The Holiness of Jesus

See full series: 2022-sermons
See full series: closer-to-god-2022

The Holiness of Jesus

Sermon by  Thomas Thornhill Jr

Passage: Psalm 16:10


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Editor’s note: Because I have been out of town this past few weeks, there is not video recording or audio pre-recording.  We will record the lesson when it is presented live and that audio will be added to this file.  Thank you for your understanding.  TATJR

Closer to God (21)
Holiness (5)

 

Today, we continue our theme for 2022.  We are in the midst of studying holiness.  The past few lessons we have addressed the holiness of God.  Appreciating the holiness of God helps us understand what it means to be holy and how to live.  Today, I want to address one more lesson ASSOCIATED with the holiness of God.  I would like to focus on the holiness of Jesus.  Following this we will begin examining how we are to respond to the holiness of God.

 

  1. The Holiness of Jesus declared
    1. Passages describing Him as holy
      1. Psalm 16:10, For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. Also quoted in Acts 2:27, 13:35.  We know this is a messianic psalm, and clearly a reference to Jesus.  He is addressed as “Your Holy One”.  This alone declares Him as holy.
      2. Luke 1:35 – as the angel Gabriel declares the miraculous conception to Mary, he notes, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
      3. Mark 1:24, as Jesus encounters a demon in Capernaum, he acknowledges Jesus as “the Holy One of God.”
      4. Acts 3:14, as Peter preaches in the temple after healing the lame man. He declares that they had denied the Holy One and the Just… then called Him the Prince of Life.
      5. Hebrews 7:26, For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;
      6. Revelation 3:7, ascribing words to Jesus as saying, “Thus says He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David…”
    2. He is God – that alone makes Him holy
      1. Possessing the qualities of God makes Him holy.
        1. John 1:1-2, 14; Colossians 2:9 – in Him dwells all the fullness of the godhead bodily.
        2. John 17:5, in His prayer, Jesus notes, And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
        3. Hebrews 1:3 describes Him as the brightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of His person.
        4. Time will not permit an examination of the many passages that describe Him with the qualities of deity. But they are there!
      2. He accepted worship – Matthew 8:2 – by a leper, Mark 5:6 – by the demon possessed, Matthew 14:33 – by His disciples when He calmed the storm; John 9:38 – by the blind man, etc.  EVEN after His resurrection – Matthew 28:9, 17 – women meeting Jesus, appearing to the 11 in Galilee, etc.
      3. He was honored – even as God – John 5:23 – He is to be honored, even as the Father is honored.
      4. He was acknowledged as God (the Son of God) by many of his followers – John 6:68-69, Matthew 16:16, etc.  AND by God – Matthew 3:17, 17:5 – “This is My beloved Son…”
  2. The holy life of Jesus
    1. In His birth He was treated as holy – Recall Luke 1:35 as the angel appears to Many, then His lowly birth in Bethlehem, followed by shepherds arriving and seeing Him, they made these things known, marveling at what they had seen. (Luke 2:15-18). The praise for Him as Jesus is presented in the temple (Luke 2:25-38). Later, as a young child, wise men arrive and worshipped Him and presented Him with gifts (Matthew 2:9-11).
    2. He lived a holy life – He was consecrated to God. His life was not about Himself, but about glorifying God the Father.  John 5:30, I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.  (also John 8:28).
      John 17:4, “I have glorified You on earth.  I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.”
      Even suffering in the Garden, He knows He has a horrific work ahead of Him and he submits – Matthew 26:39, 42, 44.  Recall 1 Peter 2:21-24 – He committed Himself to “Him who judges righteously.”
    3. He lived a perfect life – He was without sin.
      1. When challenged Jesus asked, “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” (John 8:46).
      2. Hebrews 4:15 notes that He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin.
      3. 1 John 3:5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.
      4. It was His perfect life that qualified Him to be the sacrifice we need –
        1. Isaiah 53:4-5 – he has borne our griefs, He was wounded for our transgressions…
        2. 2 Corinthians 5:21 notes that He knew no sin.
        3. Hebrews 7:26-27 – He was a holy High Priest who did not need to first offer sacrifices for Himself. Hebrews 9:14 notes that His blood was offered “without spot to God.”
        4. 1 Peter 1:18-19 – we were redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus, as of a lamb without spot or blemish…
    4. He served others –
      1. Mark 10:45 notes that He came to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.
