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Preamble: Surprise Endings 

Well, if you have your Bibles and you’re not already there, flip over to Hebrews, chapter 8. I want to ask you, have you ever seen a movie where it ended in a surprise? There was a surprise twist of some sort. There are a lot of movies you could probably put on that list. You think that did not end the way I thought. Wow, what a twist! I don’t know about you, but some of my favorite movies, Shutter Island, or how about The Prestige? Hugh Jackman, fantastic movie. Kind of ends with a twist you didn’t know was coming. How about the Village, which was filmed about 12 minutes from where I grew up in the Philadelphia area. Another M. Night Shyamalan movie, Signs. Filmed in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, not far from where I grew up. Or how about The Others? Remember that movie in the early 2000s, the Nicole Kidman movie? Arrivals. It’s like the timeline is not what we thought it was. Time is language. Language is time. It’s good! We’ve all seen movies that have these surprise endings. Like, whoa, I did not see that coming. 

But I think for most people who are in my demographic, if you went to high school in the late 90s, and if you’re a younger Gen X or elder millennial like myself, the movie that’s in that category, undoubtedly, is The Sixth Sense. It’s the Sixth Sense. The Sixth Sense, another M. Night Shyamalan movie. Sort of the movie that put M. Night Shyamalan on the map, starring Bruce Willis as the Doctor. So listen, I’m gonna ruin the ending for you right now. If you’ve not seen it, it’s been 26 years. You’ve had plenty of time, all right? And don’t be like, well, I was gonna watch it tonight, Kenny. No, you weren’t. Okay? You were not gonna watch it tonight.

In the Sixth Sense, the doctor is dead the whole time. He’s been dead the whole movie, but you don’t know it until the very end. It’s the very last scene when you realize he’s been dead. And it remarkably changes how you view the entire movie. It’s this unbelievable moment, this shocker. And it was right in front of me. And it’s just this remarkable thing, right?  There aren’t many things that are more heart-stopping than when you have that kind of moment in a motion picture. 

Imagine, though, you go back and watch the movie. And I found going back and rewatching the Sixth Sense is actually more enjoyable than the first time, because then I went back and tried to look through all the little clues and hints that were in the movie. It was there all along! He tries to open the basement door, but he can’t. He doesn’t ever unlock the door. He never changes his clothes the entire movie. Every time he walks in the room, his wife’s breath changes; you can see it because the temperature goes down, because he’s a ghost. And ghosts apparently make it cooler in the room. That’s the logic of the movie. There are these clues throughout. These little hints, these little Easter eggs in the movie that show you all along. If you’re paying attention, it’s right in front of you. He’s dead. And he’s been dead the entire time. The director of the movie, who wrote the screenplay, M. Night Shyamalan, does an incredible job of putting in these little hints. And if you go back and watch the Sixth Sense the second or third time, and you look for them, you find little clues each time throughout the movie where he’s hinting at this.

It’s pretty remarkable. Wow, this is a really well-crafted screenplay. It’s not perfect, but it’s well crafted, and it’s sort of fun to try to look for that when you’ve seen a movie that has a shocking ending, to go back and watch it to look for the clues and hints of the end of the story. Now imagine if someone told you, I’m gonna go back. I’m gonna go back and watch one of these movies as if it were the first time. I’m watching it as if I’ve never seen it before. Well, that’s not even possible. You can’t unsee what you’ve seen. It doesn’t make sense. But if someone said to you, I’m gonna go back and watch the Sixth Sense, and I’m gonna have the same experience as if I was watching for the first time, as if I don’t know the end of the story, it’s a futile effort. You’re not actually going to be able to pull that off. And more than that, not only is it impossible, but you would actually be missing out on something quite interesting and super fun. And that is going back and seeing the hints and clues that were put there to foreshadow that which was to come. That’s much more enjoyable. 

