Published: September 10, 2023 | Speaker: Mark Freitag | Series: Gospel of Mark - Part 83 | Scripture: Mark 12:35-37
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whether to say anything but most of you know I did have cataract surgery several weeks ago and uh there's good news and bad news the good news is
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that when I look out at you all of you look much brighter than you did several weeks ago the bad news is I'm really really really having a struggle reading
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finding the right focal lengths and they said my eyes still haven't settled down and it's uh so if I pause and look lost it's because I am
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the passage we're looking at this morning comes in the midst or really at the end of when Jesus is being confronted by the
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Pharisees inscribed and and it's been several months since we've looked at this so I'm going to read a fairly lengthy portion but again uh do that to
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show the context of Jesus statement which seems at first at least to me out of place
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and yet it's a very powerful question that Jesus asked these scribes and Pharisees I'm going to begin reading in Mark chapter 12 beginning at verse
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28. and one of the scribes came and heard them arguing and recognizing that he had answered them well asked him what commandment is the foremost of all
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Jesus answered the foremost is hear o Israel the Lord our God is one Lord and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
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with all your mind and with all your strength the second is this you shall love your neighbor as yourself there is no other commandment greater than these
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and the Scribe said to him right teacher you have truly stated that he is one and there is no one else beside him and to love him with all the heart and with all
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the understanding and with all the strength and to love one's neighbor as himself is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices and when Jesus saw that he had answered
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intelligently he said to him you are not far from the kingdom of God and after that no one would venture to ask him any more questions
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and Jesus answering began to say as he taught in the temple how is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David
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himself said in the Holy Spirit the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand until I put thine enemies beneath thy
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feet David himself calls him Lord and so in once what sense is he his son and the great crowd enjoyed listening to
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him let us pray father we do ask that you would open our hearts and Minds to
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hear you by the Holy Spirit speak to us my prayer is that not only will Christ be exalted that we will do that which the psalmists
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call us to do ascribed to you the glory that is due your name but I pray also that we would as the psalmists do exalt in you that we would
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have pure joy in our Lord Jesus Christ we ask that you would do these things in Christ's name amen
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or maybe even 1910 to 1920 the writings of Adolf Von harnak German Lutheran Theologian
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um stuck with many people in the church he accused the Church of veering from its Duty its Duty to teach all that Jesus commanded us to
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do to observe and he said the church veered away because they took upon themselves the task of proving that Jesus was the
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Messiah that he was the Christ harnak was convinced that Christian dogma was the product of temporal historical decisions and situations
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he said the gospel is about God the Father not about Jesus Christ not about the son to him the title Son of God did
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not indicate divine nature but it only indicated that Jesus thought of God as his father rightly understood harnak said the name
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of the son means nothing more but the knowledge of God
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the criticism by harnak and others who joined with him particularly in the sense viewed Christianity as some kind of religious syncretism this amalgam this
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putting together putting together of Sacramento sacramentarianism materialism even Roman Catholicism rolled in together it might have its
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proximate source proximate source in Jesus in Jesus but now they saw it as well that stream branching off into many other streams
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and coming those streams coming together so that it became untraceable to Christ that the historical Jesus
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was displaced by an ideal Christ of faith a Christ who is a caricature of what a Christian ought to be
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and he said making Christianity a name only for a religion in which christology which means the study of Christ is a
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but how can Christianity be Christianity without Christ
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Jesus again perhaps you like me thought it was abrupt when he Jesus answers in verse 35 when we just been told no one would dare ask him any
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questions the meaning of the Greek is that he's he's making a retort he's making an answer to their interrogations he's
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hearing the silence but in the silence he's hearing questions particularly by these Pharisees and these rulers in the
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synagogue Psalm 110 is what he quotes it is Psalm 110 verse 1 is the most often quoted Old Testament passage in
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the New Testament but why does Jesus ask this question I mean it it has very deep for for these Jews it has a very deep political
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implications and National implications who is the Christ and it and it is not just an academic exercise one of
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the commentators said here here it comes at the end of this spiritual tournament where he's had this the Sanhedrin the Pharisees the scribes uh the Sadducees come to him one after
