Why We are Amazed!

What amazes you?

A gentleman named Agur, who lived during the times of Solomon once wrote: “There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand:   the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maid.” Proverbs 3:18-19

In our hectic, mile a minute existences, it’s easy to forget just amazing our world truly is.  Let me give you some amazing data that seem more like fiction then fact.

1. If you drilled a tunnel straight through the Earth and jumped in, and if you fell at the rate that skydivers fall, it would take you exactly 42 minutes and 12 seconds to get to china.
2. A medium-sized cumulus cloud weighs about the same as 80 elephants.
3. A single bolt of lightning contains enough energy to cook 100,000 pieces of toast.
4. In an average lifetime, human skin completely replaces itself 900 times.
5. A red blood cell can make a complete circuit of your body in 20 seconds.  During the hour and a half that you sit in church, your blood has been running over 150 laps!
6. According to Amazon, the most highlighted Kindle books are, the Steve Jobs biography, and The Hunger Games, and #1, the Bible

Amazing.  We are still talking about why we smile while suffering.  We smile because we have discovered that where there is Christ, there is hope.  We smile because to God, we are “keepers;” we dance because we are bound for glory.  And today we will be amazed at what God has done for us.  Before we are finished I hope to leave you overwhelmed at how incredible it is that we have so great a salvation.

Let me tell you something.  We all are privileged people.  We live in an incredible time, and I’m not talking about technology.  Let me tell you why you should be overwhelmed with gratitude and why you are so privileged; it is because the best of men in history past, and the best of angels in heaven above, wish that they could see what you have seen, could have what you have.

We among all men and angels are privileged, and it ought to amaze us.

The Prophets Sought it Out!

Verse 10 notes “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully…”

What the prophets sought, we possess.  Moses sought it, as did Isaiah, as did King David the prophet.  Elijah searched for it, and so did his counterpart Elisha.  Even John the Baptist didn’t get it.  His desire was just to be the least  in the kingdom.  He asked Jesus, “Are you the one we’ve been expecting, or should be look for another?”  (Matthew 11:3).

When Jesus was born, the prophet Simeon prayed; Now Lord, let your servant die in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation.”  (Luke 2:29)

Many have earnestly longed to see our day, and have not seen it.  We are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, who want to tell us one amazing truth: we are among the most privileged in all of history, for we get to experience so great a salvation!

But it isn’t just prophets who longed to have what we have,

The Angels Desire to Look into it. 

This is the only place in the Bible where angels and prophets are mentioned together. That’s fascinating because the Bible says a lot about angels and a lot about prophets, but only here do we have them in the same text.

Look at the closing phrase of verse 12.  It says, these are “things which angels desire to look into.“

If I told you that I had a special window that let me look into the realm of the angels, all of us would crowd around to get a glimpse of “the other side.” But who would have thought that the angels long to look at us and understand our salvation.

The words “look into,” Παρακυψαι· speak of one who is stooped down, or stooped over to better glimpse of something.  It is the posture of a sleuth like who Sherlock Holmes is intent on examining important evidence.  It’s the same word used for Peter and John stooping to look inside the empty tomb on Easter Sunday morning.

Someone suggested that this is an allusion here to the cherubim who stood at the ends of the ark of the covenant, in the inner tabernacle, with their eyes turned down towards the mercy-seat in a bending posture, as if looking attentively. Even the holy angels are struck with astonishment at the plan of human redemption.

What do angels what to know?

Did you know that there has never been an angel that has ever been forgiven?  And did you know that there never ever will be even one single angel that will ever experience salvation?  And did you know that God never sent His son Jesus to pay the penalty for their sins.

Here is Peter’s message made plain: God loves you so much, the angels are amazed. They know nothing about grace and mercy and forgiveness. They’ve never experienced new life, the new birth, regeneration, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, or the wonder of deliverance from sin. That which we have experienced in Jesus Christ, the angels never knew and will never know. We are far more privileged than they.

No wonder Jesus told His disciples, “blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;  for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men (and may I say angels) desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”  Matthew 13:16-17

We among all men and angels are privileged, and it ought to amaze us with gratitude and make us smile.  We know what the prophets never knew, and we experience what the angels wish they knew.

And what is that?  The prophets saw it coming…

The Prophets Prophesied of it!

Back to verse 10, “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you.”

In one simple sentence, Peter tells us what we should be so amazed about; we should be amazed at Grace – Amazing Grace.  What’s so amazing about grace?  If you don’t know, you need to ask; you need to find out!  Unfortunately, the discussion of grace has become so commonplace to Christians, so every day, that to some of us it is so ho-hum!

It is like the healthy man who doesn’t appreciate walking until he is paralyzed.  It is like the wealthy man who takes abundant food for granted until he is lost and starving in the wilderness.  It is like the wise man who takes his powers of reasoning for granted until dementia begins taking them away.

Grace is even more amazing.  So what is Grace? “It is the undeserving gift of God, in which he offers lost sinners unmerited favor.”  We sinners deserve God’s wrath and instead in Jesus Christ we get love; we deserve punishment and get forgiveness—all because of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.

Read the stories in the Gospels. “I was blind but now I see” (John 9). “[My son] was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15). “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (John 3:16). The news is spectacularly good, especially when held up against the bleak view of hopelessness that has a stranglehold on our world.

If you don’t have grace, you need it!  If you do have grace, you need to be amazed by it!  It keeps you smiling even if you are suffering.  It is the hope that brings comfort to the needy.

The Spirit Predicted It

11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.

The prophets were the men in the Old Testament whom God chose to be his spokesmen on earth.  The spirit of Christ was in them.  It was the Spirit who moved the prophet to prophecy.  The prophets had two primary jobs: 1) They proclaimed God’s Word, and 2) They predicted future events.   Peter’s concern is with #2, the prophets as predictors of the future.

