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00:02 Who is Jesus? That's a question that has been asked for over 2,000 years. People asked it
00:10 back before the crucifixion and resurrection. They have continued to ask that. They're still asking today. They
00:18 ask the question, they debate about it. People give various answers.
00:24 Who is Jesus? Today we're going to look first of all at answers that were given in the text
00:30 that you just heard read. What various people in Jesus day, still only partway
00:36 through his ministry, what they thought about who Jesus really was. And then we're going to look at how Jesus was
00:43 continuing to reveal himself to those around him. He would reveal who he was and then he
00:50 would reveal a little more and then he would come back and reinforce that so
00:55 they would understand exactly who he said he was. And then after we look at
01:00 what Jesus said about his identity through what he did and what he said then we want to come back to the
01:06 question and ask today what are people saying about Jesus and then we'll
01:11 conclude by asking based on who Jesus is
01:17 how will you respond how will I respond because you see Jesus is not a neutral
01:24 figure every time Jesus appears in scripture what he says And what he does
01:31 elicits a response from the people. What he says will call people to make
01:37 decisions to make choices. And today he is still working in the
01:43 same way. He works in our hearts. He's speaking to us through his Holy Spirit
01:48 and he's calling for a response from each one of us to who he is.
01:54 Before looking at the responses the people gave in the text, just let's look just briefly at the background of the
02:00 passage starts off with after this. Well, what is after this? If you
02:07 remember a couple of weeks ago in the sermon, we saw that Jesus was in Galilee
02:12 and he had fed 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish.
02:18 And this was such a spectacular miracle that some of the people wanted to take him and make him to be king. A physical,
02:25 earthly, powerful king that would take care of all of their physical needs. But
02:30 Jesus got away because that was not his purpose. The people found him and they were
02:37 asking him where he was and what he was doing. And he was saying, "You're only here because you want more bread.
02:44 There's not going to be any more bread, guys. you need to be concerned about the type of bread that I can give you that
02:50 will bring eternal life. And then we see because of some of the
02:56 hard things that Jesus told the people that many of those who had been following him now had left
03:04 and it was just him and the 12. And Jesus asked them and they responded.
03:10 Peter being their spokesman said, "Lord, we're going to stay with you because you have the words of eternal life. We have
03:18 believed and have come to know that you are the holy one of God." So that statement there is the first
03:25 hint that we have in what we'll look at today of who Jesus is. Because when
03:30 Peter said to Jesus, "You are the holy one of God." Jesus accepted that
03:36 statement agreeing. Yes, that's right, Peter. Well, the text says that after
03:42 this Jesus went about in Galilee and would not go to Judea. Why? Because the
03:50 Jews were seeking to kill him. Now, do you remember why the Jews were seeking to kill him?
03:57 We had that sermon about four weeks ago. But if you don't remember, I can
04:02 understand because you probably do remember when the lights went out and the power went off and the microphone
04:09 failed and the slides went off and poor Masimo had to try to get through the
04:14 sermon before everybody died of the heat in here.
04:19 Well, just a brief review of some of what we might have missed because we were so distracted in that sermon. Jesus
04:26 had gone back to Jerusalem. Seems like every time he went to Jerusalem, he'd cause a stir. And in Jerusalem, he
04:33 healed a man. Not bad. Problem was, he healed the man on the Sabbath. He was
04:40 working on the Sabbath. He broke a religious law. But worse than that, then he claimed
04:46 that he had the authority to break that law. Basically saying he was the Lord of
04:52 the Sabbath. and he referred to God as his father. So
04:57 the Jewish leaders were very angry and they said, "And the Jews were seeking to kill him." It said in John 5:1 18. Why?
05:07 Because he was not only breaking the Sabbath, but he was calling God his
05:12 father. And here's the clincher. He was making himself equal with God.
05:19 So both of those things annoyed the Jewish leaders because somebody was claiming to be God.
05:27 Well, we see Jesus, it was time for the Jewish feast of booths or in the
05:32 translation we heard read the feast of the tabernacles. Now what is the feast of tabernacles or the feast of booths?
