Jesus is Key

When the great Victorian preacher C.H. Spurgeon, entered the pulpit of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, for the first time, these were his opening words.

“I would propose that the subject of the ministry of this house, as long as this platform shall stand, and as long as this house shall be frequented by worshipers, shall be the person of Jesus Christ.”

The opening words of Mark’s gospel are,

“The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Mark 1:1

Towards the end of his gospel John explains the purpose for which the book was written,

“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31

The whole of the New Testament is about Jesus. The word ‘Christian’ means ‘a follower of Jesus Christ’.

One Sunday evening our church hosted an inter-church young people’s service. One lady, the youth leader from another church, brought two youngsters with her. They went to sit with other young people so I went and sat down next to the lady to welcome her. I was flabbergasted at her opening words,

“Do you know the trouble the your church?”

I did not know what to say so asked her to explain,

“Your trouble is that you talk too much about Jesus!”

Wow! That was some challenge. How should I answer her? I showed her the opening ten verses of Paul’s letter to the troubled Corinthian church and asked what she thought was the emphasis of Paul here. We read,

“Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.” 1 Corinthians 1:1-10

There are many such passages in the New Testament where the writers make it clear that the message of the church is about Jesus.

“He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent” Colossians 1:18

The church does not govern itself, nor does it exist for itself but to display the supremacy of Jesus Christ as Lord. The apostle Paul explains;

“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” 2 Corinthians 4:5

“Therefore God has exalted him (Jesus) to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” Philippians 2:9-11

Christians need to be constantly reminded,

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” Hebrews 12:2

To believe in Jesus is much more than an intellectual acceptance of a doctrinal position or a formal allegiance to a church that does this. It must be personal. All true Christians are united behind the belief that Jesus is their Lord and Saviour and act accordingly. Pope Francis was expounding St Paul’s Letter to the Galatians at his Wednesday’s General Audience and was explaining what it means “to walk in the Spirit.”

“To believe in Jesus means to follow Him. At the same time, it means avoiding the opposite way, that of selfishness, of seeking one’s own interest.” (1)

A vicar asked his son what he had learned in Sunday School that morning.

“We learned that your faith has to drop a foot.”

“What did they mean.” the bemused vicar asked.

“You can have a faith in your head, but God wants it to be in your heart!”

When the first missionaries went to Japan, a young Japanese who wanted to learn English was given the Gospel of John to translate into his native tongue. In a short time he became very restless and agitated. At last he burst out with the question,

“Who is this Man about whom I have been reading, this Jesus? You call him a man, but He must be God.”

Jesus was a real man

The Bible paints a comprehensive portrait of the remarkable life of Jesus Christ from the womb to the tomb, demonstrating that His humanity was genuine. He would be a descendant of King David, he would have a mother, he was circumcised, he grew up as a child, he became hungry and thirsty, he wept, and he was killed. He had a family,

“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary?, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us?” Matthew 13:55-56

Jesus was the Messiah

The great theme of the Jewish Scriptures, our Old Testament, was that though people have rebelled against God, our seemingly hopeless situation would be resolved when God’s chosen King, the Messiah, entered his world. The Hebrew word “Mashiach,” meaning Messiah, means “the one anointed with oil.” The custom of anointing with oil is a ritual act designed to identify those designated for priestly or royal duties. Unfortunately the Messiah the Jews expected was a political and military leader. The Roman general Pompey had conquered Jerusalem and its surrounding area by 63 BCE. A book, ‘The Psalms of Solomon’, written about 70-40BC, demonstrates the thinking of that time.

“Behold, O Lord, and raise up unto them their king, the Son of David . . . that he may purge Jerusalem from nations that trample her down to destruction.”

The Messiah in Judaism is a priest and king, who will enter this world and change it in accordance with the will of God. His kingdom will be everlasting:

“He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father and he shall be my son.” 2 Samuel 7:13-14

He will be a direct descendant of King David,

“In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it – one from the house of David – one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.” Isaiah 16:5

He will be born in Bethlehem, the city of David,

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of judah, out of you will come for me one who will rule over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Micah 5:2

He will have a wonderful mind:

“The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” Isaiah 11:2

Isaiah says that the Messiah will be identified by the miracles he would perform:

“Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.” Isaiah 35:5-6

He will be killed by crucifixion,

“A band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet . . . they divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” Psalm 22:17-18

This Psalm was written by King David around 1000 BC. It is even more remarkable as the first recorded crucifixions were performed by the Phoenicians around 450BC!

