Who
Is This Jesus
The
question raised during his earthly life.
"When He saw their faith, He said to him,
'Man,
your sins are forgiven you'. And
the scribes and Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this
who speaks blasphemies? Who
can forgive sins but God alone?"
Luke 5:20-21.
One
day, Jesus walked by the pool of Bethesda.
He gave this command to a paralyzed man who had lain there
helpless for 38 years: "Rise,
take up your bed, and walk," John 5:8. And immediately the man was made
whole, and took up his bed, and walked:
and on the same day was the Sabbath."
The religious leaders condemned the man for carrying his
bed on the Sabbath day. He
answered that the man who made him whole told him to do it.
Their question was, "Who
is the man who
said to you, take up your bed and walk?
But the one who
was healed did not know who it was
…" John
5:1-13.
Luke tells of
an evening when Jesus feasted at the table of Simon the Pharisee in
Bethany. It was their
custom to recline at the table rather than sit on a chair.
While Jesus ate, an immoral woman of the streets came and
knelt at His feet. She
washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.
Jesus spoke to the woman and said, "Your sins are
forgiven…Your faith hath saved you; go in peace." The
rest of the diners began to
say to themselves, Who is this who even forgives sins
?" Luke 7:49
Jesus was asleep in a boat that was threatened by a storm. "And they (his
disciples) came to him and
awoke him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing!.
Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the
water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
But he said unto them, Where is your faith?
And they were afraid and marveled , saying to one another, Who
can this be? For He commands even the winds and water and they obey him…" Luke 8:24-25.
Herod the Tetrarch had a group of people to come and tell him
about the works of Jesus. "Now Herod the Tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him:
and he was perplexed, because that it was said by
some
that John had risen from the dead; And by some that Elijah had
appeared; and by others, that one of the old prophets had risen
again. Herod
said, John I have beheaded: but Who is this of whom I hear such
things? So he
sought to see Him." Luke
9:7-9.
One
day Saul of Tarsus journeyed to Damascus on a mission to destroy
Christianity from the earth.
"And as he journeyed he came near Damascus: and suddenly a light
shone around from heaven: Then he fell to the
ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, why persecuting
Me? And
he said, Who are you, Lord?"
Acts 9:3-5a.
The
Question has persisted down through the centuries.
Is He Lord of life or Lord of liars?
Was He deity or was He deceiver?
Was He the Master or was He a madman?
As a student at Baylor University I shared a room with a fellow
by the name of Fred Richards.
He was from a very wealthy family in Alaska.
He had personally owned two airplanes and was named to the
All Alaskan Basketball Team.
He came to me one day and said, "Hey, Tom, Who is
this Jesus?"
He certainly changed the course of
history:
1.
The history of every nation notes the dynamic effect of the
message of Christ upon its converts.
2.
Unnumbered legal documents are filed with a date from the
time of His birth.
3.
The most hardened atheist cannot send a letter without the
postmark making reference to the time Jesus lay in a manger
wrapped in swaddling clothes.
4.
Who can count the institutions erected in His name in the
forms of churches, hospitals, orphanages, homes for the aged,
Christian schools, colleges, publishing houses, book stores,
rescue missions, alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers, homes
for unwed mothers, radio and TV stations and missionary
organizations?
5.
Who can estimate the depth of dedication to Him that has
motivated tens of thousands of young men and women to leave home
and family and give their lives in privation telling those in
strange lands about Him?
Jesus
Himself Raised the Question.
Jesus
asked the Pharisees, "What
do you think about the Christ?
Whose Son is He?"
The Pharisees were partly right when they said, "The
Son of David."
Jesus completely baffled them, however, when He raised another
question, "How
then
does David in Spirit call Him Lord, saying The Lord said to
my Lord, Sit at My right hand till I make Your enemies Your
footstool?" If
David then calls him Lord, how is He his Son?
And no man was able to answer him a word…" Matthew
22:42-46
If
you don't understand the message of God's Word it is rather
perplexing to understand how a descendant of David could be
David's Lord long before He became David's descendant.
CONSIDER
WHAT HIS ENEMIES SAID ABOUT HIM.
The
Pharisees:
In
the beginning of His ministry one of their number came to Him and
said, "We know that you
are a teacher come from God:
for no man can do these miracles that you do, except God be
with him." John 3:2. At
the end of His ministry they were saying, "We
will not have this man to reign over us." Luke 19:14.
Caiphas,
the High Priest:
When
Jesus was on trial before Caiphas and the ruling body of Israel,
witnesses said that Jesus had made a statement saying, "I am
able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three
days." When
Jesus would not answer the charge, Caiphas screamed at Him, "I
adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you be
the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus
said to him, You have said: nevertheless I say to you, Hereafter
shall you see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power
and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, "He has
spoken blasphemy…" Matthew 26:61-65.
Pilate-
the Governor of Judea.
"…I
find in Him no fault at all."
John 19:38. "And Pilate wrote
a title and put it on the cross.
And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH - THE KING OF THE
JEWS." When
the Jewish leaders said, "Change
it to read that He said He was king of the Jews,
Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written."
John 19:22.
Judas - Who Betrayed Him:
"I
have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent
blood." Matthew
26:4.
The
Centurion In Charge Of The Crucifixion:
"Truly
this was the Son of God."
