Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
(Romans 9:5)
I recently saw a list of headlines that actually appeared in newspapers which were funny because they were so obvious. Here are a few: Study Finds Sex, Pregnancy Link, Cornell Daily Sun; Survey Finds Dirtier Subways After Cleaning Jobs Were Cut, The New York Times; Larger Kangaroos Leap Farther, Researchers Find, The Los Angeles Times; Alcohol ads promote drinking, The Hartford Courant; Official: Only rain will cure drought, The Herald-News, Westpost, Massachusetts; Teen-age girls often have babies fathered by men, The Sunday Oregonian; Fish lurk in streams, Rochester, New York, Democrat & Chronicle; Tomatoes come in big, little, medium sizes, The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia; Scientists see quakes in L.A. future, The Oregonian; Prosecution paints O.J. as a wife-killer, Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel; Bible church's focus is the Bible, Saint Augustine Record; Lack of brains hinders research, The Columbus Dispatch. What a grasp of the obvious!
One thing that is not obvious, although we might think it should be, is the truth about Jesus Christ. One problem we face as we seek to share with others about our faith in Jesus Christ is that people really do not understand who Jesus is. All too often they have developed a concept of Jesus Christ based on faulty information. This information come to them in a variety of ways, but primarily by observation and experience. They observe Churches, Christians, Christian leaders and preachers, and they experience the attitudes and opinions of others.
They have heard of the Jesus of Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggert and prosperity theology—the Jesus who obviously sees no problem with these individuals lining their pockets at the expense of others. They have heard of the Jesus preached by the hyper-fundamentalists—the Jesus who is more concerned with the outward appearance than in the inner qualities of Christian character and integrity of life. They have also heard of the Jesus of the liberal church—the Jesus who is politically correct and is more concerned with affirming people’s lifestyles, however sinful and corrupt, than in the truth and tough love. So, just who are you talking about when you mention Jesus?
It should be obvious that it is vitally important to understand just who Jesus was and is. You see, one’s view of Jesus and understanding of Him determines one’s response to Him.
In Matthew 16 we find that Jesus had drawn His disciples apart for rest, reflection, and instruction. Jesus was never one to waste even a moment, and often He turned these times of rest into times of spiritual instruction. This evening, perhaps sitting around a campfire, Jesus gathered His disciples around Him. There He posed a very important question: "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
The question of what people say was the pertinent question then, but it is also a relevant question today. As we have already indicated, many people really don’t know who Jesus is. But who He is continues to be the key issue.
In response to that question, His disciples told Him what others were saying about Him. Some people were saying that He was John the Baptist. Perhaps they were referring to Jesus’ powerful and relevant preaching. Perhaps they were referring also to Jesus’ fearlessness before the religious leaders. Other people were saying that Jesus was Elijah, the prophet. The Jews waited for the return of Elijah. Even today, during Passover, they set a place for Elijah at the table. The return of Elijah was to precede the Messianic Age. Still others thought Jesus was Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. They knew He was a significant prophetic voice. They had seen Him perform miracles. They knew He had an emphasis on speaking the Word of God. And so, there were varied ideas of just who He really was.
There was a lot of difference of opinion then, and there still is today. In fact, today the opinions are even more varied. We have noted some of those opinions already. But there are still others. Some opinions typical of our day make Jesus a great figure of history, but less than God the Son. Let’s examine a few of them.
One opinion is that Jesus was a great man. Some people like to believe that Jesus was a human who had obtained a high degree of spirituality. They believe that Jesus lived on a higher plane than most of us in terms of His integrity, honesty, ethics, morality, and personal character. They see Him as being a good and great man. But while good and great, He was just a man. An extraordinary man, to be sure, but just a man. Was Jesus just a great and good man?
Another popular opinion is that Jesus was a great teacher. Indeed, Jesus has been described as the greatest teacher to have ever lived. This is no doubt true, but this opinion still makes Jesus less than God the Son. You see, one can be a great teacher, someone who inspires learning in the highest sense, someone who challenges people to change their lives, but still be only a man. Jesus was undoubtedly a great teacher, but was that the extent of His significance? Is He simply on the same level as or a little higher than Socrates and Aristotle? Is that it?
Equally popular is the notion that Jesus was a prophet or a great religious leader. Like Confucius, Mohammed, or Buddha, Jesus developed a religious following and a system of religious teaching. But is Jesus just another significant religious leader or prophetic voice? Is He more than Mohammed, more than Confucius, more than Buddha?
The question with which we should be concerned should not be what people are saying, but what God is saying. What does God say about Jesus? What has He revealed in His word? In Romans 9:5 we read these words: …Christ, who is God over all. This is what God says.
This is a powerful and strong statement. But it is the truth about Jesus. He was more than merely a man, even a good and great man. He was and is God. We speak of the triune God as God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit.
