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Happy Messiah Season! Let’s do more than keep the word “Christ” in Christmas. Let’s make messiah the focus of everything!
Let’s sing a song…
We three kings of orient are, Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain, Following yonder star.
Frankincense to offer have I, Incense owns a Deity nigh
Prayer and praising, all men raising, Worship Him, God most high
Oh, star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright.
Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide with thy perfect light.
This is the final week of the Messiah Season series.
Keeping Christ in Christmas is more than just a word choice. If we go through this season without understanding or focusing on the promise of Messiah… then it does matter if we say the words Merry Christmas or happy holidays.
Let’s make Messiah the focus of the season.
We have been studying the 3 gifts the Magi brought to the Christ child. The gifts of Gold, Frankincense, & Myrrh reveal the 3 fold prophetic promise of Messiah.
The gift of Gold revealed that Messiah is a Conquering King.
Daniel 7 describes messiah as a king and then describes how he will show up and save the day.
The gift of Myrrh revealed that Messiah is the suffering Servant
Isaiah 52 & 53 calls Messiah servant and then describe his suffering.
In a moment we will talk about the gift of frankincense but first we have to ask…
How many Messiahs are there?
Isaiah 53 and Daniel 7 describe vastly different Messiahs? Are they describing the same messiah? What do you think?
There are large segments within Judaism who have interpreted the suffering servant and the conquering king as 2 separate messiahs.
It’s understandable to us why some would do this…. How can the king be punished alongside thieves? How can the servant be on the throne? How could the king be born in a manger? How can the one with the power and authority to heal and forgive sins die on the cross?
For this reason, some in Judaism believe in 2 messiahs, Ben Yosef & Ben David.
Ben Yosef & Ben David
The teaching is growing in popularity and goes a little like this… The 1st Messiah, the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 who they call Ben Yosef, will come and through his service and death will prepare a way for the 2nd messiah… The 2nd messiah, the conquering king of Daniel 7 who they call Ben David, will come and rule and reign a Kingdom that will not end.
I find this really interesting.. because to me it is obvious that because they reject Jesus as messiah they have to reinterpret scripture to represent 2 messiahs. Because they reject the 1 true messiah they now are searching and hoping for 2 messiahs… and according to them, neither Ben Yosef or Ben David have come yet.
Jesus is the 1 true messiah
Every prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus. Every promise is received through Jesus.
Jesus is the suffering servant! He is the Ben Yosef they are looking for. He was born in a manger in a lower class family. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was often found with the poor and the outcast. He healed and fed multitudes. He was falsely accused and bore the weight of the cross. He died for the sins of mankind and was buried in a borrowed tomb. 3 days later he rose again. He ascended to heaven.
But that isn’t all… Jesus is returning!
Messiah will come back to the earth as the Ben David they are looking for! He will return as the conquering king Daniel foretold. He will come on the clouds and every eye will see Him! Jesus will defeat the devil and make everything right! Jesus will bring His kingdom to earth. His Kingdom will be filled with righteousness & peace and will never come to an end.
If you reject Jesus… It seems you would need 2 messiahs.
If you receive Jesus… you don’t need anything else!
Jesus is the 1 true messiah!
Jesus fulfills all of the over 300 prophecies of Messiah. To deny Him is to deny God’s Word and to deny hope.
I want to quickly share with you one of the more amazing prophecies about Messiah. It is found in Daniel 9 and it gives a timeline for when Messiah would come.
So if you are scoring at home… We have shown prophecy that predicts the family lineage, the Nation and city of birth. Now Daniel gives a window of time that Messiah would come.
Daniel is in exile in Babylon. Jerusalem is left in ruins… the walls and the temple had been destroyed by Babylon. As Daniel writes this prophecy Jerusalem, its temple, and walls lie in ruin.
Daniel 9:25-26 “Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven `sevens,’ and sixty-two `sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.
After the sixty-two `sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary…
Don’t be confused by the sevens… The sevens refer to years. Seven sevens is 49 years. Sixty-two sevens is 434 years.
Daniel 9 Prophecy
Daniel prophesies 4 events, places them in order and even timestamps them in years!
1 Daniel prophesies that a decree to rebuild the city of Jerusalem will come. (Daniel 9:25)
2 The City rebuild will be completed in seven sevens, 49 years.
3 The Anointed One/Messiah will come by the time of sixty-two sevens, 434 years. After this Messiah will be cut off. Daniel prophesies the death of Jesus.
4 Lastly, the same people who kill Messiah will destroy the city and the temple.
God gives Daniel a specific time in which 4 important things will take place: The decree to rebuild Jerusalem, Jerusalem rebuilt, Messiah cut off, and the 2nd temple destroyed.
The fulfillment of this prophecy can be found in your history books!
