You can turn with me in your Bibles to John's Gospel, John chapter 15. John 15, I'll read verses 1 to 8, but we're going to focus again only on the first part of verse 1. So this is part 2 of a sermon on John 15 1a. So here now the word of God, I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that bears fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. For without me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered. And they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit. So you will be my disciples. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our gracious God and Holy Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that it's the God-breathed word and the Spirit who inspired, the Spirit who gave it to us is the Spirit who now illumines our minds and hearts. And we pray, Lord Jesus, you promise not to leave us as orphans. Send the Spirit even now in a powerful way that we may see what this passage declares concerning the Son of God, who assumed our humanity, who lived for us, who died for us, and who was raised again for us. in fulfillment of all the promises of God, which are yea and amen in him. Do forgive us now for all sin, cleanse us in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, extend mercy to needy sinners today and save them by your grace, and sanctify and edify and build up your people, that we may grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And we pray in his most blessed name, amen. Well, I just wanted to provide a brief review. As I said, this is part two on verse 1a. Jesus says, I am the true vine. I mentioned last week that when you consider theology, there's four primary branches. You have exegetical theology, you then have historical theology, you have systematic theology, and practical theology. So exegesis or exegetical theology gets at what does the text mean? What does the text say? What did the Spirit intend for us to understand? We then move over to historical theology to sort of ask the church of old, what do you believe that the church or rather what the text means? Systematic theology, we logically connect the doctrines of the Bible, we put it together in a in a confession or in a creed or in a systematic theology, and then practical theology flows from that. Based on what we know, this then is how we ought to live. Well, when we look at exegetical theology, we notice that there's a subset. There's biblical theology and covenant theology. disciplines that help us get at the meaning of the texts in Scripture that the Spirit intended for us. We've focused a lot on exegesis and systematic theology in the formulation of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity as we've moved thus far in our study in the Upper Room Discourse. But I wanted to invoke biblical and covenant theology as we consider the words of our Lord Jesus here in verse 1a, I am the true vine. And the argument that I seek to make this morning is very simple. Adam was a type of Christ. Paul tells us that in Romans 5, 14. But so was Israel. What Adam failed to do in the Garden and Israel failed to do in the Old Covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ came as the last Adam and true Israel to fulfill what they had failed in. And so when Jesus says, I am the true vine, he is making a pretty incredible statement when we look back in redemptive history to this vine metaphor that Jesus invokes. But remember the convention. He says, I am the true vine. There are several times in John's gospel where Jesus says, I am without a predicate, just simply I am. And when he does that, he is stressing his essential nature. He is stressing that he's the only begotten son of the Father. He has the entirety of the divine essence. And that language of I am is reminiscent of Exodus 3.14, where God reveals himself as I am who I am. So the Jews understood that, the religious leaders at Jesus' time understood that, the claim that he was making, and in two instances, they pick up stones to throw at him because he, being a man, made himself equal with God. But then along the way, there are several I Am statements with a predicate. In fact, there are seven of them. We see, I am the bread of life, in John 6. I am the light of the world, in John 8 and 9. I am the door of the sheep, in John 10. I am the good shepherd, John 10. I am the resurrection and the life, John 11. I am the way, the truth, and the life, John 14. And then I am the true vine. So Jesus uses metaphor, Jesus uses imagery, Jesus uses figures to underscore something about him and his work. He uses vines, he uses doors, he uses various conventions to communicate truth to the disciples. As Klink says, the seven formal I am statements are emphatic descriptions of the person and ministry of Jesus and cumulatively form a detailed picture of Jesus Christ. But as I mentioned last week, it's not only a metaphor invoked for the instruction of the disciples, oftentimes they're metaphors drawn from the Old Testament to set forth a parallel, or rather, a fulfillment. For instance, when Jesus says, I am the good shepherd in John 10, we really should remember Psalm 23 verse one, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. When Jesus predicates that to himself, he is speaking a mouthful of good solid theology. And again, the argument is that that's what he's doing here when he says, I am the true vine. So then we looked at the identification of Jesus as the true vine. We started in Matthew's gospel. Matthew makes a link between the Lord Jesus and Old Covenant Israel by referring to Jesus as the firstborn. Remember in Exodus chapter 4, God calls Israel, my firstborn. It doesn't mean they're the first one on the scene. It doesn't mean they're the first nation that had been convened together, but it means preeminence. It means priority of status. We see that language applied to Jesus by Paul in Colossians 1.15. He is the first born from the dead. This language of firstborn links Old Covenant Israel and Jesus Christ together. I used several illustrations last week and I forgot, I think one of the most important ones or powerful ones in the language of the firstborn. In Genesis 41, verses 51 and 52, and then again in Genesis 48 at verse 14, we learn that the sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim exited the womb in that order. It was Manasseh that was the firstborn chronologically, and then Ephraim came after him. In Jeremiah the