Jerusalem the Beast
What is Human? • Sermon • Submitted
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· 14 viewsWhy does Jesus say what he says in Matthew 26:64?
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve had two good sermons on the image of God.
We talked about what it means to be created in God’s image. It means that we are to rule righteously for God. That’s what it means to be human.
We talked about how this reality should guide our thinking. Since we are created in God’s image, we should treat one another with dignity and respect.
In my mind, the goal of those two sermons was to lead us here: to the sermon that I’m going to preach this morning.
Matthew 26:64. In this context, Jesus is talking to Caiaphas the high priest, and he says something very interesting; something that we don’t always understand.
64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
This is what we are going to talk about in this lesson. We are going to try to answer two questions: Why does Jesus say this to Caiaphas, and what does it mean for us.
Why does Jesus say this to Caiaphas? The reason why Jesus quotes Daniel 7 is because he’s calling Caiaphas a beast.
In scripture, a beast is anyone or anything that has aligned itself against God. If you aren’t doing God’s will, then you are symbolically, a beast.
We use language that’s similar to this. Sometimes evil people like serial-killers are described as “monsters.” Scripture does the exact same thing. In scripture, those who are against God are described as beasts.
So Jesus says that Jerusalem is a beast (they are against God)…
Daniel 7 makes this clear for us.
Daniel 7 Background - A primer on Beasts
Daniel 7 Background - A primer on Beasts
The main theme in Daniel 7 is conflict; conflict between humanity and beasts.
Remember, what does it mean to be a beast?
It means that we are against God
If that’s what it means to be a beast, what does it mean to be truly human?
We’ve talked about this already. What’s our primary goal as humans?
Being human means that we rule, and live, righteously for God.
So, there is conflict between human and beast; those who are with God and those who are against God. This is seen throughout the Bible story from beginning to end.
Genesis 3:1. In the beginning, we see Satan, and how is Satan described? He’s described as a serpent/beast.
Genesis 3:1. In the beginning, we see Satan, and how is Satan described? He’s described as a serpent/beast.
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
At the very beginning, we see this conflict between man and bests, and in this chapter, there is a choice to be made. He can choose to do the human thing by ruling righteously, or he can allow the beast to rule over him.
We know how that turned out. The beast ended up winning.
There was a throne set up for mankind to rule with God, but humanity vacated the throne by siding with the beast.
Genesis 4:1-7. In this section, we are introduced to Cain, and God says something very interesting to him.
Genesis 4:1-7. In this section, we are introduced to Cain, and God says something very interesting to him.
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
“Sin is crouching at the door.” What does this sound like? Sin is described as a beast, isn’t it?
God tells Cain that he needs to succeed where Adam and Eve failed. Adam and Eve should have ruled over the beast, but they failed. Cain needs to make sure that he rules over the beast. If he doesn’t, the beast will rule over him.
Daniel 4:28-33. In the context, Daniel is interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
Daniel 4:28-33. In the context, Daniel is interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.
Nebuchadnezzar failed to live as God wanted him to live, so what did he become?
He became like a beast.
Genesis 3:15.
Genesis 3:15.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
Here we see God’s curse on the serpent. He talks about the offspring of the human vs the offspring of the beast. Who are these offspring?
Typically, we think of the offspring as Jesus and Satan, but this isn’t the whole story. If the serpent represents Satan, then the offspring of the serpent would be more than just Satan.
The offspring of the serpent are those live like beast. They allow the serpent to rule over them. We see this in Matthew.
Matthew 23:29-33.
Matthew 23:29-33.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
In this context, Jesus calls the Pharisees serpents and the offspring of serpents.
In this context, Jesus calls the Pharisees serpents and the offspring of serpents.
Why does Jesus call them this? I think he’s referencing Genesis 3. They have become the seed of the serpent… The seed of the beast.
They aren’t ruling righteously, so in a symbolic sense, they have become beasts.
The list could really go on, but you guys get the point. Throughout scripture, we see this conflict between humanity and the beast. If we rule righteously for God, then we are truly humans, but if we fail to fulfill the role that God has given us, then we become like beasts.
We see this contrast in Daniel 7.
Daniel 7 - Text
Daniel 7 - Text
In Daniel 7, we see beasts. Daniel 7:1-4.
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. 2 Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3 And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it.