05:39 Well, when we hear the word feast, we usually think about Macan and we think, "Hey man, great. Let's go get something
05:44 to eat." Yes, they had food, of course, but it was much more than just a time to go eat
05:50 and have a big party. There were three religious festivals every year that all
05:56 Israelite males were required to attend in Jerusalem. This feast lasted an entire week. It
06:03 wasn't just one great big meal. It was a celebration going back to remember what
06:09 God had done for the people as he provided for them when they had been freed from slavery in Egypt. And then
06:16 the next 40 years they were going through the desert wandering there on
06:22 their way to the promised land. And God provided them with food and God provided
06:27 them with water and God's presence was evident among them. So they're celebrating and remembering this
06:34 wonderful time when God had worked in their history. Well, Jesus' brothers were heading up to
06:40 the feast. They wanted Jesus to go along with them, but Jesus said, "No, he was not going to
06:47 go." Now, what is going on here? The brothers are
06:52 trying to tell Jesus, "You need to come to the feast." But he's not going to do it. I'm sorry. I'm one slide ahead of
06:58 myself. The brothers had said, "Come with us, and when you go, there's where
07:04 you can do all your miracles." The brothers knew that he had just lost a lot of his followers. A lot of them
07:12 had turned away. So, they're trying to give him some marketing advice. Now, Jesus, if you want to be successful, if
07:18 you want to attract a large crowd, you need to go to Jerusalem. That's
07:23 where the people are. and all you got to do is just throw just do a bunch of miracles just like you did earlier.
07:30 You'll have a crowd. Jesus said no. That's not what he was
07:36 interested in. He was not wanting to draw a large crowd of people who were merely spectators. He wasn't wanting to
07:43 draw in people who were interested only in what they could get for themselves.
07:49 He had another purpose. And so he was not going to go in a public way. He knew that if he went with his brothers in a
07:56 public way, when he got to Jerusalem, one of two things would happen.
08:01 One, the Pharisees, the religious leaders would try to kill him, and it was not
08:07 yet his time. We'll come back to that phrase. Or two, he was afraid the crowd
08:13 would mob him like they tried to after he fed the 5,000, and they would try to make him king of an earthly kingdom. And
08:19 again, that was not his goal. So Jesus said, "No, I'm not going up to the feast."
08:26 But then later he does. But even before he gets to the feast, we
08:32 see that the Jewish people were muttering and murmuring and kind of
08:37 gossiping, whispering among themselves. And they were saying among themselves, "Who is Jesus?" Well, some said, "He's a
08:46 good man." Others would say, "No, he is leading the
08:52 people astray." Now, they weren't speaking loud because they too were afraid that the Jewish leaders might get
08:58 on their case. But we have these conflicting opinions already even before Jesus shows up at the feast.
09:06 Who is Jesus? Some said he's a good man. Basically, a positive review of who
09:12 Jesus was. Nothing negative. generally supportive, but yet they're still
09:18 lacking the divine insights or the insights from scripture to realize that Jesus might be more than just a good
09:25 man. But then we also see others saying he's a deceiver. He leads people astray.
09:32 Maybe these people had heard the Pharisees speak. Maybe they had heard the religious leaders say that Jesus was
09:39 an impostor, a deceiver. Maybe they too were uncomfortable with the fact that Jesus had broken the Sabbath. Were
09:47 uncomfortable the fact that Jesus was claiming that he was divine, that God
09:52 was his father. Well, when Jesus finally does show up at
09:58 the festival, he begins to teach. And when he teaches, he amazes even the
10:05 Jewish leaders. And this is what they say. How is it that this man has
10:10 learning? Or another translation, how can he be so educated?
10:15 He's not ever studied. What it means is that Jesus was
10:20 well-versed in the scriptures. He was an authority in the scriptures.
10:26 So some were saying not only that he was a good man or a deceiver, but others were adding, well,
10:32 he's a great teacher. He is wellversed in the scripture. But it wasn't long before Jesus offended
10:39 some people in his teaching and people cried out, "You have a
10:44 demon." Now, they weren't probably were not making a theological statement as much
10:50 as they were just saying, "You're crazy. You're a lunatic.
10:55 You're stark raving mad, Jesus." So, look at the various opinions we have
11:02 so far of Jesus. Good man, deceiver, good teacher, crazy person.
11:10 Well, when we keep going in the passage, we find one more answer that is given by the people. And we find this answer in
11:17 two places. First of all, in verse 31, many people are saying he must be the
11:22 Christ because when the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this? No.
11:30 this must be the Christ because nobody else can do what this man is doing. And then a little bit later, it wasn't in
11:37 the text that was read, but still at this same feast in Jerusalem, others were saying Jesus is the Christ and
11:45 Christ is the Greek word for Messiah. He is the Messiah, the promised one that
11:50 God would send, the one the prophets had foretold, the deliverer, the savior, the
11:56 king. So, a wide variety of opinions that people gave answering the question,
12:02 who is Jesus? Well, now let's look at what Jesus said.
