During my second year of college I had the opportunity to study abroad in London. While in London, a small group of friends and I decided to visit Paris for about five days. The first day we were in Paris we visited the Eiffel Tower. We reached the Eiffel Tower just before sunset. It was a beautiful evening with perfectly clear skies. It was honestly the most gorgeous sunset I have ever seen. While we were looking at this gorgeous sunset I could not help but begin to talk about God and all the wonderful things He created. Well, my comments began a discussion between my friend and I about Jesus, His life and the impact He had on the world. Our rather in-depth discussion prompted my friend to ask a very funny, but legitimate question. He said to me, "So Jesus Christ, that’s His name, right? So what was His Mom’s name, Mary Christ? And if He had a brother, would His name be like Joe Christ? Mary Christ, Jesus Christ, and Joe Christ?" I laughed, and then answered his question, "Actually His brother’s name was James." Then he chuckled about "James Christ." I soon explained to him that "Christ" is a title. And it could have easily been said, "Christ Jesus". Kind of like "King Albert". I also explained to him that Jesus’ name would have most likely been "Jesus of Nazareth" or "Jesus the son of Mary."
Maybe you are here and are in the same place as my friend. Maybe you just found out that Jesus’ last name was not "Christ". That’s okay. Many people are exactly where you are. Most people are exactly where you are.
So Jesus was His name. "Christ" was His title. He was a poor man, a peasant, from what one of my teachers refers to as "back-water Galilee" from a little town called Nazareth. He had an ordinary name, "Yeshua" in Hebrew, but He was no ordinary man. How did one man go from being just another Jesus to "Jesus Christ"? From a teacher to savior of the world? From a man from nothing to God?
It is my aim tonight to explain to you, in the best of my ability, first of all what it meant for one man to be Christ and savior. And to also explain to you how one man came to be equated with God Himself.
However, before we can go any further, I must first explain some important terminology that is often used in reference to Jesus. What does it mean for Him to be "Christ Jesus"? The word Christ is derived from the Greek word Christos which is derived from the Hebrew word for messiah. It originally meant, "Anointed one." The term is primarily used in the Old Testament in reference to a king being "anointed" during a procession prior to him taking throne as king over Israel. With this knowledge in mind, my question is how did a peasant come to be thought of as a king? Furthermore, how did a peasant sentenced to death by crucifixition under Roman law come to be thought of as a king?
"Christ" also has a second meaning, having to do with being a "prophet". In the Old Testament, prophets were usually "anointed" by God in some way or another to do their ministry. So when people referenced Jesus, were they using this meaning of the term, or both meanings?
Many Jews during Jesus’ lifetime were looking for a "Christ" or "Messiah". Some Jews even believed that there would be two Messiahs: a priestly one and a kingly one. As you can imagine, with all these people looking for a "Messiah", there were many who claimed they were it and many people who followed these self-proclaimed Messiahs. Most of these Messiahs attempted to overthrow the Roman government or certain powers they believed were evil and wrong. However, most did not even remotely succeed. These people and their ideas about the "Messiah" were slightly off base. They believed the restoration the "Messiah" was going to bring to Israel was either about reformation of Jewish practice, or reclaiming the holy land.
So, when Mark opens his book by stating "beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God," He is making a profound claim. He is saying that there is "good news." The term "good news", otherwise known as "Gospel," was used in reference to the birth of a new Caesar as well. When Mark says that the "good news" is not Caesar, or anyone else, but is Jesus, he is making an astonishing claim. He also terms Jesus "Christ", meaning the "anointed one." Furthermore, he calls Him the "Son of God," also a term that was used in reference to Caesar. "Son of God" on the Jewish and Roman side is chalked full of kingly meaning. From the very beginning of Mark’s book, he gives us, the reader, the inside scoop. We are told exactly who Jesus is.
Then Mark does something that kind of stuns us. He goes on to tell a story about a prophet, teacher, and sufferer. He tells us a story about a kind of Messiah no one expected. Jesus is different; His words are shocking. His first words in Mark’s Gospel are "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." In other words, "Turn aside now, turn around now." For the kingdom of God is not coming, it has not come--it is present. The response to the "Son of God," the "Messiah" must be turning aside, turning around. But, what do we turn to? We turn to Jesus, and ultimately to God.
However, Jesus does not just make profound claims and then walk away. Jesus is willing to die for His claims because He knows them to be true. He does not go down like any other martyr, but instead when He dies He is resurrected. What is powerful about the resurrection, besides for the very fact that it happened, is why it happened. It happened because of Jesus’ message, because of His ability to call people to turn towards what God is doing and to turn away from what they are doing. To stop being egocentric and start being God-centric. In other words, to stop focusing on ourselves and start focusing on what God is doing.
