Who Is Jesus?

Doug: Who was Jesus? Was He a liar? Was He a lunatic or was He the Lord? Our message this morning probably could be classified as important as anything I could talk about, because I'm reminded as every now and then I mingle with the people in our culture that a lot of folks, while they may hear the name of Jesus from time to time, they really have no idea who Jesus is. And I thought it would be valuable and appropriate to talk a little bit. And sometimes we need reminding about that subject, who is Jesus?

I wasn't sure how to title this sermon, because when you say who is Jesus, it sounds like He's present tense. And some people think you should title it Who was Jesus, but either way you word it, people want to know who is He? Where did He come from? Somebody wrote this beautiful passage one time where they said, "All the armies that have ever marched and all the Navies that have ever sailed. All the parliaments that have ever sat and all the Kings that have ever reigned put together have not affected life upon Earth is powerfully as this one solitary life."

When you think about the way that Jesus was born in comparative obscurity, and He never did all the typical things that usually do, you know greatness, He never led an army into battle. He never led a Navy. It doesn't tell us that He ever wrote a book. He didn't do any of the things that you typically think of with greatness. We don't know what He looked like. There's a lot of artist renditions of what looked like, but there's nothing contemporary from His day. And yet He changed all of history. While we're talking about history, you've got AD and BC and they use new terms today. But we used to call that Before Christ and After Death or the year of our Lord, all of history is dated from His birth. So how can you doubt that He lived? If you look in the encyclopedia, it doesn't cast any doubt on whether or not He lived.

So, we know He lived. The real question you've got to decide. Was He a liar? Was He a lunatic or was He the Lord? Who was Jesus? Did God come to our Earth in the form of a man to save us? Oh, I want to read something first by A.W Tozer. He said, "Christ is not one of many ways to approach God. He's not the best of several ways. He is the only way." Anyone who comes to God must come through Christ. And while Buddha may have said a number of profound things, and you might have some profound sayings from Krishna and Mohamed and the different religions of the world, nobody spoke like Jesus. And none of them died as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

There's something very clearly different about Jesus. Jesus is the only Redeemer with God. He's the only mediator with God. Christ is the bridge between heaven and Earth. Jesus said to Nathaniel, "Hereafter, you will see the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." None of the other religious leaders of the world say, "I am the way the truth and the life to God." He didn't say, "I'm one of the ways." He said, "I am the way." He didn't say, "I'm one of the truths, all rivers lead to the ocean. I'm just one of them." He said, "I am the truth. I am the life."

So why did Jesus come? So where do we look to get the information for this? There are over 300 Old Testament prophecies that talk about what to expect when the Messiah comes through. We're not going to look at all 300, but we're going to look at some basic categories to find out who is Jesus. Especially, you'll find a lot in the Psalms. Over 300 Old Testament prophecies reference the anointed.

First prophecy you're going to find in the Bible regarding the Messiah coming is actually in Genesis 3:15. We'll put that on the screen. Here it says, when God was speaking to Adam and Eve after the fall, He said, "I will put enmity." That's similar to the word enemy. It means there's animosity. There's friction. There's an adversarial relationship between thee and the woman. He was talking to the serpent. "Between your seed and her seed." The seed of the woman, talking about this promised seed that was going to come through humanity was the Messiah. "He," the seed of the woman, "Will bruise your head." God says to the serpent or the devil that the seed of the woman, Christ would bruise your head. A mortal wound to the head. "And you will bruise His heel." You will impede his progress or slow his walk down.

So, this first prophecies found right there in Genesis chapter three, they were looking for a savior, the seed of the woman that would come, that would defeat the serpent that caused the fall of man and the loss of paradise. Through Christ paradise is restored.

So, let's look at some of those prophecies. For one thing, in John 1:45, after Philip found Jesus, he then goes and he tells Nathaniel, "We have found Him of who Moses in the law. And also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." He said Moses and the prophets, and the law all talked about this man. It all pointed to this one individual, where did Jesus come from? Now we alluded to that there in John chapter eight, but let's look at some other verses. John 19:8, matter of fact, Pontius Pilate during the trial of Jesus. He asked that very question, "Where are you from? Where did you come from?" Jesus said in John 6:38, "For I have come down from heaven."

