Sunday, February 6, 2010 am
THE LIFE OF Jesus (14)
Defending His Teachings
In our last lesson of this ongoing study of the life of Jesus we
examined some of the claims Jesus made.
While He made many claims, we focused the “I AM” claims of the
gospel of John. Such claims
caused many to be astounded at His teachings.
Many were willing to follow Him because of His claims, but others
outright rejected Him, many because of His claims.
We often strongly condemn the Jewish leaders for their
corruption, arrogance and manipulation of the Law of Moses to their
benefit. Jesus exposed many
of these traits (which we will examine later this year) and thus our
condemnation is just.
HOWEVER, one thing they could NOT be accused of was a failure to respect
the godhood of Jehovah (YHWH).
Considering the claims that Jesus did make, (including claims
that He was the Son of God, claims of working with the Father, forgiving
sins, occasions where He accepted worship, & setting aside Sabbath
traditions, etc.) if they were made by an ordinary man and without
proof, they would have been blasphemy and cause for complete rejection,
even execution, under the Old Law.
It was this mindset of the enemies of Jesus that was a pivotal
factor in their rejection of Him (though not the only reason).
BUT, Jesus defended His authority throughout His ministry.
He PROVED that He was who He claimed to be.
As a result of this, their rejection of Jesus was their downfall.
In our lesson today we want to notice some things Jesus said and
did which verified that He was the Son of God and the promised Messiah.
PLEASE NOTE: This lesson is just as relevant to us today as it
was back then. As we strive
to follow Jesus, we ought to do so with faith and hope.
As you study the life of Jesus, there are only three
possibilities: 1) He was a liar and deceiver (i.e. he knew what he was
doing), 2) He was a lunatic (crazy), or 3) He was who He claimed to be.
Let us keep this in mind as we examine this lesson.
Today we will notice some of HIS pleadings to accept Him.
I.
By
What Authority?
a.
Matthew
21:23-27, also in Mark 11:27-33, Luke 20:1-8.
The context: Jesus is bringing His earthly service to its conclusion and
He is questioned by the elders and chief priests.
They ask Him, “By what authority are you doing these things?”
The things He did included teaching as He did, cast out the money
changers from the temple (Luke records this just before this account),
etc.
Jesus answers them with a question of His own stating that He would
answer them if they answered Him.
The question, “The baptism of John - Was it from heaven or from
men?” They refuse to answer
and so does Jesus.
b.
Was it a
legitimate question? Was
asking for authority for the works and claims of Jesus a legitimate
question? Yes! If one is to
put his life and even his eternal destiny in the hands of one, it is
only natural to VERIFY the claims that are made.
c.
So why did
Jesus not answer it? Because
they did not ask it legitimately.
They were not truly interested in the answer.
He had corresponded with them on numerous occasions prior to this
about why He did what He did and appealed to them to honestly consider
Him and His claims. They
summarily dismissed His words every time.
Furthermore, there is good indication that the intent of the leaders
asking Jesus this question on that occasion was with ulterior motives.
They didn’t really want to know the answer, but they wanted
something (else) to accuse Him of.
d.
We want to
take a few moments and notice some of the defense he made.
II.
The Fourfold Witness
a.
John
5:31-46. In this passage
Jesus appeals to His audience, both friend and foe to consider
“witnesses” that verified His extraordinary claims.
b.
The
importance of witnesses.
Under the Law of Moses, the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses was needed to
convict one. Deut. 19:18 says, “One
witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin
that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall
be established.” Jesus
even enacted this in dealing with a sinning brother (Matt. 18:16).
On this occasion, while Jesus had not been convicted of anything,
He WAS appealing to “witnesses” that verified His teachings and claims.
c.
In
particular Jesus pleads with them to consider 4 witnesses.
i.
John the Baptist testified of Him (5:32-25).
John the Baptist was
viewed by many as a great prophet (and he was).
Jesus described him as the Elijah promised in Malachi 4:5-6, 3:1
(see Matt. 17:10-13).
The Jewish leaders wouldn’t touch John because the people viewed him as
a great prophet. He taught
with integrity and prepared the people for the coming Messiah (Matt.
3:2, 9-12)
John 1:29-34. Notice vs. 29
finds John describing Jesus as, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away
the sins of the world.” THEN
in vs. 34 we read, “And I have seen and testified that this is the Son
of God.”
Following this John began declaring to his disciples that they should
follow after Jesus. From
these disciples would come some of the apostles of Jesus.
Notice John 3:27-36 where some of John’s disciples express
concerns because many were leaving him to follow Jesus.
That is what John wanted.
The scribes and Pharisees had NOTHING on John of which to convict him or
accuse him. He testified of
Jesus.
ii.
The
works He did bore witness of Him (5:36)
The book of John, as the other gospels, records a number of “works” that
Jesus did. These works, I
believe to be reference to the miracles Jesus performed.
The first recorded miracle of Jesus was turning water to wine in Cana,
as recorded in John 2:1-11.
Vs. 11 says, “This beginning of
signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His
disciples believed in Him.”
Notice how John uses the word “signs”, a reference to these works
being PROOF of something.
Thayer in describing these signs says they can refer to “miracles and
wonders which God authenticates the men sent to him, or by which men
prove that the cause they are pleading is God’s”
John records at least 7 miracles that demonstrate the all-encompassing
power of Jesus. Many of them
are referred to as signs. In
our next lesson, we are going to examine some of the miracles Jesus
performed and show how they demonstrated Jesus to be whom He claimed to
be.
