So the Scripture was fulfilled...

I have been doing some Spring cleaning and came across a little book.  It was the New Testament.  As I looked at the handy size and pondered who could use it, I thought of all the times the New Testament tells us, "This was done so that Scripture was fulfilled."

In order to fully know that Jesus is the promised One, we need the Scriptures in their entirety; what was prophesied and what was fulfilled.  Jesus speaks to the disciples saying, “Therefore,” He said to them, “every student of Scripture instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who brings out of his storeroom what is new and what is old.” Considering that the New Testament wasn't even written yet - He was illustrating the precious truth in the Hebrew scriptures that the church calls the Old Testament and His new teachings to the disciples that are now called the New Testament.

So don't throw out the Old and read just the New - you will only be getting half of the story of love!

Here are just a few examples to ponder how we need all of scripture to understand scripture.

1. Luke 4:21
   He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”
   Luke 4:20-22 (in Context) Luke 4 (Whole Chapter)  Isaiah 61:1, 2  
2. John 13:18
   I’m not speaking about all of you; I know those I have chosen. But the Scripture must be fulfilled: The one who eats My bread has raised his heel against Me.
   John 13:17-19 (in Context) John 13 (Whole Chapter)  Psalm 41:9
3. John 15:25
   But this happened so that the statement written in their scripture might be fulfilled: They hated Me for no reason.
   John 15:24-26 (in Context) John 15 (Whole Chapter) Psalm 35:19,  Psalm 69:4
4. John 17:12
   While I was with them, I was protecting them by Your name that You have given Me. I guarded them and not one of them is lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture may be fulfilled.
   John 17:11-13 (in Context) John 17 (Whole Chapter) Psalm 69:25, Psalm 109:8
5. John 19:28
   [ The Finished Work of Jesus ] After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now accomplished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, He said, “I’m thirsty!”
   John 19:27-29 (in Context) John 19 (Whole Chapter) Psalm 69:21
6. John 19:36
   For these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: Not one of His bones will be broken.
   John 19:35-37 (in Context) John 19 (Whole Chapter)Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9:12, Psalm 34:20
7. Matthew 2:17
   Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
   Matthew 2:16-18 (in Context) Matthew 2 (Whole Chapter)
8. Matthew 2:23
   And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.
   Matthew 2:22-23 (in Context) Matthew 2 (Whole Chapter)
9. Matthew 4:14
   so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
   Matthew 4:13-15 (in Context) Matthew 4 (Whole Chapter)
10. Matthew 13:14
    Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
    Matthew 13:13-15 (in Context) Matthew 13 (Whole Chapter)
11. Matthew 26:54
    But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”
    Matthew 26:53-55 (in Context) Matthew 26 (Whole Chapter)
12. Acts 1:16
    “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David spoke in advance about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.
    Acts 1:15-17 (in Context) Acts 1 (Whole Chapter) Psalm 69:25, Psalm 109:8
13. Matthew 26:56
    But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.
    Matthew 26:55-57 (in Context) Matthew 26 (Whole Chapter)
14. Matthew 27:9
    Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel,
    Matthew 27:8-10 (in Context) Matthew 27 (Whole Chapter)
15. Mark 1:15
    and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
    Mark 1:14-16 (in Context) Mark 1 (Whole Chapter)
16. Mark 14:49
    Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.”
    Mark 14:48-50 (in Context) Mark 14 (Whole Chapter)
17. Luke 1:20
    And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
    Luke 1:19-21 (in Context) Luke 1 (Whole Chapter)
18. Luke 21:24
    They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
    Luke 21:23-25 (in Context) Luke 21 (Whole Chapter)
19. Luke 22:16
    For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
    Luke 22:15-17 (in Context) Luke 22 (Whole Chapter)
20. Luke 22:35
    [ Scripture Must Be Fulfilled in Jesus ] And he said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.”
    Luke 22:34-36 (in Context) Luke 22 (Whole Chapter)
21. Luke 22:37
    For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.”
    Luke 22:36-38 (in Context) Luke 22 (Whole Chapter)
22. Luke 24:44
    Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
    Luke 24:43-45 (in Context) Luke 24 (Whole Chapter)
23. John 12:38
    so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
    John 12:37-39 (in Context) John 12 (Whole Chapter)
24. John 17:13
    But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
    John 17:12-14 (in Context) John 17 (Whole Chapter)
25. Acts 3:18
    But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.
    Acts 3:17-19 (in Context) Acts 3 (Whole Chapter)
26. Acts 13:27
    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.
    Acts 13:26-28 (in Context) Acts 13 (Whole Chapter)
27. Acts 13:33
    this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’
    Acts 13:32-34 (in Context) Acts 13 (Whole Chapter)
And more.....

