Matt 16:13-17
Who Is Jesus?
Who is Jesus? I hope that in every service I attempt to answer that
question to some extent, but especially this morning I hope to shed
some light on it.
Who is Jesus? He is portrayed in many different ways and many
different lights. Some consider Him to be God. Others consider Him to
be a great prophet. Others think He was only a good man. Still others
are certain He was a hoax.
I do not know that I could persuade anyone to change their mind about
who they believe Jesus is, but I do know what I believe about Jesus
and more, I know who the Bible proves Jesus to be.
I. Jesus is the Son of God
A. This was Peter’s declaration, and he was right.
Matt 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said,
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
B. What does "Son of God" mean?
1. It does not mean that Jesus was conceived by God and had
A beginning. That is what the Mormons believe.
2. The term is a declaration of the incarnation of God.
a. Jesus was never a Son until He was born of Mary.
(1) Some might mistakenly call Jesus the Son of
Joseph.
(a) That would be wrong.
(b) Jesus was the adoptive Son of Joseph.
(2) But Jesus was the Son of Mary and God.
Lu 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto
her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and
the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:
therefore also that holy thing which shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
b. So when we call Jesus the Son of God, we are making a
reference to God being born in the flesh.
C. Now, if you do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that
is your prerogative, but please don’t say that the Bible
doesn’t declare Jesus to be the Son of God, because it does.
1. I grow tired of hearing unsaved theologians and preachers
try to make the case that the Bible doesn’t mean what it
says.
2. The Bible says what it means and means what it says.
3. Listen to what the Bible says concerning Jesus being the
Son of God.
a. Mark started his gospel by declaring it.
Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God;
b. The demons knew and stated who Jesus is.
Matthew 8:29 And, behold, they cried out, saying,
What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of
God? art thou come hither to torment us before
the time?
c. The centurion who was in charge of the crucifixion and
saw the supernatural events around it declared Jesus
the Son of God.
Mark 15:39 And when the centurion, which stood
over against him, saw that he so cried out, and
gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was
the Son of God.
d. Jesus even declared Himself to be the Son of God.
John 9:35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out;
and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost
thou believe on the Son of God?
36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I
might believe on him?
37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen
him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he
worshipped him.
D. Not only does the Bible SAY that Jesus is the Son of God, the
Bible gives us proof.
1. What is the proof that Jesus is the Son of God?
2. The miracles that Jesus performed.
3. Listen to Jesus’ own challenge:
John 5:36 But I have greater witness than that of
John: for the works which the Father hath given
me to finish, the same works that I do, bear
witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
John 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and
ye believed not: the works that I do in my
Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
John 10:38 …though ye believe not me, believe
the works: that ye may know, and believe, that
the Father is in me, and I in him.
John 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me: or else believe me for the
very works’ sake.
4. I know that some would say, "But that is just the Bible.
You can’t trust the Bible."
a. But we do not have just the Bible.
b. We have history too.
A third and fourth-century church historian, Eusebius, in his book
The History of the Church From Christ to Constantine, quotes a
Quadratus who sent a letter to the emperor in defense of
Christianity. Quadratus wrote:
"Our Savior’s works were always there to see, for
they were true—the people who had been cured and
those raised from the dead, who had not merely been
seen at the moment when they were cured or raised,
but were always there to see, not only when the
Savior was among us, but for a long time after
His departure; in fact some of them survived right
up to my own time."
5. Again, believe it or reject it, the choice is yours, but
if the Bible is true and Jesus is the Son of God THEN…
a. Then …every word Jesus said is true.
b. Then …there is a heaven and a hell.
c. Then …Jesus is the only way to heaven.
d. Then …you must make a clear cut decision to be saved
and back it up with a sold out, God-honoring, radical
Christian life.
II. Jesus is the Lamb of God
A. The term is only used twice in the Bible and both times, the
same person used it, John the Baptist.
Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming
unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world.
Joh 1:36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked,
he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
B. Some do not understand the difference in some of the titles we
attribute to Jesus.
1. If you stop and think about them, they will teach you
about Jesus.
2. When we call Jesus the Son of God, we are referring to who
He is. Jesus is God in the flesh.
3. When we call Jesus the Lamb of God, we are referring to
what He did. Jesus paid for our sins.
C. We know that God created man sinless.
1. Man choose to sin.
2. Sin can only be removed by payment. Somebody must pay for
it.
3. Payment for sin is eternal death, so if you are going to
pay for your sin, you will have to spend eternity
separated from God.
4. Hell is the place where God is not so hell is where you
will go for all eternity.
D. That leaves mankind in one terrible dilemma!
1. The only way he can pay his debt is to perish for
eternity!
2. But a sinless person could pay a sinner’s debit—if there
was a sinless person.
a. Jesus, God, put on flesh—became the Son of God—so
that He could pay that debt for us.
b. Jesus is not just the Son of God, but the SINLESS Son
of God.
E. God taught us the possibility of the sinless dying for the
sinful in the Old Testament.
1. In the Old Testament, God would let man offer a sinless
animal to temporarily hide his sins.
2. The animal most commonly used was the lamb.
F. So listen again to what John the Baptist called Jesus.
John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming
unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world.
1. John called Jesus the Lamb of God, that is, the One who
was sinless and able to die for us.
2. That is why we refer to Jesus as our Substitute. He was
the sinless Son of God who died for our sins.
G. This was ALWAYS Jesus’ intention.
John 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what
shall I say? Father, save me from this hour:
but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not
to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to
give his life a ransom for many.
H. What is the proof that Jesus is the one and only Lamb of God?
The resurrection!
Romans 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with
power…by the resurrection from the dead:
1. The component that makes Christianity different from all
other religions is not that we claim to have an inspired
Bible, miracle-working prophets, or even a Messiah.
2. The single component that makes Christianity unique is
that we have an empty tomb!
III. Jesus is the High Priest
Hebrews 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved
him to be made like unto his brethren, that he
might be a merciful and faithful high priest….
A. Our culture is not familiar with a high priest.
1. In general, the high priest stood between the sinner and
God with two tasks.
a. The high priest taught man about God and how to
approach Him.
b. The high priest interceded for the sinner and seeks
his forgiveness.
2. In the Old Testament, the priests would slay the animals
and then apply the blood to the altar, thus temporarily
hiding the sinners’ sins.
3. Jesus did it better:
B. Jesus took His own blood into the heavenly temple and applied
it to the eternal altar.
Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and
calves, but by his own blood he entered in once
into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us.
1. This gained "eternal redemption" for us.
2. No other sacrifice will ever need to be offered.
3. Jesus’ blood is more than sufficient for every person’s
salvation and every person’s sin.
4. That is why we are eternally saved.
5. If we could get lost again, no other sacrifice would
be available to us.
Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we
have received the knowledge of the truth, there
remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
6. And after Jesus, our High Priest, offered His own
blood, there was nothing else for him to do as the
High Priest so…
Heb 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one
sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the
right hand of God;
14 For by one offering he hath perfected for
ever them that are sanctified.
C. What is the proof that Jesus is our High Priest? No more
guilt.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
1. One who has meet Jesus as the High Priest has nothing for
which to be guilty.
2. Our sins are gone.
John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God.
Romans 4:7 Saying, Blessed are they whose
iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are
covered.
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