SALVATION AND FAITH SERMONS
They Testify of Jesus Christ
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John 5:39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
Who said these words? That is correct, Jesus Christ. With whom was He speaking? He was speaking with the Jews. Which Scriptures was He talking about. Certainly He was talking about the Old Testament. The Jews, neither at that time or even today accept Jesus as the Christ. They would never change the Old Testament which is in their hands to conform it to a Christian interpretation about Jesus. If Christians endeavored to change the Old Testament the Jews would never permit it.
O.K., do we know what the Old Testament looked like in Jesus’ day? Yes we do because starting in 1946 and lasting 10 years, as a result of excavations the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Except for the book of Ester parts of the entire 39 books of the Old Testament were found. These writings have been dated from between 250 BC and 50 AD.
Prophecies that point to Jesus generally fall into three categories. They are: direct prophecies, apocalyptic prophecies and model prophecies.
An example of a direct prophecy is like in Micah 5:2.
Micah 5:2 " But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting."
This verse predicts that I ruler would be born in Bethlehem. If Jesus was an impostor as the Jews claim, His birth in Bethlehem would have to be a complete coincidence. Let me add another proof. The ruler would go forth from everlasting. This is the reason the Jews believe that this verse has to do with the Messiah. O.K., is there anything about Jesus existing before He came to this world?
John 8:58-59 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." 59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Jesus said that He lived before Abraham. But along with this if you look carefully you will see that Jesus did not say, “Before Abraham was I was.” He said, “Before Abraham was I AM.” This is not normal grammar? Why?
Exodus 3:14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
In this verse we see the words “I AM.” Thus Jesus was saying: The God who spoke with Moses was Me. It is for this reason that the Jews tried to stone Jesus. Jesus existed before He came to this world. He said this.
In this direct prophecy, it says where Jesus would be born.
There are other direct prophecies about Jesus.
Zechariah 9:9 " Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
John 12:12-15 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' The King of Israel!" 14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 15 "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey's colt."
The prophecy of Zecharia was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born. Jesus said, “The Scriptures testify of Me.”
Apocalyptic prophecy is different. Generally they consist of symbols. Let’s look at an example.
In the book of Daniel we have:
Daniel 9:25-27 "Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. 26 "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
The command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem went out in 457 BC. In symbolic prophecy a day stands for a year. Thus 7 weeks and 62 weeks makes 69 weeks. This makes 483 years. In AD 27 the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus and he was anointed as Messiah.
Matthew 3:16-17 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
The Old Testament foretold when Jesus Christ would appear.
The third kind of prophecy that points to Jesus is a model prophecy. In a model prophecy there is an even in history. The Lord records this by way of the prophets and in the future another event takes place that is similar to the previous one. The recorded event becomes a prophecy of the latter one. We can understand it easier with an example.
Psalm 22:1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?
Jesus said the following on the cross:
Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
In the life of David, he probably felt forsaken of God and wrote this psalm. But David was a prophet and his words are not empty. The words that David recorded carry a meaning beyond his own situation. Let’s see:
Psalm 22:7-8 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 "He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!"
Matthew 27:38-43 Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. 39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross." 41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 42 "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43 "He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.' "
Do you see it? Words written hundreds of years before find their fulfillment in another event. Only God can do this with this precision.
Psalm 22:14-15 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.
We don’t know whether these words were fulfilled in David’s life. Perhaps they are a pure prediction. But the words describe well someone who is being crucified.
The following verse appears in the following way in the Greek translations. Note carefully the expression.
Psalm 22:16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;
Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross from His hands and feet.
Psalm 22:18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.
Matthew 27:35 Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: "They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots."
Some people say, “The Christians changed the New Testament to make Jesus’ life match the Old Testament. O really, brother? Did Jesus permit Himself to be crucified to match His life with a made-up story? Did hundreds of witnesses come together and agree on the details to set up this deception? You know that in Turkey 500 plus representatives in the parliament cannot agree on anything with unanimity and do you believe that more than 500 of Jesus’ followers all agreed to a series of lives at the risk of lives to set up this deception? Please…
Some people say that Jesus was not crucified. God put someone else on the cross and it appeared to be Jesus.
Are they saying that God is a deceiver?
A pagan historian named Tacitus wrote the following:
Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, …
A Jew names Falvius Josephus in his work, Antiquities of the Jews, (book 18 chapter 3, 3.) wrote the following:
Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man. For he was a doer of startling deeds, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. And he gained a following both among many Jews and many of Greek origin. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.
Those who were not Christian testified to the death of Jesus.
Of course, because Jesus died as the sin offering for the world.
Hebrews 9:27-28 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
This is the meaning of the sacrificial system. In the Old Testament people brought their sheep, their lambs, in some situations larger animals to the temple and they placed their hands on the animal’s head symbolically transferring their sins to the animal and then they killed it. Why? Because the price of sin is not prayer. The price of sin is not a pilgrimage. The price of sin is not money. The wages of sin is death. The death of the animal was an example of the death of Jesus.
Hebrews 9:22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
Without the shedding of blood there is not remission of sin. People want to bring God’s justice down to a low level. According to them, God can forgive sins with no punishment being applied. In that case God would be the minister of sin. God is just. All forgiven sins find their punishment in the body of Christ. Thus the Scriptures say:
Acts 4:12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
The prophecies that we showed today are just a few examples. There are many more. The Scriptures speak of Christ. That is because Jesus and Him crucified is the only means of forgiveness. Any other road is without justice.
