"Fully Human, Fully Divine"

Sermon Transcript for November 26, 2000

By Rev. Mike Beck

Scripture Reading: Colossians 1:15-23

 

Let us pray. "Oh Lord, probably a number of persons seated there in the pews are worshiping you through the beauty of that music. They’re scared, lonely; they’re anxious and afraid. And I pray that they would know that your eye is on the sparrow. And if you care about the sparrow, you also care for them. Let the words of my mouth now and the meditations of our hearts together be pleasing and acceptable in thy sight. You who are our strength and our redeemer. Amen."

Today is the 12^th message in the 30-week sermon series related to our new study, the "Christian Believer". And I think you are discovering these sermons are not "how-to" sermons; they’re not sermons filled with lots of humorous stories. They are not "milk-toast". Rather they are the "meat" of the Christian faith. They are messages that hopefully can help us accomplish what the Apostle Paul was trying to do in his letters to his son-in-the-faith, Timothy, when he said, "I want you to be mature and complete in your faith".

We looked last week at the topic, "What Does It Mean To Be Saved?". And we ended by being reminded that salvation comes not through our good works, but by trusting in what Christ has done for us on the cross. Today and next week, we want to look especially at the person of Jesus Christ. Next week we’ll look in more detail on the first Sunday of Advent, as to what is implied when we refer to Christ as "our Savior".

Today we look at the doctrine of the incarnation that Jesus was both fully man and at the same time fully God. I love these lines written by an unknown author.

"He was born in an obscure village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was 30. He then became an itinerant preacher. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn’t go to college. He had no credentials but Himself. He was only 33 when the public turned against Him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to the authorities and His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He owned on this earth. He was laid in a borrowed grave. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race. All the armies that have ever marched, all the navies that have ever sailed, all the parliaments that have ever set and all the Kings that have ever reigned have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as this ONE SOLITARY LIFE."

There is no historical doubt that this man, Jesus Christ, existed and lived on this earth. The Roman historian, Tacitus, and the Jewish historian, Josephus, both write of Jesus and His followers. But as Christians, we believe that this man, Jesus Christ, was both fully human and also at the same time fully God.

Now, please be careful, we Christians can do this, that we do not neglect the humanity of our Lord. Jesus knew the human emotions of love and joy and laughter which is part of the reasons I love the picture that is at the front of our sanctuary. It gives a very human insight into Jesus. He knew the emotions of righteous anger. He knew sorrow. He knew rejection. He knew what it was to be tired and hungry and in pain. Whatever temptation you face, Jesus faced it too. He experienced death. And as we will discuss in more detail next week, we must realize that unless Christ was fully human, He cannot be our Savior! And we’ll look at that in more detail next week.

But the question we scratch our head about is, "How can a man be fully human and yet at the same time fully divine?" And this is why many persons struggle and they opt instead for a Jesus who was a good man, a great teacher, a wonderful moral example to follow. But as we go through the message today, you’ll discover Jesus really didn’t give us that option of looking at Him in that way. In Luke, Chapter 9, Versus 18-20 we find this powerful dialogue between Jesus and the disciples. It says, "Once when Jesus was praying in private and His disciples were with Him, He asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’ And they replied, ‘Well, some say you’re John, the Baptist; others you’re Elijah; still others one of the prophets of long ago come back to life.’ ‘Well, what about you’, He asked. ‘Who do you say that I am?’ And Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ of God.’"

What evidence is there that Peter was right? Let’s look. He was indeed the Christ of God. That’s what I want to look at in the remainder of this message today. And in doing so, I am indebted to the Reverend Nicky Gumbel, who is the speaker for the Alpha class, and his comments in his presentation, "Who is Jesus".

 

What Did Jesus Say About Himself?

1. His teaching about God pointed persons directly to Himself. First of all, notice this in His teachings. His teachings about God pointed directly to Himself. All of those "I am" statements... "I am the bread of life"; "I am the light of the world"; "I am the resurrection and the life"; "I am the way, the truth, and the life". Jesus was not only teaching about God, but listen to these words. "Come unto Me, all you who are wary and burdened, and I will give you rest." What did He say? He said, "Follow me. If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father".