12:08 How he further revealed his identity to the people. And when I say further
12:15 revealed what he did, it's because he has already been revealing himself. And
12:20 what he says and does in our text today is really nothing new. It's just a confirmation of what he has already
12:27 said. So to remind us of what Jesus has already revealed to the people, let's go
12:34 back and review a little bit about what we have seen so far in the Gospel of John. John chapter 1 is when Jesus first
12:41 appears in public ministry. He goes to where John, John the Baptist,
12:46 is baptizing. And as Jesus approaches John who has been preaching repentance, John sees
12:53 Jesus and he says, "Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
13:02 world." Quite a strong statement about who Jesus is. Now remember, John was the messenger
13:10 who was to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. And when he sees Jesus, he said, "This is the one. He
13:17 will take away your sins." And John continues to say that Jesus
13:24 was before him, even though John was born first. So by saying that somebody
13:30 born after you is before you, that means they were in existence before they were born. He's referring to the
13:36 pre-existence of Jesus. So shortly after Jesus makes his first
13:42 appearance in ministry, we see him coming to Jerusalem.
13:47 And the next and when he goes up to Jerusalem, he's going to cause a stir like he
13:52 always did. When he gets to Jerusalem, he goes into the temple like he owns the
13:59 place. He acts like he's the one that's in charge. He acts like he's the one that
14:06 can determine what is appropriate worship and what is not appropriate.
14:12 He's the one that has the authority to say what should or should not happen in the temple. And he even calls the temple
14:18 his father's house. It's his temple. He's saying
14:25 what a claim. I'm sure some of the people that heard and saw what Jesus did remembered the
14:32 words of the prophet Malachi when Malachi was saying, "Behold, I send my messenger."
14:39 They're thinking John the Baptist, "And he will prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly
14:46 come to his temple." Could Jesus be this one prophesied by Malachi? Is he the
14:52 Lord that is coming? It wasn't long whilst long later while
15:00 still in Jerusalem, Jesus talking to one of the Jewish religious leaders said that if you believe in me as the son of
15:09 God, then you will have eternal life. Believing in me, Jesus said, will result
15:15 in you being born again and that will open the doors to the kingdom of heaven
15:20 for you to enter. Again, very bold claims by Jesus. And then the next time
15:26 he Jesus goes to Jerusalem, that's when he healed the man on the Sabbath. And so we see all of these audacious claims
15:32 that Jesus is making to be equal with God.
15:38 Also, we see the events of the ministry that Jesus had in Galilee as Jesus is revealing who he is. You remember he
15:46 went to a wedding in Canaa and while there he changed water into wine, not
15:51 because he was a party boy. Not only was he affirming the sanctity of marriage,
15:57 but he was showing other things as he turned the water into wine. Remember the wine that he produced was the best wine.
16:06 And when you think what makes a wine good, one of the main things is the age
16:12 of the wine. And aged wine is much better. And so if Jesus is able to
16:18 produce the best wine and aged wine, that shows he is Lord over time.
16:27 What an incredible claim. He's Lord over time. Plus the
16:34 approaching messianic kingdom was characterized in the minds of the people
16:39 as being filled with an abundance of wine. So they're seeing Jesus as Lord
16:46 over time. Jesus is the one who might be ushering in the new messianic age. And
16:52 we've already mentioned in Galilee his ministry with the 5000 and how he made these claims afterwards saying that if
16:59 you receive me, if you partake of me, that will bring eternal life. And I will
17:06 raise you up on the last day. He has power to give life. Power to raise
17:13 people back to life on the last day. So Jesus is very clearly claiming to be
17:21 God. And this was understood not only by his friends, this was understood by his
17:27 foes, by his enemies. So let's look at some of the text that Jesus of what Jesus said and did that we just heard
17:34 read today. In verse 7, Jesus is telling his brothers that are
17:40 wanting him to get up and go to the feast with them. He says, "The world cannot hate you, but
17:47 it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil."
17:54 Jesus is saying that one thing he does is that he exposes sin.
18:01 When the presence of Jesus is there, anything else will fall short of his
18:08 glory. Sin will be exposed. And this is very similar to what Jesus had said earlier
18:15 back in chapter 3 19 when he was referring to himself as the light that
18:21 has come into the world. But people love darkness rather than light. Why? Because
18:28 their works were evil. Everyone that does evil hates the light and does not
18:34 come to the light. So here in chapter 7, Jesus is saying the same thing. The
18:40 world hates me. Why? because he is the light that shines a light on the sin of
18:45 people. Jesus also tells his brothers,
18:51 "No one works in secret if he sees the thing he I'm sorry, his brothers told
18:57 him, go to Judea that your disciples may see the works you are doing. For no one
19:03 works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you will do these things,
19:09 show yourself to the world. But Jesus does not take their bait. Jesus shows to
19:15 his brothers that his time, his life is 100% in sync with the will
19:24 of God. If God tells him to go to Jerusalem, he'll go. If God doesn't tell him to go
19:31 to Jerusalem, he won't go. And his understanding, his relationship to God is so perfect, there is no
19:38 misunderstanding. He knows what God wants and when God wants it. And so he's not falling for
19:45 his brother's marketing device. He's not interested in these crowds that might
19:50 just be superficial coming only for miracles. He's not here on earth to put on a show
19:56 to gather curious bystanders, but rather he has come to give his life as a sacrifice for sin. He has come to
20:04 reconcile people to God. So Jesus time was in God's hand. And we
20:11 see that in verse six when Jesus said my time has not yet come.
20:17 Now what does he mean when he says my time? He doesn't mean it's not just he doesn't mean it's not my time to go to
20:23 Jerusalem. When he's saying in my time, and this is repeated several times, he's
20:30 referring to the climax, the culmination of his ministry on earth, when at the
20:35 end of his earthly ministry, he would enter Jerusalem one final time during
20:41 Passover week as the Passover lamb. But on that entrance, it would not be in
20:48 secret like this time was, but it would be open with large throngs of people
20:53 singing praise and recognizing and acclaiming him as the Messiah.
20:59 But at that time, he would then be crucified, his life being sacrificed as the
21:06 Passover lamb for forgiveness of sin. and then he would be raised from the
21:11 dead and he would then ascend back to God. So Jesus knew why he had come to
21:18 earth and he was not afraid to go into danger. He was willing to follow God's
21:23 will even at the risk of bodily harm and death. But he knew it was not yet time to make
21:30 this final sacrifice. He still had more teaching to do, more
21:35 works to do. His disciples needed some more training. So we see Jesus by what
21:42 he is telling his brothers here is saying that his timing, his actions are
21:48 100% in sync with what God wants him to do. And he's not going to let himself be
21:55 pressured by peers or even family who are trying to influence him to do
22:01 something that is not in God's will. Well, what else did Jesus reveal about
22:06 himself in this passage? Well, his he reveals that his teaching is not really
22:12 his teaching, but it's God's teaching. He said, "My teaching is not mine, but
22:18 my teaching belongs to him. It's God's teaching, God who sent me." Jesus also
22:24 claims that his authority comes from God.
22:30 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory. But the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is
22:36 true and in him there is no falsehood. So Jesus said, "My authority is God's
22:43 authority." He also says he has come only to seek the glory of God, not to selfishly try
22:51 to win the acclaim of man. And he also said there's no falsehood in him.
22:58 what he says is truth. How he lives is truth. There's no unrighteousness in
23:04 him. And just by looking at this passage of how Jesus talks about himself and his
23:09 teaching, we can see a good contrast with those who might be false teachers. Because the
23:15 false teachers do seek their own glory and often their own wealth to go with
23:21 it. False teachers will not always speak the truth
23:26 and often times false teachers do have unrighteousness in their life.
23:33 So Jesus is claiming his authority is from God that what he says is true and what he is doing brings glory to God.
23:41 And then Jesus goes on to say that he knows God intimately
23:47 because he has come from God. We see this in verse 28. I have not come
23:55 from myself, but the one who sent me is true, whom you do not know. I know him
24:03 because I am from him and he sent me. Again a very strong and provocative
24:11 statement from Jesus because first of all he is saying you folks even you
24:17 religious leaders do not truly know God.
24:22 Amazing that you're talking to the religious leaders and saying you don't know who you're talking about. You don't
24:29 know the God of the scripture. Yes, you know some facts about him.
24:35 Yes, you are versed in the scripture. You have some good head knowledge.
