Jan. 12, 2003 - WHO IS JESUS
WHO IS JESUS?
PART ONE: THE MAN JESUS
Central United Church
Jan. __/03
Text: “And when He came into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying: ‘Who is this Jesus?’”
Matthew 11:10
For twenty centuries, one figure, more than any other, has influenced the thinking and conscience of our world. Who is this Jesus?
As a college student working for the summer in Banff, I remember visiting a popular tourist site called ‘The Great Divide’, - it marked the point where water melting from the cold glacial streams of the mountains, divides. On one side of the divide, the water flows west toward the Pacific Ocean, - on the other it flows east to the Atlantic.
It was awe inspiring to stand on the very line where the waters divide.
It’s not just in nature that there are watersheds. There are watersheds also in the history of humanity. And undisputable the most important of these watersheds – was the incarnation of Jesus Christ. At the point of His entry into life, world history divided. His birth changed the course and direction of our world’s history. Every event from the beginning of recorded time, is now dated with reference to His coming, - either before, or after; A.D. or B.C.
So who is this man – Jesus, who has had such a profound impact upon our world?
The central message of the Christian faith is – that the living God has, at one definitive point in time, broken into our history. In Jesus, God has come to dwell among us.
This is the belief upon which our faith is centered! It’s a startling statement. It’s particularly startling (and almost unbelievable) when you look at some of the facts of Jesus’ life. For who would have expected that a man:
Ø born in a stable, behind a roadside inn, in an obscure provincial village, of an unimportant part of the Roman Empire;
Ø who had neither wealth nor political power;
Ø who wrote no books, fought no battles;
Ø whose friends were mostly as poor and uninfluencial as He was;
Ø A man whom the intellectuals of His day, scoffed and belittled;
Ø Who for awhile attracted the common people, - but who then was abandoned by them;
Ø A teacher whose closest follows deserted Him, when He needed them most; and
Ø One who died like a common criminal, upon a Cross; and was buried in a borrowed grave.
Who would have expected that a man like this, could have such a profound influence upon the course of history!
There was something startlingly different about this man. Something that the world didn’t appreciate until after He did. Or after His death, something strange and wonderful happened.
Death wasn’t the end of His story. Three days after He was buried, - this man Jesus was seen alive. Not by one or two, but by many witnesses.
And what was even stranger. That band of defeated, cowardly disciples, - who had hidden themselves for fear of being labelled as His followers; - suddenly emerged from their hideout, and ran out onto the streets of Jerusalem, proclaiming their risen Lord.
And what a message they proclaimed. They declared that their eyes had been opened, - and they now realized that God had been uniquely present in Jesus’ life.
But what really made their message leap into the pages of history, was the fact that now - these disciples and followers of Jesus – were filled with the power of His Spirit; - a power so strong, and so contagious, - that it spread from one believer to another, to another.
The world at first scoffed. People accused them of being drunk.
They were persecuted; - murdered, sometimes in the most horrible way. But nothing could stop these Christians, - not even the power of the mighty Roman Empire.
Who is this Jesus, - who has had such a profound influence upon His followers?
Let us look at the facts as they are contained in the Gospels, and see what we can learn.
The first thing that leaps out of these records is – that above all else - Jesus was a human being. A man, just like any other man. But a man shrouded in mystery.
I THE MYSTERY OF HIS PERSONALITY
To begin with, there’s the mystery of His personality. Jesus was a man of contradictions.
Ø On the one hand, He was the humblest of men, never seeking the lime-light to glorify Himself. Yet at the same time, He boldly dared that a day would come when He (as the Son of Man) would “come in the clouds with great power and glory.” (Mark 13:26)
Ø Or again, He was a person so kind & approachable that even little children gathered around Him (Matt. 19:13-15. Yet in the presence of this man Jesus, evil spirits cried out in fear. (Mark 1:27)
Ø On one hand, Jesus was kind and forgiving to sinners (such as the woman caught in adultery), (John 8:7) - yet at other times He spoke harsh, condemning words to the hypocritical Pharisees. (Luke 12:1)
Ø He was a servant willing to wash the feet of His disciples (John 13:5); yet He dared to march in the Temple in Jerusalem and drive out the money changes, - accusing them of making the House of Prayer into a den of thieves”. (Matt.21:13)
But probably the greatest mystery of His personality is revealed in the fact that He could save others in their time of need., but when faced with a crisis Himself, - He refused to save Himself.
II THE MYSTER OF HIS POWER
But there is even more to this man Jesus. There’s also the mystery of His power.
Ø With a word, He could calm the waters in a raging storm. (Matt. 8:26)
Ø With the touch of His hand, He could heal a leper. (Matt. 8:3)
Ø With the turn of a phrase, He could silence an angry crowd about to stone an adulterous woman. (John 8:7)
Yet by far the most potent example of His power, is seen in His ability to take an ugly symbol of torture – a wooden Cross, - and convert it into a shining symbol of faith and resurrection and hope.
That power contained in the man Jesus – has continued to inspire faith, devotion and commitment – in believers down through the ages.