Sermon Tone Analysis

The Stages of Christ’s Work

The Humiliation

Incarnation

Death

Jesus as a man became subject to death.

The Exaltation

Resurrection

Ascension and Session at the Father’s Right Hand

Second Coming

The Functions of Christ

Revelatory Role of Christ

Peter Identified Christ as the Prophet

Jesus is the prophet whom Moses predicted, yet he is also far greater than any of the Old Testament prophets, in two ways:

1.

He is the one about whom the prophecies in the Old Testament were made.

2. Jesus was not merely a messenger of revelation from God, but was himself the source of revelation from God.

In the broader sense of prophet simply meaning one who reveals God to us and speaks to us the words of God, Christ is of course truly and fully a prophet.

In fact, he is the one whom all the Old Testament prophets prefigured in their speech and in their actions.

Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub.

House, 2004), 624–626.

Rule of Christ

In the Old Testament the king has authority to rule over the nation of Israel.

In the New Testament, Jesus was born to be King of the Jews (Matt.

2:2

but he refused any attempt by people to try to make him an earthly king with earthly military and political power (John 6:15).

Look at what He told Pilate,

Nonetheless, Jesus did have a kingdom whose arrival he announced in his preaching (Matt.

4:17, 23; 12:28, et al.).

He is in fact the true king of the new people of God.

Thus, Jesus refused to rebuke his disciples who cried out at his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:38

cf.

vv.

39–40; also Matt.

21:5; John 1:49; Acts 17:7).

After his resurrection, Jesus was given by God the Father Eph1.20-22

far greater authority over the church and over the universe.

God raised him up and “made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come; and he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church” (Eph.

1:20–22; Matt.

28:18; 1 Cor.

15:25).

That authority over the church and over the universe will be more fully recognized by people when Jesus returns to earth in power and great glory to reign (Matt.

26:64; 2 Thess.

1:7–10; Rev. 19:11–16).

On that day he will be acknowledged as “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev.

19:16

and every knee shall bow to him (Phil.

2:10

Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub.

House, 2004), 628–629.

Reconciling Work of Christ: Intercession and Atonement

In the Old Testament, the priests were appointed by God to offer sacrifices.

They also offered prayers and praise to God on behalf of the people.

In so doing they “sanctified” the people or made them acceptable to come into God’s presence, albeit in a limited way during the Old Testament period.

In the New Testament Jesus becomes our great high priest (Remember the High Priestly prayer in John 17).

This theme is developed extensively in the letter to the Hebrews, where we find that Jesus functions as priest in two ways.

1. Jesus Offered a Perfect Sacrifice for Sin.

The sacrifice which Jesus offered for sins was not the blood of animals such as bulls or goats: “For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins” (Heb.

10:4).

Instead, Jesus offered himself as a perfect sacrifice: “But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb.

9:26

This was a completed and final sacrifice, never to be repeated, a theme frequently emphasized in the book of Hebrews (see 7:27; 9:12, 24–28; 10:1–2, 10, 12, 14; 13:12).

Therefore Jesus fulfilled all the expectations that were prefigured, not only in the Old Testament sacrifices, but also in the lives and actions of the priests who offered them: he was both the sacrifice and the priest who offered the sacrifice.

Jesus is now the “great high priest who has passed through the heavens” (Heb.

4:14

and who has appeared “in the presence of God on our behalf” (Heb.

9:24

since he has offered a sacrifice that ended for all time the need for any further sacrifices.

2. Jesus Continually Brings Us Near to God.

The Old Testament priests not only offered sacrifices, but also in a representative way they came into the presence of God from time to time on behalf of the people.

But Jesus does much more than that.

As our perfect high priest, he continually leads us into God’s presence so that we no longer have need of a Jerusalem temple, or of a special priesthood to stand between us and God.

And Jesus does not come into the inner part (the holy of holies) of the earthly temple in Jerusalem, but he has gone into the heavenly equivalent to the holy of holies, the very presence of God himself in heaven (Heb.

9:24).

Therefore we have a hope that follows him there: “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever” (Heb.

6:19–20

This means that we have a far greater privilege than those people who lived at the time of the Old Testament temple.

They could not even enter into the first room of the temple, the holy place, for only the priests could go there.

Then into the inner room of the temple, the holy of holies, only the high priest could go, and he could only enter there once a year (Heb 9:1–7).

But when Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice for sins, the curtain or veil of the temple that closed off the holy of holies was torn in two from top to bottom (Luke 23:45), thus indicating in a symbolic way on earth that the way of access to God in heaven was opened by Jesus’ death.

Therefore the author of Hebrews can make this amazing exhortation to all believers:

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary [lit.

“the holy places,” meaning both the “holy place” and the “holy of holies” itself] by the blood of Jesus … and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.

(Heb.

10:19–22

Jesus has opened for us the way of access to God so that we can continually “draw near” into God’s very presence without fear but with “confidence” and in “full assurance of faith.”

3. Jesus as Priest Continually Prays for Us.

One other priestly function in the Old Testament was to pray on behalf of the people.

The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus also fulfills this function: “He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb.

7:25

Paul affirms the same point when he says Christ Jesus is the one “who indeed intercedes for us” (Rom.

8:34

Some have argued that this work of high priestly intercession is only the act of remaining in the Father’s presence as a continual reminder that he himself has paid the penalty for all our sins.

According to this view, Jesus does not actually make specific prayers to God the Father about individual needs in our lives, but “intercedes” only in the sense of remaining in God’s presence as our high priestly representative.

However, this view does not seem to fit the actual language used in Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25.

In both cases, the word intercede translates the Greek term ἐντυγχάνω (G1961).

This word does not mean merely “to stand as someone’s representative before another person,” but clearly has the sense of making specific requests or petitions before someone.

For example, Festus uses this word to say to King Agrippa, “You see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me” (Acts 25:24).

Paul also uses it of Elijah when he “pleads with God against Israel” (Rom.

11:2).

In both cases the requests are very specific, not just general representations.

We may conclude, then, that both Paul and the author of Hebrews are saying that Jesus continually lives in the presence of God to make specific requests and to bring specific petitions before God on our behalf.

This is a role that Jesus, as God-man, is uniquely qualified to fulfill.

Although God could care for all our needs in response to direct observation (Matt.

6:8), yet it has pleased God, in his relationship to the human race, to decide to act instead in response to prayer, apparently so that the faith shown through prayer might glorify him.

It is especially the prayers of men and women created in his image that are pleasing in God’s sight.

In Christ, we have a true man, a perfect man, praying and thereby continually glorifying God through prayer.

Thus, human manhood is raised to a highly exalted position: “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim.

2:5).

Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub.

House, 2004), 626–628.

Theories of the Atonement

The Socinian Theory : The Atonement as Moral Example

They rejected vicarious satisfaction and instead pointed to 1 Pet 2.21

They advocated that the death of Jesus fills two human needs

The need for an example of that total love for God

Provides inspiration.