All The Bible Is About Jesus
Blog | Pastor Duane
Whether a text mentions Jesus or not, according to Jesus, every single passage, every single word, every single letter, and every single mark of the Bible is all about him. Until we see how a passage is connected to the gospel of Jesus we have not fully understood it. Every text in some way is about our sin and our need for the savior Jesus.
Matthew 5:17-18 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
Luke 24:27 “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he (Jesus) interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
Galatians 3:22 “The Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”
Two Guiding Principles
Seeing how all of the Bible relates to Jesus is a both a formal discipline of interpretation and an art. That is, there is a right way and a wrong way to see how things connect to Jesus. We do not just have liberty to read Jesus into any and every text however we feel like. For example, Rahab’s scarlet red cord does not represent the blood of Jesus on the cross and Elisha’s floating iron axe head does not represent the iron nails of the cross and Jesus’ resurrection.
The formal discipline of interpretation in seeing how all the Bible relates to Jesus is called “Christotelics.” Telic, comes from “telos”, which means goal or end. Thus, Christ is the goal or end of all of Scripture. Good christotelics follows good historical grammatical interpretation. There are many rules or principles to historical grammatical interpretation (such as studying the actual meaning of the words and taking into account the historical and cultural background etc.)…however two are perhaps most helpful to keep in mind when doing Christotelics.
The God Who Gives His Word
Jonah Series | 1:1-2 | Pastor Duane Smets
This first week of the series is an exegetical introduction to the book of Jonah. It covers background information of the person of Jonah, the role of a prophet, the reliability and relevance of the book of Jonah, and the nature and function of God’s Word in our lives. This sermon was originally preached on February 27th, 2011 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
The Book of Matthew
This series covers our study through the book of Matthew. These sermons look at the person and work of Jesus in his words, deeds, death and resurrection. These sermons were preached by Pastor Duane Smets from September of 2009 to November 2010 at The Resolved Church, San Diego, CA.
Audio & Manuscripts Below
Jesus Arrives On The Scene
Listen Read 1:1-25 – The Beginning of the Story of Jesus
Listen Read 2:1-23 – Jesus is Born and Things Get Crazy Fast
Listen Read 3:1-17 – Jesus is Baptized and The Gospel is Put in Motion
Listen Read 4:1-11 – Jesus is Tested and Satan Goes Down
Listen Read 4:12-25 – Jesus Kicks Things Off With Gospel Action
Jesus Preaches The Sermon On The Mount
Listen Read 5:1-7:29 – Jesus Preaches His First Sermon and Rocks the World
Listen Read 5:2-16 – The Kingdom of the King and His Mission
Listen Read 5:17-48 – The Commandments, Their Commander, and His Comrades
Listen Read 6:1-7:12 – The Father and the Faith of His Family
Listen Read 7:13-29 – Jesus Ends His First Sermon and Calls the World to Himself
Jesus Creates and Commissions Disciples
Listen Read 8:1-17 – Jesus Begins to Put the World on His Back
Listen Read 8:18-9:8 – Jesus Says to Follow and Shows Why
Listen Read 9:9-17 – Jesus Draws Fire and Retaliates
Listen Read 9:18-35 – Jesus Presents the Gospel by Going on a Healing Rampage
Listen Read 9:36-38 – The Heart of Jesus’ Mission
Listen Read 10:1-42 – The Blueprint of Jesus’ Mission
Jesus Takes On Tough Stuff
Listen Read 11:1-30 – Jesus’ Answer to the Question: Are You the One?
