Sermon Tone Analysis

We’re into our New Testament flyover series called Casket Empty, the second part of our fly over of the entire Bible.

Last week I gave you, what I hope was a bit of encouragement in reminding you of three things to keep in mind as we go through this series:

Don’t get frustrated by the pace.

Try and see the connections.

Enjoy your flight.

That remains true today as we fly over the Gospels from the beginning of Jesus ministry to his resurrection in one sermon!

Is the church praying for me?

AMEN! Thank you!

So here we go...

Mark 1:14–15 (ESV)

Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Just hearing this would have caused the hearts of those who heard him to burst with joy if they remembered the prophecies about the Messiah - Isaiah 66:14; Zeph 3:14.

He calls his disciples to follow him, and how many disciples did he call?

Twelve.

and by doing so he signifies the restoration of the twelve ancestral tribes.

Later he would send out 70 disciples, 70 is often the number used in Scripture to signify all the nations.

Sermon on the Mount

When we think of mountains in Scripture, we can’t help but think of Mount Sinai in the Old Testament where God spoke to Moses.

Here the disciples come to Jesus on the Mount and he teaches them with divine authority.

He describes them as “salt of the earth” and “light of the world”.

These expressions are used to describe Israel in the Old Testament: Leviticus 2:13, Numbers 18:19, 2 Chronicles 13:5, Isaiah 60:1-3.

Jesus continues with this statement of his purpose: Matthew 5:17-18

warning his disciples against weakening the commandment of God and teaching others to do the same.

Jesus actually raises the bar by expounding the meaning of six passages dealing with murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, punishment and love for one’s enemies.

Jesus teaching contrasts the way the Pharisees taught.

The Pharisees sought “To build a fence around the Torah,” which means drawing the line of obedience further back from the commandment in order to guard against potential disobedience.

Jesus doesn’t move the line back, but moves his disciples further in toward the intention of the commandments.

He takes his disciples and through them he takes us, to the roots of the issues.

He teaches murder begins with anger, adultery begins with lust, he permits divorce only on the grounds of marital unfaithfulness and urges his disciples to be know for their devoted love for one another.

Beyond Jesus’ teaching, there were other ways in which he demonstrated the reality of the Kingdom of God.

Such signs were his healings.

John the Baptist had been arrested and he sends his disciples to confirm that Jesus is the promised Messiah.

How does this answer John’s question?

Isaiah 35:5–6 (ESV)

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

In the Old Testament, Isaiah was commissioned as a prophet to the people who had become blind, deaf, and lame through their idolatry (Isaiah 6).

You will see on your timeline a picture of a blind man who has recovered his sight.

The healings of Jesus confirm the reality that the kingdom of God has arrived and that Jesus is the King of the kingdom of God.

So we have healings,

Power Over Demons

and then we have his power over demons.

The Gospels often include Jesus casting out demons.

Mark 1:39

Matthew reports, Matthew 8:16

Many of the demons themselves profess to the reality of who Jesus is, Luke 4:41

And we remember that Christ is the term for Messiah.

Of course the religious leaders have their own theory on how he does this, they say he’s doing it by the power of Beezebul, and so Jesus quotes Abraham Lincoln:

Matthew 12:25 (ESV)

“Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.

Oh wait, Abraham Lincoln comes later.

Isn’t it ironic how often people quoting the Bible are given the credit for the quote.

Jesus said this first!

Perhaps it demonstrates our cultures aversion to the power of God’s Word.

Jesus goes on to explain:

So far we’ve seen much of how Jesus fulfills the prophecies of the Messiah - where he was born, how he was born, etc.

His teaching - he teaches as one with authority.

His authority over demons - they are compelled to obey and they recognize who he is!

Prophetic Signs

There are a slew of signs Jesus fulfills:

Jesus turns the water into wine in John 2, fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 25:6

He calms the storm, His disciples marvel, “even the winds and sea obey him,” (recorded in Matthew 8; Mark 4; Luke 8; and John 6).

Jesus signals the temple will be destroyed and that he will rebuild it himself.

He will be the dwelling of God.

He feeds a vast multitude in the wilderness around the time of the Passover.

(All four gospels record this event).

Jesus deliberately chooses this moment in the calendar that marks the Exodus from Egypt through Moses.

On your timeline you will see the picture of the loaves and fish, this represents Jesus’ prophetic signs.

Throughout the gospels, Jesus announces the Kingdom of God with parables.

The gospels record over 40 parables of Jesus.

Parables are not stories about morals, but instead are metaphors to illustrate spiritual truths.

Parables

A parable invites the hearer inside the story and requires a response of faith.

At the end of every parable we should ask two questions:

• Who is Jesus Christ revealed to be in this parable?

• What is required of us in response?

Matthew, Mark and Luke, all include Jesus’ parable of the sower.

This is represented on your timelines as the open hand of Jesus sowing seed.

Fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 55:10-11

Throughout the Gospels there is a sense of great urgency to respond in faith to the parables of Jesus.

And throughout the gospels we see rising opposition to Jesus’ teaching, primarily because of his claim to divine authority, his disregard of the Sabbath and his apparent penchant for welcoming sinners .

With that I want to jump ahead in our timeline a bit, because we cannot preach on the gospels without talking about Jesus teaching on the Messiah, that the Messiah must suffer, die and be raised.

Jesus asked his disciples, “who do people say that I am?”

There were a variety of responses:

Who do people say that I am?

Elijah

John the Baptist

One of the prophets

Then he asks, Who do you say that I am, and Peter confesses:

It is then that Jesus begins to teach about how the Messiah must suffer, die and be raised.

He strictly charges his disciples not to ell anyone.

They are not yet ready for global mission.

They do not yet understand the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ crucified.

Jesus turns many of the ideas on the Messiah on their head.

The Last Shall be first, and the first shall be last.

Jesus will be glorified by the crucifixion.

Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey

This recalls Zechariah’s prophecy, Zech 9:9-10

Zechariah 9:9–10 (ESV)

Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey...he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

During his time in Jerusalem, Jesus teaches in the temple courts, and he teaches about the end of the age and his glorious return.