Read the Old Testament Knowing the Outcome

I think sometimes, we often read the Old Testament as if we don’t know the end of the story. It’s a futile effort. That is far less interesting. It’s far more interesting to read the Old Testament knowing the end of the story and looking for the clues in the Old Testament that foreshadow that which was to come. The end of the story of the Old Testament is that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, came to planet Earth, rescued us from our sins, and then inaugurated a new covenant. That’s the end of the story of the Old Covenant, that there was a superhero who came to give us a new covenant. It would be really odd to try to go back and read the Old Covenant, the Old Testament, as if you don’t know that there’s a new Covenant. You’ve already seen the end of the movie. He’s already come, he’s already died for your sins and risen from the dead. Pretending that you don’t know what happened when you read the Old Testament is sort of odd. It misses the point. Instead, we should read through the Old Testament looking for the hints, the Easter eggs, the clues that give us an understanding of what is to come. And if you think M. Night Shyamalan, Martin Scorsese or Christopher Nolan are really good at crafting movies, watch the Old Testament unfold. The writer of that screenplay is far greater than any of those Directors. We ought to read the Old Testament and look for Jesus. 

Read the Old Testament and Look for Jesus

What are things in the Old Testament that point forward to the New Covenant? Christian theologians throughout the centuries have referred to these little clues as ‘types’. That’s the word that theologians use. So anything in the Old Testament that gives us a hint or a clue of what’s happening in the New Testament is called a ‘type’. There is a sub-genre within Christian theology called typology that literally just studies types. If you go to a theological library, like if you go over to RTS on the east side of town, or if you go to a couple of the different theological libraries in the state of Florida, there are about five or six big ones. If you walk into the systematic theology section, there will be an entire section just devoted to typology. I looked it up this week on Amazon. On Amazon right now, books just in English written by American authors on typology, available right now on Amazon, there are 528 books just on this one topic. Studying the types of the Old Testament. It’s this whole thing. There are guys getting PhDs just in this. It’s nerdy and glorious all at the same time.

Why do I start talking about the Sixth Sense and clues of the Old Testament and this thing called typology? Well, the reason I mention that is because in our passage this morning, we’ve been going through the book of Hebrews, and now we’ve come to Hebrews chapter 8. In Hebrews chapter 8, the writer of Hebrews will comment and will give us some sentiments where he clearly states that we should look back at the Old Testament, looking for these things we call types. He will use in verse five the word ‘shadows’. Sometimes theologians use the word echoes. There are these different words we may use. We say we ought to read the Old Testament a particular way. The writer of Hebrews is modeling for us how to read the Old Testament properly. He is, in essence, telling us, look for the types of Christ and learn from them. That’s how we ought to look at reading the Old Testament. We ought to read the Old Testament looking for types. And then we say to ourselves, What does this teach me about Jesus? How can this Old Testament thing stoke my affections for Jesus and cause me to love Jesus more? Many Americans read the Old Testament, trying to get moral lessons on, here are three steps on how to be a better x, y, z. That’s the wrong way to read the Old Testament.

I tragically think this is one of the biggest failures of modern American evangelicalism: we don’t know how to read the Old Testament properly. I think this is one of our biggest flaws as an American evangelical ecosystem. Either there are lots of American evangelicals who totally ignore the Old Testament. It is totally neglected. A few years ago, there was a really well-known pastor who famously said from the pulpit, It’s time for us to unhitch ourselves from the Old Testament. This intentional effort to say let’s distance ourselves from that thing and let’s focus on the love and forgiveness that Jesus offers. Not realizing that you cannot understand the love of Jesus apart from understanding the screenplay that’s unfolded over the course of thousands of years.

Or sometimes people read the Old Testament, and they simply misunderstand it, or they over-apply it. There are segments of Christianity where American Christians take the Old Testament and apply it in a way that was never meant to be applied to those of us who are not Jewish in the ancient Near East world. Or some people read the Old Testament, I apologize in advance if this offends you, but some people read the Old Testament as if it is just for the Jews of that day, and just for the Jews of our day. This is another way that American Christians read the Old Testament that I think is outside of what the writer of Hebrews is modeling for us. The writer of Hebrews is saying that when you read the Old Testament, you should look for Jesus. Then you learn stuff about Jesus, and you allow the stuff you’ve learned about Jesus to stoke your affections and love of Jesus. Because it’s all about Jesus. He’s the hero of the story. The Old Testament comprises about 75% of the Bible. 75%! That’s a lot. And so we want to make sure we understand it. Do we know how to apply it to our lives? And do we know how to allow it to usher us toward a better understanding of Christ?

A Look at Typology

Over the next two weeks, God willing, we’re going to talk about the Old Testament. So next week, I’m going to get a little more practical. We’re going to talk a little bit more about the Sabbath. Does the Sabbath apply to Christians? How about the dietary restrictions? Can I eat shrimp? Can I eat pork? Does that apply to me? How about the promises of Abraham? Are those just for Jewish people today, or are those for Christians? For both or neither? What about baptism? How do I take these things in the Old Testament? How does it shape how I live my life? We’re gonna get to that more practically next week. But this morning, I want to specifically look at Hebrews chapter 8 and understand this thing we call typology.

