BIBLE INTERPRETATION SERMON SERIES
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In our last sermon on Bible interpretation we said that if you don’t see Christ as the focus of the Bible, there is a veil on your heart and you will not be able to understand the Bible. We learned that Jesus said the Old Testament pointed to Himself. That is a big claim.
John 5:39 "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
Jesus was talking about the Old Testament here because the New Testament had not been written. So let’s look at the Old Testament and see what Jesus is talking about. Let’s turn to the book of Micah.
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."
Micah lived in Judah during the last half of the eighth century BC. He said a ruler would be born in Bethlehem. The New Testament takes careful notice of the birth of Christ. The New Testament notes that even the Jewish leaders who did not acknowledge Christ believed that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Why did they think that? They understood it from this passage of Scripture.
Notice also that the text says that the ruler who would come forth would come forth from everlasting. This is pointing to someone that is not a normal person. What human being existed from eternity? But the Bible clearly says that the Messiah who would come existed before He would appear in this world. It points to someone coming from outside humanity.
Notice also that the text says that the one who would come forth would be a ruler in Israel. Did Jesus ever rule in Israel? Not according to what people normally think of as a ruler. He did not rule physical Israel. Then was the prophecy fulfilled? We will come to this a little later. But it brings us to another prophecy concerning Messiah.
1 Chronicles 17:1-14 Now it came to pass, when David was dwelling in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under tent curtains." 2 Then Nathan said to David, "Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you." 3But it happened that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4 "Go and tell My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: "You shall not build Me a house to dwell in. 5 "For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. 6 "Wherever I have moved about with all Israel, have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, 'Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?' " ' 7 "Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. 8 "And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a name like the name of the great men who are on the earth. 9 "Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, 10 "since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. Also I will subdue all your enemies. Furthermore I tell you that the LORD will build you a house. 11 "And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. 12 "He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 "I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. 14 "And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever." ' "
We notice that God said He would establish a king that would be of the lineage of David. This is very important because Jesus is consistently identified in the New Testament as the son of David. This Hebrew expression does not mean literal son but lineage. The kingdom of Jesus would be established forever and his throne forever. This kingdom is called God’s house and God’s kingdom. Wow! Therefore this kingdom would not be Israel that we know of in the Middle East at that time or even now, but the kingdom when the earth is destroyed and made new again. So the prophecy in Micah is fulfilled in Christ.
The prophet Micah spoke of Jesus. The prophet Nathan and the prophet David spoke about the Messiah and the eternal kingdom of God with Jesus as king. The Bible is talking about Messiah as Jesus had said.
Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
The prophet Isaiah hundreds of years before Chrıst says that a child would be born and that the child would be called Mighty God. What is that? Is the Bible talking about an ordinary person? Of course not! And this person, who is Mighty God, will sit on the throne of David. That kingdom would last forever. Friends, many people arise and say that the scriptures point to someone else. They do not. They point to the son of David.
Mark 12:35-37 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? 36 "For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." ' 37 "Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"
This is actually very simple but some people find it difficult. The prophet David, speaking by the Holy Spirit said, “The Lord said to my Lord…” This is a quotation from Psalm 110. Now the Jews understood this passage to point to the Messiah. But Jesus asks the question, “If the Messiah is the son of David, why does David call his own lineage ‘Lord.’ No man calls his son, ‘Lord.’ So if David calls the son of David ‘Lord’ then that son must be greater than the father. How can that be? It is possible if the son existed from all eternity and entered into human flesh at some point in history.
What are we seeing in scripture? The Bible is pointing to the Messiah, the son of David. It is not talking about someone else. This is just what Jesus said. The scriptures point to Himself.
But why do the scriptures always point to Messiah? They point to Messiah because salvation is in the Messiah.
Isaiah 53:1-12 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked -- But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
The Messiah would come to this world and die as a sin offering for all humanity. Jesus died for your sins and mine. He is the Savior of the world. That is what the scriptures continually point out. The examples I gave here are just a few. They are many more I could give, but we don’t have time for them all.
Now at this point there will be someone who says, “The Bible was changed to fit this interpretation.” That is impossible. We took all of our verses from the Old Testament. The Jews have carefully guarded the Old Testament. They do not believe Jesus is the Messiah and would not let Christians change the Old Testament to fit their ideas. These passages of scripture are just as they read in the Old Testament that the Jews use until this day. There is no change.
Friends, if you do not see Jesus Christ as the focus of scripture, you have a spiritual veil on your heart. To remove it, you must be willing to accept the truth. This is how you read the scriptures. You read them by faith in God who is revealing Christ as the Savior of all mankind.
