That You May Believe - 8

"THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE"
The Father's Testimony Through Scripture
Part One

We saw where Jesus appealed to His Father's testimony through signs. Miracles and wonders that Jesus did (e.g., turning water to wine, healing the nobleman's son, healing the lame man, etc.), in which the Father bore witness to Jesus as being sent by God - cf. Jn 5:36. Jesus also appealed to His Father's testimony through scripture, the same Scriptures many looked to for eternal life - Jn 5:39a "You search the Scriptures, because you think you will find eternal life in them.". Scriptures which themselves bore witness to Jesus - cf. Jn 5:39b "The Scriptures tell about me," From Lk 24:44, "Jesus said to them, "While I was still with you, I told you that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Books of the Prophets, and in the Psalms had to happen."", we can assume that Jesus had in mind the following scriptures in The Law of Moses, The Psalms and The Prophets, when He said ""The Scriptures tell about me,". Note Jesus' words in Jn 5:45-47 "Don't think that I will be the one to accuse you to the Father. You have put your hope in Moses, yet he is the very one who will accuse you. Moses wrote about me, and if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me. But if you don't believe what Moses wrote, how can you believe what I say?". In these scriptures were many prophecies concerning the Messiah.

In John's gospel, he records how many of these prophecies bore witness to Jesus as the Messiah. In the writings of Moses the first prophecy is recorded in Gen 3:15 "You and this woman will hate each other; your descendants and hers will always be enemies. One of hers will strike you on the head, and you will strike him on the heel."" depicting the conflict that would exist between Satan and Christ. This conflict was referred to by Jesus in Jn 12:31-33 "This world's people are now being judged, and the ruler of this world is already being thrown out! If I am lifted up above the earth, I will make everyone want to come to me." Jesus was talking about the way he would be put to death."; 14:30 "I cannot speak with you much longer, because the ruler of this world is coming. But he has no power over me." Jesus' resurrection proved Him to be the fulfillment of this conflict - cf. He 2:14-15 "We are people of flesh and blood. That is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death. But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying."

The seed of Abraham is recorded in Gen 12:1-3 "The LORD said to Abram: Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you."; 22:18 "You have obeyed me, and so you and your descendants will be a blessing to all nations on earth."" That in his seed (Christ) all the nations would be blessed. Jesus made reference to the promise made to Abraham - Jn 8:56 "Your father Abraham was really glad to see me."" In their gospels, Matthew and Mark reveal Jesus' genealogy from Abraham .

The prophet to come is recorded in Deu 18:15 "Instead, he will choose one of your own people to be a prophet just like me, and you must do what that prophet says.", 17-19 "Then the LORD told me: Moses, they have said the right thing. So when I want to speak to them, I will choose one of them to be a prophet like you. I will give my message to that prophet, who will tell the people exactly what I have said. Since the message comes from me, anyone who doesn't obey the message will have to answer to me.". The prophet was to be like Moses whom they were to heed. Jesus claimed to be such a spokesman (prophet) from God - Jn 12:48-49 "But everyone who rejects me and my teachings will be judged on the last day by what I have said. I don't speak on my own. I say only what the Father who sent me has told me to say." His apostles later declared Jesus to be this prophet - cf. Ac 3:22-26 "Moses said, "The Lord your God will choose one of your own people to be a prophet, just as he chose me. Listen to everything he tells you. No one who disobeys that prophet will be one of God's people any longer." Samuel and all the other prophets who came later also spoke about what is now happening. You are really the ones God told his prophets to speak to. And you were given the promise that God made to your ancestors. He said to Abraham, "All nations on earth will be blessed because of someone from your family." God sent his chosen Son to you first, because God wanted to bless you and make each one of you turn away from your sins."

From the prophecies of Moses, we turn now to the prophecies recorded by the prophets after Moses. The coming of a forerunner is recorded in Isa 40:3 "Someone is shouting: "Clear a path in the desert! Make a straight road for the LORD our God.". A reference to one who would prepare people for the coming of the Lord. John the Baptist makes reference to this prophecy - Jn 1:19-23 "The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and temple helpers to ask John who he was. He told them plainly, "I am not the Messiah." Then when they asked him if he were Elijah, he said, "No, I am not!" And when they asked if he were the Prophet, he also said "No!" Finally, they said, "Who are you then? We have to give an answer to the ones who sent us. Tell us who you are!" John answered in the words of the prophet Isaiah, "I am only someone shouting in the desert, 'Get the road ready for the Lord!' "" Thus the work and testimony of John the Baptist fulfilled this prophecy.

Several prophecies found in Isa 11:2; 42:1; 61:1 2. In which the Spirit was to come upon the Messiah. A fulfillment to which both John the Baptist and Jesus referis recorded in Jn 1:32-33 "I was there and saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven. And the Spirit stayed on him. Before this I didn't know who he was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water had told me, "You will see the Spirit come down and stay on someone. Then you will know that he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.""; 3:34 "I saw this happen, and I tell you that he is the Son of God." Luke also records how Jesus fulfilled such prophecies - cf. Lk 4:16-21 "Jesus went back to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as usual he went to the meeting place on the Sabbath. When he stood up to read from the Scriptures, he was given the book of Isaiah the prophet. He opened it and read, "The Lord's Spirit has come to me, because he has chosen me to tell the good news to the poor. The Lord has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners, to give sight to the blind, to free everyone who suffers, and to say, 'This is the year the Lord has chosen.' " Jesus closed the book, then handed it back to the man in charge and sat down. Everyone in the meeting place looked straight at Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, "What you have just heard me read has come true today."’

We will continue this lesson in another section looking at the prophecies concerning the rejection of Jesus as a teacher, His entrance into Jerusalem and references to His crucifixion.