The Words and Works of Jesus Christ

1. The thematic purpose of Christ's life was the offer of the covenanted kingdom to Israel

Jesus Christ came to the nation Israel to present Himself as the promised Messiah and to offer that nation the covenanted kingdom in which He would rule as Savior-Sovereign in peace and righteousness.

The theological theme. The life of Christ must be understood through His central mission: presenting Himself to Israel as their promised Messiah. This was not merely a spiritual invitation but a genuine offer of the covenanted kingdom in which He would reign as Sovereign. A geographical or purely chronological study of the Gospels often obscures this underlying theme. Every word He spoke and every miracle He performed served to authenticate this offer to the covenant people.

The foundational covenants. This offer was grounded in the unconditional covenants God made with Israel's ancestors. The Abrahamic covenant promised a land, a numerous posterity, and universal blessing. The Davidic covenant guaranteed that a descendant of David would sit on his throne and rule over his house forever. Jesus came as the ultimate heir to these promises, offering to establish the long-awaited era of peace and righteousness.

The necessity of repentance. Before Israel could receive these covenant blessings, the nation had to turn back to God in true repentance. This was the message of John the Baptist and Jesus alike. The kingdom was "near," but its actualization depended on the spiritual readiness of the people. The tragedy of the narrative is that the nation, influenced by its leaders, rejected the King, leading to the postponement of the earthly kingdom and a shift in Christ's ministry toward preparing His disciples for His death.

• The Abrahamic Covenant: Promised land, seed, and universal blessing.
• The Davidic Covenant: Guaranteed an eternal throne, house, and kingdom.
• The New Covenant: Promised internal cleansing and the forgiveness of sins.

2. Jesus' identity as the divine Messiah was legally and physically authenticated by His ancestry and advent

The Davidic descent of Jesus was never questioned; His claim to be the Messiah was never contested on the ground that His descent from David was doubtful

A flawless lineage. To establish His legal right to David's throne, the Gospels present two distinct genealogies that converge in Jesus. Matthew traces the royal, legal line through Joseph, bypassing the prophetic curse on Jeconiah, while Luke traces the physical line through Mary back to David's son Nathan. This dual lineage legally and biologically qualified Jesus to claim the messianic office without dispute from His contemporary critics.

Supernatural arrival. The advent of the King was marked by miraculous, divine interventions that shattered four centuries of prophetic silence. From the angelic announcements to Zechariah, Mary, and Joseph, to the virgin conception by the Holy Spirit, every detail pointed to a supernatural origin. These events demonstrated that the coming King was not merely a human hero but the eternal Son of God in human flesh.

• The virgin birth in Bethlehem, fulfilling the prophecy of Micah.
• The adoration of the Magi, representing the future submission of Gentile nations.
• The preservation of the infant King through the flight to Egypt.

Divine approval. At His baptism, Jesus was officially anointed by the Holy Spirit and publicly approved by the Father's voice from heaven. This was followed by His victory over Satan in the wilderness, proving His moral perfection and right to rule. By resisting temptations of physical appetite, pride, and worldly power, He demonstrated His absolute obedience to the Father's will and His moral fitness to be the Savior-Sovereign.

3. The King's authority was systematically proven through supernatural works over nature, disease, demons, and sin

These were made to argue Deity, Divine power possessed by nature and exercised by right.

Demonstrating sovereign power. Jesus did not expect the nation to accept His claims blindly; He authenticated His messianic identity through a series of miraculous signs. These works were not mere spectacles to entertain the crowds, but deliberate demonstrations of His authority over every realm of creation. By healing the sick, calming the sea, and casting out demons, He showed that the power of God was actively present in Him.

Spheres of authority. The miracles of Jesus served as His credentials, proving that He possessed the divine power necessary to establish and govern the promised kingdom. Each miracle targeted a specific area of human brokenness or natural limitation, showing His complete control over the physical and spiritual realms:

• Authority over nature, demonstrated by turning water into wine and stilling the storm.
• Authority over demons, proving His power to bind Satan's kingdom.
• Authority over physical disease, cleansing lepers and restoring sight to the blind.
• Authority to forgive sins, validated by physically healing the paralytic.