There’s our plan for this morning. We’re gonna take three steps. 

1. I’m gonna make a case for why you should embrace typology. I think I’ve already done that to some extent, but I want to do a little more. Why should you be a typologist? Why is that a good thing? 
2. I want to give you some examples of types. I want to look back at the Old Testament, give you some examples on how to do this. 
3. I want to answer the question, How does this shape how I live my life today?

Why does this matter today as a 21st-century American Christian? So that’s our plan for this morning. Why should I embrace typology? What are some examples? Why does this matter for me today? Those will be our plans for this morning. Let me pray, and then we’ll look at Hebrews 8 together. 

God help us. Help us as we look at your word to understand it and apply it well, may it stoke our affections for Christ. I pray. Amen.

Embrace Typology

Hebrews, chapter 8. The writer of Hebrews is talking about the Old Testament priests. As we talked about last week. Daniel took us through the latter section of chapter seven. We looked at the sacrifices, the new priesthood. That Jesus is a better priest of a better covenant. He’s talking about the sacrifices of the Old Testament and he says this, Look at Hebrews chapter 8, verse 5. Speaking of the sacrifices. He says this.

“They serve as a copy and shadow of heavenly things.”

 The Levitical priests and the sacrifices that they offer serve as copies and shadows. They point to heavenly things. That’s the first point we want to think about this morning. Why should you embrace typology? Well, because the writer of Hebrews is telling us that these things are types, they are shadows, and they point to something greater. Imagine you’re sitting on a beach. You’re in a chair on the sand. Maybe you’re at Cocoa Beach. You are sitting on the beach and imagine you’re enjoying yourself, you are watching the waves. Then imagine you can feel the sun hitting the back of your neck. Then, all of a sudden, you feel someone walking up near you. All of a sudden, someone walks and stands close to you so much so that they block the sun, so the sun is no longer hitting your neck. You can’t feel the rays of the sun. There’s now a shadow casting over you. So you’re sitting on the beach and you can now see a shadow in front of you being cast over you, right? What you would not do is I wonder what the shadow is. Let me focus on this shadow. Let me think about this shadow. Let me study the shadow. That’s not what you would do. In all likelihood, what would you do? You would turn around, right? You would go, someone is walking near me. There’s a shadow being cast over me. You would turn around to see who it is, right? 

The Old Testament is a shadow, and it should cause us to look at the one who casts the shadow. The Old Covenant is a shadow being cast by the New Covenant. So when we read through the Old Covenant, we should look back. It should cause us to look at the New Covenant. Now, if someone were standing over you and casting a shadow over you, you would instantly learn some things about the person who’s casting a shadow. The shadow would tell you a little bit about how close that person is, how tall that person is. Maybe if that person is a male or a female. The shape and size, you could kind of guesstimate in some ways. Now, you might get it a little bit wrong, but there’s some general sense of what you would know. But ultimately it would spark in you curiosity to want to engage with the one who cast a shadow. The writer of Hebrews is telling us that’s exactly what the Old Covenant was designed to do. It would cast a shadow that would give you some understanding of the New Covenant, the shape, the size, the closeness, the proximity of it. There are things about the Old Covenant to help you understand the New Covenant, but ultimately, the hope would be that it would point you back to Jesus. Everything in the Old Testament, all of this, is about the New Covenant. The Old Covenant is the shadow. The New Covenant is the real deal. You would turn around, and you would engage that. 

The hope is that we would do the same. When we read the Old Testament, it would cause us to look to Jesus. When reading through the Book of Hebrews, you get the sense that everything that happened in the Old Testament, particularly all the things that happened in the Exodus and coming out of the Exodus and in the wilderness, God has been talking about these things over the last few chapters. All these events that happened in the year 1400 BC, approximately, in that time period. All these things that happened. God was doing all of these things, orchestrating the events of these people’s lives, because he wanted to show a picture of what was to come. The things that God was doing with the Jewish people, the Israelites in 1400 BC, wasn’t even primarily about those people. It is primarily about those who would enjoy the new covenant he’s pointing toward. 