God's Son

From a great devotion called Days of Praise by Henry M. Morris

God's Son in the Old Testament

March 24, 2012

 

"I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." (Psalm 2:7)

 

There are many today (especially Muslims, Jews, and Christian "liberals") who are monotheists, believing in one supreme God but rejecting the deity of Christ. They argue that the doctrine that Jesus was the unique Son of God was invented by the early Christians and that the God of the Old Testament had no Son. Orthodox Jews in particular emphasize Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD."

 

The fact is, however, that there are a number of Old Testament verses that do speak of God's only begotten Son. Note the following brief summary.

 

First, there is God's great promise to David: "I will set up thy seed after thee, . . . I will be his father, and he shall be my son. . . . thy throne shall be established for ever" (2 Samuel 7:12, 14, 16).

 

Consider also the rhetorical questions of Agur. "Who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?" (Proverbs 30:4).

 

Then there are the two famous prophecies of Isaiah, quoted so frequently at Christmas time. "Behold, a (literally 'the') virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (meaning 'God with us')" (Isaiah 7:14). "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: . . . and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).

 

Perhaps the most explicit verse in this connection is our text. "The LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son" (Psalm 2:7). Then this marvelous Messianic psalm concludes with this exhortation: "Kiss the Son, . . . Blessed are all they that put their trust in him" (Psalm 2:12).

Remember

Somewhere I read beautiful instruction on how to avoid foolish controversies and divisions.  Precious counsel to my soul.

"The more you remember the pit from which you have been rescued by the grace of God, the more you will be able to embrace every believer, no matter what else may divide you.  The measure of harmony you have with every believer will depend on the measure of your experience of Christ's life as your own."

Isaiah 53

 Who has believed what we have heard?
And who has the arm of the LORD been revealed to? 

 He grew up before Him like a young plant
and like a root out of dry ground.
He didn’t have an impressive form
or majesty that we should look at Him,
no appearance that we should desire Him.

 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.
He was like someone people turned away from;
He was despised, and we didn’t value Him.

 Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses,
and He carried our pains;
but we in turn regarded Him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.

 But He was pierced because of our transgressions,
crushed because of our iniquities;
punishment for our peace was on Him,
and we are healed by His wounds.

We all went astray like sheep;
we all have turned to our own way;
and the LORD has punished Him
for the iniquity of us all.

 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet He did not open His mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughter
and like a sheep silent before her shearers,
He did not open His mouth. 

He was taken away because of oppression and judgment;
and who considered His fate?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
He was struck because of my people’s rebellion.

 They made His grave with the wicked
and with a rich man at His death,
although He had done no violence
and had not spoken deceitfully.

 Yet the LORD was pleased to crush Him severely.
When You make Him a guilt offering,
He will see His seed, He will prolong His days,
and by His hand, the LORD’s pleasure will be accomplished.

 He will see it out of His anguish,
and He will be satisfied with His knowledge.
My righteous Servant will justify many,
and He will carry their iniquities.

Therefore I will give Him the many as a portion,
and He will receive the mighty as spoil,
because He submitted Himself to death,
and was counted among the rebels;
yet He bore the sin of many
and interceded for the rebels.

Whom do you say this describes? If I didn't know any better, I would say this was from Christian teaching out of the New Covenant.  But, it is from the Hebrew Scriptures!  Clearly prophesied around 700 B.C.

We are truly without excuse if we refuse to receive this word.  The God of Israel is so patient with mankind - giving us so much including the name of His Anointed, Jesus the Messiah. Thank the Lord for putting these words into Isaiah's heart and mind for all God's people to read even 2700 years later!