prophet, specifically in chapter 31 at verse 9, God refers to Ephraim as my firstborn. So it's not a chronological indicator all of the time. Of course, in our families, our firstborn child is our firstborn child chronologically. But when God speaks of Old Covenant Israel as my firstborn, when he speaks of Jesus, who I argue is the New Covenant Israel, as my firstborn, he is speaking of preeminence and priority of status. We saw then that Matthew links Jesus with Old Covenant Israel in a whole host of ways in the opening of his gospel. First, the physical and covenantal connection to Abraham and David. Matthew 1.1, right out of the chute, Matthew connects Jesus to David and to Abraham. Secondly, the application of Hosea 11 to Jesus in Matthew 2. Hosea 11, God calls his firstborn out of Egypt. We know that happens in redemptive history. We know that's a truth that Hosea is commenting on, but Hosea is also prophesying concerning the truth that the firstborn son of God will go into Egypt and will be called out of Egypt, and Matthew makes that clear. From that vantage point, after he comes out of Egypt, what does Jesus do? He passes through the water of baptism after having been called out of Egypt. That's exactly the movement in Old Covenant to Israel. They come out of Egypt, they cross the Red Sea, the waters of the Red Sea, and then the next step corresponds as well. Israel finds themselves in a wilderness, and there they complain about food, they complain about a whole host of things. They're there for a period of 40 years. Well, after passing through the waters of baptism, the Spirit leads Jesus out into the wilderness. There He's there for 40 days. There he is as well tested and tempted by the devil. One of the particular temptations was food. You've got to be hungry, change these stones into bread so that you can eat. Well, Jesus repels him by invoking Deuteronomy 8, the lesson that Israel was supposed to learn in that wilderness context. Man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. So then that brings us then to the declaration in John's gospel, I am the true vine. So first I wanna connect it to the Old Testament and then secondly, demonstrate the New Testament revelation as we move through the scriptures to see the verity of what Jesus says here and the significance when he says, I am the true vine. So if you would turn back with me to the book of Psalms, Psalm 80 specifically. And the point that I want to make here is the fact that Old Covenant Israel was the vine. The fact that Old Covenant Israel is identified as a vine by God Himself. Notice in Psalm 80, specifically at verse 8, You have brought a vine out of Egypt. You have cast out the nations and planted it. You prepared room for it and caused it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with its shadow and the mighty cedars with its boughs. She sent out her boughs to the sea and her branches to the river. Why have you broken down her hedges, so that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit? Notice as well in the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 5. We're going to be moving through some texts as we do biblical and covenant theology. We take sort of a whole orb of view, a whole overarching view of all of scripture. This won't be all of scripture, so you will get to eat today, but notice in chapter 5, specifically in verse 1. Now let me sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved regarding his vineyard. My well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst and also made a wine press in it. So he expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. And now, oh, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? And now please let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned, and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay it waste, it shall not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up briars and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression. For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help. You can turn to the prophet Isaiah chapter 27. Isaiah chapter 27. Specifically in verses two to seven. Isaiah 27, I'm sorry, two to six. Isaiah 27, two, and that day sing to her a vineyard of red wine. I, the Lord, keep it. I water it every moment, lest any hurt it. I keep it night and day. Fury is not in me. Who would set briars and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them. I would burn them together or let him take hold of my strength that he may make peace with me. And he shall make peace with me. Those who come, he shall cause to take root in Jacob. Israel shall blossom and bud and fill the face of the world with fruit. You can turn to Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter 2. Jeremiah chapter 2, and when it rises up in you to say, okay, we see the link, keep saying the link. What Jesus says in 15.1a is significant, not only for who he is and his temporal mission, but also with reference to his people. We need to understand what the scripture says in this new covenant setting, who the people of God are. And I think when we answer the question, is Jesus the true vine, the answer is yes. The answer to the other one necessarily follows. Notice in Jeremiah 2, specifically in verse 21. Turn to the prophet Ezekiel, Ezekiel chapter 15. Ezekiel chapter 15, specifically in verses 2 to 8. Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood? The vine branch, which is among the trees of the forest, is wood taken from it to make any object? Or can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on? Instead, it is thrown into the fire for fuel. The fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned. Is it useful for any work? Indeed, when it was whole, no object could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any when the fire has devoured it and it is burned? Therefore, thus says the Lord God, like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And then the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 17. Ezekiel chapter 17, specifically at verses 5 to 10. Ezekiel 17.5 Then he took some of the seed of the land and planted it in a fertile field. He placed it by abundant waters and set it like a willow tree, and it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature. Its branches turned toward him, but its roots were under it. So it became a vine, brought forth branches, and put forth shoots. There was