In 1 Corinthians, chapter 10, the apostle Paul says, ‘Those things happened and they were written down for our instruction.’ What a remarkable thing, the Apostle Paul writing to the church of Corinth. Remember all that stuff that happened? There’s a reason why it happened, and there was a reason why it was written down. And you know, the reason was so that you could be instructed on how to live and love Jesus. That’s the instruction. That’s why. That’s why all this happened. And this is the reason why it was so important that in the Old Testament, the Israelites did exactly what God told them to do. Look at the second half of Hebrews 8, verse 5. The second half of verse 5 it says this: 

“For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, see that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain.”

When Moses is up on the mountain, God is giving him instructions on how to set up the tabernacle and exactly how to set up the priesthood, and exactly what sacrifice means. The Old Testament system is incredibly nuanced and detailed. It’s elaborate, it feels legalistic, and hard to follow. It’s so, so precise and feels persnickety to some extent. It’s so overwhelming and so detailed. Why all of this stuff? And the writer of Hebrews said, Listen, remember all that stuff? Remember that it happened a long time ago. God told Moses, Do it exactly how I told you to do it, because everything I’m doing is gonna give you a picture of who I am. If you don’t do exactly what I tell you to do, it’s gonna give people the wrong picture of me. This is the reason why there are moments in the Old Testament where people are executed or they fall down dead, and it doesn’t make sense to us. God tells people to do certain things, and they don’t do it. And God kills them. And it seems harsh to us as 21st-century Americans. So why would God do these things? This guy accidentally touches the ark of the covenant, and he’s dead, man. It feels so wrathful. The world needs a picture of God that is accurate. So God takes it very seriously that we give the world an accurate picture of God. 

This is a side note. God gives us expectations that will help other people see Jesus in us. And we must do exactly what he tells us to do. Moses didn’t understand all that was happening, and yet he obeyed. We, as American Christians, so often take obedience very lightly. We think we are entitled to understand what God has taught us. No, no, no. You are not entitled. Do what God told you to do, whether you understand it or not. And if you refuse, may God be merciful to your soul. In Hebrews chapter 10, he makes it very clear to us, for those who refuse to obey him, you should expect nothing but the fiery furnace. Those are harsh words from the writer of Hebrews. So I implore you, when the Bible tells you to do it, do it. Do not disobey, whether you understand it or not. 

Back to typology. Hebrews 8 models for us how to properly read the Old Testament. But it’s not the only passage of scripture that teaches us that. There are lots of passages of scripture; there are several we can go to, but my favorite comes from John, chapter 5. Jesus is having this conversation with Old Testament Jewish leaders in Israel. They’re interacting with him. Jesus is teaching them some things. They’re refusing to listen to him. This is John, chapter 5, verse 39. He’s talking to guys who, many of them had the entire Old Testament memorized.

These were Old Testament scholars, way better than any of us. John, chapter 5, verse 39. Jesus says to these guys,

 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, but they bear witness about me.”

Jesus said, You’re studying the Old Testament, thinking that you’re an expert. You missed it. You have read the Old Testament. You think that’s going to rescue you, but it doesn’t. I’m the one who rescues you. Being an Old Testament scholar doesn’t rescue you from the flames of hell. Reading the Old Testament and allowing that to point you to Jesus and allowing the Old Testament to stoke your affections and love for Jesus, that’s where you find eternal life. So why should we embrace it? Typology? Well, because Jesus is telling us all of the Old Testament. It’s all about me. So when we read the Old Testament, we should look for him. He rebuked the religious leaders. You’re reading the Old Testament, and you don’t see me. How much more would he rebuke us? We should be great typologists. 

How to Properly Read the OT and Look for Typology

Number two. Let me give you some examples of typology. How to read the Old Testament. Let’s start with one He’s already used in chapter 7, the last chapter. Two weeks ago, we preached on Melchizedek. Melchizedek, this mysterious character in Genesis chapter 14. When you read Genesis 14, you read Melchizedek. This guy is a type of Christ. So we should read, look at Melchizedek, study him, and he gives us insight into Jesus. That’s a type. He resembles Jesus. There are others throughout the Old Testament. The life of Joseph is another one. Joseph, betrayed by his brothers, stood before the judge between two criminals. One criminal is forgiven, one criminal is condemned. And then Joseph becomes second in command of all of Egypt. And people from every nation are saved through him. Does that remind you of anyone? Jesus, betrayed by his brothers on a cross between two criminals. One criminal is forgiven, one is condemned. Jesus is the one who then goes to the right hand of the Father. Through Jesus, people from every nation will be saved. The life of Joseph is not about Joseph. The life of Joseph is about Jesus. Joseph is not the main character of Joseph’s story. 

