Sermon: Christ Fulfills the Scriptures
Scripture: Matthew 5:17
In this week’s lessons, we learn what it means that Jesus fulfilled what was written in the law and the prophets.
Theme: “For the Sake of the Son”
Have you ever asked yourself in the course of your own study of the Word of God if there is a theme to the Old Testament, and if so what it is? It is a question with which every Old Testament theologian must grapple and for which a variety of answers have been given. Some say that the only theme you find there is a historical theme. It is the birth, rise, and development of the Hebrew nation. Others say that what you find in the Old Testament is primarily a record of the evolution of ideas about God, man, law, justice, and so on. Still others deny that there is a unifying theme at all. What do you think? You should be able to say, as every Christian should say, “Oh, it is true that there is a historical side to the Old Testament and that there is a development of ideas in a certain sense; but this is not the theme of the Old Testament any more than it is the theme of the New Testament. The theme of the Old and New Testaments is the Lord Jesus Christ. For he is the one who was promised, who came, and whose ministry is now recorded and interpreted for our understanding.”
Do you know what Martin Luther said on this point? He knew this and wrote, “What purpose other than this proclamation does Scripture have from beginning to end? Messiah, God’s Son, was to come and through His sacrifice, as an innocent Lamb of God, bear and remove the sins of the world and thus redeem men from eternal death for eternal salvation. For the sake of Messiah and God’s Son Holy Scripture was written, and for His sake everything that happened took place.”1
Do you believe that? If you do, you understand what all of Scripture and all of life is about. If you do not, you are missing the point of it all in God’s sight, no matter how perceptive you may be in other areas. According to the Bible, Jesus Christ is the hinge and focal point of history. And he has come to be your personal Savior and your Lord.
Study Questions:
What overarching themes have people suggested for the Old Testament?
What such theme is offered in this study?
Application: What does it mean in your own life that Jesus is the focal point of history? How does that affect everything you say, think, and do?
Key Point: According to the Bible, Jesus Christ is the hinge and focal point of history. And he has come to be your personal Savior and your Lord.
1Martin Luther, What Luther Says, compiled by Ewald M. Plass (Saint Louis: Concordia, 1959), vol. 1, 69.