another great eagle with large wings and many feathers, and behold, this vine bent its roots towards him and stretched its branches toward him from the garden terrace where it had been planted that he might water it. It was planted in good soil by many waters to bring forth branches, bear fruit, and become a majestic vine. You see an emphasis like that in chapter 19. Chapter 19, specifically at verse 10. Your mother was like a vine in your bloodline, planted by the waters, fruitful and full of branches because of many waters. She had strong branches for scepters of rulers. She towered in stature above the thick branches and was seen in her height amid the dense foliage. But she was plucked up in fury. She was cast down to the ground, and her east wind dried her fruit. Her strong branches were broken and withered. The fire consumed them. And now she is planted in the wilderness in a dry and thirsty land. Fire has come out from a rod of her branches and devoured her fruit so that she has no strong branch, a scepter for ruling." Now, intriguingly, when Jesus says, I am the true vine, I'll argue in a few minutes that he's making a contrast. He's the true vine. All the passages that I just read you from the Psalter and the Prophets are passages of judgment. This was God's special people, Old Covenant Israel. He tended to them like a vineyard. He tended to them like a vine. He tended to them with loving care and compassion and kindness, but what were they? They were rejecters. They were despisers. They were incorrigible. They were sinful and rejected the terms of the covenant that God had made with them. So those were passages announcing judgment to befall Old Covenant Israel. So when Jesus says, I am the true vine, He's making a contrast. Remember, the first Adam sinned. The vine sinned, but Christ as last Adam and true vine fulfills the covenant obligations placed upon Him by God the Father so that He may save His people from their sins. Now, as we move to the New Testament to further this connection, I would suggest first the declaration of Jesus here in verse 1a and then again in verse 5. I am the true vine. Verse 5, I am the vine. You are the branches. Secondly, we need to give a glance back to systematic theology and understand what we're talking about in terms of Jesus as the true vine. This is his temporal mission as the mediator of the new covenant, the one who assumed our humanity. As one man says, there are two natures in Christ, the divine and the human. Because of this human nature, he is like us and is less than the Father. Because of his divine nature, he is like God and above us. Thus he is the true vine insofar as he is the head of the church, the man, Christ Jesus. Thirdly, the connection made by Jesus himself. Again, he's not talking to 21st century North American Christians who are adults when it comes to their understanding of Scripture. You don't think that when Jesus says, I am the good shepherd, he knows what that's going to evoke amongst those around him? When he says, I am, you don't think that he doesn't know the controversial nature of such a claim with his enemies and a time to worship and praise and adore him with reference to his friends? When Jesus says, I am the true vine, he's not dealing with ignorant men. He's dealing with men that were conversant in the Old Testament. And so when Jesus says, I am the good shepherd, they would have picked up what he was putting down. When Jesus says, I am the true vine, they would have picked up what Jesus was putting down. With reference to this, the emphasis or accent falls on true. I've already mentioned this, the disobedience of Adam, the disobedience of old covenant Israel. They forfeit the promised blessings attached to covenant. Jesus is the last Adam. Jesus as the true vine or true Israel doesn't forfeit. He obeys perfectly all that the father had laid upon him and he brings success, he brings salvation, he brings eternal life for all those whom the father had given him. One man says, the accent here on I am the true, this man says to distinguish himself from the deformed or spoiled vine, which is the Jewish people. That then brings us fourthly to the illustration given by Jesus himself in Matthew 21. You can turn there. Matthew chapter 21. Again, just trying to strengthen that connection, trying to demonstrate that Jesus is the true vine in contrast of, or rather fulfillment of, the vine of Old Covenant Israel that was told specifically how they were to function, and they disobeyed God. So Jesus, in Matthew 21, I just want to say this by way of a corollary. If you really want to understand Matthew 24, you've got to start in Matthew 21. If you're familiar with the scripture, you'll know that Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark chapter 13 is referred to as the Olivet Discourse. There Jesus prophesies the destruction of the temple. And if you don't get beginning in chapter 21, all the background, you're gonna stumble when it comes to Matthew 24. And so in Matthew chapter 21, we have the triumphal entry. Jesus comes triumphantly into the city of Jerusalem. Remember, he curses the fig tree so that no fruit will ever grow on it again. Is he anti-environment? Is he vicious and cruel and mean? So you just roam around and want concrete. No, the fig tree represents old covenant Israel. He indicts them and he upbraids them and he visits upon them the covenant curses specified in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. So then Jesus starts to teach in parable with reference to his opponents. You can see the opponents, notice in chapter 21, verses 23 to 27. They want to know, by what authority do you do these things? What gives? What gives you the right to come in here and to do these things? Who do you think you are? Then Jesus tells the parable of the two sons. The father had two sons. One said, I'm not gonna do what you tell me to do. The other said, of course, father, I'm gonna do what you told me to do. Well, what happens? The one who said, I'm not gonna do what you told me to do actually does what he was told to do. Now, the son who said, I'll do it, father, doesn't do it. Huh, kind of an interesting statement. What's the application? Jesus comes to his own, but his own receive him not. But harlots and tax collectors are entering the kingdom of heaven and you are not. And then that brings us to Jesus rehearsing the history of Old Covenant Israel. It really