Daniel 9:27 - The Messiah Who Was Cut Off
- Tonight we’re going to do several things that are somewhat out of the ordinary....
1) We’re going to center our entire service around the Lord’s table
2) We’re going to use the book of Daniel as our foundation for observing the Lord’s Table together
3) We’re going to have a couple of places in the service where we would like to have input from you, so that our time tonight is more like the body of Christ participating together and ministering to one another.
- We’re certainly not trying to be trendy, or seeking to change things around simply to change things around.
- But, anything can become ritualistic and therefore meaningless, and of all the things where we wouldn’t want that to happen, the Lord’s table is high on that list.
- Tonight I’d like to begin by asking you to turn again to the book of Daniel, chapter 9.
- we worked on this verse a little bit this morning, but tonight I’d like us to revisit verse 26 again.
- remember that in this chapter, Daniel is an elderly gentleman.
- He has served God faithfully for over 70 years.
- Several kings have come and gone....in fact, by this time, there has even been a change in the world power, because Medo-Persia has recently overcome Babylon as the dominant world power.
- By this time also, Daniel has been thrown in the lion’s den by the new Persian leader, and God has proven himself faithful.
- when we open the pages of chapter 9, we find Daniel pouring over the Scriptures.
- somehow, he has gotten hold of a copy of the writings of the prophet Jeremiah....and even as an 80 plus year old gentleman, he’s still in the Word of God
- we’ve known all along that he was a faithful man of prayer [that’s what got him thrown in the lion’s den], but now we’re seeing that he also was a faithful student of the Scripture....and here he is wanting to know what God is going to be doing next, and where he fit into God’s plan and program.
- As he reads, he comes across Jeremiah’s prophecy that the Jewish captivity in Babylon would last 70 years....and even though he’s been waiting a long time, he has to wonder when and how God is going to release His people to go back to Jerusalem.
- That thought immediately sends him to his knees, and we have one of the great prayers in the Bible, where Daniel exalts the attributes of God, and confesses his sin and the sins of the people to the Lord.
- Its a beautiful picture of faith in God’s revealed word, in humility and self-examination.....
- repeatedly in the prayer Daniel says that the primary issue is God’s name, and God’s glory......that’s what’s really at stake.
- perhaps the theme verse of the section is Daniel 9:18, where Daniel says, O my God, incline Thine ear and hear! Open Thine eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Thy name; for we are not presenting our supplications before Thee on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Thy great compassion.
- now its in tat setting that God sends his angel Gabriel with one of the most fascinating prophecies in the Bible....the prophecy of the 70 weeks.
- we studied the details of it this morning.....
- where the weeks, or heptads, are actually groups of 7 years.....
- it begins with the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.....
- which we know was given to Nehemiah in 445 BC.
- the first 69 weeks, according to verse 26, ends when the Messiah is cut off.
- if we multiply these groups of seven years, with the number 69 in the text, we come up with 483 years...and remembering that the Jewish calendar has 360 days.....that places us right in the middle of when historians believe Jesus Christ made His triumphal entry in Jerusalem....and a few days later to be crucified.
- I look forward to getting to heaven, and asking Daniel [if we have the opportunity to have such discussions], what about this prophecy was most surprising to him, or most intriguing.
- I don't think the answer is, the numbers, the weeks, the mathematical aspect of it.
- I believe what would have caught his ear the most was this matter of the Messiah being “cut off.”
- the idea of the God’s Messiah having to suffer some way is emphasized in many places in the OT, but this passage is particularly stark.
- I’d like us to think about that this evening....about what it means.....and how it ought to impact those of us on the other side of the cross, who have a much greater understand of how this prophecy was actually and literally fulfilled.
- this word “cut off” is a very strong word in the Bible.
- let’s go to a couple of other places in God’s Word where it is used....
1) Would you please turn to Job 14:7.....
- here’s another place where the same Hebrew word is used....but its done so with a picture that is pretty graphic.....
- READ Job 14:7
- the word is pretty obvious in this text ---- “cut down”......like a tree being cut to the ground....
- one day its a stately oak tree with strength and might and the next day its laying on the ground and being cut up for other uses.....
- that’s a fairly common experience that may not move us much until we think....that’s the word God used to speak of what would happen to His son.....
- Can you imagine saying that about one of your children.....
- they’re going to be “cut down”, or “cut off”
2) Now let me ask you to turn to Numbers 11:33 to see a much more graphic picture.....
- READ Numbers 11:33
Numbers 11:33 - While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very severe plague.