By Jesus bringing the kingdom, He is bringing a message; he is bringing "good news." According to Mark, Jesus is the "Good news." Jesus’ kingdom is about love, forgiveness, and caring for others. In order for His kingdom to be fully present among us, we must turn aside from other things and turn towards God. We must turn from all other kingdoms and turn towards God’s.
Jesus’ "good news" brings a new way of life. This way of life is in and of itself a miracle. And I have seen it at work in my own life.
When I seek God and His kingdom, I see Jesus. I see true difference and change in my life. When I don’t, I am miserable. Because people who know the kingdom of God and have experienced it are not satisfied with anything less. It took a lot to make me realize this. It took a lot to make me realize what the kingdom of God was really all about.
I went through a time of deep pain and hurting, not just because of what happened to me, but because of the way I was living. I had turned from God’s kingdom, and turned towards building my own. And let me tell you, when that kingdom’s walls got hit, I fell with it. And I hit hard. I went through about three months of being depressed and not caring for anyone but myself. And then I finally realized one day what it was all about. Something hit me. God showed me something. God showed me that I had two choices. Either I could keep building my kingdom and then keep watching it fall. Which may be satisfying for a day, a week, or a season, but not for a lifetime. Or I can help build His kingdom. In a prayer room in a quiet moment, when I had no idea what building the kingdom of God looked like, I decided that I would build it. And let me tell you, it has been a journey. It was a journey coming back to God and giving Him all my junk. And it still is a daily journey to hand it over to Him again and again.
It is kind of like one of those old stagecoaches, which use to carry bank money. The horses would not stop for anything but a secret word, so that they could not get robbed. Life goes full steam, like the stagecoach; all the way up to the point that it is about to go off a cliff. Then I say the secret word, "help". When I say that to God everything stops and prayer begins. And every moment I say that beautiful word, "help," I realize what it means to follow Jesus.
But there is more to it than this. It is not just about God helping us; it is about us being one with God, so that this world may be different. So that all people may understand the significance of Jesus’ message.
Mark understood the significance of Jesus, even more than we have explored so far. Immediately following the opening of Mark’s gospel He says:
"As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, ’Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.’ " (Mark 1:2-3 ESV).
Mark then begins to speak about John the Baptist. John the Baptist was to prepare the way of the Lord, and he did. But, who is this Lord? Well, when you look up Isaiah 40:3, which is the last part of Mark’s quotation "prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight," you see that the Lord in this passage is none other than God Himself. So whom is John the baptist preparing the way for? God Himself. But, Mark’s Gospel indicates that this is Jesus. Does that mean that Mark understood Jesus to be God himself? Most likely, yes. What is so significant about this is that Mark is almost undisputedly believed by scholars to be the earliest Gospel, or book about Jesus’ life. This means that some of the earliest Christ followers believed that Jesus was God. They believed He was the anointed one (the Messiah), king, prophet, sufferer, and even God.
Why did they believe such things? Because of what they had experienced. Something unexplainable they had experienced brought them to think of Jesus in this way. They had experienced Jesus’ life, His teachings, and His miracles. Furthermore they had been there when He was crucified. And they had been there to see a resurrected Jesus.
But, there was one man who was not with the disciples when they first saw Jesus after He was resurrected. His name was Thomas.
Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But He said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe." Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then He said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. (John 20:24-29 ESV)
Thomas’ claim is amazing, he says, "My Lord and my God!" The one who doubted most affirmed Jesus as God. God truly had come to the world and changed it. The cry of God’s people is no longer just "help." The Helping One has a name, His name is Jesus; He is God. He knows our burdens because He experienced pain too.
Jesus changes those who meet Him and know Him. He changed His disciples and He changed me. But, there are also some people who claim to receive Jesus and never change.
This reminds me of a recent trip of mine. I was on a plane when I noticed that the seat in front of me said, "Use seat cushion for flotation." I then said to myself, Well I am glad I have that floatation device, just in case I go hurling into the water at deathly speeds. I think this is how a lot of people think of their faith. "Well I am glad I have a flotation device if I see God after I die." Jesus is not a "just in case" measure. Jesus is "the case."
We must turn towards the kingdom of God, and in doing so turn towards Jesus. Jesus paved the way. He is the way. We must when we follow Jesus realize the relevance of Him as our God to the world. We must do as He did, help others, love others, and forgive others. If you live life thinking Jesus is a "just in case" measure for salvation, you have completely lost sight of the "good news" of Jesus, and in all honesty you are in an emergency situation. Your plane is already going down. Our world is in an emergency situation and it needs to believe that Jesus is the case.
Jesus is calling, He is saying, "come, follow me", just as He said to his earliest followers. Will you follow Him? Will you hear Jesus? Will you hear the voice of God in Jesus? Will you hear God?