couldn't be clearer. I don't know how come so many people mess up here, but notice in verses 33 and following. Kind of an interesting illustration, especially in light of Isaiah 5. God has a vineyard. God wants fruit from that vineyard. God sends people to that vineyard to ensure and make sure that fruit comes from the vineyard. Sounds just like Yahweh through Isaiah to the nation of Israel in Isaiah five. Again, brethren, if we miss that, you can bet assuredly that his contemporaries didn't. And you see that as the passage evolves. So first, notice the landowner sent his servants to collect the fruit or payment, according to verse 34. Again, similarly to Isaiah 5, verse 2. So he expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. Verse 4 in Isaiah 5, why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? And then again in verse 7, he looked for justice, but behold, oppression, for righteousness, but behold, a cry for help. The expectation of fruit from the vineyard is rampant in the teaching ministry of our Lord Jesus in Matthew's gospel. He expects fruit from the covenant people of God. Notice as well the vinedressers beat, kill, and stone the servants. I wonder who those were. They were the prophets. This is old covenant Israel. This is what happens. Notice in verse 35, the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one and stoned another. Micaiah is slapped and thrown into prison because Ahab doesn't like what he has to say. Jeremiah ends up in straits. We see the killing of prophets by Ahab's wife Jezebel, the killing of Uriah, as well the stoning of Zechariah according to 2 Chronicles chapter 24. But then notice in verse 36, again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Again, the other Old Testament references to the rejection of prophets by Israel, there's a lot in there. But then consider in the New Testament. Look at Luke 13. Leave your finger there and look at Luke 13. Actually, that's not a command. You can do whatever you want. You don't have to put your finger there. You don't even have to, you know, Put a piece of paper there. Look at Luke 13, 35, and note what Jesus, I'm sorry, Luke 13, 33, and notice what Jesus says. Luke 13, well, 32, and he said to them, go tell that fox. He's talking about Herod. Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless, I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day of following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. How? It cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. It's on the heels of that that Jesus laments then over Jerusalem, which we find parallel in Matthew 23. But back to the history of Israel. We notice as well the emphasis in this particular context. Note verse 36, again he sent other servants, more than the first, they did likewise to them. That happened with Jesus. That happened with the New Testament apostles. That rejection was widespread. What does Jesus upbraid the religious leadership with specifically in Matthew 23? when he pronounces woes upon them. He calls them broods of vipers. He condemns specifically their hypocrisy, their culpability for the sins of their forefathers because they were duplicating them. And then he pronounces judgment upon them, an unequivocal language, in 23, 37, and 38. So back to the history, notice in 21, 37. The father then says, then last of all, he sent his son to them, or Jesus says of the father, then last of all, he sent his son to them saying, they will respect my son. Now you're all following this, right? You're all getting this. Who's the son? The son is the one that's indicting them. The son is the one sent by the father. The son is the one to usher in the blessing of God upon people. But as I said, he came to his own, his own received him not. Now notice what they do. So the supposition is, and it's spoken in the manner of men. God knew precisely what was going to happen in the sending of the son of his love. He knew, of course, that he would be despised, he would be rejected. He records that for us in the prophet Isaiah, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, all that. He's writing or he's talking or he's speaking in the manner of men. So there's this supposition that, of course, they'll respect my sign. Of course, they may have had a problem with my hired men, they may have had a problem with my prophets, but the sign that they really must receive with open arms and provide the fruit that is necessary for the vineyard. Notice in verse 38, but when the vine dressers saw the son, they said among themselves, this is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance. So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. And then note how it then turns. Verse 40, therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine dressers? This is an instance where they properly understand the interpretation of the parable. Note 41, they said to him, he will destroy those wicked men miserably and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus said to them, have you never read in the scriptures, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. Of course they had read that. Of course they had sung it, of course they had chanted it, but when the embodiment of the Psalter is standing before them, the very Son of God sent by the Father to bring blessing upon sinners, they seize Him, they cast Him out, they ultimately crucify Him. Jesus says, this is according to the prophetic word as found in the book of Psalms. Now note the very specific application of our Lord to these people, verse 43. Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken, but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. Did they have a change of heart? Were they repentant? Did they say, oh, we better, you know, reform our ways? No, verse 45, no, when the chief priests and Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking of them. I don't know why we in the church today don't perceive that he was speaking of them, but that's one of those quite interesting conundrums in biblical interpretation. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitudes because they took him for a prophet. Then that brings us, fifthly, in terms of our broad walk-through New Testament revelation, the judgment pronounced by Jesus. Again, look at verse 43, "...therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation, bearing the fruits of it." Huh? What's he talking about? Well, just listen to the text. He continues to butt heads with the religious leadership in chapter 22. He gives the parable of the wedding feast, and then there's direct confrontation in terms of question and answer. They hit him with questions. He answers. He turns on its head at the end of chapter 22 and says, I've got a question for you. Who is Messiah? Who is Messiah? Verse 43, he said to them, how then does David and the Spirit call him Lord, saying, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. That brings us into chapter 23. What happens there? Tea time? Let's have a nice little chat. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, over and over and over and over again, culminating in another declaration of judgment upon that generation. Notice in 2331, therefore, you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murder the prophets. Fill up then the measure of your father's guilt, serpents, brood of vipers, Brethren, this is not characteristic of our Lord according to His humanity on His temporal mission. When He's walking down the street and He sees a Samaritan woman at the well, He doesn't say, you brood of a viper, you hypocrite, you horrible monster, you ghoul of ghouls. He doesn't do that. He doesn't excuse her in her sin, go call your husband, that's right, you've had several, and the one you're with is not your husband. But he reserves this hard language for the religious leadership that knew the covenant of God, knew the prophecies of God, of the sending of the Son of His love, and when the Son of His love came, they crucified the Lord of glory. Jesus upbraids them. Notice again, verse 33, serpents, brood of vipers, how can you escape the condemnation of hell? Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. Again, read the book of Acts. It's all you have to do. It's right there. Book of Acts. And then notice in verse 35, a pronouncement of judgment specifically upon them. That on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Arachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. In English, this plays well. A to Z. Abel to Zechariah. It plays well in the Hebrew canon as well. The first book of the Bible, Genesis, in the Hebrew canon. Genesis, Abel. What's the last book in the Hebrew canon? 2 Chronicles, Zechariah. Jesus is lowering the boom upon these people. Notice, he then tells us Again, unequivocally, with no room to wriggle out of it, when this is going to happen? Verse 36, Assuredly, I say to you, all these things, what things, Jesus? The things I just said, huh? All these things will come upon this generation. From this, the Lord Jesus, again, according to his humanity here, the prophet, comes to lament. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. See, your house is left to you desolate. For I say to you, you shall see me no more till you say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Now we come to all of it. We come to the prophetic statement concerning the absolute destruction of this city and temple. So verse one, then Jesus went out and departed from the temple and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down. It's special pleading, brethren, and bad exegesis to read a rebuilt temple into Matthew 24. Jesus is talking about the then standing temple. And just so we understand what he's talking about, after showing them the horror show of what we'll obtain in AD 70, when the city is surrounded by the Roman armies and decimated, the city and their temple, Jesus again gives us another understanding as to when this will happen. Look at verse 34, "...Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place." He's prophesying the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in AD 70. And again, if you've got a mind for the Old Testament, this ain't new. What's God's covenant curses associated with disobedience upon the old covenant people of God, Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28? Destruction, decimation, exile. Did God ever do that? Yes, he did it in 722 BC, when the northern tribes went a-whoring from God, he raised up Assyria to be the chasing hand of God upon them. They didn't learn from that, because in 587-86, we see them going astray. They had been pleaded with by prophets. God raises up Nebuchadnezzar, whom he calls, my servant, and the Babylonians to go decimate Jerusalem and her temple. And lo and behold, the same sorts of sins are obtained in this particular section. And Jesus prophesied the very similar destruction and decimation upon that generation. J.C. Ryle said, a time came when the long-suffering of God towards the Jews had an end. Forty years after our Lord's death, the cup of their iniquity was at length full, and they received a heavy chastisement for their many sins. Their holy city, Jerusalem, was destroyed. Their temple was burned. They themselves were scattered over the face of the earth. The kingdom of God was taken from them and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. This isn't tough, brethren. What's tough is when we have a pre-commitment to an eschatological scheme and then we read that into various texts. We take our eschatology from the text of Scripture. We don't place it upon the text of Scripture as if it then is the controlling feature that we have to make text fit in order to sustain our particular eschatological approach. Spurgeon makes a similar observation. As a class, the religious leaders of the Jews were guilty of the blood of a long line of prophets, and they were about to crown their long career of crime by the murder of the Son of God himself. In the destruction of Jerusalem, the God of heaven visited them and dealt out just punishment to them. The siege of the city and the massacre of the inhabitants was a terrible avenging of the innocent blood which the people and their rulers had shed. For just some bonus points, I would like to add that I think that the book of Revelation corresponds to the Olivet Discourse. What's John's point in the Revelation? the destruction of Jerusalem and the theological implications associated with that. There's two beasts, brethren, in Revelation 13. There's a beast from the sea, I think, that represents the civil government. The Roman Empire is the background. But the beast from the land? It's the godless, reprobate persons that continue to reject the Lord Jesus Christ as Messiah and continue their rampage against the church all throughout. So the Book of