“WHO IS JESUS?” LUKE 9:18-20 MAY 28, 2006(This sermon is based on a text written by Dr. Richard Jackson)
One day as Jesus was alone, praying, he came over to his disciples and asked them, “Who do people say I am?” “Well,” they replied, “some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.” Then he asked them, “Who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah sent from God!” (Luke 9:18-20, NLT)
INTRODUCTION Last week, when we began to look at The DaVinci Code, we saw that the book seeks to undercut our faith in the reliability of the New Testament and, by extension, in Christianity itself. If the New Testament records that we have are not reliable, then how can we believe anything that it says about Jesus, God, faith, and eternal life? This morning, we are going to look at an issue that is just as important as the reliability of Scripture and that is the question as to whether Jesus is divine—in other words was Jesus God in the flesh or simply a very good man and a wise moral teacher. Who is Jesus?
A- THE COUNCIL OF NICEA According to The Da Vinci Code, the emperor Constantine invented the deity of Christ in order to consolidate his power. Brown says that Constantine hosted the Council of Nicea in 325 AD to ratify this new, never-before-heard-of doctrine in order to solidify his rule as emperor. In the book, the Teabing character refers to this and says, “Until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by His followers as a mortal prophet...a great and powerful man but a man nonetheless. A mortal.” So, according to this novel, Constantine upgraded Jesus’ status from mortal to god almost three centuries after His death for political reasons.
Well, here’s the truth. There was a time under Constantine’s reign when doctrinal disputes about the nature of Jesus’ divinity were disrupting his empire. For example, there was a man named Arius who taught that Jesus was not fully God but sort of a created god—less than God but more than a man. Church bishops declared Arius to be a heretic, but the dispute continued. So, Constantine, newly converted to Christianity, called the first council at Nicaea, hoping to resolve the issue and unify Christianity. The emperor felt so strongly about settling this issue that he paid the traveling expenses of the bishops who attended. In his opening speech he told the delegates that doctrinal disunity wasworse than war.
More than 300 bishops attended the Council of Nicaea and because they were mature believers theyoverwhelmingly declared Arius to be a heretic. They said that to deny Christ was God was to deny the Bible itself and they pointed to Scriptures like Colossians 1:15-19: “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together. Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead, so he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ.”
The delegates at the Council of Nicaea wisely recognized that if Christ was not fully God, then God was not and could not be the Redeemer of humanity.
Now, The Da Vinci Code says the vote at the council of Nicaea was very close—that the philosophy of Arius was only narrowly defeated… but that is fiction. The vote was 298 to 2. And this nearly unanimous vote gave us The Nicene Creed, which you have printed in your outlines. Let’s recite it together:
“I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds. God of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by Whom all things were made: Who for us mean and for our salvation came down from Heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried, and the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into Heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; And He shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe I the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; Who spoke by the prophets. I believe in one catholic and apostolic church; I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.”
B- THE EARLY CHURCH Okay, so far so good. But what about Brown’s statement that before the Council of Nicaea met for their historic vote, everyone thought of Jesus as a mere mortal? Well, that is also fiction. The divinity of Jesus was not some new teaching. It had been taught from the very beginning. In fact, Jesus’ first disciples had died martyrs’ deaths rather than recant their belief that Jesus was God in the flesh. Why? Because the disciples had heard Him say things like: - “I am the Son of God.” (John 10:36) - “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) - "The Father and I are one" (John 10:30). - "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). - They remembered that at His trial, when the High Priest demanded of Jesus: "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" Jesus had responded: "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of Heaven" (Mark 14:61-62).
Plus—those men and women saw Jesus substantiate his claim to be God by doing things that only God could do: command a storm to cease, walk on water, heal the sick, raise the dead—and rise from the dead Himself on the third day. This conviction is what John was talking about when he wrote: “We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3) This conviction is what Peter was referring to when He wrote, “We were not making up clever stories when we told you about the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. We have seen his majestic splendor with our own eyes.” (2 Peter 1:16)
And the disciples weren’t the only ones who believed and taught that Jesus is divine. Every major Christian writer and thinker leading up to Nicaea from the earliest documents of the early church testifies to this. So, the Council of Nicaea invented nothing. They merely affirmed the historic standard Christian beliefs by erecting a united front against the heresies of those who wanted to dilute, distort and mangle the clear teaching of Jesus.
SO WHAT? I hope that you’re grasping how important is this issue of who Jesus is. It’s a question that every person needs to ask. In fact, it’s a question Jesus asked his disciples. In today's Scripture passage, we see Jesus praying with his disciples in a solitary place. Jesus turned to his disciples and asked, “Who do people say I am?” “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.” Then comes the crucial question that Jesus is asking—not only of his disciples—but also of each of us here this morning: “Who do you say I am?” This is the most important question each of us will ever be asked! Our answer to this question will determine the course of our lives both in this world and in the next.
As you ponder your own answer to this question, there is one very important implication of this fact that I don’t want you to miss. And that is this: If Jesus is God, as he himself claimed and the earliest disciples affirmed, then everything he said is true. Now, of course, this begs the question, “What did Jesus say?” Obviously, we can’t look at everything Jesus said in this message this morning; but because of it’s significance, I would like us to focus on just one statement found in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” What does this mean for us today living in the 21st century?” That’s a valid question, and I want to try to answer it by giving you some action steps, some things to think about and act on.
1- JESUS IS THE WAY, SO MOURN FOR THOSE WITHOUT JESUS. Obviously, this action step is intended for those of you who have a relationship with God, who call yourselves Christians. Mourn is a word Jesus used in reference to things which keep us from God. Look at how Matthew tells us Jesus felt one day when he saw the crowds flocking to him: “He felt great pity for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn’t know where to go for help.” (Matthew 9:36) Jesus never became apathetic towards the lost. Throughout his life, his heart went out to those who were wandering through this world without meaning and purpose—and so should ours.
So, the idea here is to be concerned and caring for those without God, to be compassionate for them. But let’s be honest. For some of us here it can be so easy to forget about those without God and just play church. We get up on Sunday morning, we dress, we drive, we park in about the same spot, we walk through the church in the same way, we sit in about the same spot. We get into this routine and we play church—sometimes without even thinking and without even caring about those who don’t know anything about Jesus.
If you’re a Christian, let me ask you a question. It’s the same question I ask myself: “When was the last time you talked to somebody about Jesus? Or pointed them to Jesus? When was the last time you grieved or mourned over those who were without Jesus?” I encourage you to think about that. Church is not supposed to be a holy huddle where we get all the little Christians together in a circle and sing “Kum By Ya.” To mourn as Jesus mourns means that we really understand and believe in our soul that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and we mourn for the friend or the teacher or the relative, the coach, the neighbor who doesn’t know about Jesus.
Now, I'm not saying that it’s your job or my job to convert people. Our job is just to tell them about Jesus, to point them in the right direction. We’ve talked ourselves into believing that sharing our faith means giving a long speech and having all the answers to questions people ask. No wonder we’re terrified at the thought of sharing our faith! But let me give you a simple definition of evangelism: Loving somebody in the name of Jesus. Did you know that? There are people in this church involved in Camp Wildwood and food banks. They’re involved in evangelism. Those people who’ve opened their homes to small groups? That’s evangelism. Those of you who help plan youth group and VBS and hand out popsicles in the name of Christ or welcome visitors—you’re involved in evangelism. Anytime you show love to someone in the name of Jesus you’re involved in evangelism, because that’s what evangelism is—it’s showing God’s love to people.
But we have to do it!! We can’t just hope that they’ll see the church sign or a note in the newspaper or our web-site and come visiting us. Those things may be helpful, but people need to see Jesus in us. Then they need to find out about Jesus, by hearing or reading about Him. Invite them to a church activity, put a gospel in their hands. Give them the book of John and let them read about Jesus. Love people genuinely. People respond to that. They’ll be drawn to you and through you to Jesus. Jesus is the way. Maybe we’ve forgotten that, or perhaps we don’t really believe it anymore…? If we did, we would mourn for those who don’t know Him, and try to do something.
2- JESUS IS THE TRUTH, SO MAKE THE PURSUIT OF THE TRUTH A PRIORITY. It never ceases to amaze me how people—even Christians—are so easily misled. Just look at the reaction to The DaVinci Code. Some people are clapping their hands in delight, thinking that Christianity has finally been discredited. Some Christians are slinking away afraid that the faith they’ve built their lives on is nothing but a house of cards. It’s amazing! It’s not as though Dan Brown is proposing something that can be reasonably defended, or that he presents arguments that are hard to refute. Anybody who has done any reading in church history or theology can see a thousand holes in Brown’s claims, which have virtually no grounding in fact. But you’ll never know that if you don’t make the pursuit of truth a priority.
I know some of you may not agree with me, but I’ll make the statement anyway. Every Christian should have a basic grasp of church history and theology. But too many of us are contenting ourselves with drinking milk like an infant when we should be eating the solid food of God’s Word. What is it the writer to the Hebrews said? “You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures. You are like babies who drink only milk and cannot eat solid food.” (Hebrews 5:12). Let’s move beyond milk. We think that having a Sunday School grasp of our faith is enough, and then when the winds of heresy blow through, we’re surprised when our faith fails. It’s because we’ve not made the pursuit of truth a priority in our lives. We need to do that. We need to, in the words of Peter, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15).
If you’re here and you’re not a Christian, you’ve come to the right church. This is a place where we honor the seeking process. We’re not the type of church that says, “Don’t scratch below the surface because we might be exposed.” Not at all! We encourage you to pursue truth and ask questions. Jesus said, “Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7) Pursue truth.
3- JESUS IS THE LIFE, SO MOVE FROM A RELIGION TO A RELATIONSHIP. If I could get seekers to understand one thing about Christianity, it would be this: Christianity is about a relationship. Paul wrote: “everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:8). Christianity is about a relationship. It’s not about a denomination or a church. Jesus is the instant and the intimate way to connect to God. In your outlines, above “religion” write “routine”. Let me challenge you this morning to move from a routine to a relationship.
True Christianity is not about obeying God out of obligation but out of desire. That’s what a relationship is. I am deeply concerned that some of us here today may be more religious than Christian, and church more a routine than a relationship. Is God the Lord of your life—the One you’re getting to know on a deeper and deeper level day after day? Or is God just another one of those things you do on a weekly basis? That’s the difference between religion and Christianity. Or to put it another way: Religion is spelled “DO”. Christianity is spelled “DONE”. Religion is something you do. You go to church. You pay your tithe. You serve on the committee. With Christianity, it’s done. It was done a long time ago on a Cross on Calvary. Rather than just doing, we’re getting to know the One who said, “It is done! It is finished.”
If you’ve made Jesus into a routine, let me encourage you to personalize him. Listen to what Peter tells us will happen as we seek to deepen our relationship with Jesus: “May God bless you with his special favor and wonderful peace as you come to know Jesus, our God and Lord, better and better. As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness!” (2 Peter 1:2-3).
Develop a relationship with Him that is growing, authentic, genuine, real. Move away from the trappings of routine and religion. Embrace Him as Saviour and Friend. Come to experience all that Jesus meant when he said, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.” |