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The Story #25
Jesus Son of God
Hey everybody it’s great to see you. Missed you guys and glad to be back
home. Last week 15 of us returned from walking all over the Holy Land in
the footsteps of Jesus.
Here is a picture of our team taken on the Temple Mount.
I know you have heard me tell you this but listen; forget Hawaii, skip
Tahiti…at some point in your life make a pilgrimage to The Holy Land and
walk in the footsteps of Jesus. I am telling you it will change you. Before
you go there, you read the Bible in black and white; when you come back
you forever read it in color. You will not come home the same. We will be
taking a group back in two years. Next year we walk in the footsteps of
Paul, two years we do footsteps of Jesus. So hopefully one day you can
join us and connect to your faith in an amazing way.
So listen, a snake and a rabbit were trucking through the woods when they
collided at an intersection. They began to argue about who was to blame.
The snake said that he had been blind since birth, so he should be given
leeway, the rabbit said, ‘Hang on, I too have been blind from birth.’
The two animals then forgot about the collision and began commiserating
about the problems of being blind. The snake said that his greatest regret
was his loss of identity. He didn’t know what he looked like, or even what
he was. The rabbit said, ‘I know exactly how you feel.’
The rabbit said, ‘Listen, let’s feel one another from head to toe, and then try
to describe what we are.’ The snake agreed, and started by winding himself
around the rabbit. After a few moments, he said, ‘You've got soft, fuzzy fur,
long ears, big rear feet, and a little fuzzy ball for a tail. I think that you must
be a bunny rabbit!’
The rabbit was relieved to finally find his identity, and proceeded to return
the favor to the snake. After feeling about the snake's body for a few
minutes, he said, ‘Well, you're scaly, you're slimy, you’re cold, you've got
beady little eyes, you squirm all the time, and you've got a forked tongue. I
know what you are…you must be a politician.’ I don’t care who you are
that’s funny.
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Listen, it’s one thing to try and discern what’s true politically, it’s another
thing to try and figure out what’s true spiritually, especially when there is an
enemy trying to blind you.
2 Corinthians 4:4
Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who
don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News.
They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ.
So listen, Satan’s whole goal, his game plan, his strategy is to blind and
confuse people about who Jesus is. That is his game! Do everything he
can do to keep you from seeing Jesus for who He really is. So who is
Jesus?
The Bible makes it very clear who Jesus is. One day Jesus takes three of
the disciples up on a very high mountain. While they are up there – for only
the second time – God audibly speaks.
Mark 9:7
Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the
cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
Who is Jesus? The Bible says He is the son of God.
He is the eternal, all powerful creator. 100% man. 100% God.
No one is like him; no one is in the same league as him. He is God with
skin on.
So does everybody accept this? Does everybody get this? No. In our
chapter in The Story this week we saw it up close. Bottom of page 355
John 7:12, 14, and 15
Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some
said, “He is a good man.” Others replied, “No, he deceives the people…
Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts
and begin to teach. The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man
get such learning without having studied?”
Bottom of page 356
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John 7:37-43
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud
voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever
believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow
from within him…On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely
this man is the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Christ.” Still others asked,
“How can the Christ come from Galilee? Does not the Scripture say that
the Christ will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town
where David lived?” Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.
That last line says it all the people were divided because of Jesus.
Listen: fast forward 2,000 years and nothing has changed… people today
are still divided over Jesus.
For some Jesus is a sandal wearing, peace loving, long haired hippy.
For some Jesus is this radical, finger pointing, and angry drill instructor.
For the Muslim, Jesus is a human prophet but far beneath Mohammed.
For the Jew, Jesus is a fake Messiah
Who is Jesus? How do you picture him? What do you do with Him? What
role does he play in your life?
It’s no secret that many of us in this room believe Jesus is way more than a
good moral teacher.
He is way more than a champion of social justice.
He is way more than a spiritual guru.
He was and He is the son of the living God.
