The No. 1 Question - Who Is Jesus?

Text: John 1:1-14

Subject: Who is Jesus of Nazareth?

Complement: he is God incarnate.

Big idea: "God moved into the neighbourhood.”

John 1 - The Word Became Flesh - Divine Creator:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

Light v. darkness

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.

Forerunner:

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

REJECTION… (How is this possible?)

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

Children of God;

12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Incarnation

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.

New Moses

17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Introduction:/attention…

A newly published Book – “We Who Wrestle With God”… Jordan Peterson.

• …Do You???

The Younger Generation Is indeed wrestling with God… here are some other books to help…

• Book – “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis

• Book – T. Keller - Reason For God

• Book – Lee Strobel - The Case For Faith… The Case For Christ…

**THE NO. 1 QUESTION FOR THE AGES… ? WHO IS JESUS OF NAZARETH?

• A mythical figure? … like many others before and since…

Greek mythology was all over the roman empire – gods aplenty … Greek world – gods aplenty…

• …Jews – anticipated the long awaited a messiah – prophets spoke of his coming… they mostly saw him coming as a revolutionary… - HE WAS seen through a political prism.

(even Peter asked Jesus – “lord, at this time will you restore the kingdom to Israel?”)

…Lord, When Will You Make Israel Great Again?”

• Others think Jesus was merely a remarkable moral teacher ( golden rule) that over time became the basis of a new religion…

• Just A Prophet say the Muslims – and they prevent evangelism among their people.

• JW ? say Jesus was a created son of God – but not God.

• Mormons ? Jesus was a man who became a god (-- Rather than God who became man!!!)

• in the early centuries of Christian faith Christian heresies arose …

*… he was good – but not god… just human – with some distinction… with layers of myth/miracles piled on.

• At the turn of the 4th cent. Arius, a priest of Egypt, Alexandria, began to preach that Jesus Christ, was not truly equal to the Father, nor therefore could he be "true God of true God."

He was nothing more than a creature immensely more perfect than any other creature, but a creature, nonetheless. (ARIANISM) …

• …DOCETISTS ... claimed that Christ was a mere phantom who only seemed to live and suffer. He did not have a real human body.

• Jews/Judaism – (his cultural heritage) …stumbled on several points

• 1. His humility – a baby in Bethlehem?…from Nazareth ?

• 2. His confrontation with religious authority – he claimed divinity !!!

• 3. His crucifixion. (Cursed is one upon a tree…)

• 4. His physical disappearance …

• 5. His failure to transform society – Israel in particular

…so, creeds were formed to combat heresy & STRENGTHEN DISCIPLES - there was no printing press... bibles were not available to the public.