Participants: Charles Byrd (Host), Andrea Endries, Levi Longoria, Stephen Fowler
Series Code: THL
Program Code: THL000008
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00:01 "The Radical Repentance of Christ."
00:03 That's the provocative title of our study today. 00:06 Let me assure you, 00:08 we didn't pick this title just get a reaction, 00:11 nor was it chosen because we enjoy 00:13 a little religious controversy from time to time. 00:16 No, we're digging into this topic 00:19 because it was the very first doctrine Jesus ever taught. 00:24 I can hear some people saying, 00:25 "I've read the gospels many times. 00:27 I've never heard about Jesus repenting." 00:30 No? Well, it's easy to miss. 00:34 But I assure you, it is there. 00:37 And this truth Jesus came to share with humanity 00:40 is a truth so radical, so life altering, 00:43 so transforming, so heart changing that to explain it 00:47 is to instantly invite controversy. 00:50 So Jesus didn't merely put it into words. He lived it. 00:55 It was in fact the first act of His ministry. 00:59 And that experience is still causing thunder today. 01:55 The life lesson Jesus came to teach 01:57 about the radical truth of repentance was so fundamental 02:00 to experiencing divinity that He didn't dare put it into words 02:04 that could be mistranslated. 02:06 He didn't write it out as a creed 02:08 that could be changed over time by culture or church dogma. 02:12 No. Jesus was a game changer. 02:16 He placed His truth into a one-act play, 02:19 a story and experience that was so far reaching, 02:23 so life altering, that for generations to come, 02:26 people would be drawing living water from this well of truth. 02:31 What Jesus taught in actions about repentance 02:34 became the dividing line for all time 02:36 between theory and experience, 02:39 the Rubicon in every life 02:41 between knowing about God and knowing Him. 02:45 And it all started down at the Jordan River. 02:48 Levi is standing by. 02:51 Thanks, Charles. 02:52 It was along the banks of this very river 02:54 that flows south toward the Dead Sea 02:56 that John the Baptist was actively fulfilling 02:59 his God-given mission as the forerunner of the Messiah. 03:03 But on a certain day in particular, in AD 27, 03:05 a 30 year old man from Galilee showed up. 03:08 According to Mathew 3:13, 03:10 "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, 03:14 to be baptized of him. 03:17 But John forbade him, saying, 03:18 I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?" 03:23 Jesus in His first official active ministry 03:26 comes to John for baptism. 03:29 And this was a profound act, 03:31 pregnant with meaning for everyone 03:33 who would follow Christ, taking His name, Christian. 03:37 And poor John totally wigged out. 03:39 And there was a definite reason. 03:41 John's baptism was for a very define purpose 03:45 and everyone knew it. 03:46 Check it out in Mark 1:4 and 5, 03:50 "John came baptizing in the wilderness 03:53 and preaching a baptism of repentance 03:55 for the remission of sins. 03:58 And all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, 04:01 went out to him and were all baptized by him 04:05 in the Jordan River, confessing their sins." 04:09 Notice two things here, and first, 04:11 John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. 04:14 And secondly, it was for the remission or cancelling of sins. 04:19 And all the people knew this. 04:20 That's why they came confessing their sins. 04:24 That is the baptism Jesus came and requested. 04:29 John at first denied His request saying, 04:31 "I have need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" 04:35 Now here is the place where most of Christendom 04:38 got a little bit derailed 04:40 and have thus missed the greater truth, 04:42 Jesus lived for us by example. 04:44 They go over to Paul's letter to the Hebrews 04:47 and they read this verse. Hebrews 4:15, 04:50 "Jesus was in all points tempted like as we are, 04:55 yet without sin." It is true. Jesus had no sin. 05:01 In John 8:46, Jesus asked the people, 05:04 "Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?" 05:07 And they couldn't. He didn't do anything wrong. 