Lechem Panim #117 "Looking Back To See Ahead" (Acts 1:12-26) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. 

Experiential History— I want to open up today by talking a little bit about history. What is the goal and purpose of history? You know there is so much difference between our western (Greek rooted) way of viewing history and the Biblical (Eastern-rooted) way of viewing history. We see history as a bunch of facts and dates, which is why so many of our young people think that history is boring. And honestly, most of us are not interested in history for that very reason. But the Jewish way of viewing history is vastly different and infinitely more exciting. And that is because when they study history, when they celebrate their chagim (holidays) it is not just about ritual, but committing themselves to experiencing their history, to learn from it, and to allow it to re-shape the way they live their day to day lives. 

No Word For History-- I recently learned that in Hebrew there is actually no word for history. The word they use is zechira, which means “remembrance”. And zechira (the act of taking the time to remember) involves not just knowing what happened at any given time, but understanding those things that led to those events and what things came out of those events. And so they believe that it is in our looking back at our history that we begin to understand who we are and our place in God’s overall plan of salvation. And this is what was happening in that 40 day period following Christ's resurrection. Jesus was teaching His disciples about the Kingdom of God, but He was also connecting them back with the Old Testament, showing how He was the fulfillment of all the messianic prophecy’s. 

456 Prophecies-- Now, just so you are aware, [In total, there are over 456 prophecies stating specific things that the King {(the Messiah)} would do, and Jesus fulfilled them all right down to the smallest details. {In fact, there are}…twenty-nine prophecies that Jesus fulfilled just in the last twenty-four hours of His life.] How Jesus fulfills prophecy is actually one of the greatest evidences we have of the truth of His claims. 

Not Contrived or Accidental-- Now some have argued that Jesus tried to fulfill these prophecies in order to deceive us. The reason that hypothesis falls apart is because when you actually look at the prophecies, you discover that many of those prophecies He fulfilled during (and even prior to) the time He was born, while He was a young child, and also prior, during, and following his execution on the cross; all of which (if He were a mere man) He could have had no say over. Now others suggest that He fulfilled these prophecies by accident; that it is just a coincidence.

Texas Silver Dollars-- But [In his book, Science Speaks, Peter Stoner applies the modern science of probability to just eight prophecies regarding Christ. He says, "The chance that any man might have ...fulfilled all eight prophecies is one in 10 to the 17th. That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000." (one hundred quadrillion) {And just to give us a picture of these odds} Stoner suggests that "we take 10 to the 17th silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state 2 feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly... Blindfold a man and tell him he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up [that one marked silver dollar.] What chance would he have of getting the right one?" Stoner concludes, "Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing those eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man,...providing they wrote them in their own wisdom.”] Now keep in mind that that is JUST 8 PROPHECIES being fulfilled by Jesus. And yet we now know that there are over 456 prophecies that have been fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
    This is why it is so important for us to study and know these scriptures; because if we know them we can prove that Jesus is who He says He was. And this is exactly what we will see a man named Apollos do later in the book of Acts. It says in…

Acts 18:28 (ESV)-- 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.

Peter’s Use of Prophecy at Pentecost-- Peter did this as well. In fact, when we will come to his famous sermon that immediately followed the Holy Spirit’s coming at Pentecost, we will see (a little more in depth) how that sermon is composed primarily of prophecies about Jesus that Peter pulls directly from the Old Testament. And the rest of his sermon is commentary on those passages; him connecting the dots for his Jewish listeners. And this was an exciting thing for the disciples. They understood for the first time how Jesus was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises. And so for those who knew the Old Testament, hearing the apostles show and prove that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah was a powerful powerful thing.

