NEW DURHAM BAPTIST CHURCH
4614 Tonnelle Ave. North Bergen, New Jersey 07047       (Tel. 201-865-3440)

The Life of Christ
by Dr. Frank J. Cuozzo

Lesson 17

Read Matthew 12:14-23,

"Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; And charged them that they should not make him known: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, I whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust. Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?"

For the last several lessons in this series we’ve been seeing Christ demonstrate His power and authority in many ways. He showed His authority over:

  1. Men – Calling Peter, Andrew, James & John who immediately left all and followed Jesus
  2. Nature – When He told Peter to cast out the net and they caught a great draught of fish.
  3. Demons – When He delivered a man in the synagogue from demonic possession.
  4. Defilement – When He not only healed a leper, but declared him "cleansed."
  5. Sabbath – When His disciples plucked grain on the Sabbath to eat and when Jesus healed on the Sabbath.
  6. Tradition – By He and His disciples not fasting, even as the disciples of John were fasting.

Over and over again, Jesus has validated and authenticated His authority by His words and His works. As Jesus demonstrated His authority and power, it led people to different conclusions:

And so we see one title that the people are attributing to Jesus is that of a prophet; which to the Jewish people is one of the three most highly respected and revered offices of the nation of Israel.

Now as Jesus continued His work, during His first year of ministry, He also proved to fulfill the second most respected and revered office in the nation of Israel and that was the office of the priest.

Remember in Mark chapter one when Jesus healed the leper, He not only healed the leper, which was unheard of, but He pronounced him "cleansed" and even touched the leper, which was forbidden. According to the law only a priest could examine a leper and declare him cleansed. But here Jesus did it – The Great High Priest, Jesus!!!

Again in Luke chapter five, when four men lowered the man with palsy through the roof to Jesus, and Jesus not only healed him, but said, "son, they sins be forgiven thee." Of course the Pharisees said, "Who does Jesus think he is, God? If this man wants his sins forgiven, let him go like everyone else and see the priest." He didn’t have to go to see the priest to make an offering for his sins; he had been healed and forgiven by "the" High Priest, who soon would pay for the sins of the world.

We’ve seen that Jesus in two revered offices: prophet & priest. The final revered office that the nation of Israel exalted was also attributed to Jesus. Look back at Matthew 12:22-23. "Son of David" in other words, "is not this the king", the one who is going to usher in the glorious Kingdom; where the lame will leap like the hart, where the blind will see and the lion will lie down with the lamb! This must be the King of Israel! And folks, by the time that Jesus began His second year of ministry, He had already proven His authority in all three offices that were most honored and revered by the people of Israel. He is prophet, priest and king!! And all three of these Old Testament offices that were designed to meet both the spiritual and material needs of the people of God, were found in one person, the Lord Jesus Christ!! Each of these three Old Testament offices had specific qualifications and responsibilities under God.

For example:

  1. The prophet represented God before man.
    • Truths and secrets were revealed to him about God and about the past as was Moses concerning creation and the fall of man, the flood and so on. Moses was a prophet!
    • Prophets also knew truths and secrets from God about the needs and problems of the present as did Isaiah, Amos, Joel and others.
    • Prophets also knew truths from God about the future as did Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah and so forth.

    A prophet of God had hindsight, insight and foresight; as God revealed truths to him and he represented God before the people. And folks, that’s exactly what Jesus had done!!! In John 1:14, the Bible says, "The Word (logos in the Greek) became flesh and dwelt among us." Jesus is the "prophet" of God among the people.
    1. The priest is the one who was responsible to represent the people before God.
      • Through sacrifices and intercessions the priest mediated on behalf of the people. And so it says in Hebrews 4:14, "seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God!!" Hebrews 7:25 says that Jesus our High Priest, "ever liveth to make intercession for us."

      And so Jesus is a prophet having represented God to man; And Jesus is Priest, representing even now man to God; and
      1. Jesus is King! One day Jesus will rule and reign over man for God.

      Prophet was His past ministry, priest is His present ministry and King is His future ministry. And I said all that to say this, if Jesus fulfilled all three Old Testament offices that were created to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the people. If He were all three of those in Himself, then Jesus must be ALL that God’s people ever really need, Amen!! Or is it true, as contemporary, liberal, modernistic Christianity is teaching by illustration, that the idea that "Jesus alone" is too simplistic? After all, we live in the "new millennium" and we need more. More than the same old answers, the same sermons about prayer and confession and humility and evangelism and discipleship. They’ll say, "We need Jesus, yes!!" Plus we need psychology, we need Jesus plus, philosophy, we need Jesus plus extra-biblical revelation, we need Jesus plus our own experiences. In other words, Jesus as "prophet" is "ALMOST" all that we need, he has given us ALMOST "all things that pertain to life and godliness."

