The Christ of the Bible

Coming up next on Renewing Your Mind is a fantastic thing that throughout the Scriptures we see Jesus not only through the eyes of the gospel writers, but also through the viewpoint through the lens of those whom he met those whom he encountered those whom he rebuked those whom he healed those whom he taught welcome to renewing the mind as we begin an in-depth study of the second person of the Trinity is a great deal of confusion out there about Jesus. For example, in her most recent state of theology survey, we propose this true or false statement.

Jesus was a great teacher but he was not God. 51% of those we surveyed agreed with that.

We have to look to Scripture and discover who Jesus is and we look not just of the New Testament teacher is Dr. Darcy. In this session were going to begin a whole new section of our study of systematic theology, which in one sense, is perhaps the most intimidating section there is to teach in theology and then on the other hand, one of the most blessed and rich sections that we can study in this process and that's the section of theology that we call Christology is now we focus our attention on our understanding of the person and work of Christ himself, and is significant that our faith, our religion is called Christianity because so much of our attention is focused on this one came to us. Who was God incarnate a man you well dwelling in our midst who has not only redeemed us to the father but who also has revealed the father to us in such majestic terms now any study of the person of Christ at best can only scratch the surface of what we find there because the portrait that we find of Jesus in Scripture is so wide and so deep and so rich that it really defies anybody's ability to grasp exhaustively in order to get a little taste of the complexity that we find when studying the person of Jesus. I want to look at one of my favorite passages in the New Testament which is found in the fifth chapter of the Apocalypse of St. John war were commonly called the book of Revelation, where we have here in this record part of the vision that John experiences while he's in exile on the island of Patmos.

Chapter 5 begins with these words and I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals and then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll or to loose it seals and no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look at what you cease having this vision into heaven, the court has been set. The judgment is ready. The books are presented in the scrolls are there, and this loud voice says, who was worthy to open scroll and John is filled with excitement and anticipation as he awaits now to see who will step up to has been declared worthy enough to open up these in scrolls.

When John says but I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at it. Then one of the elders said to me. Do not wait for behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals. And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne room of the four living creatures in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth, and then he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. Then we hear the prayers of the saints, and the song of the angels worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive honor and dominion and glory and power and so on. But what we read in this vision that I find so exciting is that when John's mood swings becomes intense because first is excited that somebody's going to come and open up the scroll and then he's plunged into depression because no one is found worthy and that he's told not to cry. By the end because it is announced that one has been found worthy. Indeed, the lion of Judah.

So now you're sitting there and he sitting there waiting to see this massively powerful base. The king of the jungle come roaring into the same and ripping open the scroll instead with the CC, a Lamb as it had been slain, and in this imagery what you're saying is a vivid example of the profound contrast between the humiliation of Christ and the exultation of Christ between his triumphs and his sufferings, and it also gives us a hint into the complexity and multifaceted dimensions of his character as well as his work and I've often asked myself the question, why in the providence of God that God see fit to provide the church and for the world. Four Gospels, why not just one gospel, one definitive biography of Jesus and yet it is please God for his own reasons to give us what to Gospels or three Gospels for biographical portraits of Jesus, all looking at the person and work of Jesus from a slightly different perspective there is the Jewish look that we got from St. Matthew and we see in Matthew, the emphasis on demonstrating Jesus fulfillment of numerous Old Testament prophecies how he is shown so clearly to be the Messiah who was promised in centuries past.

And then we see the gospel offered to us by Mark, which is so brief and almost abrupt in its clipped fashion where he follows the life of Jesus that flows like a blaze of miracles across the landscape of Palestine. Straightway Jesus does this, and straightway Jesus does that. And we see the miracles that are performed by Christ and then we see the portrait provided for us by Luke the physician who is plugged in to the Gentile community was a companion of Paul on Paul's missionary journeys to the Gentile nations and there we see the geniuses who is not simply coming to save Jewish people, but who is the Savior of men and women from every tribe and tongue and nation and you get different insights into the teaching of Jesus.

