Thoughts of a Ragamuffin, Part 4: Revelation, Model, Person
In our series the Thoughts of a Ragamuffin we have considered our biological
family tree, our lineage, our heritage,
and the legacy that we are building.
We discovered the new family tree that we have been grafted into when God
accepts your faith and makes you one of His own,
we become part of that living spiritual being called the Church.
Last time we considered the reckless raging fury we call the Love of God,
a love like no other,
discovering that God loves us unconditionally,
we are His beloved and that this relationship empowers us to be
loving towards others.
Today I want to share some thoughts about Jesus.
If this was a theology class today’s topic would be an area of study known as
Christology.
We won’t figure everything out, nor will we even begin to plumb the depths
of the mystery of Jesus,
but you will leave here today knowing that Jesus is the
definitive revelation of God,
that Jesus is the definitive model of humanity and
that Jesus is a real person.
Rich Mullins gives us a musical introduction for the message today.
“Boy Like Me/Man Like You” video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVqQED51XD8
“And if I ever really do grow up, Lord I want to grow up and be just like you.”
The story of Jesus begins in unfathomable mystery.
“Begins” is a poor choice of words for from eternity to eternity Jesus is the same
yesterday, today and forever.
Jesus has no beginning. He was and is and will always be eternal.
“When we try to squeeze Him into our systems of thought,
He vanishes—He slips through our grasp
and then reappears
and in so many words says, ‘No man takes My life from Me.
No man forces his will on Me.
I am not yours to handle and cheapen.
You are Mine to love and make holy.’
(Mullins—James Bryan Smith, An
Arrow Pointing to Heaven, p. 87)
To get an idea of who Jesus is, you have to discard your preconceived notions,
You have to think out of the box of what is consider normal,
and you have to be willing to exercise faith that makes you content
with not understanding how what the scripture tells us about
Jesus is true.
The first mind busting thought about Jesus is that Jesus is God.
John 1:1-4
In the beginning the Word already
existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the
beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created
except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his
life brought light to everyone.
That boggles anybody’s mind.
The Jews and the Muslims are monotheists,
mono meaning one, and theist meaning God,
they believe in one God.
The Muslims proclaim:
“There is only ONE GOD and Muhammed is
his prophet.”
(Ashxaduallah
alla ilaha illallah va ashxadu anna Muhammadan abduhu va rasuluhun)
In our spiritual heritage the “shema” of Israel is a Christian confession of faith
also:
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NIV)
Hear, O
Israel: The LORD
our God, the LORD is
one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your strength.
The Christian faith believes in one God also,
but our concept of God is derived from the revelation in scripture that
assigns divinity to Father, Son and Spirit,
not three Gods but One God that is Triune.
Christians believe in a Triune God.
From all eternity to all eternity God exists in an indivisible communion.
Jesus prays to the One He calls the Father,
talks about sending the One He calls Holy Spirit,
scripture reveals the Jesus is the One called the Son.
Not three Gods,
not three forms of the same God,
not three modes of being,
but as the great hymn of the church proclaims
“God in three persons, blessed Trinity.”
How this can be the scriptures do not tells, we accept the mystery by faith.
We know that Jesus is God,
But God in the flesh.
That’s the second incredible “hurt my head” when I think about it
statement also.
God becomes human.
Philippians 2:6-7 (NLT)
Though he was God, he did not think of
equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine
privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human
being.
This is why we celebrate Christmas.
Christmas commemorates the Incarnation of God.
God doesn’t fake being human.
God becomes just like what He created,
Jesus is a human being.
Luke 1:34-35 & Luke 2:6-7
(NIV)
How will this be," Mary asked the angel,
"since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of
the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the
Son of God.
“…the time came for the baby to be born,
7 and she gave birth
to her firstborn, a son.”
At the same time, Jesus is fully God and fully human.
Colossians 1:15-20 (NIV)
He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers
or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
17 He is before all
things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the
church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in
everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his
fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood,
shed on the cross.
Jesus is not a son of God in the same sense as I am the son of my father;
Nor in the sense that somehow Jesus was created by God;
Nor in the sense that Jesus is a part of God;
Son of God is a designator for God with skin on.
Jesus is not God hiding out in human form. (Smith, p. 68)
Jesus is not as the Gnostics taught a man with the Christ spirit indwelling
Him.
Jesus is not an offspring of God.
Jesus in not a prophet of God.
Jesus is fully God and fully human,
existing as divinity and humanity at one in the same time.
