Matthew 16:13-17 When
Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples,
saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they
said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others
Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who
do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are
the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to
him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not
revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
This week, our church's Wednesday night Video Bible Study group continued in the "How I Know" series by the late pastor D. James Kennedy. In the Bible passage above, Jesus asked His disciples,
“Who do you say I am?” In a recent Gallup Poll on “How America Sees Jesus”, it
was revealed that 81% of Americans profess themselves to be Christians, 5%
professed to be Atheists, 2 % claimed to be Jewish, and 12 % other. 80% of
those polled believed that Jesus Christ was the son of God. However, only 42%
believed that Jesus is God among man. That is a tremendous discrepancy.
Who is
Jesus Christ? Next to the question whether there is a God, this is no doubt the
most important question that can be urged upon the human mind. Jesus asked:
“Who do you say I am?” Who I this One upon our hope of Heaven depends? Who is
Jesus? What is meant by the term
“Son of God”? It is interesting that in the motion picture titled “Oh God”,
John Denver’s character Jerry asks God (played by George Burns), “Is Jesus your
Son?” And God replied, “Yes, Jesus is My Son. And so is Buddha. And so is
Mohammad, etc.” What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God? Is that
something different than the fact that Jesus is God Himself? You will receive
many answers. Some have said that Jesus is just a man. Others have said that He
was the Son of God. Probing to see if they understand what they are saying, we
could ask “since we are sons and daughters of God too, is Jesus any different
than us?” Anyone who thinks that Jesus Christ is no different from us knows
little about either of us. For if we did, we would know that there is an
infinite gulf between us.
Would is this Jesus of
Nazareth? What does it mean that He called Himself the “Son of God”? Now, He frequently called Himself the “Son of
Man”. That is a Messianic title that is taken from the book of Daniel. Daniel
7:13-14 “I was watching in
the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with
the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near
before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that
all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one
which shall not be destroyed.” The Son of Man coming to judge the world.
That is an Old Testament picture of the Messiah.
What did Jesus mean by the
Son of God”? The Jewish people had no difficulty understanding it, where
millions of Americans seem quite perplexed and confused. The Jews knew quite
well what He meant and when Jesus said that He was the Son of God, they took up
stones to kill Him, because they became enraged by the statement. When Jesus
asked why they were going to stone Him and asked for what good work , they said
that it wasn’t for any good work, but rather because He being a man makes
Himself God. By calling God His Father, He was making Himself equal with God.
They understood well what that meant.
For those who believe that
Jesus was just a man, there is rather startling and astonishing news. According
to the Bible and the historic Christian faith, Jesus of Nazareth was and is the
infinite and eternal Creator of the Universe. Many have never heard this fact
before, but have always thought that it is the way it ought to be. That is
precisely the way that it is. Jesus Christ is God; not a mere created being.
The Trinity does not consist of the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the creature,
but of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. This is the most
basic, the most important, and the most distinctive teaching of the Christian
faith; that Jesus Christ is God incarnate (God in human flesh). Only Jesus claimed
to be Divine and only Christianity claims its founder to be Divine. Not Buddha,
Mohammad, Confucius or any other religious teacher, but only Jesus claimed to
be God.
Many people today think that
the essence of Christianity is the teachings of Jesus. That is not so. The
teachings of Jesus are very, very secondary to Christianity. In fact, you might
be surprised to know that if you read the Epistles of the Apostle Paul, which
make up most of the New Testament, there is almost nothing what-so-ever said
about the teachings of Jesus. Not one of his parables are mentioned. In fact, throughout
the rest of the New Testament, there is little reference to the teachings of
Jesus. And in the Apostle’s Creed (the most universally held Christian Creed),
there is no mention to the teachings of Jesus. There is no reference to the
example if Jesus. We read that He was born of the Virgin Mary, he suffered
under Pontius Pilate, was crucified and died. There are only two days of Jesus’
life that are mentioned in the Creed; the day of His birth and the day of His
death. You see, Christianity does not
center in the teachings of Jesus, but in the person of Jesus as the
incarnate God, who came into this world to take upon Himself our guilt of sin
and die in our place.
Another remarkable thing is
that, people in the ministry are repeatedly told in seminary that they are not
to preach themselves. It is a very significant flaw in any minister’s preaching
to continually preach of themselves … what they do and their accomplishments.
This is considered totally out of place in the pulpit. And yet, Jesus Christ,
the master teacher and great exemplar preacher Himself. I m the Good Shepherd,
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, I am the door, I am the Light of the
world, et cetera. Christ was always preaching Himself because it is in “the
person of Jesus Christ that our hope of salvation is to be found.
Let's continue Pastor Kennedy's message in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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