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the other and and fire questions at him it's not just because he's making a reply of his own but notice that it is in the context
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Jesus began answering began and began to say as he taught in the temple Jesus is still teaching Jesus there is a crowd
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around not just those Jewish leaders and certainly they're still there but there is the crowd remember they're coming for the Passover they're they're
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they're coming in droves from all over Israel and they are there listening and he is asking
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on what grounds or by what Authority or in in what sense can these scribes these teachers of the
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law these who would teach in the synagogue these who would be the Learned men how can they teach
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with certainty and say the Christ is the son of David the Christ the Messiah the anointed one the one that was promised to their father
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King David certainly every scribe knew and and taught that the Messiah would be the son of King David these men taught regularly that the the Messiah would be from
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David's Royal Line the problem I think that Jesus is is getting at here the reason he's speaking and answering a question that they have
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not asked out loud is because the scribes have never begun gone beyond the fact the fact that the Messiah the Christ would come from
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David's lineage he would be in the line of David of David they have not investigated the rest of the psalm they have not seen
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the king priest that David writes of here and they certainly have not seen what Jesus says here the Lord said to my
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Lord this is David himself saying by the Holy Spirit
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the Lord said to my Lord and he is speaking of his son how can that be we know that Jesus legal sonship from David's line is established in
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Matthew chapter one it's Joseph's line and we rejoice when we when we read that Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem the
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city of David because he was of the household and lineage of David through David's son Solomon and later through King jehoiakim came Joseph
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and we see the legal sonship of Jesus of Jesus we know that Jesus natural and divine sonship comes from David's
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line given to us by Luke in chapter three it's Mary's line through David's son Nathan as given by
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the prophecy but in Jeremiah chapter 36. but I think we need to be careful there are those particularly those in
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the dispensational camp who say that the important thing here that Jesus is saying the important thing for us to get from these prophecies and
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Promises of God is that the Christ would come from the lineage of David of David that the lineage of David must not be
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lost and yet and we see that in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. Luke 3. but the promise to David as we would read it in second Samuel 7
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and also in Psalm 89 I think tells us that just having Jesus in the line of David is not enough
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listen to II Samuel 7. I will raise up your descendant after you who will come forth from you and I will establish his
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kingdom Joseph certainly was not a king and I've been reading this summer in my my reading plan is taking me through chronology chronologically the the
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Chronicles and Samuel and kings and moving back and forth to each one to try to understand the line of the Kings but what happens at the end of the line of the Kings
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the Kings they're off in Assyria they're they're prisoners they're prisoners they're the line ends
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and yes we do have some that come back when they come back to build the temple there is a king but in Psalm 89 God says I have made a covenant with my chosen I have sworn to
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David my servant I will establish your seed forever yes the seed coming down through David but he says and build up your throne to all
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generations I I will have a king on the throne forever and when this happens I think it's important for us to notice this
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out of First Chronicles after David dies and Solomon his son becomes king becomes king we read these words
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then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord he sat on the throne of Jehovah as King instead of David his father
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and he prospered in all Israel obeyed him the Throne of David and the Throne of Jehovah are one David sat on the throne that God
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established for him and God made a promise to him that he would have a king on the throne forever and here I think we see the key it's not just the lineage
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yes that was important the line of the Kings but it is the Throne of Jehovah
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the promise of God to David was not just a kingship but as but as we see in David what does he do when he goes he's he goes to Jerusalem and he
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conquers it and he makes that the capital that he makes that the city of David of David but he also brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem the Pres that the
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presence of God would be there and he was promised peace that he would have peace from his enemies that he would conquer and we see all of those coming
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together in the promise to David so the promise again not just the lineage but the fact that there would be a king on the throne and that King on the
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throne means the presence of God I was reading along and I had forgotten this was this was the connection in Isaiah chapter 7.