      The reason we say "almost" is because there is this so-called "new truth" that we got from a word of knowledge, there’s this "new" doctrine and these "new truths" and "wonderful insights" that we got from brother so and so at a spiritual awareness retreat! They’ll say, "there’s more to be gained, outside the revealed world so that as "prophet" Jesus is "almost" sufficient! Not only that, but the idea that Jesus is all that we need as "priest" just won’t fly in this day and age. After all, they’ll say, people have "unique" emotional needs and problems today that didn’t exist in the days of Christ and the early Church. People today have deep-seeded problems and they need "professional help." These deep-seeded problems require "extensive counseling" and something more than as C.S. Lewis called "mere Christianity." What C.S. Lewis predicted and warned about in the 1920s has finally come to pass; that Christ and His word are no longer "sufficient" for the people of God!

      Because Christians today are looking for some kid of spiritual fix, for something innovative, cutting edge, something different, something easier, something new, something fun and up to date to solve all their problems & conflicts! Because "El Shaddai", the all-sufficient God, after all in 2007, isn’t really "all-sufficient."

      1. And so He’s not quite enough as "prophet" and the Word of God isn’t all we need;
      2. And He’s not quite enough as "priest", His comfort, strength, guidance and intercession isn’t enough and He isn’t all we need!
      3. And as incredible as it sounds, to many who trust in Christ even Jesus as "King", isn’t all sufficient, because they’ll say, we’ve got to have a hero, we’ve got to have somebody of flesh and bones that we can worship and admire and get all our instructions from, who tells us where to go and what to do and what to say – like Israel who said, "we want a King like the nations."

      All I’m saying folks is that we have gotten away from the simplicity and the "sufficiency" of our prophet and priest and king! He is all that we need! No matter how fancy, exciting, appealing or fascinating some supposed "new truth" might seem, it will never be able to offer any more, than Jesus Christ alone. When we got Christ, we got all that we will ever need!!

      • Colossians 2:9&10 says, "For in Him (Jesus) dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; And ye are complete in Him."
      • Colossians 2:3 says, "In whom (Jesus) are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
      • II Corinthians 12:9 says, "My grace is sufficient for thee."

      It’s enough; it’s all you’ll ever need!!!

      Now, either that’s true, or it’s not!! Either Paul had all that he needed in Christ to deal with his thorn in the flesh or maybe, there was a book out there that he needed to read on "thorns"! Or perhaps a seminar on thorn-bearing that he couldn’t get by without! Or, as I believe & I’m sure Paul knew, "he had all he needed in Jesus!" Jesus said, "my grace is sufficient for thee, Paul!" Compared to Christ, all the human reasoning in the world is like a broken watch! Someone may say, "I’ve tried something new, I’ve had a word of knowledge, a revelation from God."

      It may seem ok and it may appear to work for you temporarily, but as I said, even a broken watch is right twice per day! As for me, I’m going to stick with Jesus – the prophet, priest & king!!

      Look at America, with all our technology, our publishing houses, our mega churches, satellite capability, spellbinding preachers and audiovisual mastery. Our country, our society and most of our churches are worse off than ever!! We are not changing our country. Any hint of revival is going on in remote areas of the world, where people only have the word of God and little else. When you try to "add to Christ’ or "add to His word," the only thing that you really do is "dilute it." No amount of worldly philosophy can add anything to our sufficiency in the prophet, the priest, and the King, Jesus Christ our Lord.

      Paul wrote in Colossians 2:8, "Beware, lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Paul is saying to leave Christ and go after the rudiments (the elementary) of the world, is like leaving a university and going to kindergarten.

      We as Christians have all we need in Christ, and yet some are seeking something better, something more relevant, more socially acceptable, but they are leaving Christ. And we, just like the nation of Israel, are not convinced that Jesus and His word are sufficient and enough, and all we really need!! But you say, ‘Pastor, I have a problem that’s really deep-seeded and requires a lot more than God’s Word and prayer, and preaching, teaching and biblical counsel and Christ alone.

      Psalm 19:7-11,

      "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward."

      Here’s the question: Are you "letting Christ" be your sufficiency? He is prophet: God’s messenger to man; He is priest: The people’s representative before God and He is king: who will one day rule and reign over man for god. The Bible says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus"; "Let the world of God dwell in you with all wisdom."

      Let Him be your sufficiency today!!! You say, "Pastor how do you respond to a:

      • Prophet à You listen and obey Him
      • Priest à You go to Him
      • King à You submit and worship Him

      Paul said in II Corinthians 3:5, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God."

      How about you? Who do you listen to and go to for advice and for wisdom? Who do you pray to and submit to? We already have a prophet, priest and king in Christ. Let’s give Him His rightful place in our lives!!

      Let’s pray.

      Next