What Do You Do With Jesus?
4-27-03
What Do You Do With Jesus?
[video]
Nearly 2000 years ago the Roman governor of Judea addressed the crowd outside his court and...
“Pilate asked them, ‘what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’” [Matthew 27:22, New Living Translation]
Pilate did not realize how significant the question was which he asked that day, and it is still the most significant question a person ever considers in his or her entire lifetime. The response each person gives to this question determines the kind of life the person lives here on earth and the kind of destiny the person experiences for all eternity. There is no more important question than, “What do you do with Jesus?” People attempt to deny Jesus, minimize Him, and ignore Him while others acknowledge Jesus as God, understand His power to change us and help us, and follow His instruction for living. What do you do?
Today I am beginning a new series of messages on some simple basics of Christian faith. There are probably some people here today for whom some things that I present will be new or unfamiliar information. I hope it’s exactly what you need to get a basic understanding for your new or very young faith. For many others this morning, the things I present will be old news like the kindergarten and first grade of faith. I hope it’s exactly what you enjoy and appreciate as the foundation of your faith. I hope you feel like the old gospel song our Christian parents and grandparents sang: “I love to tell the story for those who know it best seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.”
Let me tell you the experience of a missionary working among children in the Middle East who was driving her jeep down a road when she ran out of gas. She had no gas can in her car. All she could find was a potty chair. She walked a mile down the road to the nearest gas station and filled the pot with gas. As she was pouring the gas into the tank of her jeep, a large Cadillac occupied by wealthy oil sheikhs drew up. They were absolutely fascinated at seeing her pouring the contents of the pot into the jeep. One of them opened the window and said, “My friend and I, although we do not share your religion, we greatly admire your faith!”
I hope you do more than admire someone else’s faith. There are some people who answer the question, What do you do with Jesus?, with disbelief. They seek to deny Him. They think most everything about Jesus is untrue--that it’s all a lie. They may not necessarily think it’s a vicious lie. They may think it’s a psychological crutch or a philosophical vehicle for western cultural values, but what we need to do with Jesus instead is...
I. Acknowledge Jesus Is the Truth From God
I read that in a communist Russian dictionary Jesus was described as “a mythical figure who never existed.” No serious historian could maintain that position today. There is a great deal of evidence for Jesus’ existence. This comes not only from the Gospels and other Christian writings, but also from non-Christian sources. Tacitus and Suetonius, two Roman historians wrote about Jesus, and the Jewish historian, Josephus, also described Jesus and His followers.
As the Bible says...
“Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” [Acts 2:22]
The truth about Jesus is no secret. The apostle Paul tried to persuade the Judean King Agrippa to follow Jesus, and Paul reminded the king that none of the things he mentioned had been done in a corner. They were all open and public for all people to see. Jesus’ life and message are well attested to-- much more than the lives of other historical figures of that time. Sometimes people like to say, “The Bible was written a long time ago. How do you know that what they wrote hasn’t been changed over all these years?” The answer is that we do know, very accurately through the science of textual criticism, that what we have has not been changed since it was originally written. Essentially the more manuscripts we have, the less doubt there is about the original. Compared to other historical writings of the same general time period, the New Testament alone is extremely well documented. Other historical writings of the period that are not questioned exist in only a handful of copies written 1000 years or more after the fact. The New Testament exists in more than 20,000 copies written within 300 years of the fact and some within one generation of the original writers. In every way that can be checked, the New Testament we have is exactly what was written and not changed a bit over the years since. No honest person can say it was made up. That just doesn’t fit the plain facts at all. The New Testament tells the truth about Jesus. Every genuinely honest person has to acknowledge that.
It’s not just the writings of the New Testament that acknowledge Jesus is the truth from God, so do the events of His life.
“Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.’” [Luke 18:31]
“We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” [John 1:45]
Jesus’ life is unique in fulfilling ancient prophecies about Him unlike anyone else in history. The ancient world had many different ways of trying to determine the future but not in all of Greek and Latin literature is there any real, specific prophecy of any great historic event that was to come even some years, let alone centuries, later. Yet in Jesus’ case He fulfilled more than 300 prophecies spoken by different prophets over a 500 year period. Twenty-nine major prophecies were fulfilled in a single day of Jesus’ life--the day He died. It would have been impossible for Jesus to have tried to make Himself fulfill such a large number of prophecies and many of them He had no way of controlling-- like His place of birth foretold in Micah 5:2 and the specific manner of His death foretold in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22. No one else in history has fulfilled any prophecies like this and what’s more, so many prophecies. Jesus is the truth from God and He demonstrated it ultimately in His resurrection from death.
“For 40 days after his death he appeared to them many times in ways that proved beyond doubt that he was alive.” [Acts 1:3, Good News Bible]
“We know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” [John 3:2]
Jesus’ physical resurrection from the dead is the cornerstone of Christianity. His empty tomb, His appearances to His disciples, the immediate faith that emerged and grew profoundly, and the lives of millions of Christians since all attest to the truth of Jesus’ resurrection.
Some would like to believe that Jesus never really died at the crucifixion. They say His tomb was empty because He was entombed alive and later walked away. But Jesus had undergone a Roman flogging that killed many people who experienced it. Then he hung by nails in His body for 6 hours. Where would he get strength to move a stone uphill that weighed probably 2500 pounds? That hypothesis doesn’t fly. The soldiers who took down His body were convinced He was dead because they didn’t break His legs to make Him suffocate but slashed open His side to release the separated blood clot and serum. They themselves would be subject to the death penalty if they had allowed a prisoner to escape. Jesus disciples wouldn’t have stolen His body. A lifeless corpse couldn’t have transformed their despair to the faith for which they gave their lives. And Jesus’ enemies wouldn’t have stolen His body because they wanted to show Him as a dead, false teacher. Jesus’ grave clothes stayed in perfect formation like a cocoon in the tomb although His body was absent. Only His bodily resurrection is consistent with the facts following Jesus’ death, and His disciples actualy saw Him alive again.
Some people would like to think the appearances of Jesus to His disciples were hallucinations but they don’t fit any characteristic of hallucinations. These appearances were to skeptical, unenthusiastic men. They took place over a specific period of time and ended suddenly. They involved a variety of people on different occasions in broad daylight and to as many as 500 people at one time. Hallucinations don’t work that way. Jesus actually appeared to His disciples after His resurrection. He touched them. He ate with them. He had extended discussions with them. He had returned from the dead.
The immediate effect is that the world was changed. The church of Jesus was born and grew at a tremendous rate because He is truly God’s Son. There is no parallel to this in all of history. Millions of people from every race, tribe, nation and continent from different economic, social and intellectual backgrounds throughout hundreds of years all unite in common testimony saying, ‘Jesus is alive.’
What do you do with Jesus? Secular historians, the accurately proven New Testament, hundreds of fulfilled prophecies, the empty tomb and billions of Christians all Acknowledge Jesus is the Truth from God.
Some other people don’t deny Jesus’ existence or even what He said, but what they do with Jesus is manage Him for themselves and minimize Him. These people don’t say Jesus is a lie. These people say Jesus Himself never claimed to be God. They say He was a great teacher, a philosopher, a wonderful moral guide, but what we need to do with Jesus is...
II. Understand Jesus Is the Power of Life
(He’s not just a nice guy who had inspirational things to say.)
I want you to consider with me a couple of Jesus’ statements and ask yourself if these really are the words of a great moral teacher. When Jesus first became popular, people would crowd to hear Him. On one occasion the crowd was so large there was no room left even outside the door of the house in Capernaum where he was speaking. Four men brought a paralyzed man on a mat for Jesus to heal but they couldn’t get close to Him so they made an opening in the roof of the house to lower the man on the mat through to Jesus.
“When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ‘Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’” [Mark 2:5-7]
What kind of moral sense does it make for Jesus to forgive that paralyzed man? Was Jesus forgiving him for interrupting Him? Had Jesus talked to everyone in the paralyzed man’s life whom he could have offended and found out that they had all forgiven him so Jesus could relay their intent and pronounce the man forgiven? Would offering forgiveness to a man you’ve never met or even conversed with as far as you know be the mark of a great moral teacher or the mark of ludicrous conceit--unless you actually can do something no one else can do which makes you God? The moral teachers who were in the crowd the day Jesus said those words realized that Jesus was no moral teacher. They understood Him to claim to be God. The person saying such things as these could only be a liar or a lunatic--not a great moral teacher--unless He is God.
On another occasion Jesus said this about Himself...
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” [Matthew 25:31-32]
What would you think if I stood up here and announced to you today that on the day of judgment you will all appear before me? I will decide your eternal destiny. What happens to you in eternity will depend on how you’ve treated me and my followers. What would you think? You would no longer think much of me as a preacher. You would think I am crazy and rightly so. No human being has any way of putting himself in such a position. These are not the words of any great moral teacher.