05:10 He was a spotless Lamb of God 05:13 who was set to take away the sins of the world, 05:15 not a sinner in need of repentance and baptism. 05:19 And so they discount this act. They minimize its importance. 05:22 But there were two very important reasons 05:25 why Jesus needed to repent and be baptized. 05:28 Let's go back to Matthew 3 and look at the first reason. 05:32 I don't want to be too hard on those who have truly missed 05:35 the significance of Jesus requesting John's baptism. 05:39 Jesus said, "There was no greater prophet 05:41 than John the Baptist." 05:43 And even he missed it. 05:44 But it's now time to get it. 05:47 Upon John's denial of the baptism, Christ insisted. 05:51 And here's the first stated reason this act of repentance 05:54 was absolutely vital and important to Him. 05:59 "And Jesus answering said unto John, suffer it to be so now, 06:03 for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. 06:08 Then he suffered him." 06:10 Now don't skim over this verse, dig into it. 06:13 Jesus uses the word righteousness. 06:16 This word simply means right doing 06:18 in thinking, feeling, and acting. 06:21 Here Jesus announces to John, to the Jews, and to the world 06:26 how we get from here, sinful, deceitful, and unrighteous 06:31 to here, born again, new heart, and righteous. 06:36 Jesus taught that we make this transition 06:38 by passing across the bridge of repentance. 06:42 But what is repentance? 06:44 An excellent question that we will answer right now. 06:47 Let's start by first 06:49 taking a look at the etymology of the word. 06:51 The word repent with its varied suffixes 06:54 is used 46 times in the Old Testament 06:57 and 66 times in the New Testament. 07:00 Two different Hebrew words and three different Greek words 07:03 are employed to help us understand 07:05 the varied nuances of this spiritual experience. 07:09 After going through every single time 07:12 these words are used in the Bible, 07:13 we come away with a fuller understanding of what Jesus 07:17 was trying to illustrate for us. 07:19 The first and most used word in the Old Testament, 07:23 41 times is "nacham" which means to sigh or breathe strongly. 07:28 This deep breathing reveals what's going on in the heart. 07:32 We can breathe in deep frustration, 07:36 or we can breathe in excitement. 07:40 And the second and least used word, 07:42 just three times is "shuwb" which means to turn back. 07:46 It is actually just a simple directional term 07:49 that is used 1,109 times in the Bible. 07:53 When used in a spiritual context 07:55 of changing our course from bad to good or good to bad, 07:59 it can be translated repent. 08:01 Now I'm going to share with you something 08:03 you'll find only by doing a deep exhaustive study 08:06 considering every passage in detail. 08:09 This is something that can take weeks to uncover. 08:12 So listen carefully. 08:14 The word repent in all its forms 08:16 is used 46 times in the Old Testament. 08:19 Of those, 23 times God is doing the repenting. 08:23 Once Jonah complains that God repents, 08:26 and four times the people are asking him to. 08:29 Only eight talk of God 08:31 not repenting in certain circumstances. 08:35 For an example of God repenting, look at Genesis 6, 08:38 "And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, 08:42 and it grieved him at his heart. 08:45 And the Lord said, 'I will destroy man 08:47 whom I have created from the face of the earth, 08:50 both man and beast, and the creeping thing, 08:53 and the fowls of the air, 08:54 for it repenteth me that I have made them." 08:59 So does God repent? Yes. 09:02 In the Old Testament, man is repenting 26% of the time 09:06 while God is repenting 74% of the time. 09:11 Now our study title "The Radical Repentance of Christ" 09:14 implies that Jesus repented like John the Baptist. 09:17 Our response is to reject the idea 09:19 that Jesus would need to repent. 09:21 But if 74% of the repenting in the Old Testament is done by God 09:25 then why couldn't Jesus repent in the New Testament? 09:28 The definitions traditionally preferred 09:29 for repentance are too narrow 09:31 since all of them failed to encompass God's repentance. 