Great Themes No.4 Three Appearances of Jesus

Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 23. It was necessary then for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one.

He entered heaven itself now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again the way the high priest enters the most holy place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world, but now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself just as man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment.

So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people and he will appear a second time not to bear sin but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Now Hebrews chapter 12 and some very striking and somber words from the 22nd verse. But you have come to Mount Zion to the heavenly Jerusalem the city of the living God.

You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly to the church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God the judge of men to the spirits of righteous men made perfect to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth.

How much less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth but now he has promised once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. The words once more indicate the removing of what can be shaken that is created things so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire. Amen. Now I'd be glad if you'd have your Bibles open at Hebrews in chapter 9 and let's just have a prayer together.

Father God we come before your presence in the name of our blessed Redeemer even Jesus the Lord and we ask that through the ministry of God the Spirit you will take these words of Scripture and allow us to see something of their deep significance and we ask that in simplicity they may be applied to all our hearts so that everyone in this sanctuary shall go away from this place having either being confirmed in the faith or convicted and brought to the point of making a decision for Jesus Christ and this we ask for his honor and glory exclusively. Amen. I must confess to be an unashamed fan of Mary O'Hara.

This lady or the uninitiated had a very tragic experience when her husband died and instead of continuing her singing she went into a convent I believe in Southern Ireland stayed there for some years and then came out to resume her singing career and I trust that one day when we're both with many many more people in heaven she won't be too far away from me because I'd love to hear her sing a great deal. When I was away time before last I understand this lady was singing at a concert in Arundel Castle and unfortunately I missed her and I trust that the next time she comes in this area I may be more fortunate and very often just to excite our interest and our attendance at a particular function or concert or what-have-you the papers will place an advert which indicates the only appearance of this particular celebrity on that on this occasion the only appearance and I think it was something like that in the visit of Mary O'Hara down here the only appearance in Sussex at that time was in Arundel Castle and I missed it and as I say I hope eventually nonetheless to hear this lady live singing but it's that word appearance that really I want to draw your attention to this evening because there is a very significant number of appearances referred to in the scripture passage to which I direct your attention and I'm referring of course to the advent to the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Did you notice when I was reading earlier from the ninth chapter of Hebrews the 23rd verse through to the 28th that on differing occasions our Lord is referred to as having appeared.

If you look for example at the 26th verse reference is made to the time when Jesus manifested himself in history now he has appeared once for all and then if you go back to the 24th verse there is a description of the appearance of Jesus Christ in glory where we read for Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one he entered heaven itself to appear for us in God's presence his appearance in history number one his appearance in glory number two and then the finale of it all in the last verse of this chapter there is an account in summary fashion of the return of Jesus Christ to this world he will appear a second time not to bear sins but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him I want this evening as is obvious to you from our handout to preach on the three appearances of Jesus Christ I obviously missed the first one because I'm not that old the second one well it's occurring at the moment in heaven and I have a witness to it in Scripture and the third one I intend to be around either because I shall come with our Lord Jesus Christ back to this earth assuming my death is prior to the event or being here when he comes I shall be glad with tens of thousands of other people to recognize the lordship of Jesus Christ as he visibly reveals himself to all intelligent beings the three appearances of Christ far more important for you to understand these far more important for you to be prepared for the third one than to be present at the appearance of any singing star or celebrity in this country so let's work our way through stage by stage these appearances of our Lord and if you dip back again into the 26th verse I remind you that there there is a description in part of the time when Jesus was incarnated when he became incarnate rather on this earth now has he appeared once for all you may remember those of you who are familiar with the with the contents of the Bible that the Apostle Paul when he writes to Timothy speaks of the incarnation in similar fashion he says God was manifested in the flesh what does that mean well God showed himself like a star would show himself or herself on the stage in one of the theaters or concert halls in our country so in a far more wonderful and I would argue a far more spectacular fashion Jesus showed himself he manifested himself you remember how it is all described in scripture in the beautiful language of the nativity there were shepherds abiding in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night and suddenly there was with the angels and so it goes on and and Gabriel spokesman of the angelic community reveals to those shepherds that over there just a few miles from where they're looking after their flocks there has appeared the Son of God God manifest in the flesh as Wesley puts it in his great hymn veiled in flesh the Godhead see hail the incarnate deity and another another him our God contracted to a span incomprehensibly made man Jesus manifests himself well let me put one or two questions up to my particular text just to crack open the meaning so to speak and make it plain for all to understand when did this happen when did it happen why did it happen how did it happen so what because it has happened what follows as a consequence well as to when it happened listen again to my text now has he appeared once for all at the end of the ages or as the AV puts it in the end of the world or as the New English Bible puts it perhaps more understandably at the climax of history you see the fact that Jesus came into the world will have significance down the whole drama of man's story from Adam right through to the last person who is born on this world that's why it later on the Apostle Peter in our Bible speaks of Jesus being slain before the foundation of the world and here the writer of the Hebrew epistle speaks about the effectiveness of his sacrifice as as being have as having currency right until the end of the age Jesus has appeared once in history but the shadow of the cross reaches right back to the earliest times and it also projects itself in its value right to the end time so that whether men lived before Jesus or after Jesus the fact of his birth his rest his death and his resurrection will have value and significance for us all but the point of the matter is this that Jesus Christ has been manifested in history there was a point in time as a writer of Galatians Paul says in the fullness of time when Jesus was manifested on this but but why did the son of God come to this world well listen again to my text now has he appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin that was the point of his first appearance to do away with sin and that's a very strong word in the original language it means to unknowledge this is the reason incidentally why the second person of the Trinity God the son had to take flesh as son of God he could never have died but when he came on this earth he was made like you and me the Bible later on here in the 10th chapter of Hebrews says of the Lord Jesus the Lord Jesus speaking a body thou hast prepared for me that's the fifth verse and of course this is quite accurate this is precisely what God did do God the Father prepared a body for the son to inhabit so when Jesus comes into this world he's born like you and me with the one exception he never did anything wrong at all why did he come there he came to identify himself with the human race do you remember the story perhaps you've heard it quoted before of a little boy who was out walking with his father and after they gone a mile or so on the country track he accidentally put his foot on an ant and as a result he killed a number of those insects and he felt a pang of conviction he was sorry that he'd done it and in his naive way he said to his father I'd like to say to those ants that I didn't mean to do it I'd like if it was possible to help them and father with greater maturity he responds to his son and he said look for you to be able to convey that sort of message to an ant you'd have to become one and that's impossible and for the great God of glory to convey his message of salvation and his message of hope and to remedy the problems that beset humankind he will have to become like one of us and that is what Jesus Christ did a body thou hast prepared for me so at the right point in history Jesus comes why does he come he comes to put away sin as Athanasius a great writer in the third or fourth century said he put on a body so that in the body he might find death and blot it out but how does Jesus deal with this great problem that all of us here suffer from this evening of overcoming human sinfulness and its diabolical consequences well again stay with my text as I reason very closely from scripture this evening now has he appeared once for all at the end of the age to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself by the sacrifice of himself what does that mean well he is going to take upon himself all the responsibilities for the sins for the misdemeanors of humankind you see this is amazing thing about Jesus Christ he will become the representative man there's reference made in a previous verse in the 19th verse no it's the 25th verse to the high priest who went into the temple into the holy place every year and he offered blood to the Heavenly Father as a result of a sacrifice that he had slain on behalf of the people but the writer of the Hebrew says that this sacrifice he offered and the blood that he carried into the holiest place of all was not his own but the thing about our Lord Jesus Christ is this that when he died when he offered sacrifice it was his body it was his shed blood his life's work was so successful his appearance was so remarkable to the end that there no longer was any need for one of those thousands of sacrifices which the Old Testament priests had offered before the Lord in the tabernacle and later on in the temple because Jesus Christ in his own body gathered up all the implications of the sacrificial system you remember what John the Baptist said on one old day when he saw Jesus moving along towards him by the banks of the Jordan behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and as I say it's by his death on the cross that Jesus annuls sin and not only does he do it successfully but he does it and this expresses the same point in another way he does it once for all once for all it's a stupendous achievement that's the reason why the writer of the Hebrews in this epistle keeps using that word once the Old Testament priest he was back there in the holy place each year on the day of atonement the minor priests they were there every day in the tabernacle in the temple offering sacrifices the blood of bulls and of goats which can never never never take away sin the whole of the repetitive nature that endless activity was crying out for the day when a sacrifice would be offered in the presence of a holy God which would do an end to human sinfulness and bring to its consummation the Old Testament system of offering bloody sacrifices before the Lord and this I say is what Jesus has done says John Calvin that great Bible scholar of years gone by it was once for all because if he had come a second or a third time there would have been a defect in the first sacrifice which would deny this fullness so here is our Savior have you seen it I trust you've got a glimpse he comes into this world for his first appearance it occurs in history it has repercussions for every man who lived before him and every man who lived after him the shadow of the cross so to speak both ways those the righteous dead of the Old Testament era those who will commit their lives to Jesus in the centuries to come are saved through the one sacrifice of his sin through the one sacrifice of his body on the cross which takes away our sins the first great appearance of Jesus Christ Son of God and Son of Man but there was another appearance which followed this an appearance itself which was not in this world but was rather in heaven let's follow through the argument and we drop back to the 24th verse bearing in mind that Jesus has bled and died on the cross offered a pure sacrifice to the Father what does he then do well having been raised from the dead ultimately he ascends back into the glory and we read he entered heaven itself now to appear for us in God's presence I say this very reverently the appearance of Jesus Christ his debut so to speak on the stage of human history was magnificent at the normal level of things we applaud those who perform well a great rendering of Hamel's Messiah it brings the audience if it's sensitive to their feet and their applause will resound around the Festival Hall or the Royal Albert Hall we applaud a good performance and Jesus Christ's appearance on this earth was absolutely perfect it was marvelous he achieved what God the Father wanted him to achieve he came to do for men what they could not do for themselves and now raised from the dead ascending into heaven his achievement is recognized by the Father and the cherubim and all the angelic celestial hosts there is some anticipation of this in one of the Psalms which predicts the entry of the Christ having suffered on the cross back into heaven itself ye gates lift up your heads on high ye doors that last for a be lifted up that so the king of glory enter may but who of glory is the king the mighty Lord is this in that same Lord that great in might and strong in battle is ye gates lift up your heads ye doors doors that do last for a be lifted up that so the king of glory enter may but who is he that is the king of glory who is this the Lord of hosts and none but he the king of glory is so our Savior returns to the place from which he came but he returns in a different fashion in as much he still bears with him the marks of his crucifixion he will be forever the son of God and also son of man representative man he will move towards the throne of the Most High God and with bated breath the celestial host shall watch as the Son of God ultimately takes up his position at the right hand of the Father and the work that he has done on this earth is recognized by Almighty God who gives to the son the name that is above every name and proclaims that Jesus Christ is Lord to his eternal glory when did this happen well I tell you this happened after the death of Jesus after his resurrection it occurred the time when Jesus ascended back into the holiest place of all but how did he go or rather with what did he go with what did he enter into heaven I tell you he entered with all the achievements that were his as a result of his sojourn on this earth he entered heaven having shed his own blood as an atonement for your sins he stood before the Holy Father as your representative he stands there in heaven before eventually he took his seat besides the Father's throne and there he commenced his work of intercession he was able to say to the Father the work thou gavest me to do I've completed it I've spoiled principalities and powers I've conquered sin I've conquered death I've conquered Satan Jesus Christ is able to record what he has achieved on this earth and it's as a result of that my dear friend that heaven erupted in praise the music of