Now, if I said that to you, you'd probably asked me to get some counseling. So, or you, you know there are people out there that would think that I snuck away from area 51 in Nevada. I was an alien, but Jesus wasn't talking about being an extraterrestrial. He was saying He came from the Father. He made that very clear, and we read just a moment ago. He said, "I'm going back to the Father." This is a messenger. And when you talk about the Father, we're not talking about a God of a certain solar system or a certain galaxy. Biblically when you're talking about the Father, you're talking about the God of everything. Think about the amenity of space and how big God must be, how awesome God is. And when Jesus says that I made all that and I am the Son of God, and I've come from God. Wow! That's a pretty bold claim. That's a pretty amazing claim that He came from God.

Again, Jesus answered and said, "My kingdom is not of this world." He told Pilate if my kingdom was of this world, then would my citizens fight but my kingdom is not now of this world. Did Jesus claim to be God? Did He claim divinity? Is He just another man? Or was He the commingling of the divine and human? John 8:58. "Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.'" You remember when Moses was talking to God at the burning bush and he said, "So exactly which God are you? What's your name? What shall I say to the people of Israel? Who are you that you are sending me? Do you have a business card?" How did God introduce himself to Moses? He said, "I AM that I AM." It's not that I once was, or I will be. The phrase I Am means; I AM everlasting to everlasting. I AM the self-existent one. I AM eternal. Christ was claiming to be God and to be eternal.

Says there would be something unique about His birth. Now everybody alive was born at some point, but Jesus was born in a very unique way. And a prophecy told this was going to happen 500 years before the event. Isaiah 7:14, "The Lord will give you a sign; Behold, a virgin will conceive and bear a son, and you will call His name Emmanuel."

Now that doesn't happen very often, does it? Was Jesus born of a virgin? Doesn't it say that? You can read the next verse here in Matthew 1:18. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows; After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together." This was not some laboratory insemination. It said that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her, before Joseph and Mary came together. She was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit. And God said that that would happen. The Bible records that it did happen.

The place of His birth is identified. Now we're getting very specific because it's going to mention the town of Bethlehem and you can read this passage in Micah 5:2, he interrogated the scribes and he said, "Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?" And they said, "We know exactly where He's supposed to be born. He's supposed to be born in Bethlehem." And so, there was no question about that. Bethlehem, there are actually two towns in Israel called Bethlehem. I didn't know how many there are, but I know there are scores of towns in North America called Farmington. You know what I'm talking about, there's a lot some towns that have very common names. You can find all over North America. I think we've got a few Jamestowns and you got a few towns called Paris. There's Paris, Maine. There's a Paris, Texas. I don't know why you'd come to America and name anything Paris. But anyway they did.

Well in the Promised Land, the word Bethlehem means house of bread. And there were a couple of Bethlehems, but you notice it specifies the Bethlehem where Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin, which was Bethlehem Efrata, which is just outside Jerusalem. So, this prophecy in Micah not only tells, what town it delineates specifically, which Bethlehem Jesus was going to come from. A matter of fact, it was so clear that when king Herod saw the Wisemen coming, he interrogated the scribes and he said, "Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?" And they said, "We know exactly where he is supposed to be born. He's supposed to be born in Bethlehem." And so, there was no question about that.

Now there's a very interesting prophecy. This really could be a prophecy that also tells the time of His birth in Matthew. I'm sorry. In Daniel chapter nine, Daniel 9:25. There's a prophecy. It's the 490 year prophecy. Part of that prophecy is called the 483 Year Segment. And that's where it says in verse 25. "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restoring and build Jerusalem," which was given in 457 BC by King Ahasuerus. "Unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and three score in two weeks." So, it's actually the decree of Artaxerxes. I was getting Esther mixed up with Nehemiah. King Artaxerxes in 457 BC gave that decree. Seven weeks in Jewish prophecy, a day equals a year.

Now you'll see a few references for this. Ezekiel 4:6, "I have appointed you each day for a year." You can also read that principle in Numbers 14:35. Even the words of Jesus in a parable, He tells in Luke 13:32. He makes it clear that in a prophecy, you use a principle of a day for a year. So, when you go and you add up the time period here in Daniel, where he says seven weeks and 62 weeks, seven plus 62 is how much? 69, 69. A week has got how many days? A week has how many days? I gave you an easy one. Come on, help me. Seven days. So, you add that up and you've got 483 years, 69 weeks, 483 days, a day is a year, 483 years. If you count from the start of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, 457 BC given by Artaxerxes, and then you go 483 prophetic years or regular years to 80, 27. That's exactly when Jesus was baptized. And you can read about that in John 1, when Jesus came to the Jordan river, He knew His time had come and right at His 30th birthday, He was baptized.

John the Baptist said he saw Jesus coming. "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Jesus was that lamb that they had been looking for. Abraham said to Isaac, when Isaac said, "Lord, or Father, we've got the wood. We've got the fire, but where is the sacrifice?" Abraham said, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb."

Finally, they're all looking for the lamb of God. The Anointed, the Messiah. John says, "There He is. This is the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. This is the seed of the woman. This is the one that we've been looking for all this time." And he identified Him several times. And that's why Philip and Peter and Nathaniel all began to follow Him then, because He had been flagged by John the Baptist, as the Lamb of God.

Now I told you, you could actually figure from Daniel's prophecy when Jesus was born. By the way, there were a couple that were looking for His birth, maybe because of Daniel's prophecy, because they knew that it was going to be 483 years from the command to rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah was anointed and began His ministry. They could understand that a priest could not begin to teach until he was 30. King David did not begin to reign until he was 30. Joseph went out to administrate over Egypt when he was 30. So all they had to do was count back 30 years from 80, 27 and find the birth of Christ around 4BC. So even from that same prophecy, you could have calculated about the time of His birth.

Have you ever wondered about this enigmatic character in the Bible called Michael the Archangel? Well, that's the title of the book we'd like to send you for free. Michael suddenly appears in the Old Testament, He is worshiped by Joshua, and in other place He is involved in the Resurrection. The Bible says, He's connected with the Second Coming. The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with the voice of the Archangel. You even find Michael fighting with the devil in Revelation. To get your free copy, call the phone number on your screen and ask for offer number 170 or visit the amazingfacts.org. And after you read this incredible resource, make sure and share it with a friend.

You can read there in Acts 10:38, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. And He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him. When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit came down and He was anointed with the Holy Spirit. He was the anointed. You don't hear about the miracles of Jesus, unless you're reading something apocryphal. You don't read about the miracles of Jesus before He was 30. For the first 30 years of His life, He lived as a man among men, just as you and I do. And then He was anointed at His baptism. He began as public ministry, turned the world upside down in three and a half years. And then that would be part of that 490 year prophecy.

And then it tells the nature of His ministry. Matter of fact, Jesus quotes these very words in Nazareth when He began His ministry, Isaiah 61:1, "Christ stood up in the synagogue of Nazareth, His hometown church in Galilee. And He said, 'The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because He has anointed me.'" He's the anointed. "To preach the good tidings to the meek. He sent me to bind the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of prison to them that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all that mourn."

Furthermore, it tells us that He would speak and teach in parables. King David said in Psalm 78. "I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known. And our fathers have told us regarding Christ." It said that He spoke, and He taught them in parables. Without parable, He didn't say anything. He often taught in allegories and illustrations. And those that heard Him talk, say, "Never, ever did a man speak like this man." There's no man that could teach like Jesus. People who went to arrest him, came back and said, "Wow! Nobody speaks like this man."

It goes on. And it tells us about His betrayal. For instance, Psalm 41:9, "Even my own familiar friend and whom I trusted, who ate my bread has lifted up his heel against me." Did Jesus eat a meal with bread with Judas and Judas walked right out that door and went to the priest and then led them to Christ? It gives us even more detail about the betrayal of Jesus, Zachariah 11:12 and 13. "Then I said to them, 'If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages and if not refrain.' So, they weighed out for my wages 30 pieces of silver." Not only tells that He was sold for the price of a slave. It tells what kind of metal it could have been copper. It could have been gold. It could have been bronze, or silver says it was silver. Tells how many pieces of silver. "And the Lord said to me, 'Throw it to the potter,' that princely sum and they set on me. So, they took 30 pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter."

Now I don't have time to read it all, but all the verses are in Matthew 27:3-7. You can look that up. Matthew 27:3-7, it tells how during the trial of Christ, Judas overwhelm with a sense of guilt, you know once the devil had used him, he didn't need Judas anymore. And Judas finally realizing what he had done, came to his senses. He betrayed the Son of God, and they were preparing to crucify Him. He just was crushed by a sense of his guilt. He went into the outskirts of the temple, where He was being tried. The Sanhedrin was meeting. He said, I'd betray innocent blood. He threw down the 30 pieces of silver. They didn't want to take it because it was blood money. They called it. So, they bought a potter’s field to bury strangers in with the money. That's all in the New Testament.

