Sermons

There is undeniable romance with the Christmas holiday.

• With all that has/is happened[ing], aren’t we ready for a little romance? 

• Working through the isolation, provokes desire to be together more.
  • Need to congregate, around what we affirm.
    • Celebrate Christ’s birth by conviction.
    • Confessing all were prophecies true! 

• Our conviction is what brings joy.
  • Makes hope in Jesus full.
  • Still, we find ourselves asking, “Why everyone does not feel the same?” 

• Culture surges to celebrate Christmas.
  • People, want to be together.
    • Making Family central.
    • Christmas brings much needed magic.
      • Christmas reminds us that most people still need Jesus.
      • Most do not know Jesus as their true Savior. 

This is the occasion to ask, “Why Don’t People Believe?”

The diagnosable reason?

• Flipping the question exposes why we have a hard time answering this question.
  • We rationalize away the real source for unbelief,
  • Relying on man-made arguments for why Jesus is Messiah!
    • What Time Magazine and History Channel does every year.
    • “Surely the sheer data proves the prophesies of Jesus true!” 

1. There are too many prophecies not to believe. Too many of them; the amalgam of verses next to any other prognosticator pales by comparison. 80% of them have already come to pass. 

2. The historical gap is too wide not to believe. The gap is unbridgeable. 600-700 years distance between what was spoken and what came to pass. 

3. The prophecies are too precisely fulfilled not to believe. Bethlehem was a no-named obscure place for the Savior to be born, yet it was predicted. Crucifixion as a form of punishment had not been invented and yet Messiah would be pierced. Archaeological digs have verified what the Bible has mapped out all along. 

4. The logic is too strong not believe. Arguments on Jesus being Messiah are irrefutable. Logically speaking there could be no other person who has ever lived whom this could be. A Jew from the line of David, geographically from Bethlehem. One whom defined two stages of history (B.C. and A.D.). One who declared himself Son of God, over and over again and backed it up with miracles. Either a crazed lunatic or He is who he said He was. 

5. The story of Messiah is too inspirational not to believe. This story has captivated cultures world-wide, for centuries! Hear the prophetic titles: Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Think of the storied events: Mary, Joseph, Wisemen, Shepherds, infant born in a stable make for unparalleled poetic inspiration.  

I agree with all this. Every one of them.

• Still – None of these arguments ever saved anyone.
  • What people call: “Evidences.”
    • Apologetics uses “evidences” to prove the Gospel true.
      • Most believe, stacking up enough evidences will persuade unbelieving friends/family to believe.
        • Good chemistry!
        • Not believing because – not take a hard enough look at the evidence! 

• Good apologetics verses Bad apologetics.

“Does this have anything to do with changing someone’s heart, whatsoever?”

• I submit “evidences” are as reliable as, The Scientific Method and as equally flawed.
  • Am I questioning: 

“Whether it is possible for an Old Testament prophecy to be flawed, not coming true or only being partially fulfilled?” 

• “Is it possible someone has pulled the wool over our eyes for their own ends?”
• “Is it possible someone staged events, to answer the Old Testament prophesies?” 

• Anything but Scripture, I assert an emphatic “YES!”
  • People stage for Big Foot or Aliens and redact and re-write history at will, all for their own agendas.
  • When it comes to Scripture, I assert an emphatic “NO!”
    • Because of the nature of Scripture itself.
      • It is utterly impossible for Scripture to be flawed.
      • Consequently, equally impossible for Scripture’s prophecy to go unfulfilled. 

• Bc/Scripture, every prophecy regarding Jesus/Messiah absolutely must be true!

Comforting because debate skills – never enough to convince a heart dead in sin – to change.

• Concerns for unbelieving loved ones, always heightened at Christmas time.
  • Culture raises these “evidences” for Jesus up.
  • Ironically weakening the case for Jesus by brushing HIM aside.
  • Jesus is Blasé

If the answer is Scripture and Scripture is rock solid, making prophecies perfect:

“Why do so many refuse to simply believe them?”

I want to answer this by tracing Israel’s unbelief, past, present, and future. The most likely candidates in the history of humankind to believe, that would not!

• Answering Israel’s unbelief, answers anyone unbelief.
  • Israel’s unbelief, a looming backdrop, in stark contrast to Messiah’s light.
    • Diagnosing what went wrong with “God’s chosen” unlocks the issue of unbelief in general.
    • Then understanding how Israel believes (in the future) unlocks believing in general.      

Let’s anchor in Isaiah 53, first two verses (vv.1-2).

What Paul quotes in Romans 10:16 to prompt believing!

^ESV  Romans 10:16 But ^athey have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ^b“Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”

^ESV  Romans 10:17 So ^afaith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Isaiah 53 has been called the Gospel of the Old Testament.