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but after that scene that we talked about that our brother Chuck presented to us in Isaiah 6 this morning of the holy God in chapter 7 we have this
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incident where there were those from Aram and Ephraim who wanted to put a puppet King on the throne of Jerusalem
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they wanted to remove king ahaz of Judah and they wanted to replace him with someone called the son of tobile and God said it will never be
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he said that that will not be in fact the the word to be as I understand in Hebrew means no good it means he's a non-covenantal vassal
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and God said that will never be there will never be a puppet on my throne and in Isaiah after he says that he asks ahaz to to ask him what would I do and
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Ahab ahaz hesitates and Jesus or God says of Jesus behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son and she will call his name Emmanuel
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God With Us see God has not forgotten his promise his promise he will protect his people he will have and we read it in the psalm
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he will have a king sitting on his throne and he will put all his enemies subdued as like a footstool under his
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and so I think when we get to verse 37 Jesus hits the problem the root of the Pharisees problem because he is established
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that they have no objections to God the father and the concept of the Son of God and even as we read in Psalm 110
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we have the trinity David speaks in the Holy Spirit and these Jews had no issue with that
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but what they had an issue with is this itinerant preacher from the lowly Backwater of Galilee Nazareth
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calling himself the son and the people receive him with palm branches and shouts and honor
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and Glory but Jesus recites verse 1 of this psalm
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the David himself see that's key David himself the one you look at look at as the greatest King who started this
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Theocratic line of Kings established by God King David himself said in the Holy Spirit the Lord said to my Lord
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sit at my right hand until I put thine enemies beneath thy feet now in English we read the words Lord and Lord and some of your Bibles will have the first one in the capitals with
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just a lower font and the second one in as we would read the word with lowercase in Hebrew
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Jehovah said to my Adonai see Jehovah God himself said to Christ
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his the Adonai of David sit at my right hand he exalted him he gave him the place of power he put him at the right hand of
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majesty and power Plus God says I will see to it that your enemies those who reject my
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Christ my Messiah my king on my right hand will be subdued
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so notice how Jesus phrases the question in verse 37. he says David himself calls him Lord and so in what sense is he his son see he doesn't say it the other way
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around he doesn't say if he is David's son then how can he be his Lord his Lord we know that that can happen with
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Fathers and Sons right a father can retire or he can work for his son we have an instance in our congregation where the son has his initials on the
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company and the father works and so Jesus is not asking for that direction because they may have been able to make a reasonable answer
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what he asked them is if David calls him Lord in what sense is he his son
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the Pharisees thought him only a son a mere human Messiah there there's a big issue for Jews here because you got to deal with the Old
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Testament the Messiah the Messiah pictured as sitting at the right hand of the father the father and at the same time you encounter
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the suffering servant and I understand that there were Jews who said there's going to be two Messiahs the one on the throne and the
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one suffering servant because how could the Messiah the Lord the Lord be exalted to on high and suffer the
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humiliating death on a cross they understood the idea of Might and greatness and
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power and Glory but only within the human Realm human Realm they did not understand that when Isaiah speaks of this one
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who will be almighty God Everlasting father Prince of Peace is the same one who comes in Malachi chapter 3 the exalted
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messenger of God that they would be one and the same now we look at this and especially if you peeked ahead to the verses Beyond
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this verse this verse Jesus is Jesus is not kind in describing the scribes
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but don't forget that in this context Jesus has laid out for them answering the question what are the greatest Commandments and he has said love the
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Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength
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part of Jesus mission is it not to seek and to save the Lost and remember that he has just said to this scribe you are not far from the
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kingdom but we have to remember that not far also means not in but Jesus is not rejecting these men he's not condemning these
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he's teaching how could I say the greatest commandment you shall love the Lord your God with all heart soul mind and strength and not
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tell you how that is to be accomplished you can't do it on your own you need a lord how is he his son
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see they rejected that Jesus had the answer that Jesus was the answer how can God ask his people to love him
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if he doesn't show them that their hearts as Jeremiah says must be replaced that their Spirits must be renewed
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this one scribes maybe he's the only one maybe there are other he is a lost sheep of the House of Israel and Jesus wants to win these scribes to
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Faith and so he is showing them the pure love of The Commandments but their issue their issue is with the man that the
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crowd believes and Jesus proclaims I am the son the son and therefore they understood the threat
