Sermon
Title: The Second Adam Part 1
Scripture
Reading: Romans 5:12-21
Introduction
The first major section in the Gospel according
to Luke is 1-2 (Jesus’ birth and childhood).
The second major section in the Gospel according
to Luke is 3:1-20 (the ministry of John the Baptist).
The third major section in the Gospel according
to Luke is 3:21-4:13 (The prelude to Jesus’ ministry: Jesus’ baptism,
genealogy, and wilderness temptation). The three events recorded in Luke 3:21-4:13 are woven
together to picture Christ as the Second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:20-28,
45-49). We must ignore the chapter
division and put off the temptation to read Luke 4:1-13 as a contextual unit.
How
are these three events woven together?
·
In Jesus’ baptism we see His deity
affirmed (Luke 3:22). Because He is God, He can redeem.
·
In Jesus’ genealogy we see His
humanity emphasized (Luke 3:38 contrasted with Matthew 1:1-2). Because He is
human, He can represent. The
key feature of Luke’s genealogy is that it goes past Abraham to Adam. Matthew’s genealogy begins with David
(showing Jesus’ regal claim) & Abraham (showing Jesus as the promised seed
to Israel {Galatians 3:16}) and moves forward in time, while Luke’s begins with
Jesus and moves back in time to Adam.
Matthew’s genealogy begins
with Abraham, while the first name (chronologically) in Luke’s is Adam. The
different starting points in their genealogies reflect the different purposes
of the two Gospel writers. Matthew wrote primarily to the Jewish people, so it
was natural for him to begin with Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel.
Luke’s approach was more universal. He was concerned to present Jesus as the
Son of Man, and demonstrate His solidarity with the entire human race.
Matthew’s desire was to prove Jesus’ legal claim to the throne of David. Luke’s
desire was to prove Jesus’ legal standing at the Second Adam.1
As Luke moves “past” Abraham
and David, he shows Jesus’ heritage preceding Jewish origin. Jesus is bigger
than merely being from Jewish descent, saving only the Jews.
·
In Jesus’ temptation we see the
God-man acting as man’s Federal Head (Luke 4:1-13). The human race had a
Federal Head in the Garden of Eden, namely Adam, who represented the entire
human race.
Our sermon this morning could answer the
question, “How to overcome temptation.”
That kind of sermon would say a lot of true
things, but would miss the entire point of this passage. Although this passage
contains helpful principles in overcoming temptation, its intent is far, far
away from answering the question of how you and I overcome temptation. To answer this question would be to center
this passage around man by moralizing it and instructing man on what he can do
rather than informing him of what Christ has done.
The narrative is contrasting Jesus
with God’s “other” two sons, Adam and Israel.
The words used in Luke 4:1-2 ("and was led by the
Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted") are so similar
to the words used in Deuteronomy 8:2 ("the LORD your God led you all the
way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you") – all
of Jesus’ replies are from Deuteronomy and contrast Israel’s response in the
midst of temptation.
So, Luke is giving us three sons here - Adam the son of God, Israel the son
of God, and now Jesus the Son of God, but what does it all mean? What is Luke
getting at? - is this all just fancy and abstract theology?
Adam and Israel failed to
obey and trust God’s provision for them, God’s path for them, and presumed upon
God’s grace and these are the very three temptations we will see presented to
Jesus – this is not about trying to learn from Jesus’ example and do what He
did – this is about knowing we have already failed and thankfully Jesus’
obedience covers our disobedience. Again, we are taking
so much time establishing this point because if we get this wrong, we get the
Gospel wrong. This passage is not first instructive. This passage is first
declarative. This passage is not about good advice. This passage is about good
news. This passage should not inspire you to walk out of here and handle
temptation like Jesus did. This passage should inspire you to worship Jesus for
doing for you what you never could.
Now, let me ask you - which
son are you like? Are you like Adam, or Israel, or like Jesus? You see, come
back to my imaginary sermon called "How to overcome temptation." That
sort of sermon assumes that you and I are like Jesus - Jesus was tempted, we
are tempted; He quoted the Bible to answer temptation, we should quote the
Bible to answer temptation. But which of us here this morning have ever
constantly and faithfully obeyed God? We are not like Jesus are we? Well, the
answer is yes and no. We are like Jesus because He is our Federal Head.
What
does “Federal Head” mean?
To be a Federal Head means to be a representative.
AW
Pink:
The
whole human race was placed on probation in the person of Adam, its legal
representative and covenant head. Had Adam survived the appointed trial, had he
faithfully and fitly discharged his responsibility, had he continued in
obedience to the Lord God, then his obedience would have been reckoned to their
account, and they would have entered into and shared his reward. Contrariwise,
if the head failed and fell, then all his members fell with him. If he
disobeyed, then his disobedience was charged to those whom he represented, and
the frightful punishment pronounced on him fell likewise on those on whose
behalf he transacted. Justice required that the whole human race should be
legally regarded and dealt with as sharing the guilt of its representative, and
subjected to the same penalty. In consequence of this arrangement, when Adam
sinned we sinned, and therefore "by the offence of one judgment came upon
all men to condemnation" (Rom. 5:18).2
Instead
of placing each member of humanity on probation separately and successively, it
pleased God to put the whole race on formal trial once and for all in the
person of their head. Probably it will make it easier to grasp the nature of
Adam’s legal relation to his descendants if we make use of a simple contrast
and analogy which have been employed by other writers on this subject. God did
not act with mankind as with a field of corn, where each stalk stands on its
own individual root. Rather He has dealt with our race as with a tree—all the
branches of which have one common root. While the root of a tree remains
healthy and unharmed, the whole of it flourishes. But if an ax strikes and
severs the root, then the whole of the tree suffers and falls—not only the
trunk but all the branches—and even its smallest twigs wither and die. Thus it
was with the Eden tragedy. When Adam’s communion with his Maker was broken, all
his posterity were alienated from His favor. This is no theory of human
speculation, but a fact of divine revelation: "Wherefore, as by one man
sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men,
for that all have sinned" (Rom. 5:12).2
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world
through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned – for sin indeed was
in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no
law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was
not like the transgression of Adam, who
was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the
trespass. For if many died through
one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus
Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of one man’s
sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free
gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one
man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift
of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as
one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads
to condemnation leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one
man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the
many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:12-19 bold lettering and underlining are my emphasis).
Federal Headship, as much as any other
doctrine, had once troubled my soul greatly. Let me save you a lot of time,
brain cells, and trouble. Your flesh pleads, “That’s not fair!” Quiet the plea
of your flesh with the following truth:
·
If it is not fair to have the first
Adam as your head, you forfeit the Second Adam as well. If you wish to be
treated as a “stalk of corn” regarding your sin, you must also be treated
accordingly regarding your righteousness. Choose: corn or tree.
·
You must have a head. If corn, you
are your own head (representative). If tree, another is representative of you.
Therefore, you must either accept God’s design or have one good try at it
yourself. Now how do you feel about “fairness”?
Jesus defeats the work of Satan by doing what
Gentile Adam (Genesis 3) and Jewish Israel (Numbers 14:33; 32:13: Deuteronomy
8:2) could not do. Jesus is qualified to be the new Representative for Israel
(40-day wilderness wandering; Matthew’s genealogy) and all mankind (Genesis 3;
Luke’s genealogy).
Now
we are ready to study Jesus’ Temptations
Sources:
1) MacArthur, John. The MacArthur
New Testament Commentary: Luke 1-5. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009.
2) Pink, AW. Our Accountability
to God. Chicago, IL: Moody Bible Institute, 1969, 1999
3) Brock, Darrell. Luke 1:1-9:50.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1994.
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