“Why Jesus Came (Jeremiah 23:1-6)", Will DuVal | 12/15/24

Jeremiah 23:1-6 | 12/15/24 | Will DuVal

This morning, we’re beginning our ABRIDGED Advent mini-series entitled “The One the Prophets Foretold”, which was how the disciple PHILLIP famously described JESUS after first MEETING him to his buddy NATHANIEL in John ch1: “Come and see! We have found [the One whom the prophets foretold], Jesus of Nazareth” (v45). 

It’s hard to even COUNT how many OT prophecies Jesus fulfilled; estimates range between 300 on the conservative end, up to as many as SIX hundred prophecies.  

Most of us are familiar with the BIGGIES

He would be born of a virgin (Isa 7:14).

He would bring good news and healing to the downtrodden (Isa 61:1).

He would CRUSH the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15). 

And most importantly, he would atone for his people’s SINS (Isa 53:5-12) and then be raised from the DEAD (Ps 16:10)!


So many AMAZING prophecies Jesus fulfilled all throughout his life, including just his BIRTH, which we celebrate at Christmas; it was hard to narrow the list down to just 2 or 3 for us to focus on this Advent (perhaps we’ll pick this series back up again in a FUTURE Advent season). But this morning, we’re going to turn our attention to what I believe is one of the most underrated, beautiful, POWER-ful prophecies about Jesus in all of the OT, in ch23 of the book of Jeremiah. And this prophecy, I hope to show you, offers us perhaps the most succinct yet compelling answer to the question: “Why did Jesus COME, to the earth?” If that’s what Christmas is all about: God coming DOWN… why did he DO it? There are LOTS of true, biblical ways to answer that question. But Jeremiah 23:1-6 summarizes God’s answer for us about as poignantly as possible.  


Now it may be HELPFUL if I provide just a bit of CONTEXT for you before we actually read the passage. Actually, I will let John Piper (“I Will Raise Up…”, Desiring God, Dec 13, 1981); he writes:

 “Around [the turn of the millennium, in the year 1010 BC, King] DAVID began to rule over Israel. David was "a man after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14) and stands to this day as the embodiment of a great king, even though a sinner. To him, God made a promise in 2 Samuel 7 that one of his own offspring would sit upon the throne and that the throne of his kingdom would be established forever (v16). But it became very clear after David's death that this promise was in jeopardy

The demise of the united kingdom with the death of Solomon, David's son, and the disobedience of the divided kingdom threatened to bring down God's wrath on Israel in the north and Judah in the south. [God] had said to the people very clearly at the inauguration of the first king, "If you do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king" (1 Samuel 12:25). So for centuries the people lived with this tension. On the one hand, they had a promise that David's kingdom would be made sure forever. And on the other hand, they had a threat that if they persisted in disobedience to God, they and their king would be swept away. The men who kept this tension before the eyes of the people for the next four centuries were the prophets.” 


Piper goes on: “Jeremiah was born around 627 BC. He was called by God… to be a prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah during its final years…under its last five kings: Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. Josiah… was a good king who tried to reform the nation after finding the old book of the covenant in the temple (2 Kings 22, 23). But the rest of the kings were not good. Chs21 & 22 of Jeremiah is a collection of oracles which Jeremiah spoke from the Lord against these kings… "Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness [and] injustice” (22:13)... “you have not obeyed my voice” (22:21)... “None of [your] offspring shall succeed in sitting on the throne of David, and ruling again in Judah.” (22:30)”

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"Rejoice for Jesus is King (Isaiah 9: 1-7)", Austin Gooch | 12/22/24

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"Jesus Changes Our Strength, pt.2", Will DuVal | (Ephesians 6:18-24)