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that's here in Psalm 110 verse 1. the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand until I put thine enemies beneath thy
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feet they understood that threat was speaking to them because they at that point were ones that were rejecting the Christ the son of David
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in their midst as being their lord
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but if we are to believe and follow the teachings of harnak is it really that the Christ is simply
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Christianity's living pattern the pattern for Life a good man a great teacher one who loved people and gave us an example
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we have to go to the scriptures to the New Testament to the early church and I can say in all honesty borrowing
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from a phrase from Genesis 1. about the early church in the beginning there is christology
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Jesus put the question to his disciples but who do you say that I am and Peter Peter answered and said to him you are the Christ
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the Christ Peter had seen the Risen Christ he had a faith in which Jesus and Jesus alone had a place
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James Denney writing about this says if look at Acts 2 look at Peter's sermon when he proclaims Christ he says quote the characteristic of this primitive church or Christianity is not the belief
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that Jesus was the Christ but the belief that he is the Christ and that makes all the difference in Acts chapter 4 Peter proclaims him he
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is the stone which was rejected by you the builders why which became the Chief Cornerstone and there is sin in no one else
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for there is no other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved he's not just a pattern he is the Christ he is the
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living one he is the king priest on his throne in Acts chapter 10 he says the word which he sent to the sons of Israel preaching pre peace through Jesus Christ
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he is Lord of all he says parenthetically of him all the prophets bear witness that through his name everyone who believes in Him receives
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forgiveness of sins this is not someone saying you know he was a good example and now we kind of go along and try to live our lives he he is like Paul
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in him in Christ we live and move and have our being if Paul goes on to say it is no longer I
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who live but Christ who lives in me this is not this they're not people who lack a christology these are people who live their christology
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in second Corinth or First Corinthians 2 Paul simply called he says this Jesus the Lord of Glory and later on he calls him in second Corinthians the son of God
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and just as Peter can say there is salvation in no one else Paul says this for no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid which is Jesus Christ
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and for Paul this culmination in First Corinthians 15 when all things are subjected to him the son himself also will be subjected to the one who subjected all things to him so that God may be all in all
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Jesus or Paul says Jesus side by side with the father in Galatians 1. Paul an apostle not sent from men or through the agency of men but through Jesus Christ
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and God the Father who raised him from the dead see these men are are living this to them Christ is not just some but
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he is all and so it continues that time constrains me to to give them all continues through the New Testament in Hebrews
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this beautiful Passage God after he spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions in many ways in these last days he has
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spoken to us in his son whom he appointed heir of all things through whom also he made the world the end there is no more speaking he has spoken
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through the son and the culmination is here two words stand out to me in Hebrews the the word better and the word eternal
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the mediator he says the writer to the Hebrews he's a mediator of a better Covenant founded on better promises purified with better sacrifices speaking
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of Jesus blood he says it's better things that he brought with his blood and back to Peter when he writes his epistle for he was foreknown before the
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foundation of the world but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and your hope
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are in him he is Emmanuel he is God With Us he is King on the throne he has all of these
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things without Christ we have no church we have no salvation we have no Ministry and we have as our brother underlined on
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the board this morning we have no hope in this world where harnak came the gospel is only about God the Father a man by the name of Dr Chalmers said
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this quote I find that without a hold of Christ there is no hold of God at all Christ does not replace God don't hear
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me say that but it is in him that we see God that we have our Assurance of God the Father and through him there is no other way
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but through him we come to have faith in his eternal Truth and Love Christ is the whole of Christianity
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Christ is the meaning of History him crucified him risen in him we live and move and have our
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being yes he was David's Lord and he was David's greater son yes he is the Alpha and the Omega he is the beginning and the end he is the king
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and Lord of lords he is as Peter said as he accused the Jews he is to you who crucify him
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and to us both Lord and Christ let us pray
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our heavenly father we do rejoice in these words rejoice as the crowd rejoiced to hear Jesus
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teach and to Proclaim this timeless redemption in Christ the King on his throne the subduing of
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all your enemies and the exaltation of Jesus as Lord we thank you for these things we ask that we might walk in this knowledge knowing that you are the one in whom we
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believe we ask these things in Christ's name amen name amen you please rise for the benediction from first Timothy chapter 1.
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hearts now to the king Eternal Immortal invisible the only God be honor and Glory forever and ever amen