The Ridiculous Claims of Jesus
Mark 12:35-37
If it weren’t such a serious subject, it would almost be laughable
-it seems if you turn on the radio or TV, or read a magazine, blog, or
newspaper you’re confronted with some pretty serious assertions
about Jesus and Christianity...like:
--Jesus was a wandering Jewish rabbi who taught about peace,
love, and the importance of being nice...but who certainly never
made any claims about being the Messiah or about being God
--Christianity was later created by a former Jew named Paul
--the Church was established by the Roman emperor Constantine
in the early 4th century
--the Church, then, wrote the New Testament after picking and
choosing only those writings that would help support their new,
but thriving religion...and by hiding or destroying anything that
might later be used against it
At first glance, it all may appear plausible...but then you throw in à
-a few experts
-some long-lost Gospels
-an author who intentionally blurs the line between fiction~history
-our inexplicable fascination with a good conspiracy
-and countless millions of people who naïvely take it all in without
asking a single, logical question
--then it’s no wonder you end up with a whole bunch of people
(including far too many Christians) who no longer seem to know
know what’s real, what’s true, or what they should believe
The only way to sort through the whole mess is to start with the 1st-
century Jewish man, who grew up in the home of a carpenter in the
-after all if this Jesus can be proven to be a fraud or a deluded,
schizophrenic with a bad Messiah-complex or simply just a man...
--whose momma was Mary and whose daddy was Joseph
--whose identity was stolen by a bunch of religious nuts who
waited until years after his death to turn this nobody into
some sort of a tragic, martyred god
-if any one of those things is true, then the rest of it implodes
upon itself...and the entire Church and all of Christianity collapses
But rather than traipsing all over
crack a code, let’s go to the ancient, source documents themselves
-more specifically, let’s go to the words of Jesus Himself
--it’s not that we can’t trust what others have written about Him,
but if there’s no evidence that Jesus thought He was God,
then our search ends where it begins
---He sure couldn’t be much of a God if He is God but doesn’t
realize it
---how great of a God could He be if it takes a bunch of
people decades and even centuries later to figure out His
secret identity?
So let’s turn to the account of Jesus’ life in Mark’s Gospel
-in this chapter of Jesus’ story, He has just successfully answered a
barrage of trick questions from some Jewish religious leaders
-they had been hoping to get Him to say something that would turn
the people against Him or, better yet, to say something that would
constitute blasphemy (so they could get Him arrested)
--time after time, Jesus has stunned them with His wisdom
-now it’s Jesus’ turn to ask a question à Read Mark 12:35-37
I’ll be the first to admit that’s just a tad confusing
-Jesus kinda’ tosses the question out there to no one in particular
--He introduces the subject by stating a familiar teaching of those
who are experts in the Jewish Scriptures—specifically, that the
Christ (the Greek word for Messiah) is the son of David
---at this point, crowd is nodding their heads in agreement
--next, Jesus asks, “OK, if that’s true, then why would David be
inspired by the Holy Spirit to write Psalm 110:1...where it sure
sounds like David is calling his son, ‘Lord’?”
--and Jesus sets the hook by adding, “So, which is it? Is the
Messiah David’s son or his Lord?”
Now you may be asking, “Hold your horses! David lived some 800
years before Jesus. How in the world could Jesus be David’s son?”
-good question
--here’s what I hope is a good answer: it was common in their
time and their culture to regard any male descendent as a son
-so the better question becomes: “How could one of David’s
descendents, namely Jesus, be God?”
Jesus poses this question knowing what hangs in the balance
-hear this clearly à everything hinges on this—I can’t emphasize
that point enough—if Jesus is just another man, then we might as
well go home...and follow Buddha or Confucius or nobody
-even Larry King recognizes how crucial it is
--he was once
asked in an interview, “If you could select any one
person across all of history to interview, who would it be?”
---his answer?
“Jesus”
---and just
what would Larry King ask Him?