24:41 Yes, you're following rules and regulations. Yes, you're doing the right religious
24:47 rituals, but your heart is far from God. You're
24:52 not in a personal relationship with God. There's something missing in your
24:58 relationship with God. You don't know him. By contrast, Jesus says he knows God and
25:07 he knows him intimately and personally because he has come from God. He has
25:13 been with God in heaven from before the foundation of the earth. He is the preexistent son of God, active with God
25:21 in creation. Now sent by God to earth
25:26 for the purpose of bringing people into a relationship with God. for the purpose
25:31 of helping people to come to know God in a personal way through faith. Of course,
25:38 Jesus knew God. He came from God. And not only did he come from God, Jesus
25:45 also makes the claim he is going back to God. We see that in verse 33 and following.
25:52 Jesus said, "I will be with you a little longer and then I am going to him who
25:58 sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am, you cannot
26:06 come. Now, this frustrated the religious leaders. They're wondering, "What in the
26:11 world did Jesus mean?" when he says, "I'm going someplace and you can't come. You'll seek me and you can't find me."
26:19 So, the only thing they could think of was he must be going to the Gentiles
26:26 because they knew that's a place they would never go. And if Jesus went to the
26:31 Gentiles, they would not follow him. They would not find him.
26:37 Now, a few weeks ago, we talked about Samaritans. How the Jewish people despised the Samaritans and looked down
26:43 on them because they were from a different ethnic group, a different religious background, and they just
26:49 considered themselves to be superior to those other people. Samaritans were
26:54 dogs. And not dogs the way some of you think of as a nice little pet, but more dogs
26:60 in the way Muslims would think of dogs. you just don't like them.
27:06 Gentiles were worse than Samaritans. So, it's interesting. The Jewish leaders are
27:11 thinking, "Well, Jesus must be going to teach the Gentiles and we never would go there." And it's somewhat ironic
27:19 because even though Jesus did not go on to the Gentiles, that's exactly where he
27:25 is sending his followers to go after his crucifixion and resurrection. He tells his followers, "You are to go to the
27:32 Gentiles. You are to teach people that come from a different ethnic background
27:37 than you, from a different religious background from you. Go where
27:44 where other people have not heard. Go outside your comfort zone." As our missionary this morning was saying, go
27:51 to these people. So, it's almost prophetic in what the Jewish leaders are
27:57 saying. Is he going to the Gentiles? But no, that's not what Jesus is talking
28:02 about. He's talking here about his upcoming crucifixion and resurrection
28:09 that will be happening maybe six months down the road, knowing that after the resurrection,
28:15 shortly thereafter, he will be ascending back to God and he will be in heaven at the right hand of God.
28:23 This was so confusing that not even the disciples understood. And this thought comes up again and again. And it's not
28:29 until chapter 16 that the disciples really understand what Jesus means when
28:34 he said, "Where I am, you cannot come." Because Jesus tells his disciples that
28:40 in John chapter 16, I came from the father and have come into the world. Now
28:46 I am leaving the world and going back to the father.
28:51 So with everything that we have seen Jesus say and do in this passage as well as everything we have seen him say and
28:58 do earlier, you can see why the religious leaders consider Jesus to be a threat. He was
29:06 claiming to have more authority than they. He was claiming to know God better
29:12 than they. He was claiming to be the Messiah.
29:18 He was claiming to be the son of God. He was claiming to be divine. And these
29:26 claims continued throughout the rest of his ministry. In the next chapter, for instance, he ha he claims that he has
29:32 power to forgive sins. But only God can forgive sins.
29:40 In the next chapter, he also uses the divine name I am to describe himself. A
29:46 very clear statement. of who he says he is. So clear that the
29:51 Pharisees then pick up stones. They want to stone him to death and kill him.
29:56 And jumping to the end of the gospel of John after the crucifixion and resurrection when Jesus appears to his
30:04 disciple Thomas. Do you remember what Thomas response was?
30:10 My Lord and my God. And Jesus received his worship. He
30:16 didn't say, "Oh, no, Thomas, don't say that." People bowed down to Peter in the book
30:23 of Acts. He said, 'Don't do that. I'm just a man. People bowed down to Paul also in the book of Acts. Paul said,
30:29 don't do that. I'm just a man. Worship God only. Jesus,
30:35 when confronted with the statement of faith, you are my Lord and my God. Jesus
30:41 accepted the worship. Not only did he accept the worship, he commended the worship. And he said, "This response is
30:49 what true faith really is." So no doubt about it, Jesus is claiming divinity.
30:59 Jesus is God. God the Son, God come in the flesh in order to provide
31:06 forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with God, a meaningful fulfilled life here on
31:12 this earth, as well as eternity with God in heaven after this life is over.