According to verse eleven, there are four amazing things about prophecy.  #1 Prophecy explains what is going to happen.  #2 Prophecy explains when it would happen – or what manner of time it would occur.  #3 Prophecies main focus is on Christ and his sufferings.  #4 Prophecy details the glories that are yet to follow.

Bible prophecy is one of the most amazing and unique characteristics of the Bible.  It is impossible to find anything like it anywhere else in history.  God has a track record of keeping his promises.  You can hang your hat on that!

The prophets predicted the coming of a Savior who would bring hope to this heartbroken world. Did you know there are over 300 separate prophecies in the Old Testament relating to the coming of Christ? And did you also know that Jesus fulfilled 33 prophecies on the day of his death.

Here are a few of those predictions the prophets made about Jesus:

1. That he would be born of a virgin—Isaiah 7:14
2. That he would be born in Bethlehem—Micah 5:2
3. That he would be born into the tribe of Judah—Genesis 49:10
4. That his ministry would begin in Galilee—Isaiah 9:1
5. That he would work miracles—Isaiah 35:5, 6
6. That he would teach in parables—Psalm 78:2
7. That he would enter Jerusalem on a donkey—Zechariah 9:9
8. That he would be betrayed by a friend—Psalm 41:9
9. That he would be sold for 30 pieces of silver—Zechariah 11:12
10. That he would be accused by false witnesses—Psalm 35:11
11. That he would be wounded and bruised—Isaiah 53:5
12. That his hands and feet would be pierced—Psalm 22:16
13. That he would be crucified with thieves—Isaiah 53:12
14. That his garments would be torn apart and lots cast for them—Psalm 22:18
15. That his bones would not be broken—Psalm 34:20
16. That his side would be pierced—Zechariah 12:10
17. That he would be buried in a rich man’s tomb—Isaiah 53:9
18. That he would rise from the dead—Psalm 16:10

These are only a few of the hundreds of prophecies about Jesus Christ given by the Old Testament prophets.  And let me just say something about Jesus.  Although prophecy predicts many different things; famines, earthquakes, plagues, the antichrist and the coming tribulation, the main purpose of prophecy is to point to Jesus.  Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

If you want to understand the Bible, look for Jesus!  Better to see him on every page than not to see him at all. The Bible is one book with 66 parts—all pointing to Jesus.

• He is the Prophet greater than Moses.
• He is the Priest greater than Aaron.
• He is the King greater than David.
• Jesus is the theme of the Bible.

1. A) Jesus is the meaning of history. History truly is His Story. History is not about men and nations, or the rise and fall of empires. It’s not about building or buying or getting. History is not about who wins the election in November—as important as that is to most of us. History is about Jesus Christ! How do I know this? Because when he was born, he split history in two—into BC and AD! Every time unbelievers say 2016, they unknowingly confess the supremacy of our Lord. History is all about Jesus, and apart from him, history has no meaning.
2. B) Salvation is the purpose of history. I don’t just mean salvation in the limited sense of you coming to Christ. I mean salvation in the larger sense of all that God intends to do to bring deliverance to this sin-cursed planet. Salvation is the story of the greatest rescue mission in the history of the universe. It’s about God sending his Son to redeem a rebel race, at the cost of his own Son, and then offering forgiveness and freedom to all who will believe in him. That great drama of salvation will come to its appointed culmination when Jesus returns to the earth.  And as I thought about this, my heart raced to the amazing words of the book of Revelation:  even so Lord Jesus come!  Amazing.  And he shall reign forever and ever.  Amazing!

The Apostles Preached It

12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

The prophets were not speaking to themselves, the prophets were speaking to us!  The Apostles were not just preaching the gospel to the people of the 1st century, they spoke to men and women of every century.  The Bible is not meant for men of some other nation, or people of some other time; the Gospel is meant for you.

The Bible is God’s love letter to you.  If you doubt that, listen to what God says:

I love you! (John 3:16)  I created you in my image (Genesis 1:27) and I called you “very good” (Genesis 1:31).  I knit you together in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13).  I know the number of the hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30) and I am familiar with all your ways (Psalm 139:3).  My precious thoughts of you are as countless as the sand on the seashore (Psalm 139:17-18).

“… I will always love you; …. You are precious to me.”  Jeremiah, 31:3-4),  “… I can’t let you go. I can’t give you up. … My feelings for you are much too strong. Hosea 11:8).  “Could a mother forget her child who nurses?  Even if a mother could forget, I will never forget you.” Isaiah 49:15)

You see I’ve loved you from the beginning, long before you loved me (1 John 4:19).  I sent my son Jesus, the exact representation of myself(Hebrews 1:3), to die on the cross in your place (Romans 5:8), to take upon Himself the punishment that you deserved (Isaiah 53:5), and to take away your sin (John 1:29).  For you the mighty Lion sacrificed his life as an innocent Lamb (Revelation 5:5-6).

One day soon I Jesus I will return to bring you and all my followers to the heavenly home that I have prepared for you (John 14:2).  I will wipe away your tears and take away your pain forever (Revelation 21:3-4) and I will reward you for all the you’ve done in my name (Revelation 22:12).  Heaven will be more beautiful and wonderful than you can imagine (Revelation 21:10-27).  There we will sing to God with angels (Revelation 7:9-17), feast at banquets (Matthew 22:14), and rule over cities (Luke 19:11-26).  Love, God

Does that not amaze you?  No wonder we smile!  We are the most blessed people in history. We know things the prophets never knew. We experience salvation the angels never experience.

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