http://sribuo.com/2012/04/10/articles/who-is-jesus
Below is a sub-summary of the Easter message preached at Mars Hill church
... see http://marshill.com/easter for a full video.
Who is Jesus?
This is a very basic question but interestingly enough most people don't
actually know the true answer to it. People use second and third hand
knowledge when they answer this question. Perhaps the best way to answer
this question is to re-frame it to the one below so that we let Jesus speak
for himself:
Who did Jesus say he was?
1. JESUS SAID HE CAME FROM HEAVEN
For I have come down
from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own
will.
Please think carefully about that for a minute ... no one and obviously no
religious leader has ever claimed to have come from heaven. A lot of them
said they were sent by God but they wouldn't argue with you if you told
them they came from their mother's wombs. Jesus said he didn't and that he
came from heaven.
2. JESUS SAID HE WAS SINLESS (AKA PERFECT)
Which of you can
truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth,
why don’t you believe me?
Yes ... he said he was without sin ... perfect. When we think of sin, we
think mostly of things that we do which we aren't supposed to or things
that we failed to do even though we were supposed to. Ungodly thought,
speech and motivations for actions also all count as sin. In addition
Romans 14:23 tells us that "whatever is not from faith is sin". So
basically Jesus' every action, thought, deed was faith based. No other
religious leader in the history of the world has claimed perfection.
3. JESUS SAID HE FORGIVES SINS
And Jesus seeing their faith
said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
If you read further down in that chapter, the religious people of Jesus
time got really upset with him because he was claiming to be do something
that only God could do - forgive sins. So this is pretty straightforward
... Jesus said that he forgives sins.
4. JESUS SAID HE WAS GOD
"I and the Father are
one." The Jews
answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and
because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.
Yes he did say it ... and that is why Jesus ultimately was killed ...
because he kept insisting on the fact that he was God. Again, no religious
leader has ever made such an outlandish claim. Jesus was a man, flesh and
blood, he ate, slept, got tired, run, laughed AND claimed to be God and
died because of that claim.
Once you figure out who Jesus is ... you will either reject him or accept
him but the most important thing is to accept or reject the real Jesus.
Jesus was not a good teacher, or a great religious leader or a prophet -
according to his own words - He came from heaven, he was perfect, he
forgives sin and he IS God.
Dear readers .... you now know who Jesus is ... how will you respond to it?
http://marshill.com/easter
--
George Armah
C.D.O. (Chief Dreaming Officer)
SriBuO LLC
http://sribuo.com