“Jesus, being God, is the perfect picture of who God is.
Jesus being man, is the picture of perfect humanity.
To find Him, to mediate on Him, is to find God and
our own true selves.” (Smith, Arrow, p. 72)
Jesus is both the revelation of God, and the model for humanity.
When you look at Jesus you see everything that we need to know about God
and when you look at Jesus you see everything that it means to be
human.
The scripture explains that this is necessary for an atonement to be made.
Romans 3:22-25 (MSG)
The God-setting-things-right that we
read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us,
but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and
them in this. Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both
us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious
lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in
right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and
restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus
Christ. God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of
sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of
action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself
through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so
patiently endured.
It is because of the atonement,
Jesus death on the cross,
That you can acknowledge the fact that you are a sinner,
Believe that Jesus has died to redeem you from your sins
And Commit to being a follower of Jesus.
It is because of the atonement that God accepts your faith,
Forgives you of your sins,
Reconciles you to himself
Adopts you as His own,
And empowers you to live righteously.
God dying, this is a mind boggler too.
God sacrifices Himself to clear the world of sin.
I can only surmise that God created the universe with certain moral laws that
required this type of action.
“Only by being God could Jesus defeat death,
but only by being human could God suffer and die.” (Smith, Arrow, p.76)
Hebrews 2:17-18 (NIV)
For this reason he had to be made like
his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful
high priest in service to God, and that he might make
atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was
tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
And as we discovered last week love sets all this in motion.
Jesus is the revelation of God because Jesus is God.
Jesus is the model for humanity, because Jesus is human.
As the model for what it means to be human we have learned that love describes
being human best.
We are most human when we love.
We know that love is obedient to the will of God.
We know love seeks to meet the needs of others even at the cost of
personal sacrifice.
We know love is a wise stewardship of all that God has entrusted to us.
We know that love is partnering with God the Holy Spirit in His work of
transforming us ever more closing into the image of Jesus.
How does this love play out in your life?
Look to Jesus--
“Jesus is a man who played with children,
went to dinner with prostitutes,
and spent time caring for the broken, the weak and the outcast.”
(Smith, Arrow. p. 73)
Jesus was a man who worked with his hands (Matthew 13:55);
Got hungry (Matthew 21:18) and thirsty (John 4:7);
got bone weary, so much so he could sleep during a storm in a small
boat (Matthew 8:24);
He got dirty (John 13:5);
And he cried (John 11:35).
Jesus was a man who got angry (Mark 3:5)
Disappointed (Matthew 26:40);
Frustrated (John 4:44):
Discouraged (John 6:68);
He was combative (John 2:16);
Confrontational (Matthew 23:33);
controversial (John 12:10 &24);
and courageous (Matthew 26:2).
He was thought to be mad by his family (Mark 3:21)
betrayed by one of his inner circle, by one of his friends (Mt10:4;
And denied by another (Matthew 26:69).
Jesus was a man who changed water into wine,
Taught with authority,
Healed the sick,
Cast out demons,
Calmed storms,
Feed thousands,
Raised the dead,
forgave sins,
and bodily rose from the dead.
Fully God, Fully Human.
The third mental maze is that this man, fully God and fully human,
Was a real flesh and blood person.
“One of the blunders religious people are particularly fond of making is the attempt
to be more spiritual than Jesus.” (Frederick Buechner--Smith, Arrow, p. 74)
We tend to put Jesus in such a place as that we can not relate to Him as a person.
But scripture reveals that Jesus is a person to whom you are invited to enter
into relationship with.
I think the disciples saw Jesus’ charisma, His laughter, His joy,
His way of looking at life and loving people,
that they determined to be like Him.
I think that Jesus had a way with the disciples that made them feel important and
cared for.
I think that sometimes the disciples were utterly amazed at the things Jesus said
and did.
Jesus still is someone you would like to have as a personal, dear close friend.
Someone you want as both Lord and BFF (best friends forever).
Two incidences recorded for us in scripture that speak volumes to me concerning
Jesus being a real person.
The first I’ll just briefly mention.
In the Garden of Gethsemane,
He asked the One He called the Father to find another way to
reconcile all of creation to Himself other than having to die.
Something in that event just grabs my heart and confirms to me this One,
Fully God and fully human was a real person.
The second incident that speaks volumes to me is Jesus blessing the children.
Mark 10:13-16 (NLT)
One day some parents brought their
children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded
the parents for bothering him. When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry
with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop
them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I
tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child
will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands
on their heads and blessed them.