Revelation is the expanded version of the Olivet Discourse. Now we can disagree on this. I'm not going to say you're a bad person because you don't see it my way, but I think it makes the most sense. Even those from other interpretative schools say that the Olivet Discourse is the little apocalypse. That's right, it's the little apocalypse. You get amplification and theological implication and expansion with the big apocalypse, which is the book of Revelation. And then the sixth thing I want us to direct our attention to is the covenantal union between Jesus and the church explained by the apostles. So if Jesus is the true vine, I think the argument is simple. Those in him, are participants in the true vine. Right? So there's a lot that can be said and perhaps will be said, but you just need to see this identification. I think Westminster Larger Catechism number 31 asks a good question. With whom was this covenant of grace made? The covenant of grace was made with Christ as the second Adam, I put parenthetically, and true Israel, and in him with all the elect as his seed. So how do the apostles, treat this doctrine? How do the apostles treat this subject? You're probably familiar, if you've been here at any time, for any amount of time, you've heard the word dispensationalism. Dispensationalism is the view that is opposite to what I am preaching here. I'm not saying they're hell-bound. I'm not saying they're ghoul of ghouls. I'm not saying they're the vile sinners out there and reprobate. I'm not saying that. But it is a different interpretation of the biblical data, and what drives it is what they champion, called the literal hermeneutic. That's among many other things, but they're literal. In other words, if there's a promise made to ethnic Israel in the Old Covenant, that promise has to be fulfilled to ethnic Israel in the New Covenant or in the Millennial Kingdom. Those promises made to ethnic Israel are fulfilled in Jesus. In him, all the promises of God are yea and amen. What about the land promise? When Abraham is told to look north, to look south, to look east, and to look west, this was not just the physical confines of Israel. In the hand of the apostle Paul, the land promise pertains to the seed of Abraham, which is Jesus, that he would be the heir of the world, according to Romans 4.13. What about Romans 2? Who's a true Jew, according to Paul? Is he one that is circumcised externally? Is he one that went to the moil and had the deed done? No, he's a true Jew who's circumcised inwardly. In other words, he's born again. As well, look at the book of Galatians. Galatians chapter 6. Galatians chapter 6. And I've seen the attempts to evade the clear meaning of Paul's words here, but they are not adequate to do justice to this text. Interestingly, that Paul is writing to predominantly Gentile churches in the region of Southern Galatia. And in Galatians 6.16, he says, and as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God. What's Paul's point? Paul's point is that Jesus is the true vine. Jesus fulfills all that old covenant Israel was supposed to be. So ergo, Jesus is Israel. He's the prince with God. He is the one. He is the seed. Remember Westminster Larger Catechism? We in Him. So I would suggest that the terminology Israel of God is nomenclature or language or jargon that simply means the people of God. So Paul says, peace be upon the Israel of God. But notice what else Paul says in Ephesians, I'm sorry, Philippians chapter three. Philippians chapter three, he's combating Judaizing. What's Judaizing? Again, look at the book of Acts, look at the book of Galatians. You'll see that Judaizers were those who came to the churches that Paul had evangelized, Paul had founded, Paul had planted. And the Judaizer says, it's good that you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, but you need to get circumcised. You need to obey the Jewish calendar. You need to not only become Christians, but you need to become Jews. And that's what we had to do. We had to be circumcised. We had to obey the calendar. We still do. So therefore, the Gentiles that are being incorporated, they must do that as well. Again, Acts 15 rejects that notion. Acts 15 says, no, that's not the case. Acts 15 says, no, that's absolutely contrary to a gospel of free and sovereign grace. It's by faith alone. To notice in Philippians 3, his combatant is the Judaizer, and notice how he refutes it. Verse 1, Paul does not have an aversion to canines, except maybe pit bulls. Beware of dogs. If you're familiar at all, you'll know that the Jews would wake up in the morning and they would thank God for three things. Thank you that I'm not a woman. Thank you that I'm not a slave. And thank you that I'm not a Gentile. Thank you that I'm not a dog. That's what they would refer to the Gentile. I'm not picking on anybody. I'm just giving you the facts. Somebody's gonna go write the federal office and say, that was anti-Semitic. It's Bible exposition, brethren. is Bible exposition. People may not like to hear it, people may not enjoy it, but am I imposing on the text? He says, beware of dogs, beware of evil workers. Why are they evil workers? Because they're trying to add something to faith in Jesus to complete your salvation. And then he says, beware of the mutilation. That's a take on their practice of circumcision. They're just mutilating. They're collecting foreskins. And I know that sounds crass, but he says as much in Galatians 5. They're boasting in foreskins collected. Then notice what he goes on to say in verse 3, for we are the circumcision. Who's the we? Paul, a Jewish believer? The Philippians, Gentile believers? In other words, the people of God, they're the Israel of God. And so those conventions and those language tokens are applied to the new covenant people of God. This is why it's not wrong for us to speak of Zion or Jerusalem, because the prophets hold that out, but we make the spiritual application as we're led by the apostles to do. Notice in the book of Hebrews, and again, I think Paul wrote it, Paul wrote this, and again, notice what he says. Hebrews chapter 12, beginning in verse 18, we won't read the whole section, but notice in verse 18, for you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire into blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. That's Sinai, right? It's Old Covenant. It's the thundering and the lightning of Jehovah on Mount Sinai. Don't