Who is this Jesus?
Hebrews 1:1-4
©Copyright December 5, 2010 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche
Every time a baby is born the comments begin, “Who does he/she look like?” “I think he has my eyes”; “He has your ears”; “He has my nose” etc. These of course are all superficial things. The real question is not who the baby looks like, but who this child IS. What will the child will become? What will be their unique talents, strengths, and how will they use these things in the course of their lives?
When it comes to Jesus, we frequently focus on the events of His birth (because they are so extraordinary). During this Christmas season we want to ask the question: Who IS this Jesus? I hope you understand that this question is of vital importance. There are many people who will tell you that they “believe in Jesus”. However, they are not all referring to the same person (even though we sometimes think they are). Think about all the different “Jesus’” there are out there:
· The Jesus of other religions. Some religions make Jesus just a good man or a religious prophet. Some call him the son of God but say He is the Son of God in the sense that we someday will all become sons of God. Others see Jesus as a wisdom teacher who had wonderful principles for leadership, great tips on marriage, and some great ideas on helping the poor and needy.
· There is the Jesus of popular culture. He is more cheerleader than God. He is like a permissive parent who wants to make sure we have everything we need and are having a good time in life. He has few standards (“just don’t hurt anybody” and “make sure you are true to yourself”!) And since He loves everyone so much He would never send anyone to Hell.
· Then there is the Jesus of our own imagination. You might call this the “Designer Jesus”. People say things like, “Your Jesus may feel this way but MY Jesus . . . “ Designer Jesus comes in many shapes and sizes. His standards and His commands vary based on the person who has created him.
· There is the Jesus of American Christianity, David Platt writes that this is,
“A nice, middle-class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and who would
never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who
would not expect us to forsake our closest relationships so that he receives
all our affection. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does
not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we
are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to
avoid dangerous extremes, and who, for that matter, wants us to avoid danger
altogether. A Jesus who brings us comfort and
prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream.”[1]
The true Jesus however is the Jesus that is revealed in the historical revelation of the Word of God. He is the same no matter who you are. This is the Jesus proclaimed by those who knew Him. This is the Jesus we should want to know. Any other Jesus is an impostor. The Bible says that any other Jesus is the spirit of antichrist. (1 John 4:3)
This Advent season we want to know the real Jesus. We are going to look at some texts about Christ in the book of Hebrews. It is near the back of your Bible and it is passionate about pointing to the true Christ. In the very first verse it is puts the spotlight on Christ and keeps it there.
Jesus is the
Son of God
In the past God spoke to
our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but
in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son
In this first verse the author divides time between the time God spoke through prophets and the time when he has spoken by His Son. These two time periods roughly coincide with our B.C. and A.D. divisions of history. Previously God spoke through prophets and spokesmen (the Old Testament), now He has spoken (and is speaking) through His Son.
Theologians call this progressive revelation. Think of it like going to school. Education is progressive. You begin with learning basics such as colors and numbers and you gradually progress to deeper understanding. You don’t start learning math by trying to learn calculus! You start with addition and subtraction and then move to more advanced types of math.
In this analogy the Old Testament is the equivalent of grade school and High School courses in faith. The work of the prophets is vitally important in the foundation of faith. Without the Old Testament we cannot understand the New. Christ brings a graduate level explanation of God. Jesus shows us God in a full and deep way.
Jesus is called “His Son”. There is only one. There are some who say that Jesus is a Son of God in the same way as we will all be sons of God someday. That is not what the author of Hebrews is saying. If you read the rest of the book you will see that the author belabors the point that Jesus is unique in His role as the Son of God. We will see this clearly in the verses that follow.
He is the
Lord and Creator of All Things
whom he appointed heir of all things, and through
whom he made the universe.
In the book of Revelation Jesus is called the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Our text tells us that God appointed Christ the heir of all things. If you are the family heir that means all the holdings of the family would belong to you. As the heir of all things, Jesus is Lord over all. He is the heir of all creation and He is also the heir of all who believe. We are His inheritance! The child that was born into a manger was actually the owner of the manger, the town, the country, the people, the planet and the universe in which He was born.
