If you remember from last weekend’s message, Jesus told His opponents “Moses wrote about Me.” The question is – how and where did Moses mention Jesus? The clue is found in John 1:14 “…we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” If you want to find Jesus in the Old Testament, look for “grace and truth.” Those are the marks of the second person of the godhead.
In this message we will complete the comparison between the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament and Jesus of Nazareth in the New Testament. The conclusion is this – What Jesus has done for His people, He continues to do for us today. We can trust His promises. He is always faithful.
When we study the Old Testament and the New Testament side by side we begin to realize that Jesus was none other than the “Angel of the Lord” who visited His people time and again before His birth 2000 years ago. In His pre-incarnate visits He did certain ministries for His people. Amazingly, those were the same ministries that He performed in His years on earth. And, yes – those are the same ministries that He still does for His people today. What is He doing in your life right now?
1 John 1:3 - Ὃ ἑωράκαμεν καὶ ἀκηκόαμεν, ἀπαγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν, ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς κοινωνίαν ἔχητε μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν· καὶ ἡ κοινωνία δὲ ἡ ἡμετέρα μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ· My Translation: 1 John 1:3 What we have seen and heard, we announce to you, in order that even you may have fellowship with us and our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Some Devotional Thoughts: John tells his readers that he is not content with having been with Jesus and seen His glory. He invites them to have fellowship with himself and those who have been with Jesus. In essence they will be having fellowship with God the Father and Jesus the Son. Unfortunately, Christianity today is very selfish. We have a personal relationship with God. We feel His presence in us. To the contrary, true fellowship with Jesus invites others to participate in the same joy and truth. Are you inviting others to join in your fellowship with Jesus.
Have you seen the news lately? More ISIS beheadings; Ebola claims more victims; unemployment on the rise; further attacks on traditional marriage; and the list goes on. One wonders – where is God in all this? Is He just sitting up there twiddling his thumbs? Has He abandoned us to our own destruction? These were the same questions that people were asking in the first century and just when it seemed as if all hope was gone, Jesus was born as a little baby in a manger. Who would expect God to show up in such innocence, humility, and simplicity! He came in the most unexpected and simple way and the first invitees to His coming were humble shepherds. So where is God in this crazy world? He is working in the most unexpected places and in the most humble manner. He is saving those who are willing to hear His voice.