Who IS This Jesus?

Welcome‌

Thank you music team. Well done this morning.

Well, good morning Church! Good morning to those of you joining on the LIVE stream. We are glad you can be with us this morning.

You know Im and not kidding when I tell you that sometimes I just want to stand up here and look at you for a while. And I think I am right about this, I think you are better looking this week than you were last week! Look at the person next to you and say, “You are better looking this week than you were last week.”

O.k. Stop. That went longer than i anticipated.

Introduction

Well if you have been with us for the past couple of weeks then you know we have started a new sermon series simply called “Disciple”.

We talk a lot around here about this idea of discipleship, and we often encourage all of you to “Engage in the Disciple Making Process”. I and the other Elders have had several of you come to us and say what does that mean? What does it mean to be a disciple and engage in the disciple making process?

And I will tell you that since starting this series I have a had a few of you express your appreciation for the subject matter of this series because you have never been clear on what we are talking about when we use those terms and phrases.

When I began this series a couple of weeks ago I said that the goal here is to to define what a Disciple is and what it means to disciple someone else and I would add, if discipling someone else is even possible. I said we were going to look into how we can engage in the disciple making process and what that might look like. And I also said that we would look at Who we are being a Disciple to which of course is the Lord Jesus Christ.

And That in fact is the subject matter of this morning’s message. The message title this morning is actually a question i want us to consider this morning and that is....just “Who IS this Jesus?”

Now if you have been with us so far you know that we have spent some time looking at the cost of discipleship, the importance of counting the cost involved in being an apprentice to Jesus Christ and we have considered some questions that might help is determine if we are indeed disciples or not.

But I think before we go much further into this issue of discipleship, it might be a good idea to talk about just who is this jesus that we are being called to follow. I reckon we should be clear about who it is we are committing to being apprentices of.

In fact, near the end of His ministry and the time He spent with twelve of His closest followers, Jesus Himself posed this very question. “Who do you say that I am?”

We will look at those passages in a minute. But before we do. let me tell you why I think this is something we need to do.

A Jesus of Our Own Making

I have been doing this for a while now and I know that this morning there are people sitting in churches all across America that are serving, not the Jesus of the Bible, but a Jesus of their own making. They are following the Jesus that they want to follow not the Jesus Who Is. To put it another way, I think far too often the Jesus we worship is merely a reflection of ourselves.

And by the way, there is not a person in this room who is immune from this way of looking at Jesus. Jesus would be much easier to follow if He were just like…me.

When we refuse to regularly open the scriptures and let them reveal to us the real Jesus, we will inevitably make Jesus in our own image. In a sense, we domesticate Him. We tame Him. We make for ourselves a Jesus that fits into our own agendas and a Jesus that does our bidding.

Let me say this as clearly as I can…I am fixin to get wound up right off the bat here...Any Jesus that is not both Savior AND Lord, any Jesus that is not the sacrificial Lamb of God, any Jesus that is not the the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, any Jesus that YOU have replaced on the throne, IS NOT the Jesus of the gospels. And any Jesus that does not call you to a RADICAL, sacrificial, and yes even painful discipleship CANNOT be the real Jesus!

I fear, that one of the mistakes we make when we read the scriptures is we read them to try to find ourselves rather than to find Jesus Christ. Oh the Gospels have much to say about us, but they are not about us they are about Christ. And the smartest thing you and I can do, before we even consider becoming His apprentice, is to read the scriptures, listen to them, master them, or better yet be mastered by them, and by the Christ they describe.

Now, before we go any further I want to convey something else to you in the strongest of terms that I could come up with.

The question posed in this passage we are about to read, the question posed in the title of the message this morning.

Who is this Jesus? More specifically, I want to make it more personal, Who is Jesus to you?

And let me say this. This is THE most important question that could ever be asked. There are a lot of questions surrounding this life that you will ask in the course of your own life. A lot of important questions that you should ask because the answers to those questions will determine so much about how you decide to live. And a lack of clarity over some of these important questions can cost you so much.