• Single chapter/most compelling/complete prophesies from the OT (Gospel). 

• Taking some material from: The Gospel According to God by MacArthur.

Mr. Moody asked if had creed in print, “Yes sir; you will find it in the 53^rd of Isaiah.” A condensed Bible in one chapter; whole gospel here. Isaiah, most quoted of all OT prophets.

Spurgeon, “This is one of the chapters that lie at the very heart of the Scriptures. It is the very Holy of holies of Divine Writ. Let us, therefore, put off our shoes from our feet, for the place whereon we stand is specially holy ground. This fifty-third of Isaiah is a Bible in miniature. It is the condense essence of the gospel.”

Polycarp, 2^nd century church father, “The Golden Passional of the OT.”

Augustine, “the fifth gospel.”

Calvin, sermon titled, “The Gospel According to Isaiah.”

Luther, declared, “Every Christian ought to have it memorized!”

Isaiah is the author/prophet, written during reign of King Uzziah (790-739 B.C.).

• A contemporary to Hosea and Micah. 

• Isaiah prophesied during the period of divided kingdom, major thrust of message to southern kingdom of Judah.
  • Condemned ritualism and idolatry; foresaw coming of Babylon, captivity.
  • 300 years after Isaiah recorded it, it was fulfilled; then the fall of Babylon.
    • Began in Daniel’s time.
    • Ultimately destroyed by Medes.
    • Took place 50 miles south of Baghdad.

Some prophesies fulfilled during Isaiah’s lifetime lending credibility.

• Gives more data than others – on “Day of the Lord” and time following.
  • Israel’s future kingdom on earth.
    • Changes in nature
    • Animal world
    • Jerusalem’s status among nations
    • Suffering Servant’s leadership etc. 

• “Prophetic foreshortening.”
  • Future events w/o exact sequencing.
  • Time GAP’s bt/n events (i.e., future temporal kingdom from eternal kingdom).

He is the “Evangelical Prophet” preaching grace in final 27 chapters – Isaiah 53 as centerpiece, Christ as slain Lamb of God.

• Isaiah divided into two sections:
  • 39 chapters and 27 chapters (like books of the Bible).
    • Second division of Isaiah opens with ministry of John the Baptist (Is. 40:3-5).
      • Like the NT begins w/John the Baptist (cff. Matt. 3:3; Jn. 1:23).
      • Concludes with new heavens and new earth (Is. 65:17; 66:22) like NT (cf. Rev. 21-22). 

• Isaiah’s second part (last 27 chapters) includes 4 prophetic songs all about Messiah, “Servant of the Lord.”
  • Chosen by God, empowered by HS (Is. 42),
  • Servant Song (Is. 49),
  • Suffering Servant (Is. 50),
  • Finally, Servant Song (Is. 52-53).
    • Details servant’s mission,
    • Only could be known by God. 

• Messiah was more than just chosen someone, to learn obedience by humiliation and suffering, empowered by Spirit.
  • Bringing salvation to the world and die for sin.
  • Full glory not to be revealed until after suffering. 

• Picture of Messiah (from Is. 53) is astonishing, unexpected, and baffling to most Jews.
  • The Lord’s Anointed, a suffering slave.
    • Scandalous servant of the Lord, suffering for evil not done.
    • Dying as substitute for those who deserved to die.
      • Bore guilt of people, “…crushed for our iniquities” (v. 5).
      • “Grave with the wicked” (cf. Is. 53:9-10).

I have come to realize; I am neither mature enough or perhaps old enough to appreciate the majesty and significance of this book of the Bible. 

Our question – the same question raised in Isaiah 53:1:

“Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed” (v. 1).

• Lamenting our question, “Why Don’t People Believe?”
  • Put another way, “What would it take to convince, all the prophesies concerning Jesus are true?”
    • Especially, Isaiah 53!
    • Let’s center on verse 1. 

Answering why people don’t believe in Jesus as Messiah, tracing Israel’s three opportunities to believe in Jesus as Messiah. 

1. Before Messiah came: Israel should have seen Him coming

This is a song of lament!

• Isaiah sings on Israel’s behalf!
  • They sing it through him. 

• Sung in past tense. 

• Confusing unless you understand the vantage point from which it is sung!

“The prophet is describing the sacrifice of the suffering servant from a vantage point that looks back from a time still in the future even now…seeing the cross from a prophetic perspective near the end of human history…the collective response of the Jewish people when they finally see, understand, and believe the one they rejected as promised Messiah” [MacArthur].

• Isaiah, for Israel (cf. Jn 12:38-40) – Projecting Future, where Israel is looking Backward – lamenting its unbelief!

