Posted by Chris on July 29, 2012 under Front Page Posts, Sermons
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We began our assembly today sharing in the dreams and hopes of a young couple who wish to see their child grow into a servant of God. We continue that emphasis on service as we call upon two of our brothers who are using their gifts to serve the church.
Brent Evans has used his gifts for music and song leading for countless Sundays. Above all of that, he demonstrates a passion for worship that includes leading others into the presence of God through worship. He shares the passion for worship with Christians of all ages and in settings as diverse as Soulquest, Wednesday Night Class, Green Valley Bible Camp, and various singing groups.
Kevin Hesslen has used his gifts for teaching and leadership to help this congregation in various ways. Most recently, he has been asked to help this congregation fulfill its responsibilities to ensure the safety of children. It is a new area for churches, but Kevin’s commitment to the children and youth ministries has given our leaders and this congregation the confidence to know that the work is being seen to rightly.
Both of these men have excelled in service, but also in character. That is why our elders asked you to consider if they were worthy to be affirmed as deacons.
Deacons are among the roles of service that God gives the body of Christ to enable healthy spiritual growth. Deacons not only serve the body, but they serve as models of leadership; the sort of servant leadership that is unique to the body of Christ.
We believe that God has prepared and equipped Kevin and Brent for their works of service. We believe that the Holy Spirit is working in all of us to affirm his work among us.
Ephesians 4:11-16
11He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, 13until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.
14Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. 15Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
The Body is held together by Christ (also the head of the body)
- We grow – to become like Christ – the truth and love nourish us (v. 15)
- We are connected – Christ fits us together (v. 16)
As each part does its work . . .
- God has given gifts to the body (v. 11)
- He does it so that:
- members are prepared for works of service (v. 12)
- we can achieve unity of faith and knowledge of Christ (v. 13)
- members may be mature in the Lord (v. 13b)
- Maturity is a worthy goal. It makes possible stability, assurance, truth and love. (v. 14-15)
- Mature Christians serve the church with their gifts and this helps the church grow and become healthy and more loving. (v. 16)
So, God has equipped us with leaders who are gifted by the Spirit to help the body grow so that we might become a healthier and more loving church.
Maturity in Christ is not something that elders and deacons alone may achieve. Every part of the body works to bring out maturity in every other part of the body. In the body of Christ, everybody is looking out for everyone else.
Gifts of the Spirit are not something that only a few in the church have. God’s gives gifts to the members of the body of Christ. The gift of the Holy Spirit is given to all believers when they are baptized. But it is a gift that is meant to be used for the sake of the church, which is in the world for the sake of the world’s salvation.
Here is the invitation: If you have been baptized, what gift do you have to use for the church? I simply will not accept the argument that there are those who have no gift at all. There are some who have buried their talents, but that is not the same thing. The leaders of this church are inviting you to use your gifts and to grow as you use them. We are committed to giving you the training the support and the permission you need to use your gift for the glory of God and the building up of the body.
If you have not been baptized, do not miss out on the blessed life. We welcome you to come and be like Christ. Receive a gift and be added to the church: a healthy, truthful, loving fellowship where you will be built up and use your gifts to build up others.
Posted by Chris on July 22, 2012 under Front Page Posts, Missions, Sermons
1987 – 2012
West-Ark began its current era of mission efforts in 1987. Of course, there were notable mission efforts before 1987; and the two congregations that merged to become West-Ark (College Terrace and Windsor Drive) certainly have their own histories of mission efforts. Yet, we mark 25 years from 1987 since that was the beginning of the West-Ark “Mission Committee” and a significant time for a new period of growth in West-Ark’s overall approach to reaching out around the world and across the street.
We will accept the excuse to celebrate what God has been doing among us for a quarter of a century! In the months ahead many stories will be told of how God has worked through different mission efforts and how he continues to work in amazing ways. The story of missions at West-Ark is not institutional or programmatic. Though there is serious attention to budgeting, fundraising, equipping, and other logistics, the story is organic, just like the story of any family. This story is about the growth and development of people who are caught up in God’s adventures. We believe that God has a mission, and that the mission has a church (rather than saying “the church has a mission”). We believe that God is at work in the world and we must join him in that work.
I have three general observations regarding West-Ark’s 25 years of mission efforts. Looking back, I hope to indicate how God has been at work within West-Ark. Looking forward, I hope to suggest some ways that we might build on this legacy and encourage future generations to follow God’s leading.
1. West-Ark is a congregation that encourages and equips its members to join in God’s work. There is an impressive list of our people who have been nurtured and encouraged by this congregation over the years to serve God. Over the last 25 years we have had individuals and families, members of this congregation just like any of us, who have made the decision to leave their profession and home country to devote themselves in serving God’s church where they might be needed most. That trend continues and even now we are involved in preparing couples who originally came to the Fort Smith region to work and start a family here.
Concern that this process weakens the local congregation by sending our best and brightest away from us is understandable but unfounded. The departure of families to serve God in other countries and cities has never left our congregation weaker. There is no instance of this ever being the case in 25 years. Even if it were true, we must remember that the mission of God is not to preserve our congregation. If West-Ark truly desires to be a congregation that follows Christ, then we must take his example seriously. Christ did not seek to preserve himself. He recognized that what might appear as loss to those who are concerned with self-preservation and establishing their own institutions is gain in the kingdom of heaven.
“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” – John 12:24-16
In the last 25 years, West-Ark has let go of the anxiety of self-preservation. As a result, we have been inspired by our involvement in the lives of various missionary families. Kernels of wheat have fallen to the ground but many more seeds have been produced.
I want to encourage every member to consider how God is calling you. I hope that each of you will at least get involved even in a short term trip before the end of 2013. God has prepared good works for you to do. Don’t look to West-Ark or its staff to do it – you are the church and you are West-Ark. Whether you have been here since 1980 or just placed membership today, you have a calling.
2. West-Ark has been and must continue to be a regional and international resource for missional faithfulness, awareness, and support. Before I came to West-Ark in 2003 I was inspired by West-Ark’s involvement in the mission. I was preaching at Lake Jackson in 1998 when there was news about trials and challenges for some of our missionaries. The story of their faithfulness and resolve inspired me and the congregation in Lake Jackson.
I believe that God has prepared and equipped this congregation to influence and encourage other congregations. We have partnered with other congregations and included individuals from other congregations in our region in our mission efforts. We are a regional steward of the mission of God.
We must continue to have this vision and be intentional about supporting others who are also involved in God’s mission. This congregation will not grow if we only concern ourselves with “our own affairs.” We have been too richly blessed and we are too mature to simply turn inward.
3. If we want the congregations that we directly support in our mission works to be faithful, then we had better be faithful too. One of our missionary families working in a challenging field sent us this message recently: “Please give our love to all there. Encourage them to make the most of their freedom for His glory!”
What are you doing with your freedom? Not just your freedom as an American, but your freedom in Christ. We can thank God that we are not persecuted as some of our brothers and sisters in other countries are persecuted. We can and should thank God that we have freedom of worship in this nation. But even if we did not, we have the freedom to pray to the Creator of the Universe and the Sovereign over all the earth. Governments on earth can only acknowledge that freedom; no government on earth can bestow that freedom or take it away. The Lord of Heaven and Earth has invited us to come and make our petitions and requests known to him.
Posted by Chris on July 7, 2012 under Articles, Resources
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, Jesus explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself. (Luke 24:27)
For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4)
Seed of a Woman
Prophecy: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
Fulfillment: “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law. (Galatians 4:4)
Descendant of Abraham
Prophecy: “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)
Fulfillment: The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham, (Matthew 1:1)
Descendant of Isaac
Prophecy: Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.” (Genesis 17:19)
Fulfillment: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers, (Matthew 1:2)
Descendant of Jacob
Prophecy: “I shall see Him, but not now; I shall behold Him, but He is not near. When a King shall arise from the house of Jacob, and the Messiah be anointed from the house of Israel; He shall slay the princes of Moab, and rule over all the children of men.” (Numbers 24:17)
Fulfillment: the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, (Luke 3:34)
From the Tribe of Judah
Prophecy: The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people. (Genesis 49:10.)
