WHO IS JESUS
JOHN 1:1-2
IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD. AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD.
THE SAME WAS IN THE BEGINNING WITH GOD.
FOR THE NEXT LITTLE WHILE, I WANT YOU TO SIT BACK AND RELAX.
TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF AND MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE.
AMEN, OR HEY MAN IS ALLOWED, DEPENDING ON WHETHER OR NOT I’M ON YOUR STREET.
THIS MORNING, WE ARE GOING TO ATTEMPT TO ANSWER THE QUESTION THAT HAS BEEN THE TOPIC OF CONVERSATION WITH THEOLOGIANS, PHILOSOPHERS, ANTHROPOLOGIST AND EVOLUTIONIST THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF HISTORY.
I HEARD A PASTOR SAY ONE SUNDAY THAT MOST OF US IF WE WERE ASKED WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GIVE A DEFINITIVE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION OF WHOM JESUS IS OR WHERE HE CAME FROM.
THAT STARTED ME TO THINKING; YOU NEED TO KNOW WHO IT IS THAT YOU SERVE, SO THE QUESTION FOR TODAY IS WHO IS JESUS?
LET ME SEE THE HANDS OF THOSE OF YOU WHO KNOW, WHO JESUS IS.
OK, OK, THAT’S GOOD, BUT DO YOU REALLY KNOW, WHO JESUS IS?
NOW WAIT A MINUTE. I DON’T MEAN YOU HEARD ABOUT HIM IN A CASUAL CONVERSATION WITH ONE OF YOUR HOMEY’S AND YOU LIKED WHAT YOU HEARD.
I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD AND YOU HEARD A PREACHER OR YOUR PARENTS OR ONE OF THE OLD CHURCH MEMBERS SAY SOMETHING ABOUT HIM AND IT SOUNDED GOOD TO YOU.
WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHO JESUS IS?
HAVE YOU OVER THE YEARS DEVELOPED A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM?
HAVE YOU AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER HAD TO PROSTRATE YOURSELF BEFORE HIM AND TELL HIM ALL ABOUT THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS THAT HAVE COME INTO YOUR LIFE?
THE WRITERS OF THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS AND THE FOURTH GOSPEL HAVE TRIED TO GIVE US SOME INSIGHT AS TO WHO JESUS IS.
MATTHEW WHO IS A JEW BY BIRTH BEGINS BY BREAKING THE 400-YEAR SILENCE BETWEEN THE PROPHET MALACHI’S PROPHECY AND THE PRONOUNCEMENT OF THE BIRTH OF JESUS.
IN HIS GOSPEL TO THE JEWS MATTHEW PRESENTS JESUS AS KING, FOR HE IS THE SON OF DAVID.
HE QUOTES MORE FREELY FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT THAN ANY OF THE OTHER 3 EVANGELIST, AND ON EVERY PAGE HE IS TRYING TO CONNECT THE GOSPEL WITH THE PROPHETS AND SHOW THAT ALL OF THEIR TEACHING IS BEING FULFLILLED IN THE PERSON AND KINGDOM OF JESUS CHRIST.
MARK, IN HIS GOSPEL TO THE ROMANS DESCRIBES JESUS AS A SERVANT AND HE DOESN’T BOTHER WITH HIS GENEALOGY BECAUSE LEGAL GENEOLOGIES AND FULFILLMENTS OF PROPHECY WOULD LEAVE ROMANS COLD. THEY HAD NO INTEREST IN TRACING BELIEFS BACK INTO THE P AST.
THEY HIGHLY VALUED STRONG COMMON SENSE AND THEIR RELIGION HAD TO BE PRACTICAL.
ARGUING FINE POINTS OF SCRIPTPURE INTERPRETATION HELD NO INTEREST FOR THEM.
MARK PORTRAYS CHRIST AS THE HUMBLE BUT PERFECT SERVANT OF GOD.
UNLIKE MATTHEW, MARK WAS NOT TRYING TO PROVE CERTAIN STATEMENTS AND PROPHECIES CONCERNING JESUS. HIS ONLY REASON FOR WRITING WAS TO TELL CLEARLY, CERTAIN FACTS ABOUT JESUS, LIKE WHAT HE DID, AND WHO HE DID IT WITH MORE THAT HIS WORDS.
WHO IS JESUS?
IN LUKE’S GOSPEL TO THE GREEK, LUKE PRESENTS JESUS AS THE IDEAL OF PERFECT MANLINESS. CAN WE REWIND AND PAUSE HERE FOR A MINUTE?
IF THERE WERE A GOSPEL WRITTEN FOR THE SINNER, THIS WOULD BE IT, FOR YOU SEE; LUKE BRINGS OUT THE COMPASSIONATE LOVE OF JESUS IN BECOMING A MAN TO SAVE A MAN.
