Introduction:
I.
God has a plan and the Scriptures assure us that nothing is out of
His control. Everything will always work according to His plan.
Everything that He foretold in the Old Testament has been or will be
fulfilled in His perfect, planned time:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption
as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good
pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace,
by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
"In Him we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the
riches of His grace.... having made known to us the mystery
of His will, according to His good pleasure which He
purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness
of the times He might gather together in one all things in
Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined
according to the purpose of Him who works all things according
to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in
Christ should be to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:3-12
"Of this
salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who
prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what,
or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them
was indicating, when He testified beforehand the
sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us
they were ministering the things which now have been reported to
you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the
Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to
look into."
1 Peter
1:10-12
"Now
behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village
called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they
talked together of all these things which had happened. So it
was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew
near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained,
so that they did not know Him.
"And He said to them, 'What
kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as
you walk and are sad?'
"Then the one whose name was
Cleopas answered and said to Him, 'Are You the only stranger in
Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened
there in these days?'
"And He said to them, 'What
things?'
"So they said to Him, 'The things concerning
Jesus of Nazareth, 'who was a Prophet mighty in deed and
word before God and all the people, 'and how the chief priests
and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and
crucified Him.'...
"Then He said to them, 'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to
believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 'Ought not
the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His
glory?' 'And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He
expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning
Himself.
"Then they drew near to the village
where they were going, and He indicated that He would have
gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, 'Abide
with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.'
And He went in to stay with them.
"Now it came to pass, as He sat at
the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it,
and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and
they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
"And they said to one another, 'Did not our heart burn within us
while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the
Scriptures to us?'”
Luke 24:13-32
I. The
Gospel is the fulfillment of Old Testament promises
A. Fulfillment is a
stated element of the Gospel
1. The Gospel is
always something delivered, must be passed from one to the next
generation. It's message is
"according to the Scriptures, and cannot be revised to fit changing
cultures. Everything is described in God's Word, and all that
happens affirm the fulfillment of those early promises.
"Moreover,
brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached
to you, which also you received and in which you stand,
by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which
I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
"For
I delivered to you first of all
that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according
to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He
rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and
that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve."
1 Corinthians
15:1-5
2. The gospel has been handed to us -- down through the
generations.
"Paul, a
bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated
to the gospel of God, which He promised before through
His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son
Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David
according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with
power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection
from the dead."
Romans 1:1-4
3.
What had been promised to Israel -- that the Savior would come
from the seed of Abraham and David -- was meticulously fulfilled, as
documented in both Old and New Testament genealogies.
"Now Jesus
Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of
Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of
Janna.... the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel,
the son of Neri, the son of Melchi... the son of Eliezer, the
son of Jorim... the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz,
the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab,
the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of
Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac,
the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of
Nahor... the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of
Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of
Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enosh, the son of
Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God."
Luke 3:23-38
B. Fulfillment was
part of the preaching of the Gospel
"Peter,
standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them,
“Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known
to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you
suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But
this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I
will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh... I will show wonders
in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath... whoever calls
on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.’
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man
attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which
God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—
Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and
foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands,
have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having
loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that
He should be held by it.
"For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the Lord
always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may
not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was
glad;
Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.'...
“...the patriarch David... is both
dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn
with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body,
according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to
sit on his throne..." Acts 2:14-30
II. Reasons why the Gospel was
presented as fulfilled prophecy
A. The Old Testament
Scriptures became a natural bridge to faith for the Jews
"...they
came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three
Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer
and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I
preach to you is the Christ.”
Acts 17:1-3
"Then he
brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of
the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in
Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all
readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out
whether these things were so."
Acts 17:10-11
B. A calling forth of
faith
"[Jesus]
said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in
all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to
have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” nd
beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to
them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."
Luke
24:25
"I do not
speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen;
but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats
bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’ Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you
may believe that I am He."
John 13:18-19
C. Self-evidence of
Yahweh
“To whom
will you liken Me, and make Me equal
And compare Me, that we should be alike? ...
“Remember
this, and show yourselves men;
Recall to mind, O you transgressors.
Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My
pleasure,’"
Isaiah 46:5, 8-10
"And the
high priest asked them, saying, 'Did we not strictly command
you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled
Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s
blood on us!'
"But Peter and the other apostles
answered and said: 'We ought to obey God rather than men.
