Who Is Jesus?
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God's Great Reset • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 50:03
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· 68 viewsIf someone walked up to you and asked, Who is Jesus? How would you respond? A good man. . . The Son of God . . . A Prophet . . . A Galilean rabbi . . . A teacher of God’s Law . . . The Embodiment of God’s Love . . . A Reincarnated Spirit Master . . . The Ultimate Revolutionary . . . The Messiah of Israel . . . Savior . . . A first-century wise man . . . A man just like any other man . . . King of Kings . . . A misunderstood teacher . . . Lord of the Universe . . . A fool who thought he was God’s Son . . . Son of Man . . . A fabrication of the early church.” Let's not be caught of guard, but let us be prepared to give the answer to the most life transforming question!
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Who is Jesus Christ?
Imagine your sitting down with a friend having coffee and they ask you a simple 3 word question....
Who is Jesus?
How would you respond?
What would your answer be?
would you fumble for a ansswer, or would be articulate enough to give them the answer they so desprately need?
but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
Now, let me being by saying there are wrong answers.....but there are also many right answers.
And to answer this question we must be willing to listen to the Holy Spirit to offer the revelation that would most impact the individual who is asking the question.
Today my plan is to attempt to offer you a wild variety of information.
but the opportunity is for you to know what apects to share upfront with the one you are conversing with.
When Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say I am?,” they replied with four different answers
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
ding ding ding. Peter you got it!
let’s start by surveying some of the modern versions of Jesus.
The Good Man
The Good Man
“You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
9 out of 10 people would believe this… Although it is very true....it is also very deceptive to leave it at this
The Misunderstood Rabbi
The Misunderstood Rabbi
People who hold this view see Jesus as a talented Jewish teacher who never meant to start a new religion.
The Revolutionary Jesus
The Revolutionary Jesus
This view was very popular in the ’60s when left-wing radicals appropriated Jesus as the Messiah who came to overthrow the unjust power structures of his day and to bring in the kingdom through protest and non-violent action.
As many people have pointed out, Jesus was indeed a revolutionary, but not in the sense intended by those who used the term.
Jesus came to start a revolution of love on planet earth. He wasn’t concerned about overthrowing governments but about overthrowing sin in the human heart.
The Ecumenical Christ
The Ecumenical Christ
This is the option for people who like Jesus but don’t want to worship him exclusively.
They lump him together with other notable religious leaders, such as Moses, Confucius, Gandhi, Buddha and Mohammed.
Many people believe in the Ecumenical Christ because it’s a convenient way to call yourself a Christian and still be open-minded about other options.
With this basic understanding of how others may answer this question, we are still left with the great question of history, “Who is Jesus Christ?”
If those answers are wrong, what is the right answer and how can we be sure?
The Great Question of History
The Great Question of History
In order to answer that question, we have to go back to the New Testament because it is the only reliable source of information about Jesus Christ.
It’s true that we do have some information about Jesus in extra-biblical sources from the first century, but it is limited and scattered.
Flavius Josephus
Flavius Josephus
a first-century Jewish historian
Thought to have been born a few years after the crucifixion of Jesus around 37 A.D
In one passage of Jewish Antiquities that recounts an unlawful execution, Josephus identifies the victim, James, as the “brother of Jesus-who-is-called-Messiah.”
“Testimonium Flavianum,” which describes a man “who did surprising deeds” and was condemned to be crucified by Pilate.
But the only way to get an accurate picture of Jesus is to study the record of His life found in the four gospels.
When we do, five important facts emerge that form the answer to history’s greatest question.
Fact #1: Fulfilled Prophecy
Fact #1: Fulfilled Prophecy
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
uses an unusual phrase to describe the moment of Jesus’ birth. Some translations call it “the fullness of time” (KJV) or “the right time” (NLT). It refers to that one chosen moment in history when God arranged all the circumstances perfectly so that his Son would be born in just the right way at just the right moment at the precisely-chosen location. That phrase also refers to all the circumstances of his life, including his death and resurrection. All of it was perfectly planned by God and predicted in writing before it happened.
