From The Desk Of Pastor Toby Powers
Truth Baptist Church
Bremen, GA
December 2008
THE HALF HAS NOT BEEN TOLD
“The Cradle”
I Kings 10:1-10
Intro: This queen of Sheba, or as our Lord called her in Matthew the Queen of the South, who we see called Balkis by the Arabians, heard of the fame of Solomon and journeyed to Jerusalem to see for herself whether the tales she had been told of him were true. The people of the day in the country where this queen journeyed from were pagans. They participated in Sabaism, and as such I have little cause to believe that she knew much of anything about the God that Solomon served. However, when she arrived at Jerusalem and watched him, one of the things she was so impressed with was the way he went up to the house of the Lord (v. 5). Before she left, she was praising Solomon’s God (v. 9). And she makes a statement concerning the stories she was told about Solomon’s wisdom, splendor, wealth, and blessings in v. 7.
Our Lord shared this story in two Gospels. Matthew 12:42 “The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” Jesus himself makes the correlation between himself as king and Solomon as king. And the things the queen said about Solomon, we could apply to our Lord, and much more, for he is greater than Solomon. I want to take one thing the queen said about Solomon, and use it to look it our Lord who is greater. The queen made it clear that she had heard many stories, but the half had not been told.
Today I want to preach on “THE HALF HAS NOT BEEN TOLD ABOUT HIS CRADLE.” Many simply see a cute little baby in a manger seen at Christmas, but Notice:
I. THE MIRACLE OF HIS INCARNATION: the very fact that God came to earth is impossible for us to really describe, declare, or even fully understand. The half has not been told of it! There are three significant miracles that make up the framework of Christianity: (1) Virgin birth, (2) Resurrection, (3) Second Coming. Without the first miracle the rest would be absolute myth or fairy tale. The incarnation is the truth that God united himself with man so He could pay redemption’s price. There are a few things about his incarnation of which we can not tell the half:
A. His Father: Mary was espoused to Joseph, but she had never known what it was to be with a man. That which was conceived in her was not of the work or the efforts of mankind, but it was the work of the Holy Ghost! There are three significant miracles that make up the framework of Christianity: (1) Virgin birth, (2) Resurrection, (3) Second Coming. Without the first miracle the rest would be absolute myth or fairy tale. The incarnation is the truth that God united himself with man so He could pay redemption’s price. Luke 1:35 “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” People asked time and again, “Is this not Joseph the carpenter’s boy?” But he was much more than that!
B. His Fullness: He was fully God and fully man.
1. Infinitely God: Jesus was God before he came to Bethlehem (Micah 5:2, Bethlehem would host he whose “goings forth have been from old, from everlasting”). He is the everlasting Son of God who was “given” to us and for us according to Isaiah 9:6. He was God in glory before time (Jn. 17:5), God in Bethlehem in time and He will continue to be God for all eternity (Heb 13:8). The Lord Jesus did not begin at Bethlehem and did not end at Calvary! He is infinitely God.
2. Absolutely Man: Heb. 10:5, “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me.” The Lord took upon himself a body of flesh just like our bodies without the inherent sin nature. The necessity of the virgin birth allowed the Holy Ghost to “short circuit” the sin cycle perpetuated from Adam’s seed. The Savior was miraculously conceived in Mary by the overshadowing work of the Holy Ghost. Thus he had Adam’s flesh and his Father’s sinless blood so that He might give that blood a ransom for sinners (1 Pet. 1:18, 19).
C. His Favor: There was only one the Father counted worthy to carry out the assignment to the people of the world, and that was his favored Son. He did not send an angel, a prophet, or one risen from the dead, but he sent us his own Son. Had our greatest need been money, he would have sent an economist. Health, a doctor. Law, an attorney. Pleasure, a vacation planner. But it was forgiveness of sins, so he sent a Savior… and only Jesus was qualified to do that!
II. THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS: I Tim 3:16 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” Christ was more than just the Son of God; he was God the Son, the bodily manifestation of the godhead. Col 2:9 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” It is a mystery. Isaiah even asked in 53:1, “Who hath believed our report?” But for those who did, the arm of the Lord was revealed!
III. THE MESSAGE OF HIS COMING: Hebrews 1:1 says that God has in “sundry times and divers manners” spoken to mankind. He has spoken to man concerning his nature, his law, and man’s sin, but on no subject has he spoken more than on the coming of his Son. To the Old Testament and Gospel dispensation he spoke concerning the first advent of Christ. To us he speaks concerning the return of Christ. Concerning his coming in the cradle, it was:
A. Predicted By The Prophets:
Isa 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Mic 5:2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
Ps 40:7-8 “Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”
Isa 22:22 “And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.”
Ps 2:7 “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”
B. Stated In The Stars: Matt 2:1-2 “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” I don’t pretend to know how this worked, but I know that God works in mysterious ways, and he spoke to the wise men stating his message in the stars. Ps 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.”
C. Announced By The Angels: Luke 2:13-14 “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
D. Peace For All People Who Will Trust Him: “Peace, Good Will Toward Men” It was not a message of peace between men but toward men. It was a message that we could have peace with God. Jesus is our peace (Eph 2:14).
Conclusion: The Half Has Not Been Told About His Coming In The Cradle! But One Day, He Will Come In A Cloud! Will you trust the Savior who came in a cradle? Or will you be judged by the Sovereign who comes in a cloud? You must see it for yourself and believe on Jesus. A Greater Than Solomon Is Here.
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