Who is Jesus?

close replica of what we had hanging behind the choir of the church I spent most of my growing up years in in.....

or perhaps you prefer a more functional Jesus

or perhaps the risen Lord.....

Whatever your ideal picture of Jesus, the best one comes from Scripture and never gives us a literal photograph of our savior

But John gives us a clear purpose for his writing about Jesus....

As we move into the thrid of 6 talks on the foundation of ministry, we are focusing today on the importance of a proper concept of Jesus

Jesus was constantly going after our lack of belief in Him

In the gospel of John are recorded 7 miracles, the fewest of any of the gospels, and appears 4 times to the disciples after his resurrection

the word sign - an event that authenticates something.....

But John says twice, here and in the next chapter that he had to choose, because there is so much more that Jesus did that he didn't have space for......

Chose this slide because it is memorial day weekend

To jump out of an airplane like this you have to trust your equipment........


Jesus invites you to trust Him

to accept

to acknowledge

to believe

to receive

all words used to translate the word believe

SO:
if you are a seasoned believer and are experiencing some doubt - John's gospel is a good place to be

if you are a young believer and looking to strengthen your faith - John's gospel is a good place to be

if you are curious about Jesus and have never put your trust in Him, then John's gospel is a good place to be

Because Jesus is trying to cinvince you that He is worthy of your trust

Jesus

His name means savior

His name points to his mission - as Matthew 1:21 reminds us....She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

When you hear the name Jesus we are being told abou thte man, his humanity,

a historically verifiable birth in Bethlehem

raised in Nazareth

lived and worked throughout Israel

died in Jerusalem

who defeated death and rose again from the dead......

Not a fairy tale, not a bed time story, not a myth

A man willing to sacrifice himself to rescue others.......

(Illus. Read the CMOH of Thomas Payne......)

But Jesus the man is only half the story.....

These bottles are waiting to be redeemed.......

The uniquely annointed and chosen one by the Father to save His people from their sins

A unique theme in the book of Acts where Jesus the man is repeatedly identified as being the Messiah - 17 times in Acts alone and 74 times in the New testament

Acts 2:36 - “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

Acts 26:23 -
that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”

So why is this important

Jesus is the personal name of Jesus and his title is the Christ, the annointed one - for the Jewish world the messiah was God's chosen redeemer who was to come and was illustrated in other titles that point ot the Messiah as King of Israel, the Son of Man, and Son of God, which is next

So God has uniquely placed in history and equipped Jesus to be our Savior and redeemer - the Christ

So when you think about Jesus Christ, you have been thinking about God's provided way of salvation from our sins.....as Jesus says himself in John 14:6 I am the ......way

And I would ask - why are you looing anywhere else?

He has divine lineage, used 71 times in the NT to describe Jesus

He comes from, abides in, and is one with the Father

speaks what the father speaks

knows what the father knows

see john 15

Mark's introduction puts three of these titles together....

Mark 1:1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,

Thomas calls Jesus My Lord and my God.....John 20:28

Which means - among other things jesus has the power and ability to Save!

Why look anywhere else?

Life - word used to describe something that is alive versus something that is dead

has the character of something that is living

(Illus. Characteristics of life - the 7 processes of life that define all living organisms - biology 101 Breen p. 141)

physically alive

spirtually alive

eternally alive

In Jesus we have

Life versus death
Hope vs despair
fullness vs emptiness
salvation vs condemnation

Abundant life now and eternal life later Jn 10:10

Jesus model for living provides the most comprehensive approach to living life to the fullest than any other option on earth

Show "this card"

THe fact that Jesus has paid it all


John 14:6 - I am the way the truth and the life

Acts 10:43 - 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Luke 24:44-47 Jesus himself says ....45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Acts 4:12 -

tell my story........

When I was trying to figure out whether to follow Jesus or not....

We were in the early stages of cleaning out a chicken barn

emptying chicken feeders and salvaging the feed to be used when the next load of chicks arrives

and my co-worker got his thumb stuck with something near the feeder and let out this big

Jesus Christ!!

I went home wondering why he said that? Why do people say that? Why not Buddha or Mohammed, or Yogi something or other.......

It was a pivotal moment in my journey to salvation.....because I remember my pastor at the time teaching on this text.....