Why don’t people believe? Because they do not want to believe. What else is necessary to convince you? If you do not believe the words of the prophets you will not believe though one rose from the dead in front of your eyes. Now the door of mercy is open. But it will not be open forever. What you can win is eternal life.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Who said these words? That is correct, Jesus Christ. With whom was He speaking? He was speaking with the Jews. Which Scriptures was He talking about. Certainly He was talking about the Old Testament. The Jews, neither at that time or even today accept Jesus as the Christ. They would never change the Old Testament which is in their hands to conform it to a Christian interpretation about Jesus. If Christians endeavored to change the Old Testament the Jews would never permit it.
O.K., do we know what the Old Testament looked like in Jesus’ day? Yes we do because starting in 1946 and lasting 10 years, as a result of excavations the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Except for the book of Ester parts of the entire 39 books of the Old Testament were found. These writings have been dated from between 250 BC and 50 AD.
Prophecies that point to Jesus generally fall into three categories. They are: direct prophecies, apocalyptic prophecies and model prophecies.
An example of a direct prophecy is like in Micah 5:2.
Micah 5:2 " But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting."
This verse predicts that I ruler would be born in Bethlehem. If Jesus was an impostor as the Jews claim, His birth in Bethlehem would have to be a complete coincidence. Let me add another proof. The ruler would go forth from everlasting. This is the reason the Jews believe that this verse has to do with the Messiah. O.K., is there anything about Jesus existing before He came to this world?
John 8:58-59 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." 59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Jesus said that He lived before Abraham. But along with this if you look carefully you will see that Jesus did not say, “Before Abraham was I was.” He said, “Before Abraham was I AM.” This is not normal grammar? Why?
Exodus 3:14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
In this verse we see the words “I AM.” Thus Jesus was saying: The God who spoke with Moses was Me. It is for this reason that the Jews tried to stone Jesus. Jesus existed before He came to this world. He said this.
In this direct prophecy, it says where Jesus would be born.
There are other direct prophecies about Jesus.
Zechariah 9:9 " Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
John 12:12-15 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' The King of Israel!" 14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 15 "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey's colt."
The prophecy of Zecharia was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born. Jesus said, “The Scriptures testify of Me.”
Apocalyptic prophecy is different. Generally they consist of symbols. Let’s look at an example.
In the book of Daniel we have:
Daniel 9:25-27 "Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. 26 "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
The command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem went out in 457 BC. In symbolic prophecy a day stands for a year. Thus 7 weeks and 62 weeks makes 69 weeks. This makes 483 years. In AD 27 the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus and he was anointed as Messiah.
Matthew 3:16-17 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
The Old Testament foretold when Jesus Christ would appear.
The third kind of prophecy that points to Jesus is a model prophecy. In a model prophecy there is an even in history. The Lord records this by way of the prophets and in the future another event takes place that is similar to the previous one. The recorded event becomes a prophecy of the latter one. We can understand it easier with an example.
Psalm 22:1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?
Jesus said the following on the cross:
Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
In the life of David, he probably felt forsaken of God and wrote this psalm. But David was a prophet and his words are not empty. The words that David recorded carry a meaning beyond his own situation. Let’s see:
Psalm 22:7-8 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 "He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!"
Matthew 27:38-43 Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. 39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross." 41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 42 "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43 "He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.' "
Do you see it? Words written hundreds of years before find their fulfillment in another event. Only God can do this with this precision.
Psalm 22:14-15 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.
We don’t know whether these words were fulfilled in David’s life. Perhaps they are a pure prediction. But the words describe well someone who is being crucified.
The following verse appears in the following way in the Greek translations. Note carefully the expression.
Psalm 22:16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;
Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross from His hands and feet.
Psalm 22:18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.
Matthew 27:35 Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: "They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots."
Some people say, “The Christians changed the New Testament to make Jesus’ life match the Old Testament. O really, brother? Did Jesus permit Himself to be crucified to match His life with a made-up story? Did hundreds of witnesses come together and agree on the details to set up this deception? You know that in Turkey 500 plus representatives in the parliament cannot agree on anything with unanimity and do you believe that more than 500 of Jesus’ followers all agreed to a series of lives at the risk of lives to set up this deception? Please…
Some people say that Jesus was not crucified. God put someone else on the cross and it appeared to be Jesus.
Are they saying that God is a deceiver?
A pagan historian named Tacitus wrote the following:
Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, …
A Jew names Falvius Josephus in his work, Antiquities of the Jews, (book 18 chapter 3, 3.) wrote the following:
Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man. For he was a doer of startling deeds, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. And he gained a following both among many Jews and many of Greek origin. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.
Those who were not Christian testified to the death of Jesus.
Of course, because Jesus died as the sin offering for the world.
Hebrews 9:27-28 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
This is the meaning of the sacrificial system. In the Old Testament people brought their sheep, their lambs, in some situations larger animals to the temple and they placed their hands on the animal’s head symbolically transferring their sins to the animal and then they killed it. Why? Because the price of sin is not prayer. The price of sin is not a pilgrimage. The price of sin is not money. The wages of sin is death. The death of the animal was an example of the death of Jesus.
Hebrews 9:22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
Without the shedding of blood there is not remission of sin. People want to bring God’s justice down to a low level. According to them, God can forgive sins with no punishment being applied. In that case God would be the minister of sin. God is just. All forgiven sins find their punishment in the body of Christ. Thus the Scriptures say:
Acts 4:12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
The prophecies that we showed today are just a few examples. There are many more. The Scriptures speak of Christ. That is because Jesus and Him crucified is the only means of forgiveness. Any other road is without justice.
Why don’t people believe? Because they do not want to believe. What else is necessary to convince you? If you do not believe the words of the prophets you will not believe though one rose from the dead in front of your eyes. Now the door of mercy is open. But it will not be open forever. What you can win is eternal life.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.