The parables in his wisdom are expressed in Luke's gospel and then comes John's Gospel were two thirds of the book is devoted to the last week of Jesus life and you see this a highly theological portrait that is presented of Christ by John who demonstrates Christ to be the incarnation of truth, who is the light of the world. The one in whom there is life abundantly. And so each one of the gospel writers gives us a glance at the character of Christ from just a slightly different perspective where they begin to probe the depths and the riches of who he is and not only do they simply provide for us their own opinion of who Jesus was, but in their narratives we get to hear at least to read the responses to Christ in his earthly ministry by all kinds of different people we see the response to the newborn baby of the shepherds who come from the fields outside of Bethlehem. We see the response of the ancient simian who comes into the temple when Jesus is presented for his dedication and he looks at this baby and says now let thy servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seen the salvation of my people Israel. We see Jesus confounding the doctors in the temple when he's a young boy we see him introduced to his public ministry by John the Baptist who sees them coming to the Jordan River and begins to say or to sing the August day behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We see Jesus through the eyes of the Nicodemus who comes at night to inquire of him saying to him. Good teacher, we know you are a teacher sent from God. Otherwise you would not be able to do the things that you do and so we see Jesus, the rabbi, Jesus, the teacher not only confounds the other rabbis when he's a child but in his adulthood surpasses in wisdom and insight. The greatest teachers of his day we see Jesus talking by the ancient well of Jacob and Samaria.

That sidecar to a woman who was an outcast in the town and the woman coming to the conclusion that she is talking first with a profit.

I perceive Sir without part of profit and as the conversation progresses and Jesus reveals to that woman all about herself. Then she realizes that she is speaking to the promised a long awaited Messiah. So it's a fantastic thing that throughout the Scriptures we seem Jesus not only through the eyes of the gospel writers but also through the viewpoint through the lens of those whom he met those whom he encountered those whom he rebuked those whom he healed those whom he taught. We see him at the judgment hall and the predatory myth of Pilate or Pilate announces to the world that is watching and screaming for his blood. I find no fault in the me again we hear Pilate giving those words that have been immortalized in Christian history.

What he presents Jesus to the crowd.

He says to the crowd back home. Behold, the man, because here we find the portrait of a human person that is absolutely without parallel in human history. I can't think of anybody who's written a biography of any great hero, no matter how biased they were and careful to conceal the blemishes of the character of their hero. I don't know any biographer who is actually gone so far as to suggest that the hero he's writing about was sinless and that the record that we see of Jesus in the Scriptures is that of a man who is absolutely pure man who is without sin. A man who can say to his accusers. Which of you convicts me of sin, and so the portrait that we find in the Gospels of Jesus is staggering again from the shepherds in the field to the centurion at the cross, who after he witnesses the crucifixion says truly this was the son of God from Caiaphas and his opponents to doubting Thomas who after the resurrection. When Thomas sees the risen Christ falls to his knees and cries out my Lord and my God. In addition to these views that we have of the contemporaries of Christ, we have Jesus own testimony of his own identity or Christ says no one ascends into heaven except he who has descended from heaven. This Jesus who says I teach nothing on my own authority, but only that which the father says to me that I declare to you, this Jesus, who in his desire to hide and conceal for a season. His true identity.

Because of the popular misconceptions about what the Messiah will be nevertheless make some bold and extravagant claims.

If, indeed, they are distortions that are recorded for us in John's Gospel and the famous list of the iambs that include such things as Jesus said, I am the bread of life that came down from heaven and just as our fathers were nurtured and nourished by the man that God provided for them in the wilderness during the days of Moses. Now I am the new man. I am the bread of life.

And when people heard him say that some of them were so enraged they walked no more with. I am the vine, he said you are the branches.

As long as you abide in me and I abide in you, you know you will prosper in a so I am the door through which men must enter comparing himself or really I should say contrasting himself with the false prophets of the day were poor shepherds of the sheep who were like hirelings who are more concerned for their paycheck than they were for the care and nurture of the sheep. Jesus and I am the good shepherd.