You know I don't know if I'm I, let me just say something here on the outset, just to give you an idea. All right, here we've got the book of Matthew. Here's the New Testament. This is the Old Testament. Old Testament of course starts with Moses, New Testament doesn't begin until the birth of Jesus. These prophecies I'm reading to you about the Messiah. They come from the Old Testament. Not only do they come from the Old Testament, even though there's no page here, there ought to be a page in your Bible that says 400 years. One page that just says 400 years silence. There are 400 years between all these prophecies and when Jesus finally comes. That prophecy I just read to you from Zachariah. They couldn't have concocted and made that up 400 years went by.

We know from the Dead Sea Scrolls that these things were written before Jesus was born. How could you fabricate? How could you counterfeit? How could you manufacture that that prophecy would be fulfilled. That Jesus would be betrayed by a friend who ate bread with Him for 30 pieces of silver, who would then throw it to the potter’s field in the house of the Lord. I mean, that's just one of thousands. Oh, actually 300. I got carried away. Prophecies, there might be more, but someone counted 300 and I believe it.

Tells about the manner of His death. Now this is an incredible prophecy you read in Psalm 22. "The congregation of the wicked has enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my feet. They divided my garments among them, for my clothing they cast lots." This is prophesy nearly 800 years before Jesus was born. How could you know that? And that's all in that one Psalm and there are many Psalms, Psalm 34. "He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken." They've broken the bones of the thief on the right and the left of Jesus because Jesus was the Passover Lamb. And they were never to break the bones of the Passover Lamb. They didn't break any of His bones, just as the prophecy had said, "He guards my bones."

Jesus also claimed to be the Son of God, not in the sense that we are all sons of God, but in the unique sense that He is the only begotten Son of God. And He claimed to have the prerogatives or the powers of the Divine. He claimed to be God. Now those are some pretty bold claims. What are you going to do with what Jesus says about Himself? C.S. Lewis puts it this way. "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things that Jesus said, wouldn't be a great moral teacher. He'd be a lunatic on the level of a man who says he's a poached egg, or else he'd be the devil of hell.

You must make your choice. Either this man was and is the Son of God or else He's a mad man or something worse." Someone else put it this way. "Christ was either a conscious deceiver, deluded or divine. He is either lunatic, liar, or Lord." There is no escaping one of these three options.

You know there's three principle reasons that Jesus came. First, He came to be our example. He says in John 13:5, sorry, John 13:15, "For I've given you an example that you should do as I have done." Part of the reason Jesus lived for 33 and a half years among men is He said, "I want to show you how to live, how to love each other, how to forgive. I'm not just going to tell you to turn the other cheek. I'm going to show you how it's done." And He did, didn't He? When He went through His trial, I'm going to show you how to love and forgive each other. The way He forgave.

He came point number two, to reveal the Father. This world is very confused about who God is. You know, I don't know why it is that as I intermingle with people, I hear Jesus’ name being used in profanity so frequently. I've never heard people get mad, hit their finger with the hammer and say, "O Buddha." I don't hear them cite Muhammad's name or Allah or Krishna. Why is it this diabolical focus to especially scoring the name of Jesus? That in itself ought to tell you there's a spiritual battle out there. World doesn't know who the Father is. Jesus came to show us what the Father is like. He said, "Have I been with you so long? And you don't know me, Philip? He that has seen me has seen the Father." By the way that's John 14:9.

And then most importantly, Jesus came to trade places with us. We are all under a death sentence because of our sin and our selfishness and Christ does not want to lose us. He loves us and He said, " I will come. I will take the penalty for your sin. Not only take it, I will give you my strength and power. I am going to be your substitute. I will trade places with you." He said, "I will give you my goodness and I'll take your badness. I will give you my strength and I'll take your weakness. I will give you my life and I will take your death. I will give you my peace and I will take your sufferings and your misery."

He's offering that all as a gift that we receive by faith. But you need to believe that He is who He said He is.

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Doug: Hello friends, Pastor Doug Batchelor here with Amazing Facts. When Susan's and Michael's whirlwind relationship led to a wedding, they had no idea how hard married life could be. Before they knew it, they were on the stormy path towards divorce, but that's when God led them to an Amazing Facts broadcast. And there they saw the biblical view of marriage as presented in knowing Jesus. Finally, they understood what it meant to love sacrificially like Christ. And today, Susan and Michael are joyfully married, sharing what they learned with others.

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