Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

There are so many religions in the world how could you ever know which one is the right one?

Everyone is trying to worship the same God in different ways so what does it matter which religion you choose to do that?

These questions and many other like them are very prevalent in the world we live in today.

I would imagine that you know someone asking these very questions or maybe even you are asking these questions.

This morning as we continue our series through the book of 1 John call “Prove It” I believe we can answer some of these questions or at least get you thinking in the right direction as you are searching for the truth about who Jesus is.

Inevitably in your search for God you are going to have to answer the question, “Who is this Jesus that everyone is talking about?”

There was a study done in 2013 after the world population hit 7 billion people defining the top 6 religions in the world and here are those results.

The Largest main World Religions in order are:

Christianity: 2.1 billion.

J. Warner Wallace.

“Who is Jesus, According to Other Religions.”

Demeber 4, 2017

Islam: 1.3 billion.

Hinduism: 900 million.

Buddhism: 376 million.

Sikhism: 23 million.

Judaism: 14 million.

(Sited from primaryhomeworkhelp.com.

Mandy Barrow 2013)

The interesting thing about this study is that all these religions accept for Sikhism have taken the effort to clearly defined who they believe Jesus to be.

When Jesus came on the scene, He was such a powerful force that people immediately began asking this question.

“Who is this Jesus?”

This is not a new question by any means, and it is one people are still asking today.

Matt 16:13

J. Warner Wallace is an investigative reporter for NBC’s Dateline and has written a book entitled, “Cold-Case Christianity.” in December of 2017 he wrote an article call”Who is Jesus, According to Other Religions.”

He begins the article by writing,

J. Warner Wallace.

“Who is Jesus, According to Other Religions.”

Demeber 4, 2017

J. Warner Wallace.

“Who is Jesus, According to Other Religions.”

Demeber 4, 2017

“People trying to discover the truth about God would be wise to take a hard look at Jesus before looking anywhere else.

While that may sound like a bold assertion in and of itself, it really isn’t when you consider Jesus is the one religious leader who is most frequently mentioned by religious groups, whether or not they happen to be Christian.

Every major religious movement considers Jesus to be an important religious figure.

Every movement makes some effort to account for His existence and teaching.

This ought to give seekers a reason to pause and consider the life of Jesus seriously.

(J.

Warner Wallace.

“Who is Jesus, According to Other Religions.”

December 4, 2017)

Wallace goes on to give us some quick overviews of the beliefs about Jesus from these other world religions.

Jews believe Jesus was Mary’s son, was a teacher (Rabbi), had many disciples, was respected, performed miracles, claimed to be the Messiah and was crucified on the cross.

They also acknowledge His followers reported Jesus was raised from the dead.

Muslims believe Jesus was born of a virgin, is to be revered and respected, was a prophet, a wise teacher who worked miracles, ascended to heaven, and will come again.

Ahmadiyya Muslims believe Jesus may have been born of a virgin, was a prophet and wise teacher, worked miracles, and was crucified on a cross.

Bahá’í believe Jesus came from God, was a wise teacher who had a divine and human nature, worked miracles, and was crucified and resurrected as an atonement for humanity.

Hindus believe Jesus was a holy man, a wise teacher, and is a ‘god’.

Buddhists believe Jesus was an enlightened man and a wise teacher.

New Age believers maintain Jesus was a wise moral teacher.

All these religions validate Jesus in some form or fashion.

This is because his impact on the world is undeniable.

Obviously you can’t believe everything you hear.

So the real question is not, “What are people saying about Jesus?” but, “Whom do you say Jesus is?”

Matt 16:15

Let me give you another undeniable fact.

The greatest historical record that we have of Jesus is found in the pages of the Bible.

The Bible has been proven over and over again to be a reliable and accurate source of information.

It’s been dismissed but never disproven.

The more that Scientist understand the and the more that archeologist uncover continues to prove the validity of the Bible.

The reason why this is so significant is because the story of Jesus is not just in the 4 gospels but spans throughout the entirety of the Bible in the form of prophecy sometimes thousands of years before the coming of Christ.

So this morning we are going to use this accurate source of the Bible to answer this question of who the Bible says Jesus is.

And we begin with a warning from the Apostle John in 1 John chapter 4. Let’s look at it together.

Testing the Spirits

1 John 4:

The Seven Realities of Christ

The overall conclusion of the Bible is that Jesus is the alpha and omega the beginning and the end.

Rev 22:

1) Jesus is the Creator God.

Jesus in not a mere man that gained a following through his teaching.

Jesus is the creator God and therefore the creator of mankind.

Being the creator God he deserves to be worshiped and praised.

Jesus is the expressed image of the invisible God.

It was prophesied that Jesus would come as Emmanuel: God with us.

Jesus took on the human form to reveal the character of God to Man.

We understand the character of God through the life of Jesus.

When you look upon God you will see Jesus.

Jesus is described very differently in his heavenly form than he was in his earthly form.

2) Jesus is the Word of God.

We expression our thoughts, feeling, and emotions through our words.

As the expression of God, Jesus is given the title of the Word of God.

We observe a record of Jesus that is more than just a mere man, the image or manifestation of the invisible God.

It was prophesied that Jesus would come as Emmanuel: God with us.

3) Jesus is the Bread of Life.

John 6:35

John 6:33

This was not an easy pill to swallow for many of the disciples in Christ day.

Because Jesus was describing himself in terms that were reserved for God himself.

Jesus spoke of being “taken in” and consumed illustrating a oneness with his followers.

Many couldn’t handle this level of belief about who Jesus truly is.

John 6:66-

Everyone must answer this question about Jesus, even his closest disciples.

Jesus is not just a belief system to be followed, but an inseparable relationship between God and Man.

Jesus is not just a belief system to be followed, but an inseparable relationship between God and Man.

Jesus said, “You must lose your life to save it.”

Becoming a follower of Jesus is to give up your life and let Jesus live through you.

4) Jesus is the Christ of God.

John 7:26,

The Jews had been promised a Deliverer, an Anointed one know as Messiah or Christ.