Who is Jesus?

Who do you say I am?

What do you think about the Christ, the Messiah?

Whose son is he?

These are questions that Jesus put to his disciples,

his followers, and people that came to question

and challenge him in Matthew.

Do you have an answer ready for this kind of questions?

Just don't let my phone echo.

So, what do you think?

When we were on a college mission back in 2018,

we were asked to finish an unfinished sentence,

Jesus is,

and be ready to share with people that we met.

So, someone wrote in and said that Jesus is worth checking out.

And others say Jesus is hard to believe.

One person wrote in and said Jesus is blue cheese.

He said,

In 2015, a survey of most hated foods in the UK

found that over one-third of people hated blue cheese.

It was a seventh on the list.

Generally, cheese is loved,

just not that variety.

I don't think people would mind that others like blue cheese

as long as the smell doesn't affect me.

How is Jesus like blue cheese?

If Christians want to believe in Jesus,

then fine,

but it's not for me.

And I don't want them to leave me or talk about him.

2017 research showed that 68% of Australians

follow a religion or have spiritual beliefs,

and 45% identify with Christianity.

The biggest changes in that survey is

one-third of people don't identify themselves with any religion.

People are still talking, though.

Just over half of people reported

having religious conversations with friends

often or on occasion.

Perhaps talking about the meaning of life

with people you trust smell less.

Today, my hope and wish

are to help you come to an answer

for those Jesus questions

and to show you who is this Jesus

that we believe in.

If you do not know Jesus,

I hope this introduction

will whet your appetite towards him.

If you are a follower,

I hope you will be more equipped and ready

to fill in the blank of Jesus is.

As Apostle Peter told us in 1 Peter 3.15,

always be prepared to give an answer

to everyone who asks you

to give the reason for the hope that you have.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone

who asks you to give the reason

for the hope that you have.

We are spending time studying

and investigating the Apostle Creek

because it is a very good starting point for us

to find an answer for who Jesus is.

The Apostle Creek points us to the Trinity

and how they are three persons and one God.

And its structure places a lot of emphasis

on the second person of the Trinity, Jesus.

Because Christians are defined by one primary mark,

we believe in,

and are disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And it's not enough for any Christian

to simply say,

I love Jesus, I follow Jesus.

Many who say they love Jesus and follow Jesus

do not follow Jesus as he has revealed himself

in Scripture.

They are following an image

that is not the superior image of Jesus

that we feel in the Bible.

We read before in Hebrews 1, 34,

the Son is a radiance of God's glory

and the exact representation of his being,

sustaining all things by his powerful words.

He became as much superior to the angels

as the name he has inherited is superior to this.

If you do a search on Google,

these are the image of Jesus that you will see.

And if you are in China,

going to a government-sanctioned church,

you will be introduced to Jesus

that looks like this.

A Chinaman.

And most scholars will refer to an image

as this one.

As the most accurate Jesus,

taking into account the common features

of the first century Middle Eastern men.

If picture is worth a thousand words,

which image of Jesus should we think of

when we consider who Jesus is?

Shall we worry and be concerned

that Jesus has been presented

as certain ethnicity?

Is it really evil to present a Jesus

that appeased Chinese to the Chinese people

as people of color

accused European and Americans

of distorting the truth of Jesus

by presenting a Jesus of light-colored skin?

As we confess that we believe in Jesus Christ,

God's only Son, our Lord,

according to the Apostle Creek,

we are calling,

we are being called to consider Jesus' true identity

and his mission

as they are revealed in Scripture,

beyond any image we can come up with

with our limited mind.

As I have read out from,

as we have read out from 1 Hebrews 1, 4,

it says,

Jesus became

as much superior to the angels

as the name he has inherited

is superior to theirs.

So what is the name that Jesus has inherited?

We have the first name Jesus,

which is Greek for

Josiah means God is Savior.

But what about Jesus' last name?

Have you ever thought about Jesus' last name?

Is it Christ?

