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Bible Basics

By Bill Dillon

Who Was Jesus?

Introduction

Who is Jesus? Is He the altogether and purely human Jesus of the play “Jesus Christ, Superstar?” Is He the emotional and shallow Jesus of the “Jesus Freaks?” Is He merely a good moral teacher like Socrates? or just another founder of a religion like Confucius? or Mohammed? or is He the Only Begotten Son of God? Just who is Jesus anyway?

Good morning friends and welcome to the “Words of Life” gospel broadcast.

I would begin this morning by extending to you and your family a special and personal invitation to be with the Mountain Home Church of Christ in our worship services today. We meet at 9:30 and 10:20 AM and 6:00 PM and each Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM.

Come with:

A Bible in your hand

A friend by your side

A smile on your face

A song in your heart.

Who Was Jesus?

This important question is raised in the early verses of the eleventh chapter of Matthew. John the Baptizer had completed his ministry and was in Machaerus prison, east of the Dead Sea. He had been unjustly accused and thrown into prison at the whim of King Herod. Languishing there, he evidently became concerned because Jesus, the Lamb of God for whom he had prepared the way, had not acted quickly enough and decisively enough, according to his thinking. John sent his disciples to Jesus to ask a significant question. The text reads:

“Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Matthew 11:2-5).

John’s question is supremely important. It is a question that men, for many different reasons, are still asking.

The Divinity of Jesus

Perhaps the most significant biblical passage on the subject of the identity of Christ is that found in Matthew 16:13-17:

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

This revelation of the divinity of Jesus to Peter was confirmed by the sinless life which Jesus lived, by the unique quality of His teaching, by His miracles and ultimately by His death, resurrection and ascension. He was no ordinary man. He had all the earmarks of divinity. The disciples, who knew Him best, were willing to give up everything that men normally hold dear and to invest their lives in the confident faith that Jesus was the Messiah. No wonder people marveled at the teaching of this man who lacked a higher education. No wonder they followed Him everywhere, hanging on His words. “No one ever taught like this,” they said, and they were right. There are some remarkable things about Jesus and His teaching. As well as teaching the highest standards known to mankind, He actually kept them. He not only taught people to love their enemies, but also forgave those who crucified Him. He not only called people to lay down their life for their friends, but actually did it. It makes Him the most remarkable of all teachers. Yes, Jesus was a great moral teacher. But neither He, nor His followers, will allow us to get away with the idea that He was that and no more. He made the most astonishing claims; claims that have never been paralleled. He claimed that He could forgive people’s sins, that He had the right to people’s worship, that He alone represented the way to God, the truth of God and the life of God, that He had come to seek and save the lost, that He would give His life as a ransom for many, that He would rise from the dead, and that on the day of judgment, humanity would be accountable to Him! If He was only a teacher, He was a very misleading one for He claimed to be more than a good teacher. The claims of Christ convinced some of the most determined men in the world. It convinced skeptics, political leaders, fishermen, tax collectors and violent opponents like the brilliant Saul of Tarsus who became the most ardent believer. The claims of Christ have convinced millions of people all over the world ever since. But why should we believe His claims? Many have made false claims for themselves. Many psychiatric hospitals contain deluded individuals. Was He a sham? But is it credible that this man who was so ruthless against hypocrisy should have built His whole ministry on a lie? Is it possible that He would have allowed Himself to be executed in the most excruciating of deaths for what He knew was untrue? Or was He simply mistaken? That will hardly do. If the greatest teacher of all is mistaken about the central issue of His life and claims, He is not such a great teacher after all. If we discredit what He has to say about His origin and authority, why should we pay any attention to the rest of His teaching?

Jesus of Nazareth was not simply a great moral teacher. He cuts too deep and steps out too far from the crowd for that. We can call Him a liar, but we cannot sustain such a charge.

Jesus of Nazareth is the central figure of all history. Every letter you write, every book you read, every significant event in your life (birth, graduation, marriage, death, etc.) is dated in relation to His life! All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the assemblies that ever met, and all the rulers that ever reigned put together have not affected the life of man upon the earth as powerfully as has the life of Jesus Christ!

The story began in the long ago when God had created man, and man had rebelled against God. Man, estranged from God, needed to be redeemed. Because of His great love for man, God inaugurated a plan for man’s salvation which eventually led to the coming of Jesus of Nazareth. Even before He was born, there were hundreds of prophecies about His coming.

The Word Became Flesh

In the fullness of time, Jesus came to live among men, but that was not the beginning of His existence. Christ had existed before the world, before the beginning of time. At the outset of his account of the life of Christ, John wrote:

“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 any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-4,14).

In later centuries this has been called the incarnation, the Son of God living in the flesh among men. This coming of the Messiah was the evidence of God’s great love for men.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

When He had grown to be a man, Jesus began His public ministry. He went about teaching the people a new and better way of life. Jesus went about doing good: healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, restoring hearing to the deaf, working miracles and performing signs.

The people said of Him, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (Matthew 8:27). He was like other men, and yet he was unlike other men, for the things which He did were of God. In addition, He was “one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). He had the same inclinations of the flesh, the same temptations to live as the world lives, but in every instance He triumphed over them.

He selected men from every walk of life to be His disciples. He attracted the sick and the well, the poor and the rich, the unlearned and the wise, from every walk of life, and from all age brackets. And men were impressed by the life that He lived. Even His enemies could find nothing evil in Him. Yet, strange as it seems, the reception man gave this perfect life was murder on a cross.

But Christ is not still hanging on the cross. Calvary was only a moment in the life of Christ, and while it was a climactic moment, it was only for a little while that He hung on the cross and only for three days that He remained in the tomb. The real Jesus is alive, living forevermore! As the writer of Hebrews put it, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He ascended into heaven and there reigns triumphantly. Not only does He reign in heaven, but also in the hearts and lives of millions of people who have been blessed by Him. Is He merely a great teacher and ethical guide, like Socrates? Is He simply the founder of a religion like Confucius or Mohammed? Or, is He uniquely the divine Son of God? His perfect life, His superior teachings, His genuine miracles and His death and resurrection combine to prove that He was and is the son of God.

Christ can make us over. He can take our old, sinful lives and make them clean again. Believe in the Lord Jesus with all your heart, announce that faith to those about you, repent of your past sins and then enter into that wonderful new relationship with Christ that comes when you are baptized. He promises to cleanse you of sin and set you on a new road leading to eternal life in heaven. Ultimately, it is Christ or nothing at all. He is the last and best hope of earth, the only hope of earth!

We thank you very much for lending us your ears this morning. We certainly hope you will continue to listen to the “Words of Life” broadcast.