Message Title: Who is This Man?
Message Truth: Only one life, it will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.
Message Text: Matthew 16:13-20
He was born in an obscure village,
The child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in still another village,
Where he worked in a carpenter shop
Until he was thirty.
Then for three years
He was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never had a family or owned a house.
He didn’t go to college.
He never visited a big city.
He never traveled two hundred miles
From the place where he was born.
He did none of the things
One usually associates with greatness.
He had no credentials but himself.
He was only thirty-three
When the tide of public opinion turned against him.
His friends ran away.
He was turned over to 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 his clothing,
The only property he had on Earth.
When he was dead,
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone,
And today he is the central figure
Of the human race,
And the leader of mankind’s progress.
All the armies that ever marched,
All the navies that ever sailed,
All the parliament that ever sat,
All the kings that ever reigned,
Put together have not affected
The life of man on Earth
As much as that
One Solitary Life.
(By Dr James Allen Francis)
1.Jesus was clear about who he was
Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say I am?” The impact of His life begs the same question to you today—who do you say Jesus is? But perhaps the answer resides in what Jesus said about Himself. There is plenty of evidence of Christ’s divinity in Scripture, such as His miracles, but let’s zero in on what Jesus claimed about Himself:
He claimed that He was Lord of the Sabbath with the authority over it (Mark 2:23-28).
He took the divine name “I AM” for Himself (John 8:58, from Exodus 3:14).
He said that the way to the Father is through Him (Matthew 11:27, John 14:1-7).
He made Himself equal with God (John 5:18).
He claimed that whoever saw Him saw the Father (John 14:9).
When He was given the opportunity to correct people treating Him as if He were God, He didn’t (Matthew 26:63-65, John 19:7-10).
He claimed to have descended from heaven (John 3:13).
He claimed to have the power to raise himself from the dead (John 2:19, 10:17-18).
He claimed to be replacing the temple (John 2:19-21), which was the place known to house God’s presence and the forgiveness of sins.
He claimed to share “glory” with God before the world existed (John 17:5).
He claimed to be sent from Heaven (John 6:38, John 4:34, John 3:13).
He claimed He would send His angels (Matthew 13:41, Luke 12:8-9).
He claimed the authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:5).
He assumed the authority to judge the world (Mark 14:62) and that one’s attitude toward Him would impact the end of their life (Matthew 10:32-33).
He claimed to be perfectly sinless (John 8:46).
He claimed that to know Him was to know God (John 8:19), to see Him was to see God (John 12:45), and to receive Him was to receive God (Mark 9:37).
He claimed, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:29-33), which was not lost on Jewish listeners, who responded, “You, a mere man, claim to be God” (verse 33).
In His teachings, He consistently demonstrated authority over the Law, or Torah, most notably in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).
Good guy, good example, good human religious leader, crazy man that was charismatic, political leader?
In “Mere Christianity” C.S. Lewis says, “I am trying here to prevent anyone 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 said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a 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.”
- Jesus was clear about His Mission
Two thousand years ago, God’s Son entered the world – a world of poverty, oppression, injustice and war. It was a world where hope seemed in desperately short supply. An essential part of Jesus’ mission was, of course, to die for our sins on the cross and, through repentance and faith in him, open the way for us to experience eternal life with the Father.
As Romans 5:8 says, “God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins! But there is more. When Jesus began His ministry on earth, by standing up in the synagogue in Nazareth to read the Scriptures,
He outlined His mandate – “to preach good news to the poor….to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour…..” (Luke 4:18-19).
- The King was there to bring the effects of the Kingdom
- Sin infects and affects everything.
the Messiah announced that He came to heal the fivefold damage that sin brings. Sin does great damage, so there must be a great work of redemption.
- To preach the gospel to the poor: Sin impoverishes, and the Messiah brings good news to the poor.
- To heal the brokenhearted: Sin breaks hearts, and the Messiah has good news for the brokenhearted.
- To proclaim liberty to the captives: Sin makes people captive and enslaves them, and the Messiah comes to set them free.
- Recovery of sight to the blind: Sin blinds us, and the Messiah comes to heal our spiritual and moral blindness.
- To set at liberty those who are oppressed: Sin oppresses its victims, and the Messiah comes to bring liberty to the oppressed.
Thankfully, Jesus didn’t come to only preach deliverance or even to only bring deliverance. Jesus came to be deliverance for us.
Luke 19:10 – “The son of Man came to seek and to save which was lost” He’s on a rescue mission and continues with us.
3.Jesus was clear of what He ask us.
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25
Only One Life
By C.T. Studd
Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill,
living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
