A Promise Kept November 20th, 2022
God of truth and justice, send us your Holy Spirit as we hear the Scriptures read and interpreted. Through your Word, grant that we might see your truth and justice unfolding in the world you love. Amen
Last week we left the Apostle Paul, and his travelling companion, Barnabas, in the town of Antioch which was in modern day Turkey. They had been sent there by the Holy Spirit to bring the gospel message to its people. This is what took place when they arrived there, “…on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, ‘Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.’”
So, Paul stood up and began what was his first and longest recorded sermon of the Bible. And the sermon which he gave can be divided into three parts, a promise given by God, God’s promise kept, and how we are to respond to this promise. Last week we looked at God’s promise, this week we’ll see that God always keeps his promises.
Paul had just finished speaking about John the Baptist whose mission was to foretell the coming of the Messiah for mankind, being Jesus Christ. And now he continues his message, speaking about Jesus himself. This is what he said, ‘“Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed.’”
Here Paul explains to those people in the synagogue that God had sent his son, Jesus, into the world to offer salvation to his chosen people, those of the Jewish faith. Yet, despite their continuous study of the Scriptures and of hearing it read in the synagogue every Sabbath day, they didn’t recognise him when he came.
In many of the books of what Paul calls the Scriptures and we know as the Old Testament there are references to the coming of the promised Messiah for Israel. One of the most well-known of these is Isaiah 53, the entire chapter of which describes the coming, and the rejection, of Jesus by those whom he came to save. As the Apostle John wrote in his gospel, “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” (John 1:10-11)
And so, despite their hearing of the words of the Scriptures, most of the Jews living in Jerusalem at the time failed to recognise Jesus as the fulfilment of those Old Testament prophecies. They didn’t understand the Scriptures. Here were the people who had heard the words of the prophets every Sabbath day, read to them in the synagogue. They knew many of the passages by heart, but they didn’t understand them. And the reason they didn’t understand is that they never asked any questions. The reading of the Scriptures had become just a religious rite, something that was done automatically every Sabbath. People went and listened to the Scriptures being read to them and then went home again. That was all there was to it. People at that time weren’t thinking for themselves, going to the synagogue was just something they did but they never took the time to reflect on how it fit into their lives or their future.
Paul shows that the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus because they did not recognize him when he came. They were looking for a political Messiah who would deliver them from Rome’s domination. They were expecting a great soldier or statesman who would have come from a prominent family and have prestige and influence in society. Jesus had none of these and so they didn’t see who he really was. They looked at his trade, his background, and saw that he was a carpenter's son not the great warrior king they desired. They saw only that he had no wealth, and his family didn’t come from high society. That was all they were interested in so they couldn’t see the wonder of God’s promise before them. They didn’t hear or understand his words, and they didn’t see his miracles -- or, if they did, they immediately forgot them. So, as Paul says, “‘And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed.’”
Yet, despite their rejection of his anointed one, God, as always, was still going to keep his promise of salvation to all those who did accept him as their Messiah. Paul says “‘And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people.” Thus, Jesus was brought back from the grave and was with his followers for a period of time before ascending into heaven to be with his Father.
And Paul reminds them, once again, that God had kept his promise, he says, “‘And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm.’” The line from Psalm 2, which Paul quoted says, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.” Paul also quotes from Psalm 16 and Isaiah 55, knowing that those scriptures would be well-known to those in the synagogue that day and that they would understand that they were known as the Messianic passages, ones which pointed to a coming of a Messiah for Israel.
So important to Paul was understanding the message of the Old Testament that he would make reference to it later on in his ministry, in his letter to the members of the church in Corinth, this is what he wrote to them, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
At this point Paul ends his sermon with a warning to his listeners, “Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about: “‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”
This quote, “‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’” came from the Old Testament book of the prophet, Habakkuk, and served as a warning to those who would reject the promised Messiah. And here was Paul, telling them about Jesus Christ, and that they would not accept his testimony. They were the fulfillment of that promise of God, given through his messenger. God had kept his promise, but they wouldn’t believe it.
But, thanks to the Holy Spirit, working through him, there were some that Sabbath day who came to accept the message which Paul delivered to them. We’re told that, “As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.” They were finally beginning to understand. Many there that day came to understand and accept the promise of God which he kept by sending into the world his son, Jesus, as the Saviour of all who will believe in him.
And over 2000 years later, nothing has changed, God is still a promise maker and a promise keeper. But, just like Paul’s first century congregation in that synagogue, it falls on us, not just to hear the promises of God found in the Bible, but also to understand and accept them. And to do this, it’s not just a matter of hearing God’s word once a week but by reflecting on it, by praying and immersing ourselves in it as often as possible so that it is always close to our hearts. It’s not always easy and it’s not always clear when we first read or hear God’s word but through persistence and dedication, God’s promise will be revealed to us, that promise of salvation through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Let us Pray:
Heavenly Father, please help us to better understand your word and how it applies to our lives. We thank you for your promise of salvation, offered to all and fulfilled through the life of your son, Jesus. We thank you for all your promises that have been already fulfilled and the ones that are yet to come. Be with us and with those who are struggling in their faith or have no faith at all. May we all see that you always keep your promises. In Jesus name we pray. Amen