Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Mark 1:

With the opening words of their gospels, every gospel writer (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) wanted to make a particular point about Jesus.

Matthew began by referring to Jesus as the Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.

Luke began by rooting Jesus in verifiable history—with eyewitness accounts from the days of Herod, king of Judea.

John began by referring to Jesus as the Word who was with God and was God and was made flesh and dwelt among us.

Mark begins with these words in ...

This isn’t to say that Matthew, Luke, and John didn’t declare Jesus to be the Son of God as well.

Matthew repeatedly declares Him to be the Son of God.

Luke also repeatedly declares Him to the Son of God.

And John said that the whole purpose of his gospel was so that its readers would know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God...

Of course, this title—Son of God—is used of Jesus when His birth is announced in .

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to tell Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus, but Mary, a virgin, was confused and asked in ...

Gabriel responded in with...

We love to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, at Christmas, but what does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God?

What do we do with that fact?

And how does it affect how we live and how we die?

What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God?

And how does it affect how we live and how we die?

We’ll spend out time tonight answering those QUESTIONS, but before we do, let’s ask God to help us.

[Prayer]

Major Ideas

Question #1: What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God?

Jesus, the Son of God is divine.

We’ve already been over in reference to the gospels, but let me reiterate the fact that what the whole argument of the NT is that Jesus is the Son of God.

To see Him as anything less that the Son of God is to deny what God’s Word presents to us.

Jesus is called the son of God...

…by Satan.

…by demons.

…by John the Baptist.

...by His Followers.

...by angels.

...by a Roman Centurion.

..by Jesus.

The phrase “sons of God” is used the OT to refer to angels and fallen angels (, ; ; , , ).

It used that way in the NT as well ().

But I couldn’t find one example of an individual ever specifically referred to as “Son of God” in the OT, and it is clear that in the NT Jesus is not being referred to as an angelic being.

Jesus is referred to; He refers to Himself as the Son of God—as One equal in divinity with YAHWEH Himself.

That’s what it means that Jesus is the Son of God—He is divine!

He is deity!

He is very God of very God!

This brings us to our next QUESTION...

Question #2: What should we do with the fact that Jesus is the Son of God?

Most of the Jews in Jesus’ day wouldn’t embrace Jesus as the Son of God, because they rightly saw His claim to the Son of God as a claim of equality with God.

Most of the Jews in Jesus’ day wouldn’t embrace Jesus as the Son of God, because they rightly saw His claim to the Son of God as a claim of equality with God.

They didn’t have faith to see that what Jesus claimed about Himself was true.

And because they didn’t have faith to see the truth about Jesus, they wanted to kill Him for what they erroneously perceived as blasphemy— “This is why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him… He was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God,” ().

After His arrest, when He was being “tried” before religious leaders who had already decided He was guilty, the charge against Him was that He claimed to be the Son of God.

Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus is called the Son of God...

…by demons.

In they asked Him, “Are you the Son of God?” When Jesus said, “You say that I am,” they said, “What further testimony do we need?

We have heard it ourselves form His own lips.”

…by John the Baptist.

Jesus is called the Son of God by John the Baptist.

...by His Followers.

Jesus is called the Son of God by His Followers.

John 3:11

John 11:27

...by angels.

...by a Roman Centurion.

Matthew 27:54

..by Jesus.

The phrase “sons of God” is used the OT to refer to angels and fallen angels (, ; ; , , ), but I couldn’t find one example of an individual is ever specifically referred to as “Son of God,” and it is clear that in the uses above Jesus is not being referred to as an angelic being.

Jesus is referred to as the Son of God—not just an angelic being, but One equal in divinity with YAHWEH Himself.

He referenced Himself in this way.

Most of the Jews in Jesus’ day wouldn’t embrace Him as the Son of God, because they rightly saw it as a claim of equality with God.

They didn’t have faith to see that what Jesus claimed about Himself was true.

And because they didn’t have faith to see the truth about Jesus, they wanted to kill Him for what they erroneously perceived as blasphemy— “This is why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him… He was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God,” ().

John 10:

After His arrest, when He was being “tried” before religious leaders who had already decided He was guilty, the charge against Him was that He claimed to be the Son of God.

In they asked Him, “Are you the Son of God?” When Jesus said, “You say that I am,” they said, “What further testimony do we need?

We have heard it ourselves form His own lips.”

It would’ve made no difference to them what Jesus said.

It didn’t make any difference to them who Jesus was.

He had demonstrated that He was indeed the divine Son of God, but they had ignored these proofs.

He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk, and the deaf hear.

He cast out demons.

He turned water into wine, calmed a storm and withered a fig tree with a command.

He turned water

He walked on water.

He raised the dead.

Who could do these things but the Son of God?

Yet, they would not believe Him.

And many of them wouldn’t even believe the sign of Jonah—when Jesus was raised from the dead.

When He was hanging on the cross, some who passed Jesus by derided Him by saying, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross,” ().

When He was hanging on the cross, some who passed Jesus by derided Him by saying, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross,” ().

Others joined in with derision of their own...

Matthew 27:43

They didn’t yet understand the truth of ...

You see, the people who mocked and taunted Jesus when He was on the cross thought that if He was the Son of God, He would use that power to escape the cross.

But because Jesus was the Son of God, He used His divine power to embrace the cross.

As the Son of God, Jesus could have called down legions of angels to rescue Him (), but He didn’t.

Why?

Because God loved us and sent His only Son—Jesus, the Son of God—to live for us, die for us, and rise for us, so that who believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

This is what we should do with the fact that Jesus is the Son of God—we should believe it and live!

If we don’t believe it, nothing will change.

Jesus will still be the Son of God, and we will still be condemned.

But says...

Jesus, the Son of God, was sent that you would believe and be saved, so believe and be saved!