On still another occasion the Bible says..
“Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, ‘I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?’ ‘We are not stoning you for any of these,’ replied the Jews, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.’” [John 10:31-33]
The people who heard Jesus speak were clear about what Jesus said. They understood that Jesus claimed to be so much more than a moral teacher. They understood that He claimed Himself to be God. People today may claim for themselves to be gods, or to be a god, but no one can claim to be the one and only God.
C.S. Lewis put it like this:
“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic, on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse...but let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
Now, did Jesus ever act like He could deliver on what He said He could do? Is there any reason to think that Jesus can forgive? Is there any reason to believe Jesus will be there to be our judge in eternity? Is there any evidence that Jesus has the power only God has?
“When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’ Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.’” [Matthew 11:2-5]
Jesus turned water into wine, fed 5000 from 5 biscuits and 2 fish. He walked on water and stopped the sea-storm by saying so. Jesus is no mere teacher of nice ideas. Jesus will not let anyone manage Him. He will not be minimized to the position of just a great moral teacher. He has all power. He is the Lord of Life and He is God.
Some people try to deny Jesus as untrue. Some people try minimize Jesus and make His message a mockery, but still others try to ignore Jesus as irrelevant. They think He has nothing to say for their lives or have anything to do with their daily lives. What we need to do is...
III. Follow Jesus as the Way to Live
Sometimes people say, “It doesn’t matter what you believe so long as you are sincere.” But it is possible to be sincerely wrong. Adolf Hitler was sincerely wrong. His beliefs destroyed the lives of millions of people. Jack the Ripper believed that he was doing God’s will when he killed prostitutes. He, too, was sincerely wrong. His beliefs affected his behavior. It matters a great deal what we believe, because what we believe will dictate how we live.
There are people who know Jesus is truly who He said He is, but they just get caught up in their own lives and what they are used to and their habits of self-centeredness have trapped them into leaving Jesus out of their lives. They try to pretend it doesn’t matter they they leave Jesus out of their everyday lives. They still want to do what they want to do when they want to do it and pay little attention to Jesus. Somehow, they think their own lives are more important for themselves--especially right now. But, if Jesus is who He said He is, then Christian faith is of vital importance to every single person. As C.S. Lewis said, “Christianity is a statement which, if false, is of no importance, and, if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
When people live only for themselves they have emotional problems. The human heart has a deep hunger. The leading psychologists of the 20th century have all recognized this. Freud said, “People are hungry for love.” Carl Jung said, “People are hungry for security.” Adler said, “People are hungry for significance.”
“Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’” [John 6:35]
People who live only for themselves develop psychological problems. Many people are living in darkness, depression, disillusionment, and despair. They are looking for direction.
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” [John 8:12]
After becoming a Christian, someone said, “It was as if the light had suddenly been turned on, and I could see things for the first time.”
People who live only for themselves have struggle with fears. Many people are fearful of death. There are people who can’t sleep because of it and wake up in a cold sweat--frightened about death because they don’t know what is going to happen when they die.
“Jesus said to her, ’I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.’” [John 11:25-26]
Many, many people are burdened by worries, anxieties, fears, and guilt. Jesus says...
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” [Matthew 11:28])
Without God all of us have problems. All of us have been created to live in a relationship with God, and without that relationship there will always be a hunger, an emptiness, a feeling that something is missing. It’s through Jesus that we encounter God.
“Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.’” [John 14:6]
Eternal life is the quality of life that comes from living in relationship with God that Jesus makes possible.
“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” [John 17:3]
Suppose that before I met my wife I had read a book about her. Then, after finishing the book, I had thought, “This sounds like a wonderful woman. This is the person I want to marry.” There would be a big difference in my state of mind then--intellectually convinced that she was a wonderful person--and my state of mind now, after the experience of many years of marriage from which I can now say, “I know she is a wonderful person.” That’s the difference knowing Jesus makes. A relationship with Jesus is the Way to live life, the Truth about life and the power for eternal Life.
What do you do with Jesus? Do you deny Him or accept Him as the truth from God? Do you try to minimize Him as a moralist or do you understand He is the Power of Life? Do ignore Him in your daily life or do you depend on Him as your Way of life? What do you do with Jesus? Do you know Him today?