The most important question that every one of us will have to answer
is this: "Who is Jesus?" Two thousand years
after the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, men and
women are still asking, "Who is Jesus?" Today the
question of Jesus' identity is the springboard for numerous heated
discussions within American public life -- from the University
classroom to dinners around the table. One thing you'll notice, if
you look at the major news magazines, nearly every Christmas or
Easter they devote a cover story, a feature story, that tries to
unpack this question, "Who is Jesus?" And typically,
the format includes an interview with some liberal religious
scholar. Typically, this scholar will try to present new
historical evidence that puts into confrontation - if you will - that
tries to give a rebuttal against the traditional teachings of the
Christian Church concerning the divine nature of Jesus Christ.
Now, I may not always agree with what I read when I read these
articles. But frankly, I am glad that news magazines in this
country devote so much time and space to this question, because when
I read these articles it gives me a greater understanding for how is
it that most Americans would answer this all-important question,
"Who is Jesus?"
I collect these articles because I'm fascinated by the response of
the media to this question. Whenever I speak to my
non-Christian friends about my Christian faith, it strikes me that
their questions really aren't all that different than the ones I read
that are raised in the media, in magazines, in public television
documentaries, and the like.
Just last year, Newsweek magazine published an article in
which they looked at four interpretations of Jesus. They looked
at Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity. For many
Buddhists, Jesus is but one of many enlightened beings. For
many Hindus, Jesus is but one of many other gods. And for
Jewish people today, they now recognize Jesus as probably the
greatest rabbi, the greatest teacher, in the history of Judaism.
But think about this with me. After unpacking these four
interpretations of Jesus, the authors conclude this:
"Clearly, the cross is what separates the Christ of Christianity
from all other christs." In other words, it is in
Jesus' death, burial and resurrection that he reveals himself for who
he is - as the Lamb of God - as the Savior of the World. And
when we read the Gospels, we see that Jesus is the unique Son of
God. He is God in human flesh.
Our text this morning brings us to a pivotal moment in the life of
Jesus. For if you look at the Gospels, this is the very first
time that Jesus is directly asked, "Are you the Messiah?
Are you the Christ?" And more importantly, it is the first
time within John's Gospel that Jesus publicly declares that he is the
Christ, that he is the Messiah, that he is the unique son of
God. And so, standing in the temple, looking at his skeptics,
Jesus declares, "I and the Father are one."
In the opening of John's gospel, we read these well-known words about
Jesus: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among
us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who
came from the Father, full of grace and full of truth."
The author of this fourth Gospel intends to share good news with the
reader, that in Jesus Christ, God has come in human flesh. And
in Jesus, we witness the most perfect example of the love of our
heavenly Father. And throughout his ministry, Jesus performs
miracles, he heals the sick, and he proclaims the message of God's
unconditional love for you and for me.
And so, the news of Jesus' compassion for the people spread
throughout ancient Palestine. And among the people there was this
growing expectation that Jesus just might be the Messiah, the one
they've been waiting for for so many years, the one who would free
the Jewish people from centuries of political oppression. The Jewish
authorities heard the news of Jesus' ability to heal the sick, to
give sight to the blind, to cause the crippled to stand up and to
walk. And many witnessed his power first hand.
But others accused him of demon possession. And so the authorities of
Jesus' own day didn't know what to make of him. They couldn't quite
figure it out. Who is this man Jesus? And so they asked,
"How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the
Christ, the Messiah, tell us plainly." If we look at the
Greek text, a more accurate translation might actually read, "How
long will you continue to annoy us? If you are the Christ, if
you are the Messiah, then would you just tell us straight out?"
Sometimes as we read the Gospel accounts, it's easy to wonder why
Jesus holds back. He doesn't just come right out and say, "I am
the Messiah." And we want him to. But throughout
most of his ministry, Jesus holds back from identifying himself as
the Messiah because he knows exactly what is on the minds of the
Jewish people. They were waiting for a Messiah to free them from
centuries of political and national oppression. The people dreamed of
a Messiah who would set up a new nation, a new kingdom, and in Jesus
they dreamed that the nation of Israel would be reestablished to the
glory it once knew under King Solomon and King David.
But you know Jesus' Messianic nature was so much more important than
what they thought a Messiah should look like. The power of Jesus is
not that of a political liberator. The power of Jesus is that of God,
and Jesus' relationship to God is at the very center of everything
that we believe as Christians. Jesus' relationship to the Father is
at the very crux of our Christian faith. Jesus came to earth to
demonstrate God's love, to reconcile humanity to the Father, to show
us the way, to free us from the grip of human sin, to pay our debt,
and to purchase a place in heaven for us.
For each one of us there must come a point in our life where we
answer that question "Who is Jesus?" Do I really believe
that Jesus Christ is who he says he is in this book? Do I
really believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Lamb of
God, the savior of the world?
There was a time in my life when I had to answer this question, when
I had to decide whether I would accept or reject the claims that
Jesus made concerning himself. I was raised in a Christian home. My
mother and father took my brother and my sister and myself to Church
every Sunday. And we grew up learning the stories of the Bible. I
grew up memorizing Scripture. I knew all the right answer. In fact, I
even thought I knew all the right questions. But there was one major
problem. All of the knowledge in my head didn't impact my
heart. Inside, I was a very angry and lonely person.
