Jesus – The Mission – 4/5/09
Date – 4/05/09
Sermon Title: Jesus – The Mission
Text: “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” (Hebrews 9:11-14, ESV)
Theme: It is clear that the mission of Jesus was the driving force behind everything that he did. He was sent to accomplish a particular task which was and is progressive, sacrificial and redemptive.
Introduction: Here are some things that don’t make sense.
1. Why is it that people say they slept like a baby when babies wake up every two hours?
2. If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
3. Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat?
4. Why do banks charge a fee on insufficient funds when they know there is not enough?
5. Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
6. Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?
7. Why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard?
8. Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?
9. Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
10. If the temperature is zero outside today and it’s going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?
11. Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
12. Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, “I think I’ll squeeze these pink dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?”
13. Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?
14. Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They’re both dogs !
15. If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from ?
16. If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
17. Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?
18. Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?
Transition: I am constantly amazed at all of the things that I see every day that just don’t make sense. We live in a world that is full of seeming inconsistencies.
People sometimes look at the incredible work which was accomplished by Christ and we feel a little bit the same way. It just seems too incredible to us that the same God who envisioned and designed all of the universe and every intricate piece of the puzzle of life around us would institute a plan for our salvation which required Him to put on flesh walk around and among us for several years and then die a horrible and painful death on a wooden cross.
The truth is that as we look at the mission of Jesus as we begin to understand the extent of His love for us, it is clear that this is the only thing that does make sense. Today we are going to continue our study of Jesus through the lenses of His deity, His humanity and His mission by taking a look at this incredible mission which defined all that He did while He walked among us and is part of the bigger work of which God has in mind in order to restore all of creation to its original ideal state.
1) Jesus’ Mission was redemptive
a) In Jewish thought the idea of redemption had a very important place in their culture. There were several ways in which redemption was important in their lives.
i) Redemption was available for family owned land which had been sold to others outside of the family. Family members were allowed to redeem this land back, literally buy it back so that it could be restored to the family which originally owned it.
ii) But there were several ways in which people could be redeemed.
(1) A widow whose husband had died and did not have children to care for her was allowed to be redeemed from this position by someone who wished to marry her if there was not a relative who was in the position to provide for her. This was the case of Boaz and Ruth.
(2) Soldiers who were captured in war could be redeemed by their king and bought back from the force which owned them.
(3) People who had been sold or sold themselves into slavery could be bought back from the owners by someone who cared for them. This process was called redemption when they were freed from the obligation of the debt.
b) Tom carried his new boat to the edge of the river. He carefully placed it in the water and slowly let out the string. How smoothly the boat sailed! Tom sat in the warm sunshine, admiring the little boat that he had built. Suddenly a strong current caught the boat. Tom tried to pull it back to shore, but the string broke. The little boat raced downstream. Tom ran along the sandy shore as fast as he could. But his little boat soon slipped out of sight. All afternoon he searched for the boat. Finally, when it was too dark to look any longer, Tom sadly went home. A few days later, on the way home from school, Tom spotted a boat just like his in a store window. When he got closer, he could see — sure enough — it was his! Tom hurried to the store manager: “Sir, that’s my boat in your window! I made it!” “Sorry, son, but someone else brought it in this morning. If you want it, you’ll have to buy it for one dollar.” Tom ran home and counted all his money. Exactly one dollar! When he reached the store, he rushed to the counter. “Here’s the money for my boat.” As he left the store, Tom hugged his boat and said, “Now you’re twice mine. First, I made you and now I bought you.”
2) Jesus’ Mission was Progressive
a) At the end of this passage we see that while Jesus’ redemptive mission was incredibly necessary it was and is not a solitary event in the bigger narrative of God’s work on behalf of His people.
b) This is an important understanding because we need to see that Jesus’ mission here on earth was and is not all that Jesus is about. He is creator, sustainer, redeemer and Lord of the Harvest. Verse 28 of this passage tells us that: “So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.
c) Have you ever watched an artist who really knows what he is doing do his artwork? (The story of the guy who paints with a spatula)There are many times that we llok around at the world that we live in and we see all of the brokenness and injustice and it is hard for us to believe that there is a God in heaven who allows these kinds of things to go on. Sometimes we look in our own lives and we see all of the ways that we are not where we want to be. The good news for us and for all of creation is that GOD IS NOT DONE YET!
3) Jesus’ Mission was Sacrificial
a) Finally Jesus’ mission is almost defined by its sacrificial nature.
b) Jesus’ mission had to be one where which was both self-sacrificial and a perfect sacrifice.
c) As we think about the sacrifice which Jesus accomplished on the cross we cannot miss the fact that Jesus more or less nailed Himself on that cross.
i) There were countless times that Jesus could have bypassed the ultimate outcome that was waiting for Him as he entered Jerusalem that final week.
(1) He could have simply not gone – as a matter of fact do you remember when he went to the area just before the Passover week in order to heal Lazarus Thomas announced to the rest of the disciples –“Let’s go die with Him.” They understood clearly that his appearance on the week would result in a showdown with all of the authorities of their day.
(2) He could have accepted the power and position of kingship. – No one more rightfully deserved the title and respect that goes with that position but Jesus strenuously resisted the efforts of the large crowds to make him king.
ii) Instead Jesus went and confronted the religious leaders face to face (clearing the Temple, facing up to them on Tuesday) knowing full well what the outcome of His actions would be.
d) Finally it was necessary that Jesus was a perfect sacrifice.
i) how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Vs 14)
Conclusion:
