Sermon Tone Analysis

*Jesus**, The Way*

*Finding Jesus, The Way*

\\ In this series, I have attempted to present Jesus as "THE WAY" to many blessings.

Indeed, He is the source of EVERY spiritual blessing that God has to offer:

*Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (Ephesians 1:3)*

But how can we be sure that we have found the TRUE Jesus and are truly His disciples?

Jesus made it clear that simply believing in Him does not constitute true discipleship:

*Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed."

(John 8:31)*

How can we be sure that we are not actually following some CARICATURE, a misrepresentation of Jesus, presented to us in error by others who are sincerely mistaken themselves (such as our parents, preachers, churches)?

To be sure that we have truly found Jesus, The Way, we must begin with the only reliable source of information about Him: THE BIBLE!

Surprising as it may be to some, a good place to start is with the OLD TESTAMENT...

*FINDING JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT*

Though completed hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the Old Testament contains many things about Him.

Jesus made this point on at least two occasions after His resurrection.

First, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus:

*And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

(Luke 24:27)*

Then, later with the apostles themselves:

*Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."

And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."

(Luke 24:44-47)*

Years later, the apostle Paul reminded the young evangelist Timothy of the value of the Old Testament Scriptures in making one wise concerning the salvation that is in Jesus:

*But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

(2 Timothy 3:14-15)*

How can this be?

From the Old Testament we see Jesus through the eyes of prophecy!

For example, from Isaiah we can learn such things as:

* The Birth of Jesus...

*"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."

(Isaiah 7:14)*

* The Suffering of Jesus...

*Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

(Isaiah 53:4-6)*

* The Sovereignty of Jesus...

*For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

(Isaiah 9:6-7)*

Many more prophecies could be taken just from Isaiah alone (one reason why he is commonly called "The Messianic Prophet").

Other prophets have much to say about Jesus.

It has been estimated that there are more than 330 prophetic statements about Jesus found in the Old Testament!

So we should read the Old Testament in our efforts to find the true Jesus!

But as important as it is in helping us to find Jesus, it's purpose was predictive, to prepare people for Jesus.

As Paul reminded the Galatians:

*Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

(Galatians 3:24-25)*

Therefore, to find Jesus more fully, we must also come to the gospels...

*FINDING JESUS IN THE GOSPELS*

It is here that we find the most complete record of Jesus' life and teachings while on earth.

By God's Divine Providence, we are blessed with four different gospels, each with its different emphasis...

* MATTHEW emphasizes the "teachings" of Jesus (especially in regards to the kingdom of heaven)

* MARK features the "miracles" of Jesus, showing His power

* LUKE underscores the "humanity" of Jesus (without detracting from His divinity)

* JOHN stresses the "divinity" of Jesus (without detracting from His humanity)

Though accenting different aspects of Jesus' life and teachings, they all have the same basic purpose: TO CREATE FAITH.

As expressed by John in his gospel:

*And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

(John 20:30-31)*

The gospels help us to see Jesus through the eyes of FULFILLMENT, as they carefully document how He fulfilled Old Testament prophecy (this is especially true with Matthew).

They also reveal what Jesus actually taught; therefore, no one can know Jesus without reading these gospels carefully.

When we do, we may often be surprised to find out how DIFFERENT the real Jesus is and what He actually taught, from the one imagined by many!

For example, many feel that they are going to heaven when they die; but Jesus taught that most will not:

*"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.

Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

(Matthew 7:13-14)*

Among those who will be surprised at the Day of Judgment will be many who thought they knew and served Jesus in their lifetime:

*"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'

And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"

(Matthew 7:21-23)*

Contrary to the "simple believism" that many people think is what is involved in following Jesus, by reading the gospels we learn what the real Jesus had to say about following Him:

*Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?" (Luke 9:23-25)*

And one gospel even ends with a charge that many people who think they know Jesus do not take seriously:

*And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Amen.

(Matthew 28:18-20)*

The true Jesus left His apostles with the charge to teach would-be disciples to "observe ALL things whatsoever I have commanded you."

Does this sound like the "Jesus" proclaimed by many today?

Many people's concept of Jesus appears to be that He allows a sort of "multiple choice" when it comes to obeying His commandments!

That is not the true Jesus!

By reading the gospels, then, we come much closer to finding Jesus and all that He represents.

But by reading the gospels we also find out that He DID NOT reveal the complete truth while on earth!

As recorded by John in his gospel:

*"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you." (John 16:12-14)*

Due to the apostles' inability to receive all the truth at that time, Jesus left it up to the Holy Spirit to complete the work of guiding them into all the truth.

Therefore, to truly find Jesus and what His Will is for us today, we must also turn to the rest of the books of the New Testament...

*FINDING JESUS IN THE ACTS AND THE EPISTLES*

In the book of Acts, we see the fulfillment of Jesus' promise to send the Holy Spirit Who would guide them into all the truth.

Only ten days after His Ascension into heaven, we read concerning the apostles: