Week 10 - The Covenant Fulfilled in Jesus
What we talked about in Youth on Sunday
Recap
Up to this point we have seen God’s faithfulness to his people despite their continued disobedience and rebellion. In Adam, God made people to dwell with him as his image bearers and to represent him to the rest of creation. And yet his people rebelled and sin entered the world. People became so bad even that God sent a flood to remake his creation through Noah. After the flood God once again told Noah that people were made in his image to multiply and bless creation, promising to never again wipe out all people no matter their disobedience.
Later on God promises Abraham that he will spread his goodness to the world through him by making him fruitful and making his descendants into a great nation ruled by God. Through him and his offspring God will bless all other peoples of the world through their proper representation of God. However, again God’s people sin and end up in slavery in Egypt. God uses Moses to deliver his people from slavery, after which he sets up the theocratic nation of Israel through a Suzerain-Vassal covenant. In this covenant God partially fulfills his covenant to Abraham by making his descendants into a great nation. Again, Israel fails at being God’s covenant representatives and they constantly disobey God. They even go so far as seeking a divorce from God by asking for a human king.
God gives Israel a new king (first Saul then David) and this king becomes the covenant representative for all of Israel. God then promises to David he would give him a son, a great name, permanent land, a never-ending kingdom, and a never-ending house. But again, Israel rebels against God and the kings of Israel consistently dishonor God. As a result, the kingdom of Israel divides and eventually the Neo-Assyrians and the Babylonians defeat them and take them captive.
As they enter into Babylonian captivity, God continues to be faithful. God acknowledges that the law and his previous covenants with Israel were insufficient at making them follow him and represent him to the world. So, God promises a new covenant, wherein God will write his law on the hearts of his people in such a way that people obey the law joyfully. And he will permanently forgive their sins. He promises he would make this happen through a Messiah (or savior) who would lead them to everlasting prominence.
After many generations of captivity, Israel is finally released and begins to rebuild. However, God is silent to his people for roughly 420 years. Therefore, as we come to the New Testament and to Matthew 1, we have to understand that the Israelites have been waiting to hear from God for centuries—and in particular have been waiting for their Messiah to right all their wrongs and restore them to the glory of David and Solomon.
The Covenants Fulfilled in Jesus
As we read the genealogies of Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38, the gospel writers reveal that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah, by pointing out that Jesus is from the line of the most famous covenant representatives: Adam, Noah, Abraham, and David. Thus, as the Israelites would have read these genealogies they would have noted that:
Jesus is the one who makes it possible for us to dwell with God and represent him well, like we were made to do in Adam and again in Noah.
Jesus is the one through whom we spread God’s goodness to the world and become a blessing to the nations like God promised would happen through Abraham.
Jesus is the perfect covenant representative that Israel, through Moses, was supposed to be.
Jesus is the King who will bring a never-ending house and a never-ending kingdom like God promised to David.
Through Jesus God writes the law on our hearts so that we can obey God joyfully instead of out of compulsion; and he is the one who permanently forgives our sin, all which God promised through Jeremiah.
This Jesus is the one God will fulfill all his promises through.
After 420 years of God’s silence, Israel is given the loudest announcement God had ever given. God doesn’t send a normal prophet or priest or king they would have been familiar with, rather God himself comes to the people of Israel, fully man and fully God, through Mary, to dwell with us and to fulfill every single promise he had made to his people.
What Do We Learn From This?
In our first lesson we talked about what the Bible is and what it tells us. We learned that the Bible tells us the grand story of God and his relationship with his people throughout history. This Fall we learned that. We saw that the Bible is the story of God’s faithfulness, love, mercy, and compassion to his people, despite their rebellion against him. We learned that God fulfills all of his promises. We learned that we can trust God’s future faithfulness because of his past faithfulness. And we learned that God loves to use broken people to bring about redemption and restoration.
Continuing the Conversation at Home
If your kids weren’t at group on Sunday take a moment this week to read through the lesson summary with them.
Ask your kids one thing they learned about God or the Bible this Fall that they didn’t know already. Encourage them in what they learned, even if it’s as simple as “God is cool” (like one student said Sunday).
During this Advent season find opportunities to remind your kids of God’s love and faithfulness. Remind them that God is with them and that he loves them deeply.
This Sunday we are answering questions that students have. If you or your kids have a question they would like us to discuss please email ask@redemptionbiblechurch.org.