IN LUKE’S GOSPEL WE SEE GOD MANIFESTED IN THE FLESH.
FOR LUKE DEALS WITH THE HUMANITY OF JESUS
HE REVEALS JESUS AS A MAN WITH ALL OF MAN’S SYMPATHIES, FEELINGS, AND GROWING POWERS.
IN OTHER WORDS, HE IS A SAVIOR SUITED TO ALL.
IN LUKE’S GOSPEL, WE SEE THE GOD OF GLORY COMING DOWN TO OUR LEVEL, ENTERING INTO OUR CONDITIONS AND BEING SUBJECT TO OUR CIRCUMSTANCES.
LUKE COMPARES JESUS TO ADAM, THE FIRST MAN TO COME DIRECTLY FROM GOD AND, BEING A PERFECT MAN JESUS IS SEEN MUCH IN PRAYER WITH ANGELS MINISTERING TO HIM.
BUT JOHN, JOHN’S GOSPEL STANDS ALONE IN A CLASS BY ITSELF.
IT KEYS IN ON HIS CONVERSATIONS AND, HIS PRAYERS
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN IS MORE ELEVATED IN TONE AND MORE EXALTED IN VIEW THAT THE OTHER GOSPELS, FOR YOU SEE IN EACH OF THE OTHER THREE GOSPELS, JESUS IS VIEWED IN A HUMAN RELATIONSHIP WITH AN EARTHLY PEOPLE.
BUT IN JOHN WE FIND A SPIRTUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH A HEAVENLY PEOPLE.
AND THAT TELLS ME THAT JOHN WROTE THE WORLD TO PROVE THAT JESUS WAS THE CHRIST, THE PROMISED MESSIAH FOR THE JEW, AND THE SON OF GOD FOR THE GENTILES,
HE WROTE TO LEAD BELIEVERS INTO A LIFE OF DIVINE FRIENDSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS.
THE THEME OF JOHN’S GOSPEL IS THE DEITY OF JESUS.
NO GENEALOGY IS RECORDED HERE
THERE IS NO ACCOUNT OF HIS BIRTH, BECAUSE HE WAS IN THE BEGINNING.
THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT HIS BOYHOOD
THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT HIM BEING TEMPTED IN THE WILDERNESS, RATHER HE IS PRESENTED AS CHRIST THE LORD,
THERE IS NO MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION
NO APPOINTING OF THE APOSTLES
NO PARABLES
NO ACCOUNT OF THE ASCENSION
NO GREAT COMMISSION
BUT HERE AND ONLY HERE IS HE CALLED THE WORD
THE LAMB OF GOD
THE REVELATION OF THE GREAT I AM
BUT THE QUESTION STILL REMAINS, WHO IS JESUS?
JOHN SAYS, IN THE BEGINNING, WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD
OK JOHN, I THOUGHT I HAD IT BUT NOW YOU’VE GOT ME ALL CONFUSED
FIRST YOU TELL ME THAT, IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND NOW YOU TURN RIGHT AROUND AND TELL ME THIS SAME WORD IS GOD?
OK. LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THIS THING
IN THE BEGINNING
OK, I KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS
IT MEANS IN THE START OF
IN THE FIRST,
IN THE GENESIS,
BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, WAS THE WORD.
AND I KNOW WHAT A WORD IS TOO.
A WORD IS SOMETHING THAT YOU WRITE THAT IS UNDERSTOOD BY SOMEBODY ELSE.
IF THERE ARE ANY TEACHERS IN HERE NOW, YOU TELL ME HOW I’M DOING.
WORDS CAN BE PUT TOGETHER WITH ADJECTIVES AND VERBS AND NOUNS AND PRONOUNS AND CONJUNCTIONS TO FORM SENTENCES, AND PARAGRAPHS AND PHRASES THAT EXPRESS AND PORTRAY HOW WE FEEL.
ONE-DAY GENERAL DOUGLAS MCARTHUR UTTERED THE WORDS, I SHALL RETURN AND THESE WORDS BECAME FAMOUS.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE UTTERED THE WORDS, ROMEO, ROMEO, WHEREFORTH ART THOU ROMEO, AND THESE WORDS BECAME POETIC.
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. IN HIS PRINCIPAL ADDRESS IN WASHINGTON D.C. UTTERED THE WORDS, I HAVE A DREAM AND THESE WORDS BECAME DYNAMIC.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN UTTERED THE WORDS, BETTER TO REMAIN SILENT AND BE THOUGHT A FOOL THAN TO SPEAK AND REMOVE ALL DOUBT, AND THESE WORDS BECAME RESPONSIBLE.
AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I CAN REMEMBER A TIME WHEN BLACK FOLK DIDN’T ALLOW YOU TO CALL THEM BLACK FOLK BUT, ONE-DAY JAMES BROWN SHOUTED THE WORDS, I’M BLACK AND I’M PROUD AND THESE WORDS BECAME POPULAR.
AND THEN SOMEWHERE, SOMEHOW, AT SOMETIME OR ANOTHER SOMEBODY UTTERED THE WORDS, CHILD; HE SAID, THAT SHE SAID, THAT THEY SAID.
CAN I PAUSE RIGHT THERE FOR JUST A MINUTE? DID YOU KNOW THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE IN HERE TODAY AND IN THIS CITY WHO ARE ANGRY WITH ME?
NOT BECAUSE OF ANYTHING I DID TO THEM PERSONALLY, BUT BECAUSE OF WHAT SOMEBODY ELSE SAID I DID, OR SAID, AND THESE WORDS BECAME DANGEROUS.
SO YOU SEE WORDS ARE AN EXPRESSION OF YOURSELF, AND JESUS BEING CALLED THE WORD IS AN EXPRESSION OF GOD.
FOR IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THAT’S THE KEY.
NOT SOME WORD,
NOT A WORD,
BUT THE WORD
WHO IS JESUS?
HE IS THE DEITY AND THE EXPRESSION OF GOD.
FINALE
NATHANIEL SAID IN HIS CONFESSION TO JESUS, THOU ART THE SON OF GOD.
THOMAS THE DOUBTER CRIED OUT, MY LORD AND MY GOD.
JOHN THE BAPTIST SAID, THIS IS THE SON OF GOD.
PETER DECLARED, THOU ART THE CHRIST, SON OF THE LIVING GOD!
NOW WE NEED TO HEAR FROM A VERY GOOD FRIEND OF MINE.
COME ON JESUS, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT WHO YOU ARE?
WELL, I’M EVERYTHING THEY SAID I WAS, BUT
I’M ALSO, THE GOOD SHEPHERD,
I AM, THE TRUE VINE,
I’M A ROCK, IN A WEARY LAND,
SHELTER IN THE TIME OF STORM,
I’M YOUR REFUGE, IN THE TIME OF TROUBLE
THE BRIDGE THAT, CONNECTS THE HEART OF GOD TO THE SOUL OF MAN
I AM, MARY’S BABY, SEED OF A ABRAHAM,
A STONE HEWN OUT OF A MOUNTAIN, A MEEK AND HUMBLE LAMB.
THERE’S NOTHING THAT YOU WILL EVER GO THROUGH, THAT I HAVEN’T GONE THROUGH ALREADY
YOU SEE, I’M FULLY MAN, AND I’M FULLY GOD.
ON MY MOTHERS SIDE, I MIGHT GET HUNGRY.
BUT ON MY FATHERS SIDE, I’M BREAD IN A STARVING LAND. I HAVE MEAT THAT YE KNOW NOT OF.
ON MY MOTHERS SIDE, I MAY GET TRIED AND WEARY
BUT ON MY FATHERS SIDE, I’M A LEANING POST.
COME UNTO ME, ALL YOU WHO ARE WEARY AND HEAVY LADEN AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST.
ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB LEANED ON ME.
YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR FATHER LEANED ON ME, AND YOU CAN LEAN ON ME TOO.
ON… MY MOTHER’S SIDE I MIGHT LAY DOWN AND TAKE A NAP,
BUT ON MY FATHERS SIDE, I AM HE, THAT NEITHER SLUMBERS NOR SLEEPS.
ON MY MOTHERS SIDE, IF THERE’S ANY WAY POSSIBLE, LET THIS CUP PASS.
BUT ON MY FATHERS SIDE, NOT MY WILL BUT THY WILL BE DONE.
ON MY MOTHERS SIDE, I MIGHT GET ANGRY ABOUT, THE WAY YOU TREAT ME
BUT ON MY FATHERS SIDE, FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO
ON MY MOTHER’S SIDE, I WAS PROMISED THREE SCORE AND TEN YEARS.
BUT ON MY FATHER’S SIDE, I AM, THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE, HE THAT BELIEVETH IN ME THOUGH HE WERE DEAD, YET SHALL HE LIVE.
IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD AND THE WORD WAS GOD.
DON’T TELL ME ABOUT HOW GREAT ABRAHAM WAS, BECAUSE BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS, I AM.
THIS IS THE STONE WHICH IS BECOME THE HEAD OF THE CORNER
NEITHER IS THERE SALVATION IN ANY OTHER FOR THERE IS NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN AMONG MEN, WHEREBY WE MUST BE SAVED
IT’S ALRIGHT; FRONTIER, IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT, BECAUSE THE WORD TELLS ME THAT AFTER WHILE EVERY KNEE WILL BOW.
AND EVERY TONGUE WILL CONFESS THAT JESUS…