A kingdom preview. These remedial miracles provided a tangible preview of the future millennial kingdom, where sickness, demonic oppression, and natural discord will be completely subdued. They forced the observers to make a decision regarding His person. To accept the miracles was to acknowledge Him as the divine King; to reject them was to reject God's own testimony and remain in spiritual darkness.

4. The Sermon on the Mount redefined the true, internal righteousness required to enter the kingdom

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

An internal standard. In His inaugural discourse, Jesus shattered the popular religious misconceptions of His day by exposing the inadequacy of Pharisaic righteousness. While the Pharisees focused entirely on external conformity to traditional laws, Jesus demanded a righteousness of the heart that reflects the absolute holiness of God. He explained that the law was not merely a code of outward conduct, but a standard of internal purity.

The law transfigured. Jesus systematically contrasted the traditional, superficial interpretations of the law with its true, spiritual intent. He showed that God's holiness judges the internal attitude just as severely as the external act, demanding a complete transformation of the inner man:

• Anger and contempt are judged as the root of murder.
• Lustful desires are condemned as adultery of the heart.
• Oaths are rendered unnecessary by absolute truthfulness in speech.
• Love must be extended even to enemies, reflecting the Father's perfect love.

A call to faith. The Sermon on the Mount was designed to drive His hearers to a state of spiritual bankruptcy, forcing them to realize their inability to save themselves. By demanding absolute perfection, Jesus showed that entrance into the kingdom is impossible through human merit. True righteousness cannot be earned by legalistic works; it must be received as a gift from God through faith in the Person of the King.

5. The rejection of the King by Israel's leaders led to the postponement of the earthly kingdom

Once arrived at the conclusion, that the miracles which Christ did were due to the power of Satan, and that He was the representative of the Evil One, their course was rationally and morally chosen.

The fatal turning point. The growing hostility of the religious leaders culminated in a blasphemous rejection of Jesus' messianic credentials. When Jesus healed a blind and mute demoniac, the Pharisees could not deny the miracle, so they attributed His power to Beelzebub, the prince of demons. This deliberate rejection of the Holy Spirit's testimony marked the national repudiation of the King.

The unpardonable sin. By attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan, the leaders committed a sin for which there was no forgiveness for that generation. This national sin sealed the fate of the Jewish commonwealth and led to the postponement of the covenanted kingdom. The consequences of this rejection were severe and far-reaching:

• The withdrawal of the immediate offer of the earthly kingdom.
• The pronouncement of temporal judgment upon the city of Jerusalem.
• The spiritual blindness judicially imposed upon the nation of Israel.

A shift in focus. Following this national rejection, Jesus changed the character of His ministry. He no longer publicly proclaimed that the kingdom was at hand, but began to speak of His approaching death and resurrection. He turned His attention from the nation as a whole to the private instruction and preparation of His chosen disciples, preparing them for a new phase of God's redemptive program.

6. The parables of the kingdom revealed the mysterious, spiritual form of God's rule during the present age

The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you

Revealing the mysteries. In response to the nation's rejection, Jesus began to teach the multitudes in parables, a method designed to reveal truth to His disciples while hiding it from unbelievers. These parables described the "secrets" of the kingdom—a previously unrevealed form of God's rule that would exist between His rejection and His future return. This interim period is characterized by the spiritual sowing of the Word.

Interim characteristics. The parables of Matthew 13 outline the course of the kingdom program during this present age of postponement. They describe a mixed environment where good and evil coexist until the final harvest:

• The Sower: The Word is sown with varying responses based on the condition of the heart.
• The Wheat and Tares: True believers and false professors coexist in the world until the end.
• The Mustard Seed and Leaven: The kingdom grows from an insignificant start to a vast, pervasive influence.
• The Treasure and Pearl: God purchases a peculiar treasure from both Israel and the Gentiles.

The final separation. This mystery form of the kingdom will eventually terminate in a solemn judgment at the second coming of Christ. The angels will separate the righteous from the unrighteous, just as fish are sorted from a net. Only those who have received the righteousness of Christ by faith will be permitted to enter the literal, millennial kingdom when it is finally established on earth.

