Understanding Jesus: Identity, Cross, Resurrection, and Response

Who is Jesus? Look at Mark chapter 8. We're going to begin in verse 27. Not only is that an important question today, it has been for over 2,000 years now. Verse 27 says this. Says, "Now Jesus and his disciples went out to the towns of Cesaria Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples, saying to them, who do men say that I am?" Friends, is that not the question of the ages? Amen. Men and women for over 2,000 years have wrestled with that question. [00:03:52]

The term Christ here is the Greek translation or equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah, which means God's prophesied and long awaited deliver of Israel of Israel, his anointed one, the the coming high priest, the coming king, the coming savior, the one promised by God all throughout the Old Testament to come that would come and save his people. [00:07:08]

Understanding who Jesus was and who he is is of vital importance. Amen. Many people today follow in the line of those crowds in Jesus's day of thinking who Jesus was. Many people today say, "Well, Jesus Jesus was just a prophet." Yeah, maybe like one of the Old Testament prophets. Some equate him to a prophet like maybe Muhammad in in in Islam. Um, some say Jesus was just a good man. [00:08:23]

As we read the Bible, the firsthand account of who Christ is and what Christ did, Jesus does not leave those options open to us. Um, Jesus clearly proclaims that he is God. Uh, I want to share with you three instances, just three, and we could we could continue on and on all throughout the gospels, but I want to share with you just three instances um about this where Jesus either directly or indirectly claims to be God. [00:09:41]

Jesus clearly accepts the proclamation here of what Simon says. He affirms Peter's statement about him as the son of God. Friends, it's as clear as day. Jesus's claim as God is clear. The second um instance I want us to look at is in John chapter 10. John chapter 10 uh verse 30. Jesus makes this statement. And if you read all of John chapter 10, it's just Jesus is talking a lot about his um relationship to the father. [00:12:05]

The Jews clearly understood what Jesus was claiming. And friends, honestly, it's why they ultimately crucified him, right? Why did they choose Jesus to crucify over Barabbus? Barabbus was a terrible criminal. They chose Jesus because they thought Jesus was blaspheing God by claiming himself to be God. So they understood exactly what Jesus was claiming. [00:13:46]

Jesus here is saying a couple of things actually, but first of all, Jesus is taking the very name of Almighty God for himself, the great I am. We sing it like that in English. But in English, this is a little bit uh we lose some things. Okay, let's go back way to the Old Testament when Moses, God was calling Moses and telling Moses um to, you know, he called him to to go deliver the Israelites. [00:16:39]

The Jews knew exactly what Jesus was saying here that before Abraham was I am. I have existed. I have always been and I am the great I am. So Jesus here when and as they're referencing Abraham says listen before Abraham even existed I existed. So he was not just was Jesus a man. Did he become a man? Yes, absolutely he did. [00:18:25]

Jesus had to die. The question is why? Why did Jesus have to die? You know, I pastor, I I just thought it was an example he gave of selflessness to us. Uh it is an example of selflessness, but that's has nothing to do with why he why he went to the cross. Friends, here's why Jesus went to the cross. And let me start back really at the beginning, friends. [00:27:01]

God created us to be in perfect harmony and fellowship with him. In fact, if you read in the beginning in Genesis, Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden, right? Until something happened. until they disobeyed God and they sinned and they ate of the fruit of the tree which God told them not to eat of and they disobeyed God and sin and the results of sin, death, disease, suffering, all those consequences entered the world. [00:27:34]

God loved me so much, friends. He loved us so much that he didn't leave us like that. He knew all that was going to happen. But his plan was not to leave us like that. But God made a way both to pay for our sin and to reconcile us to himself. And that the way for him to do that, friends, was through the cross. It was the only way, friends, was for Jesus, the second person of the Godhead, to step out of heaven and to take our sin upon himself. [00:29:02]

Jesus had to die on the cross because he was taking our sin upon himself and satisfying the wrath of God against sin so that God would be both just that means righteous righteously punishing sin and the justifier that means the one who who makes us right with him uh of the person who puts their faith in Christ. So God is both just and the justifier in that friend. [00:30:16]

Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Because friends, if Jesus really rose from the dead, wouldn't you agree that makes all the difference in the world? Amen. It that's why we celebrate today, friends, because it proves that he was who he said he was and that he did what he said he did. Listen, many people throughout history, especially in the last couple hundred years, have uh have said that a resurrection just can't happen. [00:31:55]

If God can create the world out of nothing. Out of nothing. And let me just pause there for just a minute. Here's what the Bible says in in the Hebrew. It says that God in the beginning, God created the world. And the phrase that is used uh in Genesis chapter 1 is ex nihilo, which literally means he spoke it into existence out of nothing. [00:33:22]

If God can do that, then raising Jesus from the dead is that's no problem at all. Amen. The issue is more a matter of belief in an all powerful God than anything else. Do you believe in a God who that the Bible says created it all out of nothing? And if so, then friends, God having power over death is a small leap to make. [00:34:30]

If someone can predict their own death and resurrection and it come true, I'm a believer. You got me right there. But I understand some of you are a little more hard to harder to convince. That's okay. Let me give you a few other proofs of the resurrection. Second of all, friends, scripture records that there were many eyewitnesses that saw Jesus resurrected, starting with the women. [00:36:13]

The disciples went from cowering in fear, dejected and depressed at his death to later on boldly proclaiming and preaching the word of God, the gospel as the truth. They got thrown into prison and all of them but John suffered a martyr's death and John himself died his spent out his last days in prison. I don't know about you, but those are hardly the actions of men who were hiding uh and living out a lie. [00:39:13]

With all of these reports of Jesus having risen from the dead, if the Jews could have produced a body, if they could have said, "Hey, wait a minute. We all talking about resurrection. It's right here." Some say, "Well, they had the wrong tomb." they went to the or don't you think plenty of people would know it's right here. Um all of the stuff that happened it didn't happen somewhere else. [00:40:00]

The cross of Christ followed by his resurrection is the guide and the means to your salvation. It's the only way. Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father, he says, except through me." Friends, there is no other way. If you're here this morning, maybe you're watching online and you've never surrendered your life to Christ. [00:54:50]