09:34 I believe that is why Jesus came, to show us, 09:38 to illustrate the value of this divine experience 09:40 in the human heart. 09:42 This is a hand. 09:44 The hand is a single object that contains five metacarpals. 09:47 Each digit has its own name. 09:49 Little finger, ring finger, middle finder, 09:52 index finge and thumb. 09:54 A detailed and in-depth study of repentance 09:56 reveals that it is an ongoing and heartfelt process. 10:00 And this process is also 10:01 made up of five separate and distinct parts. 10:04 So here is a working model of true biblical repentance. 10:07 The first step in repentance is bethinking. 10:10 This is an Old King James word that simply means remember. 10:13 So bethinking is simply remembering all the good things 10:16 God has done for others and for yourself. 10:19 This is the tap root of repentance 10:21 and our part in making it an ongoing experience. 10:25 This is why we read the Bible stories, 10:27 go to testimony meetings, keep a journal of answered prayers, 10:30 and read biographies of faith. 10:32 Anything to keep the goodness 10:34 and love of God fresh in our heart and minds. 10:37 This is not optional. 10:38 It's as important as watering our crops 10:40 if we want them to bear fruit, it's critical. 10:43 Paul told the folks in Rome, 10:45 "Do you despise the riches of his goodness and forbearance 10:48 and longsuffering, not knowing or realizing 10:51 that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" 10:54 It is imperative that we keep looking at 10:56 and remembering the goodness of God. Why? 11:00 Because it leads us to repentance. 11:03 So the first step is remembering. 11:06 The second step is asking. 11:07 Asking for the gift. 11:09 By the way, repentance is a gift 11:11 that comes from the outside of us to the inside of us 11:14 as a divine act of God. 11:17 We are praying for, asking for that gift of a changed heart, 11:21 a change of feelings so that 11:23 you now feel about things the way God does. 11:25 What he hates, you hate, what he loves, you love. 11:30 This is the whole reason Jesus came to this earth, 11:32 so he can gift us with repentance. 11:35 Now pause for just a moment to note this. 11:38 While you wouldn't do steps one and two 11:39 without God's willing and doing in you, 11:42 this still is primarily your part. 11:45 And get this, these two steps are so simple, 11:48 a very small child can do them. 11:50 You can lead children into a daily experience of repentance, 11:53 not by badgering them with shoulds and should nots 11:56 but by simply helping them remember how good God is 11:59 and then teaching them to ask Jesus for a change of heart. 12:03 So when you're asking for the gift of repentance, 12:05 what are you actually asking for? 12:12 You're asking for a full dose of His feelings. 12:15 You want both sides of the emotional coin, 12:16 both heads and tails. 12:18 So first, you're asking for sorrow, 12:21 sorrow for sin, the sin itself. 12:24 Many people are sorry for the consequences of sin, 12:26 the illness, the loss of work, the divorce or the shame, 12:30 but we can never have true freedom 12:32 until we turn away in heart from the sins themselves. 12:36 And we're also asking 12:37 for the flip side of sorrow which is joy. 12:39 God doesn't just want us to feel sorrow 12:41 for the badness and evil of this life, 12:43 He also wants us to find joy and obedience. 12:47 Listen to this precious promise from Jeremiah 31:13. 12:51 "I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, 12:55 and make them rejoice from their sorrow." 12:58 But sorrow isn't enough emotion to effectively change us, 13:01 so he transposes the song of sorrow 13:04 into the key of age. 13:05 Hatred, he gives us an abhorrence of sin and evil 13:08 wherever it presents itself. 13:11 Why is that important? 13:12 Because raw hatred always causes people to act. 13:16 God is trying to get us to hate sin, 13:18 to violently rebel against it. 13:20 In this age, most people either embrace sin 13:23 or at least tolerate it. 13:25 Either way, they're lost. 13:27 And, of course, the opposite of hatred is love. 13:30 Love is the principle of giving what is needed most. 13:34 Combine love and repentance and here for the first time, 13:37 the mind and the heart start working together. 