- Now you might say, PV, did you get the right verse?
- Which word in Numbers 11:33 do you think is the same as “cut off” in Daniel 9:26?
- chewed, or chewed up.
- again, we’re used to chewing our food.....but think about that Word being the one that God the Father would use to describe the ministry of His Son.
- He’s going to be cut down, chewed up.....
3) Now one other very important idea we need to see about this word is, it is often used in the OT to describe a person who has sinned in some way, and therefore has to be cut off from his own people.
- one verse that is representative of many is Numbers 9:13...please turn over there....
Numbers 9:13 - But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and yet neglects to observe the Passover, that person shall then be cut off from his people, for he did not present the offering of the LORD at its appointed time. That man shall bear his sin.
- there are a number of verses that use this word is a very similar way....if a particular person sins in a particular way, they will have to be “cut off”....
- they will have to separated from their people for the purposes of disciplining the person and purifying the rest of the nation.....
- it must have shocked Daniel to learn that that’s what would have to happen to the Messiah....At the end of the 69th week, He would be “cut off”.
- I’d like to ask you to meditate on that concept, as Faye and Will come and play the hymn “At the Cross”
- Faye and Will - At the Cross
- now, let’s push our discussion one step further.
INPUT - Did Jesus Christ know about Daniel’s prophecies?
- you might answer that with, PV, Jesus Christ was omniscient (all-knowing), of course He knew about Daniel’s prophecies.
- then let’s adjust the question ----
INPUT - Did Jesus Christ ever speak specifically about Daniel’s prophecies?
- Please turn over to Matthew chapter 24.
- this is also a prophetic section of Scripture....and its not surprising that this is where the book of Daniel comes up.
- read Matthew 24:3-16 [or just 3 and 16 if you’re rushed for time]
- now, we’ve read about the Abomination of Desolation before in the book of Daniel, and it comes up in the very next verse to the one we’re studying tonight...Daniel 9:27.
- Jesus knew all about this matter of His being “cut off”.....yet He willingly came anyway.
- now, this also explains another passage in the gospels that is somewhat intriguing.
- Look if you would at Luke 19:41
- this is a passage that describes Christ’s triumphal entry to Jerusalem.....
- but Jesus’ response to the crowd is surprising.....
- and His explanation of His response is even more surprising.....
- read Luke 19:28-41
- you have to wonder, why would Jesus weep on the day of His triumphal entry?
- the answer is in the next verse.....
- READ 42-44.
- these persons should have known about the nature of His coming, and the timing of His coming.
- but unfortunately, you lay down to this a passage like John 1:11-12 - He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
- the point that I’m trying to make tonight is that it is critical for us, those who call ourselves children of God, to never get over the fact that Jesus Christ had to be “cut off” for us.....
- like a mighty tree cut to the ground.....
- like a piece of meat that is placed in someone’s mouth and chewed up....
- like a person who had sinned, who had to be cut off from His people, for their purity and for his correction.
- of all of the things God could have asked his angel Gabriel to tell Daniel about regarding the future....He said in essence, tell him about Jesus.
- tell him about my holiness....
- tell him about my justice
- but also tell him about my love.....
- tell him about my mercy....
- and in an economy of words, that’s exactly what Gabriel did.....
- after the 69th week, the Messiah will be “cut off”.
- I’ve asked Nathan Sutherland to come, and to read Matthew 27:33-46
- Nathan Sutherland - Matthew 27:33-46
- at this point, I would like to have some interaction from the church family.
[Have several mikes ready]
- INPUT - The cross of Jesus Christ impacts me as a [father] by ___________. [Develop]
- With that in mind, I’d like to ask the men to come and distribute the bread.
- Deacons come, one prays, distribute the bread......don’t come back immediately.
- While bread is being distributed, Sean Beimfohr plays Man of Sorrows and He was Wounded.
- because Jesus Christ was an infinite Person, the condition of being “cut off” was not permanent.
- Because on the third day, God the father powerfully raised His Son from the dead.
- I’ve asked Juanita Ford to come and read Matthew 27:57-28:8.
Juanita Ford - Read Matthew 27:57-28:8.
- at this point, I would like to have some interaction from the church family.
[Have several mikes ready]
- INPUT - The resurrection of Jesus Christ impacts me as a [father] by ___________. [Develop]
- With that in mind, I’d like to ask the men to come again, and serve the cup.
- Deacons come, return bread, distribute the cup, come back as we normally do.
- While cup is being distributed, Jack Heim sings “My Savior’s Love”
- Deacons - Deacon’s Fund Offering
