For
the last two weeks, our church has been in a sermon series called “Who is this
Man?” Which is based on one of the books I
read this past year.
Chances
are pretty good that if you were to ask 100 different people about who Jesus
was/is, you would get 115 different answers.
Some
people would say that Jesus was a good man, who did some good things, such as
healing and feeding people.
Other
people would tell you that Jesus was a great moral teacher who said some good
things about how we should treat other people, or how we are to act.
Still
other people would claim that Jesus is the Son of God, that He was born of a
virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross and rose again the third day to
pay for the sins of the world.
These
are the most popular opinions about this Man named Jesus.
ILLUSTRATION- My family and I have recently
been introduced to the works of C.S. Lewis by way of the big screen.
We have watched all three Chronicles of Narnia Movies, which I would
recommend to anyone; they are great movies.
The same man
who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia series also wrote a book called Mere
Christianity.
In this book, C.S. Lewis wrote the following:
“I am trying
here to prevent anyone (from) 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 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 and 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. (Google)
C.S. Lewis
believed that Jesus was the Son of God; I sit before you tonight believing that
Jesus is the Son of God, and the entire Bible points to the truth that Jesus is
the Son of God.
We read these
words in Hebrews Chapter 1: “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the
prophets at many times and in various ways,
2 but in these last
days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and
through whom he made the universe.
3 The Son is the
radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining
all things by his powerful word.
After he had
provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in
heaven.” (Heb.1:1-3, NIV84)
These verses
tell us that in Old Testament times, God spoke to His people through prophets
and forefathers, and through dreams and visions, but now in the New Testament
Era—where we live today-- God has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ,
who is one with God.
If you get
nothing out of church tonight, get this: The Son is Superior!
Paul reminded us
in Colossians 2 that: “In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily
form…” (2:9, NIV)
John reminded us
that: “In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He
was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all
things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John
1:1-3, NIV84)
In verse 14,
John wrote: “The
Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (NIV84)
At just the
right time, God stuffed Himself into a virgin’s womb and was born into our
world to address the number one issue that has plagued mankind since Adam and Eve
ate from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden.
God took it upon
Himself to deal with our sin problem by sending His One and Only Son, Jesus,
into this world, to die on the cross to give us the opportunity to be set free
from sin.
Once again I tell
you church that: The Son is Superior!
Paul wrote in 2
Corinthians 5:21: “God made him who had no sin to be a sin offering for us, so
that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (NIV84)
Because Jesus came to this
earth; we have the opportunity to be set free from our sin. This, loved
ones, is the true message of Christmas.
God loves you so
much that He sent Jesus- who was with God in the beginning- to die the death
that you and I should have died and because of His death and resurrection, we can
be set free from sin.
Now that Jesus
has provided a way out of our sin, He is seated at God’s right hand inviting us
to find faith in Him alone.
Which leads us
back to our question of Who is this Man?
Who do you say
Jesus is?
Ø Do
you believe that He was a good teacher leaving us with some great words of
wisdom to live by?
Ø Do
you believe that Jesus was a great man who did some great things for people who
were down on their luck?
Ø Or
do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed one, the Son of God?
I can’t answer
this question for you, your mamma can’t answer this question for you, each of
us must answer the Who is this Man Question
for ourselves.
Matthew 16 tells
us of the time Jesus asked His followers who people said He was.
Some people thought
that Jesus was John the Baptist—which was weird, b/c John had his head cut off…
other people thought Jesus was a one of the Great Prophets of days gone by.
Then Jesus got
real personal, real fast. He asked His followers: “But what about you?….Who do you say I
am?" (Matthew 16:15, NIV84)
Peter declared
that Jesus was the Holy Son of God, the One who had come into the world to take
away the sins of the world.
ILLUSTRATION- The story is told about a
wealthy man and his son who loved to collect rare works of art.
They had
everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit
together and admire the great works of art.
When the Viet
Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in
battle while rescuing another soldier.
The father was
notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month
later, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a
large package in his hands.
He said: “Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom
your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to
safety when he was killed. He often talked about you, and your love for art.”
The young man
held out his package.
"I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist,
but I think your son would have wanted you to have this."
The father
opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man.
He stared in
awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the
painting.
The father
offered to pay for the painting but the solider declined.
The father hung
the portrait of his son over his mantle.
Every time
visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he
showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
The man died a
few months later and there was to be an auction of his paintings.
Many
influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having
an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.
On the platform
sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel.
"We will start the bidding with this picture of the son.
Who will bid for this picture?"
There was
silence.
Then a voice in
the back of the room shouted "We want
to see the famous paintings, skip this one."
But the
auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid
for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100? $200?"
Another voice
shouted angrily. "We didn't come to see
this painting…We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts. Get on with the
real bids!"
But the
auctioneer continued. "Who'll take the
son?"
Finally, a
voice came from the very back of the room. It was the long-time gardener of the
man and his son.
"I'll give $10 for the painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.
"10 dollars is the bid, won’t someone bid $20?”
“Give it to him for $10. We want to see the other
paintings”
The crowd was
becoming angry. They didn’t want the picture of the son. They wanted the more
wealthy paintings for their collection.
The auctioneer
pounded the gavel. "Going once, going
twice, SOLD for $10!"
The auctioneer
laid down his gavel. A man sitting in the second row shouted: "Now let's get on with the collection!"
But the
auctioneer said: "I'm sorry, the
auction is over."
"What about the paintings?” The crowd said.
"I’m sorry.” The
auctioneer said, “When I was called to
conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not
allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time.”
“Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever
bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.
The man who took the son gets everything!"
My friends; God
gave His Son over 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the
auctioneer, His message this evening is, "My Son,
My Son, who'll take My Son?"
You see, whoever
takes the Son gets everything. Whoever takes Jesus Christ will inherit eternal
life.
Jesus is not one of many ways to
God; Jesus is the only way to God.
Don't forget
that The Son
is superior!
“God
raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of
running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no
power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever.
He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything.” (Eph.
1:20-22, MSG)
Will you open up your heart and make room for the One who has come
to set you free from your sin, and pain, loss, rejection, and hurt?
Will you open up your heart and let the Lord Jesus Christ be the God
of your life? I can honestly tell you that this will be the best gift you could
ever receive.
Would you receive Jesus tonight? Doing so is as simple—and as
difficult as A-B-C:
Admit
that you are a sinner;
Believe
that Jesus is the Saviour;
And Confess
your need for the Saviour.
Who is this Man? His Name is Jesus and He “will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21, NIV84)