which we have never known on this earth for Christ the King has returned in triumph and in splendor but to do what well to make intercession for his own why did he die oh well I've already spelled it out for you he died for all those who will trust him as Lord and Savior he died for all those that the Father has given to him and so now as he is seated by the throne of God he begins his intercessory ministry we saw that last time I preached the gospel here the Lord Jesus ever living to make intercession for us John tells us in the epistle that bears his name that if we sin we have an advocate with the Father he's there pleading the cause of the righteous he's there bringing before the Father the burden of this world he's there as our great high priest so sensitive to the needs of ordinary Christian people down here on this earth he has an empathy a sympathy with every human being who has confessed who he is he is related to them says Hebrews he is our brother and he has done for us what no other brother could ever do he has made the way open for us to enter glory ultimately through the shedding of his own precious blood I wish I had the words to describe to you what I believe scripture is conveying as to what is happening right now in the glory as Jesus Christ the God man son of God and son of man makes intercession for you and for me he goes there says the words of the NIV version of the Bible to appear for us in God's presence and if ever there was value in two words of scripture it's those words for us he doesn't just go to appear Martin Luther said if that was the case then there wouldn't be no value in it for human beings if he just goes to declare himself before the Father then what possible merit does that have for us after all let's work it out on a human level there are many solicitors many lawyers on the south coast of England they have no value for me at all they don't appear for me they don't work for me I only have one man who occasionally from time to time will do some work for me he will work on my behalf but here is Jesus Christ and he appears in glory as representative man advocate par excellence taking up the brief of sinners and pleading our case and the father hears him on what basis on the basis of what he did on this earth if the first appearance in history was glorious how more exceeding glorious is his appearance right now in glory but that's not the end of the matter it's marvelous it's wonderful I could spend a great deal more time just emphasizing this particular point but there is something else you see he ascended into heaven says the prayer book says the Creed in the prayer book he ascended into heaven and so forth and it goes on to say from whence he shall come from whence he shall come in other words there is a third appearance so I direct you to the 28th verse so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people and he will appear a second time on this earth not to bear sin but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him he's coming again this great Messiah he came before incognito only a handful of shepherds only some wise men in the east recognized who he was because it had been divinely announced to them but when he comes on my friend when he comes on the second time when he appears a second time on this earth it's going to be very very different he's not coming incognito he's not coming unknown there will be no anonymity at all every eye shall see him says John in the revelation that he wrote every eye shall see him even those who caused him to be put to death and mocked him shall wail as a result of him for when he shall come when he shall come visibly in glory he shall come with a twofold mission first of all he will come not to bear sin obviously because sin has already been born it has already been dealt with but he will come first of all to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him well I'm already saved how can he save me more well he will save me more by making absolute that which I already have you see in effect my relationship to the Lord Jesus is like that of an engaged man I'm still waiting for the marriage I've got every in and every indication as an engaged man if I wear a ring of future prospects it all looks very bright that's exactly what Prince Charles is thinking at this moment it all looks very bright he's got the lady he's got the ring he's got one two other things as well all going in his favor but the day is coming and for him it's on Wednesday when the whole thing shall be consummated well that's the same with my salvation I've got the earnest I've got the Holy Spirit I've got part of the inheritance I have his word I have my relationship with him my great God as I intercede and as I know his presence I have the fellowship that I enjoy amongst God's children but it all seems to me almost to perhaps this is putting too strongly to pay it into insignificance when I consider what lies beyond what God is still to do in Jesus this world has not yet known because it's a sinful world and this generation therefore has never witnessed what God can do when he's really trying if it took him six days to make the heavens and the earth originally and if it is true that our Lord has been preparing a place for us with the Father for the last 2,000 years then what is it going to be like as the Apostle Paul that's something even I cannot describe I has not seen nor heard all that God hath in store for those that love him there's going to be a rejuvenation of this planet earth this universe is yet to be touched with the power of God all that God intended in creation is yet to be brought about read Romans chapter 