#onmission 005
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Review:
001 #onmission - We exist for the purpose of being to the praise of God’s glory.
002 #onmission - We accomplish purpose as we obey the mission of making disciples.
003 #onmission - Making disciples demands that we evangelize.
004 #onmission - Evangelizing has conquerable obstacles.
Maintaining a Christ-centered interpretation and application of the Bible will help us to be [fundamental in our teaching, organic in our Christian living, and missional in our spending] Christ-centered in our evangelism.
005 #onmission Christ-centered evangelism requires a Christ-centered interpretation of the scriptures.
Thesis: If we will avoid manipulative, man-centered evangelistic practices we must interpret all the scriptures in a Christ-centered manner.
Illustration: Man-centered graphic
If I think that the scriptures are primarily about what I have to do [man-centered] rather than what Christ has done [Christ-centered], then I will approach evangelism with dependency upon me rather that upon Christ. This man-centered approach tends towards man-centered, man-dependent strategies and tactics for the sake of appeasing the ambition of man.
What does Christ-centered mean?
First, by indicating that the term itself is a synecdoche—standing not only for reference to Christ’s incarnation or death on the cross but for the entire matrix of God’s redemptive work, which finds its culminating expression in Christ’s person and work. Second, by indicating that a message is Christ-centered not because it makes creative mention of an aspect of Jesus’ life or death but because it discloses an aspect of God’s redeeming nature (evident in the text) that is ultimately understood, fulfilled, and/or accomplished in Christ.[Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005), 15, Kindle.]
Illustration: Greidanus Graph
Introduction:
Introduction:
In Luke 24:44-49, Jesus Christ presents the Christ-centered biblical instruction that should guide the evangelistic efforts of his followers. A correct interpretation of the Scriptures leads to a correct evangelistic method. A Christian is to receive Christ-centered instruction and obey Christ’s command by God’s gracious empowerment. Consequently, instruction, command, empowerment are to be fundamentally Christ-centered.
Christ-Centered Instruction
Christ-Centered Instruction
Luke 24:44
44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
The significance of Christ-centered instruction presumes that Jesus Christ is credible and authoritative. Luke 24:44 reveals three important realities that give weight to Luke’s argument: Jesus Christ [is]
the authoritative One speaking,
the resurrected One,
has fulfilled prophecy.
What makes the instruction of Jesus authoritative?
The Authority of Jesus Historically
The Authority of Jesus Historically
The authority of the words - “I spake” - in Luke 24:44 rest in who the person of Jesus is historically. Luke, the human penman, presents a historical perspective: the prophetic fulfillment and salvific intentions of Jesus. I. Howard Marshall says,
“Of all the Evangelists he is the most conscious of writing as a historian, yet throughout his work the history is the vehicle of theological interpretation in which the significance of Jesus is expressed.[I. Howard. Marshall, The Gospel of Luke, The New International Greek Testament Commentary (Exeter: Paternoster, 1978), 35.]
The fact that Jesus is speaking rests on the case Luke laid out in the gospel record.
Luke was not writing a work of fiction. Robert H. Stein writes,
“In his prologue (1:1-4) he asserted that he was writing as a historian.”[Robert. H. Stein, Luke, The New American Commentary, vol. 24 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1992), 32–35).]
The historical intention is noted in the account of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:1-7. Within this birth narrative Luke meticulously includes names, places, and events that help confirm the historicity of the account.[For these names and places, see Luke 2:1-7.] Stein explains,
“Throughout his work Luke sought to demonstrate the truthfulness of what he recorded by tying the events to universal history.”[Stein, Luke, 36.]
Thus, when Luke records the words of Jesus saying, “I spake” (Luke 24:44), Luke has sought to establish an authority—an authority that is fully invested in this statement by Jesus.
Authority as the Resurrected One
Authority as the Resurrected One
The Luke 24:44 account reveals that Jesus appeared to the disciples in person.
44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
Thus, the credibility of Luke’s account is also rooted in a literal, bodily resurrected Lord. This appearance is the incarnate Jesus and not some apparition. Köstenberger, Kellum, and Quarles summarize,
“Jesus then appears to the Eleven in Jerusalem and establishes that he is really resurrected and not a ghost (24:34–49).”[J. Andreas Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum, and Charles L. Quarles, The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament (Nashville: B & H, 2016), 327.]
The authority of Jesus is established by both historicity and Jesus’ bodily resurrection.
The Authority of Fulfilled Prophecy
The Authority of Fulfilled Prophecy
Jesus foretold his death. The historical Jesus and the resurrected Jesus—one and the same—are central to Luke’s argument. In addition, Jesus foretold his own death. Luke records the words of Jesus as, “while I was yet with you” (Luke 24:44),
44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
which is a phrase identifying an absence of Jesus from his disciples. Jesus was with the disciples, left the disciples, and returned to the disciples. This absence of Jesus is a reference to the time between the pre-passion and post-resurrection ministry of Jesus Christ. It was the time during which Jesus Christ was dead. Thus, in Luke 24:44 Jesus has rejoined his disciples as the resurrected One who has fulfilled what he foretold.
James R. Edwards says,
“The farewell address is the final link in a narrative chain that connects the resurrected Lord with the earthly Jesus.”[James. R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Luke, ed. D.A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2015), 726, Logos Bible Software.]
Something has changed, but it is not the message that has changed. A cursory review of the pre-passion life of Jesus Christ reveals the following references are times in which Jesus Christ foretold of his suffering and resurrection: Luke 9:22, 44, 17:25, 18:31, 22:37.