When I look back, I don't really know what I was angry about. I just
know that I was angry, and I was bitter. I felt insecure. I felt like
I always needed to prove myself, to prove that I was worth someone's
love, someone's respect. I heard a lot of talk about God, but I
didn't really believe that God loved me, Adrian Doll. The idea that
the God of the Universe, the creator of all of this, that he could
love me unconditionally was unfathomable. After all, I knew the
mistakes of my youth. And so I kept trying to prove myself, trying to
earn respect, trying to earn love. And I knew that if I excelled in
academics that I could earn the respect of others, that I could earn
the love of my parents.
But after a while, I grew really tried of all of this.
As a freshman in college, I met up with a young minister, Ken.
Ken was just starting his ministry on our college campus, and he
would hang out and spend time with students. In the fall quarter, Ken
started a Bible study in my dormitory, and so I decided, "What
the heck. I'll go." But you know, in that Bible study, God began
to work in my life in a very new way. And as I read the Bible, I
began to believe, for the very first time, that God loved me. For the
first time I realized that there was nothing that I could do to earn
God's love. God's love was settled for me on the cross. That's where
he proved it. And so I opened up my life to God in a very new way and
I prayed a very simple prayer, and I asked God for the forgiveness of
my sins, and I asked Jesus to become the very Lord of my life. It is
without a doubt the single, most important decision that I have ever
made, and I have never, ever, been sorry.
C. S. Lewis, that famed British Christian apologist of the 20th
century, writes this, "What are we to make of Christ? There is
no question of what we can make of him. It is entirely a
question of what he intends to make of us. You must accept or reject
the story."
Lewis reminds us that Jesus Christ is what he says he is. Jesus
Christ is the Savior of the World, and either we accept, or we
reject, but the consequences are eternal.
As we read through the New Testament, there can be no mistaking the
divine nature of Jesus Christ. In John's Gospel we read what is known
as the great "I am" statements. In fact, we read one this
morning. "I am the great shepherd." But sometimes I think
we miss the full meaning, the full impact of these statements, when
we read them in our English Bibles. If we were to read the
Greek translation of the Jewish Hebrew Old Testament, what we would
find is that those words "I am" are the very same words
that God used in Exodus 3 when he identifies himself to Moses, when
he gives the divine name to humanity for the very first time, "I
AM WHO I AM." "I will be to you what I will be to you. I
will be whatever it is that you need. I will be there for you. I can
promise you that. I will never leave you. I will never forsake you."
And so with the words, "I Am," Jesus declares himself as
God in the Gospel of John. Jesus says, "I am the bread of life.
I am the way and the truth and the life. I am the good shepherd. I am
the true vine." And in John 10:30, Jesus looks at his skeptics,
and he declares, "I and the Father are one."
Jesus proves himself to be so much more than the expectations of the
Jewish people for a Messiah, the one who identifies himself to Moses
as "I AM WHO I AM" looks at his skeptics and says, "I
and the Father are one."
The Apostle Paul, writing in his Letter to the Colossians, writes
this: "Jesus is the image of the invisible God." In Jesus
we see the unconditional love of our heavenly Father. Every miracle
that Jesus performs points to God's love for humanity. And in our
passage this morning, Jesus looks at his skeptics and he says,
"You have seen everything that I have done. Everything
that I have done is good, and it points to God's love for you.
Everything that I have done has been done in the Name of the Father.
I and the Father are one with each other."
Toward the end of John's Gospel, the author writes, "But these
are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." This
is the central message of the Bible. Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, and that by believing, we can have life everlasting in
his name. Everything in the Old Testament points forward to God's
plan of redemption through Jesus Christ. And everything in the New
Testament shows that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Savior of the
world. In Jesus Christ, each one of us finds our real meaning, our
real purpose in life. We were created to worship God, to enjoy God,
and to glorify God - to be in relationship with him. And this is only
possible though faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus says, "My sheep
listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them
eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out
of my hand."
Once we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, no one and no thing
can rob us of our new identity as a child of the King, a child of
God. Yes, we will lose our physical life. Each one of us in this room
will experience physical death. But we are promised the hope of the
resurrection - that we will dwell with God forever. Through faith in
Jesus Christ we are promised the forgiveness of sins and the gift of
everlasting life. And nothing can take this away from us. We rest
eternally in the hands of the Creator.
Several years ago, my wife Janel and I were returning from a
short-term mission trip in Eastern Europe. On our return flight home
it required a one-night stay in Paris, and so we decided we would try
to see as much of Paris as possible in 24 hours. Just a little bit.
But as we were walking along the streets, we came across a museum,
the Rodin Museum. Now Auguste Rodin is one of our favorite sculptors,
and so we couldn't miss the opportunity to go in this museum and see
a permanent collection of his works. And toward the end of the tour,
I came across this very small sculpture of two hands. And the
strength of the hands was portrayed with the flexing of the muscles
and the tendons, and the palms pointed upward. And the strength of
the hands stood in such contrast to two small figures that were
placed in the palm of the hands - a man and a woman.
Now at first, I didn't really understand what it was that I was
looking at. And then I looked down and I read the title, (first read
in French) "In the hands of God." What a comfort it is to
know that our lives rest in the hands of God. And Jesus says no one
can snatch us out of his hands.
And so this morning we come back to our question. Who is Jesus? As we
read Scripture, it is clear. Jesus is the Christ; Jesus is the
Messiah; Jesus is the Great Shepherd, the True Vine; Jesus is the
Savior of the World. Jesus is who he says he is. Yes, we debate this
in the media, we debate this in the marketplace and in the classroom.
But we do have the answer, and the answer is here.
So I would say this is really not the question to be debated. The
real question that we're left with is - do you accept or reject the story?