Christ is not a surname.

It's a title.

It's the Greek word for Messiah,

meaning the unhaunted one of God.

So, Jesus Christ is not merely a name.

It is a theological preposition.

By saying Jesus Christ,

we have made a profoundly theological statement.

We are declaring Jesus

is the atonement of God,

the Savior.

It is a claim that

all the promises given to Israel

regarding all human beings

are fulfilled in this one incarnate man,

Jesus Christ.

God saved us by this specific person,

Jesus,

who is also God himself,

because

in Hebrews,

it says,

Jesus sustains

all things

by his powerful words.

When you say Jesus Christ,

even when you are using it

in a cursing,

non-Christian way,

you are proposing a truth

that Jesus is the Christ,

the Savior of sinners,

the sustainer of all things.

when Christians declare

we believe in Jesus Christ,

we are declaring that

we do not believe in a Christ

of our own imagination,

but in a Christ of Scripture.

We are declaring that

we believe in the Christ,

the Messiah,

the Atonement Savior,

they are believed in

and declared by

every generation of true Christians.

If you are a Christian,

it says true of you

when you make that declaration.

At this point,

if you are non-Christian,

you might say,

this is exactly

why I don't want

to be a Christian.

This is why I think

I don't need to be a Christian,

because I'm okay.

I'm looking after myself

and my family well.

I don't need a Savior.

And in fact,

I'm doing something actively

to save this planet

and humankind.

All this talk about

needing a Savior's own name,

and I will think about religion

when I need a question.

I want to congratulate you

on your success in life.

It's not easy,

even now a day,

to achieve stability in life.

And you are willing

to make sacrifice

to not just look after

your immediate family,

but the wider community.

But at the same time,

I would like to ask you

to think again

about your need for Jesus.

Of course,

being saved

does not necessarily mean

all your life's trouble

and problems

will go away.

But also,

being successful in life

also does not mean

you don't need to be saved.

If you're honest to yourself,

or if we are honest to ourselves,

we will admit that

there's a lot of things

and issues

beyond our control.

things like greed,

jealousy,

unforgiving,

injustice,

and cruelty.

Those are things

that Christians call sins.

They are beyond

our ability to deal with.

We need to be saved

from sin,

and salvation

is found in no one else.

For there is no other name

under heaven

given to mankind

by which we must be saved.

We read in Hebrew

that Jesus' name

is much superior

to the angels.

Our understanding

of who Christ is

defined

how we live our life.

Living in the certainty

and assurance of Christ

as our savior

and sustainer

is so much different

to living in the uncertainty

and fear

of Christ

as our judge.

When we say

we believe in Jesus Christ,

we are making

a theological statement

that Jesus

is the only means

of our salvation,

and there is no other name

under heaven

given to mankind

by which we must be saved.

Jesus is our only salvation

because he is

God's only son,

and that is what

Christians cherish

and treasure.

we have a God

that came to us

and become part

of what he has created

so to free us

from our sins,

from the troubles

we have caused

to ourselves.

Jesus is God's only son,

means

God the son,

Jesus,

and God the father

are both God

and of the same being.

at Nicene Creed,

which was written

after Apostle Creed

to give further explanation.

It says,

Jesus is the only son of God,

eternally begotten

of the father,

God from God,

light from light,

true God

from true God,

begotten not made

of one being

with the father.

Through him

all things were made.

Jesus and God the father

made this world together.

He is begotten

not made,

which means

he is not part of

but superior to

the creation.

Being outside

of the fallen creation

was what enabled him

to purify

this fallen world

that we live in.

He did it

by becoming

one of us

to restore

mankind's rebellion,

to a perfect obedience.

Hebrews chapter 2

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

from 2nd verse 9

tells us that

Jesus,

who was made lower

than the angels

for a little while,

now crowned

with glory

and honor

because he suffered death

so that by the grace

of God

he may taste death

for everyone.