31:19 So, who is Jesus? We've seen what some of the early people
31:24 thought in Jesus day. We've heard and seen many of the things that Jesus said
31:29 about himself. Well, what about today? What do people today say in answer to
31:36 the question, who is Jesus? Well, let's go back to this list. You'll
31:41 remember that list. That's what the people said back then.
31:47 Then if you look at it, most people who've given any serious thought or
31:53 study to who Jesus might be have come up with pretty much the same list very
31:60 similar to what people are saying today. Now we could combine points one and point three. A good man or a good
32:06 teacher well-versed in the scripture. When we look at point two, yeah, people
32:14 are still saying that today. He's a deceiver. He's a liar
32:21 because he claimed to be God and he's really not. Point three also remains
32:26 basically the same. He's a lunatic. He's a deluded person. He's crazy. I mean,
32:33 after all, he has fooled himself into thinking that he's God.
32:38 Or the other response, he is the Messiah. He is the son of God. He is God
32:44 incarnate. He is who he said he was. So let's look at these responses, these
32:52 four responses, because these are really about the only serious theories you
32:58 could come up with if you're really trying to search and find out who Jesus is. And of these possibilities,
33:06 one is totally impossible. Two, I think, are highly improbable,
33:14 and only one seems to be the most logical, inescapable answer.
33:22 Well, let's start off with the one that I say is impossible.
33:27 That Jesus is a good man, a good teacher, a prophet. You see, many people
33:33 say this. The third president of the United States, he said Jesus was a great guy.
33:39 But you know what he did? The third president, I'm not talking about the current president, the third one. Thomas
33:44 Jefferson, back 1800, he was elected. Long time ago, Thomas Jefferson thought Jesus was a
33:50 great guy. But you know what he did? He took scissors and he cut out parts of the Bible, the New Testament, that he
33:57 disagreed with. He then compiled his own Bible and there was absolutely nothing
34:03 miraculous in it about Jesus. Well, he's not looking at who Jesus is. He's
34:08 looking at who he wish Jesus was because he wants to say Jesus is a good teacher, but he cannot reconcile Jesus being a
34:16 good teacher with everything that Jesus said, with everything that Jesus taught.
34:22 Other religions might say Jesus is a prophet. Well, he did bring a message from God,
34:30 but a prophet will bring a true message from God. And as we have seen over and over and over again, just in the few
34:37 minutes we've talked this morning, Jesus claimed again and again, I am the son of
34:43 God. If he was a prophet, he must have been a false prophet,
34:50 or else he's more than a prophet. So you can't say he's just merely a good man,
34:58 merely a good teacher who taught exquisite things, who lived a good life.
35:07 No, if you look at what Jesus taught, unless you throw out over half of it, you won't
35:14 come up with the idea that he was just a good teacher and leave it there. There's got to be more.
35:22 So, we can pretty much cross that one out. I said there were there was one
35:29 answer that's really impossible if you look at all of the evidence and two were
35:34 improbable. The two that were improbable would be the next two. And before we
35:41 look at those, I want to point out what a Scottish preacher said. a Scottish
35:47 Presbyterian minister. For some reason, he went by the nickname of Rabbi Duncan.
35:52 He was not a Jewish rabbi, but somehow he got that nickname from his congregation. But the Scottish minister
35:58 said Christ either deceived humankind by a conscious fraud
36:03 or he was deluded or he was divine. And there's no getting
36:09 out of that trilmma. Trilmma only three choices that could be
36:16 there. Either Jesus was deceiving people,
36:21 he was deluded, or he's exactly who he said he was.
36:27 So the second and the third theory are really very similar to each other. Yes,
36:33 I know there's a difference in lying with evil intent and purposely deceiving other people or then telling things that
36:41 aren't true because you're purposely deluded. But either way, deception is
36:46 going on. Both number two and number three, being a deceiver or being a crazy person, show that Jesus is guilty of
36:55 trying to deceive people. in the first. Number two, he's deceiving
37:01 people with an evil intent. Number three, as a lunatic, he's deceiving people because he has also deceived
37:08 himself. So whether wittingly or unwittingly, he is deceiving people.
37:15 But there's problems with this. How could a person who was purposely lying
37:20 or totally delusional, how can this square with the life and
37:27 the teachings of Jesus? In our story from John chapter 7, the
37:33 Pharisees wanted to arrest Jesus and they sent guards to arrest him. Later in
37:39 the chapter, we'll see the guards came back and they didn't have Jesus. And the leader said, "Where is he? Why didn't
37:45 you bring him?" And they said,"Nobody has taught like him. Have you listened
37:52 to his words? Have you observed him? This man must be from God."