The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep and his sheep know his voice even more dramatic was the comment he made before Abraham was, I am Abraham rejoiced to see my day before Abraham was, he didn't say before Abraham was, I was before Abraham was, I am in the phrase that he used in all of these iambs as others such as line, the father are one. I am the way the truth and the life. The phrase that he used was a combination of two Greek words, there are two words in Greek to verbs that can be translated and are translated by the English words.

I am the verb to be. There is the Greek word Eggo and the Greek word Amy when Jesus gave these iambs didn't just say Eggo the way the truth and life or E me the door, but rather he would say Eggo Amy use them both in the significance of that was not missed on the first century community because if we would look at the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which is called the Septuagint and see how the Greek speaking Jews translated the sacred name of God, Yahweh, I am who I am but a phrase that they used in Greek to do it was the combination of the two verbs to be Eggo. Amy saw Jesus use this language. He clearly identified himself with the very sacred name of God, and he claimed to have nothing less, than the authority of God when he used the title Son of Man, referring to the one who comes from the presence of the ancient of days who dissents from heaven as the judge of the earth and will talk about that more later, Jesus, and using that phraseology set on one occasion I do this that you might know that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath claimed to be the Lord of the Sabbath day one. It is God who institutes the Sabbath. It is God who regulates the Sabbath day. It is God who commands the legislation governing the Sabbath day for Christ to say I am the Lord of the Sabbath is to identify himself with deity. Also using that same phrase Son of Man.

On another occasion the amounts the man's forgiveness of sins, and he said I did this that you may know that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins and again the enemies of Jesus were outraged because they and their Jewish tradition held the view that only God has the authority to forgive sins.

And so they said this man is making himself equal with God. So what we see in this magnificent portrait of Jesus is the perfect man, but not just the perfect we see the one who indeed is God with us.

God incarnate, is because of this rich and profound portrait of Jesus that bears witness to the greatness of his humanity and the revelation of his deity that the church in setting forth her theological formulations in the early centuries had to come to grips with the difficulty of being faithful both to the humanity of Jesus and to the deity of Christ and that's why we looked earlier at the Council of Nicaea in the terms of our study of the Trinity and we will also look at the subsequent Council of Chalcedon to see how the church defined the relationship between the human nature of Christ and the divine nature of Christ but also beyond what we find in the gospel portraits.

That's not the end of the picture of Jesus that we get in the New Testament because beyond the Gospels we find the apostolic testimony, the testimony of the apostle Paul who unveils for us so clearly and plainly, the ministry of Christ as Savior, where Paul explains what goes on in the atonement and how Christ is our mediator and how he accomplishes our redemption for us and not only Paul and his several letters, but also in the letters of Peter, the letters of John the book of Hebrews which gives us one of the highest Christology's that will ever find anywhere where Christ is shown to be the express image of his person. The very brightness of the glory of God superior to the Angels superior to Moses superior to the Aaronic priesthood of the Old Testament who is called our RK Goss or our champion in the book of Hebrews and so from Matthew to the end of Revelation. The central motif of the New Testament is Christ.

But even then that's not enough, because if we go backwards into the Old Testament from Genesis 3. Throughout the books of the Old Testament history that describe the details of the tabernacle.

For example, which tabernacle is incarnate in Jesus himself, who in his person and work is the tabernacle of the Old Testament in all the details and machinations involved in the sacrificial system of the Old Testament find in its minutest detail their fulfillment in the ministry of Jesus, not to mention the books of the prophets, which are filled with the references to the one who is to come in so it's not simply that we go to the New Testament to learn of Jesus of Christ is proclaimed in virtually every page of the Old Testament Genesis to Revelation. It's the story of Jesus Christ incredible is in it. Jesus fulfilled every single prophecy every prediction, every word written about the Messiah, and during this holiday season. It points our attention back to the real reason for celebrating Weaver from Dr. RC Sproul today with a message from his series, foundations, an overview of systematic theology over the next several days, you're on Renewing Your Mind were highlighting the section in the series on Christology or our biblical understanding of the person and work of Christ. If we get this doctrine lawn.

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