In fact, Jesus Himself claimed to be God. In Mark 14:61-64 we read, But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" "I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." The high priest tore his clothes. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" he asked. "You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" There was no doubt in this High Priest’s mind that Jesus had made Himself out to be God the Son. Jesus claimed to be much more than merely a man.
On another occasion, people were picking up rocks to stone Him to death. Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."(John 10:32-33)
In John 14:6, we read, Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus made bold claims for Himself. He claimed to be God the Son. He also claimed to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He did not claim to be a way, but the Way. He did not claim to be a truth, but the Truth. He did not claim to be a life, but the Life. Further, He claimed that He was the only way of access to God the Father. This is what Jesus claimed for Himself. He certainly claimed to be more than merely a man.
It has been correctly stated that, considering the claims of Christ for Himself, He was either a liar, a lunatic, or the true Lord. C. S. Lewis, who was once an agnostic, and later became a Christian and who was also a professor at Cambridge University, wrote, "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 a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be a 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." Lewis goes on to add, "You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
Was Jesus who He said He was, or was He a liar? This is one of the alternatives. If He wasn’t who He said He was then He may have been a deceiver. In other words, He may have known His claims were false. But does this accord with His teaching? You see, if He were a liar, then He was also a hypocrite. He taught that we should tell the truth and be honest in every situation. If He knew His claims were false, then He would be a hypocrite of the first order. Further, He would also be evil to the core. He encouraged people to trust in Him. What kind of person, knowing his claims were false, would encourage people to trust in him and his teaching for eternal life? Only someone who was demonically inspired. And finally, if He knew His claims were false, then He was a fool because He died for it. Was Christ a liar, a hypocrite, evil, and a fool? If He wasn’t who He claimed to be then that is one alternative.
The other alternative is that He was a lunatic. In other words, He did not know His words were false and He was seriously deluded. He was self-deceived. As C. S. Lewis said, He was the sort of man who claims to be a poached egg. After all, what other kind of man would claim to be God the Son, the Savior of the world? Only a lunatic. Was Jesus a lunatic? Was He self-deceived? It seems to me that there has never been a man who was more in control of himself than Jesus. He hardly exhibited the kind of imbalance one would expect in a lunatic. Indeed, even when He was hanging on the Cross, losing His life, He showed remarkable poise, confidence, and compassion.
The obvious third alternative is that He was and is who He said He was. He is Lord! Indeed, when you factor in the evidence of the resurrection, you are left with no other alternative. Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. That is who He is. He is God. And if He is God, then all of humanity has a requirement to bow before Him and pledge their allegiance to Him.
What Do You Say?
What people say about Jesus is one thing. What you say is quite another. While it is interesting to hear what others say about Jesus, what we say really makes all the difference in terms of how we live our lives.
After Jesus had inquired what people were saying about Him, He turned the question to the disciples and asked them what they thought. He said, "Who do you say that I am?" He wanted to know what conclusions they had come to concerning Him. Based on their experience of Him, had they come to see Him for who He really was? This was the issue for them, and it is still the issue for us.
Have we come to the truth concerning Jesus for ourselves? You see, it is not simply what we believe intellectually about Jesus, it is important that the truth about Him has so gripped us that it makes a difference in the way we live. Has knowing that Jesus Christ is truly the Lord God made a difference in our lives? What does knowing who Jesus really is mean in terms of how you live life?
Let me share with you what knowing the truth about Jesus means in terms of my life. Knowing that Jesus Christ, the infinite God-Man, loves me means that I can trust Him with my life. It means that I know that He wants the best for me. Knowing that He left His throne of glory and suffered as a man dying on a Cross for me means that I can rest secure in His care.
Knowing that Jesus Christ, the infinite God-Man, shed His blood on the Cross means that I can have confidence that any and every sin can be forgiven through His sacrifice. It means that there is no sin so terrible that Jesus cannot forgive it. It means that when I confess my sins I know that Jesus Christ will forgive those sins. Knowing that Christ died on the Cross for me means that I can trust that I have eternal life in Him.
Knowing that Jesus Christ is the infinite God means that I can bow before Him in worship. Knowing that He is who He said He was means that I am in contact with the living and divine One, God the Son. It means that I am in touch with the highest power in the universe. It also means that I can trust in His sovereign will for my life—that it will be accomplished just as He planned it to be.
Knowing about Jesus may bring you to Him, but knowing Jesus will change your life. You can know about Napoleon and never come to know him. You can know about George Washington and never come to know him. You can also know about Jesus and never come to know Him. But you can come to know Him because He lives. Mohammed lived and died and is still dead. Confucius lived and died and is still dead. Buddha lived and died and is still dead. But Jesus lived, died, and also rose again from the dead. He lives today. And you and I can come to know Him personally and intimately. Coming to know Him will forever impact what we say about Him. When we come to know Him then we will come to truly know who He really is.
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