Who are these beasts? They are the nations. Daniel 7:15-17.
15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. 16 I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. 17 ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth.
Why are these kings/nations described as beasts? It’s because God sees them as beasts. They are no longer ruling righteously for God. They are against God, so they are described as beasts.
In Daniel 7, we also see a human. Daniel 7:13-14.
13 “I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
The human one is the son of man... That’s what son of man means. Son of man is a jewish way of saying, “the human one.”
Song of Songs refers to the daughters of Jerusalem. They are not literal daughters of someone named Jerusalem. It means that they belong to Jerusalem.
In the same way, the son of man (ben adam) is someone who belongs to the human race. “The son of man” is another way of saying “the human one.”
We know this is talking about Jesus.
So why is Jesus the human one?
He is the one who rules righteously. This is what it means to be human.
So in Daniel 7, we see a contrast between the beasts who are against God and the son of man (the human one) who is for God.
Why does Jesus quote Daniel 7?
Why does Jesus quote Daniel 7?
If we were at a Star Wars convention, and I dressed up as Darth Vader, walked up to you, and said, “I am your father,” you would get it because that’s such a famous phrase.
In that scenario, I’m Darth Vader, but who are you?
You would be Luke. I wouldn’t have to explicitly say it because the context would make it clear. In a way, I’m calling you Luke Skywalker.
That’s exactly what Jesus is doing here while talking to Caiaphas. He’s quoting this famous passage from Daniel where he is the Son of Man. If he is the human one, then who is Caiaphas in this scenario?
Caiaphas is the beast. So, why is Jesus quoting from Daniel 7? He’s quoting from Daniel 7 in order to tell the leaders of Israel that they are the beasts.
Israel had failed to rule righteously, so they became symbolic beasts.
So, that’s how we get to the answer of our original question. Why does Jesus quote from Daniel 7? He’s telling Israel that they are beast just like we see in Daniel 7.
What’s the lesson for us?
What’s the lesson for us?
If you read carefully through scripture, you will notice that many of the nations that are mentioned are called beasts at one point or another. Why? It’s because they fail to rule righteously for God.
Things haven’t changed.
Every nation that is built by man has failed to rule righteously for God. God sees these nations as beasts.
Great Britain.
Mexico.
Canada.
It doesn’t stop at those nations. God sees America as a beast as well. This isn’t surprising.
We sacrifice children on the altar of comfort. We put profits over people.
America has done good in the world, but it’s not a perfect nation.
Israel was God’s nation, but God views them as a beast. It’s naïve to think that God views America differently.
This is the main point of this lesson. All nations that are built by man (including America) are beasts to God.
Application
Application
America is not God’s nation. We are.
America is not God’s nation. We are.
It’s sad that there are Christians who fail to bear fruit for God, but they want to Government to bear fruit.
It’s sad that there are Christians who think that it’s the government’s job to teach our children to pray. It’s not the government’s job; it’s ours.
I’m not saying that Governments shouldn’t do good things. I’m saying that we shouldn’t primarily rely on the government to spread God’s will. If we are unwilling to spread God’s will, then how can we expect the government to.
It’s not the government’s job to teach us how to be Christians. It’s our job to be Christians.
Our primary allegiance is to the Kingdom.
Our primary allegiance is to the Kingdom.
It’s sad to see how much politics has invaded the church. The state of Christianity in the world and on social media doesn’t look good.
Some Christians are willing to divide the kingdom for the beast. We need to be different.
The election is coming up, and I would remind all of us that our primary allegiance is to the Kingdom.
Our hope is in Kingdom; not country.
Our hope is in Kingdom; not country.
Jesus, and Daniel 7, teaches us that all kingdoms (all earthly beasts) come to an end. America, like all nations will come to an end one day. The only kingdom that will stand is the human kingdom (our kingdom).
Sometimes we forget this fact.
I heard a Christian once say, “if [they] get elected, then our lifestyle will come to an end.”
It seems like his hope is in the wrong place. I hope he remembers that our lifestyle will never come to an end.
This kingdom is going to win. The beast will not.
Conclusion: Which side are you on?
Conclusion: Which side are you on?
I said earlier that the story of the Bible could be simplified into a story of conflict.
On one side you have the seed of the woman: the humans.
On the other side you have the seed of the serpent: the beasts.
Which side are you on?