Jesus Unmasked: The Truth Will Shock You (17 page)

I see him, but not now;

I behold him, but not near;

A star shall come forth from Jacob,

A
scepter shall rise from Israel
(Num. 24:17).

The prophet Jeremiah predicted a coming king of Israel.

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the
Lord
,

“When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch;

And He will reign as
king
and act wisely

And do justice and righteousness in the land.

“In His days Judah will be saved,

And Israel will dwell securely;

And this is His name by which He will be called,

‘
The Lord our righteousness
’ â€ť (Jer. 23:5–6).

Jesus Is the King

The theme of the entire book of the Gospel of Matthew is: Jesus is the King! The Old Testament kings were merely types, shadows of the true, only, and best king, King Jesus.

Matthew uses the genealogy of Jesus to show that He is a descendant of King David (Matt. 1:6). The magi knew that a king was promised. That is why they asked King Herod, “Where is the newborn King of the Jews?” (Matt. 2:2; NLT).

Kings always had heralds who would go before them to prepare the people for the coming king. John the Baptist was the herald of Jesus (Matt. 3:1–3).

Jesus acted like a king when He entered Jerusalem on a donkey.

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to the Daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, your
king
is coming to you,

Gentle and mounted on a donkey,

Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden’ â€ť (Matt. 21:4–5).

In case anyone was confused that Jesus is King, Matthew made it abundantly clear when Pontius Pilate interrogated Jesus.

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the
King of the Jews
?” And Jesus said to him, “It is as you say” (Matt. 27:11).

Ignorantly, the Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus placed a sign above the crucified King.

And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE
KING OF THE JEWS
” (Matt. 27:37).

The Coming King

One day, King Jesus will return. When He does, it will not be on a donkey, it will be on a stallion.

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a
white horse
, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and
wages war
.
His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.

He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called
The Word of God
. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.

From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will
rule them
with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “
KING OF KINGS
, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:11–16).

Murders are committed and the perpetrator goes free. Rapists rape and the justice system cannot find the scoundrel. Child abusers abuse and frighten a child into a lifetime of shameful silence.

One day, soon, King Jesus will return and He will wage war against sinners. He will “pour out the fierce wrath of God” against each and every sinner for each and every sin.

Justice will be executed for every crime committed against man and God. No dirty deed will go unpunished. No filthy act will escape His eye. Every dark activity will be brought into the light.

He who planted the ear, does He not hear?

He who formed the eye, does He not see? (Ps. 94:9).

Not Just Criminals

While you might rejoice that King Jesus is going to deal with the “bad guys,” here is the problem: we are all bad guys. You may not think you have committed a really big crime, but all sins are a crime against God and He will seek you out, find you, and bring you into the courtroom of His justice and He will sentence you.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will
not inherit
the
kingdom of God
? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,
nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the
kingdom of God
(1 Cor. 6:9–10).

We are all in trouble, unless we have a perfect prophet, a perfect priest, and a perfect king.

Munus Triplex: Threefold Office

An Old Testament prophet could not hold the office of priest or king. An Old Testament priest could not be a prophet or king. An Old Testament king could not be a priest or prophet.

Jesus Christ was and is all three!

Jesus Christ is the king who submitted Himself to the will of the Father and left His throne to humble Himself and live as a servant (Phil. 2:7) to die for His rebellious subjects.

Jesus Christ is the great High Priest who mediates a new covenant and offers complete and total forgiveness because of His redemptive work.

Jesus Christ is the prophet who rightly predicted the future when He said,

But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on
His glorious throne
.
All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

Then the
King
will say to those on His right, “
Come, you who are blessed
of My Father, inherit the
kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:31–34).

Then He will also say to those on His left, “
Depart from Me
, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. . . .”
These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (Matt. 25:41–46).

Heed Prophet Jesus’ prediction. Today, bow before the King. The great High Priest will apply His redemptive work to you and He will save you “
to the uttermost
” (Heb. 7:25; ESV).

To the Uttermost

What does it mean to be saved “to the uttermost?”

1. Jesus will save the vilest of sinners (Luke 23:40–43).

2. Jesus will forgive all sins, past, present, and future (Col. 2:13–14).

3. Jesus will cleanse your conscience (Heb. 9:13–14).

4. Jesus will give you a new nature (Eph. 4:23, 24; Col. 3:10).

5. Jesus will help you make sense of the world (Rom. 12:2).

6. Jesus will give you hope (Rom. 15:4).

7. Jesus will give you a future (1 Pet. 1:3–5).

Jesus is willing to save you to the uttermost. Would you expect anything less from the King of the universe?

Chapter 16 — Jesus Is People

Do you know what Adam and Eve did when their son, Cain, killed his brother Abel?

They raised Cain.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Two shows on Saturday, try the veal and trip your waitress.

Perhaps you knew that Abel was the first murder victim in history, but did you know Abel was a prophet who was the first person to be a type of Jesus? God did not waste time after the Fall to give us a picture of the Savior in the form of a person.

The Old Testament lists many people who are shadowy pictures of Jesus. Remember, types are LESSER pictures of the substance, Jesus. We also have to practice caution that we don’t ascribe too many details between the shadow and the fulfillment.

Abel

Abel offered a blood sacrifice to God in faith. God was pleased.

Cain gave a faithless grain offering. God was not pleased.

Cain committed the first murder by whacking his brother Abel (Gen. 4:3–8).

Jesus Is Like Abel, Only Better

Hebrews 12:24 tells us that the blood of Jesus speaks of better things than the blood of Abel. The first murder was a fuzzy picture of the most heinous murder of all time.

Jesus, like Abel, was killed by His brothers, His fellow Jews.

Abel’s sacrifice of an animal only provided a temporary covering for sins; Jesus’ sacrifice provided complete and total forgiveness of sins.

