Do You Know Jesus?

Introduction:

There are 4 different gospel accounts of the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

Just as we could all witness the same event, we may come away with unique impressions and we may emphasize different aspects of the event if we were asked. Not that we are fabricating anything, but just because we may be at the same place and participating in the same activity does not mean we will describe everything in the same way.

So it is with the gospel writers. They each have their own unique way of presenting Jesus the Messiah to us.

It’s not that one picture is better. It’s helpful for us to develop a more robust way of thinking of Jesus the Christ.

Jesus is King

Matthew’s gospel account is about identifying the kingdom of God/heaven

The message of John and Jesus - ; ,

Jesus is the king of the kingdom of God

Jesus is of the lineage of David - , ,

He is a “son of David” - ;

He proves His identity by His power and miracles -

David was the great king of Israel that was a man after God’s own heart and who was promised that an heir of his would reign over the kingdom forever -

Even though He was a son of David, Jesus was also greater than David -

The Christ was the son of David - v. 42

Yet, David called the Christ “Lord” - vv. 43-44

Yahweh/Jehovah said to “my” (David) Lord/adonai/master -

Messiah is of the lineage of David, but greater than David—the kingdom of Christ fulfills the promises to David, but it is a greater kingdom than David’s!

Worship from the wise men, presenting gifts fit for a king -

Entrance into the kingdom is by faith -

We must humble ourselves and trust in Jesus as the King to enter the kingdom of heaven -

However, some do not want Jesus as their King

Herod - ,

The Jews - ;

Pilate questioned Jesus about his kingship - v. 11

Pilate tried to release Jesus - v. 17

Pilate’s wife warned him to have nothing to do with Jesus - v. 19

Yet, the chief priests and scribes poisoned the crowd against Jesus - vv. 20, 22

Pilate washed his hands of Jesus’s blood - v. 24

The people took the blood guilt on their hands and on their children’s hands - v. 25

Those who reject Jesus and live unrighteous lives will be cast out of the kingdom of God -

Those who accept Jesus by faith and live righteously will shine in the kingdom -

Thus, we are told to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness -

Jesus is the Servant-God

Mark opens His gospel by naming Jesus as the Son of God -

A servant is busy serving and in the gospel of Mark, Jesus is busy!

After He was baptized, He “immediately” went into the wilderness to be tempted -

He immediately went into the synagogue to teach -

He immediately began doing miracles -

He got up early to pray -

Mark’s portrayal of Jesus is someone who was constantly doing something:

He was preaching and teaching the kingdom of God

Jesus was healing people, helping them

Jesus was praying to God

He never stopped!

Jesus recognized Himself as a servant and taught what service really was all about -

James and John are two brothers arguing about which one will have more authority in the kingdom of God

This was just after Jesus had taught that He must go to Jerusalem to be killed -

They ask Jesus to do what they tell Him to do - v. 35

This caused the other disciples to be upset with them - v. 41

Jesus began talking about kingdoms of the world and their rulers and how people selfishly seek power and authority over men - v. 42

But that principle is turned upside down in the kingdom of God - vv. 43-44

Greatness is not through the exercise of power—it is through service to one another.

Jesus recognizes His purpose in coming as a servant—it was not to be served, but to give His life for many - v. 45

Remember, Mark began with Jesus being the Son of God; Jesus speaks of Himself as a servant.

How do these two images fit together?

Christ’s humility and willingness to put the interests of others before His own - ,

Because He existed in the form of God and humbled Himself to be obedient to God, even to the death of the cross, Jesus shows us what God is willing to do for us.

Jesus, being God, shows us that God is willing to do anything within His power and control to save us from our sins.

Mark wants us to see that same picture of Jesus!

Jesus is the God who Serves us!

Jesus, the Son of Man-Prophet

An important feature in the gospel according to Luke is Jesus’s favorite title for Himself—the son of man.

This is found around 26 times in the book of Luke.

Jesus as the Son of Man is someone who takes action:

He has authority to forgive men of their sins -

Luke shows Christ as a gracious, loving, and compassionate Savior - , 42-43

He is Lord of the Sabbath -

He gave the Sabbath for man; not for the Pharisees to corrupt and destroy the purpose and intention of the Sabbath

He will give His life -

His words are true and we must accept them and not be ashamed of them -

“Son of man” may be a reference to Jesus’s humanity, but it is also used of prophets who speak the word of God -

We cannot deny the words of God’s prophet and Son -

Old Testament prophets appeared with Jesus, Moses & Elijah, but their words are not authoritative.

Jesus’s words are the ones we are to listen to!

Luke shows the important teachings of Jesus:

Repentance -

Commitment to following Jesus -

Dangers of materialism - ,

Don’t let your stuff own you.

He came to save men from their sins - ;

He will take the throne of God -

Daniel shows the Son of Man as the one who is given the kingdom - ,

Our response to Jesus is to recognize Jesus as Lord -

We should praise God for sending us the Son of Man to save us! -

Jesus, the Son of God

The gospel according to John is more theological and affirms a basic, fundamental truth: Jesus is God!

The apostle John begins at the beginning, showing that Jesus is the eternally existent one, called the Word -

The Word was in “the beginning”

The Word was with God

The Word was God

Who is Jesus? What should we do with Jesus?

He gives a map for what the Word did, He became flesh -

The Word showed the glory of the Father

The Word revealed grace and truth -

Jesus is the Lamb of God -

Nathanael confesses that He is the Son of God and King of Israel -

There would be more to see, hear, and ultimately persuade people of who Jesus is -

Jesus gives eternal life - , ; ;

John gives us two major divisions in the work of Christ

First, He came to save and bring eternal life for those who would believe - , ; ;

Second, He will judge the world at the end of the age -

An hour has come and the spiritually dead will live - vv. 25-26

Then, the Son of God also has authority to judge the world - v. 27

There will come an hour (future) that all who are in the graves will be raised and they will be judged according to their good or evil deeds - vv. 28-29

This is why we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, if we want to be raised for eternal life and hope!

The great theme of this book is a challenge to us personally that we believe Jesus is the Son of God - ;

Nathanael is convinced after a conversation with Jesus -

He had asked “can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” -

Nicodemus questioned Jesus at night and learned what he must do to enter the kingdom of God -

A woman at the well found the living water -

A woman “caught in adultery” is told that she is not condemned -

Jesus was not saying that if she had sinned that He would never condemn her.

No, His first mission was to bring eternal life, offering grace and truth to her.

He told her to “go and sin no more.”

If she refused to follow that teaching then He would condemn her for her unbelief—that would not be until the end of the age.

A blind man could see more about Jesus than any one with perfect vision - , ,

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus -

Thomas touches the resurrected Lord -

Jesus cares about how people perceive of Him and He wants you to believe in Him!

The Son of God cares for us and He shows us how to believe in Him: His words and His resurrection are fundamental proofs of who He is.

Conclusion:

Jesus is the King of His kingdom, He is the servant, He is the Son of Man, and He is the Son of God.

He calls you to follow Him and be His disciple - ;

Follow Him

Don’t turn back—anyone who puts his hands to the plow but turns back is not worthy of the kingdom of God

Count the cost to be His disciple: it means commitment

Believe in Jesus as the Son of God -