Fulfillment: the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, (Luke 3:33)
Heir to the Throne of David
Prophecy: Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:7)
Fulfillment: “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.” (Luke 1:32)
Anointed
Prophecy: Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions. (Psalms 45:6-7)
Fulfillment: “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38)
Eternal
Prophecy: Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end. (Psalms 102:25-27)
Fulfillment: “You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail.” (Hebrews 1:10-12)
Time of His Birth
Prophecy: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.” (Daniel 9:25)
Fulfillment: And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. (Luke 2:1-3)
To Be Born of a Virgin
Prophecy: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
Fulfillment: Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)
Born in Bethlehem
Prophecy: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2)
Fulfillment: Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem. (Matthew 2:1)
Children Slaughtered
Prophecy: Thus says the LORD: “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” (Jeremiah 31:15)
Fulfillment: Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. (Matthew 2:16)
Into Egypt
Prophecy: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.” (Hosea 11:1)
Fulfillment: When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” (Matthew 2:14-15)
His Way Prepared
Prophecy: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. (Isaiah 40:3)
Fulfillment: “He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17)
Preceded by a Herald
Prophecy: “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:1)
Fulfillment: “This is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.’ For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (Luke 7:27-28)
Preceded by Elijah
Prophecy: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. (Malachi 4:5)
Fulfillment: “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.” (Matthew 11:13-14)
The Son of God
Prophecy: “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.” (Psalms 2:7)
Fulfillment: While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:5)
Ministry in Galilee
Prophecy: Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. (Isaiah 9:1-2)
Fulfillment: And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. (Matthew 4:23)
Speaking in Parables
Prophecy: I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old. (Psalms 78:2)
Fulfillment: All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them. (Matthew 13:34)
The Prophet
Prophecy: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear.” (Deuteronomy 18:15)
Fulfillment: “and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. ‘And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.'” (Acts 3:20-23)
Healer of the Brokenhearted
Prophecy: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;” (Isaiah 61:1)
Fulfillment: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;” (Luke 4:18)
Rejected by Men
Prophecy: He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Isaiah 53:3)
Fulfillment: He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. (John 1:11)
A Priest
Prophecy: The LORD has sworn and will not relent, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalms 110:4)
Fulfillment: So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You.” As He also says in another place: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 5:5-6)
Triumphal Entry
Prophecy: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)
Fulfillment: They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!” And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the Prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.” (Matthew 21:7-11)
Adored by Children
Prophecy: Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger. (Psalms 8:2)
Fulfillment: But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant. (Matthew 21:15)
Not Believed
Prophecy: Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? (Isaiah 53:1)
Fulfillment: But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him. (John 12:37)
Betrayed by Friend
Prophecy: Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. (Psalms 41:9)
Fulfillment: And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:47-48)
Betrayed for 30 Silver Coins
Prophecy: Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. (Zechariah 11:12)
Fulfillment: Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. (Matthew 26:14-15)
Falsely Accused
Prophecy: Fierce witnesses rise up; they ask me things that I do not know. (Psalms 35:11)
Fulfillment: Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.'” (Mark 14:57-58)
Silent Before Accusers
Prophecy: He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)
Fulfillment: Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!” But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled. Mark 15:4-5)
Spat Upon and Struck
Prophecy: I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. (Isaiah 50:6)
Fulfillment: Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands. (Matthew 26:67)
Hated Without a Cause
Prophecy: Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies; Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause. (Psalms 35:19)
Fulfillment: “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.” (John 15:24)
Sacrifice for Others
Prophecy: But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)
Fulfillment: For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)
Death by Crucifixion
Prophecy: “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)
Fulfillment: Jesus Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)
Executed with Sinners
Prophecy: Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12)
Fulfillment: With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.” (Mark 15:27-28)
Hands and Feet Pierced
Prophecy: For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet. (Psalms 22:16)
Fulfillment: “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” (Luke 24:39)
Sneered and Mocked
Prophecy: All those who see Me ridicule Me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, “He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” (Psalms 22:7-8)
Fulfillment: Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. “He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.'” (Matthew 27:41-43)
Reproached
Prophecy: Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. (Psalms 69:9)
Fulfillment: For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” (Romans 15:3)
Prayed for His Enemies
Prophecy: In return for my love they are my accusers, but I give myself to prayer. (Psalms 109:4)
Fulfillment: Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots. (Luke 23:34)
Gambling for Clothes
Prophecy: They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots. (Psalms 22:18)
Fulfillment: Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” (Matthew 27:35)
Forsaken by God
Prophecy: My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? (Psalms 22:1)
Fulfillment: And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)
No Broken Bones
Prophecy: He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. (Psalms 34:20)
Fulfillment: But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. (John 19:33)
His Side Pierced
Prophecy: “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10)
Fulfillment: But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. (John 19:34)
Buried with Rich
Prophecy: And they made His grave with the wicked; but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. (Isaiah 53:9)
Fulfillment: Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. (Matthew 27:57-60)
Resurrected from Death
Prophecy: For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. (Psalms 16:10)
Fulfillment: “Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead.” (Acts 13:29-30)
Our Advocate
Prophecy: Surely even now my witness is in heaven, and my evidence is on high. My friends scorn me; my eyes pour out tears to God. Oh, that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleads for his neighbor! (Job 16:19-21)
Fulfillment: My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2)
Ascended to God
Prophecy: You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God might dwell there. (Psalms 68:18)
Fulfillment: So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19)