Melchizedek

If you are looking for a unique name for your newborn son, Melchizedek is available. Melchizedek is also an Old Testament type of Jesus.

One day, Abraham was returning from war when he met a king of Salem (ancient Jerusalem) named Melchizedek. While we are not given many details about this fellow, we are told that he was a “priest of God Most High” (Gen. 14:18). Sketchy, very sketchy.

This priest blessed Abraham and Abraham gave him a tenth of his spoils.

This story seems to be inserted without much fanfare and for apparently no reason — until two thousand years later when the author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is a “priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb.4:17).

As always, Jesus, the substance, is better than the shadow.

> Jesus was not just a priest, but a High Priest (Heb. 4:14).

> Jesus is the guarantee of a better covenant (Heb. 7:22).

> Jesus is not merely the King of Salem but the King of everything (Rev. 1:4–5).

> Genesis does not provide the ancestry or death of Melchizedek, making his priesthood appear eternal. Jesus’ priesthood is eternal (Heb. 7:3).

Isaac

This story is told in detail in chapter 4, so you likely recall the details.

> A loving father (Abraham) nearly sacrificed his only beloved son, Isaac (Gen. 22:2).

> Isaac was completely unaware of what was going to happen (Gen. 22:7).

> The location of the sacrifice was Mount Moriah, outside of the city of Jerusalem (Gen. 22:2).

> The son carried wood to the sacrifice (Gen. 22:6).

Isaac Is a Type of Jesus

> God the Father actually sacrificed His only beloved Son, Jesus (John 3:16).

> Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen to Him (John 16:16).

> Jesus was sacrificed outside of the city of Jerusalem (Heb. 13:12), likely on Mount Moriah.

> Jesus carried wood, a Cross, to His sacrifice (John 19:7).

The story of Isaac ends with a beloved Father NOT sacrificing his only beloved son on a mountain outside of Jerusalem. Two thousand years later, when we visit that same mountain, the Father did not stop.

Moses

When Moses died, it was said of him:

Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel
like Moses
, whom the
Lord
knew face to face,
for all the signs and wonders which the
Lord
sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land,
and for all the mighty power and for all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel (Deut. 34:10–12).

Moses, the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, was predicting the future when he said:

The
Lord
your God will raise up for you
a prophet like
me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him (Deut. 18:15).

Jesus proclaimed Himself to the fulfillment of this prophecy when He said, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for
he wrote about Me
(John 5:46).

Moses was a servant. Jesus was a servant.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve
, and to give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

Moses gave the Law. Jesus magnified the Law in the Sermon on the Mount, repeatedly saying, “You have heard [from Moses] . . . but I say to you . . .” (Matt. 5:21, 27, 33, 38, 43).

Moses led the captives to freedom. Jesus purchased our freedom (John 8:31–32).

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.
And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

“
The Spirit of the
Lord
is upon Me
,

Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor
.

He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives
,

And recovery of sight to the blind
,

To
set free
those who are oppressed
,

To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
.”

And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture
has been fulfilled
in your hearing”
(Luke 4:16–21).

Moses delivered the Jews from slavery and death. Jesus delivers us from the slavery of sin and death (2 Cor. 1:10).

Moses brought the Jews to the Promised Land. Jesus promises to bring us to the greater Promised Land.

In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare
a place for you
.
If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you
to Myself, that where I am,
there
you may be also
(John 14:2,3).

Jonah

Jesus answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet (Matt. 12:39).

Jonah was a prophet. Jesus was a prophet (Luke 24:19).

Jonah was in the belly of a big fish for three days. Jesus was in the belly of the earth for three days (Matt. 12:39).

Jonah preached repentance. Jesus preached repentance (Mark 1:15).

King Solomon

The son of David, Solomon, was considered the wisest man to ever live. Jesus declared:

“The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold,
something greater than Solomon
is here” (Matt. 12:42).

How was Jesus a Solomon type?

> Solomon and Jesus were both from the line of David (Matt. 1:6).

> Solomon and Jesus were both kings (Rev. 19:16).

> Solomon and Jesus were both wise (Luke 2:47; Mark 12:17).

> Solomon built the temple; Jesus built the Church (Matt. 16:18).

> Solomon built a massive physical kingdom; Jesus is building a larger spiritual kingdom (Matt. 16:18).

Other People Who Probably Were Types

Remember, we are using a conservative rule: we can only be sure of Old Testament types and shadows if the New Testament confirms them. Having said that, there are some people who just scream “Jesus-type,” even though the New Testament doesn’t directly affirm them as a type.

Boaz

In the Book of Ruth, we are shown a concept that was quite common in Israel: the kinsman redeemer (Deut. 25:5–6). A kinsman redeemer would marry the widowed wife of a deceased brother. This was done to keep the brother’s name alive.

In the Book of Ruth, we read the story of a poor, pagan widow named Ruth. A loving relative of her deceased husband, Boaz, gladly redeemed her and made her his bride (Ruth 3, 4). He did not redeem her by paying for her, he redeemed her situation and bought her out of poverty to a better life.

Jesus Is a Boaz Type

> Boaz was a loving man. Jesus is supremely loving (1 John 4:8).

> Boaz provided a better physical life. Jesus provides eternal life.

> Boaz redeemed one person. Jesus redeems millions.

Joseph

If any Old Testament person appears to be a “type of Christ” without being affirmed in the New Testament, it is Joseph. To read one of the most gripping and moving stories ever written, read the story of Joseph in Genesis 37 thru 45.

This chart from Andrew Bernhardt’s website lists the many, many similarities between Joseph and Jesus.
1
Are all of these comparisons accurate? Maybe. The point is, Joseph sure appears to be a Jesus-type.