Not only does it belong to Him, it also was made by Him. This is surprising to people but it is the consistent testimony of Scripture in John 1:3 we read,
Through him all things were made; without him
nothing was made that has been made.
In Colossians 1:16-17 Paul says,
For by him all things
were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and
for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit were all
involved in Creation. Jesus created our earth our solar system, our galaxy, and
all that is! This means,
He Reveals the Character and Nature of God
The Son is the radiance
of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being (3a)
Jesus radiates or
gives expression to God’s glory. In other words when you look at Jesus you see
God. The natural impulse for many people is to try to soften these words. They
want to make Jesus “like” god or say that He is the expression of God’s glory
and character in the sense that we
are all created in God’s image. But that is not what we are told! We are told Jesus
is the earthly expression of the Great God in Heaven! Jesus is THE God. He is the embodiment of God’s nature. When we
look at Jesus we see a clear picture of God.
This doctrine
riles other religions. They call such a statement blasphemy. Blasphemy is when
man “assumes to oneself the rights or qualities of God” The statement is
blasphemy however only if it isn’t true! I believe as you look at the
birth, life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus He shows that this is
true!
Ravi Zacharias points out that every major
religion has a primary teacher who points to some standard of truth. You have
Mohammed to the Koran, Buddha, to the Noble
Path, Krishna, to his philosophizing. Zoroaster, to his ethics.
Whatever we may make of their claims, one
reality is inescapable. They are teachers who point to their teaching or show
some particular way. In all of these, there emerges an instruction, a way of
living. It is not Zoroaster to whom you turn. It is Zoroaster to whom you listen. It is not Buddha who delivers
you; it is his Noble Truths that instruct you. It is not Mohammed who
transforms you; it is the beauty of the Koran that woos you.
By contrast, Jesus did not only teach or
expound His message. He was identical
with His message. “In Him,” say the Scriptures, “dwelt the fullness of the
Godhead bodily.” He did not just proclaim the truth. He said, “I am the truth.” He did not just show a
way. He said, “I am the way.”…
Teaching is like a mirror. It can show you if
your face is dirty, but the mirror will not wash your face. [Jesus Among Other
Gods (Waco:Word 2000) p. 90]
The God-nature of Jesus is the make or break doctrine of our faith. It is what makes Christianity unique.
We Are Dependent on Him
sustaining all things by his powerful word (3b)
We are told the Son is actually keeping the world going. He is the One who makes sure gravity does its work. He is the One who makes sure the Sun is the proper distance from the earth to sustain rather than destroy life. He is the One who brings each new day and each night. He oversees the circumstances of our lives. He gives strength in tough times.
This is the opposite view of many professed followers of Christ today. They embrace what is called deism. Many of the founding fathers of our country were deists. A deist believes that God created the world. However they do not believe that God continues to have any active involvement in the world. They reject the notion of miracles, prophecy, or the coming of Christ. They believe God “made the universe, wound it up, and has left it to run without any involvement from Him.”
Such teaching is not Christian teaching! Throughout the Bible we see God reaching out to those He has created. To the deist Christ can’t be God. Prayer is foolish, miracles don’t happen.
Those who knew Jesus affirm that the Lord of the Universe is involved with his creation. Our Lord hears our prayers, He intervenes in our lives and circumstances, and He came into this world to set us free from the power of sin and death.
He is God’s
Unique Provision
After he had provided
purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
(3b)
We are going to expand on this next week. For now see the role that the Son came to play when He become man. God became man so He could cleanse us from the penalty of sin. The fact that He “sat down” shows that the job was finished. Jesus paid for sin once and for all. Nothing more needs to be done on His end. All that is left is for us to desire His purification and embrace His sacrifice on our behalf.
Conclusions
In these verses we are shown one who was no ordinary man. He is a Prophet for God has spoken in him; He is the Priest because He has provided purification for sin; He is the King because He sustains and rules the world.
It is no
surprise that we are told that there is “No other name under Heaven by which we
must be saved.” Jesus is not just one of many Holy men . . . He is God in human
form. He is the One we must turn to if we want to live even though we die. He
is the One to look to if we need guidance or assistance. I think there are some
practical implications to these truths.
We
Should Follow and Serve This Jesus Christianity is not a club in which can maintain our membership by
paying regular dues. Christians are those who see Jesus as the Lord of life and
follow Him as such. This Jesus expresses His great love for us but He does not
plead for us to “like” Him; He calls us to leave every other interest and
follow Him.
We tell people that we trust Christ; but do
we? Are we following Him as the Lord and master of our lives or are we merely
hoping that He will hang with us and get us into Heaven and out of any trouble
we get in to in this life? If we understand Jesus as He is revealed to us in Scripture
we should recognize that anything less than total devotion to Him is to treat
Him with disrespect; it is offensive to insist that the Lord of Life live by
parameters that we set up for Him. It must be the other way around.
Before you sing, “O Come,
let us adore Him” think about what that means. We adore Him not by singing Him
songs but by giving Him our lives, our priorities, our desires, our dreams, our
resources. He is the Lord of Life . . . we owe Him everything!
We
Should “Preach Jesus”. Jesus
is the One we are called to trust, follow, and worship. We must keep the
spotlight on Him. We must preach Christ and Christ alone to our own hearts and
then to our friends and neighbors. Our churches, our celebrity teachers, and
our innovative programs cannot save people; only Jesus can. Only Christ can
transform a life.
To that end here are some practical
suggestions
1.
Bring
all your conversations back to Him. Discuss doctrinal differences, talk about
the differences in churches but bring every conversation back to Him.
2.
Define
who Jesus is very carefully. Find out what Jesus the person believes in and
then seek to introduce them to the historical Jesus; the Jesus of Scripture.
3.
Keep the
focus on Jesus in your Christmas celebration. It is easy to become obsessed
with events, decorations, presents, and family gatherings. Christmas is not
about Santa or being nice to others. Christmas is about Jesus! Help your kids
and your family focus on the true meaning of Christmas.
· During this Christmas Season read through the
Gospels and listen anew to the One who came to save
us.
· Instead of trying to impress people with your
generosity consider whether you are honoring Him in your gifts.
· As you plan your parties and decide which
parties to attend ask whether He would be honored by what you do.
· Have a prayer of thanks before you open
gifts. Acknowledge the “best gift of all” that was given by God to us in the
person of Christ.
· Read the Christmas Story as a family rather
than “The Night Before Christmas”
Let me close by
sharing one of my favorite illustrations. One evening the great conductor Arturo Toscanini conducted Beethoven’s
Ninth Symphony. It was a brilliant performance. At the end of it, the audience
went absolutely wild. They clapped, whistled and stomped their feet, caught up
in the greatness of the performance. As Toscanini stood there, he bowed and
bowed and bowed, then acknowledged his orchestra. When the ovation finally
began to subside, Toscanini turned and looked intently at his musicians. He was
almost out of control as he whispered, “Gentlemen! Gentlemen!”
The orchestra leaned forward to listen. Was
he angry? They could not tell. In a fiercely enunciated whisper, Toscanini
said, “Gentlemen, I am nothing!” This was an extraordinary admission since
Toscanini was blessed with an enormous ego. He added, “Gentlemen, you are
nothing.” They had heard that same message before in rehearsal. “But
Beethoven,” said Toscanini in a tone of adoration, “is
everything, everything, everything!”
This is the response of believers when they
fully understand and appreciate the greatness of the work of Christ. When we
truly believe and repent of our sin and realize all that Christ has done for
us, no matter what the crowd says, no matter how many people applaud our
greatness, we must say, “I am nothing, but He is everything, everything,
everything!”
O Come Let us Adore Him!
©Copyright December 5, 2010 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche