Majesty
Pastor Rollan Fisher
Focus: We will come to put our trust fully in God when we see that his majesty revealed was both predicted in the Scriptures and fulfilled in the person of Jesus.
The Prophecies
The Fulfillment
The Majesty of Jesus
The Prophecies
God prepared us to experience his majesty by predicting the advent of his Son.
2 Peter 1:16-21
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
After the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the apostles of the New Testament spread the good news of Christ’s messiahship by appealing to two primary sets of evidence.
The first was Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead in accordance with his own predictions during his earthly ministry.
Matthew 20:17-19
And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
The second set of evidence to which the apostles appealed was the enormous volume of fulfilled messianic prophecy in the person of Jesus.
This is why Paul the apostle began his letter to the Romans this way:
Romans 1:1-6
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
Written over a two thousand year period, the Old Testament contains more than three hundred distinct references to the coming Messiah.
In essence, God was creating a URL address so that we would recognize and then follow and worship his designated savior when he arrived.
The Fulfillment
The fulfillment of the prophecies point to the majesty of God in displaying his sovereignty over all of creation and human history.
The prophetic writings began with all of the Old Testament foreshadowing the person and work of Jesus Christ.
As an example, scholar Norman Geisler pointed out that the work and person of Christ brought fulfillment to the Levitical Feasts:
The Feast (Leviticus 23) The Fulfillment
Passover (April) The Death of Christ (I Corinthians 5:7)
Unleavened Bread (April) The Holy Walk (I Corinthians 5:8)
Firstfruits (April) Resurrection (I Corinthians 15:23)
Pentecost (June) Outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 1:5; 2:4)
Trumpets (September) Israel’s Regathering (Matthew 24:31)
Atonement (September) Cleansing by Christ (Romans 11:26)
Tabernacles (September) Rest and Reunion with Christ (Zech. 14:16-18)
In the prophecies and their subsequent fulfillment in Jesus, God was showing his majesty, doing what no other man or woman can do.
God showed his majesty by allowing all things to be a product of his foreshadowing and plan.
Isaiah 46:8-10
“Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
*Think, if God has this type of control over human history, how much more can you trust him with the intimate details of all aspects of your life!
However, even before that, the fulfillment of prophecy began with the birth of Christ regarding these facts:
Born of the Seed of a Woman (Genesis 3:15; Galatians 4:4)
Born of a Virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18,24.25)
Son of God (Psalm 2:7; Matthew 3:17)
Seed of Abraham (Genesis 22:18; Matthew 1:1)
Son of Isaac (Genesis 21:12; Luke 23,34)
Son of Jacob (Numbers 24:17; Luke 3:23,34)
Tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10; Luke 3:23,33)
Family line of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1; Luke 3:23,32)
House of David (Jeremiah 23:5; Luke 3:23,31)
Born at Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1)
Presented with Gifts (Psalm 72:10; Matthew 2:1,11)
His birth would be accompanied by Herod killing children (Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 2:16)
Ultimately, the devil could not stop his coming, and Jesus in his advent would bring life to the world.
The Majesty of Jesus
The advent of Jesus was given as a gift to display the majesty of God to the world, and invite the world into it.
The majesty of Jesus was in his pre-existence where he is both co-eternal and of the very same substance as God.
Hebrews 1:1-14
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God's angels worship him.” Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
All was done for the sake of inviting you back into eternal fellowship with God through Jesus Christ, his sinless life, his substitutionary death on the cross and victorious resurrection from the dead.
As we celebrate this Advent Season, we celebrate the majesty of God that predicted, fulfilled and forever points to our great salvation provided in Jesus!
If God was faithful to fulfill his promises in the first coming of Jesus, so we can also trust him in the predictions and promises of his return - the second Advent, when we will once again marvel at the majesty of Christ!
Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher