Jesus

Yesterday I listened to an awesome sermon by Mark Driscoll. I've been reading through the Old Testament (in Judges now), and it's hard for me to always see the bigger picture because I get bogged down by all the details (8000 people's names and places...it's hard for me to concentrate on what I'm reading when there are so many details). The sermon was called The Bible is About Jesus, so I thought it pretty appropriate for my situation. I know that the Old Testament is about Jesus, but I honestly just can't see it on my own! The sermon was extremely helpful in seeing God's entire plan for the Bible and earth in general, so it was very encouraging to me.

Here are my thoughts:

-Mark pointed out many references to Christophanies (appearances of Christ before Jesus was born in human form) as well as acts that happened in the Old Testament that Jesus later also completed and fulfilled.

 My favorite was comparing Jesus' death on the cross to Isaac's willing sacrifice for his father Abraham.

Here's what he says:

"It was in that place that Abraham almost sacrificed his only son Isaac, and Isaac willingly carried wood on his back to his place of potential death, and he laid himself down willingly to die at the hands of his father. Just in the nick of time, the angel of the Lord appeared (Jesus before His birth to Mary) and said "Do not sacrifice your son; it will be provided."

That ultimately Jesus would come, another son, to carry His own wood, His cross, in that same region, to willingly lay down His life at the hand of His father.  That that was all foreshadowing and predicting and anticipating what Jesus would do in that place. The temple was built in that same place that Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac, foreshadowing what Jesus would, many years later, ultimately accomplish."

-I also learned that when Isaiah was called into ministry and saw the vision of the glory of the Lord (Isaiah 6), it was Jesus whom he saw!! John says that in John 12:41. Whit and I looked at these two passages last night, and I encourage you to study it too. I often think it's sad that people rejected Jesus, and it is, but the crazy thing is that it didn't surprise Him at all! I'm sure He was upset that they didn't believe in Him, but it was part of His plan. He told Isaiah to tell the people that they wouldn't understand. Then His words were fulfilled when He came to earth, did many signs and miracles, and people still didn't believe.

-Another good thought - today as people we think we're free, but we're NOT. Our culture makes us think we are, but we're all slaves to something. We just get to choose what enslaves us (money, relationships, comfort, success, dissatisfaction, depression, etc).

My thoughts overall:

Sometimes I think that the Bible is so literary that everything was just written to be symbolic, which is cool, but discouraging. I want the Bible to be REAL not just literary. I read the Old Testament and think - these are just random stories, their lives were so different, why were all these random things recorded? Why did that situation happen? But every story recorded was for a purpose. Jesus later came and fulfilled all of those things!! Take a story or event from the Old Testament. At first glance it might seem pretty random or insignificant. But I bet that you can find a way that Jesus ultimately fulfilled that story. And you think - what does that even mean? How can you fulfill a STORY? But He did. (For example, what I mentioned earlier about Isaac. Or look at the story of Ruth - Boaz redemption of Naomi is just small picture of the way that Jesus redeemed all His children.) So it's not all just symbolic - and it couldn't be! The OT was written BEFORE Jesus came. God totally had a plan! He allowed all those things to happen and be recorded so that Jesus could fulfill them and so that we could see Jesus in them, because the Bible is about Jesus.