They Understood!!!-- Now one of the things that we wonder as we begin moving through these opening chapters of the book of Acts is: How did the disciples experience such an incredible change in their lives? How did they go from being fearful, Christ-denying and Christ-forsaking cowards to being courageous soldiers of the cross who were ready and able to move mountains on behalf of the gospel? Now you will of course say the Holy Spirit. And you are absolutely correct. The Holy Spirit plays a huge role in the transformation of the hearts and lives of these men (and women). And we will talk about the Holy Spirit more in the coming weeks. But there is another element that is often overlooked, which plays an equal role in their transformation; at it occurred before Pentecost. And that was that for the first time the eyes of the disciples were opened to understand the Old Testament. Now many of these Jewish men had much of the Old Testament memorized; that was just expected during that time. In fact, it was forbidden for any person to speak on any passage of the scripture that they had not first committed to memory. You were expected to know the text before even thinking of teaching it. Even the women were required to have at the very least Psalms, Proverbs, and Deuteronomy completely committed to memory. That’s why, by the way, you will notice that whenever Jesus speaks to a woman, He always quotes to them only from those three books; because those were the books they would have known by memory. And these traditions continue even to this very day.

The Only Man Who Hadn’t Memorized-- Recently I was listening to a man talk about his experience beginning Jewish studies. And as he registered for a class, his rabbi told him he wasn't qualified for the class. And he was a little bit offended, because he had his degree and felt that he knew a lot. But he was a gentile and the rabbi explain to him you don't know what you don't know. But he allowed him to join the class, which he did. But it was not long into the class when he realized that he was the only man in that class who did not have the entire Old Testament memorized from cover to cover. And for the first time he realized that he (though a well educated Christian man) knew nothing about the Bible (at least comparatively). And this same man shared how he once was with a group of Jewish 8-year-boys (my son’s age) in Israel and discovered that they also had massive portions of the Old Testament memorized. And he and the group that was with him decided to put them to the test; and so they asked them to name all the birds mentioned in the Old Testament. And together this group of 8-year-olds named those birds one by one merely by mentally working their way through the text. Because the Word of God (the Old Testament) was so deep in their bones! And what the speaker noted was that every time these 8-year-olds had a free moment, instead of pulling out their cell phones or their gaming machines or their iPads or whatever it is, they would pull out their Bibles and continue memorizing the text. Let me tell you something; the Jews understand what it means to hide the Word of God in the hearts of their children. And the reason they do this is because they know that if they don't, then they are only one generation away from being extinct. Their hope as a people (and our hope as well) rests in the promises given by God to our fathers in history (in time and space).

Knowing Without Understanding-- Now you can memorize something without ever really truly understanding it. Many Jews today have massive parts (if not the whole) of the Old Testament memorized. And yet they miss the very Messiah that the Old Testament prophesies about. 
    The experience for the disciples here in this upper room as they were awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit was that they finally got it! They understood how God was working (and had worked) to bring his Messiah into the world and the Messiah's role in offering atonement (through his blood) for the sins of the world. And because they understood that, their history came together for them in their minds but also (most importantly) in their hearts; and they were willing to charge into the future under the banner of a risen Christ! 

Looking Back-- And this is one of the reasons that we must never let ourselves be convinced that the Old Testament (or history in general) doesn't matter. Winston Churchill once said "The further back you look, the further ahead you will see.” And that is true. If you want to understand current events, then you have to look back and truly understand the history of God’s people. And I want to tell you today that (as a whole) we have allowed ourselves to become very ignorant of our history, particularly our Jewish roots. The Jews in the early Church were able to live dynamic and powerful lives because (for the first time) they could truly see. And the reason they could truly see was because they knew the importance of looking back and the veil had been lifted from their eyes to where they could finally see and understand the Word of God; they finally understood God’s plan (at least in part) and their own role in helping that plan unfold. But it came through their wrestling and coming to grips with the Old Testament.

​Our History-- And so I want to encourage you today (and myself as well); may we also be intentional about studying and knowing the scriptures; because the Old Testament isn’t their heritage. No, it is OUR history. And when their history becomes our history (not just in our minds, but in our hearts), their hope and their joy and their salvation becomes our hope and our joy and our salvation as well. You want to know Jesus (fully) then you must understand His Word. If you want to hear God’s voice clearly; then you must become tuned to His voice in and through His Word. And if you want to have the right words to say at any given moment, fill the reservoir of your heart with His Words; and He will use them at the opportune times both for others and for yourself. And so let us commit (together) to know and walk in the light of His Word. Amen.