22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.
44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
37 For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.
Thus, Jesus is the authoritative one speaking, but here he stands at the One who had personally prophesied of his own passion and resurrection. The implication is that Jesus, by virtue of fulfilling his foretold death and resurrection, is authoritative.
The Scriptures foretold of Jesus’ death. Luke 24:44 also points to the prophetic fulfillment of Jesus Christ when he says, “All things must be fulfilled.”
44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
This fulfillment statement most pointedly reveals the Christ-centered approach with which one must approach the Scriptures. This Christ-centered approach is the theological foundation for his followers.
When Luke says that “all things must be fulfilled,” he indicates that the Old Testament prophecy necessitated fulfillment. Marshall notes,
“The fulfilment of Scripture is a divine necessity.”[Marshall, The Gospel of Luke, 905.]
This word fulfilled is πληρόω, which indicates completion.[See Acts 1:16 for additional usage by Luke.]If God has spoken the words, then they must be completed. This connection between God’s written word and completion is strengthened by Jesus Christ’s reference to each part of the Old Testament: the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.
As noted, Luke consolidates the Old Testament into three groupings; namely, the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. By including these groupings, Luke is pointing out the fulfillment from all parts of the Old Testament Scriptures.
Bovon writes,
“They are divided into three parts, and each of them contains prophecies that must be fulfilled.”[Francois Bovon, Luke 3: A Commentary on the Gospel of Luke 19:28–24:53, Hermeneia (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2012), 394.]
By Moses, Luke includes all of the Pentateuch. By prophets, Luke references the Old Testament writings of those whom God ordained for the office of prophet. Luke concludes the groups with psalms that encompass the Jewish hymnody. The point of Luke is to show the unified testimony of the Old Testament writings.
One example of an Old Testament connection may be the Passover Feast connection. Luke 24:13-27 tells the account of Jesus Christ and two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and the Christ-centered scripture approach within this story is the same as the primary text (Luke 24:44-49); namely,
“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (24:27).
Though Luke does not give additional, explicit details of Jesus’ specific teaching from the Old Testament, the apostolic preaching in the book of Acts may give some clues as to the teaching of the Christ-centered approach to all the scriptures. Since both the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts were written by the same human penman, a common thematic purpose allows one to reasonably surmise the Christocentric teaching of Luke 24:44.
Christ is in the Prophets. Peter’s message on the day of Pentecost reveals the specific Christocentric scripture study approach from the prophets. Peter says in Acts 2:16:
16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Peter cites the Old Testament prophet Joel, who was prophesying to Judah. Marshall explains,
The citation of the prophecy thus serves initially to explain the phenomenon of Spirit-possession and speaking in tongues, but the passage moves on to announce the closely related proclamation of salvation for those who call upon the Lord. This second theme becomes in fact the dominant one in Peter’s speech with his identification of the risen and exalted Jesus as the Lord and Messiah through whom salvation is offered to his audience.[I. Howard Marshall, “Acts,” in Beale and Carson, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, 533.]
Christ is in the Psalms. Peter’s message not only connects Jesus to the Prophets but also to the Psalms. Peter says in Acts 2:25:
25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
Peter cites Psalm 16, showing how David was speaking of Jesus Christ. Marshall writes,
For what purpose has Peter used this psalm? One result is to explain why it was impossible for Jesus to be held prisoner by death. Jesus had the promise of God that he would not let his faithful one decay in the grave. But the other result, and the more significant one, is to claim that if what happened to Jesus fits what David prophesied in the psalm, then Jesus must be the Messiah.[Marshall, “Acts,” 539.]
Christ is in the books of Moses. The apostolic preaching shows Christ to be central to the Prophets and Psalms, but what about the books of Moses? In Peter’s message at the Temple, he implicitly refers to accounts within the books of Moses.
Peter explicitly references the words of Moses from Deuteronomy 18:18, Acts 3:22, 26:
18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
Thus, the Christ-centered approach to all the scriptures is also based out of the books of Moses.
Why did the disciples not understand?
The answer as to why the disciples did not understand Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms to be speaking of Jesus may be answered in the next verse. Luke 24:45 says,
45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
Though the instruction from Jesus included his pre-death ministry instruction and Old Testament instruction, the instruction was not fully understood. To clarify the unified testimony of scriptural instruction, Jesus opened the understanding of the disciples to see Christological fulfillment (Luke 24:45).
The word _opened_ can refer to either the opening of their minds
(1) in a spiritual, supernatural sense or
(2) through the exposition of Scripture in a Christ-centered way
Whether the disciples’ understanding of Scripture is brought to fruition through the Scriptures or through a purely spiritual work is open to interpretation, but I would blend the two options listed.
Transformative heart work is accomplished by the supernatural work of God through Christ-centered study of the Old Testament Scriptures.
Thus, is there spiritual transformation? Yes. Is the Scripture the source of the transformation? Yes. Both are instrumental for instruction that transforms the heart. Thus, Christ-centered instruction is groundwork for both commandment and empowerment to come.
Thesis: If we will avoid manipulative, man-centered evangelistic practices we must interpret all the scriptures in a Christ-centered manner.
005 #onmission Christ-centered evangelism requires a Christ-centered interpretation of the scriptures.
Discussion Questions:
Discussion Questions:
What is an example of a non-Christ-centered approach to Old Testament scriptures?
How does Luke 24:44-49 specifically connect interpretation to evangelism?
What is one way that we can grow in Christ-centered study of the Bible?
What question should you ask your leaders that may help you grow in a Christ-centered approach to the scriptures?