Listen Read 12:1-14 – Jesus Gives Rest And Gets A Death Threat In Return
Listen Read 12:15-50 – Jesus Confronts An Evil Race And Offers His Everlasting Family
Listen Read 13:1-23 – Jesus Preaches In Parables And Pleads For Understanding
Listen Read 13:24-52 – Jesus Addresses the Pathetic Appearance of His Kingdom
Listen Read 13:53-14:21 – Jesus Triggers Sharp Reactions
Listen Read 14:22-33 – Jesus Reveals He is God and Disciples Worship Him
Listen Read 14:34-15:28 – Jesus Confronts The Heart & Heals The Helpless
Listen Read 15:29-16:12 – Jesus Talks Signs, Stomachs & Social Gospel
Jesus Makes Final Preparations
Listen Read 16:13-23 – Jesus Unfolds His Plan For The World
Listen Read 16:24-17:13 – Jesus Makes Demands & Un-Masks His Deity
Listen Read 17:14-27 – Jesus Exhibits the Extent of His Kingship
Listen Read 18:1-14 – Jesus Hands Out The Kingdom Employee Job Description (Pt 1)
Listen Read 18:15-35 – Jesus Hands Out The Kingdom Employee Job Description (Pt 2)
Listen Read 19:1-15 – Jesus Deals With The Demise of Marriage & Family
Listen Read 19:16-20:34 – Jesus Deals With The Motivations of Followers
Jesus’ Last Week
Listen Read 20:1-17 – Jesus Arrives In The Heavenly Hometown
Listen Read 21:18-22:14 – Jesus Asserts The Authority Of Heaven
Listen Read 22:15-46 – Jesus Dismantles Disqualified Leadership – Pt 1
Listen Read 23:1-39 – Jesus Dismantles Disqualified Leadership – Pt 2
Listen Read 24:1-26:2 – Jesus Tells Of The Age To Come
Listen Read 26:1-30 – Jesus Prepares To Die
Jesus Completes His Work
Listen Read 26:31-27:61 – Jesus Crucified
Listen Read 27:62-28:18 – Jesus Risen
Listen Read 28:16-20 – Jesus Mission
Jesus Arrives In The Heavenly Hometown
Matthew Series | Matthew 21:1-17 | Pastor Duane Smets
This week is an exegetical sermon on Matthew 21:1-17 where Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey, heals people, cleanses the temple, and children worship him. In these scenes Jesus acts in the roles of king, priest, prophet and LORD which beckons our need for him to exercise those offices in our lives. This sermon was originally preached on September 19th, 2010 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
Jesus Deals With The Motivations Of Followers
Matthew Series | Matthew 19:16-20:34 | Pastor Duane Smets
This week is an exegetical sermon on Matthew 19:16-20:34 where Jesus talks with a rich man who is blinded by his possessions, his disciples who are blinded by their reward, his family who is blinded by their potential for power and two blind men who cry out for mercy and see Jesus. In each case Jesus addresses the wrong motivations of followers whether it be for possessions, pay, and power which blind us from seeing our true need. This sermon was originally preached on September 12th, 2010 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
Jesus Hands Out The Kingdom Employee Job Description (Part 2)
Matthew Series | Matthew 18:15-35 | Pastor Duane Smets
This week is an exegetical sermon on Matthew 18:15-35 where we hear Jesus continue to respond to the question of how to have a place with him and be great in his kingdom. In response Jesus gives five job qualifications of what is required by his employees. This week looks at the last two: community unity, and limitless forgiveness. This sermon was originally preached on August 29th, 2010 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
The Two Wills of God
Blog | Pastor Duane Smets
In last Sunday’s text we read the words of Jesus, “It is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish (Mt 18:14).” We couldn’t take the time to dive deep into the meaning of God’s will on Sunday so I promised a blog on it this week. This topic could be much more than a blog, like a long article or book. But others have done that elsewhere, so I’m going to try to state and explain it as clearly and succinctly as possible here. Here’s three great resources:
• Are There Two Wills In God? by John Piper
• Are There Two Wills In God? by Sam Storms
• Are There Two Wills In God? MP3 PDF by Matt Chandler
Theologians have long recognized that there are two wills of God referred to in the Bible and have given them different names in order to differentiate between them… Read more
Jesus Hands Out The Kingdom Employee Job Description (Part 1)
Matthew Series | Matthew 18:1-14 | Pastor Duane Smets
This week is an exegetical sermon on Matthew 18:1-14 where we hear the disciples of Jesus who ask how to have a place with him and be great in his kingdom. In response Jesus gives five job qualifications of what is required by his employees. This week looks at the first three: childlike dependence, the death of ambition, and a missional mindset. This sermon was originally preached on August 22nd, 2010 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
“Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?”
Blog | Pastor Duane Smets
“Why do bad things happen to good people?” This is a question I am frequently asked. I think it’s one most have asked at one time or another in their life. Christians and those who are not yet Christians often find themselves baffled over the complexities of this question and are unsure what if anything the Bible has to say about it.
When people ask me, first I attempt to discern why they are asking. If they are hurting, rather than attempting to answer the question theologically I attempt to exercise empathy put Romans 12:15 into practice and “weep with those who weep.” For others, of who are genuinely searching for solid answers, I offer the following lines of advice…
Jesus Exhibits The Extent Of His Kingship
Matthew Series | Matthew 17:14-27 | Pastor Duane Smets
This week is an exegetical sermon on Matthew 17:14-27 where we see a clashing of worlds between the divine Jesus who was just blazing in brilliant light and a world which doesn’t recognize or realize who he is. The stories and words of Jesus in this passage declare and demonstrate Jesus’ power of demons, death and denarii. This sermon was originally preached on August 1st, 2010 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