38:00 And when we look at Jesus teachings, these teachings have inspired people, given people hope, given people life,
38:08 given people peace, meaning in life, love for hundreds and hundreds and
38:15 hundreds of years through hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of different cultures around the world. How is it
38:21 that these teachings could impact so many people from so many varied
38:27 backgrounds over so many centuries if they didn't have something to them
38:35 and look at his life. He didn't come trying to gain power. He was not a
38:40 military leader, a political leader. He was not a massing wealth. But he lived a life of sacrificial service,
38:48 showing deeds of compassion and mercy. And the people that knew him best, that
38:53 knew the truth about him, even the judge that tried him before his
39:00 crucifixion, found no fault in him. So, it's highly unlikely that a deceiver or
39:08 a lunatic could teach like Jesus taught for three years or could live a life
39:14 like Jesus did publicly for so many years. So, I think we can really get rid of
39:21 those two possibilities as improbable. And that leaves us with the final one
39:28 that Jesus is who he said he is. He's the Messiah, the son of God.
39:36 So based on who Jesus is, how will you respond?
39:44 Who do you say Jesus is?
39:49 Who is Jesus to you? Not that you have the freedom to make up your own Jesus, but looking at the true
39:56 historical facts about Jesus, what does he mean to you? How have you
40:02 responded to him personally? And really, there's only two choices.
40:08 You either believe in him or you do not. There's no middle ground. Jesus has
40:14 already showed us that there is no middle ground. You might remember back in John chapter 3, he said, 'Whoever
40:20 believes on the Son of God is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is already
40:28 condemned. No middle ground. Jesus also said, "If you're not for me, you're against me."
40:36 No riding the fence, no middle of the road. If you're having trouble deciding who
40:42 Jesus is, maybe you're a seeker, maybe you're just getting started and you're wanting to learn more about Jesus and
40:49 you haven't really understood or decided who Jesus is. Consider these words of
40:55 Jesus in chapter 7:E1 17 that we heard read earlier. Jesus said, "If anyone's
41:02 will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God."
41:08 Or in another translation, if anyone wants to do God's will, he will know about my teachings, whether it is from
41:16 God. Basically, Jesus is saying, if you want to know the truth, you need to be
41:23 committed to doing God's will. If you want to make a proper decision
41:29 with good discernment, that's only going to happen if you're committed to doing God's will.
41:36 I can remember several years ago meeting a young man and we were in a discussion with Christians and non-Christians
41:43 alike. And this man was a non-Christian, but he made an interesting comment. He
41:48 said, "I would really like to believe, but I just can't."
41:56 That's interesting. I'd like to believe, but I can't.
42:01 So, I was curious and I was wanting to find out, you know, what's going on here. I thought possibly, well, maybe
42:08 the reason he can't believe is because he has not yet studied the scriptures enough. He has not been confronted with
42:14 the claims that Jesus made about himself and therefore he can't believe yet
42:20 because he has not really studied to see who Jesus is. But with a little bit more
42:26 discussion, I found out no, that was not the case. And so then I thought, well, possibly his problem is pride.
42:34 Well, I'd like to be like you poor little Christians that have a nice little crutch to get through life. I could sometimes use a crutch, but my
42:41 intellect is so superior, I cannot just bring myself to believe something.
42:47 Some of the most brilliant minds, some of the most brilliant people who have ever lived are followers of Jesus.
42:55 They're believers. Some of the most brilliant people who have ever lived have rejected Jesus.
43:03 It really doesn't have that much to do with your intelligence.
43:08 And in talking with this young man further, I realized no, he wasn't prideful and puffed up and saying, "Hey,
43:13 I'm so much superior to all of you." What I think the problem was with this young man was
43:21 it was a matter of the will. You see, if you want to believe in
43:26 Jesus, if you want to recognize that his teaching truly is of God and then respond in faith to him, you have to be
43:33 willing to do God's will. And I think that was the problem.
43:40 I would like to believe, but I can't because I am not willing to submit
43:46 myself to the lordship of Christ. I would like to believe, but I'm not
43:51 going to because I don't want to confess my sin and repent.
43:58 I would like to believe to get the advantages that that offers,
44:03 but I see a lot of other things that I don't want to turn from. Not willing to
44:09 do God's will. So, who is Jesus and how will you respond to him? Your answer is going to
44:16 be largely based on whether you're willing to do God's will. No matter what
44:22 that is, there really only two options.
