Sermon Manuscript

Greater Israel ~ 20171231 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

12/31 Advent; Jesus is Greater! Greater Israel / Greater Covenant ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20171231_advent-greater-israel.mp3

We have been looking this season at Jesus. Jesus is greater! The greater prophet than Moses, Jesus is God's Word to us; The greater priest than Aaron, Jesus is the one Mediator between God and man, the Lamb of God who takes away our sins, the place where we meet with God. The greater king than David, Jesus rules and shepherds us for our good. The greater man than Adam, Jesus as our representative obeyed his Father perfectly, and Jesus puts the image of God on perfect display to all creation.

Today I want to look at Jesus from another aspect; Jesus the greater Isreal. What the nation of Israel was meant to be and do but failed, Jesus does perfectly.

Creation to Israel; Failure

As we saw last time, God made man for relationship, to put God on display, to rule and be a blessing to all creation. But our first parents rebelled and brought death and destruction instead of life and blessing.

Genesis 6:5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.'

The human race strayed so far from God's ideal, that in his justice he wiped creation clean with a flood, and started over, extending grace to one man and his family and a boat load of animals. But this man too rebelled and strayed. Still,

Genesis 8:21 ...the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth.

God promised to never again destroy the earth with a flood. Instead, when mankind united in rebellion against him, he confused their languages and scattered them over the face of the earth (Gen.11) and selected one man to work with.

Genesis 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Abraham was to become a great nation and to be a blessing to all the families of the earth. But Abraham's family was a mess. God chose Isaac instead of Ishmael, Jacob instead of Esau, and God renamed Jacob Israel, who fathered 12 sons by four different women who became the 12 tribes of Israel. There was favoritism and fighting, and instead of being a blessing, they made many enemies. They sold their brother into slavery, and ended up moving to Egypt because of famine. 400 years later they had become slaves in Egypt, and they were still fighting amongst themselves, but God heard their cry and rescued them out of slavery and took them to be his people. Their whole history is punctuated by sin, rebellion, idolatry, disobedience, and failure. Israel ends up divided, conquered, exiled, scattered, failing to be who God called them to be.

True Seed of Abraham

Matthew begins his gospel with these words:

Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers

Matthew traces Jesus' line back through King David to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus is the true Israel, the true seed of Abraham. God promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob:

The blessing of Abraham, to be a blessing to the nations, confirmed to Isaac, and then to Jacob:

Genesis 26:3 ... I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. 4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,

Paul looks at these promises to Abraham in Galatians 3:16

Galatians 3:16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

Jesus is the singular offspring of Abraham in whom all the families of the earth will be blessed. Jesus is the greater Israel.

Called Out of Egypt

In Matthew 2, after the Magi from east came to worship Jesus, we read

Matthew 2:13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (cf. Hosea 11:1)

Matthew is tuned in to this connection between Jesus and Israel. Like Israel, Jesus was forced to flee to Egypt. Like Moses, Jesus narrowly escaped the massacre of male Israelite children by a hostile king (Ex.2)

In 1 Corinthains 10, Paul refers to the Israelites passing through the sea as a baptism. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river by John.

God spoke to Israel from the mountain after they had come up from the water (Ex.19).

Matthew 3:16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Tested in the Wilderness

Israel was tested in the wilderness for 40 years, and they failed.

Test 1: Lust of the Flesh / Live by the Word of God

Exodus 16:2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Israel was hungry and they grumbled. They complained. They accused God of evil intent. They failed to believe God. They longed to go back into slavery.

Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus was tested in the wilderness 40 days. He was hungry. But he depended completely on the word of God. Moses in Deuteronomy 8 reminded Israel:

Deuteronomy 8:2 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

God tested Israel in the wilderness to know what was in their heart, and they failed. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil and submitted completely to God's word.

Test 2: Lust of the Eyes / Do not put God to the Test

Psalm 78:17 Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. 18 They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. 19 They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?

This refers back to the incident in Exodus 17

Exodus 17:2 Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” ...7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

God had already proven his presence and provision with his people. God was testing his people to see if they would be faithful; they were attempting to turn the tables and put God on trial to see if he met up to their expectations. They were attempting to force God's hand to give them what they wanted.

Matthew 4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Where Israel doubted in unbelief, “is the LORD among us or not?” Jesus refused to test God. He quoted Deuteronomy 6:16.

Deuteronomy 6:16 “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.

Test 3: Pride of Life / Worship God Only

Throughout the history of Israel, from the golden calf, to the Baals and Ashtoreths, God's people demonstrated that their hearts were prone to wander. Deuteronomy 6 warns:

Deuteronomy 6:12 ...take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. 14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— 15 for the LORD your God in your midst is a jealous God— lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.

But where Israel failed again and again and again, Jesus' heart was true to his Father alone.

Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

Where Israel was tested and failed, Jesus was in the wilderness 40 days and remained faithful. He refused to be led astray by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life (1 Jn.2:16). He remained faithful to God, bowing to God alone, trusting God's timing, presence, and provision, depending on God's word. Jesus is the greater Israel.

Fulfilled the Terms of the Covenant

God made a covenant with his people Israel.

Exodus 19:4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation....

A covenant is a binding contract. With the covenant there were associated blessings and curses; blessings for keeping the terms of the covenant, curses as consequence of breaking the covenant (Deut.28-29). Jeremiah 31 refers to

Jeremiah 31:32 ...the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.

Israel broke the covenant. Israel was unfaithful. They brought the curses of the covenant on themselves. Jesus said:

John 8:29 ...I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”

Jesus obeyed his Father perfectly. He said:

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Jesus fulfilled the terms of the covenant perfectly. Not only did Jesus fully meet the requirements of the law, and earn its blessings, but we are told in Galatians 3

Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

Jesus deserved all the blessings, but he took on himself the curse that Israel earned.

Hebrews 9 tells us Jesus is

Hebrews 9:15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

The consequence for covenant treason is death, and Jesus died to free us from the consequences of our transgression. Jesus gets us out from under the old covenant, and he mediates a better covenant, a new covenant to us. Jeremiah 31 says:

Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 ... For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Jesus mediates a better covenant; he transforms us on the inside. He changes our desires. He gives us a new heart. He puts his own Spirit inside us.

A Blessing to the Nations

Jesus is the greater Israel, the true seed of Abraham, called out of Egypt, tested in the wilderness, perfectly fulfilled the terms of the covenant, both earning the blessing, and taking the curse on himself. So Jesus becomes what Israel was meant to be; a blessing to the nations. Galatians tells us:

Galatians 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

What a treasure we have! Good news to the nations! To all who believe! All who believe in Jesus! Christ became a curse for us:

Galatians 3:14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

When Simeon took the infant Jesus in his arms in Luke 2, he quoted Isaiah.

Luke 2:30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” (cf. Isaiah 42:6; 49:6; 52:10)

Jesus the greater Israel brings the blessings of salvation to all the nations. Jesus is worthy of worship, because Jesus is greater!

Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org