13:40 The mind calls us to do the right thing 13:42 and the heart agrees. 13:43 Now while this great emotional change takes place in us, 13:47 it's part of our chosen experience. 13:50 This emotional transformation 13:51 is primarily God's part or his doing. 13:54 So in steps one and two, 13:56 we take the time to be still and listen to his goodness, 14:00 asking him for a new heart. 14:02 Then in steps three and four, He changes our heart, 14:05 our core feelings to hate what he hates and love what he loves. 14:10 And what is the result? 14:11 We end up turning away from sin 14:15 and toward God in heart and life. 14:19 So in summary, repentance is a state of being, 14:22 of choosing daily to remember God's goodness, 14:26 thanking him for his mercies that are new every morning, 14:30 asking him for the gift of a new heart, 14:32 and then allowing him to will and to work in us, 14:36 to turn us away from sin in heart and in action. 14:41 To put this topic of repentance into one simple single sentence 14:44 that you can carry around with you it would look like this. 14:49 Repentance is feeling about things the way God does 14:53 and acting accordingly. 14:55 Through careful study, 14:56 I've discovered another critical factor in repentance 15:00 that you won't want to miss. 15:02 Repentance just doesn't cure our past 15:04 allowing God to forgive us for our past sins and shortcomings. 15:08 It changes our hearts. 15:09 Thus, protecting our future let me explain. 15:13 In the old days, sailors left jolly old England 15:16 with barrels of jerky as they ply the seven seas, 15:20 but very often the sailors took sick with 15:23 and illness we know today as scurvy. 15:26 When landing in the tropics, 15:28 they discovered that eating limes cure them of the illness. 15:33 At the time, they didn't know the miracle was the Vitamin C, 15:38 but they soon took to filling barrels with the citrus fruit 15:41 and sucking them all the way home. 15:44 Why? Because Vitamin C not only cures you of scurvy, 15:48 but it prevents you from getting it in the first place. 15:52 The same is true with repentance it not only cures your past. 15:57 It prevents you from falling in to sin in the future. 16:02 And this is why our sorrow is turned to joy. 16:06 Remember, that the primary word in the Old Testament 16:08 translated repent is nacham which means to sigh. 16:12 But did you know, 16:14 the word nacham is in the Bible 108 times. 16:18 Only 38% of the time it is translated repent, 16:22 but 61% of the time it is translated, 16:26 are you ready for this? 16:28 Comfort, God is so good. 16:32 He doesn't just want to give us sorrow and hatred for sin. 16:35 He wants us to have joy, and love, 16:38 and the comfort of a new life, free from sin. 16:41 So now that we've gotten a more comprehensive view 16:44 of what true Bible repentance is, 16:46 let's ask the questions straight up. 16:49 Did Jesus ever repent? 16:52 And if he did, why would that be significant to our lives today. 16:57 Let's head back to the Jordan River 16:59 and consider this important question. 17:02 Well, Charles, we know that He was baptized 17:05 with the baptism of repentance and for the remission of sins. 17:09 And I'm convinced that, this act was more important 17:12 than just showing us how to get dunked. 17:14 I believe there are two very good reasons 17:17 for Jesus to repent and be baptized. 17:21 The first reason is found 17:22 in the words of John the Baptist himself, in John 1:29. 17:26 "Behold the lamb of God, 17:29 which taleth away the sin of the world" 17:33 It was the whole and sole purpose of Jesus 17:36 to eliminate the sin problem. 17:38 He came to rid the whole world of sin. 17:41 So how would He go about doing that? 17:43 Paul explained it in 2 Corinthians 5:21. 17:47 "For God hath made Jesus to be sin for us,who knew no sin, 17:53 that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 17:58 You see, God laid upon Jesus, 18:00 every sin ever committed past, present, or future. 18:05 The lamb bought to the tabernacle 18:06 was not the guilty one. 18:08 The sins of the sinner were placed upon innocent lamb. 18:11 And Christ as the lamb 18:13 had to carry every sin of each person to Calvary, 18:17 so He could forgive all people. 18:20 He is our sin bearer. 18:22 He also perfectly repented 18:25 and was baptized on behalf of all who had received Him. 18:29 And so the first reason, Jesus had to repent was for us. 18:33 He died for us. He repented for us. 18:37 And He was baptized for us. 18:39 The perfect Lamb of God is our salvation. 18:43 He did it all for us. 18:45 The second reason, Jesus needed to repent was for Himself. 18:49 You see, Jesus being fully human suffered 18:52 the exact same kinds of temptations as we do. 18:56 And thus needed divine aid just as much as, you and I. 19:01 "Verily, verily I say unto you, 19:03 the Son can do nothing of Himself, 19:06 I can of mine own self do nothing," Jesus said. 19:10 In fact, Jesus even had to learn to obey just like we do. 19:14 If that's true and the Bible says it is, I've a question, 19:19 how did He live a perfect life? 19:23 Well, that's where the need for repentance comes in. 19:25 Remember the miracle of Vitamin C, 19:28 it doesn't just cure you from scurvy, 19:30 but it keeps you from getting it. 19:33 Repentance kept Jesus from ever sinning 19:36 because He was daily turning away from sin in heart, 19:39 before He even committed a wrong act. 19:43 In fact, to make this point very clear, 19:45 let's go back through the repentance model 19:48 and lay that template over the life of Christ. 19:51 Let's let the Bible guide our understanding 19:53 as we consider each of the five steps 19:56 in light of Christ's earthly sojourn. 19:59 The first step is bethinking 20:01 or remembering all the good things God has done for us. 20:05 So do we have any biblical evidence 20:07 that Jesus took the time to remember? 20:09 Indeed, there is. 20:11 Just before Jesus resurrected Lazarus in Bethany, 20:14 just on the other side of this mount, 20:16 He prayed in this prayer of remembrance. 20:20 "Father, I think thee that thou hast heard me. 20:23 And I knew that thou hearest me always, 20:26 but because of the people which stand by I said it, 20:29 that they may believe that thou hast sent me." 20:33 Here Jesus is recounting the goodness of His Father. 20:37 There are other times as well, 20:38 but for the sake of time let's move to step two. 20:41 Step two is asking God to impregnate you 20:44 with His feelings, His emotional perspective. 20:48 Did Jesus ever do that? 20:50 I'm convinced He did that every day, 20:53 but our best biblical evidence is that dark night 20:56 in the Garden of Gethsemane. 20:58 Right here, on the Mount of Olives, 21:00 here is Jesus' prayer in Matthew 26:39. 21:04 "And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, 21:07 and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it is possible, 21:12 let this cup pass from me, 21:14 nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." 21:19 Here Jesus clearly states that He has a will, 21:22 a desire and it's a strong desire too. 21:26 Luke 22:44 says. 21:29 "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat 21:33 was as it were great drops of blood 21:36 falling down to the ground." 21:38 Jesus' emotional state was one of agony. 21:41 His agony was so great, it led to hematidrosis 21:45 or losing blood through your skin. 21:48 Self was very much present, 21:51 self did not want to die or go to the cross. 21:55 But look at His prayer "Not as I will, but as thou wilt." 22:01 Yes, Jesus was indeed, asking the Father to change His heart 22:06 which brings us to step three. 22:08 Sorrow and joy, once again the biblical evidence is there 22:13 the shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept." 22:18 Jesus lamented over Jerusalem's rejection of the truth. 22:22 Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit, 22:25 when the people wanted another sign, 22:28 but He also had great joy when the widow 22:30 put into the treasury of God all that she had. 22:34 He marveled at the wonderful 22:36 simplistic faith of the centurion. 