Artaxerxes gives the decree to rebuild Jerusalem in 457BC… seven sevens or 49 years later Jerusalem would be completed in 408 BC.
Sixty-two sevens or 434 years later Jesus was crucified by the Romans.
Later temple & the city of Jerusalem would be destroyed in 70 AD at the Roman siege of Jerusalem.
Do you believe your Bible? You can! Your Bible is trustworthy!
This prophecy lays out these events in order and even timestamps them.
Anyone that rejects Jesus as Messiah needs to tell us who else was born in that time period that fulfills every messianic prophecy.
I am so excited to tell you that Jesus is really the messiah. We ought to be excited about this truth!
Gift of Frankincense
The Magi brought a gift of frankincense. We were diffusing some frankincense as you entered the sanctuary today.
Frankincense is a gum or resin from Boswellia Tree. It is used for making perfumes and incense.
The Hebrew word for Frankincense is lĕbownah (LE VO NAH) and it means white as in the color of the resin.
Frankincense is symbolic of Holiness. It is used throughout the temple… Whenever Scripture says “incense” was used in the temple they were referring to Frankincense. Without Frankincense you couldn’t come into the presence of God. When Psalms talks about worship and prayer being fragrant like perfume… that was a reference to Frankincense.
Frankincense was used all throughout the Temple of God’s presence except… Sin offerings. (Lev 5:11) They were ordered to never bring the incense into contact with sin.
Frankincense represents Holiness and the Deity of God. When they brought Frankincense to Jesus they were declaring Jesus to be Holy and Deity.
There is much prophecy that agrees with the Gift of Frankincense, that Messiah would be God himself.
Isaiah 7:14 tells us Messiah would be born of a virgin. Who else could do this but God?
Messiah’s throne would be anointed and eternal Psalm 45:6 & Isaiah 9:7. Who else could have an eternal throne but an eternal God?
Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The child in the manger is the MIGHTY GOD!
The son given is the EVERLASTING FATHER!
Prophecy also tells us that Messiah would be called Immanuel… Isaiah 7:14
When Messiah is with us it isn’t a smaller God with us… It’s not a demi-God is with us… or one of many other Gods is with us… It is not one-half or one-third of God… When Messiah is with us it means THE ONE GOD who created the world… He is with us.
The Holy presence of God that we couldn’t experience… it was literally kept in the temple behind a curtain in the Holy of Holies… That presence is with us. That presence put on flesh and was born in a manger.
That is the powerful message of Christmas! God is with us!
God is not mad at you… God is with you!
God does not want to destroy you… God is with you and has come to give you life!
We told you that Jesus is both BEN YOSEF & BEN DAVID. Jesus is both the suffering servant & the conquering king.
Jesus Christ is also GOD & MAN!
Do you like Movies with a big reveal? “I am your Father.” “I see dead people.” There are these movie reveals that change everything about the movie. A really good movie reveal can redefine the entire movie…
Your Bible has a reveal greater than anything Hollywood has been able to dream up. Here it is…
The initial prophecy of Messiah is Genesis 3:15.
Genesis 3:15 (NIV2011) And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
It was known from the beginning that the human seed of Mary would be Messiah and destroy the seed of the serpent. A human messiah would come and win the victory over the serpent.
Yet the greatest reveal of all time is that Messiah would be born of a woman and at the same time be God.
John 1:1 (NIV2011) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 (NIV2011) The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only…
The same God we disappointed in the garden… The same God who said we had to leave the garden and be punished because of sin… This is the same God who put on flesh, was born in a manger, and went to the cross for us. This Jesus Christ is both GOD & MAN and He is the one who crushes the head of the serpent.
And like most big reveals… we should have seen it coming but didn’t…
Why does Jesus go to the Cross for us? Because He is God and loves us.
How does He raise Himself from the dead? He is God and is the source of life.
But also… How can He feel pain and hunger? He is man and knows exactly what our pain feels like.
How can he be born of a woman…? He is man.
How could he die and pour out his blood to save us? He is man…
When that Magi opened up his gift of Frankincense He was letting us know that this child in the manger was the Holy God of Creation.
Messiah is the suffering servant, the conquering king, and God with us.
Messiah is everything You need!
The Magi brought their treasure to the Christ Child… but the Christ Child didn’t need their treasure… the Magi needed the true treasure that is Messiah.
The Shepherds came and bowed in worship before the Lord… but the Lord didn’t need their worship… It was the Shepherds that needed His presence.
Today we came… and we worshipped Messiah together, we received His word together, and we are about to come talk to the Messiah in this altar… But our Messiah doesn’t need anything we do today… It is us that need Him.
Messiah – You are everything we need.
Whatever you need today it is found in Jesus Christ.
God loves you so much that He came Himself as your messiah. He didn’t send an angel or a demi-God… He came Himself… Everything God wants for you can be found in the face of the Messiah.