GOD ON THE EXAMINATION TABLE – Mt. 1:23
1. I am going to present a problem to you.
2. As I present this problem, think about a possible solution.
3. Here we go.
4. You are employed outside of the home.
5. On Tuesday, your boss gives you this assignment,
6. He says, “Tell the world what you are like.”
7. “Communicate to every man who you are.”
8. “Give, to the whole world, personal information about yourself.
9. Your boss then adds:
10. “You can do this job by any means, except one (there is one restriction):
11. You cannot make actual contact with anyone –
A. You are forbidden from making any telephone calls.
B. You may not make satellite appearances.
C. You cannot personally chat with people via any electronic device.
D. You may not make personal visits, etc.
12. People must know all about you, but you yourself cannot communicate with anyone.
I. HOW WOULD YOU TELL THE WORLD WHO YOU ARE, AND ALL ABOUT YOURSLEF, IF YOU HAD THE LIMITATION I DESRIBED?
A. Maybe some of you thought about a making a video (movie).
B. We could record the story of our life and have it presented.
C. This is a good idea, but it would not work.
D. After seeing the video, people will have questions.
E. No one would be available to answer all the questions that would be asked.
F. What if we wrote a lengthy book? The same problems would exist.
G. People would have questions that they would want to ask, but couldn’t.
H. Our boss’ request would be very difficult to fulfill.
I. The only way that I can think of to get this job done is this:
J. Someone who knows virtually everything about us would go to the world.
K. It might be our husband, wife, best friend …
L. Someone who is intimately involved with our life would need to be sent.
M. About 2,000 years ago, God needed for people to know about Him.
N. Some information about Jehovah was already possessed by man.
O. Additional information about the Father was needed.
P. How was God going to get this information to man?
Q. A book would have had some limitations.
R. Pictures would have had a limited benefit.
S. God chose to send a family member – part of the Godhead – Jesus.
T.
Going back to our scripture reading –
U. The word, “Immanuel” appears no where else in the New Testament besides here.
V. The definition for this word is given in the text, God with us.
W.If you are looking at this verse, pay close attention to the word here.
X. Does the text say,
1. He (God) shall call his name Immanuel? No.
2. God was not the one who called Jesus, Immanuel.
3. Matthew says “they” would come up with the word Immanuel.
4. The ones who saw and spoke to Jesus would draw this conclusion.
5. Men would apply the name Immanuel to Jesus because they would conclude that He is God.
Y When the Lord came, His mission had more than one part to it.
Z One aspect of Jesus’ mission was to show us what the Father is like.
A.
Matthew
B. After people had the opportunity to encounter the Lord,
C. It was concluded that He was Immanuel, God with the human race.
D. Another verse that makes this same point is John 14:9.
1. In John 14:6, Jesus claimed to be the “Way, truth, life.”
2. He said that no one could come to the Father, except by Him.
3. After this, Philip asked a question – v. 8.
E. Philip had a desire that many have had –
F. He wanted to see what God was like.
1. Children have been curious about God.
2. They have had the desire to see Him.
3. Adults have desired to see God.
4. We can be thankful for Philip’s question.
G. When Jesus heard Philip’s request, He said, - READ v. 9.
H. Notice how this reference parallels Matthew 1:23.
1. Jesus was Immanuel, God with man.
2. John 14:9 says that to see Jesus is to see the Father.
3. Jesus came to show us what God is like.
II. IF WE WANT TO BE VERY ELEMENTARY IN OUR EXPLANATION OF THESE TWO VERSES, WE COULD SAY THAT GOD PUT HIMSELF ON THE EXAMINATION TABLE. GOD PUT HIMSELF IN A POSITION WHERE HE COULD BE SEEN, HANDLED, QUESTIONED, TESTED, PERSECUTED, AND FACE ALL THE TRIALS THAT MAN MUST BEAR.
