INTRODUCTION:
Have you not asked this question? Who is that Jesus that the first disciples believe? Did they believe in Jesus the “mere son” (lower than God or a semi-god)? Or they believed Jesus as the true and only God? What does it mean to believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
Proposition: True disciples believe that Jesus is the Son of God and submit to His authority.
It means that…
I. HE IS GOD, 34, 45
In the movie Narnia, Peter, Edmond, Susie and Lucy are referred to as sons of Adam—meaning they are mortal men. In Bible times, the phrase son of man is used to signify a human being. In relation to that, Jesus being the Son of God means that JESUS IS GOD.
A. He is the greatest prophet, 29-31 –He is greater than Moses, John (he confessed about being lesser than Him) and all of the prophets.
If we believe, respect and trust these people, Jesus require more than that. He must be worshipped. Because if we take John’s statement that the who is coming after him is greater than him and he is not even worthy of removing the throngs of his sandals (John 1:27 & Luke 3:16), then the one who is coming is not just a mere man. He even said that this man already exists before he was born (v. 30).
B. He is testified by God the Father and the Holy Spirit, 32
We must testify for Him. The world must hear this truth from us. Each one must be actively witnessing for the Son of God.
C. He baptizes with the Holy Spirit, 33
We are incorporated into his body. All disciples become children of God (John1:12).
So, we must not treat Jesus the way we treat an ordinary man, our equal that we can sometimes take for granted or mistreated. We must revere him as a Holy God—the first part of the Ten Commandment must be accorded to Him.
II. HE IS THE SAVIOR, 29, 36
A. He is the perfect sacrifice, Hebrews 10, 9-15
We needed a perfect sacrifice to show to us that God wants us to be set free from sin and render sin powerless in our life.
B. He takes away sin, 29
We should not let sin takes root in our life again. As the familiar command Jesus said to the sinners, “Go away and sin no more!”
C. He is the Messiah, 42
Messiah means “the Anointed One”; we are not committing any error in giving our lives to Him. There is no other one. He is the only way to the Father.
D. He is the LORD, 43
As it was practiced in the old days, the one that saved somebody from its former master becomes his new Master and Lord. Jesus is Lord. He is the Lord of every disciple—we must follow Him.
CONCLUSION:
Calling Jesus as the Son of God is not just quoting a name given to Him in the Bible. True disciples must acknowledge that their very life comes from Jesus. Jesus owns them, marked with the Holy Spirit. Just like Him, we must please the Father in all that we do by increasing our hatred to sin. Angels, prophets, disciples, centurion, demons and even Satan called Jesus as the Son of God but calling doesn’t necessarily means submission. Our submission is seen how we live everyday. GOD is our Savior—be forever grateful, never miss to give glory to His name.
