Posted on 11/25/2005 10:04:50 AM PST by sionnsar
From the Rev. Charles Camlin of Holy Trinity REC in Fairfax, Virginia, we have another fine sermon--this one on Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Based on John 6, Rev. Camlin has penned quite a reflection for the Sunday Next Before Advent--one that indeed is fitting for a prelude to the Advent season. This portion is particularly apt for this season:
First of all, let us consider how this miracle points to Jesus as the Christ or Messiah. Beginning at the record of the Fall of man in Genesis three, there is a promise that God would send a descendant of Adam and Eve who would come to deliver man from the double curse of sin and death. As you read through the Old Testament, there are numerous prophecies concerning this deliverer—who was eventually named the Anointed One—which in the Hebrew language is Messiah and in the Greek language is Christ. The words are synonymous.Not a bad sermon for the Sunday Next Before Advent, eh? Rev. Camlin also has some striking thoughts on the Eucharist in this sermon--see what you think.
One of the major prophecies concerning the Messiah in the Old Testament comes from the Book of Deuteronomy. If you remember, during that period of time, Israel had just spent the last forty years wandering in the wilderness because they had refused to obey the Lord and take the Promised Land. That older generation had died and the younger people were being prepared by Moses to enter into the Land and to live under God’s covenant. In the eighteenth chapter, Moses gives them this promise: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, according to all you desired of the LORD your God in Horeb [another name for Mt. Sinai] in the day of the assembly, saying, 'Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.' "And the LORD said to me: 'What they have spoken is good. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.’
Notice from this passage that what is being promised is that the Messiah would be a Prophet like Moses —which meant He would teach God’s Word, but also perform miracles. In numerous passages of John’s gospel, Jesus is presented as the new Moses—including the miracle we have read about today. First of all, this event takes place on a mountain—look at verse three of our passage: “And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.” This should call to mind Moses at Mt. Sinai. Second, it was a common belief among the Jews in the first century that the Messiah would come at Passover— notice what verse four of our passage says, “Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.” Third, after Jesus feeds the hungry people with the five loaves and two fish, the people recognize Him as the prophet promised in the Book of Deuteronomy—look at verse fourteen in our passage: “Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, ‘This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.’” And fourth, the ensuing verses show that the Jews who were present saw the feeding of the five thousand as a repeat of the Israelites receiving manna—bread from heaven, in the wilderness during the time of Moses.
Certainly all of this is true—Jesus is the Christ—the long awaited Messiah. Just as God sent Moses to deliver the children of Israel from their bondage to the Egyptians, so did God send Jesus Christ as deliverer. But the people expected the Messiah to deliver them from their Roman oppressors. Jesus Christ came to deliver them from their bondage to sin and death. In fact, if you look at verse fifteen, they wanted to make Jesus king by force, which He rejected. All of these factors point to Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promise. He is the Messiah who came to bear our sin, to defeat death, and to give us new life.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
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