^ESV  John 12:36-41 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become ^asons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. ³⁷ Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him,^{38 a}so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ^b“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”³⁹ Therefore they ^acould not believe. For again Isaiah said,^{40 a}“He has blinded their eyes and ^bhardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.”⁴¹ Isaiah said these things because ^ahe saw his glory and ^bspoke of him. 

• Jesus points to Isaiah looking backward (Is. 6 – Vision) to looking future! 

• These questions from Isaiah (v. 1) make a collective confession for all Israel.
  • What they say on that future day when God’s Nation turns to Christ.
  • Israel one day turns in masse to Jesus Christ. 

^ESV  Hosea 3:5 Afterward ^athe children of Israel shall return and ^bseek the LORD their God, and ^cDavid their king, ^dand they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the ^elatter days.

^ESV  Zechariah 12:10 “And ^aI will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and ^apleas for mercy, so that, ^bwhen they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, ^cthey shall mourn for him, ^das one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

^ESV  Zechariah 13:1 ^a“On that day there shall be ^ba fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. 

^ESV  Romans 11:25-26 ^aLest you be wise in your own sight, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers:^{1 b}a partial hardening has come upon Israel, ^cuntil the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

²⁶ And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ^ab“The Deliverer will come ^bfrom Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob” 

Standing prophetically, near end of human history, thousands of years after Jesus was crucified, speaks of Christ’s death, as a past event.

• Lament of future Israel bc/ they are then repentant!
  • Israel looks back at Messiah whom they rejected – now embrace as King.
  • The believing remnant. 

• The remnant believes, while nations do not.

Verses preceding Isaiah 53 make up full lament and filling it out.

^ESV  Isaiah 52:13-15 Behold, ^amy servant shall act wisely;¹ he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. ¹⁴ As many were astonished at you– ^ahis appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind–¹⁵ so ^ashall he sprinkle¹ many nations; ^bkings shall shut their mouths because of him; ^cfor that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand. 

• Prophetic foreshortening, tying together X’s incarnation, Cross, and return in three verses. 

• Verse 15 ties together with the wrath/judgment scene of Revelation 19:15 at the end of the Tribulation.

^ESV  Revelation 19:15 ^aFrom his mouth comes a sharp sword ^bwith which to strike down the nations, and ^che will rule them with a rod of iron. ^dHe will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

• Isaiah, while indicting his own people, documents the most triumphant confession that will every be made in human history.
  • The final act in the story of redemption.
  • A worldwide ethnic community turning in masse, Israel.

What makes this sad is that it took them all the way until the end to believe. Why?

• Look back to the question from Isaiah 53:2.

“And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” (v. 2).

• This begs two things.
  • First, accountability.
    • The LORD came first to his own.
    • The Jews were privileged. 

• Second, revelation.
  • What does “revealed” mean?
  • Why didn’t they believe?

The “arm” of the LORD pictures the power and strength of God.

• The “arm” in Isaiah was a reference of might (cff. 40:10; 48:14; 51:5; 52:10).

^ESV  Isaiah 40:10 ^aBehold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; ^bbehold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 

^ESV  Isaiah 48:14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen! ^aWho among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; ^bhe shall perform his purpose on Babylon, and his arm shall be against ^cthe Chaldeans. 

^ESV  Isaiah 51:5 ^aMy righteousness draws near, my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples; ^bthe coastlands hope for me, and for my arm they wait. 

^ESV  Isaiah 52:10 ^aThe LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, ^band all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. 

• The “arm” delivered Jews from Egypt by miracle power, parted the Red Sea, promised to defeat Babylon.
  • But instead, the shock, the “arm” is revealed as “a tender shoot!” (v. 3).
    • Unexpected! Not a mighty oak! Bursting leader!
    • A small shoot (a “sucker”) springing up from an exposed root.
      • A gardener would quicky snip it off!
      • Unwanted, tossed aside – would not last a minute. 

• Not a power-leader!
  • “…he had not form or majesty that we should look at him, and not beauty that we should desire him!” (v. 2).
  • Think of King Saul.

^ESV  1 Samuel 9:1-2 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was ^aKish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. ² And he had a son whose name was Saul, ^aa handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. ^bFrom his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people. 

^ESV  1 Samuel 9:20 ^aAs for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?” 

• Like the boy David, the root of Jesse, chosen last because he was not tall and dark like his brothers (1 Sam. 16:12).

^ESV  1 Samuel 16:6-14 When they came, he looked on ^aEliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.” ⁷ But the LORD said to Samuel, ^a“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, ^bbut the LORD looks on the heart.”⁸ Then Jesse called ^aAbinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.”⁹ Then Jesse made ^aShammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.”¹⁰ And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.”¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, ^a“There remains yet the youngest,¹ but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, ^b“Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.”¹² And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ^aruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the LORD said, ^b“Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”¹³ Then Samuel took ^athe horn of oil ^band anointed him in the midst of his brothers. ^cAnd the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.^{14 a}Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, ^band a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him. 