Jesus was the Messiah would die as the final sacrifice for our sin

He, this Lamb of God, would die as a substitutionary sacrifice for many,

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

“. . . my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. . . For he bore the sins of many.” Isaiah 53:11-12

A vital question we should all be able to is one George Whitfield liked to ask people,

“Do you know that your sins are forgiven?”

The Messiah would rise from the dead.

In this remarkable prophecy by Isaiah about the meaning of the death of the Messiah, his resurrection is also mentioned.

“He was a cut off from the land of the living . . .He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence and no deceit in his mouth. . . Though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days. . . After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied.” Isaiah 53:8-11

King David also foresaw that the Messiah would rise form death. Jesus must have taught his disciples the significance of this Psalm because Peter used it as evidence in his first Pentecost sermon.

“ I saw the LORD always before me . . . you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life.” Psalm 16:8-11 and Acts 2:25-28

These are just a few of the three hundred and thirty prophecies about the coming Messiah given in the Jewish Scriptures.

Jesus’ claims

Jesus had no doubt that they were all referring to him.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he hath anointed me to preach good news to the poor... Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Luke 4:18-21

Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God:

“You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Matthew 16:16

Jesus himself admits to the high priest that he is indeed the Messiah:

“‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ and Jesus said, ‘I am.’” Mark 14:61-62

One day Jesus was teaching in the temple when a group of Jews gathered round him and asked,

“ ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me.’” John 10:24

Jesus continued,

“‘My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. . . I and the Father are one.’ 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 10:27-33

Jesus made another statement claiming to be God when He said,

“Very truly I tell you, . . . before Abraham was born, I am!” John 8:58

The Jews, upon hearing Him, clearly understood that He was claiming to be Yahweh, the nameof God, the great “I AM” of Exodus 3:14. On this occasion also they tried to stone Him for blasphemy.

One of the clearest demonstrations is found in the account of the healing of a paralysed man who was brought by friends to see Jesus. They had to let him down through the roof because so many people were blocking their path.

“They made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat that the paralysed man was lying on. 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.’”

They were right. Sin is an offence against God so only God can forgive sin. That is why he would have been blaspheming – if he wasn’t God! Jesus continued,

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . .’ He said to the paralytic, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home’. He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God.”

Mark understood that Jesus wanted people to know he was God.

The apostles evidence

The apostles were clear that although Jesus was a real man he was also the God who had created the universe and then entered his world in the flesh. This is vital as if Jesus is not God he is both a liar and his death could not be a substitution for our sin. The only person who can forgive a wrongdoing is the person who is wronged. Sin is the rejection of God’s rule in my life so God is the only one who who can act to forgive me. If Jesus is not God who is able to forgive, I cannot be saved.

John began his gospel with this description of Jesus,

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” John 1:1

After Jesus’ resurrection, Thomas, the doubting disciple, finally understood Jesus’ deity, declaring Him to be “my Lord and my God” (John 20:28). If Jesus were not Lord and God, he would surely have corrected Thomas, but He did not.

In a letter to the churches John wrote,

“We know also that the Son of God has come nad has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true – even in his son Jesus Christ. He is true God and eternal life.” 1 John 5:20

Luke includes an interesting sentence in his gospel which has a clear inference. Jesus had just healed a demon-possessed man in the region of the Gerasenes and said to him,

“‘Return home and tell them how much God has done for you.’ So the man went away and told all over the town how much Jesus had done for him.” Luke 8:39

After seeing Jesus walking on the water, his disciples worshipped Him (Matthew 14:33).

When Jesus appeared to his disciples after the resurrection, they again fell at His feet and worshipped Him (Matthew 28:9). The disciples were well aware of the Mosaic Law’s penalty for blasphemy, yet they worshipped Him as God, and Jesus accepted their worship. Jesus never rebuked people for worshipping Him, accepting their worship as good and proper.

The letters in the New Testament have many references to Jesus as God. Paul eagerly awaited

“. . . the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own . . .” Titus 2:13

Paul considered that the appearance of Jesus on earth was the coming of God and that we are called to put our trust in him.

“But when the kindness and love of god our Saviour appeared, he saved us . . .so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.” Titus 3:4-8

“Theirs (the Jews) are the patriarchs and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, for ever praised.” Romans 9:5

Both Paul and John declared that Jesus created the universe (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16–17), yet Genesis 1:1 clearly says that God created the heavens and the earth.

The writer of the book of Hebrews is clear when saying that God the Father referred to Jesus as God:

“About the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever’” Hebrews 1:8, quoting Psalm 45:6

The same writer said,

“You have come to God, the judge of all men, . . to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant . . .” Hebrews12:23-24

Peter had no doubt about who Jesus was. He addressed his final letter,

“To those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours.” Hebrews 1:1

The promise of the gospel is that God has shared his righteousness with those of us who are committed to Christ.

A Testimony

William Thomas was 69 years old was a heavy drinker. People called him Staffordshire Bill because of his unstable temper. One Sunday afternoon he was drinking in the Working Men’s Club in Aberavon. As usual he had to sit by himself as few could bear his ‘filthy language and general unpleasantness.’ There he was, drinking himself into his usual sodden condition, feeling low, hopeless and depressed and trusting in drink to drown those inward pangs and fears. There were seral men in groups of twos and threes talking and drinking around the Club room. Suddenly he found himself listening, to a conversation between two men on the next table. He heard something about ‘the preacher; and then he heard a sentence that was to change his whole life. ‘Yes,’ said one man to the other, ‘I was there last Sunday night and that preacher said that nobody was hopeless - he said there was hope for everybody.’

William heard no more but sobered by what he had heard he said to himself, ‘If there is hope for everybody, there’s hope for me – I’ll go to that chapel myself and see what that man says.’ the next sunday he walked up to the open gate in the railings that fenced the church, but then his nerve failed him and he went home. He had a wretched week, waiting for the next sunday evening. As he arrived he heard singing and realised he was late. He once more turned away and went home. His misery increased but he didn’t try to drown his terror in drink. On the third Sunday he was again at the gate, wondering nervously what he should do next. At this point one of the congregation welcomed him with the words, ‘Are you coming in Bill? Come and sit with me.’ that evening he found he could understand what was being said about the Saviour, he believed in the gospel and his heart was flooded with a great peace – old things passed away, all things had become new. The transformation in his face was remarkable, it had the radiance of a saint. As he left the church he was introduced by a church member to the preacher’s wife, Mrs Martin Lloyd-Jones. He said,’ Mrs Jones, this is Staffordshire Bill.’ An agonised look cam across Bill’s face, and he said, ‘Oho, no! Oho, no! That is a bad old name for a bad old man. I am William Thomas now.’

Gregory of Nazianzus was an early Archbishop of Constantinople. In AD 381 he summarised the life of Jesus with these words:

He began His ministry by being hungry, yet He is the Bread of Life.

Jesus ended His earthly ministry by being thirsty, yet He is the Living Water.

Jesus was weary, yet He is our rest.

Jesus paid tribute, yet He is the King.

Jesus was accused of having a demon, yet He cast out demons.

Jesus wept, yet He wipes away our tears.

Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver, yet He redeemed the world.

Jesus was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, yet He is the Good Shepherd.

Jesus died, yet by His death He destroyed the power of death.

The Resurrection

This morning, as I was walking my dog Kali, I got into conversation with a lady who was also out walking her dog. She told me that she had had her children baptised but she didn’t ‘go to church or anything like that’. The she added,

‘I don’t really think it matters whether you are religious or what religion you follow so long as you are kind and thoughtful to other people!’

How has this way of thinking become so widespread? Doesn’t truth matter any more? I tried gently to explain that what matters is what God thinks of us and whether we are acceptable to him as the Bible makes it clear that we will all meet God in judgment when we die and that if we are not committed to Jesus Christ there will be nowhere to hide. What matters is whether Jesus is just another teacher like other religious leaders or whether he is indeed the Saviour of the word. The teaching, the miracles and especially the resurrection of Jesus are fundamental. I left her with some Christian literature and an invitation to church.

St Paul summarised the Christian message in a simple creed given at the end of his first letter to the troubled church at Corinth,

“Now brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you have received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved if you firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that:

‘Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.’ 1 Corinthians 15:1-5

The authority of the Old Testament Scriptures was fundamental to the apostles. There were some in Corinth who were doubtful about there being a future resurrection and that this life was all there is. Paul counters this argument strongly:

“But if it has been preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about god, for we have testified about god that he raised Jesus from the dead. . . And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:12-17

The identity of Jesus as God’s Messiah who died to pay the penalty for our sins is crucial. He was raised form the dead to prove his claims to be equal to his Father. As Jesus was approaching Jerusalem for the last time he repeatedly told his scared disciples that he as going to be killed there but would rise again:

“Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.” Mark 8:31-32

“He said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.’ But they did not understand what he meant are were afraid to ask him about it.” Mark 9:31-32

“‘We are going up to Jerusalem,’ he said, ‘and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the LAW. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” Mark 10:33-34

These references are easy to remember because they are in successive chapters and have similar verse numbers!

The word ‘resurrection’ is found 43 times in the New Testament. It is the ultimate evidence that Jesus sacrifice of himself was accepted by God, his Father. This means that those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour can be confident that however we feel we are also acceptable to God because of the Lord Jesus.

When I was a student being drawn to put my faith in Jesus a good friend advised me to thoroughly investigate the evidence for Jesus and his resurrection. It is this conviction about Jesus, that he died for our sin and rose again, and the dependability on the evidence of his apostles that is the bedrock of the Christian faith. The evidence that Jesus really died and that he rose from the dead is given in my book, ‘Cure for Life’.

If Jesus did not rise from the dead, the Christian faith is a foolish fantasy. However, if the resurrection of Christ did occur, it confirms His life, message, and atoning work. It is the basis of our hope of life beyond the grave. Christ is alive, and the evidence is overwhelming. Here are some of the reasons we can be so sure.

1. Jesus predicted His resurrection (Matt 16:21; Mark 9:9-10; John 2:18-22).

2. The Old Testament prophesied it (Psalm 16:10; compare Acts 2:25-31; 13:33-37).

3. The tomb was empty and the grave clothes vacant. if those who opposed Christ wished to silence His disciples, all they had to do was produce a body, but they could not (John 20:3-9).

4. Many people saw the resurrected Christ. They looked on His face, touched Him, heard His voice, and saw Him eat (Matt. 28:16-20; Luke 24:13-39; John 20:11-29; John 21:1-9; Acts 1:6-11; 1 Cor. 15:3-8).

5. The lives of the disciples were revolutionized. Though they fled and even denied Christ at the time of His arrest, they later feared no one in their proclamation of the risen Christ (Matt 26:56, 69-75).6. The resurrection was the central message of the early church. The church grew with an unwavering conviction that Christ had risen and was the Lord of the church (Acts 4:33; 5:30-32; Rom. 5:24).

6. Men and women today testify that the power of the risen Christ has transformed their lives. We know that Jesus is alive not only because of the historical and Biblical evidence but also because He has changed the lives of so many for good.

As Vice President, George Bush represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest. There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross and rose again. (2)

Thomas Cranmer had been Archbishop of Canterbury but he was condemned to be burnt at the stake because he opposed to the changes Queen Mary was introducing. Just before he was burnt to death on March 21, 1556 he was permitted to make a speech. These were some of his last words in which he emphasised the importance of living for the real world tocome:

“First, it is an heavy case to see that many folks be so much doted upon the love of this false world, and so careful for it, that for the love of God, or the love of the world to come, they seem to care very little or nothing therefore. This shall be my first exhortation: That you set not overmuch by this false glosing world, but upon God and the world to come. And learn to know what this lesson meaneth, which St John teacheth, that ‘the love of this world is hatred against God.’” (3)

1. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-11/pope-at-audience-believing-in-jesus-means-following-him.html

2. Gary Thomas, Christian Times, October 3, 1994, p. 26.

3. http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/cranmerspeech.htm