A. The way that God did this was through the Godhead.
B. A member of the Godhead (Jesus) came to Earth.
C. The word that we use to describe this event is “incarnation.”
D. The word “incarnation” means:
E. “The embodiment or the assumption of humanity; God in human flesth.”
F. It might be asked, “Where does it say that God clothed Himself with flesh?”
G. If you turned to John 14, go back to John 1.
H. In the opening section of this book, Jesus is referred to as the Word.
I. John begins by saying that the word (Jesus) was God – v. 1 – QUOTE.
J. Verse 1 of John’s gospel says that Jesus (Word) was God.
K. Jesus was not like God; close to being God; or just important.
L. Jesus was God
M. For this reason, men rightfully called Him Immanuel.
N. Because Jesus was God, He was able to say to Philip, “He that has seen Me has seen the Father”.
O. As God, look at what Jesus did – v. 14 – QUOTE/READ.
P. In the first part of this verse, there is only one definite article.
Q. The word became flesh.
R. This accurately represents the Greek text.
1. Suppose the English and Greek read differently.
2. Suppose the text said,
3. The flesh became the word.
4. This would mean that Jesus was flesh first (a human being).
5. An then He “became the word” (became God).
S. According to John, things didn’t happen this way.
T. Jesus first was the “word” (God). This God clothed Himself with a human form.
U. In other words, Jesus became what He was not.
V. God had to put flesh and bones on Himself.
W. An immortal God had to take on mortality.
1. An all-powerful being took on a body that got tired and sick.
2. An all-knowing God took on a body that necessitated learning.
3.
Luke
4. God, who is everywhere, took a body which limited his presence.
X. Jesus lived as a man, so He could make God known – John 1:18 – READ.
Y. Jesus has “declared” God.
1. The word translated “declared” is not a common New Testament word.
2. It is used only a few times in the New Testament:
3.
Here, Luke 24:35; Acts 10:8;
Z. This word means, “Elaborate, explain, report, reveal.”
A. In John 1:18 there is the idea of revealing divine mysteries.
B. Jesus came to reveal to us information about God.
C. By the way, let me add this bit of information.
D. The word translated “declared” in v. 18 is aorist in tense.
E. This tense, applied her means:
F. Jesus has brought to Earth the once-for-all revelation of God.
G. No one else will be sent from heaven to tell us about God.
H. If someone comes and makes this claim, they are a liar/deceiver.
I. Jesus was and is the source of our information about God.
III. WITH THE REFERENCES WE HAVE USED SO FAR, TWO THINGS HAVE BEEN PROVEN: (1) GOD HAD A DESIRE TO REVEAL HIMSELF TO MAN, AND (2) THIS REVELATION HAS BEEN GIVEN THROUGH JESUS AND NO OTHER REVELATION WILL BE OFFERED. THIS IS ALL FACTUAL MATERIAL. NOW WE MIGHT ASK, “WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS INFORMATION?”
A. I will make it simple.
B. Jesus is God and from God
C. Because of His connection to heaven, He knows what God is like.
D. Being God, He knows what heaven has in store for us.
E. Jesus made known this information when he came to Earth.
F. The information He made known is recorded in the Bible.
G. In light of this, I ask you, “How important is scripture?”
H. How significant is the Bible?
I. The Bible is the most valuable product that man will ever have.
J. No book will ever come close to comparison.
K. The Bible is a treasure which shames and outshines everything else that man prizes.
L. This book is very important as God’s last revelation to man.
M. In spite of the Bible being what it is,
1. People neglect it.
2. Passages are twisted in an attempt to justify doctrines
3. So-called religious people skip over some verses.
4. Feelings and emotions are more important than verses from scripture.
5. People do things without Bible authority.
N. The world does not, as a whole, accept the authority of scripture.
O. We need to realize what scripture is; God’s revelation … and it’s final.
P. Jesus and His inspired helpers gave us God’s word.
Q. This information is accurate because Jesus was Immanuel.
1. When the Bible says that there is only one church, it is truth.
2. When the Bible says that most will be lost, it is truth.
3. When the Bible says that baptism saves, it is truth.
CONCLUSION:
A. In this book, we have words from heaven. We have actual words from God.
B. God says in this word, “Come.”
C. If you have not yet accepted this invitation, Immanuel waits.
D. Jesus wants you to be part of His body.
E. The place where salvation is.
F. I Cor. 12:13 sets forth how we get into Jesus’ body – QUOTE.