Some fail to understand who Jesus is. Jesus wanted to understand how the crowd perceived him. The disciples rattled of names: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or another prophet. The names could reflect a popular opinion of Jesus: a man recognized as one who can work and speak on behalf of God. Or it may reflect negative opinions of Jesus. John and Elijah were scene, from a political stand point, as trouble makers. They were wilderness wild men. Jeremiah was called the crying prophet and was not well liked in this day.
Today we are tempted to use words like teacher or leader or example, but we share the same inclination to keep Jesus at arms link or to dismiss him. C. S. Lewis warned,
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing people often say about him, "I am ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I do not accept his claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on a level with a man who says he's a poached egg--or else the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to (Mere Christianity, 55-56).
We must recognize who Jesus is. How should we answer the question? We must acknowledge Jesus is the Christ. Christ or Messiah means anointed. Jesus was anointed by God as prophet, priest, and king. As prophet, he teaches us the word and ways of God calling us to walk in obedience. As priest, he is both the one who offer the sacrifice and the sacrifice that satisfies God's wrath. As King, he is our true leader.
We must acknowledge that he is the Son of God. In Jesus' day the crowd's understood the claim to be God's Son meant that he was equal with God. A true faith confession rests in knowing that Jesus is God. He is fully human and fully divine.
Truths we need to remember about this confession:
It is mark of God's favor. Jesus pronounced Peter as blessed, because he had been permitted to recognize Jesus. It was all of grace. In this world, we either live under God's blessing or his curse.
It is the truth upon which the Church is built. The foundation of the Church isn't a man, but the truth that Jesus is the Son of God. As people confess their sins and turn to Christ in faith, they are united together in the Church. We lay no other foundation except Jesus Christ.
It is the message that will free the world. Wherever we preach the gospel, people will be freed. Wherever we horde the gospel, people will continue to be enslaved to sin and death.
Evening: Movie Night begins at 5:00 pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment