Why> Series # 6
Why> Jesus
Luke 9: 18-25
Scripture Reading: Luke 9:18-25
INTRODUCTION:
Have you ever been to a really good buffet? It’s the kind of restaurant I like to go to when you have a big group of people because everyone can get what they want. They can go down the line and pick and choose … Mexican food, Seafood, Chinese, Italian, good old American. You can try something new, and if you don’t like it … set it aside and go back for something else…
That’s great when you’re eating out (except that you may over-eat trying to get your money’s worth). But it doesn’t work so well when you take the buffet approach to your belief system. A lot of people think of “religion” as a kind of smorgasbord. They take a little of what Buddha said over here and try out some of what Mahatma Gandhi said over there with a little Jesus sprinkled over it and some Scientology sauce on the side. And for dessert they try some Dr. Phil and Dr. Laura with a big dollop of Opra on top. If it all tastes good, they keep it … and they’ve put together their own buffet of life. The best part is, if they lose their taste for any part of it, they can set it aside and try something else.
The only problem is: the Bible doesn’t offer a Buffet. God isn’t a buffet kind of God. The Bible presents ONE God and ONE way to be saved. Some people accept that as truth. Others don’t like it. They want to set it aside and find something else on the buffet table that looks better to them.
It’s all a matter of perspective. Most of what we do in life comes down to our own perception of what’s going on around us. Which reminds me of a story I read about a lady who had a “Honk if you Love Jesus” bumper sticker on the back of her car.
She wrote to her friend and said, “What a wonderful experience I had … and all because of that bumper sticker. I was sitting at a red light, so lost in thought that I hardly even noticed the light had changed … when the guy behind me spotted my bumper sticker and started honking like crazy. He must have really loved Jesus!
Then he gave me some kind of funny one-fingered wave. I asked my kids in the back seat what it meant and they started giggling and looked at each other. Then they explained that it was “The Hawaiian good luck sign.” So I turned around and gave him the same kind of friendly wave.
Well, pretty soon everyone was yelling and honking. I joined right in, honking and waving at them all. It was like a big pep rally for Jesus. A couple of people got so caught up in the joy of the Lord that they jumped out of their cars and ran toward my car. I really wanted to wait and pray with them, but I suddenly realized the light was green. So, I hit the gas pedal and went on through the intersection. Good thing I did because I was the only car that made it across before the light turned red.
As I drove away I leaned out the window and gave them a big Hawaiian good luck sign. What a wonderful experience. I never knew there were so many enthusiastic Christians out there on the road!”
It’s all about perception.
1. Who do the crowds say I am?
In Luke chapter 9, Jesus asked his disciples about the perceptions of the crowds who were following him around Galilee. When Jesus asked, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” His disciples didn’t have to stop and think it over. They had heard the talk and the rumors. They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." Luke 9:19
Some of the people thought Jesus might be some sort of reincarnation of John the Baptist. John was Jesus’ cousin. For a few years, John preached powerful sermons in the wilderness. But then John was executed by Herod. So, some people believed John the Baptist had re-appeared in the form of Jesus.
Others thought he might be one of the Old Testament prophets, returning to show the way. There were all kinds of perceptions floating around out there.
And it’s really not all that different today. There was a Jesus Seminar recently where scholars from many traditions debated the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. Some people see him as a wise man… some as a sage or guru… some as a prophet or a wizard… some as a philosopher. Some people think of Jesus as no more than a super-nice guy … kind of like Ritchie Cunningham was on Happy Days. If he’s around, you just feel good. And some see him as a sort of Green Peace Jesus with long hair and sandals, protecting the environment and taking care of all God’s creatures.
What do the people you see every week think about Jesus? Could you answer His question, “Who do people say that I am?” Has the subject of Jesus come up at school or work or when you’re talking to your neighbors? Even more important, could you answer the next question Jesus asked?
2. Who do you say I am?
Notice that this question is personal. Jesus was saying, You’ve told me what others say about me, "But what about you? Who do you say I am?" Luke 9:20
When Jesus lived on earth, he made some unique claims about who He is. In many different ways, Jesus said, “To know me is to know God. To love me is to love God. To reject me is to reject God.”
John 14:6 records this statement: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Lots of people don’t like the fact that Jesus claimed to be the ONLY way. Our all-American Buffet mentality causes people to figure that all Religions must be pretty much the same. People want to pick and choose bits and pieces from any and all of them.
But in reality, world religions teach very different things. Hinduism claims that everything is God – Hindus can choose from literally millions of idols, or they can worship an animal … or a tree. Buddhism rejects the belief in multiple Gods and goes the other way. Most branches of Buddhism are essentially atheistic. Sikhism rejects both Hinduism and Buddhism … and is willing to go to war over the differences. Islam is blatantly exclusive. In Islam, there is one God, and he is NOT Jehovah. Some of these religions give Jesus a place, but all of them deny that Jesus is God.
Jesus is distinctive because he is the only religious leader who claims to be God. Buddha doesn’t claim to be God. Mohammad doesn’t claim to be God. But Jesus does claim to be God.
Jesus backed up His claim with evidence that culminated in his resurrection from the dead. One kind of evidence that supports faith in Jesus is found in the prophecies of the Bible. The Old Testament (which was finished over 400 years before the birth of Jesus) contains at least 450 prophecies about the birth, life, and death of the Messiah.
Peter Stoner (a professor of Science at Westmont College) decided to calculate the probability that one person could fulfill just EIGHT of those 450 prophecies. The mathematical probability came out to 10 to the 17th power. Now, I don’t know about you, but 1017 doesn’t mean much to me. So think of it this way:
Suppose you take 10 to the 17th power of silver dollars and spread them all over the state of TEXAS. They would cover the state 2 feet deep. (We have to use Texas for this illustration --- it takes a BIG state!) Then you fly over in a plane and you mark one silver dollar and throw it out the window. You then shuffle all the silver dollars (now, don’t ask me how you’re supposed to do that…) Then you take some guy, put a blindfold on him, and send him out walking the state. At any point, he can stop and pick up a silver dollar. If he pulled out the silver dollar that had been marked, that is the statistical probability that one human being could fulfill those 8 prophecies that Peter Stoner analyzed. (http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/radio034.htm)
Jesus fulfilled over 450 Old Testament prophecies. Jesus stands alone in His claims … and in the evidence that supports his claims.
Buddhism has a story similar to the story Jesus told about the Prodigal Son. In the story Jesus told, the father sees his wayward son, and runs to greet him. The prodigal says he no longer deserves to be considered a son, but the loving father throws a party for him and freely restores him to his full honor as a son.
In the Buddhist story, the father finds his wayward son and arranges for him to be given a menial job. Through many years of working as a slave, the son eventually earns his way back into his father’s good graces. (mcel.pacificu.edu/mcel/omm/B1581.htm)
Those 2 stories illustrate the biggest difference between Christianity other world religions. It’s really simple. You study all the religions of the world and they come down to one word: DO. What can you DO to have religious success in life? What must you DO to earn favor with God? All the religions of the world come back to the word DO.
Here’s the difference. Christianity is all about DONE. It’s about what Jesus Christ has already DONE for us. It’s about God giving Himself to us in the person of Jesus. It’s about Him dying for our sins so that we can enter into salvation. It’s not about what we must DO to earn salvation. It’s about responding to what has already been DONE for us. That is a huge difference.
Jesus asked, "What about you? Who do you say I am?" … and Peter answered, "You are the Christ of God." Luke 9:20 This was a cataclysmic statement Peter said, “I don’t need any more evidence, Jesus. I believe. You are the ONE.” And I’m with Peter. I believe Jesus is who he said he is. He is THE way, THE truth, THE life. He is the ONE.
3. What good is it to gain the world and lose your soul?
In Luke chapter 9, we read that Jesus asked his disciples “Who do the crowds say I am?” Then he asked, “Who do YOU say I am?” But Jesus had one more question to ask. Look in verse 25: What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? Luke 9:25
This past week I saw an interview on TV with Ted Turner. Turner is about a good an example as you could find of someone who has gained the whole world. As the founder of CNN and many other enterprises, he’s a billionaire with about as much power and influence as any individual can attain in one lifetime.
I wasn’t paying close attention until the interviewer asked Mr. Turner about his Faith. I was surprised to hear him say that he was brought up in a Christian home. He said that as a 17-year-old I understood that if you accept Jesus as your personal savior you go to Heaven … and if you don’t you go to Hell.
Then the interviewer asked him what he now believes. Turner said, my religion is that when you die, you’re just … gone. The interviewer asked if he didn’t believe in Heaven at all and Ted just shrugged and joked If I could go fishing there I’d be for it, but I don’t want to sit on a cloud singing hymns for eternity.
What struck me was that this man who had gained the whole world was not very concerned about eternity. In fact, he was betting his life that when he died, he’d just be gone. If he’s right … he’ll never know it. And if he’s wrong … well that’s something he doesn’t seem to take seriously.
Now, I’m not trying to pick on Ted Turner. His attitude is common. So many people give all kinds of effort and attention to their life here on earth. But when it comes to the next life … they just try not to think about it.
The picture on the screen is listed as the oldest living woman according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Maria Esther de Capovilla of Guayaquil, Ecuador lived a total of 116 years and 347 days. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Capovilla
The article I read said she almost died at age 100, but then she rallied. Life expectancy in the United States is 77 years and 5 months, so when Maria died in August of this year, she beat it by almost 40 years. When Maria was born in 1889, there were about one and a half billion people on the planet. She out-lived all of them. Maria Esther de Capovilla beat the odds, but I bet if we could ask her about her life, she’d tell us, “Life is short and fleeting… and death is inevitable.”
Why would we live all our days focused on earthly life without giving thought to what comes after death? If Jesus was telling the truth, then it all comes down to how we answer His question: “What about you? Who do you say I am?”
CONCLUSION:
Imagine you’re on the 15th floor of a burning building. You run out in a hall and see doors all the way down a long hallway. You have no idea which door to open. You will have to try all those doors and hope one of them leads to the fire escape. But you might open the wrong door and get caught in a back-draft. Or you might run out of time. You notice smoke is already starting to fill the hall.
You’re about to try a nearby door when you hear a voice shout, “Hey, over here! This is the only way out! Follow me!” You look up and see a Fireman holding a door open.
If you understand the reality of your situation at all, you’ll pay attention. You’re not going to say, “Who are YOU to tell me that’s the ONLY way out?” You’re not going to think that Fireman is arrogant to claim He knows the only way out. That Fireman is risking his life to save yours. If you have any sense at all you’ll follow him through that door.
That’s how it is with Jesus. He did more than risk his life for you. He gave his life. He’s speaking the truth with compassion when he says, “I am the way. If you want to be saved, follow me.”
