I read an article this past week about an interview Paul David Hewson (otherwise known as the singer Bono), had on a public news station, and the subject of Jesus came up and the question was raised on who Jesus was?
Bono had this to say to the question.
“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 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 am God in the flesh.”’
And people say: ‘No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet we can take. You’re a bit eccentric, but we’ve had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey; so we can handle that. But not the Messiah! Because, you know, we’re going to have to crucify you if you say that.’
And he goes: ‘No, no, I … actually am the Messiah.’
So what you’re left with is either Christ was who he said he was—God incarnate, the Messiah—or a complete nutcase. I mean, we’re talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson … I’m not joking here. And, the idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me that’s a little far fetched …”
What Bono was communicating, despite the anchor’s best efforts to change the subject, is basically what the Apostle Peter said to those who liked Jesus but would not submit to his lordship: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah” (Acts 2:36 CSB).
I heard a quote once that said the most important thing about a person is who they say Jesus is, and I believe this to be true with every part of my being. From the time of His death and resurrection, people have wrestled with this very question. Some claim Jesus was simply a good moral teacher, that he was not God in the flesh.
But I love what C.S. Lewis had to say about that. He said:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t 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 the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be 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. . . . Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God.” (Mere Christianity, 55-56).
So who do You say Jesus is?
When it comes to who you say Jesus is, there are only two sides of this line: You’ve either submitted to him as Lord and Messiah, or you have rejected him. “Lord” means you have surrendered your life to him, and “Messiah” means he is your only hope for salvation.
If Jesus is God in the flesh like John pointed and testified to us through his letter in 1John. Then what does that mean for you and me.
It means that all the promises of God find their yes in Jesus Christ, because he has shed his blood for your sins, and rose again on the third day defeating death, which means, he will never leave you or forsake you, it means that he is for you not against you, it means that he will lead you beside the still waters and restore your soul, he will comfort you, he will have mercy on you , that he Loves you with an everlasting love, his love is steadfast, it means that he will prepare a table for you in the presence of your enemies ,he gives us Hope, he will send the Holy Spirit to guide you in all truth, he will give us wisdom , it means he will give you abundant eternal life, he will walk with you in the valley of the shadow of death, it means he is trustworthy, that you have been forgiven, that his grace is sufficient for you, that he is preparing a place in heaven for you, that he anoints us with the Holy Spirit , and our cup overflows, that goodness and mercy will pursue you all the days of you life, and one day you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever spending eternity with him.
This doesn’t even exhaust all the promises of God that have been secured because of Jesus. This is a God that deserves our Glory and praise.
If you have come to define Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah. As Immanuel, God with us. As the living God. As our Savior. Our Shepherd. Our Counselor. Our Comforter. Our Healer. Our Peace. Our only Hope. Our very life. If this is the answer you give when Jesus asks you, “Who do you say that I am?” then it demands all of us. If you and I say that Jesus is who He says He is, then we must lay down our lives and be all in.
Being all in means we surrender to Jesus, giving Him control over every part of our lives, not part of it. It means we live a life of repentance, turning from sin to Jesus on a daily basis. It means we choose to seek and do His will over our own. It means we receive the Bible as the infallible Word of God and submit to its authority. It means we receive Christ for who He really is, not who we’d like to make Him out to be. It means we actually do the Word of God and obey God’s commands. And though this is a far cry from an exhaustive compilation of what it looks like to be all in, it means both you and I follow Jesus on His terms, not our own.
He is The Only Way ,The Truth and The Life.
So, what do you say? Will you join me and see where Jesus leads us here at Bethany.
I love each and everyone of you and am so thankful to be a part of your lives,
May God Richly Bless You
Matt Zook