      2. His miracles – were a manifestation of His deity and compassion for others. He did everything to demonstrate His worthiness, love and caring.  Describing the glory of God as seen in Jesus, we read the following: The glory of His power is seen in His miracles. Think of what He did. He raised the dead (Matt. 9:25; Luke 7:11–17; John 11:44); He healed the sick (Matt. 4:24); He opened the eyes of the blind (Matt. 9:27–30). He unstopped deaf ears (Mark 7:32); He unloosed stammering tongues (Matt. 9:33); He fed five thousand and more from five barley loaves and two small fishes (John 6:9, 10); He stilled the tempest (Mark 4:39); He cast out demons (Mark 5:1–20); He cleansed the lepers (Matt. 8:2–4); He straightened the crooked (Luke 13:11–13); He turned water into wine (John 2:7–10); and He rose from the dead (2 Cor. 5:15).[1]
    5. He forgave sins – demonstrating both His deity and His compassion. Luke 7:47 – the woman who anointed Him at Simon the Pharisee’s home; Luke 5:20-24 – healing the paralytic; Luke 23:34 – even on the cross, He prays for forgiveness of His enemies. He then proceeds to forgive the thief on the cross – Luke 23: 43.
    6. He fulfilled His purpose – the forgiveness of our sins. John 17:4, 19:30 – “I have finished…”, “It is finished…”  Galatians 2:20 – He loved me and gave Himself for me.
    7. The life of Jesus is the very essence of holiness on earth.
  3. What does this mean to me?
    1. This is the big question we need to ask ourselves and it will be the focus of the next few lessons. But here, let us briefly consider some thoughts directly related to the holiness of Jesus.
    2. His holiness ought to make me aware of my sinfulness –
      1. When I consider His holiness – how He lived and what he has done, I realize how unholy and unworthy I really am. Romans 7:24-25 – O wretched man that I am; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:9 – Paul noted he was not worthy to be called an apostle, etc.
      2. Consider Peter in Luke 5:8 after the miraculous catch of fish, Peter realized who he was in the presence of. Matthew 8:8 – the centurion noted he was unworthy for the Lord to enter his house, thus by faith he accepted that whatever Jesus said would be fine.
      3. I need to realize how much I need Him.
        1. Acts 4:12, John 14:6 – He is my only hope.
        2. Hebrews 5:9 notes He is the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.
        3. Many of the psalms demonstrate this. For example – Psalm 40:17, But I am poor and needy; Yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.
        4. 1 Peter 5:7, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
        5. And I need to know that He offers to receive me if I turn to Him – Matthew 11:28-29
    3. Because of His holiness I can be holy – this is the main point to consider.
      1. Hebrews 13:12 – Jesus suffered to sanctify us.
      2. We can be holy because of what He did – how He lived, died and arose.
      3. We have already learned that we need to be holy even as God is holy – 1 Peter 1:15-16. In Jesus we learn HOW we can holy.
      4. I need to imitate Him – 1 Corinthians 11:1, 1 Peter 2:21, Philippians 2:5, John 13:14-17, 13:34-35, etc.
      5. When I look to His example, strive to be His disciple, it will lead to holiness which will lead us to God.
    4. I ought to reverence Him for who He is– as with God the Father, we ought to show great respect for Jesus and how we address and speak of Him.
      1. Never forget that one day He is going to be my judge – John 5:22-23 – I ought to honor Him. Act 17:31 tells us God has appointed a day for this. 2 Corinthians 5:10 – we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
      2. Thus, I better show Him the honor He deserves – Philippians 2:9-11 – Will I bow and confess Him now or later, when it is too late?
      3. Will I honor Him in the way I live AND what I say? We ought not take His name in vain any more than that of God the Father.
      4. I ought to worship Him – because He is God, and because He is my Lord and King. He is due all the reverence we give to God the Father.  And a case could be made for worshipping Him when we consider He accepted worship while on earth (see above), angels worship Him (Hebrews 1:6, 2:7 – note that we as man are lower than the angels), and an examination of Revelation 5 where the Lamb is worshipped as worthy, etc.

And thus, we can see the holiness of Jesus.  Truly He is holy, because of who He is and what He has done for us.  Leaving heaven and coming to this earth, He not only lived holy, but He gives us a pattern to strive to emulate.  In coming lessons, we will see more about this as we strive to be holy even as He is holy.  What about you?  How will Jesus affect the way you live your life?  Think about it!

[1] Marsh, F. E. (1992). The Glory of God as Seen in Jesus. In A. Bryant (Ed.), Sermon outlines on the attributes of God (p. 26). Kregel Publications.

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