JESUS CHRIST, MY SAVIOUR
A Study of the Messiah
God stepped down from heaven, took our form and nature upon Himself, and saved us.
Jesus is Real
In order to make any honest examination of the person of Jesus Christ one must first come to grips with the fact of His reality.
1) The reliability of the Old Testament documents (which speak at length of the ministry of Jesus) is beyond question.
2) The New Testament documents are among the most numerous and reliable ancient documents in existence.
3) No historical documents exist in any form that conclusively show that Jesus did not exist.
4) No ancient historian gives evidence of any doubt concerning the reality of Jesus. That many of these were antagonistic toward Christianity gives weight to their acceptance of His existence.
5) It is inconceivable that the disciples would allow themselves to be persecuted to their deaths for a system of belief built upon a person who never existed, which they themselves had concocted and knew to be a lie.
6) It is equally inconceivable that such a story could have been invented and so widely accepted without significant and lasting opposition (such as is voiced today against those who deny the holocaust).
Jesus is God
Since He exists He must be God. Neither Jesus nor any New Testament author displays the slightest doubt of His Godhood.
1) Jesus is the visible manifestation of God the Father (John 14:6-9)
2) Jesus is the power through whom creation came into being and is maintained (John 1:1-3)
3) Jesus is the One through whom forgiveness from sin is received (Hebrews 1:1-3)
4) Jesus exists before and beyond all else (John 17:5, John 8:56-58, Revelation 1:17-18)
Jesus is Man
1) Jesus had a human mother (Matthew 1:18-25)
2) Jesus experienced human life as we do: Jesus was tempted (Hebrews 4:15), hungry (Matthew 4:1-2), thirsty (John 19:28), had a family (Matthew 13:54), had a job (Mark 6:2-3), rejoiced (Luke 10:17-21), grieved (John 11:33-35), felt exhaustion (Luke 8:22-24)
3) Jesus suffered death (Luke 23:46)
Jesus is both God and man
1) Jesus forgave sin committed against Himself and against others (Luke 23:34, Matthew 9:2-3)
2) Jesus healed the sick (Matthew 14:14)
3) Jesus cast out demons (Matthew 8:16)
4) Jesus had power over nature (Mark 4:35-39)
5) Jesus had power over the deaths of others as well as His own (John 11:41-44, John 10:17-18)
6) Jesus allowed Himself to be worshipped (John 20:25-29)
Jesus Fulfills Prophecy
1) Jesus' arrival on earth in human form was planned before creation existed (2 Timothy 1:8-10
2) Jesus told the Pharisees that Moses had spoken of Him (John 5:46-47)
Jesus' Pre-incarnate Ministry
Jesus' pre-incarnate ministry has two aspects as it relates to mankind: First, His activity prior to and during the creation. John, in the passage quoted earlier and here again, proclaims that creation exists because of the work of Jesus (John 1:1-4, 1 Peter 1:18-21). Second, His activity after creation and before His incarnation. Fifty-two times in the Old Testament (NKJV) reference is made to "the Angel of the Lord." Many commentators agree that the Angel of the Lord is a pre-incarnate manifestation of Jesus Christ for the Angel appears to have power and authority beyond what is normally ascribed to the messengers of God. Some examples of this authority are:
1) The Angel of the Lord allows Himself to be worshipped when all other instances of man worshipping angels is emphatically discouraged (Judges 13:17-22, Revelation 22:6-9)
2) The Angel of the Lord forgave sins (Exodus 23:20-21
3) The Angel of the Lord acted as an independent agent having authority both bestowed upon Him by God and also inherent within Himself (Genesis 21:17-19, Genesis 22:9-18)
Jesus' Earthly Ministry
Jesus told His disciples that the kingdom of Heaven was upon them, that those who had seen Him had seen the Father as well, that He had come to seek and to save the lost, and that whoever put his faith in Him would not die but have everlasting life.