44:27 We mentioned earlier, believe or not believe. The same thing is said but use
44:33 using different words in John chapter 1 11 and 12 where we see the response is
44:40 to either not receive reject or to receive.
44:47 Verse 11 we see people did not receive him they rejected him. Verse 12 some did
44:55 receive him and that's being equated with belief.
44:60 So what does it believe? I mean, what does it mean to receive Jesus?
45:06 I'm going to say something very profound. You're going to have to listen carefully or you're going to miss it.
45:12 What does it mean to receive Jesus? To receive Jesus means to receive Jesus.
45:24 Now, you may have missed how profound that is, but you see some people,
45:31 they think they're receiving Jesus, but they're receiving a figment of their
45:36 imagination because they say, "Well, Jesus is out there to help me get a job and help me
45:44 to make more money and help me to be successful and help me to meet my goals. Jesus is there to be my servant to do
45:50 what I want him to do. Therefore, yes, Jesus, I receive you. Get to work, buddy.
45:56 You have not received Jesus. You're receiving a figment of your imagination.
46:03 Other people may not be quite so selfish, quite so self-centered. Maybe so, though. And they say, "Well, I like
46:09 this about Jesus, but I don't like that. I want a comforter,
46:14 but I don't want a king. I want a helper, but I don't want a master. I
46:20 want a deliverer, a rescuer, but I don't want a Lord.
46:27 Tim Keller says that to receive Jesus is an all orno proposition.
46:34 It's all or nothing. Let me give an example. Suppose brother Arnold Lim comes to my house. You didn't
46:41 know I was going to talk about you. And and Arnold Lim comes to our apartment and he knocks on the door and I open the
46:48 door and I say, "Hey Arnold, welcome. Come on in, but Liam, you stay out."
46:55 What? Arnold, come in, but Lim you stay out. It doesn't work. Either he comes in as
47:03 who he is, Arnold Lim, or he stays out.
47:09 And somehow in evangelical circles, we somehow think that we can receive half of Jesus but not all of him. When Jesus
47:16 comes in, we receive the Messiah.
47:23 Messiah is the anointed one. Who was anointed? Kings were anointed. He is the
47:28 king. We bow down before him. Who was anointed? Priests were anointed.
47:34 He's the one that brings us to God. We receive
47:39 Not just a good man. We receive someone who is the son of God, God incarnate. He is our Lord, our master, our king. He is
47:46 our savior. We confess our sin. We repent. We receive Jesus
47:52 who he claimed to be. We received him as he really is.
47:58 This morning, there may be some people who have never received Jesus. And you
48:03 might still be struggling with the question, who is Jesus?
48:09 I'll pray that you will be willing to do God's will and take the step of faith,
48:14 whatever that might cost, and that you too would come and receive
48:20 Jesus. Many of us who have received Jesus need to be reminded of what Tim Keller said.
48:28 Remember, it's an all orno proposition. When we come to faith in Jesus, we need
48:35 to constantly be re-examining our life. It's not a one-time thing, but his
48:41 lordship, his rule over our life continues daily. And sometimes we tend to resist his
48:48 lordship. But we want to be willing to submit oursel daily. Being willing to go
48:55 outside our comfort zone. Being willing, if the Lord calls us, to be a missionary
49:00 like we heard earlier, be willing to live a lifestyle of righteousness that
49:06 will bring glory to God. It's an all or nothing thing. Jesus is who he said he
49:12 is. He's Lord. He's master. He's king. The question is, how will you respond to
49:19 him? Let's pray. Father God, we give you thanks that you
49:27 are revealing yourself and revealing your way to us. We thank you for your fullest revelation of yourself through
49:34 Jesus. We thank you for the fact that through him we can come to know you.
49:41 And father, I pray this morning if there are people who have not yet come to the point that they recognize who Jesus
49:47 truly is. I pray that they would have the desire that you would give them that desire to want to know you to want to do
49:54 your will. I pray you would speak to their hearts, speak to their minds, reveal yourself further to them,
50:01 and that they would be open to studying the scripture and open to counsel of Christian friends, and that they would
50:07 make that decision to accept Jesus into their lives. And Lord, for those many of us who have
50:14 received Jesus, remind us it's not a one-time thing.
50:20 Remind us daily that it's not just an optional I like this, I don't like that.
50:26 But guide us as we want to follow you step by step, day by day, doing your
50:31 will. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
