Responding to the Prophetic Word of Jesus

Jesus continues to offend the world because this baby is a prophet who calls people to repentance and obedience.

Scripture:  Acts 3:17-26; Isaiah 53

Sermon Notes:

1. We cannot consider Jesus in isolation from the offices that He holds.  He is God’s anointed One, the Prophet foretold by lesser prophets.
2. Prophets in the Bible were set apart to speak to the people about God’s law, judgments, and promises of salvation.
3. Jesus is the Prophet who would speak forth the Word of God with finality.
4. Christians are called to loyalty to God and His concerns for the world.
5. Myrrh reminds us of the death and burial of Jesus. Like Myrrh, the message of Jesus offers the fragrance of life for those being saved.
6. Christians can expect to suffer and be persecuted for honouring Jesus.
7. Jesus continues to offend because the baby in a manger is a prophet who calls people to obedience and repentance.
8. To acknowledge the cradle of Christ requires that we honour His position as sin-bearer on the cross and as exalted universal king on the right hand of the Father.
9. The coming prophet was foretold by other prophets (Deut. 18:15). Peter quotes Deut. 18 in reference to Jesus (Acts 3:21-23).
10. To be under sway of any false master is to be enslaved.  Christ comes to free us from every false power centre that would enslave us.
11. Everyone who speaks God’s Word into a culture that has other gods is in danger. That is why Jesus was at risk from His birth.
12. Man cannot be relied upon to offer security, rescue, or peace. This truth is not popular.
13. Mary’s magnificat speaks of Jesus overturning political powers (Luke 1:52), and so some threatened monarchs declared it illegal to be read in church services.
14. Christmas spells bad news for rebels who prefer sin and evil over God’s reign.
15. Alternate prophets are offered in place of Christ. For example science is demonstrated to be both fickle and waffling, while it claims certain truth.
16. The prophets foretold the opposition Jesus would face from those who reject God’s salvation (Isaiah 53; Luke 20:9-19).
17. Christmas contains the themes of suffering and danger.
18. Christ requires our worship; the Lord in the manger demands our allegiance.

Application Questions:

1. What is Jesus’ ministry in His office as prophet?
2. What is the warning for us in the parable of the tenants (Luke 20:9-19)?
3. Why do the kings of the world hate Jesus?  What are some of the false power centres that hate Jesus today?
4. Whose voice, whose word will we believe this Christmas?
5. Evaluate the “science says…” truth claim.
6. How can we help our contemporaries see Christmas as more than a bizarre vacation involving revelry?