Watching the expanding claims of the New Testament
Commentary
Just back away from the New Testament for a moment and take a broad look at what is portrayed here. Paul's letters tell the story of a man who stands as a bridge between the Hebrew heritage and the new community of faith. It is he who is ready to translate the deepest meanings of the theology of Israel into categories that can be squared with the new understanding of Jesus as Messiah. It is Paul who sets the theological themes. Then, watch as Mark addresses his community of the latter part of the 70s. He begins his story with the baptism of Jesus and ends with a terse record of the resurrection. Matthew then expands the claims of the church and begins with Abraham, (See Matthew 1:1), and ends with the writer looking into the distance and claiming the world for Christ. Luke will begin with Adam (See Luke 3:38) and then include volume 2 (Acts) in which he will recount the spread of the church across his world. John will finally claim all of time and space with his "In the beginning" and conclude that the Lord has already returned in the Spirit to be with his church. It is in the gospel of John that Jesus will pray for generations yet to come (John 17:20), and that is us.
It is critical that we not miss this point. As what had taken place in their midst dawned on the early church over the eighty or so years following the resurrection, they boldly saw it all in the context of a God who was forever seeking out his creation and offering the gift of salvation to all.
It is always good to keep your historical background straight and not to stray far from it. It can serve as a corrective to assumptions that just might not be true. So dig in, check it out, and watch in wonder as the church gradually claims all of space, time, and peoples as the arena in which God is continually working out his mighty works and seeking to redeem all creation.
OUTLINE I
God's Plan and Ours
2 Samuel 7:8-16
Introduction: Tell the whole story as it is written in chapter 7. David wants to build a temple and gets the green light from the prophet Nathan. However! Nathan is corrected in a dream and given a message for David. God has other plans. His plans are laid out for David and for his son, Solomon.
A. Enough for anybody. Check out the task God has for David. He is to be the king who establishes the center of worship and the capital of the nation at Jerusalem. It is clear that the writer of Samuel represents God as establishing Jerusalem as his dwelling place among the nations. David has enough to do. Take time to check out the Chronicler's story in 1 Chronicles 23. The two things are a bit different. First David tells Solomon that the Lord would not let him build the temple because of his shedding so much blood in the wars he has fought; second David is concerned because of the youth of Solomon so he goes ahead and plans what Solomon is to accomplish and then makes arrangements for it to be done. David was quite a guy according to the Chronicler and got in as many licks as he could.
B. A task for Solomon. It will be the task of Solomon to keep the house of David and strengthen it as well as to build a house for the Lord. Everybody knows the truth. Solomon was a tyrant like his father and continued policies which would lead to the downfall of the united kingdom. His harem which brought foreigners into his house and led to Absalom's death was a tragedy. His favoritism for the south as against the north set forces in motion which would divide the kingdom.
Still God kept his promises and not only judged but blessed Solomon, and the house of the Lord was built as was the house of David. Alas, the house would be destroyed and the line of David would disappear until the New Testament writers begin to link Jesus with his Davidic ancestry in an effort to declare that what God was doing in the Old Testament he was doing in the New.
Conclusion: It is so easy for us to confuse our plans with God's plans, to imagine that what we want is what he wants. In both David and Solomon we see two men who had difficulty separating the two. We see it in ourselves. We easily convince ourselves that God must approve what we approve, accept the people we accept, bless the values we cherish and overall is on our side in all matters. The lessons from what happened to David and Solomon are a reminder that God favors no one and yet keeps his promises.
OUTLINE II
A Poetic Benediction
Romans 16:25-27
Introduction: The book of Romans is the best summary of Paul's thinking that we have available to us. In his other letters Paul is writing to people he knows in churches he has established. In Romans he addresses a church and a people whom he does not know and rather than being limited to responding to their questions or commenting on their problems he can in this letter be more systematic about his thinking. We can be grateful for this man who was the link between Hebrew and Christian theology and who could wax poetic as he does in this concluding benediction to Romans. Just let it speak for itself.
A. To God. The God who strengthens through Jesus Christ and through disclosure of what was once vague and unclear and now is made abundantly clear. For Paul the heart of God is revealed in Jesus the Christ. That does not mean that God has changed but that what we know now through Christ has been what God has always been. Always before the revelation has been imperfect as it has been given through imperfect instruments. But now, in Christ, God has revealed himself as the creating, revealing, sustaining, saying God that he has always been.
B. Known to the Gentiles. For Paul this is God's will. God's purpose remains what it was in Genesis 12:1-4. All nations are to be blessed through the offspring of Abraham. Paul never loses the connection.
C. To bring about obedience. Paul never forgets what God is doing. Obedience is the keynote of all that Paul has to say. Surely the person who seeks the will of God will find it; God will make it known, and will give the strength for doing it.
Conclusion: Emphasize as best as you can the theme that Paul sees no disconnection between the faith of Israel and the faith of the New Testament church which is coming into being. Paul would recoil in horror at the suggestion that the God of the Old Testament was a God of wrath and the God of the New was a God of love. He knew that was heresy long before the church declared it to be. Let the truth be known to your hearers: This God who has made himself known in Christ is the same God who came to Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses and all the others who stand in the line of the faithful.
OUTLINE III
A Heavenly Visitor
Luke 1:26-38
Introduction: It is important that before commenting on this scripture that you read chapters 1 and 2 on which Luke obviously built this story. Matthew, you will remember, had told the story of the angel's annunciation to Joseph and good old Luke, champion of the poor and of women, puts together a story that puts women up front and allows Mary to build her Magnificat on the words of Samuel's mother. It is clear that he wishes to make one point, that God is involved and that all that takes place here is at his command.
A. A virgin. Why not just leave this controversy out of your sermon. Whether Jesus was born of a virgin cannot be established at this distance, and anyway, we ought to listen for the real message. To maintain the virgin birth is to declare that God was involved and that something special is going on here. For all those who insist on a literal explanation the question must be raised, "If he was not truly like the rest of us then what does his resurrection mean for us?" It is important that we do not make Jesus into some demi-god out of Greek mythology. Here we have Luke, who is apparently a Gentile, struggling to make sense for both Jew and Gentile.
B. The power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was no stranger to the Jews. Do your homework and be reminded of the concept of the Spirit among these people.
C. Let it be according to your word. Here the piety of Mary shines in the story. On the one hand here is one whom Luke portrays as the simple young Jewish woman and on the other hand one who can fashion the great Magnificat.
Conclusion: Remind your hearers that they are not to come to this story with twentieth century ears and minds. They are to back away and let the glory of the story shine on them. Luke's message is clear. This birth involves the will of God for his people, the intent for all who come afterward, and that includes us.
It is critical that we not miss this point. As what had taken place in their midst dawned on the early church over the eighty or so years following the resurrection, they boldly saw it all in the context of a God who was forever seeking out his creation and offering the gift of salvation to all.
It is always good to keep your historical background straight and not to stray far from it. It can serve as a corrective to assumptions that just might not be true. So dig in, check it out, and watch in wonder as the church gradually claims all of space, time, and peoples as the arena in which God is continually working out his mighty works and seeking to redeem all creation.
OUTLINE I
God's Plan and Ours
2 Samuel 7:8-16
Introduction: Tell the whole story as it is written in chapter 7. David wants to build a temple and gets the green light from the prophet Nathan. However! Nathan is corrected in a dream and given a message for David. God has other plans. His plans are laid out for David and for his son, Solomon.
A. Enough for anybody. Check out the task God has for David. He is to be the king who establishes the center of worship and the capital of the nation at Jerusalem. It is clear that the writer of Samuel represents God as establishing Jerusalem as his dwelling place among the nations. David has enough to do. Take time to check out the Chronicler's story in 1 Chronicles 23. The two things are a bit different. First David tells Solomon that the Lord would not let him build the temple because of his shedding so much blood in the wars he has fought; second David is concerned because of the youth of Solomon so he goes ahead and plans what Solomon is to accomplish and then makes arrangements for it to be done. David was quite a guy according to the Chronicler and got in as many licks as he could.
B. A task for Solomon. It will be the task of Solomon to keep the house of David and strengthen it as well as to build a house for the Lord. Everybody knows the truth. Solomon was a tyrant like his father and continued policies which would lead to the downfall of the united kingdom. His harem which brought foreigners into his house and led to Absalom's death was a tragedy. His favoritism for the south as against the north set forces in motion which would divide the kingdom.
Still God kept his promises and not only judged but blessed Solomon, and the house of the Lord was built as was the house of David. Alas, the house would be destroyed and the line of David would disappear until the New Testament writers begin to link Jesus with his Davidic ancestry in an effort to declare that what God was doing in the Old Testament he was doing in the New.
Conclusion: It is so easy for us to confuse our plans with God's plans, to imagine that what we want is what he wants. In both David and Solomon we see two men who had difficulty separating the two. We see it in ourselves. We easily convince ourselves that God must approve what we approve, accept the people we accept, bless the values we cherish and overall is on our side in all matters. The lessons from what happened to David and Solomon are a reminder that God favors no one and yet keeps his promises.
OUTLINE II
A Poetic Benediction
Romans 16:25-27
Introduction: The book of Romans is the best summary of Paul's thinking that we have available to us. In his other letters Paul is writing to people he knows in churches he has established. In Romans he addresses a church and a people whom he does not know and rather than being limited to responding to their questions or commenting on their problems he can in this letter be more systematic about his thinking. We can be grateful for this man who was the link between Hebrew and Christian theology and who could wax poetic as he does in this concluding benediction to Romans. Just let it speak for itself.
A. To God. The God who strengthens through Jesus Christ and through disclosure of what was once vague and unclear and now is made abundantly clear. For Paul the heart of God is revealed in Jesus the Christ. That does not mean that God has changed but that what we know now through Christ has been what God has always been. Always before the revelation has been imperfect as it has been given through imperfect instruments. But now, in Christ, God has revealed himself as the creating, revealing, sustaining, saying God that he has always been.
B. Known to the Gentiles. For Paul this is God's will. God's purpose remains what it was in Genesis 12:1-4. All nations are to be blessed through the offspring of Abraham. Paul never loses the connection.
C. To bring about obedience. Paul never forgets what God is doing. Obedience is the keynote of all that Paul has to say. Surely the person who seeks the will of God will find it; God will make it known, and will give the strength for doing it.
Conclusion: Emphasize as best as you can the theme that Paul sees no disconnection between the faith of Israel and the faith of the New Testament church which is coming into being. Paul would recoil in horror at the suggestion that the God of the Old Testament was a God of wrath and the God of the New was a God of love. He knew that was heresy long before the church declared it to be. Let the truth be known to your hearers: This God who has made himself known in Christ is the same God who came to Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses and all the others who stand in the line of the faithful.
OUTLINE III
A Heavenly Visitor
Luke 1:26-38
Introduction: It is important that before commenting on this scripture that you read chapters 1 and 2 on which Luke obviously built this story. Matthew, you will remember, had told the story of the angel's annunciation to Joseph and good old Luke, champion of the poor and of women, puts together a story that puts women up front and allows Mary to build her Magnificat on the words of Samuel's mother. It is clear that he wishes to make one point, that God is involved and that all that takes place here is at his command.
A. A virgin. Why not just leave this controversy out of your sermon. Whether Jesus was born of a virgin cannot be established at this distance, and anyway, we ought to listen for the real message. To maintain the virgin birth is to declare that God was involved and that something special is going on here. For all those who insist on a literal explanation the question must be raised, "If he was not truly like the rest of us then what does his resurrection mean for us?" It is important that we do not make Jesus into some demi-god out of Greek mythology. Here we have Luke, who is apparently a Gentile, struggling to make sense for both Jew and Gentile.
B. The power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was no stranger to the Jews. Do your homework and be reminded of the concept of the Spirit among these people.
C. Let it be according to your word. Here the piety of Mary shines in the story. On the one hand here is one whom Luke portrays as the simple young Jewish woman and on the other hand one who can fashion the great Magnificat.
Conclusion: Remind your hearers that they are not to come to this story with twentieth century ears and minds. They are to back away and let the glory of the story shine on them. Luke's message is clear. This birth involves the will of God for his people, the intent for all who come afterward, and that includes us.