7. The Transfiguration provided a premature, glorious preview of the future, literal kingdom

For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased'

A glimpse of glory. To encourage His disciples after predicting His death, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a high mountain and was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as light, revealing the essential, divine glory that was normally veiled by His human flesh. This event was a literal, physical preview of the glory that will characterize His future, earthly reign.

Kingdom representatives. The Transfiguration featured key historical figures who represented different aspects of God's prophetic program. Their presence confirmed that the law and the prophets pointed to the suffering and subsequent glory of the Messiah:

• Moses, representing the Law and those saints who will enter the kingdom through resurrection.
• Elijah, representing the Prophets and those saints who will be translated without seeing death.
• Peter, James, and John, representing the Jewish remnant that will enter the earthly kingdom.

The Father's voice. The climax of the Transfiguration was the cloud of Shekinah glory that enveloped them and the audible voice of the Father commanding them to listen to His Son. This divine testimony silenced Peter's foolish suggestion to build tabernacles, redirecting their attention to the supreme authority of Jesus. The disciples were thus assured that the promised kingdom, though postponed, was an absolute certainty.

8. The raising of Lazarus served as the ultimate, undeniable proof of Christ's authority over death

This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found

Sovereignty over the grave. The restoration of Lazarus was the climactic miracle of Jesus' public ministry, deliberately delayed to ensure that Lazarus had been in the grave for four days. By raising a man whose body had already begun to decay, Jesus demonstrated His absolute authority over death and decay. This miracle was designed to confirm the faith of His disciples in the face of His own approaching crucifixion.

The Resurrection and the Life. In His conversation with Martha, Jesus redirected her faith from a future, abstract doctrine of resurrection to His own divine Person. He revealed that eternal life is a present, indestructible possession for all who believe in Him:

• "I am the resurrection and the life."
• Believers who die physically will live eternally.
• Living believers who trust in Him will never truly die.

The Sanhedrin's panic. Rather than leading the religious leaders to repentance, this undeniable miracle threw them into a panic. They realized that if they let Jesus continue, the entire nation would follow Him, prompting a Roman intervention. Consequently, the Sanhedrin formally resolved to put Jesus to death, unwittingly setting in motion the very sacrifice that would provide redemption for the world.

9. The death of the King was a voluntary, substitutionary sacrifice that instituted the New Covenant

It is finished!

A voluntary sacrifice. The crucifixion of Jesus was not a tragic accident of history or a victory for His enemies, but the deliberate fulfillment of the divine plan of redemption. Jesus went to the cross voluntarily, laying down His life of His own accord in perfect obedience to the Father's will. His death was a substitutionary sacrifice, bearing the physical and spiritual death deserved by sinful humanity.

The New Covenant. At the Last Supper, Jesus used the elements of bread and wine to institute a new memorial that would replace the old Passover feast. He explained that His broken body and shed blood would establish the New Covenant promised by the prophets:

• The bread, representing His body given as a sacrifice for His people.
• The cup, representing His blood shed for the remission of sins.
• The perpetual memorial, to be observed by believers in remembrance of Him.

The completed work. As He hung on the cross, Jesus cried out, "It is finished," announcing that the debt of sin had been paid in full. The rending of the temple veil from top to bottom symbolized that the barrier between God and man had been removed, granting believers direct access to the Holy of Holies. His death satisfied the righteous demands of God's justice, making salvation available to all.

10. The Resurrection and Ascension validated the King's person, His message, and His future return

Truly you are the Son of God

The ultimate vindication. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day was the supreme, historical validation of His claim to be the Son of God and the Messiah. By conquering death, He proved that His sacrifice had been accepted by the Father and that His authority was absolute. The empty tomb and His subsequent appearances to His disciples transformed their despair into triumphant faith.

The Great Commission. Before His ascension, the resurrected King met with His disciples to deliver His final, authoritative commission. He commanded them to extend the message of the kingdom and the forgiveness of sins to all nations:

• "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."
• "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them."
• "Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you."

The King's return. The life of Christ on earth concluded with His visible ascension into heaven, where He sat down at the right hand of the Father in glory. This departure, however, is not permanent; He promised to return in power and great glory to establish His literal, earthly kingdom. Until that day, His disciples are to carry His message to the ends of the earth, sustained by His promised presence.