In our reading this week, there is an encounter that happens in the life of
Jesus that explains why we believe this. Bottom of page 358
John 11:1-3
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of
Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay
sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his
feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you
love is sick.”
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So listen, here is the Mt. of Olives just outside the city of Jerusalem. The
Garden of Gethsemane sits at the bottom of the Mt. of Olives. Two miles
over the hill is the town of Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha and their
brother Lazarus.
Somehow these siblings connect with Jesus and this special friendship is
forged. So – anytime Jesus goes to Jerusalem, where does he stay?
Mary, Martha and Lazarus’ place. When he stays there he can put his feet
on the table, he can unwind and relax. He can laugh and be at home.
So when Lazarus falls ill, the sisters get word to Jesus. ‘The one you love,’
the Greek word love here is phileo: brotherly love. The one you know, the
one you care deeply about, your buddy Lazarus is sick.
Instead of heading there right away, Jesus stalls, he delays. He knows
Lazarus is not well. As a matter of fact, Jesus knows Lazarus is going to
die, but Jesus waits. Watch what happens, middle of page 359.
John 11:17-24
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for
four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many
Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their
brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet
him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had
been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God
will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise
again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at
the last day.”
So much to unpack, so little time. Martha has lost her brother and she is
like Jesus, if only you had been here. You ever said that?
If only I would have known.
If only I would have said.
If only I would have done.
If only God would have moved
Martha is no different; she can’t understand why Jesus didn’t come sooner.
She expresses deep regret, but even now she has this belief, this hope,
that even now, Jesus may be able to help. So she reaches out.
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Jesus comes back and literally says your brother will stand up again.
Martha is like I know, I know I’ll see him again one day in heaven…she
misses it. She is thinking about him rising at the end of days, and I just
have to believe Jesus lets out a little grin because he is thinking nope, he’s
going to stand up in just a few minutes.
And then Jesus does something remarkable
Jesus does something incredible that gives us a clue as to who He is.
1. Jesus says something that no mere mortal should ever say
John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me
will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will
never die. Do you believe this?”
Listen to me…do you understand what Jesus just said? Jesus says to this
woman whose brother has just died… in me dead things come back to life,
living things will never die, do you believe this?
Who says that? And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Listen to other things
Jesus said about himself:
I am the bread of life – John 6:35
I am the light of the world – John 8:12
Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life – John 14:6
Before Abraham was born I am – John 8:58
Jesus claimed to be greater than the Temple – Matthew 12:6
Jesus claimed to be greater than Solomon – Matthew 12:42
Jesus claimed to be greater than Abraham – John 8:53-59
When Jesus asked his disciples who do you say I am Peter said you are
the Christ, the anointed one, the Son of the Living God. When Peter said
that, Jesus didn’t throw his hands up and say now hang on a second Peter,
let’s walk that baby back, reel that back in, you’ve gone a little too far. No,
what did Jesus say…Peter, you’re right on the mark, that is exactly who I
am - Matthew 16.
Jesus said the only way you get to God is by going through me. Who
makes those kinds of claims?
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Listen to me, this is extremely important, and here’s why. The biggest
mistake people make with Jesus today is they label him a good teacher.
They love his heart for the poor.
They get warm fuzzies for his talk about turning the other cheek.
The applaud Jesus for a life of service.
But – listen to me – what kind of good guy says what Jesus said?
Buddha never claimed to be God
Mohammed never told people to pray in his name
Gandhi never claimed to be sinless
Confucius never said he could forgive sins
But the carpenter from Galilee, Jesus, said all of that. Plus, he said…
John 14:9
If you have seen me, you have seen God
So I ask you one more time, who says this kind of stuff?
The things Jesus said so infuriated the religious elites of his day, in the
end, it’s the reason they tried to killed him.
John 10:33
We are not stoning you for any of these, replied the Jews, “but for
blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
So again I say to you, who says these kinds of things?
