- Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, fully divine—He came down from heaven and became
fully human
a.
“In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in
the beginning. Through him all things
were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ... The Word became flesh and made his
dwelling among us.” (John 1:1-3, 14)
b.
“No one has ever gone into heaven
except the one who came from heaven—the
Son of Man.” (John 3:13)
c.
“For I have come down from heaven …”
(John 6:38)
d.
“Rather, he made himself nothing by
taking the very nature of a servant, being
made in human likeness.” (Philippians 2:7)
e.
“Since the children have flesh and
blood, he too shared in their humanity
so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of
death—that is, the devil ... For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way …” (Hebrews
2:14, 17)
- He was born
of a virgin because God is His Father
a.
“This is how the birth of Jesus the
Messiah came about: His mother Mary was
pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found
to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:18)
b.
“You
will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ... ‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the
angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’ The
angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on 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 1:31, 34-35)
- His birth,
childhood, baptism, and start of His ministry
a.
“So Joseph also went up from the town
of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to
Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of
David. … And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths
and placed him in a manger, because
there was no guest room available for them.” (Luke 2:4, 7)
b.
“And he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said
through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2:23), “‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from
there?’ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip.” (John 1:46)
c.
And
Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke
2:52)
d.
“When
he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the
custom. ... Everyone who heard him was amazed
at his understanding and his answers.” (Luke 2:42, 47)
e.
“The Jews there were amazed and asked, ‘How did this man get such learning without
having been taught?’” (John 7:15)
f.
“Foxes have dens and birds have nests,
but the Son of Man has no place to lay
his head.” (Matthew 8:20)
g.
“Isn’t this the carpenter?” (Mark 6:3)
h.
“Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”
(Luke 7:34)
i.
“We are not illegitimate children”
(John 8:41)
j.
“He
grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to
attract us to him, nothing in his
appearance that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2)
k.
“The whole Judean countryside and all
the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing
their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” (Mark 1:5), “When
all the people were being baptized, Jesus
was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy
Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I
am well pleased.’ Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.” (Luke 3:21-23)
- He
performed many miracles and healing of individual people
a.
Turned water into wine (John 2:1-11)
b.
Fed 5,000 with a few loaves and fish
(Matthew 14:15-21; Mark 6:35-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:5-14)
c.
Calmed a storm (Matthew 8:23-27; Mark
4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25)
d.
Healed woman with an issue of blood
(Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34; Luke 8:43-48)
e.
Walked on water (Matthew 14:22-33; Mark
6:48-51; John 6:16-21)
f.
Healed a man born blind (John 9:1-7)
g.
Cast out a legion of devils from a man
(Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-37)
h.
Cursed a fig tree (Matthew 21:17-22;
Mark 11:12-14)
i.
Raised His friend Lazarus from the dead
(John 11:1-44)
- He also healed
multitudes and great crowds of people
a.
“Jesus
went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good
news of the kingdom, and healing every
disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to
him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the
demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.” (Matthew 4:23-24)
b.
“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in
their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.”
(Matthew 9:35)
c.
“Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from
that place. A large crowd followed
him, and he healed all who were ill.”
(Matthew 12:15)
d.
“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them
and healed their sick.” (Matthew
14:14)
e.
“Great
crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute
and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.” (Matthew 15:30)
f.
“Large
crowds followed him, and he healed
them there.” (Matthew 19:2)
- His
miracles and healings proved that He is the Christ or Messiah sent to
God’s own people
a.
“I have testimony weightier than that
of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that
the Father has sent me.” (John 5:36)
b.
“The
works I do in my Father's name testify
about me” (John 10:25)
c.
“Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father.” (John
10:37)
d.
“Believe me when I say that I am in the
Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.” (John 14:11)
e.
“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by
God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through
him, as you yourselves know.” (Acts 2:22)
- He ate His
last supper with His twelve disciples and taught them to love each other
by serving
a.
“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given
thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he
had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which
is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” (Matthew 26:26-28)
b.
“So he got up from the meal, took off
his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to
wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped
around him. ... Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you
also should wash one another’s feet. I
have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John
13:4-5, 14-15)
c.
“After he had said this, Jesus was
troubled in spirit and testified, ‘Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.’ His disciples stared at one
another, at a loss to know which of them
he meant.” (John 13:21-22)
i.
Jesus didn’t just wash the feet of
eleven but all twelve including Judas Iscariot
ii.
That they had no idea which one would
betray Him indicates that for over three years of accompanying Him 24/7, He had
never treated Judas Iscariot any differently!
iii.
“For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.” (John 6:64)
d.
“A new command I give you: Love one
another. As I have loved you, so you
must love one another. By this everyone
will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John
13:34-35)
e.
“If
you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax
collectors doing that? And if you greet
only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even
pagans do that?” (Matthew 5:46-47)
- It was
prophesied and it came to pass that His own Jewish people would reject Him
a.
“They abandoned the God who made them
and rejected the Rock their Savior.”
(Deuteronomy 32:15)
b.
“The
stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Psalm 118:22)
c.
“He
was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with
pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held
him in low esteem.” (Isaiah 53:3)
d.
“He came to that which was his own, but
his own did not receive him.” (John
1:11)
e.
“You
disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released
to you.” (Acts 3:14)
- What would
have happened (or would NOT have happened) had His own people received
Him?
a.
He wouldn’t have been crucified and
nobody would be saved!
b.
“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him” (Isaiah
53:2)—He appeared illegitimate, born in a stable, from Nazareth, a carpenter,
uneducated, homeless, a friend of sinners, and died as a criminal by the Romans
- We must
believe on Jesus Christ to have eternal life, otherwise we will perish
a.
“For God so loved the world that he
gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
b.
“Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath
remains on them.” (John 3:36)
c.
“I
am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me.” (John 14:6)
d.
“Jesus
performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not
recorded in this book. But these are
written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and
that by believing you may have life in
his name.” (John 20:30-31)
e.
“Whoever
has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (John 5:12)