Audio from Senior Pastor Vaughn Drawdy on Sunday morning February 25th, 2018.
These sermon notes are made available through the YouVersion free Bible app.
https://www.bible.com/events/367319
Matthew 16:13-16 NIV
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Throughout history many people have attempted to answer this question, “Who is Jesus?” Some have done so accurately, but many have not. Our best source for answering this question is–once again–God's own word. The Bible presents us with some inescapable truths about Jesus that demand a response. Anyone who seriously studies Scripture to learn more about Jesus must answer two probing questions “What do you think about Jesus Christ?” and “Who is he?”
The writer C.S.Lewis made this observation in Mere Christianity: “You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
Jesus was not just a good man. He was – and he is – the God-man - the Son of God.
Today we are going to look at three questions about Jesus:
1. Who does the world say He is?
2. Who does the Bible say He is?
3 .Who is Jesus to you?
1 - WHO DOES THE WORLD SAY JESUS IS?:
There are many books written to inform, dispute and discuss who Jesus is… He is the most controversial and wrote about person in history.
Even in Jesus' day, there was various thoughts on who He could be...In Matthew 16:14, the disciples told Jesus that some people thought He was John the Baptist. Others thought He was Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets. In other words, He was a good man, a religious man who did great things and taught well, but surely not God or the Son of God.
Things haven’t changed much. Some people today still think Jesus was just a prophet – the Muslims for example recognize that He was a good teacher and a fine religious leader, but surely not the “only begotten Son of God.” It is ironic that while people think Jesus taught great things and taught the truth, they miss that one of His fundamental teachings was His deity. How can they say He taught the truth and yet deny what He taught? The Mormons teach He was a son of God, but just a son like you and me. Some think He was a nut, an exhibitionist, a psycho looking for fame. To others He’s just a myth, a figment of our imagination. He’s a crutch for weak-minded people.
Maybe He was a great historical figure. He was certainly a good man, a good teacher, a man of character and integrity. He can be any number of things to an endless number of people, and it is easy to become appalled at what many think about Jesus. He was hated and ridiculed then and He is hated and ridiculed today.Just like in Jesus day, people believe all kind things about Him… to most people He is anything but a Savior, let alone the One to whom they will give an account.
2. WHO DOES THE BIBLE SAY HE IS?
Is Jesus just a prophet? Is He just a good man? Not hardly! What did Peter say? (Matt 16:16, “You are the Messiah (the Anointed One, the Christ), the Son of the living God."
Peter is declaring who Jesus is, the Messiah (as defined in Hebrew), the Anointed One, THE CHRIST (Christos). (Note: Peter most definitely has an understanding of what was foretold regarding the ONE to come. Also, God has opened His eyes and revealed this to him.)
The name Christ is the official title of our Lord, occurring 514 times in the New Testament. It means that He was anointed or consecrated to His great redemptive work as Prophet, Priest, and King of His people. He is Jesus the Christ. To believe that "Jesus is the Christ" is to believe that He is the Anointed, the Messiah of the prophets, the Savior sent of God, that He was, in a word, who He was prophesied to be and what He claimed to be. (Is. 9:6-7; Micah 5:2; Is. 7:5)
Peter went on to say that He was the Son of the living God. He recognized Jesus for who He claimed to be. Jesus truly is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the only begotten Son of the living God, not a dead God but a living God! But even these things are just the tip of the iceberg concerning the person of Christ. He was all of that and so much more! It is a tragedy that most people who fill most churches only see Jesus as a Savior – somebody to give them fire insurance and keep them out of hell. Listen, if you’re a child of God and you’re growing in your relationship with Him, He’ll be more than that to you!!!
The Bible says that Jesus is… (DIG DEEPER)
· Your Lord and Master (Romans 10:9)
· Your Comforter (2 Cor. 1:3-5)
· Your Advisor (Is. 9:6, 11:2)
· Your Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5)
· Your Advocate (1 John 2:1)
· Your Strength (2 Cor. 12:9-10; Eph. 6:10)
· Your Inspiration (Rom. 8:37-39)
· Your Protector (Heb 13:6)
· Your Provider (Heb. 13:20-21)
· Your Shepherd (John 10:11, 14-16)
· Your Peace (Eph. 2:14)
To Abraham He was the ram. To Israel He was the lamb. To Ruth He was a Redeemer. To Nehemiah He was a Master Builder. To David He was the Tender Shepherd. To Solomon He is the Wise and All-Knowing God. To Amos He was the Burden Bearer. To Malachi He was the Son of Righteousness with healing in His wings. To Mark He was the Suffering Servant. To John He was the Lamb of God and the Light of the world. To Paul He was a Wonderful Savior.
If you really want to know who Jesus is, then you need to get into the book that identifies who He is! We’ve considered who other people say Jesus is, and more importantly we’ve considered who the Bible says Jesus is, but now let’s consider the third and most important question of them all.
3 - WHO IS JESUS TO YOU?
Who He is, is revealed in HOW WE TALK WITH HIM.
I want to close today with a story and a few questions:
The Story:
Luke 18:35-43 NIV
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied. 42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
The Questions:
If Jesus walked in right now, stopped in front of you and asked “What do you want me to do for you?” What would you say? You probably already know enough about Him and about your need to say something:
Save me, heal me, cleanse me, help me, comfort me, protect me…shepherd me to a place of peace? Maybe, you say to yourself, I don’t believe in all this… but what about that inner fear you have? That lack of belonging? I encourage you, talk to Jesus… can you get real about it? go ahead… I am…
What would you say? Who is Jesus to you?
Visuals set to the audio of the famous sermon "Seven Way King" as spoken by Dr. S.M. Lockridge.