The last 13, 14 chapters of Genesis are all about Jesus. They are about Jesus, about the Old Testament sacrifices. The entirety of the Old Testament sacrifices gives us insight into Jesus. People say, How is it possible that Jesus dying on a cross on a hill called Golgotha 2000 years ago can impact me? God says, Look back at the Old Testament to give you a picture of what Jesus did in the New Testament. They would bring an innocent animal, they would put the animal on the altar, they would pray, and God would do this supernatural thing where he takes the guilt of the person and he puts it on the animal. And then we would kill the animal. It would be bloody and gross, and the animal would die. And the sin, the guilt that was on this person was transferred has now been punished. 

Well, that’s a picture of Jesus. Jesus is on a cross. God Supernaturally takes the sins of those who believe and puts them on Christ. Then God kills his son, pours out his wrath. It’s a picture of that. Jesus is the sacrifice. This is why John the Baptist, when he sees Jesus in John chapter 1, he says, Look, it’s Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. John the Baptist is calling Jesus the Lamb. He is the animal that was in that picture. So when you go back and you read Leviticus, you see the animal sacrifices, then it points you back to what Jesus has done on our behalf. It’s a type of Christ. 

I also think the Old Testament sacrifices give us a great picture of how sinful we actually are. If you’re an Old Testament Israelite and you’re standing there watching this animal being slaughtered, this is a gruesome scene. It’s messy, it’s gross. This animal is squealing. There are kids around that are horrified, maybe adults that are horrified by the blood splattering all over the priest. Then this animal, this burnt offering, is set on fire. You smell the rotting flesh of this creature, filling the area. You stand there watching, saying to yourself, That should be me right there. This animal taking the punishment should be me. I deserve that. It gives you a picture of what you deserve because your sin is that bad. So often, American evangelicals, who attend church regularly, will say, We’re sinful, but is it really that bad? Or people will say things like, Would God really condemn people to hell? Like, it just seems so harsh. You’ve got it backwards. Rather than hearing about the judgment of God and saying to yourself, Man, God is so harsh, what you should say is, That seems so harsh. How bad must I be? That’s the sentence that God has proclaimed for me. Rather than judging him for being too harsh, you should look at yourself and realize, I am worse than I thought, and I desperately need a savior. The good news is that he has provided the lamb. Christ is our lamb. 

A couple of other types. In Romans, chapter 5, the apostle Paul uses Adam as a type of Christ, which is interesting because we think of Adam as a sinner who blew it, who ruined the world. But Paul says, no, Adam is a type. Just as Adam made one decision that impacted all people and all of creation, similarly, Jesus made one decision that impacts everyone and all of creation everywhere. For all Time. His decision, of course, was to die in our place. Adam is a type of Christ in that regard. David is a type of Christ. When you read the story of David and Goliath, this is the one that we just get wrong all the time. Sunday school classes. Remember, if you grew up in an old-school Sunday school class context, you probably heard David and Goliath taught something like this. This teaches us that good things come in small packages. Or the moral of the story is you are David. You can be courageous and take on the Goliath in your life. No, that’s not the right way to read David and Goliath. David is a type of Christ. Think about it. David is far away from the front lines with his father. He comes near to the front lines where the battle is happening, steps onto the battlefield to fight Goliath when the scared Israelites would not do it. And he beats Goliath on their behalf. That is Jesus. He’s with his father, seemingly far away from us, and yet he becomes a human, lives near us. We are scared and incapable of taking on Goliath, our great enemy. The giant called sin, death, and the grave. Jesus steps onto the battlefield in our place, beats sin on our behalf, and we benefit from his victory on the battlefield. We’re the scared, cowardly Israelites. We’re not David. Jesus is the great warrior on the battlefield, taking on the giant. When you read David and Goliath, that’s the way to read it. And you think, Jesus, my champion, who stepped in on my behalf! Allow that to cause you to love him more.