Finally, back to my original point, Israel should have seen Him coming!

Turn to Luke 24 when the risen Jesus met two on the road to Emmaus answers this dilemma.

• Jesus is incredulous regarding their unbelief!
• They should have tied all this together!

^ESV  Luke 24:25-27 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ^{26 a}Was it not necessary that ^bthe Christ should suffer these things and enter into ^chis glory?”²⁷ And ^abeginning with ^bMoses and ^call the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 

• Later that same evening the Lord said to the eleven Apostles, gathered in upper room:

^ESV  Luke 24:44-47 Then he said to them, ^a“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, ^bthat everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then ^ahe opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus ^ait is written, ^bthat the Christ should suffer and on the third day ^crise from the dead,⁴⁷ and that ^arepentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed ^bin his name ^cto all nations, ^dbeginning from Jerusalem. 

Breaking this book, Isaiah into two sections:

• Chapters 1-39 bringing mainly judgment.
• Chapters 40-66 bringing good news.
  • Marks central chapter in this section – Isaiah 53.
  • Grouping Isaiah 52:13-53:12 as a complete unit.
    • A song of salvation.
      • Puts 53:5 at the center of this salvation song!
      • Meaning Christ’s substitutionary atonement is the nucleus of it all! 

• The answer to everyone’s deepest need.

^ESV  Isaiah 53:5 ^aBut he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, ^band with his stripes we are healed.

• This promise means everything when — “revealed” to you by the LORD.
• What we will sing (like the Nation, Israel) through all Eternity! 

“How much was truly “revealed” to God’s people, before he came?”

We will see this on Christmas Eve!

• Israel should have believed before He came.
• Israel should have believed when He came. 

God holds us accountable, today, to believe – to receive this “arm” of the LORD.

• Understanding why Israel did not see their Messiah when he came – Answers – How to not miss HIM today!  

2. When Messiah came: Israel should have believed when he came

We are answering the question, “Why People Don’t Believe?”

• Tracing Israel’s unbelief.
• The most likely candidates to embrace Messiah, do not!
• Why?

^ESV  Luke 24:25-27 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ^{26 a}Was it not necessary that ^bthe Christ should suffer these things and enter into ^chis glory?”²⁷ And ^abeginning with ^bMoses and ^call the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 

“What was in Jesus’ sermon on the road to Emmaus?”

• Scripture does not record his content.
  • Jesus’ approach tells us the source of content:
    • “Moses and all the Prophets…all the Scriptures.”
    • The whole OT. 

• Doing a sweep of the OT connecting everything to him is what he did.
  • The entire OT either indirectly or directly predicted Jesus.
    • Indirect with Pictures.
    • Direct with Prophecies. 

• Let’s take a stab at Jesus’ sermon content:

Pictures: Indirect predictions of Jesus

• Noah’s ark, pictures Jesus as the true ark.
  • Sinners saved through waters.
  • Of divine judgment.

^ESV  1 Peter 3:20 because¹ they formerly did not obey, ^awhen God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, ^bwhile the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, ^ceight persons, were brought safely through water.

• The ram Abraham offered as a substitute for son Isaac.

^ESV  Genesis 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

• Passover lambs, pointing to Jesus as Lamb of God, final sacrifice.

^ESV  Exodus 12:3…7 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb ^aaccording to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household…

⁷ “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the ^atwo doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.

^ESV  Numbers 9:2…12 “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time…

^{12 a}They shall leave none of it until the morning, ^bnor break any of its bones; ^caccording to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it.

^ESV  John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, ^athe Lamb of God, who ^btakes away the sin ^cof the world!

^ESV  1 Corinthians 5:7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. (1Co 5:7 ESV)

• The manna in the wilderness.

^ESV  Exodus 16:15…35 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, ^a“What is it?”¹ For they ^bdid not know what it was. And Moses said to them, ^c“It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.

³⁵ The people of Israel ^aate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till ^bthey came to the border of the land of Canaan.

^ESV  John 6:32-35 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is ^ahe who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”³⁴ They said to him, ^a“Sir, give us this bread always.”³⁵ Jesus said to them, ^a“I am the bread of life; ^bwhoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 

• The bronze serpent. 

^ESV  Numbers 21:6-9 ^aThen the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and ^bthey bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. ^{7 a}And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. ^bPray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.⁸ And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”⁹ So ^aMoses made a bronze¹ serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. 

^ESV  John 3:14-15 And ^aas Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man ^bbe lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes ^ain him ^bmay have eternal life.¹ 

• All symbolizing, crucifixion, and 5 major offerings in Leviticus: burnt, grain, peace, sin, guilt of which Christ fulfills. 

