OPEN: A Jewish father was concerned about his son. He had not truly raised him to be grounded in the faith of Judaism… So, hoping to remedy this he sent his son to Israel so the boy could experience his heritage. A year later the young man returned home.
He said, "Father, thank you for sending me to the land of our Fathers. It was wonderful and enlightening. However, I must confess that while in Israel I converted to Christianity."
"Oh (groan) what have I done?" the father thought. So in the tradition of the patriarchs he went to his best friend and sought his advice and solace.
"It is amazing that you should come to me," stated his friend, "I too sent my son to Israel and he returned a Christian."
So in the traditions of the Patriarchs they went to the Rabbi. "It is amazing that you should come to me," stated the Rabbi, "I too sent my son to Israel and he returned a Christian. What is happening to our sons?
“Brothers, we must take this to the Lord," said the Rabbi. They fell to their knees and began to wail and pour out their hearts to the Almighty.
As they prayed, the clouds above opened and a mighty voice stated, "Amazing that you should come to Me. I, too, sent My Son to Israel..."
APPLY: One of most dramatic events in human history took place when God sent His Son to Israel. People who had been life-long Jews, were transformed by His presence, His power and His words.
When the church first began on the day of Pentecost, thousands of Israelites responded by acting upon their faith: repenting of their sins and being buried in waters of Christian baptism. In those early days, the church grew by leaps and bounds. It seemed that whoever came into contact with Him became His follower… People loved Him.
I. Well (pause..) not everyone loved Him
There were those who didn’t like Him
There were those who turned away from Him
And there were those who tried to argue with Him
AND every once in a while, there were those reacted violently to Jesus.
For example, there was the time when Jesus declared:
"…before Abraham was born, I am!" (John 8:58)
In the very next verse (John 8:59) we’re told "At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds."
Later, Jesus proclaimed:
“I and the Father are one." (John 10:30)
John 10:31 tells us "again the Jews picked up stones to stone him,"
And now, here in Matthew, Caiaphas and the court he has assembled, erupted with the same kind of violence and anger we read about in those other passages. Let’s REREAD Matthew 26:62-67
Look at how they react:
They yell at Him
They spit on Him
They slap Him & beat Him
Up until this point in His trial, the court has been fairly tame. Granted, there have been false witnesses
Granted, this has been an illegal, middle of the night court scene (it was against Jewish law to do this).
But, EVEN for as illegal and unfair as this court scene had been it was still mild compared to the hostility that erupts at this point.
ILLUS: I don’t know about you, but there are times when my wife and I might be watching a movie together and an actor will say something that is pivotal to the plot – and I’ll have missed it. And I’ll turn to Diana and I’ll ask “What did he say?”
It’s not that I am hard of hearing, it’s just I wasn’t paying attention right then. Or I might be thinking about something else… but whatever, I missed something
And so I ask: “What happened? What did he say?”
Have you ever had that happen to you?
I can imagine someone reading this text for the first time might ask that very same question –
“What happened?”
“What did Jesus say?”
I mean, these guys with Caiaphas didn’t much like Jesus anyway – BUT what lit their fuse? What made them so angry? So violent? So unreasonable?
It was the question: “Are you … the Son of God?”
II. This term – “Son of God” shows up only a few times in the Gospels…
As far as I can tell, Jesus never referred to Himself by that phrase. He always seems to call Himself "the Son of Man." Never the Son of God.
However, when others use this term – Son of God - it’s usually pretty significant.
· The angel that announced Jesus’ birth said to Mary:
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." Luke 1:35
· When the demons repeated this phrase, and you can tell, they’re scared.
"Whenever the evil spirits saw (Jesus), they fell down before him and cried out, ’You are the Son of God.’" Mark 3:11
· When Satan tried to tempt Jesus in the desert, he hissed out "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
· Lastly, when Jesus was brought before Pilate we read these words: "The Jews insisted, ’We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.’ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. ’Where do you come from?’ he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.” (John 19:7-9)
III. There’s something about this phrase – Son of God – that really shook people up.
When Caiaphas hears Jesus accept the claim…he literally shouts "BLASPHEMY!" AND it would have been blasphemy - if Jesus HADN’T Been God. BUT… He was.
· The prophecy from Isaiah proclaimed Jesus would be called: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)
· Before Jesus was born the angel declared Jesus would be called “Immanuel” —which means, "God with us." (Matthew 1:2:3)
· John wrote: In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1
· Paul wrote:: "For in him (Jesus) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Colossians 2:9
Jesus was God. For Him to accept the title “Son of God” was not blasphemy… it was His rightful title.
IV. But, if it was His rightful title, how come He never used it when referring to Himself?
Well.. can you imagine how the crowds would have responded if He did? As it was, when Jesus said “Before Abraham was I am…” they tried to stone Him. Why would they do that?
ILLUS: Because they realized that “I am” was the answer Jehovah gave Moses when Moses asked what God’s name was. “Tell them ‘I am” sent you” God declared. So, when Jesus said “Before Abraham was, I am…” they knew exactly what He was saying.
So, you can imagine what would have happened if Jesus blatantly declared Himself as “The Son of God” everywhere He went. He never would have been able to teach or heal anyone. His audience would have consisted of people with drawn knives and handfuls of rocks.They’d have run Him out of town before He said a word
ILLUS: Even today, (when almost everyone realizes that Jesus is declared in Scripture as being God). People still respond almost violently to His name.
ILLUS: The South East Christian Church (in Louisville, KY) had this commentary in their Newsletter:
"Jesus.
It’s a little name.
A small word.
Say this little name in public, however, in a way other than an obscenity, and stand back and watch the fireworks. This little name is like a tiny detonator that triggers a nuclear warhead.
You can say "God," and you won’t get a squeak. You can say "Our Father/Mother in Heaven," and few will flinch. You can say "Great Spirit," and people will nod in approval. You can say "Allah" and you will be deemed tolerant. But say "Jesus" and just wait for the sonic boom. Articles will appear in the paper. Reprimands will be posted from the home office. Suits will be threatened by the civil liberties block.
So don’t say Jesus.
Jesus is divisive, and now is a time for unity.
Jesus is an extremist, and that must mean right wing.
Jesus is exclusive, so His name amounts to hate speech.
Keep His name to yourself. Cloister it in your church. Lock it in your prayer closet. Close it between the covers of your Bible. But for God’s sake, don’t voice it in the public square!
It’s immodest. It’s immoral. It’s unloving.
Only one problem.
Jesus is God.
Only one problem.
Jesus alone brings salvation.
Only one problem.
All other gods are nothing.
So speak His name aloud. Shout it from the mountain. Whisper it in the dark. Write it in the sky. That’s not hate, it’s hope."
As that article notes, we should be shouting the name of Jesus from every corner of our lives. You see, our very faith and salvation depends on Jesus being who He said He was.
John told his readers that his Gospel was “written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31
In his first letter to the Christians he knew, John taught “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.” 1 John 4:15
And he warns that “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12
In other words, believing that Jesus IS the Son of God is basis for our salvation. Anyone who does not believe that Jesus was God, isn’t saved.
Now, that’s not just “theology” we’re talking about here. You can believe that Jesus is God all day long, and still not REALLY believe that He is the Son of God. Even the Demons believe Jesus is God – and they’re not saved!!!
Why aren’t they saved?
Because they are NOT willing to give Him any position of Godhood in their lives.
They’re not willing to give Him any position of power in their hearts.
They don’t want to allow Him to be in charge and change their lives.
CLOSE: What I’m saying is this. You can have great theology
- you can believe He’s the Son of God
- You can believe that He is God in the flesh
- You can be able to explain the trinity so that the simplest man can understand it
- You can do all that … and still reject Jesus as the Son of God
A famous artist by the name of Steinburg had taken in a beautiful gypsy girl to pose for his paintings. At the time he was working on his masterpiece "Christ on the Cross." The girl used to watch him work on this painting. One day she said to him "He must have been a very wicked man to be nailed to the cross like that."
"No," he replied, "on the contrary, he was a very good man, perhaps the best man that ever lived. He died for others."
The girl looked up at him and asked. "Did he die for you?" Steinberg was not a Christian at the time, but the gypsy girl’s question touched his heart and awakened his conscience and he became a believer in Jesus.
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES
Don’t Take With Broccoli – John 11:33
The Question That Condemned Jesus – Matthew 26:57
The Moment Of Truth – John 18:28
His Blood Be Upon Us – Matthew 27:16
Hail, King of The Jews – Mark 15:15
Guilty Of Innocent Blood – Matthew 27:1
Remember Me – Luke 23:38
Let Him Save Himself – Matthew 27:39
Surely This Was The Son Of God – Mark 15:33
