THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS What Jesus taught about Himself Introduction If I were to teach a lesson on the moon what it s like, how to get there, etc., how confident would you be in what I taught? What if I sought to defend my authority on the moon by telling you I d been to there!? Now imagine that Neil Armstrong came and began to teach us these things about the moon. How confident would you be in what he taught? You probably know that NASA sent 3 men to the moon on the Apollo 11 mission: Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Neil Armstrong. Four days after launch, Aldrin and Armstrong landed on the moon while Collins stayed in orbit in the Command Module. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped out of the landing module and descended the ladder to become the first man on the moon. Why would you be more confident in what Neil Armstrong taught about the moon than in what I taught? Because you know he s been there and you also know that I haven t! I d either be just a liar or just plain crazy if I said I d been to the moon. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I would like to spend some time considering the teachings of Jesus Christ. But in order to have any confidence in what Jesus taught, we must be confident in His person and especially in what He taught concerning Himself. Josh McDowell, a well-known contemporary Christian apologist, has presented what I believe is a compelling argument: Jesus Christ is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. There may be one other option: and that is to believe Jesus is a legend or a myth. On Beach Blvd. just south of Hazard, is a billboard, which I believe has been sponsored by a local atheist group. On the billboard are four images: Santa Claus,,, and Jesus Christ. And the question is asked, Do you see any myths here? There are those who either don t believe that a person the Bible called Jesus Christ ever existed, that He was a myth initiated by some deceivers or religious fanatics who wanted to start a new religion. Or they believe that if a person called Jesus Christ did actually exist, He was nothing like what the Bible says He was. These would say that the actual historical person named Jesus Christ did or said very few of the things the Bible says He did or said, that it was His disciples who made these things up, perhaps to justify their devotion to Him, and/or to comfort themselves in their loss and humility.
One problem with this line of thinking is such an effort by Jesus disciples actually complicated life for them; indeed, it put them in mortal danger! It also ran completely counter to the whole emphasis on truth in Jesus life and teaching. In addition, the disciples actually struggled with their own belief and understanding of what Jesus taught. How then can we understand their sudden and radical change in beliefs and understanding!? Furthermore, myths take several generations to develop and become popular. But Jesus teachings and the record of His miracles were fully developed, published and widely accepted within months of His death and claimed resurrection! So, the claim that Jesus Christ was a legend is really not a viable option. It s unreasonable and illogical to believe He didn t exist, or that He was a legend. Regarding the other options, if Jesus was either a liar or a lunatic, then we are free to choose which if any of His teachings to believe and follow. But if Jesus Christ is the Lord of heaven and earth which He said He was (Mt. 28:18), then we d better believe and follow everything else He taught! My primary purpose in this message is to help us gain a greater confidence in Jesus teachings, and to increase in our love for and awe of Him. So, what did Jesus teach about Himself? John said in his gospel account, Jesus did [and, by implication, taught] many other things.... If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. (John 21:25) We certainly can t consider everything Jesus taught, but in this message we will consider what Jesus taught concerning His relationship with God and His relationship with mankind, as well as His purpose in life. I. His Unique Relationship to God, i.e., His Diety One of the earliest things Jesus taught was His unique relationship with God. 41 Every year [Jesus ] parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When [Jesus] was twelve years old, [He and His parents] went up to the Feast, according to the custom. 43 After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to
him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." 49 "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I HAD TO BE IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE?" 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them. 51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Over 50 times in the gospels, Jesus referred to God as His Father. And though the Old Testament Scriptures referred to God as Israel s Father (1 Chron. 29:10; Ps. 68:5; Isa. 63:16; 64:8), Jesus relationship was unique. In fact, it was so unique that the religious authorities interpreted Jesus meaning to suggest that He was equal to God. 22 Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. 24 The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30 I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE." 31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" 33 "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because YOU, A MERE MAN, CLAIM TO BE GOD."34 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'? 35 If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came--and the Scripture cannot be broken-- 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? 37 Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. 38 But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." (Jn. 10:22-38) Jesus taught that He and God the Father were One. And He backed up that claim with powerful miracles and profound teachings things that no one else has ever done before or since. II. His Unique Relationship to Man, i.e., His Humanity But Jesus also taught that His relationship to mankind was unique. In addition to the title, Son of God, Jesus even more frequently referred to Himself as the Son of Man. While He didn t teach the fact of His humanity in the way we may think of teaching, He demonstrated it in His life. As we saw earlier, Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Lk. 2:52) He submitted to His earthly
mother and father. He also got hungry, tired, angry and frustrated. And He suffered, bled and died just as all mankind does. But while Jesus was fully human, there was something totally unique about His purpose in life, something that no one else can say. III. His Unique Purpose, i.e., His Messiahship When Jesus engaged a Samaritan woman at a well, she said to Him, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." 26 Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he." (Jn. 4:25-26) And Jesus said many things that confirmed that He was the Messiah or Christ. To a tax collector named Zacchaeus, Jesus said of Himself,... the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Lk. 19:10) And to a Pharisee named Nicodemas, Jesus said, 16 "... God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17) And when confronted by the high priest who said to Him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." 64 "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." (Mt. 26:63-64) Conclusion So anyone who says that Jesus never claimed to be God or the Savior of the world, that one has never read the Bible! And so, I go back to Josh McDowell s argument: Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. No one has ever claimed of themselves the things Jesus claimed of Himself. No one would dare! It would be too easy to disprove such claims. But all the skeptical, cynical and atheistic efforts since Jesus time have not been able to disprove or refute one thing Jesus claimed about Himself and demonstrated through His miracles and teachings! So the only logical, reasonable conclusion is that Jesus is Lord! And just as we ought to listen to all that Neil Armstrong might teach about the moon, we are even more
obligated to listen to all that Jesus taught. And we will be considering some of those teachings in future messages.