There are so many more we could go through this morning. Abraham, Isaac, Joshua, Boaz, Jonah, Elisha, Hosea. They’re all types of Christ, all of them. There are events in the Old Testament. Objects, creation, the Garden of Eden, the institution of the Sabbath, Noah’s Ark, the Passover, the Exodus, the Ark of the Covenant, the priestly robes in Zechariah, the building of the temple, the destruction of the temple, the rebuilding of the temple, all of it. It’s all about Jesus. There are little clues and hints, little Easter eggs throughout the Old Testament. Pointing, casting a shadow of that which is to come. When you are reading the Old Testament, look for Jesus. It’s the best way to read the Old Testament. In fact, it’s the greatest way to read the Old Testament. It’s the way that the Bible teaches us to read the Old Testament.

Two quick side notes. One. People will say, Don’t you get bored reading the Old Testament? Just looking for Jesus all the time. You haven’t met the Jesus I’ve met. Like, you can watch The Sixth Sense three or four times and get all the Easter eggs, and by the fifth time, it’s boring. Oh, not with Jesus. Jesus is like the great diamond, the perfectly cut diamond with hundreds of facets. You’re examining each one. Did you see this one? Did you see this one? Look how radiant. Look how beautiful. You’ll never get bored looking for things about Jesus. You could read the entire Old Testament every day, all the days of your life, and still not see all of the types that point us to the beauty and goodness and righteousness of Christ.

Second side note, people will sometimes then ask, does this mean that the Old Testament is just allegory, like myth? I want to make it very clear. The answer is no. The Bible is historically accurate. It all actually happened. Adam was a real human being. He actually lived. It was real. Side note to the side note, the archaeological evidence for that is overwhelming. Noah was a real human being who really did build a really big boat. God really did send a flood that killed hundreds of millions of people. Except for Noah and his family. That’s an actual true story, not a metaphor, not a myth. It actually happened. It’s historical. God orchestrated those real events with Jesus in mind. So the Bible is both typological and historical. We read it with typology and historicity, not one or the other. 

So those are our first two. Number one was that you should be a typologist. You should embrace typology. Number two, there are some examples, by the way. This is like a fun little game I’ve played with my nerdy, Bible scholar friends. Just, like, throw a story from the Old Testament and try to find Jesus in it, like, to see how good. It’s really good. It’s really fun. I did this recently. I threw someone the story of Elisha being made fun of by the teenage boys, and then he calls the bear. The bear comes out and kills the teenage boys for mocking the prophet. You’re like, where’s Jesus in that? It was so good. Okay, we can talk about it later.

How Does This Apply to Our Lives Now?

Number three, how does this apply to our lives in the here and now? How does it apply to our lives? There are a few practical implications for this. 

Number one is this. I’ve already said this, but number one is when you read the Old Testament, you should look for Jesus. Look for Jesus. And specifically, you’re looking for things about Jesus that will stoke your affections. What will cause me to love him more? The number two greatest implication for our lives is the truth that God has orchestrated the entire events of human history with the goal of revealing Jesus. We could be so impressed with the directors who could pull it off. Well, we should be more impressed with the God who’s done it. God perfectly put together the pieces of human history with the goal of revealing Jesus. 

Here are some implications of that if you are here, if you don’t believe in Jesus. If you’re here and you say I’m not a true follower of Jesus, I’m not all in on Jesus. I want to make it very clear to you. If the God of human history and the God of creation orchestrated the entire events of human history, sovereignly, providentially orchestrated the lives of hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people. If he did all of that to show Jesus, seeing Jesus is a big deal to him. Therefore, we must look to Jesus. If you do not believe, if you don’t trust in Him, I challenge you, look to Christ. There is no other way to be saved. If you have friends and family who don’t love Jesus, who are not all in, if they’re 98% all in on Jesus, 98% in on Jesus, that’s not enough. Jesus orchestrated the entire events of human history to reveal Jesus. He’s not just gonna go, well, you didn’t believe in Jesus. Well, yeah, but you were a nice person. You gave that homeless guy money once. You never murdered anyone. You didn’t believe in Jesus, you didn’t really believe in the Bible the way you’re supposed to. But, eh, we’ll just let it slide. We’ll let you into heaven. That’s not how it’s gonna go. If you have friends and family who deny the basics of the Christian faith, who are not all in on Jesus, they are going to face the wrath of God. I implore you to pray for them and to tell them about Jesus. That should shape how you think about Jesus. Revealing Jesus is such a big deal to God that revealing Jesus to others should be a big deal to us.

Last implication, how does it apply to our lives? The first one was to read your Bible, look for Jesus. Number two, if you’re not a believer, believe in him. If you have family members who don’t believe, implore them to believe. Number three, the third implication of how it impacts your life is this: There will be moments where you are tempted to forget that God sovereignly orchestrated the world to reveal his son. There will be moments where you are tempted to forget that, and I want to encourage you to remember. There will be moments when you are tempted to feel anxious or concerned. Maybe you’re facing difficulty in a marriage, or maybe there’s some financial situation, or things are tight. Maybe you’re dealing with a broken immigration system. You’re trying to figure that out. Maybe you’re facing some sort of problem in your business. Maybe you’re dealing with taking care of a parent who’s nearing the end of life. There are these moments in our lives, these moments where we are tempted to be concerned and allow anxiety to flood our souls. In those moments, it is so helpful to pause and remember that the God of the universe sovereignly orchestrated everything so that we could see Jesus, so that we could see Him.

He did all of that for our instruction. Does that sound like the kind of God who’s going to just forget about you now? Does that sound like the kind of God who’s going to let you face difficulty on your own? Does the God of the universe sound like the kind of God who will stop being faithful to you and his people? Does he sound like the kind of God who has ever failed anyone? Does he sound like the kind of God who will ever begin to fail anyone?

Closing

He’s never failed You, Church, and he never will. He’s never failed his people, and he’s not about to start now. The God who sovereignly orchestrated all of the events of human history so that you would see Jesus is the same God who has promised to be faithful to you. If he could do all of that for you to see Jesus, then He will take care of all of your needs on this day and all of your days. He has been faithful to generations, and he will be faithful to you. Let’s read the Old Testament and let’s look for Christ the Savior, who has been faithful to us and has promised to be faithful to us for all of our lives. Would you pray with me?

Father in heaven, we thank you. We thank you for the theologians who could teach us things like typology. We thank you for the writer of Hebrews to tell us that these things are shadows. Help us to read the Old Testament well. May we learn who you are. May we learn things about Jesus, and may it stoke our affections for Christ and Christ alone. May we read your Word and see you. May we put faith in Christ, in Christ alone. May we implore those we know who do not believe to believe, and may we know, may we remember, that you have been faithful through generations, and you will continue to be faithful to us in the moment and the hard moments of our lives, when we’re facing difficulties. May this truth come to our memory. May the truth, that you sovereignly orchestrated everything so that we could see Jesus. May that truth, may that reality comfort us all the days of our lives. I pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

Communion

Now we come to communion as we do each week. Each week we pause and we take communion to remember Jesus, our great superhero, the one who is the center of the story, old and new, the one who established a great new covenant on our behalf. If you’re here this morning, you are a Christian. You are a follower of Jesus, you say, Kenny, I’m all in on Jesus. I’m so glad you’re here. I want to invite you to participate in communion with us this morning. To remember Jesus with us this morning. If you are here this morning, you’re not a Christian, you would say, Kenny, I’m not really all in on Jesus just yet. I’m so glad you’re here. Thank you for being here this morning. If that’s you, I’d love to talk to you after the service if you’re available. Or if you’re available, go grab lunch with us. If you want to, I’d love to sit with it, have a taco, and talk about Jesus with you. I’d love to tell you about the one who sovereignly orchestrated all things to reveal himself to you. But if that’s you, if you would say, I’m not a Christian, I’m not all in. If that’s you, I would ask you not to participate in communion with us this morning. Communion is for Christians only, so in just a moment, we’re going to pass the baskets. If that’s you and you’re not a believer, just let the basket pass. But I implore you, don’t let the moment pass. In this moment, believe in Christ. Take Christ this morning. And again, if you have any questions about that, I’d love to talk to you about it after the service. 

But for those of us who have taken Christ, for those of us who have put our faith in him, which I know is most of the people in this room, for you, let’s pause as we take communion and remember the one who has been faithful to us, the firm foundation of our faith. In just a moment, we’re going to pass the baskets. For those of you who are new with us. If you’re with us for the first time, you have two options. There’s a small cup here. This is a gluten-free bread and grape juice. You can grab one of those. And then there’s a little mini chalice, what I call it. And there’s a little W on that. This is real wine and gluten-free bread. Grab whichever one’s your preference. Hold onto it. I’ll come back and lead us together. Let’s remember Christ together.