let anybody near this mountain or I will kill them, basically. Now note the contrast in verse 22, but you. You, Jewish believers to be sure, but Gentile participants as well. Paul wrote Hebrews, he knows that, because in Ephesians chapter two, he takes great pains to make sure that we don't separate the people of God. The glory of the coming of Christ is that he made the two into one new man. He didn't keep them apart. He brought them under His banner of love and grace. He brought them together to fulfill what had been a mystery, namely in Ephesians 2, Gentile inclusion in the covenant promises of God. Not that it wasn't present in the Old Testament, the oracle of Noah. Japheth finds refuge in the tents of Shem. Well, you read down a little bit further, you'll see that Japheth is Gentile peoples. Psalm 117, the smallest, shortest psalm in all of this altar. What's it about? Gentile inclusion in the covenant promises of God. What do you think the promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob meant? In you, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. That didn't ultimately focus on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but on their seed, the true vine, the Lord Jesus, who did what Israel of old failed, and what Adam failed. Jesus is successful. So you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven. That's church language. And Paul includes Jews and Gentiles. Look at 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2. Specifically at verse four, coming to him as to a living stone rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. You also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the scripture behold I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone elect Precious and he who believes on him will by no means be put to shame Therefore to you who believe he is precious but to those who are disobedient the stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense They stumble being disobedient to the word to which they were also appointed or also were appointed now before I read the next verse I'm going to ask you to think about some of the concepts or terms you've heard thus far This is, verse nine is right out of Exodus. Verse nine is Exodus 19, five and six, applied to Old Covenant Israel. But look as well at that particular word there, or let's just read the text. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. who his own special people that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who once were not a people, but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." What is Peter doing? What is Paul doing? They're telling us that by virtue of the true vine, which is Jesus, He is the fulfillment of all that old covenant Israel failed, and that in Jesus, the true Israel of God, all those who believe by grace are counted as the Israel of God, the people of God. Now that brings us then finally to some concluding thoughts, and I'll be quick here. And I'll put something that I was gonna do this morning, we'll put it up to next Sunday morning. Try to be mindful, I know you have little children, sometimes they get a bit fidgety, and I don't want them to get in trouble. So let's first look at the identification, not first, but let's just quickly run through the identification of the Israel of God. You need to remember first the apostasy of Old Covenant Israel. That's what Jesus is dealing with there in Matthew 21 to 24. Anybody could get that. I hope that you see that. As well, brethren, and this is kind of where I'm going because I know politically, the Middle East is charged right now. There's a lot going on in Israel. But theologically, there are persons who are believers that think it's perfectly appropriate to pray Genesis 12.3, blessing those who bless you and cursing those who curse you, for the modern political state of Israel. Now, I'm not suggesting don't pray for the modern state of Israel, but I'm suggesting that you learn your covenant theology. The system of religion that we call Judaism, it's not friendly to Christianity. It is antithetical. It is a denial of Jesus. For instance, references to Jesus in the Talmud. In terms of his origin, he's the bastard son of a harlot who had relations with carpenters. In terms of his ability, he was a magician, not a sage. In terms of his followers, they are to be rejected. And I'm not saying, you know, if you think about it, these are pretty brazen declarative statements in terms of their place relative to Jesus. He's repugnant, according to the Talmud. So I ask you, if we invoke Genesis 12.3 and pray it for the modern political state of Israel, that's misguided, brethren. based on an eschatology that I think is incorrect. I think it's based upon a reading that does precisely what Paul does opposite in Ephesians 2. It separates what Christ has joined together. And it goes like this. God's dealing with the Gentile church presently, but a time is coming when she's gonna be raptured out of the way. There's gonna be this great travail or tribulation on the nation state of Israel. Depending on your particular brand or variety, Jesus comes after that and establishes an earthly kingdom. He rules from Jerusalem, and there's a great time of blessing upon the political state of Israel. Again, I ask you, is that the contours of Genesis chapter 12? Secondly, we need to remember what I would say is the legitimacy of covenant theology. Now, for those of you visiting on the one hand, I'm sorry, But for those of you who are with us, I'm not. We're a Reformed church, brethren. Reformed means covenant theology, or should mean it. The detractors of the view that I am preaching here, and again, there's a group called dispensationalists. I wanna make sure I qualify. I'm not saying they're going to hell for holding these positions. I think they should go back to Sunday school and then learn these positions, but that's a different story. They call what I'm espousing replacement theology. The church has replaced Israel. I prefer fulfillment or covenant theology. The drift of redemptive history in the old covenant lands on Jesus and his church. That's not replacement, that's fulfillment. That's Paul saying all the promises of God are yay and amen in him. As well, the detractors of the view that I'm preaching based on a literal hermeneutic Again, they say that promises made to old covenant Israel, ethnic Israel, must be fulfilled with ethnic