2. There were also several indirect claims within His teachings that pointed to His divinity. Jesus’ teachings pointed to Himself, but secondly there were also several indirect claims that Jesus made that pointed directly to His divinity. The big one that got Him in to so much trouble was, if you’ll remember, He claimed to be able to forgive sins. To which the religious leaders of His day said, "That’s blasphemy, Jesus. Only God can forgive sins."

Also Jesus on another occasion said it was He Himself who would be the one who would someday judge the whole world. Now friends, I consider myself a reasonably good teacher, but you would call me a lunatic if I went around claiming to be able to forgive sins or say that I was going to judge the world at the end of history. He made these indirect claims also.

3. There are also several very direct claims that He made that pointed to His divinity. Now it’s true that Jesus did not go around shouting from the housetops that He was God. But yet there were also several very direct claims that He made concerning that. In John, Chapter 10, in verses 30-33, Jesus was out teaching one day and He says, "I and the Father are one." And the Jews picked up stones to stone Him, but Jesus said to them, "I’ve shown you many great miracles from the Father, for which one of those miracles are you stoning me?" And they said, "We’re not stoning you for any of these", replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy because you, a mere man, claim to be God".

In the very earliest gospel, the gospel of Mark, in Chapter 14, they have the account of Jesus standing on trial before Caiaphas, the high Priest. And Caiaphas asked Him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" In my Bible, these words are pretty clear. "I am", said Jesus, "and you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of Heaven."

And then over in John 20, when He appears to the disciples following His resurrection, to Thomas who had doubted Him, we find these words. Thomas now says to Him, "My Lord and my God." But then Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen me you have believed, but blessed are those of Grace Church who have not seen and yet believe".

 

What Evidence Is There To Support Jesus’ Claims To Be God?

We’ve looked at His claims, direct and indirect, but what evidence is there that those claims are true? If somebody makes a statement, you’d better have the goods to back it up.

1. Depth and Power of Jesus’ Teachings. Think about this if you will. Those teachings would become the foundation for most of the nations of western civilization. Would that be true if this man were untrue and delusional in His thinking?

2. Look at His Works. Look at what He did. The contemporary secular historian, Josephus, writes of Jesus’ "wonderful works". Jesus’ miracles were designed to re-enforce the validity of His words.

3. Look at His Love for Others. Did a man ever love like this man loved?

4. Look at His Character. Character is tested under fire and Jesus came through with flying colors.

5. Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecies. Friends, do you realize Jesus fulfilled over 300 Old Testament prophecies written hundreds of years before his birth?

6. There was His conquest of Death. Friends, that event is the cornerstone of our faith. That’s why the Apostle Paul would write later on, "If Christ is not risen, our faith is futile and we are of all men most miserable".

7. Transformation. Now time does not allow me this morning to go into numerous evidences for the resurrection, we’ll do that at another time. But let me just mention one final piece of evidence that this man was indeed who He claimed to be that was related to the resurrection. How in the world do you explain what happened to those 11 disciples? Unlearned men who went out to turn the world upside down. How do you explain that apart from the fact that a man they knew was dead, they found live again? How do you explain the experience of millions of persons of all nations and races from that day forward?

In closing, let me turn the message in a very practical dimension to where you and I live. In the words of C.S. Lewis, the British agnostic who came to know Christ and became one of the great Christian thinkers and writers of our day. In his book, Surprised by Joy, he writes,

 

"We are faced then with a frightening alternative. This Jesus was either exactly who He said He was, or else a lunatic or something worse. Now it seems obvious to me that He was neither a lunatic or a fiend, and consequently, however strange or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God. God has landed on this enemy-occupied world in human form."

And when we come to that realization, there is only one response we can make--to bow at His feet and worship His majesty!