• The Day of Atonement: both sacrifice and scapegoat. 

^ESV  Leviticus 16:7-10 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁸ And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for ^aAzazel.¹⁹ And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD and use it as a sin offering,¹⁰ but the goat on which the lot fell for ^aAzazel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to ^aAzazel. 

• The Rock that gave water in the wilderness. 

^ESV  Exodus 17:1-6 ^aAll the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.^{2 a}Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you ^btest the LORD?”³ But the people thirsted there for water, and ^athe people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”⁴ So Moses cried to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready ^ato stone me.”⁵ And the LORD said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with ^awhich you struck the Nile, and go.^{6 a}Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 

^ESV  Numbers 20:8-11 ^a“Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So ^byou shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” ⁹ And Moses took the staff ^afrom before the LORD, as he commanded him.¹⁰ Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, ^a“Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”¹¹ And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, ^aand water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 

^ESV  1 Corinthians 10:1-4 For I want you to know, brothers,¹ that our fathers were all under ^athe cloud, and all ^bpassed through the sea,² and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,³ and ^aall ate the same ^bspiritual food,⁴ and ^aall drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 

• Jonah in the belly of the fish, emerging alive after 3 days, a picture of Jesus’ resurrection. 

^ESV  Matthew 12:39-41 But he answered them, ^ab“An evil and ^badulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For ^ajust as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, ^bso will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.^{41 a}The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^bcondemn it, for ^cthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^dsomething greater than Jonah is here. 

• Jesus, the rejected cornerstone (Ps. 118:22; Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20). 

• The shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered (Zech. 11:4-14). 

• The stone cut out without human hands who will destroy Antichrist’s empire at 2^nd coming (Dan. 2:34-35, 44-45). 

• The Branch out of David’s family tree “a shoot from the stump of Jesse” (Is. 11:1-5; Jer. 23:5; 33:15; Ez. 17:22-23; Zech 3:8, 6:12). 

• Christ’s millennial reign as King (Ps. 72:7, 17). 

• Messianic prophecies where Jesus is referred as David.
  • Greatest of David’s descendants, ultimate fulfillment (2 Sam. 7).
  • Culmination of kingly line (Jer. 30:9; Ez. 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hos. 3:5.).
  • The prophecies referring to Messiah as “David.”
    • Came years after David’s death.
    • Referring to someone yet to come.
    • What David’s throne meant to signify.

^ESV  Jeremiah 30:9 But they shall serve the LORD their God and ^aDavid their king, whom I will raise up for them.

^ESV  Ezekiel 34:23-24 And ^aI will set up over them one shepherd, ^bmy servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And ^aI, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. ^bI am the LORD; I have spoken. 

Prophecies: Direct predictions of Jesus

• The protoevangelium, “first gospel.”

^ESV  Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring¹ and ^aher offspring; ^bhe shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” 

^ESV  Galatians 4:4 But ^awhen the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, ^bborn ^cof woman, born ^dunder the law 

^ESV  1 John 3:8 ^aWhoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was ^bto destroy the works of the devil. 

• Jesus is the great prophet Moses wrote about (Dt. 18:15-22; Num. 24:17-19; Acts 3:22-23).

^ESV  Acts 3:22-23 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you ^aba prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen ^bto him in whatever he tells you. ²³ And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet ^ashall be destroyed from the people.’ 

• Daniel’s prophesy describes Jesus as the Son of Man, title Jesus used of himself more than 80x.

^ESV  Daniel 7:13-14 “I saw in the night visions, and ^abehold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the ^bAncient of Days and was presented before him. ^{14 a}And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all ^bpeoples, nations, and languages should serve him; ^chis dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. 

• Messiah will return on the clouds of heaven (Matt. 24:30; Mk. 14:62; Rev. 1:7). 

• Jesus was of the line of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3; cf. Gal. 3:16).
  • From the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10; cf. Rev. 5:5).
  • Descendant of David (2 Sam. 7:12-16; 1 Chron. 17:11-13; cf. Matt. 1:1).

^ESV  Galatians 3:16 Now ^athe promises were made ^bto Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, ^c“And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

^ESV  Revelation 5:5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, ^athe Lion ^bof the tribe of Judah, ^cthe Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

^ESV  Matthew 1:1 ^aThe book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, ^bthe son of David, ^cthe son of Abraham.

• Isaiah 7:14 predicted Messiah, born of a virgin. 

• Micah 5:2 said he’d be born in Bethlehem (cf. Matt. 2:6). 

• Jeremiah 31:15 foreshadowed weeping accompanied by Herod’s slaughter of male children outside Bethlehem (Matt. 2:16-18). 

• Isaiah 40:3-4 and Malachi 3:1 and 4:5-6 predict forerunner, John the Baptist (cf. Matt. 3:1-3; 11:10, 14, 17:12-13; Luke 1:17; Jn. 1:23). 