Israel. That's curious in light of what John the Baptist says when he rebukes those who are coming to him. And in Matthew chapter three, verse nine, he says, do not think to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. If he can take stones and make them sons of Abraham, he can take a ragtag band of Gentiles and make them sons of Abraham. As well, the patriarch Abraham would approve our praying, I'll argue, and I'll maintain this, and if in heaven I'm wrong, he'll correct me. He would see it very appropriately to pray Genesis 12.3 for the church. The people of God, the Israel of God, the blood-bought children of the true vine, the one who fulfills what Adam forfeit, the one who fulfills what Old Covenant Israel forfeit. Thirdly, when you look at the Apostolic hermeneutic in the New Testament, it yields this view. Again, Romans 4.13, he inherits the world. the application of promises made to Old Covenant Israel, taken right out of Exodus 19 and applied to the church in 1 Peter 2. A couple of the churches in Asia Minor, according to the book of Revelation, there were churches that were faced with synagogues of Satan. That's curious language, not mosques of Islam. I know that would come later, I'm not adult. Not the Roman Catholic temples or tabernacles or churches. But the synagogue of Satan? Why? Because that was who was trying to extinguish the early Christian movement as they profess faith in Jesus as the Messiah of Israel. As we see in the life and ministry of Jesus, they did not take kindly to his claims of divinity. They did not take kindly of his claims in terms of temporal mission. They didn't like him calling the father, my father. That didn't change in the book of Acts. I mean, Paul would go to synagogues, and what would happen? Oh, we love you and thank you, Paul, for bringing this light to us. Nope, nope, and nope. I would suggest, fourthly, there's a challenge presented, and I don't want to deal too long with this, but I just want you to know that I'm conscious of this challenge, the challenge of Romans 11. Romans 11 seems to indicate a mass conversion of ethnic Jews. I will say that there are two, within the realm of the Reformed history, two good approaches to Romans 11. One I would call the Puritan hope view, which is espoused by Ian Murray, and it basically says that after a lot of Gentiles are saved, then a lot of Jews will be saved. And then there's old Palmer Robertson, again, within the reform community, that basically argues that Paul is dealing with the present. In other words, Paul's time. And that what Romans 11 is not doing is demanding a specific eschatology relative to what he's teaching. Now, I just throw that out there to further confuse, but I will tell you, if there's a challenge of Romans 11, I would say fifthly, there is the clarity of Romans 11. And the clarity is this, that whichever view you happen to adopt, whatever way you read Romans 11, Whichever you feel best represents what Paul wrote in Romans 11, neither view espouses a salvation based on race. It does not espouse a geopolitical future for national Israel. Now, if that happens, it's under the providence of God, but it's not tied to biblical prophecy. Why? Because all the promises of God are yea and amen in Jesus. The true Israel, the true vine, the elect in him, using that constant biblical language with reference to family of God is the Israel of God. If we are Gentiles, by race, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ through grace, then Scripture says we're the Israel of God. Conversely, ethnic Israel, ethnic Jews, resisting and rejecting the Lord of glory now, like they did when He came, like they did in the book of Acts, they're not the Israel of God. So it's a very simple identification. And I'll end here. What then ought to be our exhortation to ethnic Israel today or to ethnic Jews today? Well, let me turn you to the book of Acts. Acts chapter two, and this is a good place to end. Acts chapter two. Peter preaches on the day of Pentecost. Peter is preaching to Jerusalem sinners. Peter is preaching to those ethnic Jews who did not receive Jesus. He's preaching to guilty sinners. He's preaching to vile sinners. He's preaching to horrible sinners. And again, if we were there, we would have participated in it. We're wretched too. I'm not saying that we're not sinful, but notice he brings the sermon to a conclusion in verse 36. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Doesn't want them to forget their sin, doesn't want to forget their transgression. So what do we do then? That's it, you're done, it's over, you're reprobate. No, that's not what Peter does. Now, when they heard this, they were caught to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved or what shall we do? And Peter said to them, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promises to you and to your children and to all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call. What's the answer to ethnic Jews today? What's the answer to those practicing Judaism? Repent, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and don't think for a moment that because of your old covenant pedigree, you're going to be included in some future promise apart from faith in Jesus Christ. We're doing them a disservice when we're just praying God's blessing upon them as if they are already his people. That is disservice, brethren. Jews need to hear that Jesus is the Messiah, that He is the answer to all of the promises of God, and that He is the answer to guilty, vile, helpless sinners, that whoever looks to Him in faith will have everlasting life. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the true vine. And that shows us so much, metaphorically, about our connection to him as the branches, but as well, theologically, his connection to Old Covenant Israel and how he fulfills all that was laid upon them. We bless you and we praise you that as a result of that, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Be glorified, bless the proclamation of your truth as it goes forth throughout this earth. We do pray for ethnic Jews, for those practicing Judaism, those practicing Islam, those practicing a whole host of false religions, that you would send forth your gospel, conquering and to conquer, and call them out of darkness into marvelous light. And we pray this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, we'll close our service now by singing.