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by
hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be
Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and
forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these
things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God
has given to those who obey Him.”
"When they heard this, they were furious and plotted
to kill them. Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee
named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the
people.... And he said to them: 'Men of Israel, take
heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men....
[K]eep away from these men and let them alone; for if this
plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but
if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be
found to fight against God.'”
Acts
5:27-39
D. Demonstrated
continuity of God's plan
"O Lord,
You are my God.
I will
exalt You, I will praise Your name,
For You have done wonderful things;
Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth."
Isaiah 25:1
E. Faithfulness of
God's Word
The grass
withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”
Isaiah 40:8
"Thus says
the Lord, your Redeemer,
And He who formed you from the womb:
'I am the Lord, who makes all things,
'Who stretches out the heavens 'all alone,
Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;
Who frustrates the signs of the babblers, and drives diviners
mad;
Who turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge
foolishness;
Who confirms the word of His servant,
And performs the counsel of His messengers;
Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’
To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,’ and I will raise
up her waste places;
Who says to the deep, ‘Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers’;
Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, and he shall perform
all My pleasure,
Saying to Jerusalem, 'You shall be built,'
And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ’
Isaiah 44:24-28
F. The necessity of
fulfillment
"I do not
speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread
with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’" John 13:18
"So shall
My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."
Isaiah 55:11
"Give unto
the Lord the glory due to His name;
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
The God of glory thunders;
The Lord is over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars....
And strips
the forests bare;
And in His temple everyone says, 'Glory!'”
Psalm 29:1-9
III. EXAMPLES OF THE GOSPEL'S
FULFILLEMENT
A. Themes
1. The
covenants:
Protevangelium:
"The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'
So the Lord God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all
cattle,
And more than every beast of the field...
And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
Genesis 3:13-15
Abrahamic
Covenant: "When Abram
was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said
to him, 'I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be
blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and
you, and will multiply you exceedingly.' Then Abram fell
on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 'As for Me,
behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of
many nations. No longer shall your name be called
Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made
you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly
fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall
come from you. And I will establish My covenant between
Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations,
for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your
descendants after you. Also I give to you and your
descendants after you the land in which you are a
stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession;
and I will be their God.”
Genesis
17:1-6
Mosaic
Covenant:
"And God spoke all these words, saying: 'I am the Lord your
God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the
house of bondage.
'You shall have no other gods before Me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any
likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the
earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you
shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord
your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of
those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those
who love Me and keep My commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your
God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who
takes His name in vain." [The rest of the 10
Commandments follow]
Exodus 20:1-7
"Moses
took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood
he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the
Book of the
Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they
said, All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.'
And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said,
'This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made
with you according to all these words.”
Exodus 24:6-8
"The
Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord did
not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who
are here today, all of us who are alive. ... He said:
‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
‘You shall have no other gods before Me...."
[The rest of the 10
Commandments follow]
Deuteronomy 5:2-6
Davidic Covenant:
"...say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'I
took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be
ruler over My people, over Israel. And I have been with you
wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies
from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name
of the great men who are on the earth. Moreover I will appoint
a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they
may dwell in a place of their own and move no more....
“'When your days are fulfilled and
you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after
you, who will come from your body, and I will establish
his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I
will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will
be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity,
I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of
the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as
I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before
5you. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
2
Samuel 7:8-16
New
Covenant:
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house
of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with
their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to
lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they
broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord.
"But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law
in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I
will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more
shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother,
saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from
the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For
I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no
more.”
Jeremiah
31:31-34
2. His
Death: Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53
"My
God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
...But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
'He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!' ...
They gape at Me with their mouths, like a raging and roaring
lion.
I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of
joint;
My heart is like wax; it has melted within Me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death....
They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My
bones.
They look and stare at Me.
They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength,
hasten to help Me! ...."
Psalm 22
"Who has
believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
and as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is
despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid... our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely
He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was
bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we
like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And
the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His
mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not
His mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment....
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him
to grief.
When You
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.
He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify
many,
For He shall bear their iniquities....
He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors."
Isaiah 53:10-12
3. His
Glory: Psalm 16 and Isaiah 9, 11 & 49
Preserve
me, O God, for in You I put my trust.
O my soul, you have said to the Lord, 'You are my Lord,
My goodness is nothing apart from You.'...
I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope.
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Psalm 16
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