well,
Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Abraham, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. These men
were the prophets. Well, what did God speak about?
When God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, what did He
speak? What did the prophets speak?
What did they say? Well, they spoke about the Messiah.
They spoke about the Christ. They spoke about the Redeemer.
Christ said, Moses rose of me. He said, if you had believed
Moses, you'd believe me. Moses wrote of me. What was the
subject of Moses' message? It was the Messiah, the Christ,
the Redeemer. That was Job's message. That
was Moses' message. Abraham. What was Abraham's message?
Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad. What
was David's message? Here it is. David spake concerning
him. That was David's message. He
spake concerning him. In other words, Acts 10.43 sums
it up. To Him, to Christ, to the Messiah, to the Redeemer,
give all the prophets witness. Let me show you a scripture.
In Luke 24-27. Our Lord Jesus Christ had been
crucified, buried, risen, and He had walked along the road
to Emmaus with those disciples. And then this verse of scripture,
this word was spoken, Luke 24-27. And it says, and beginning at
Moses, and beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, Moses,
Samuel, all the prophets, Elijah, Elisha, all the prophets. And beginning at Moses, Moses
wrote Genesis, Exodus, so forth. Beginning at Moses and all the
prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures, in all
the Old Testament, the things concerning himself. What was the... in different
ways, at different times, spoke to our fathers by the prophets,
Moses, Samuel, Abraham, all the prophets. What was their message?
Their message was Christ and Him crucified. That's exactly. Isaiah, he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, chastisement
of our peace was upon him, by his stripes we're healed. Well,
Preacher, how did, now look, God spake to our fathers by the
prophets, these prophets, and he spake concerning Christ. But
now, how did God speak concerning Christ? In what way did he reveal
Christ, Jesus, the Messiah, the Redeemer, to these fathers of
ours in the Old Testament? Well, first by promises. Promises. The Old Testament's
full of promises and prophecies. Like I said, the seed of woman,
that's a promise. He said, the seed of woman will
bruise the serpent's heel. That's a promise. And like in
Isaiah, behold, the Lord himself will give you a sign, a virgin
shall be with son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel, God with
us. And Isaiah 9, 6, listen to this, under us a child is born,
under us a son is given, and the government shall be on his
shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
God will raise up a prophet. The scepter, listen to this one,
the scepter, the rod, the rule, shall not depart from Judah,
the tribe of Judah, till Shiloh comes. In other words, if you
go back to the Old Testament, and Hebrew shows us this, you
can trace Christ, the seed of woman, the seed of Abraham, from
the family of Jesse, from the tribe of Judah, from the house
and lineage of David, a prophet like Moses, a priest like Melchizedek,
a king like David, he is promised and prophesied through the whole
Old Testament. The entire Old Testament, that's
what he said beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded
unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
How else did God speak to our fathers concerning Christ? Well,
he spoke in the sacrifices. The Passover lamb. What's the
meaning of the Passover lamb? The blood of an animal cannot
put away the sin of a man. You don't think a holy God could
be satisfied with the death of a little lamb shedding its blood
for the sins of a man, do you? What does that Passover lamb
say? Well, that Passover lamb is Christ in picture. God spoke
to the fathers by the prophets in promises, in prophecies, and
in pictures. And that Passover lamb, he was
the firstling of the flock. Christ is the firstborn of every
creature. He was in the prime of life, a year old. Christ died
at 33 years of age. He was without spot or blemish.
Christ was without sin. He was put up for four days and
observed to make sure there was no spot or blemish. Our Lord
lived on this earth under the trial of the law, under the trial
of men, under the trial of God, under the temptation of Satan.
And there was found no sin in him. And then the lamb was slain.
And its blood was shed. And that's a picture of our Lord.
That rock in the wilderness, that's a picture of Christ. When
Moses smote the rock and water came out, Christ is smitten.
Blood and water flowed from his side. The scapegoat in the wilderness,
that's a picture of Christ. The high priest would put his
hands on the head of the scapegoat and confess the sins of Israel.
And then they'd lead that scapegoat out in the wilderness and leave
it. It'd never return. Christ bore our sins away. They'll
never come back. the day of atonement when the
high priest went under the veil into the holy of holies and put
the blood on the mercy seat, Christ is our mercy seat, Christ
is our priest, Christ is our atonement so God spoke to our
fathers by the prophets and he gave them promises, he gave them
prophecies, he gave them pictures and then he gave them types as
Moses lifted up the serpent, you remember when all the people
were bitten by those fiery serpents and they were dying and And Moses
cried to God and said, what are we going to do? And God said,
well, make a serpent of brass, just like the ones that have
bitten the people, and raise it up on a pole. And Moses did. He made a serpent of brass, just
like the ones, the serpents that have bitten the people, and lifted
it up. And whosoever looked lived. And Christ said himself, as Moses
lifted up that serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up. that whosoever believeth on him
should not perish, but have everlasting life." The cities of refuge.
You know what they're all about? You remember there were several
cities called cities of refuge? And if a man accidentally killed
a fellow, and he was fleeing from the avenger, he could go
into that city of refuge, and he was safe. He was safe. Well,
that Christ is our refuge. The priest, the intercession,
the veil went into. I tell you this, my generation,
My generation is not going to understand the Old Testament
Scriptures until our preachers begin themselves to open the
Word of God and study the Word of God, study the Scriptures,
study the Old Testament in the light of the Lord Jesus Christ
fulfilling it all. Now that's exactly right. Somebody's
going to have to get the Bible and see how that Christ fulfills
all of these Scriptures. You see, in Luke 24, our Lord
went on, He said to them, He said, these are the words that
I've spake unto you while I was yet with you, before I went to
the cross, that all things must be fulfilled. All things must
be fulfilled which are written in Moses, in the Psalms, and
in the prophets concerning me. And then He opened their understanding