• Psalm 69:8 prophesied rejection by family members (cf. Mt. 12:46-50; Jn. 7:3-5). 

• OT references to Jesus as God incarnate (Ps. 45:6-7; cf. Heb. 1:1-9). 

• Sovereign King and eternal high priest (Ps. 110:1-7; cf. Matt. 22:43-44; Acts. 2:33-34; Heb. 1:13; 5:6-10; 6:20).

^ESV  Psalm 110:1 A Psalm of David. ^aThe LORD says to my Lord: ^b“Sit at my right hand, ^cuntil I make your enemies your ^dfootstool.” 

• Other references to Messiah serve as word pictures, hated without cause (Ps. 69:4), hanged on a tree, cursed by God, and taken down before sunset (Dt. 21:22-23). 

• Daniel’s prophecy of 70 weeks (Dan. 9:24-27) predicted exact day of Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. 

• Zechariah 9:9 described how he would ride on a colt of a donkey during the event (cf. Matt. 21:4-5).

^ESV  Zechariah 9:9 ^aRejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! ^bBehold, ^cyour king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, ^dhumble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The OT gives major and minor details on the crucifixion.

^ESV  Psalm 41:9 Even my ^aclose friend in whom I trusted, who ^bate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. 

^ESV  Psalm 55:12-14 For it is not an enemy who taunts me– then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who ^adeals insolently with me– then I could hide from him. ^{13 a}But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.¹⁴ We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in ^athe throng. 

• The exact amount of money the betrayer received and what did with it. 

^ESV  Zechariah 11:12-13 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages ^athirty pieces of silver. ¹³ Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”–^athe lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the ^zthirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 

• The scattering of the disciples after betrayal and arrest (Zech. 13:7; cf. Matt. 26:31, 56).

^ESV  Zechariah 13:7 “Awake, O sword, against ^amy shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the LORD of hosts. ^b“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.

• The beatings and abuse he received (Mic. 5:1).

^ESV  Micah 5:1 ¹ Now muster your troops, O daughter² of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod ^athey strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.

• In the court of the high priest (Mt. 26:67-68).

^ESV  Matthew 26:67 Then ^athey spit in his face ^band ^cstruck him. And some slapped him

• From the temple guard (Mk. 14:65).
• At the hands of the Romans (Matt. 27:27-30). 

• The scene of the Cross (Ps. 22).
  • Including the Roman soldiers casting lots for his clothing (Ps. 22:18).
  • Being given sour wine (Ps. 69:21).
  • His legs remaining unbroken (Ex. 12:46; Num. 9:12; Ps. 34:20; cf. Jn. 19:31-33, 36).

^ESV  Exodus 12:46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and ^ayou shall not break any of its bones.

• And the piercing of his side by a Roman soldier (Zech. 12:10). 

• Psalm 2:7 and 16:8-10 predicted resurrection (cf. Acts 13:34-37).

^ESV  Psalm 16:8-11 ^aI have ^bset the LORD always before me; because he is at my ^cright hand, I shall not be ^dshaken. ⁹ Therefore my heart is glad, and my ^awhole being¹ rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.

¹⁰ For you will not abandon my soul to ^aSheol, ^bor let your ^choly one see ^dcorruption.¹¹¹ You make known to me ^athe path of life; in your presence there is ^bfullness of joy; at your right hand are ^cpleasures forevermore. 

• Psalm 109:8 foreshadowed choice of Matthias to replace Judas as one of the Apostles (cf. Acts. 1:20). 

• And Psalm 68:18 refers to Christ’s ascension (cf. Eph. 4:8). 

^ESV  Psalm 68:18 ^aYou ascended on high, ^bleading a host of captives in your train and ^creceiving gifts among men, even among ^dthe rebellious, ^ethat the LORD God may dwell there. 

Having heard highlights like these from Jesus’ sermon,

 “How did the two on the road to Emmaus respond?”

“Was there any resolution?”

²⁸ So they drew near to the village to which they were going. ^aHe acted as if he were going farther,

²⁹ but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and ^athe day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them.³⁰ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and ^ablessed and broke it and gave it to them.^{31 a}And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And ^bhe vanished from their sight.³² They said to each other, ^a“Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he ^bopened to us the Scriptures?”³³ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they ^afound the eleven and ^bthose who were with them gathered together,

³⁴ saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and ^ahas appeared to Simon!”³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and ^ahow he was known to them in ^bthe breaking of the bread. 

Verse 31, “And their eyes were opened…”

• Key to their belief.
  • Content is Scripture.
    • Prophecies were precise and perfect concerning Jesus.
    • Illumination by HS still absolutely necessary for saving faith.
      • Clear logic is never enough.
      • Always by grace through faith. 

