Easter 2024
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It’s the greatest story ever told.
From beginning to end
And every moment in between
But one question we must ask ourselves
Is it real or is it fiction?
In fact, there’s only one question to talk about today
It’s the most important question you could ever ask yourself
It’s simple and straightforward
IS JESUS LORD?
IS JESUS LORD?
I remember wrestling with this question for the first time
Jesus was a lot of things to me
A good teacher
A good model
A good God
A good friend
A good therapist
A good person
But was He Lord to me?
All historical evidence point to the fact that Jesus existed
Even most non evangelical Christian scholars believe Jesus existed
So, we won’t question the existence of Jesus today
The question is: Is Jesus Lord?
Jesus most certainly claimed to be
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
He declared that before Abraham was born not I was but I AM.
He took the phrase that God Himself used and definitively bestowed it upon Himself
18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
Claiming God was His Father and He was the Son of God He made Himself equal with God
13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
He declared to be sent from Heaven
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
He declared to be the only way to God
5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
He declared to share in the glory of God the Father before the world ever began
Over 2,000 years ago the world began to ask a question that the world is still asking today
Who is this Jesus of Nazareth?
Is Jesus Lord?
Jesus even asked his disciples this very question
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Many had the same answers to who Jesus was then as they do now
He is a miracle worker
A gifted teacher
A powerful prophet
And although those are true of Jesus, that wasn’t the answer He was looking for
So He asks Peter…
That Word Messiah is Christ
It means anointed one
The one foretold about
The one we have longed for
The Savior, redeemer, rescuer
Lion of Judah, lamb to be slain
Son of God wrapped in flesh
The King of kings and the Lord of lords
Jesus is Lord!
And it is upon this revelation that the church is built upon
It is upon this revelation that hell has no chance
It is upon this revelation that the kingdom of heaven is yours
Everything from the beginning of time has pointed us to Him
At least that’s what Jesus said
That this is His story
Right now, we are living in the story of God
The Bible is one big story about how God created, rescues, and redeems mankind
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
God created all things and all things were good
Man was placed in Eden
The word Eden translates to paradise
It was quite literally heaven on earth
They had all they ever wanted and needed
With one rule to not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
For Man was not designed to decide between good and evil
Evil has this deceptive appearance of beauty and joy but it always leads to death and destruction
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Sin entered, the fall of man took place
And immediately man knew that there needed to be a covering of our sins
Enter in the pattern of the OT
Over and over and over
God blesses His people
And over and over and over we turn our backs to Him
We build and we choose false Edens
you see, It is in our nature to long to return to that moment in garden but we don’t know how to get there and we can’t
God sends a rescuer
People repent
God blesses
People sin
We look to a rescuer like Moses
The people of God cry out to the Lord
The Lord sends Moses to free them from slavery in Egypt
Moses goes, the people are free, the people turn, people sin
And how does the first section of the Bible end?
10 Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. 12 For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
How does it end here?
With mankind longing for a moses
But even moses failed
For he could not get them to the promised land
So not just a moses but a greater moses
A moses who would know the Lord face to face, could do signs and wonders with power to perform awesome deeds
Enter Joshua. A mighty warrior who was promised to take every place he set foot
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
A man who would meditate on the Word of God both day and night
But even Joshua could not defeat every enemy
So we need a warrior like Joshua but an even greater Joshua
One who has power and authority over our most dreadful enemies
Enter the judges
The people of God needed judges to articulate what they had done wrong before the Lord
To call to repentance and turn them back to God
So we need a judge but not just any judge, a perfect judge who can call the world to repentance and turn us back to God
Enter the kings
Specifically, the greatest king of Israel, David
1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
David A king who again delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night
A king who was a man after God’s own heart
But even so, a king who had his great failures who’s kingdom was stolen from him
So, we need another David but a greater David, a King who’s kingdom knows no end
Enter the prophets
prophets who come to foretell of a lamb that will be slain to cover once and for all the sins of all those who believe in Him
Perhaps none clearer than Isaiah
1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
The intercessor of our transgressions
Jesus to the cross
Rejected, mocked, stricken and beaten
Pierced for our transgressions
crushed for iniquities
The punishment of our sins
Lamb of God slain
This is what the Savior must do
This is what the Son of God must endure
For there is no other way
A perfect atoning sacrifice must be made according to the prophet Isaiah
We’ve spent the last month in the story of Jonah
Jonah was a prophet as well
An odd one but a prophet nonetheless
The Lord called Jonah to go and preach to an evil wicked city
But Jonah refused, he refused and he fled
But God is more gracious than we are rebellious
A theme of Jonah
A theme of the Bible
A theme of your life
God provides a huge fish
17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
3 days and 3 nights
Why so specific?
Why not say the fish swallowed Jonah and took him toward Nineveh
Why not 2 days why not 4?
Unless there is a specific reason and a specific purpose and perhaps even a prophecy of something significant happening
Jonah swallowed up for 3 days and brought back out
Enter Jesus
Born of a virgin
Son of God, Son of Man
Miracle worker
Powerful teacher
Amazing prophet
Sinless life
Lamb led to the slaughter
They beat him, mocked him, and pierced him. Just as the prophets foretold
Nailed to a cross
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
It is finshed!
In that phrase Jesus was declaring that all that had been foretold, all that had been prophesied, all of Scripture all of the story had led to this moment and it was finished at the cross
It is finished! But it is the end?
What about Jonah? what about 3 days and 3 nights? Did Jesus ever give us any clues any hints to what that might have meant?
YES! HE did!!!
38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” 39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.
The greater Jonah is here and it is Jesus
John 20:11–18 (NIV)
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!”
I have seen the LORD!
Everything, all of it, points to this one life changing truth!
Jesus is the greater Adam, the greater moses, the greater Joshua, the greater David, the greater judge, the greater prophet, the greater Jonah!!!
He is Good! He is sufficient! He is alive!
JESUS IS LORD!!!!!
The foundation of the gospel stands on the fact that Jesus is Lord
The question is, what is your foundation built on?
in your life, is Jesus Lord
Is Jesus Lord or lunatic?
He is either one or the other
He would make an awful prophet if He is not Lord
He would make an awful teacher if He is not Lord
He would make an awful model if He is not Lord
If He is not Lord than He is a lunatic
But if He is Lord, that changes everything!
And let me tell you from experience, Jesus changes everything!
So, you must decide today
Is Jesus Lord of your life?
You see, the truth is, you don’t get to decide whether He’s Lord or not
That decisions been made
Jesus is Lord whether you like it or not
Your decision is whether He’s Lord of your life
You can be Lord or He can be
But you must decide