What is keeping you from receiving eternal life through Jesus Christ the eternal king?
John 5:39 "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
Jesus was talking about the Old Testament here because the New Testament had not been written. So let’s look at the Old Testament and see what Jesus is talking about. Let’s turn to the book of Micah.
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."
Micah lived in Judah during the last half of the eighth century BC. He said a ruler would be born in Bethlehem. The New Testament takes careful notice of the birth of Christ. The New Testament notes that even the Jewish leaders who did not acknowledge Christ believed that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Why did they think that? They understood it from this passage of Scripture.
Notice also that the text says that the ruler who would come forth would come forth from everlasting. This is pointing to someone that is not a normal person. What human being existed from eternity? But the Bible clearly says that the Messiah who would come existed before He would appear in this world. It points to someone coming from outside humanity.
Notice also that the text says that the one who would come forth would be a ruler in Israel. Did Jesus ever rule in Israel? Not according to what people normally think of as a ruler. He did not rule physical Israel. Then was the prophecy fulfilled? We will come to this a little later. But it brings us to another prophecy concerning Messiah.
1 Chronicles 17:1-14 Now it came to pass, when David was dwelling in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under tent curtains." 2 Then Nathan said to David, "Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you." 3But it happened that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4 "Go and tell My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: "You shall not build Me a house to dwell in. 5 "For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. 6 "Wherever I have moved about with all Israel, have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, 'Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?' " ' 7 "Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. 8 "And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a name like the name of the great men who are on the earth. 9 "Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, 10 "since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. Also I will subdue all your enemies. Furthermore I tell you that the LORD will build you a house. 11 "And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. 12 "He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 "I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. 14 "And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever." ' "
We notice that God said He would establish a king that would be of the lineage of David. This is very important because Jesus is consistently identified in the New Testament as the son of David. This Hebrew expression does not mean literal son but lineage. The kingdom of Jesus would be established forever and his throne forever. This kingdom is called God’s house and God’s kingdom. Wow! Therefore this kingdom would not be Israel that we know of in the Middle East at that time or even now, but the kingdom when the earth is destroyed and made new again. So the prophecy in Micah is fulfilled in Christ.
The prophet Micah spoke of Jesus. The prophet Nathan and the prophet David spoke about the Messiah and the eternal kingdom of God with Jesus as king. The Bible is talking about Messiah as Jesus had said.
Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
The prophet Isaiah hundreds of years before Chrıst says that a child would be born and that the child would be called Mighty God. What is that? Is the Bible talking about an ordinary person? Of course not! And this person, who is Mighty God, will sit on the throne of David. That kingdom would last forever. Friends, many people arise and say that the scriptures point to someone else. They do not. They point to the son of David.
Mark 12:35-37 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? 36 "For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." ' 37 "Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"
This is actually very simple but some people find it difficult. The prophet David, speaking by the Holy Spirit said, “The Lord said to my Lord…” This is a quotation from Psalm 110. Now the Jews understood this passage to point to the Messiah. But Jesus asks the question, “If the Messiah is the son of David, why does David call his own lineage ‘Lord.’ No man calls his son, ‘Lord.’ So if David calls the son of David ‘Lord’ then that son must be greater than the father. How can that be? It is possible if the son existed from all eternity and entered into human flesh at some point in history.
What are we seeing in scripture? The Bible is pointing to the Messiah, the son of David. It is not talking about someone else. This is just what Jesus said. The scriptures point to Himself.
But why do the scriptures always point to Messiah? They point to Messiah because salvation is in the Messiah.
Isaiah 53:1-12 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked -- But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
The Messiah would come to this world and die as a sin offering for all humanity. Jesus died for your sins and mine. He is the Savior of the world. That is what the scriptures continually point out. The examples I gave here are just a few. They are many more I could give, but we don’t have time for them all.
Now at this point there will be someone who says, “The Bible was changed to fit this interpretation.” That is impossible. We took all of our verses from the Old Testament. The Jews have carefully guarded the Old Testament. They do not believe Jesus is the Messiah and would not let Christians change the Old Testament to fit their ideas. These passages of scripture are just as they read in the Old Testament that the Jews use until this day. There is no change.
Friends, if you do not see Jesus Christ as the focus of scripture, you have a spiritual veil on your heart. To remove it, you must be willing to accept the truth. This is how you read the scriptures. You read them by faith in God who is revealing Christ as the Savior of all mankind.
What is keeping you from receiving eternal life through Jesus Christ the eternal king?