• Remember the questions that opens, Isaiah 53:1.

^ESV  Isaiah 53:1 ^aWho has believed what he has heard from us?¹ And to whom has ^bthe arm of the LORD been revealed?

• Illumination might be best explained at the pinnacle point of Isaiah’s ministry! Where his eyes were opened to see Jesus for you he really is. 

• Isaiah’s experience in Isaiah 6.
• Ultimate illumination for a Jew (anyone).

^ESV  Isaiah 6:1-4 In the year that ^aKing Uzziah died I ^bsaw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train¹ of his robe filled the temple.² Above him stood the seraphim. Each had ^asix wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.³ And one called to another and said: ^a“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; ^bthe whole earth is full of his glory!”¹⁴ And ^athe foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and ^bthe house was filled with smoke. 

• Isaiah saw the LORD and immediately felt the jeopardy of his sin and the LORD met him with grace. 

• Where he is commissioned to preach, but for unexpected results!

⁵ And I said: “Woe is me! ^aFor I am lost; ^bfor I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the ^cKing, the LORD of hosts!”⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.⁷ And he ^atouched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”⁸ And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for ^aus?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”⁹ And he said, “Go, and say to this people: ^a“‘Keep on hearing,¹ but do not understand; keep on seeing,² but do not perceive.’^{10 a}Make the heart of this people ^bdull,¹ and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; ^clest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”¹¹ Then I said, ^a“How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until ^bcities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,¹² and the LORD removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.^{13 a}And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned¹ again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump ^bremains when it is felled.” ^cThe holy seed² is its stump. 

• “Not an ideal preaching post?” Not why people join seminary. 

• Remember people born in sin and reject God, earning them condemnation.

^ESV  Romans 6:23 ^aFor the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

^ESV  2 Corinthians 4:4 In their case ^athe god of this world ^xhas blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing ^ethe light of ^bthe gospel of the glory of Christ, ^cwho is the image of God.

• Isaiah 5 records Israel’s wholesale rejection of God at this stage in their history.
  • Other prophets chime in.

^ESV  Hosea 4:14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore, nor your brides when they commit adultery; for ^athe men themselves go aside with prostitutes and sacrifice with ^bcult prostitutes, and a people ^cwithout understanding shall come to ruin.

• Zechariah.

^ESV  Zechariah 7:12 ^aThey made their hearts diamond-hard ^blest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent ^bby his Spirit through ^cthe former prophets. ^dTherefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts. (Zec 7:12 ESV) 

• Throughout Jesus’ ministry he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him heart” (Mt. 11:15).
  • Distinguishing those illumined to hear the Word or not. 

 “Why did Jesus teach in parables?”

• Making spiritual truth understandable.
  • Concrete truth.
    • Then, “Why did so many miss the point or reject it?”
      • Parables act as a two-edged sword.
      • Both to simplify and condemn. 

• Why Jesus explained parables with Isaiah’s commission. 

^ESV  Matthew 13:13-17 This is why I speak to them in parables, because ^aseeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, ^bnor do they understand. ¹⁴ Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ^a“‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.¹⁵ For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears ^athey can barely hear, and ^btheir eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and ^cunderstand with their heart and ^dturn, and I would heal them.’¹⁶ But ^ablessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.^{17 a}For truly, I say to you, ^bmany prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. 

Need to see difference between: Comprehending Truth and Believing Truth. 

• Beyond understanding to believing. 

• Jonathon Edwards (“Religious Affections”) called this difference: 

“Beam of spiritual light” enters as “Holy beauty of divine things.”    

• All 4 Gospels refer to Isaiah’s commission explaining blindness (Matt. 13:14; Mk. 4:12; Lk. 8:10; Jn. 12:39). 

• Making this is an important explanation. 

 3. When Messiah comes again: Israel will believe when he comes again

 ^ESV  Jeremiah 31:31-37 ^a“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make ^ba new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³² not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when ^aI took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, ^bthough I was their husband, declares the LORD.^{33 a}But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: ^aI will put my law within them, and I will write it ^bon their hearts. ^cAnd I will be their God, and they shall be my people.³⁴ And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ ^afor they shall all know me, ^bfrom the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For ^cI will forgive their iniquity, and ^dI will remember their sin no more.”³⁵ Thus says the LORD, who ^agives the sun for light by day and ^bthe fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar– ^cthe LORD of hosts is his name:^{36 a}“If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the LORD, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.”³⁷ Thus says the LORD: “If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, ^athen I will cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done, declares the LORD.” 

“In other words, it is no more possible for God to abandon his chosen nation than it would be to measure infinity” [MacArthur].

Israel as a people will not be lost forever. Because God is faithful and keeps his promises.