CS Lewis says this…
"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 the level with
a man who says he is a poached egg--or he would be the devil of hell. You
must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a
madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool 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”.
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So, may we never allow anyone to play the ‘Jesus was a good guy’ game.
He was either a liar, or a lunatic, or he was Lord. We believe he was and is
Lord because one more thing happens in our Lazarus story.
2. Jesus did things no mere mortal could do
John 11:34-39
“Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and
see.” Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, “See
how much he loved him!” But some said, “This man healed a blind man.
Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” Jesus was still angry as he
arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the
stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister,
protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”
So listen, Jesus goes to the tomb, a giant rock in front of it, and he says
open it up. Everyone gasps - he’s out of his mind. If you translate the
Greek literally, Martha says Lord he stinks. His body is decomposing. He’s
been dead for 4 days. Right here, you now understand why Jesus waited.
Right here, everything gets crystal clear.
Jewish Rabbinic teaching of the day stated that when someone died, their
spirit hovered around the tomb for 3 days but after 3 days the body begins
to decompose so the spirit goes to God. So listen Jesus waited in order to
prove, in order to show without a doubt his buddy was gone, dead, no
chance anyone could say he was just asleep.
They roll the stone away, and Jesus stands at the entrance, the smell is
horrific, and in a loud voice Jesus says three words. Lazarus, come out.
And suddenly, the people hear a noise; and suddenly, a shadow is seen
inside, and this figure appears, wrapped in cloth from head to toe, and what
was dead is now alive.
Are you kidding me? Who can bring dead people back to life?
No good teacher
No clever phycologist
No wonderful humanitarian
Only God can bring the dead back to life.
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That’s why Jesus did what he did. The purpose of miracles was to validate
his claim. If you say you are God, you better be able to do things only God
can do.
Before John 11, before Jesus brings Lazarus back, he…
Turns water into wine
Heals a paralyzed man
Walks on water
Heals a man’s son of sickness
Feeds 5,000 from 5 loaves and 2 fish
Gives sight to a man born blind
Miracles validated his claim to be the Son of God.
So again the question remains – who is Jesus to you?
Is he a liar?
Is he a lunatic?
Is the Lord of your life?
You can know Jesus here (Head)
And miss Him here (Heart)
Imagine you buy a cabin in the woods, and on your land is a cave, and one
day a geologist asks permission from you to explore your cave, and you
agree. Suddenly, he comes running back in and says, “Man, you’re not
going to believe this! That cave you have has the largest gold vein known
to exist. Your cave is full of gold!” You kick back and think, ‘Imagine that, I
have a cave full of gold,’ and then you go back to watching reruns of
Gilligan’s Island. You never mine the gold; you never enjoy the riches that
lie at your disposal.
You say, ‘That would be crazy!’ and it would be. Stopping at
acknowledging Jesus as Lord in your mind and never opening your heart is
just as crazy. It’s not good enough to believe, even the demons believe,
and they shudder.
Listen to me; you have to act on that belief. You have to surrender your life
to Jesus. You need to pray and say’ “Jesus, I believe you are the Son of
the living God. I recognize my sin, I need your forgiveness. I want you, not
just to be my Savior; I want you to be my Lord. Come into my life and
change me. I want to be baptized. Follow you in your death, your burial
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and your resurrection. I want to go from knowing about you, to knowing
you. Help me rearrange my life; help me to yield my life to your commands.
Move what you have to move, change what you have to change, do what
you have to do.”
So friend, listen; if you have not made that decision, today is the day.
Today you come up after we are done and you shake my hand and you say
I am ready to follow Him. I don’t know what I need to do but I’m ready to
start. I’ll take your hand, and together we will guide you every step of the
way.
Jesus said things no mere human should be able to say
Jesus did things no mere human is able to do
From this day forward you can say lots of things about Jesus, but you
cannot say he was just a good man.
Either he was a lair…
He was a lunatic…
Or he was and is the Lord of all creation
Who is Jesus to you?
Let’s pray!