Jesus took the kids in His arms.
I love that.
As important His mission,
As busy as He was,
Jesus had time for little children.
If dogs and kids like you, you must be ok.
If the parents of little kids, and the little kids themselves felt it was ok
to approach Jesus, certainly you and I can also.
Rich Mullins during a concert said:
“How do you bless children?
Well, the best way I know is that you pick them up and you just throw them
as high as you can, and you catch them right before they splatter.
You get down on all fours and you run around the room and you let them
ride you and you buck them off…
You put your mouth against their bellies and you make funny
noises.
Here’s Jesus probably doing all this business.
His disciples were humiliated.
And they said, ‘You should not be making such a fool of yourself.’
And Jesus says, ‘Here, look ,look, fellas. I’ll call the shots here.
I may be dumb, but I am God.
And I’ll tell you what else, if you want come into My kingdom,
you’ll come in like one of these or you won’t come in at
all.” (Mullins—Smith, Arrow, p. 72)
Jesus took the kids in his arms, and blessed them.
Jesus is approachable, inviting,
Fully God, Fully Human, a real person.
It makes sense that Jesus is a real person,
Because becoming like Jesus is what your spiritual journey is all about.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)
“And we, … are being
transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory…”
The more like Jesus you become,
the more the lover you become,
the more the lover you become the more human you become,
the more human you become the more real you are.
The more real you are the more you reflect your Creator.
One of the great dangers in the Church is moving
“from loving Jesus to simply believing in a doctrine about Jesus.”
(Smith, Arrow, p. 80)
Its movement away from Jesus as a person you know to a doctrine you believe.
Friends doctrine will not save you,
A personal relationship with Jesus will.
Being a disciple, that “C” part, the commit part in the ABC of the faith
is all about establishing a “daily walk with this person, Jesus.”
(Smith, Arrow, p. 80)
The “C” represents a “radical and reasonable trust and focus on Jesus
and becoming like him.” (Smith, Arrow, p. 80)
Jesus called the “C” part “remaining in Him.”
John 15:5 (NLT)
Yes, I am the vine; you are the
branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For
apart from me you can do nothing.
The way you remain in Jesus, the way you develop your relationship with Jesus the
real person is through the daily practice of the seven habits of a disciple.
It is in your reading of the Bible, prayer, fellowship, service, worship, obedience
and contemplation that you continually draw life from the tree,
from the vine.
It is through your encounters with Jesus while practicing the habits that you come
to know Him and in knowing Him become like Him.
How are you getting along with Jesus?
Is your relationship with Him working out?
You and I don’t need to believe in a doctrine about Jesus.
We need to cultivate a relationship with Him.
Don’t allow religion to keep you from knowing the person.
That’s the fourth mind boggler for me:
That you can know Jesus like you know any other person.
The old hymns of the church sang of this truth:
“and He walks with me and He talks with me along life’s narrow way”
(He Lives)
“what a friend we have in Jesus”
'Tis so safe to walk with Jesus, Leaning hard upon His arm,
(Tis so sweet to walk with Jesus)
“Just a
closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily
walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.”
These
poets are writing about the reality of knowing Jesus the real person,
About their friendship with Jesus,
About spending time with Jesus.
I think
they are all pointing us to a mysterious reality;
One that
you will not find unless you seek it out;
That reality is knowing the One in whom you have believed.
In my
spirit I have sensed the presence of Jesus,
In my spirit I have heard Jesus speak to me,
In my spirit I have seen Him leading, guiding and providing.
It’s a
reality totally assessable to every single person.
Jesus is
God in the flesh,
Son of God is a name for God with flesh on.
Jesus reveals to us everything we need to know about God.
Jesus is a human being, exactly like us, except without the handicap of original sin.
Jesus is the model to us of everything being human is all about.
We are most human when we are most like Jesus.
Jesus is a person
A person that you can recognize, one that you can know,
one that you can converse with.
A person that you can have a relationship with.
Jesus full God, Fully human, a real person.
1 John 1:1-3 (MSG)
From the very first day, we were there,
taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes,
verified it with our own hands. 2 The
Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we're
telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this:
The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.
3 We saw it, we heard it,
and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this
experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.
Believer,
Practice those seven habits of a disciple and you will pass from knowing
about Jesus to knowing Him,
you will slip into the reality of the poets,
into the mystery of being with Jesus.