Why Pray In Jesus Name Series

Sermon Series: “Questioning the Faith”

Sermon #10 “Why Pray in Jesus’ Name?”

Text: I Timothy 2:5

OPENING JOKE: Father’s Day Jokes –

#1 “A second-grader was given the assignment of writing about her personal hero. Her father was flattered that his little girl had chosen him. He pushed his luck though when he asked, “Why did you pick me?” She pulled the valve on his inflated chest when she replied, “Because I couldn’t spell Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

#2 “A young boy was asked to explain Father’s Day. He quietly contemplated his answer, then made the following observation: “Father’s Day is just like Mother’s Day except you don’t have to spend as much money on the present.”

#3 “A little girl posed a curious question to her mom. She asked, “If the stork brings babies, and if Santa Claus brings presents, and if the Lord gives us our daily bread, then why do we keep Daddy around?”

REMINDER: Please remember that this series on questions will go on until I run out. As I looked this week I noticed that I am running short. If you have questions, please write them and place them under my door.

INTRODUCTION: Today we are going to answer a question that revolves around the humanity of Christ Jesus

The Divinity of Christ has been pondered for centuries

I believe the Scripture is crystal clear concerning His role in the Godhead, that He is God in flesh and that the incarnation of ‘God the Son’ in the person of Jesus Christ is an essential Doctrine of the Christian faith.

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” [Then verse 14 indicates that ‘The Word’ is Jesus Himself]

Colossians 2:9 “For in him [Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

Jesus even claimed the proper name of God from the OT, the name “I AM”

John 8:58 “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”

But in pondering the Divinity of Christ, we often lose sight of His humanity

God the Son, coming in the form of ‘anthropos’ (Greek: ‘human being’) is the great miracle of the Bible

And understanding His humanity is essential to answering today’s question

QUESTION: “Why, if Jesus has gone away and has sent us the Holy Spirit, do we now pray in the name of Jesus and not in the name of the Spirit?”

To answer this question, we must look at the role of Christ as our ‘High Priest’

I. CHRIST, AS A MAN, WAS BOTH PROPHET AND PRIEST

a. First let us establish the difference in these two roles

b. (1) Prophet

i. Responsible for bringing God’s message to the people

1. Moses was sent to bring a message of release to Pharaoh

2. Jonah was sent to bring a message of judgment to the Ninivites

3. Jeremiah was sent to bring a message of surrender to king Zedekiah

4. Isaiah was sent to bring the message of the coming Messiah to the Israelites

5. John the Baptist was sent to bring God’s message of repentance and Baptism

ii. Likewise, Christ brought God’s message of salvation from sins

1. He was the ‘prophet of prophets’

2. He was the one Moses spoke of when he said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me” (Deuteronomy 18:15)

c. (2) Priest

i. Responsible for bringing the people’s petitions before God

1. In the OT the tribe of Levi was chosen to produce a priesthood in Israel

2. Thus the book of Leviticus was written as instructions for the priesthood

3. Moses was also a priest, because he not only took God’s message to the people, but he also took their petitions to God

ii. This is why, I believe, Moses said “a prophet like me”

1. Because Jesus was both ‘Prophet’ and ‘Priest’

2. These were His dual roles in His humanity

d. Man has never been able to go to God on our own

i. This is because of the separation cause by sin

ii. In the OT, the priest would have to go to God for the people

iii. And he went through a specific cleansing period before he could even do that

iv. The presence of God is so awesome that someone who was considered unclean would die in His presence

1. Illustration: “Rope around the leg” This isn’t Biblical, but an old custom says that whenever the priest would enter into the presence of God (the Holy of Holies), he would wear a rope around his leg – in case he dies they would pull his back out

2. I don’t know if that is true

3. But I do know that he wore a robe that made noises, so that the people could hear him working in the temple and know he was alive