----"I
would like to ask Him if he were indeed virgin-born.
The
answer to that question would define history for me."
--when Ravi
Zacharias was writing Questions I Would Like to Ask
God, he requested
permission through a mutual friend to quote
that particular interview in his book
---Larry
King not only gave his OK, but he also added, “And tell
[Dr.
Zacharias] I was not being facetious."
Larry King understands quite a bit
-Luke’s record of Jesus’ life tells us the essentials à Read
Now we know what Larry King thinks and what Luke’s Gospel tells
us, but what does
Jesus actually say about Himself?
-just remember—what we’re about to read aren’t mere fightin’
words... in first-century
could get you killed
--for example, after one incident, Jesus’ teaching about Himself
created quite the stir à Read
John
In addition to pronouncing Himself to be
-the light of the
world (John
-the bread of life
(John
-the resurrection
and the life (John
...Jesus makes a series of “ridiculous” claims in John’s Gospel à
Read John 8:54-59a [I am is the same title for Yahweh or Jehovah]
Read John 9:35-38 [the man was born blind, but Jesus healed him;
“Son of Man” is a title that means the Messiah; Jesus allowed the
man
to worship Him]
Read John
essential
creed à Hear, O
one. By their reaction, it’s obvious that the Jews clearly understood
the significance of this claim.]
Read John 10:36-39
Read John 14:6
But like I said, these aren’t mere fightin’ words—words that will get
you
run out of town...in first-century
are the kind of words that could get you killed...and they did just that
-Read Luke
22:66-71
So now you, too, have heard it from His own lips
-and I’ll ask you the question posed to Simon Peter in Matthew
am?
That’s what it comes down to, then
-was Jesus simply some drifter...some vagabond rabbi?
Bono, the
controversial lead singer of the rock group U2, was asked
if
Jesus’ claim to be God just shows that He was a complete loon
-listen to his
response à “No, it's not farfetched to me. Look, the
secular response to the Christ story always goes like this:
he was
a great prophet,
obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say
along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah,
Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't
allow you that. He
doesn't let you off that hook. Christ
says: No.
I'm not saying
I'm a teacher. Don't call me teacher. I'm not
saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah." I'm saying:
"I am God [-in-the-flesh]."
And people say: No, no, please, just
be a prophet. A prophet, we can take…. But don't mention the
"M"
word! Because, you know, we're gonna
have to crucify you.”
And [Jesus
says]...“I know...but actually I am the Messiah…”
--so what you're left with is: either Christ is who He said He
was—the Messiah—or a complete nutcase. I mean, we're
talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson…
--[so for me] the idea that the entire course of
civilization...could
have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase,
...[now] that's farfetched.
So are we the crazy ones for following and worshiping some Jew who
lived and died 2000 years ago...
-or is Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world?
--and more importantly, is He your Savior?
Brenna and Debbie said “yes” to that question...and that’s why they
were baptized...to give a visible, symbolic expression of their faith in
Jesus as their Savior and their Lord
-that’s why I said to them (and everyone else I baptize) à The
Bible says in Romans 10:9 à If you
confess...Jesus is Lord and
believe in your
heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will
be saved.
--then I asked, “Do you believe this?”
You see, I am convinced the claims of Jesus are true—every single
one of them—and 32 years ago this month I surrendered my heart,
my life, my future to the lordship (leadership) of Jesus the Christ
-and my life has never been the same
--Jesus didn’t make me a better person in 1974, He made me a
new person...or, as the Bible says in Ephesians 2, I was a
dead man because of my sin...but because of His great love
for us, God, who is rich in mercy made [me] alive with Christ
(Ephesians 2:4-5a)
What about you this morning?
-are you ready to come to God with a simple, child-like trust in Jesus
...to believe what some call His ridiculous claims...and then to
discover God, by His grace working through your faith, will save
you, forgive your sin, and give you not only a new life, but eternal
life?
We have more who will be baptized next Sunday
-do you need to be
one of them?