(I am uploading Sunday Nights message as we type.)
THE
CONNECTION FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
LUKE
1:5- 42.9
Charles
e Whisnant, May 20 2012
Look
at verse 5. "In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain
priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the
daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous in
the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements
of the Lord. And they had no child because Elizabeth was barren and they were
both advanced in years. Now it came about while he was performing his priestly
service before God in the appointed order of his division, according to the
custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the
Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer
outside at the hour of the incense offering. An angel of the Lord appeared to
him, standing to the right of the altar of incense." And with that the
silence of God was broken.
"Zacharias
was troubled when he saw him and fear gripped him. But the angel said to him,
Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard and your wife
Elizabeth will bear you a son and you will give him the name John."
NOW
NOTICES THIS
Luke
begins the story with the birth of John the Baptist, who we know is the
forerunner to the Messiah. One who would come before Jesus Christ.
Let me point
out why it is important that Luke started with the birth of John the
Baptist.
REASON NUMBER ONE:
The Birth of John the Baptist connects the Old Testament
with the New Testament. At verse 5 we
are still in the Old Testament times per say.
I know 400 years have pasted since the last book in the canon has been
written, but the New Testament times begins with the birth of John the Baptist.
The OT and the NT do not suggest that there are two
different religions. That is there is
not a religion of Judaism and the religion of Christianity. What we have in the Old and New is one
revelation from God with continuity telling the story of redemption. This is
called Redemptive-Historical. That is the Bible is really to be viewed as one
continue story of the salvation of mankind.
There has only been one faith, and that is faith in the true
and living God which involves His Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible is one complete revelation from
God. And we need both the Old and the
New in order to have the whole story complete.
REASON NUMBER TWO:
Luke starts this salvation of mankind with John the Baptist
because he fulfills the OT prophecies, and shows the accuracy of Scripture’s
prophecies, and the accuracy of Scripture’s predictions.
The New Testament is a continuation of the redemptive story
that started in Genesis 1.
And here is the first
time God intervene in human history following the 400 years of silence. The
angel of the Lord appeared unto Zacharias.
The story begins with
a supernatural act of God who acted decisively in history/ and the birth of John the Baptist was a
miracle. So Luke begins the story where
God first initiates supernatural activity.
We are going to see that the story of John the Baptist is
the prophesied forerunner of the Messiah. And will established he is that
forerunner prophesied in the Old Testament.
Which of course is important, because by John we will know that the
Messiah will follow.
The Messiah will be whoever John will identify. John will know who the Messiah is.