22:39 Moving on to step four, did Jesus reveal hatred and love? 22:44 Absolutely. He hated seeing the worshippers of God, 22:48 taking advantage of. 22:50 He hated seeing the house of God turned into a market place, 22:54 so... "When he had made a scourge of small cords, 22:58 he drove them all out of the temple, 23:00 and the sheep, and the oxen, 23:01 and poured out the changers' money, 23:03 and overthrew the tables." 23:06 And love, love, mercy, and compassion 23:10 were revealed in every act of His life. 23:13 And what was the result of Jesus remembering His Father's love? 23:17 Asking for the Father's will to be His own. 23:21 First off, His heart was set in obedience, 23:23 the great principle of love. 23:26 And He turned away from sin, 23:28 biblical evidence Matthew 4:1 and 10. 23:33 "Then was Jesus led up of the spirit 23:35 into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 23:38 Then saith Jesus unto him, get thee hence, satan, 23:42 for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, 23:45 and him only shalt thou serve." 23:49 Jesus was tempted and buffeted by Satan, 23:52 but before He succumbed to the temptation, He turned away. 23:57 Over and over, day after day, He died to self, 24:01 choosing the Father's will over His own. 24:06 Oh, yes, Jesus experienced repentance. 24:09 And as a result, He felt about things 24:12 the way His Father did and He acted accordingly. 24:16 In fact, His whole life is an example, 24:19 for those who would follow Him 24:20 on how to experience a rich and obedient existence 24:24 that ends up very well with no regrets. 24:29 It certainly ended well for Jesus. 24:31 And that's the story 24:33 God wanted to publish by the life of Christ. 24:35 You see, Christ came to demonstrate 24:38 the value of divine principles 24:40 by revealing their power for the regeneration of humanity. 24:44 By embarrassing the divine principle of repentance, 24:48 He was able to be fully sanctified 24:51 and according to the teachings of Jesus, 24:54 He lived that life as an example for us. 24:59 "And for their sakes I sanctify myself," 25:02 He says, "that they also 25:04 might be sanctified through the truth." 25:07 You see, God did not call us to be impure but live a holy life. 25:14 We desperately need a cure 25:15 for the spiritual schizophrenia we all suffer from. 25:18 Where we believe what's right, but do what's wrong. 25:22 God provided that cure for us in the person of Jesus Christ. 25:27 He showed us what simple steps must be taken, 25:31 remembering how good God is, and asking for His will to be ours, 25:36 His thoughts and feelings to be ours. 25:39 Then we let Him do the hard part, the hard part 25:43 with the transforming miracle of our feelings 25:46 and impulses followed by a change in our actions. 25:51 In fact, this is what makes 25:53 the ministry in teaching of Christ so controversial. 25:57 His teachings mess with our desires, 26:00 our wants, and our will. 26:04 Repentance is not an optional experience 26:07 for the true believer in the God of creation. 26:10 It was important in the Old Testament 26:12 and it's a focal point of the New Testament, as well. 26:16 In preparation for the Messiah, 26:19 John's message and sermon was "repent." 26:22 When Jesus started His ministry, His message was "repent." 26:27 When Christ and His disciples out, two by two, 26:30 the message of their sermon was "repent." 26:33 Jesus explained that the reason He came, lived, died 26:37 and rose again was so repentance could be given to mankind. 26:42 And the reason Christ was glorified 26:44 and now sits at the right hand of the Father 26:47 is to give repentance to each of us. 26:50 The call of Peter's great Pentecost sermon was "repent" 26:55 and the last message given to men by Jesus 26:58 in Revelation 2 and 3 is "repent." 27:01 And He's still inviting us today, to enter the experience 27:06 to find comfort in His gift of repentance. 28:12 Thunder in the Holy Land is a simple Bible study series 28:15 that focusing on the life and teachings of Jesus. 28:19 To learn more about this study 28:20 and how you can use it to share our best friend. 28:23 Visit us at qlp.tv 28:26 that's qlp.tv |
Revised 2014-12-17