Matthew
27:54.
The
Thief Who Died Beside Him On The Cross:
"…this
man has done nothing amiss."
"…Lord, remember me when you come into your
kingdom." Luke
23:41-42.
The Demons He Confronted:
"…I
knew Who you
are, the Holy One of God." Mark
1:24
CONSIDER
WHAT HIS FRIENDS SAID ABOUT HIM.
John
the Baptist:
"Behold
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."
John 1:29, 1:33-34.
Peter:
"…You
are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Matthew
16:16. "God has made this same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and
Christ." Acts
2:36
John:
"In
the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. All
things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made
that was made." John
1:1-3, verse 14.
Thomas"
"MY
Lord and my God."
John
20:28.
Martha:
"Yea,
Lord: I have believed
that you are the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into
the world." John
11:27.
Saul
(who became Paul):
"…Lord,
what will you have me to do?"
Acts
9:6.
Gabriel, the Archangel:
"therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called
the Son of God."
Luke 1:35.
Redeemed
Saints in Heaven:
"And
they sung a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the book, and
to open the seals thereof: for you were slain, and have redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and
people, and nation; and
hast made us unto our God kings and priests:
and we shall reign on earth."
Revelation
5:9-10.
The
Heavenly Father:
"This
is my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased."
Matthew
3:17.
CONSIDER
WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT HIMSELF.
That He was One with the Father.
"I
and My Father are One."
John
10:30.
To
have all power in Heaven and earth.
"And
Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to
Me
in heaven and on earth. Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.' "
Matthew 28:18-19.
To have power to forgive sins.
"But
that you may know that the Son of Man has power on
earth to forgive sins' --then
He said to the
paralytic, 'Arise,
take up your bed, and go to your house.
And he arose
and departed to his house."
Matthew
9:6,7.
The
right to be worshipped as God.
"When He calmed the Sea of Galilee,
'Then those who were in the boat
came and worshiped Him, saying, Truly You are the Son of
God." Matthew
14:33.
That
He came from Heaven.
"I
am the living bread which came down from Heaven…"
John
6:38, 51.
That
He is the One Who will resurrect and judge the dead.
"And
has given Him (Jesus) authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do
not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in the which all
who are in the graves shall hear his voice and come
forth-- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and
those who have done evil, to the resurrection of
damnation."
John 5:27-29
That
He gives everlasting life to all who trust Him.
"Most
assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting
life." John
6:47.
That
He never failed to please the Father.
"And
He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone; for I always
do those things that please him."
John 8:29.
That
He was the I Am Who
spoke to Moses.
"
Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins: for if you
do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins:"
John
8:24. "Jesus said to
them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I
AM'." John
8:58, (Exodus 3:13-14.) Some versions add "he"
in italics. This means that "he" was not in the
original manuscript.
That
He was the only way to the Father.
"Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No
one
comes to the Father, except through
me."
John
14:6.
THE
QUESTION THAT REALLY MATTERS:
"WHO IS JESUS TO YOU?"
If you have accepted
the death of Jesus Christ on the cross as the sacrifice for your
sins and received Him by faith as your Savior then you can say, He
is my:
SAVIOR:
"…you
shall call His name JESUS, for
He will save His people from their sins."
Matthew
1:21
Savior
from the:
·
Penalty
of sin - Hell
·
Power
of sin - sanctification
·
Pitfalls
of sin - Shepherd
·
Presence
of sin - Heaven
CHRIST:
(Hebrew, Messiah) "The Anointed One"
Designated by His Father:
1.
Prophet - He spoke the truth about God.
His life was the embodied revelation of God to man.
John 14:9.
2.
Priest- He was the sacrifice for sin.
He was the priest Who offered the sacrifice.
Hebrews 10:12. He
is now the priest who intercedes.
Hebrews 4:14-16.
3.
King - He should rule in our hearts now.
He will rule over the earthly nations for 1000 years.
Revelation 20:4-6. He
will reign over redeemed saints for all eternity.
PROVIDER:
Psalm
23:1; Philippians
4:19, Psalms 37:25.
Walk in righteousness before God and you can confidently trust the
heavenly Father to supply all your needs.
PROTECTOR:
How
can we get in a car and drive the highways when 1 out of 3 drivers
are legally under the influence of
alcohol or drugs? Psalm
91:1-2. If nuclear bombs should fall the shadow of the Almighty is
greater protection than a concrete bomb shelter. Hebrews 13:5,6.
PHYSICIAN
Psalm
103:3b, He can keep us well; make us well, and give grace to bear
if He doesn't.
FRIEND
AND BROTHER:
See
John 15:13-15; Romans 8:14-17
BLESSED
HOPE:
We're
not looking for the anti-Christ.
We're looking for Christ.
Our hope is not in the Republicans or Democrats.
Our hope is in Jesus Christ: for glorification, reward, and
eternal happiness.
*The
first time Queen Victoria heard Handel's Messiah she was
instructed to remain seated when everyone else stood for the
Hallelujah Chorus. But as they sang, "King of kings and Lord of lords,
forever and ever and ever,"
she trembled, and stood and removed her crown.
Copyright © 2002 Thomas E Berry
All Scripture quoted from NKJV unless otherwise noted
Copyright © 2008 Truth Helpers Inc.
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