Jesus Is The Son Of God - True Or False Series

Jesus is the Son of God – True or False

Matthew 26:57-68

March 21, 2004

This message is based on material provided by Outreach Marketing.

Introduction

If you have seen the movie for yourself you know that Dobson’s statement hits it dead on. There was no way to leave the theater without being touched and moved by the reality of the intense suffering that Jesus endured. There was no way that anyone could have left the theater without a deeper understanding of what Jesus has done for us.

On my way home from seeing the movie, I had a great difficulty describing what I felt but now that I have had a chance to reflect on it, I believe that I was overwhelmed.

I was overwhelmed with the depth of the shear brutality poured out on Jesus, the determined efforts of the Jewish leadership to have Jesus executed and the delight on the faces of the Roman soldiers beating Jesus with the scourge. I was overwhelmed with the disregard of the soldiers as they beat Jesus again and again as He carried His cross, the blatant disrespect of the Jewish leaders at the cross as they ridiculed Jesus as He was dying and I was overwhelmed with disgust for what Jesus suffered for a world that just doesn’t seem to care.

I was also overwhelmed in a good way. I was overwhelmed by the depth of love Jesus showed to others as He was dying, even those who were His enemies. I was overwhelmed by the decision of Jesus to accept the cross willingly to die for me and I was overwhelmed at the power of His concern for the criminal on the cross. For just one moment when Jesus turns His head, it made me feel that Jesus was looking at me and showing me the same mercy and grace.

The Passion of the Christ is without a doubt the most realistic and most powerful movie ever made about the life of Jesus. However, there are still those who would make false claims about who Jesus is and what He has done for us. This is one of the main reasons that I chose to do this series of messages True and False: Searching for the Truth about Jesus. Over the next four weeks I am going to be exploring some key questions that reveal the nature of who Jesus is and why it is reasonable to believe in Him as your savior.

This morning, we are examining the question: Is Jesus the Son of God?

Jesus is a myth – True or False?

The four gospels (Matthew, mark, Luke and John) give us a biography for the life of Jesus and they provide us with a wealth of information. One statement that I heard just recently is that the gospels were written as a way to communicate faith and have very little to do with actual history. This deeply disturbs me, because the life of Jesus is an historical event and our faith cannot be separated from that history. In essence, we have a faith that is based on historical facts.

Here are a few proofs of the historical nature of our faith

Jesus of Nazareth was a real person: There is more than enough historical information outside of the gospel records to prove that Jesus was a real person. Both Jewish and Roman historians claim that Jesus was an actual person. There is no way that He was a mythical figure or that the church made Him up.

Jesus was a great teacher: The gospels record the life and the teachings of Jesus. Additional historians also tell us that Jesus was a great teacher who created great controversy in Israel during the first century AD. The truth is that Jesus is still causing controversy today.

Jesus worked miracles: Many of the ancient historians had a negative view of the early church, specifically the Jewish leadership. The Jew viewed the church as a dangerous sect that was a perversion of Judaism. However, Jewish records in the Mishnah and the Talmud recognize the power that Jesus had to heal and cast out demons.

Jesus was crucified: Again sources outside of the gospels report that Jesus was crucified during the reign of Pontius Pilate. This is one of the primary facts of the gospels that cannot be truly questioned.

Jesus was raised from the dead: The gospels show without any doubt that Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day.

Jesus was just a man – True or False?

No other person in all of time has had a greater impact on history than Jesus of Nazareth. The reality is that His birth is the factor that divides time and changes the course of history for this world.