 ADVENT WEEK 3 - A Seat At The Big Table Isaiah 9:2 NLT “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.” Isaiah 9:6-7 NLT “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” Isaiah 60:1-2 NIV ““Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.” John 1:1-5 NLT In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. John 1:12-14 Mirror Translation “Everyone who realizes their association in him, convinced that he is their original life and that his name defines them, God gives them the assurance that they are indeed his offspring, begotten of him; he sanctions the legitimacy of their sonship. These are the ones who discover their genesis in God beyond their natural conception! This is not about blood lineage or whether we were a wanted or unwanted child: this is about our God begotteness. We are his dream come true and not the invention of our parents. You are indeed the greatest idea God ever had! Suddenly the invisible, eternal Word takes on visible form- the Incarnation on display in a flesh and blood person as a mirror! In Him, and now confirmed in us! The most accurate tangible display of God’s eternal thought finds expression in human life. The Word became a human being; we are His address; He resides in us! He captivates our gaze! The glory we see there is not is not a religious replica; He is the authentic begotten Son. The glory (we lost in Adam) returns in fullness! Only grace can communicate truth in such complete context” John 1:16-17 Mirror Translation “ He is the source of our completeness. Everyone may now realize his or her own completeness as evidenced in Him. This was grace were no grace was due. The law was given through Moses; Grace and Truth have their genesis in Jesus Christ. Against the stark backdrop of the law, with Moses representing the condemned state of mankind, Jesus Christ unveils grace and truth! John 8:1-11 NLT Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8: 10-11 Mirror Translation “When Jesus stood up again, there was no-one there except the woman. So Jesus asked her. ‘Where are they?’ Has no one condemned you?’ She answered, ‘No one Lord!’ and Jesus said to her, ‘Neither am I condemning you- go and sin no more- never again believe a lie about yourself!” SIN (hamartia) from ha - negative or without and meros - portion or form; thus distorted a pattern - the root of sin is too believe a lie about yourself. Romans 6:14 in the Mirror Translation says: Sin was your master while the law was your measure; now grace rules. (The law revealed your slavery to sin, now grace reveals your freedom from it.) So Jesus didn't say to the lady go and sin less - He said go and sin no more. Jesus knew something about the life of our design that we had lost sight of. What He reveals He redeems! Sin consciousness is what empowers religion - It emboldens it. It’s Darkness! After this encounter Jesus declares He is the Light of the world - The light that pierces the darkness of religion (It pierces the LAW) John 8:12-20 NLT Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” (Whoever journeys with shall not walk in darkness but will radiate the light of life! - Mirror Translation) The Pharisees replied, “You are making those claims about yourself! Such testimony is not valid.” Jesus told them, “These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don’t know this about me. You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact. I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other.” “Where is your father?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, because his time had not yet come. What was the Temple Treasury?
Most of the activities recorded in the New Testament took place in the Treasury, also known as the Court of the Women. When, for example, we read that Jesus taught in the Temple, He taught here. The Treasury was a court that was located to the east of the Temple itself, just below the Nicanor Gate. This court is also called the Court of the Women, as that is as far as women were allowed to enter the Temple courts. It was in this court that the Presentation of Jesus and the meeting with Simeon and Anna the Prophetess (Luke 2.25–38) took place. During the Feast of Tabernacles, a water-libation ceremony took place every evening, that was watched by many people standing in this Court of the Women. When the water that was drawn from the Siloam Pool in a golden vessel was poured out on the Altar, Jesus said: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink”. Golden lamp stands on high towers in the court were lit, casting light over the whole city. Again, Jesus was here when he said “I am the light of the world” in John 8. Continuing the tradition of Jesus’ teaching in the Treasury, the disciples taught here too on a daily basis. So Jesus is revealing who the Father is right in the midst of the one place in the temple that is inclusive Where all are welcome Not in the hidden chambers where only the select few can go
(As much as we were co-included in His death,) we are co-included in His resurrection. We are also elevated in His ascension to be equally welcome in the throne room of the heavenly realm where we are now seated together with Him in absolute authority. We are in Christ Jesus. We are seated with Him! Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever. Who is David’s Enemy? - The Law - Religion - Darkness - It’s keeping him from seeing the Table - But Jesus prepares and reveals it - Setting a table was a sign of showing respect - God is inviting you to the big kids table “Lord, you give me all I need to be respected and victorious in the face of my enemies.”
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