The Bible predicted the following about Jesus Christ before he was born:
A. That he would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14).
B. That he would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
C. That he would be born into the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10).
D. That his ministry would begin in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1).
E. That he would work miracles (Isaiah 35:5, 6).
F. That he would teach in parables (Psalm 78:2).
G. That he would enter Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
H. That he would be betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9).
I. That he would be sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12).
J. That he would be accused by false witnesses (Psalm 35:11).
K. That he would be wounded and bruised (Isaiah 53:5).
L. That his hands and feet would be pierced (Psalm 22:16).
M. That he would be crucified with thieves (Isaiah 53:12).
N. That his garments would be torn apart and lots cast for them (Psalm 22:18).
O. That his bones would not be broken (Psalm 34:20).
P. That his side would be pierced (Zechariah 12:10).
Q. That he would be buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isaiah 53:9).
R. That he would rise from the dead (Psalm 16:10).
These are only a few of the prophecies about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament.
Fact #2: Amazing Claims
Fact #2: Amazing Claims
Jesus made absolutely astounding claims concerning himself.
In fact, if you catalogue his own words, you must conclude that either he is who he said he was or else he is a liar or a madman.
A. He claimed to be the Son of God.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16).
B. He claimed that the angels obeyed him.
“The Son of Man will send out his angels” (Matthew 13:41).
C. He claimed to be the ultimate judge of all men.
“The Father … has entrusted all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22).
D. He claimed to possess all power in heaven and on earth.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18).
E. He claimed the power to forgive sin.
“Friend, your sins are forgiven” (Luke 5:20).
F. He claimed that he could raise people from the dead.
“All who are in the grave will hear his voice and come out” (John 5:28).
G. He claimed that he could raise himself from the dead.
“I have the authority to lay it down and . . . take it up again” (John 10:18).
H. He claimed to be one with God.
“I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
I. He claimed to be the only way to God.
“No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
J. He claimed to be the giver of eternal life.
“I give them eternal life” (John 10:28).
Fact #3: Supernatural Power
Fact #3: Supernatural Power
John the baptist
and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”
Jesus answered
the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Let me highlight some of Jesus miracles:
A. Turned water into wine (John 2:1-11).
B. Multiplied the loaves and fishes (John 6:1-13).
C. Walked on water (Matthew 14:22-32).
D. Opened the eyes of the blind (John 9).
E. Made the lame walk (Matthew 9:1-8).
F. Cast out demons (Mark 5:1-20).
G. Stilled a raging storm (Mark 4:35-41).
H. Healed an invalid (John 5:5-17).
I. Cleansed 10 lepers (Luke 17:11-19).
J. Raised the dead (John 11:17-44).
Anyone can claim to work miracles. But only Jesus can do it! His life was marked by miraculous power, which is exactly what you would expect from the Son of God.
Fact #4: The Empty Tomb
Fact #4: The Empty Tomb
This of course is the ultimate proof. It is also the ultimate question
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
If he did, then he really was the Son of God. If he didn’t, then he’s not the Son of God. In fact, if he didn’t, he’s not even a good man but the world’s greater faker. And we are fools for following him.
Read the resurrection accounts in Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24 and John 20. Check out 1 Corinthians 15.
When you do, I believe you will find the following four statements to be absolutely true:
1. Jesus really died.
2. Jesus was buried in a tomb on Friday evening.
3. The tomb was empty on Sunday morning.
4. Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection, alive from the dead.
Disciples stole Jesus’s body
Disciples stole Jesus’s body
this is a current belief by many unbelievers. but they weren’t the 1st to come up with it.
Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened.
And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’
“And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.”
And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.
Questions that must be answered if this was true
Why did the fully armed soldiers allow the disciples to take the body when they were charged with protecing the tomb?
and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’
“Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”
Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.”
And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.
Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
2. Would you be willing to die for something you knew was a lie?
All the disciples except 1 were martyrd for their belief in Jesus’s ressurection.
Fact #5: Transformed Lives
Fact #5: Transformed Lives
The proof that is avaiable for all of us to see
When Jesus left this earth 2000 years ago, he left behind a few hundred disciples in Israel. That’s all he had to show for his time on earth.
Today over two billion people bare his name. That tiny band of followers has spread to every nation on every continent. Thousands more join the ranks every single day. To put matters in perspective, more people have come to Christ in the last generation than in the previous 2000 years.
Listen to the words attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte after he was exiled.
I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not mere man. Between him and every other person in the world, there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded great empires; but upon what did the creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded his empire upon love, and to this very day millions would die for him.
C.S. Lewis on Jesus
C.S. Lewis on Jesus
In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis considers this very common viewpoint and concludes his chapter “The Shocking Alternative” with these penetrating words:
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him or kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.