that they might understand the Scriptures. This is the key to
understanding the Scriptures. All these things written in the
Old Testament, in the Prophets, in Moses, in the Psalms, are
concerning Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus, our High Priest,
our Redeemer, our Sacrifice. And He said, thus it is written,
and thus it behoove Christ to suffer, die, and to rise again
the third day. God spake to our fathers by the
Prophets. And His message was Christ. Now
watch this, verse 2. He hath in these last days spoken
to us by His Son. What are the last days? What's
that mean, these last days? Well, there were 2,000 years
from Adam to the Law, the giving of the Law, 2,000 years. There
were 2,000 years from the giving of the Law to Christ's coming,
the Messiah. Now, since the Messiah, we've
been in the last days. All of the apostles talked about
the last days. These are the last days. Since
Christ died on the cross, these are the last days. So in these
last days, God has spoken to us by His Son. Well, who is this
Son? Well, the Lord Jesus Christ is
His Son. He said, this is my beloved Son. Jesus of Nazareth
is His Son. This is my Son in whom I'm well
pleased. This is my Son. Hear ye Him. He is the Son of God, Son of
Man, Son of God. The Lord tells us who He is in
these next verses. Who He is, what He did, and where
He is now. Listen. God spoke to our fathers by the
prophets, but He has in these last days spoken to us by His
Son. Now watch this. Whom He hath
appointed heir of all things. That's who the Son is. He's the
heir of all things. The heir of all things. Everything
in heaven and earth belongs to Jesus Christ. He said all authority
is given unto me in heaven and earth. I have all power over
all flesh. The father loved the son and
hath given all things into his hands. In him dwelleth all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily. And in the fullness of time God
will gather together all things in Christ. He's the heir of all
things. And if you and I participate
in any of these things, we're going to have to be a joint heir
with Christ. We have to be united to Him.
So in these last days, God has spoken to us by His Son, whom
He hath appointed heir of all things. Now watch this. By whom
He made the worlds. By whom He made the worlds. Jesus
Christ is the Creator. He's the Eternal God. He's the
Everlasting Father. He's the Prince of Peace. He's
the Word of God. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and all things
were made by Him. Without Him was not anything
made that was made. Listen to Colossians. By Him
were all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth.
He is before all things, and by Him all things are held together.
He's the head of the body, the church. He's the firstborn from
the dead, that in all things He might have preeminence. Who
is He? Listen, he's the brightness of God's glory. He is the express
image of God's person. He said, he that has seen me
hath seen the Father. He said, I and my Father are
one. He's a revelation of God's glory. He's the exact image of
his person. He's the one by whom all things
are held together. That's who he is. That's what
it says here. In the Old Testament, God spoke
to our fathers by the prophets. Now, He's spoken to us by His
Son, by whom He made the worlds, who's the heir of all things,
who's the brightness of His glory and the express image of His
person. Well, what's the next verse? Well, what did He do to
gain such preeminence? What did He do to gain such glory? What did He do to gain such exaltation? When He had by Himself purged
our sins, He sat down on the right hand of God. What did He
do? By himself. Here's the gospel, here's the
good news. By himself. Redemption is the unaided work
of Jesus Christ. It was a solo performance. The
royal bath in which black souls are washed white was drained
from the veins of the Son of God. The banquet of mercy is
served up by one host, the Lord of Glory. You come, everything's
ready. By himself. He purged our sins. Why don't I believe in purgatory?
Because all of our sins have been purged by the blood of Christ. Purged, paid for, put away, satisfied. By one offering He perfected
forever them that are sanctified. He who knew no sin was made sin
for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
Christ has suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that
He might bring us to God. Well, where is He now? He said,
by Himself, when He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down
on the right hand of God. He's not pacing the road. He's
not pacing the streets of glory. He's not pacing the balcony of
glory. Disturbed and frustrated and
disappointed by what's going on, He's a satisfied Savior who
finished what He came to do, redeemed His people and sat down.
He sat down. And your relationship with God
Almighty depends entirely on your attitude toward his son.
That's the way it is. God, who spake to our fathers
by the prophets, hath in these last days, these are the last
days, this is the last prophet, this is the last message, this
is the last call, he hath spoken to us by his son. Who said, I'm
the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but
by me. Who said, there's none other
name unto heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Who said, other foundation can no man lay than that which is
laid. Who said, he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son
shall never see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
This is the record. God hath given us eternal life. And this life's in his Son. He
that hath the Son of God hath life, and he that hath not the
Son of God hath not life. And these things are written
to you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may
know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the
name of the Son of God. Who is he that condemneth? It's
Christ that died. Yea, rather, is risen again,
who also has ascended to heaven. and whoever lives to make intercession
for us. Do you see what I'm saying? The
book of Hebrews, and this is just the first three or four
verses of chapter one. And all of these chapters go
through the same way, revealing how that Jesus Christ is the
Messiah. He's the Christ. He's the Redeemer.
He's the fulfillment of every picture, prophecy, promise, pattern,
type, priest, tabernacle in the Old Testament. We have a tabernacle.
It's Christ. We have a priest. It's Christ.
We have an atonement. It's Christ.

Jesus Is the Christ

What does the Bible say about Jesus as the Christ?

How do we know that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament promises?

Why is understanding Jesus as the Messiah important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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Jesus Is the Christ

What does the Bible say about Jesus as the Christ?

How do we know that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament promises?

Why is understanding Jesus as the Messiah important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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