8 Paul almost runs out of language in the in the Greek tongue in being able to describe all that he sees in the future God has yet to consummate our salvation and all those who are waiting for Jesus Christ they'll be involved in this you say it's all pie in the sky you say we're beside ourselves we weak jellied need evangelicals who can't cope with the pressures of life we need a crutch Jesus is coming again doesn't matter what's happening on this earth Jesus is coming again and so we're accused of being cretins of being having a dwarfed intellect but my friend they said that eons ago concerning his first appearance but everything came about as scripture predicted even the very place where Jesus was said would the Messiah would be born there he was born all the hundreds of prophecies they came absolutely true and that is precisely the case in regard to this second advent of Christ he shall come he shall come in clouds of great glory men and women shall recognize who he is whether it happens to be in Moscow or Manchester whether it's in Peking or New York every eye shall see him if his first appearance was incognito though the value of it infinite how much more marvelous shall his second appearance be shall the finale be he'll come to make your salvation absolute for those who are waiting for him but I said there was something else you see when you move over to the 12th chapter of Hebrews reference to is to the same occasion Jesus is coming again Jesus verse 24 the mediator of the new covenant Jesus who shed blood on the cross speaks with greater eloquence than the blood that was shed of Abel the first man ever to be murdered in this world blood that God recognized as having been spilt now on the basis of the gospel message we are told that we are not to neglect what God has revealed in Christ see to it that you do not refuse him who speaks if they did not escape when they refused him a warned them on earth how much less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven those are the most powerful words in the book of Hebrews there is a God man in heaven who warns people on earth through the proclamation of his gospel on the part of those who work for him down here he warns them he reminds them of salvation he warns them of judgment for when he comes next time it is not to bear away sin it is to bring salvation to its consummation and it is to bring judgment to this world once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens this world has yet to see what God is going to do he will not tolerate the reckless program of man forever he will not allow the spiral to go increasingly down and down until man gets to the left to the depths of the dungeons and of the sewage our God will shake the world there is going to be a judgment there will come a time when every created intelligent being shall stand before God and give an account of the way that they have lived their lives and when men say on that day well I'm sorry for my sin but God will say what about Calvary what about the blood that was shed what about the first appearance why didn't you respond to that why didn't you hear the eloquence of the blood why didn't you acknowledge that Jesus died for you you see my friend there is no salvation available after the second return of Jesus Christ it's available now because here is the day of grace but when he comes for the finale that is it so I put to you the fact again I preach somberly but I preach I trust I preach biblically what do you know about this great gospel what do you know about the affairs of this world and the way that they're going to come to their ultimate consummation you must be a madman if you think we can continue as we are forever I don't need to take you into a lecture in present political affairs as they are in the Middle East I don't need to tell you about the balance of power between the two great countries of America and Russia I hardly need to tell you of the chaos that there is in many parts of this world go on forever only a madman could postulate that then what is gonna happen the whole thing go up in smoke what is gonna happen is this Jesus Christ will return and he will consummate salvation and he will execute judgment have you responded to the reason why he came first have you asked him as he appears in glory now to intercede for you have you made your peace with the living God let us pray Lord God and father your word sometimes becomes almost too powerful to speak Jesus has done for us what none other could do and for that we're grateful high priest went into the holy place the people with bated breath waited for his return and so it's with bated breath we wait for the return of our blessed Savior to hear the tingling of the bells to hear the trumpet sound to know that he has returned for his own to know that he's bringing to an end the tragic mock opera of the human story father we pray that at his third appearance second on this earth all within the sound of the gospel message in this sanctuary this night may be ready for the honor and glory of the Christ we pray these things and Lord for that great hope we bless you we're longing for you to come in the form of your son we're longing for the end of this mess but until that time keep us faithful keep us true occupied until he comes found active not allowing the time just to flit away take our lives use us increasingly your honor and for your glory and push home the message of the gospel into any unbelieving heart in this place tonight and cause any such to respond and acknowledge who Jesus is so we pray for your blessing the blessing of the triune God father son and Holy Spirit now and always amen