^ESV  Zechariah 12:10 “And ^aI will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and ^apleas for mercy, so that, ^bwhen they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, ^cthey shall mourn for him, ^das one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 

In the end God’s chosen nation will believe. The 144,000 will have believed and now all the Nation.  

^ESV  Revelation 1:7 Behold, ^ahe is coming with the clouds, and ^bevery eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail¹ on account of him. Even so. Amen. 

^ESV  Revelation 7:1-4 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back ^athe four winds of the earth, ^bthat no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.² Then I saw another angel ascending ^afrom the rising of the sun, with ^bthe seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea,³ saying, ^a“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants¹ of our God ^bon their foreheads.”

⁴ And ^aI heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 

 

Romans 11 is the fuller explanation as to why Israel was hardened. 

^ESV  Romans 11:11-13 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass ^asalvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.

¹² Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion¹ mean!¹³ Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as ^aI am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry

 Now the rest of Isaiah 53:3-10. Israel’s full lament.

^ESV  Isaiah 53:1-10 ^aWho has believed what he has heard from us?¹ And to whom has ^bthe arm of the LORD been revealed?² For he grew up before him like a young plant, ^aand like a root out of dry ground; ^bhe had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

^{3 a}He was despised and rejected¹ by men; a man of sorrows,² and acquainted with³ grief;⁴ and as one from whom men hide their faces⁵ he was despised, and ^bwe esteemed him not.^{4 a}Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, ^bsmitten by God, and afflicted.

^{5 a}But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, ^band with his stripes we are healed.^{6 a}All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned–every one–to his own way; ^band the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, ^ayet he opened not his mouth; ^blike a ^clamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, ^awho considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?

 Isaiah 53:7-8 is what the Ethiopian Eunuch was reading when Philip evangelized him (cf. Acts 8:26-40).

Remember the Ethiopian was a Gentile. 

• God’s plan always included the salvation of the Gentiles.
• Paul quotes OT passages to prove this in Romans 15:8-13.
  • Israel’s initial rejection and unbelief.
  • Becomes the catalyst for the Gentles to join God’s family. 

⁹ And they made his grave with the wicked ^aand with a rich man in his death, although ^bhe had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet ^ait was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief;^{1 b}when his soul makes² an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; ^cthe will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (Isa 53:1-10 ESV)

 Note the change in tense in the second half of Is. 53:10 into verse 11.

• Isaiah 52:13-15 and 53:11-12 is the voice of God.

“There I will divide him a portion with the many” (v. 12).

• Passages speak to the future repentance of Israel. 

Believing and Unbelieving simply comes down to two words meaning one thing:

• Sovereign Grace. When someone believes it always first, “A sovereign act of God.”
  • What God plans.
  • God initiates.

So how do you reconcile this with our mission to give the Gospel and the responsibility for people to believe it?

 Answer with one word meaning two things: Providence.

• • God provides
    • When God lays someone on your heart and in your path.
    • This is by design. 

• God provides the results.
  • Assume you are supposed to speak.
  • Assume God has a plan to open or close this person’s heart. 

• God’s plan might be to save, by opening hearts but people hearing Truth does not guarantee Faith.
  • People reject the Lord by rejecting Scripture.
    • Wanting sin not Christ.
    • Only grace breaks this kind of darkness and God often gives it!  

At the close of Paul’s incredible ministry in Rome where he would finish out his final two years ministering under house arrest: 

• Paul summarized his entire experience with this same prophesy from Isaiah 6. 

• Acts 28:17-31 

^ESV  Acts 28:17-31 After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, ^athough I had done nothing against our people or ^bthe customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. set me at liberty, ^bbecause there was no reason for the death penalty in my case.¹⁹ But because the Jews objected, I was compelled ^ato appeal to Caesar–though I had no charge to bring against ^bmy nation.²⁰ For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is ^abecause of ^bthe hope of Israel that I am wearing ^cthis ^dchain.”²¹ And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of ^athe brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you.²² But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this ^asect we know that everywhere ^bit is spoken against.”²³ When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening ^ahe expounded to them, testifying to ^bthe kingdom of God and ^ctrying to convince them about Jesus ^dboth from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.²⁴ And ^asome were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved.²⁵ And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: ^a“The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:^{26 a}“‘Go to this people, and say, ^bYou will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.^{27 a}For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and ^bturn, and I would heal them.’²⁸ Therefore let it be known to you that ^athis ^bsalvation of God ^chas been sent to the Gentiles; ^dthey will listen.”¹²⁹³⁰ He lived there two whole years at his own expense,¹ and ^awelcomed all who came to him,^{31 a}proclaiming ^bthe kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ ^cwith all boldness and ^dwithout hindrance.

 This all comes back to GRACE through Faith!