But beloved, there is no question that is more significant than the one we pose this morning concerning Jesus. One of the reasons this question is in a class all of its own is because of its universal relevance to every man and every woman of every culture, and every people group and every societal class on the face of the planet. This question cannot be ignored by anyone. In fact, to ignore it is to answer it. If you choose to ignore it or be nonchalant about it because it just doesn’t seem relevant to you, even that willful ignorance has great consequences.

It is a question that is binding on all of humanity. It is a question that every single person in this room drawing breathe will be accountable to. And so this question has a universal, cross-generational, cross-cultural application.

And whether you are interested to answer it or not, it applies to you.

Because here is the thing. Lean in here. How you and I respond to this question, even if it is with absolute indifference, will frame the trajectory of the rest of our life to come. And it will certainly determine whether or not, and how, you will go about being His disciple.

And not only that, but your answer to this question will determine your life eternally. So we must understand this as a question of most importance.

We are not dealing with some kind of light hearted thing that we can debate about. This is something that demands a personal verdict.

So that is what I want to do this morning is look carefully and seriously at just ...

“Who IS This Jesus?”

Turn with me to Mark chapter 8. The 8th chapter of the book of Mark.

This scene comes toward the end of Jesus earthly ministry, about six months before the cross. and it is significant because it is here that Jesus reveals His plans for the church and makes a pretty definative statement about Who He claims to be.

Lets’s read it together.

Mar 8:27-30 ESV - 27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" 28 And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." 29 And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ." 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

This IS the most important question we each need to answer.

WHO IS JESUS CHRIST TO YOU?

How would you answer that question? What comes to your mind? What jumps up in your heart. Does the question bring you peace? Does it cause confusion? Is there certainty?

Who IS this Jesus? How you answer that question will ultimate affect so many things. It will affect your identity. Who you are and what you will experience not just in this life but in the eternal.

It’s a BIG question. I guess that’s why it strikes me in this passage when Jesus chooses to ask it. Look again at verse 27. Jesus and his disciples are making their way to Caesarea Philippi but they are not there yet. They are still walking down the road. One would think that such an important question as this would be asked in a classroom setting or in the synagogue or during some deep teaching. But that is not what happens here. the guys are just walking down the road. I imagine there is some chit chat going on. Perhaps talking about their destination and whether any of them had been there before. Maybe they were discussing the blind man that Jesus had just healed in Bethsaida, how it had taken Jesus two tries to fully restore the man’s eyesight.

Oh yes. Let me chase a little rabbit here. Back up to verse 22...

Mar 8:22-26 ESV - 22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?" 24 And he looked up and said, "I see people, but they look like trees, walking." 25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

What happened here? Did Jesus not use enough spit the first time? no that wasn’t it. i believe this is a picture of the present and future Kingdom. jesus was all about the kingdom. He announced that with Him the Kingdom had come but yet not fully. We see the kingdom of God today like the blind man in this account. Things are blurry, not quite clear. People look like trees. But one day, we will see Him clearly and know Him fully. in the meantime we must decide who jesus is to us in the here and now and live accordingly. Decide if we will fully follow Him or not.

Back to my earlier point. As they are traveling Jesus is teaching them. This was His way of teaching his disciples. We will talk more about that in the weeks to come. He shows them a picture of the already here not fully here Kingdom in the healing of this blind man. Not in the classroom but as they are going along.

And then here in verse 27, as they are still “on their way” Jesus begins to lead up to the most important question He would ever ask his disciples. “Hey fellas, by the way, Who do people say I am?”

Now, Jesus did not ask this question because he was feeling insecure or worried about whether people liked him as much today as they did yesterday. he is not concerned about the latest polls. This question is however very intentional because it is leading up to the more important question.

So the disciples reply, “Uh well, some say you are John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."

So again. Jesus is setting the stage for the most important question. In fact, I don’t believe jesus really cared to know what others thought of Him but he was about to make this point to His disciples and I think it is a good point for us to consider this morning. It really does not matter what other people think about Jesus. We cannot move in Kingdom ways based on what someone else thinks about Jesus. We cannot be proper disciples of Jesus until we first form our own opinion and belief about who He is. And so here it comes. Jesus...

Oh yeah. Well let me ask you another question. Here comes the zinger. here comes the most important question he ever asks them…He gets real personal..."But who do you say that I am?"

What other people think of me is one thing. But what really matters is who do YOU think I am.

The question at hand for the disciples and for us is, will we allow the popular and prevalent ideas about Jesus shape what and Who I believe Jesus Christ is?

In other words, before you can even begin to answer the question “Who is Jesus Christ” you first have to identify the source of your answer. Is what you believe about the person of Jesus Christ simply a collection of sound bites you have heard from others or are you basing your answer on the truth of God’s Word and Jesus own claims about Himself? Because that matters a great deal.

When I hear a Christian say something like, “Well to me Jesus is…” I get a little nervous. Because that statement can go one of two ways. And unless you complete that statement with what the Bible says about Jesus then you are already wrong.

But if you are confident that your understanding of who Jesus is has been established from the one place that it should, the ONLY place that it should, that is the Word of God and Jesus own claims, the you are on the right track. But understand, if you follow the Jesus of the Bible and not the Jesus of your own making, then be prepared to follow and believe the Jesus that most of the world disagrees with. More than that, the Jesus that most of the world hates.

And Jesu here makes that point. he first asks what the world is saying about Him and then He asks but who do YOU say I am. Implying what? That the answer to those questions is probably not the same.

And so there are implications here we cannot miss. Jesus is asking, “Is what you believe about me shaped by what the world believes about me? If not, then are you prepared to believe the truth about Who i am even though the rest of the world does not agree with you?

And Peter answers, "You are the Christ.". And that is the right answer and when you read of this account in Matthew chapter 16, we see that Jesus praises Him for that answer and goes onto say that He will Build His church on that truth and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

So why am I belaboring this so much. What is really at stake here? AW Tozer says “What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about you.”

Not you salery. Not your health. Not your looks. The most important thing about you beloved is what comes to your mind with you think about God. is is based upon scripture or is it based on the latest wordly ideas about God and Jesus.

Now there are two important reasons to get the answer right when asked Who IS This Jesus.

The first one is pretty obvious. How you answer that question will ultimately determine one’s eternal destiny.

One time Jesus is in a bit of a back and forth with the Pharisee, the so-called religious leaders of His day.

Lets pick up the exchange in John chapter 8 and lets start reading in v 18.

John 8:18-24 ESV - Jesus says to the pharisees...18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me." 19 They said to him therefore, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also." 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. 21 So he said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come." 22 So the Jews said, "Will he kill himself, since he says, 'Where I am going, you cannot come'?" 23 He said to them, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins."

Now this is interesting because that last line, verse 24, the word “He” is not included in the Greek word used here. It simply translates “I Am”. So verse 24 would read 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins."

Now to the Hebrew ears of these pharisees, this was an absolute claim to deity. Jesus was actually ascribing to himself the name and the identity that exclusively belonged to the God of Israel.

And Jesu could not be more clear about the necessity of believing He is God incarnate or run the risk of dying in our sins, unforgiven and eternally separated for Him.

In oder to die FREE from my sins is contingent upon my belief in the right Jesus. That should compel you to get to know the Jesus of the Bible and ignore the Jesus of your own making, or the Jesus Islam, or the Jesus of the Jehovah Witness, or the Jesus of the Mormons. Wrong Jesus.

This is the condition that Christ Himself sets. You must believe that I AM. If you reject this then you do not have eternal life.

Listen to me. Jesus is not saying that you have to explain theology and doctrine to a certain level if you are going to be accepted. What he is saying is you have to wholeheartedly embrace what has been made known to you in the one place you can really know Him. The scriptures tell us all we need to know about Jesus in order to attain eternal salvation. But to what extent. What do You and I need to beleive about jesus Christ in order for me to be saved?

Pay attention. What is it about His attributes. What is it about His person, What is it about His work that i must believe. We say believe in jesus but what? What is required of me?

Well there is one verse in scripture that I believe adequately explains what you have to believe about Jesus to be saved. Romans 10:9

Romans 10:9 (ESV)

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

You WILL be saved. Paul defines two categories about Christ that must be acknowledged in order for one to be assured of salvation. please know these and I hope you believe them.

The first deals with the nature of Jesus. First confess that jesus IS something, He is someone, He occupies a certain position. Jesus is LORD. We like Him as Savior but Paul does not say confess Him as Savior. What DOES he say. He says confess Him as LORD. That is His nature. The second is His mission which is inferred by this, That God raised Him from the dead. He defeated sin and death. That is what he came here to do, that was His mission and he accomplished both when He was nailed to the cross and when He was raised from the dead. My sin was crucified with him and I have new life in His resurrection. And I can expect and have hope in a future resurrection like His.

That is all I need to believe about Jesus to be saved.

This is what John wrote in chapter 20 of His Gospel.

John 20:31 ESV - 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Now of course we can have all kinds of other discussions for example if you say i believe that jesus is Lord but I am not sure about that whole Trinity thing. Well we need to have more conversations. My point is there is much more to scripture than these couple of verses we have looked at. But as far as salvation what kind of confession is jesus really looking for from me?

Well drop down to verse 34 in our text in mark chapter 8. Same context look what jesus says.

Mar 8:34-37 ESV - 34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul?

What I want you to see here is that Jesus is explaining the kind of confession from us He is looking for. It is a confession of truth but it is also a confession of surrender.

Yes confess with your mouth that jesus is Lord but further than that, He is YOUR Lord. This is the same principle jesus was driving at with the two questions up in verses 27 and 29… Who do the People say I am. Now who do YOU say I am.

Same thing here. it is one thing to say Jesus is Lord to everybody. But is He YOUR LORD? You follow.

So, determining who Jesus Christ is will determine your Eternal fate, but also, to answer that question will not only determine the life to come it will determine the depth of your transformation.

So once you ask the question and you receive the foundational knowledge and then you embrace it, of who Jesus Christ is, you have to also learn that there's a deeper understanding of Christ that awaits you. And the deeper understanding of Jesus Christ that awaits you is dependent upon you answering that question again and again.

To ask the question “who is This Jesus” and to answer it rightly is wonderful. But we cannot stop asking it. Once you believe it you keep asking it. And this is where the discipleship part comes in. This is what makes you a disciple. That once you confess who the real Jesus is, your quest for the rest of your life is discovering more and more and more of the person of Jesus Christ. Who is he?

When Paul encountered Christ on the road to Damascus he asked this question, “Who are you Lord?” Now you can ask that question at the beginning of you walk with Christ, but you will continue to ask that if you're really born again and you truly want to be His disciple. Why? Because the Apostle Paul who said at the beginning, facing Christ who are you Lord, was the same Paul in Philippians 3 who said, “Oh that I may know him and the power of his resurrection”

So Paul didn't stop asking the question. When he met Christ, the real Christ the true Christ, the Messiah, he lived the rest of his life to discover more of Him. To truly become His disciple.

And so this question that Jesus asks, “but who do you say that I am” Yes it's the entry point but it should also be the essence of your Christian existence.

I thank you Lord that I know your nature, I know your work, I know what you've done to save me, but Lord. WHO ARE YOU? I want to know you more. I want to discover more of you. I want to joyfully investigate your glory.

And that hunger for Him and that discipline to find out more about Him as you pour over scripture is the primary means of your Supernatural and spiritual transformation as an individual.

Let me prove it to you. You may be familiar with this passage.

Second Corinthians 3 18.

2Co 3:18 ESV - 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

This verse is talking about our sanctification. Our spiritual transformation.

Beholding the glory of the Lord is not a one-time thing, it's a continual act. That’s actually the tense of the verb. And being transformed from one degree of Glory to another is also a continuous consequence, not a one-time reality. And notice what Paul is saying here. He's saying that when you behold the glory of the Lord there is a reward as a result of you choosing to fix yourself on who He is.

What that tells me is that Christian transformation is not by you behaving, it's by you first beholding. Big difference. People think the opposite. People believe, if I want to strive for more Christlikeness, I must behave. True. But if you want to really really behave you will first need to behold. The art of beholding the glory of God is virtually lost in our culture.

And yet Paul says here that it is the instrument, it is the force that remodels you and renews you from the inside out. So if you fail to behold his glory you will not become what he wants you to become. No wonder you're exhausted. No wonder you're discouraged. You've made your Christian Life all about behaving.

Just do this. Don't do this. And when you don't do the thing that you're supposed to do or you do the things that you're not supposed to, just try again. You're exhausted. No wonder you're miserable. Why? Because you didn't realize that what the Holy Spirit's inviting you to is to behold.

Before anything else, behold. What are we beholding? What aspect of the glory of God. The aspect of the glory of God is so hard to describe. What aspect of his Heavenly Glory, his Divine Glory, his creative Glory? What about his glory. Well Paul actually gives the answer go to Second Corinthians not three but chapter four. Look at verse six.

This is the glory that Paul has in mind for you to behold. To put before the eyes of your heart and to absorb with affection and attention.

2Co 4:6 ESV - 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

What am I pointing my eyes to? What aspect of God's glory? The face of Jesus Christ. The exact imprint of his nature. The perfect reflection of the glory of the father is found in the face of the Son of God.

What Paul wants you to behold day in and day out is the face of the savior.

And as you behold that face, and as you admire that face, and as you study that face, something in your heart is truly transformed and it will begin to yearn for that face to be mirrored on your face.

And we're told in second Corinthians 3 18 that this comes by the spirit. When God sees you and I beholding Jesus, He will honor that pursuit and he will imprint on you the image of Jesus. It is a supernatural occurrance over time as you set your eyes and your heart on Him.

How do we do that practically. Well we strive to Be WITH Jesus. You say, man Hutch that is hard because He is not physically here. How can I be with Him. Two ways. Read the scriptures that speak of Him and if you have one of those Bibles, read the red letters, the places where Jesus is speaking. And second is to talk to Him. Ask Him. Lord show me your Glory. Show me how you think and how you act in the world around you as I read your Word.

Try this. Read the book of Matthew. And as you read ask the Lord to show you His Glory.

Show me His beauty, his majesty, his splendor, his Holiness? Try to behold Him instead of looking for Doctrine or practical wisdom. Those are good things but that is a different kind of Bible study. Set that aside and just look for Him. If you're not looking for the face of Jesus Christ, you will not be transformed the way he wants you to be transformed.

We will talk more about being with Jesus in coming weeks but for now let me give you an example of what I am talking about.

Turn to Matthew 17. Matthew 17 and verse 24.

Mat 17:24-27 ESV - 24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the tax?" 25 He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?" 26 And when he said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free.

Lets stop there and understand what’s going on.

The Jews are asking Peter ,hey you're a rabbi there, does he pay the temple tax? Does he pay the tax that funds and supports the activity and the sustenance of the place of worship. Peter says yes He does. And he goes back to find Jesus. Now Jesus being omniscient he doesn't have to wait for Peter to ask about it He just says, Hey Peter. Let me ask you something. When the kings of the earth when they take toll or tax do they take it from their sons or from others?

And Peter answers rightly and says “from others”

Then Jesus says the Sons are free. What Jesus is getting at here is “I'm not required to give the temple tax. Because its it's my Father's Temple. In fact, the temple points to me. In fact, I'm greater than the temple so I'm not required to give this tax. This Temple is actually all for me. So, being the son, I am free. Just like in the world today a king wouldn’t tax his family he would tax the citizens of the land. I'm exempt from this Peter and he establishes that truth, Now here is where you get a glimpse of the Glory of jesus...

Verse 27, Jesus continues.

27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself."

Most of us in this situation would use our position, power or authority to avoid paying the tax. But Jesus says look, I am not required to pay this Tax but let’s not cause an unnecessary offense here. Jesus is operating with a different frame of mind. Here's Jesus saying I'm surrendering my right for the sake of a greater cause and though I am not obligated to do this, I want to do this. Do you know why? Because Jesus knows how to choose his battles. Because Jesus is not needlessly offensive. Because Jesus is extremely wise. How is He wise? Well He already has enemies and he gave Peter a revelation about himself. I am the son of the one who owns this Temple. Did other people have that Revelation? No. Did everyone that day hear Jesus explanation of why He was not required to pay the Tax. Nope. They didn't get that explanation and if they did, most of them would not have believed it . So what is Jesus saying? Why create more controversy than necessary? Why create offense and give more ammunition to our enemies? Oh I wish some Christians today would learn this lesson! Jesus is saying, “This is not an evil thing per se, this is a neutral thing and because of that not to offend them let's just give the tax.”

That's glorious. That’s the glory of Jesus that we can behold. I look at that and I say Lord, I want to be like that. I don't want my existence to orbit around my rights. Everything revolving around what I believe. I don't want that Lord. Help me live like you lived. help me live my life as if it is no longer my own. Help me live as though there is a greater cause that my puny little existence. Help me to live not always seeking my rights, but for my testimony and even if I have to give up my right for the sake of my witness then so be it.

Do you see how that works? Now you see something glorious about Jesus Christ and from seeing how awesome it is you now want to imitate it, to become like Him and that's a holy spirit thing. The Holy Spirit doesn't just reveal it to you, the Holy Spirit also inspires you and says strive for that and I'll empower you to do it!

To Do as Jesus did.

So I look at Jesus here and I say oh I want that for myself. This is glorious.

Here is one more example of the Glory of Christ and I will be done. jesus is in a bit of a back and forth, again with the spiritual leaders of His day. And at one point they revert to throwing a personal insult at Jesus. You can always tell when someone is losing ground in a debate when they run out of good arguments and start hurling personal insults. Here comes the personal insult...

Jhn 8:48-59 ESV - 48 The Jews answered him, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?"

You understand that calling someone a Samaritan in the Jewish world was like calling them the scum of the earth. Then they thorw the demon thing in there for good measure. Bit notice the Glory of Jesus. He completely ignores the Samaritan insult and only denies the demon, because him having a demon would def negatively impact His ministry. Being a Samaritan, not so much. think how you would react if someone insulted you this way. “Oh yeah, well you’re a....” Behold the glory of Jesus.

49 Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." 52 The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, 'If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.' 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?" 54 Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.' 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad." 57 So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" 58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." There is that claim to diety again. If you ever wondered if Jesus actually claimed to be God, well this is the second time today we have seen Him do just that. And it caused these guys to lose their minds. 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Folks, when you strive to spend time with jesus, and in doing so you start to become like Him and you start doing things He did, reacting to difficult situations with calm and grace you are going to draw fire. You are gonna experience slander. You are going to hear accusations and hear gossip and hear false reports.

When that happens, how do you imitate the glory of Jesus? well I see it here. He knew what to say to defend what he needed to defend and he knew what to ignore because it had no value.

When the the Holy Spirit sees you engaging with the glory of the Lord he assures you, Now I'm going to make you like Him. I'm going to polish you. I'm going to Chisel you but you can't become unless you first behold.

So the question who is Jesus Christ is essential for your salvation and it is Inseparable from your sanctification

You keep asking who is Jesus Christ and I pray leaving this place you have a fresh lens through which to read your Bible and as you read your Bible you're looking for the glory of Jesus Christ in the Epistles in the Proverbs in the Old Testament in the gospels. And that as you read your prayer would be, Jesus I want to see your glory and I want it to rub off on me. I want to become like the very thing I'm beholding.

Let’s pray...

Lord we ask that you would help us arrive there from one degree of Glory to another. We thank you that it is not an instantaneous work, it is something that takes a lifetime as you open our eyes in one season and then next you open our eyes again to something that we didn't see in the previous one. But Lord, we just pray that there will be this new ambition to ask the question who is This Jesus? Not just in his nature and his mission concerning the gospel, but concerning his person, his character, his attitude, his example. And so for the person here who has not answered the first type of question concerning their redemption may they ask it and know the answer to it and be saved today. And for the person who has the confidence that they have the right answer to who is Jesus Christ, may they now be excited to know that there's so much more to know about him.

We worship you in this place today and we give you all glory and honor in Jesus name, that name that saves, that name that transforms. Amen