Some other interesting passages in John
in reference to these signs:
1.
John 3:2 where Nicodemus, a Pharisee, comes to Jesus at night and says, “Rabbi,
we know that You are a teacher from God; for no one can do these signs
that You do unless God is with Him.”
2.
John 6:30 after feeding
5000 miraculously, some in the crowd, among whom would have been
religious leaders and critics, asked Him, “What
sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?
What work will You do?...”
NOTICE the value these leaders placed upon signs (miracles).
Whether they wanted to admit it or not, the signs proved Jesus to
be one they should listen to.
3.
John 10:24-25, “Then the
Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt?
If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."
Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The
works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.”
Following this, Jesus challenges them by saying, “For which of those
works do you stone Me?” (Jn. 10:32)
They answer that it was because He made Himself God.
Jesus responds, “Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your
law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?
If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the
Scripture cannot be broken),
do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world,
'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?
If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if
I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know
and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him." Therefore they
sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.”
John
10:34-39
4.
John 11:45-47 – after the
resurrection of Lazarus, their conclusion about Jesus was, “Then the
chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall
we do? For this Man works many signs. 48 If we let Him alone like this,
everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away
both our place and nation."
5.
John 20:30-31, “And truly
Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are
not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may
have life in His name.”
6.
IS IT NOT
AMAZING that Jesus did many signs, the very thing they demanded, and yet
they still rejected Him?
iii.
The
Father Himself – testified
of Him (5:37-40), through His word
1.
First,
there was recorded an occasion with witnesses when the Father directly
testified of Jesus. At His
baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, He heard a voice saying,
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:17, see
also John 1:32-34). At least
twice more, the Father would speak of Jesus – at the transfiguration
(Matt. 17:5, John 12:27-30)
2.
Second,
Jesus fit the prophecies of the Messiah that the Old Testament foretold
–
EVERY prophecy! Jesus was
challenging His critics to open their Bibles (books, scrolls) and search
them. They would VERIFY He
was who He claimed to be.
Prophecies of the detail we find in scripture can only come from the
omniscient creator of the Universe, God (cf. Isa. 46:9-10, 48:3-5)
3.
Consider
just a few –
Born of a virgin – Isa. 7:14, Matt. 1:18, 23-25
Tribe of Judah – Jer. 23:5, Luke 3:23, 31, 33-34 – Jesus was from Judah
Born in Bethlehem – Micah 5:2, Matt. 2:1, Luke 2:4-7
The Spirit of the Lord would rest on Him – Isaiah 11:1-2, Matt. 3:16-17
Preceded by a messenger – Isaiah 40:3, Mal. 3:1, John the Baptist came –
Jn. 1:22-23, Matt. 3:1-2
Dwelt in Galilee – Isaiah 9:1, Matt. 4:12-16
Miracles would be performed
- Isaiah 35:5-6, Matt. 9:35, etc.
MANY more prophecies were to come that would solidify even more, but
these were available to the Jews at the time Jesus spoke the words of
our text and could have been researched.
THE POINT: There was NOTHING to prove Jesus was NOT the promised
Messiah, and plenty that pointed TOWARD HIM!
They just chose to reject it because He did not fit the mold they
WANTED for the Messiah.
4.
After His
resurrection, as Jesus spoke to His apostles He said, “Then He said to
them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with
you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of
Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." And He opened
their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.”
(Luke 24:44)
iv.
Moses spoke of Him as well (5:45-47)
1.
In the 5
books attributed to Moses, those which the Jews described as their Law
(the Torah), we find some more striking things said of one they were
looking for.
2.
Included
in the prophecies made in these books were:
The Seed promise through Abraham, Isaac &
Jacob – Gen. 12:3, 26:4,
28:14
The tribe of Judah – Gen. 49:8-10
Deut 18:15, “The Lord your God
will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your
brethren. Him you shall hear”
Deut 18:18-19, “I will raise up
for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My
words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.
And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in
My name, I will require it of him.”
3.
There is
another consideration here: Moses gave them the Law from God at Sinai.
Jesus HAD kept that Law perfectly, though the Jewish leaders had
corrupted its application.
Furthermore, in Deut. 18:20 we read this warning about prophets, “But
the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not
commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that
prophet shall die.' And if
you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the Lord has
not spoken?' — when a
prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or
come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the
prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.”
MOSES was clear that you would identify a prophet by whether or not his
words came to pass. All the
leaders had to do was VERIFY what Jesus demonstrated and claimed before
reaching a conclusion. Their
presumptuous condemnation of Jesus without “due course” was a rejection
of the Law of Moses itself.
Jesus is challenging them to be consistent.
In this text we find the crux of the defense of Jesus.
As you study the gospels, you find throughout a consistent
defense of His works and message.
The people He interacted with heard Him answer questions, the way
He handled His critics, the compassionate message and actions He
demonstrated to the crowds, and the works He did all verified that He
was one worthy of consideration and acceptance.
As Jesus taught, His disciples did not have the completed word,
but they had enough to KNOW they could trust Him.
We have everything we need summarized in the gospels.
We can do the research and verify the consistency of His claims.
An honest heart will reach only one conclusion – Jesus WAS the
Messiah we need to save us from our sins.
Will you accept Him in obedience to His will?