1) Jesus taught at length on the Kingdom of God and how it was because of his coming that man could enter into it (Luke 16:16, Mark 1:14-15). The Kingdom of God, used interchangeably with the Kingdom of Heaven, is portrayed as a kingdom that is both present and expected. The Kingdom of God is present in that through Jesus man has been saved from sin and God now makes His home within in him (Luke 17:20-21). The Kingdom of God is expected in that the consummation of the Kingdom of God is set for that time in the future when Jesus Christ will return (Luke 18:17, 1 Corinthians 15:20-27)
2) Jesus spoke also of many of the aspects of His ministry (Matthew 10:35, Luke 19:10, Mark 1:38, John 18:37, John 12:46, Matthew 14:13-14, Luke 7:34, Luke 18:15-16, John 5:43, John 14:9-11, John 10:10, John 3:16-21, Matthew 9:1-8, Luke 23:34)
Jesus' Heavenly Ministry
1) Through Jesus' death and resurrection Satan has been defeated and cast down to the earth: Jesus is victorious over the devil and has cause the destruction of his power over mankind through His death, resurrection and ascension into Heaven. Jesus' victory is both realized and promised. Jesus' victory is realized, is something of which we can speak as having already happened because of Jesus' sacrifice. Prior to His earthly ministry the devil appears to have had direct access to God (Job 1:6-7…12, Zechariah 3:1). Subsequent to it, however, there is no reference to the devil performing any type of this activity. It appears that he no longer has the privilege of direct access to God and is therefore no longer able to accuse man before God. Jesus seems to speak of this toward the time of His crucifixion (John 12:30-32). Because He bore our punishment God's wrath no longer remains upon us and the devil's ability to accuse us before God has been removed (Revelation 12:1-10). The victory is promised, is something for which we look in hope because the devil has not yet been finally defeated (1 Peter 5:8-9). The devil is a power of which to be wary, who is alive in the world and who, while his time remains is actively opposed to the followers of Christ. That his time is short is a fact of which he is aware and of which we need to be reassured (Revelation 12:12). Satan is currently held back by God's power for the time being. He will be released before Jesus' return only to be destroyed forever following a sequence of failed rebellions (2 Thessalonians 2:3-8)
2) It is certain that Jesus is at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55-56). That He currently acts as our high priest (Hebrews 5:4-10). That He will return to take us home (Acts 1:8-11). That He will receive authority over all the kingdoms of the earth (Luke 19:11-12) which He will then hand over to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:20-27). And that He will be given authority and receive honour for all eternity for being the means through Whom mankind may be saved (Revelation 5:6-13).
What Does all that Jesus is Mean to Us?
Because He is God we can rest assured that He is utterly trustworthy in all that He said and did. Because He is man we can rest assured that He knows what life as a person is like, with all of its joys, trials and temptations. Because He is from eternity to eternity we can rest assured that He is able to hold us past our death and even past the destruction of this world. Because He lived in time as we do we can rest assured that this earthly life is worthwhile. Because He died we can rest assured that our sins have been forgiven. Because He has risen from the dead we can rest assured that our debt has been fully paid. Because He has ascended into Heaven and is at the right hand of the Father we can rest assured that no other sacrifice is required, Jesus' sacrifice is sufficient. Because He said that He would come to take us to be with Him we can rest assured that death is not for us the end, our lives will continue past the grave on into eternity in the new Heaven and Earth in the presence of God without shame or fear.
Wherever He was and whatever He did Jesus showed love. He showed love to the men, women and children who took up all of His personal time. He showed love to His followers who all too often just did not understand the point and tried to fit Him into their own agendas. He showed love to Zacchaeus in the tree. He showed love to the thief on the cross. He showed love to the outcast. He showed love to those who were putting Him to death. And He showed, and is showing love to you and me. Now, if Jesus is this kind of person, what kind of person ought we to be? Jesus showed love. Jesus came to us as an emissary of the Father, showing in human form the Father's perfect character and His willingness to go to any length to save His lost creation. Among Jesus' final words to His disciples were those recorded in John 20:19-22
In the preceding study we have undertook to examine in some small way the manner in which the Father sent Jesus to us. Our essential mandate is therefore not to judge nor condemn (John 3:17-18). It is not to spend time only with those who have been saved (Mark 2:13-17)
When John the Baptist requested assurance that Jesus is the Messiah Jesus confirmed Himself to John (Matthew 11:2-6). Elsewhere we see that Jesus acted as an encourager, one who would lift up the broken in spirit (Isaiah 42:1-5)
Too often we, as Christians, adopt a code of behaviour that we expect everyone to follow. Yet how can we expect those who have not been saved to live any differently than they are? Christian behaviour cannot be legislated or mandated (though we do well to work to ensure that the laws of our land serve as a barrier between the individual and sin). Christian behaviour is possible only as the result of an inward change of heart. We tend to avoid, ostracize and even condemn those who do not meet our expectations for how they should act (how many of us have unjustly boycotted Proctor and Gamble over the years for fear of supporting Satanism rather than working to find out the truth and working to change hearts if the truth were as we suspected). Jesus did not act in this way. Had He done so there would be no hope for any of us for none of us, no matter how perfectly we have lived our lives, none of us could ever hope to have a chance of meeting God's standard (Romans 3:23), every human has fallen short of God's expectation for him. But Paul also shows how it is the grace of God that saves us (Romans 3:24-28).
Jesus accepted those we would never consider. He hung out with people we would never think to associate with: Traitors, prostitutes, adulterers, demon possessed and conquerors among them. His mission was to redeem the lost.
He also was remarkable among men in that He forgave. Anyone. Anytime. Anything. Those caught in the act of sin found mercy before Him (John 8:10-11). Those justly punished for their crimes He welcomed into Paradise (Luke 23:39-43). Those who nailed His hands to rugged wood He forgave even as they crucified Him (Luke 23:32-37). He cared more that man was alienated from God than He cared for His own rights. He was as Paul encourages all Christians to be (1 Corinthians 6:1-8).