In bringing

many sons and daughters

to glory,

it was fitting

that God

for whom

and through whom

everything exists

shall make

the pioneer

of their salvation

perfect

through what he suffered.

Both the one

who makes people

holy

and those

who are made holy

are of the same family

so that Jesus

is not ashamed

to call them

brothers and sisters.

Spurgeon once said

when we think

of Jesus

we can say

that we have

a brother

in heaven.

I may be poor

but I have a brother

who is rich

and is a king.

Will he permit me

to be in need

when he is

on his throne?

Oh no!

He loves me.

He is my brother.

Jesus is the only

son of God

and only through him

we become

sons and daughters

of God.

He is the only

son of God

in the sense

that he is the only

one person

in the whole world

past,

present and future

capable

to fully obey

what God

the Father

commanded

and stipulated

for his children.

He is the only

one

that can

please the

Father

perfectly

because

he has always

been

in that perfect

loving

glorifying

honoring

relationship

within the

trinity

between the

Father

the Son

and the Holy

Spirit.

Hebrews

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

further explains

in verse 14

16

since the

children

have flesh

and blood

he too

shared

in the

humanity

so that

by his

death

he might

break

the power

of him

who holds

the power

of death

that is

the devil

and free

those

who all

their lives

were held

in slavery

by the

fear of death

for this

reason

he had

to be

made

like them

fully

human

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

it's

important

for Jesus

to be

100%

human

to be

born of

Mary

so that

he can

offer

himself

as a

substitute

for our

disobedience

and take

on the

punishment

we

deserve

in

verse 15

he further

explained

for we

do not

have a

high priest

who is

unable

to

emphasize

without

weaknesses

but we

have one

who has

been

tempted

in every

way

just as

we are

yet

did not

sin

we have

one

that is

able to

emphasize

empathize

with us

with our

witnesses

he's

tempted

in every

way

just as

we are

but he

did not

sin

whatever

sin

you have

committed

with that

heavy guilt

that is

burdening your

heart

Jesus

can

empathize

with you

he knows

how hard

you try

to resist

and know

you have

failed

due to

your

weaknesses

but most

importantly

he's now

speaking

to our

father

in heaven

on our

behalf

to defend

for us

for you

and for

me

Jesus

is the

only

person

lived

on

this

earth

that

is

never

seen

and

therefore

he's

the

only

perfect

sacrifice

that is

without

blemish

that can

fully

appease

God

perfectly

paid

the price

required

for the

reconciliation

between

us

the

offender

and

God

the

offender

living

in

metropolitan

city

in

2020

we

may

not

be

very

familiar

with

the

idea

of

having

a

high

priest

acting

on

our

behalf

you

would

like

to

understand

more

about

the

idea

of

high

priest

in

the

book

of

Hebrew

if you

read

on

from

chapter

5

7

and

10

we

actually

have

a

lot

more

details

in

there

but

even

though

you

may

not

be

familiar

about

the

sacrificial

system

that

this

passage

is

referred

to

have

you

ever

heard

the

saying

of

someone

being

made

a

scapegoat

someone

taking

the

blame

for

the

misdeeds

of

others

being

made

a

scapegoat

is

often

an

involuntary

act

done

by

some

evil

boss

or

superior

someone

who

has

no

regard

towards

justice

or

fairness

and

only

concerned

about

protecting

their

own

interests

or

cover

up

their

own

incompetence

is the

opposite

here

God

the

offender

offered

himself

as a

sacrificial

lamb

going

out of

his way

to

defense

us

the

offender

offering

himself

to pay

for the

punishment

that is

due

it was

done

because

we have

a

Lord

that is

different

to any

boss

we can

find

in this

world

it was

through

the

obedience

of

God

the

Son

to

God

the

Father

that

we

creatures

are

reconciled

to

our

creator

such

a

profound

teaching

that

God

is

willing

to

obey

and

submit

to

God

to

God

Apostle

Paul

explained

it

sustaining

in

Philippians

Philippians 2:5–8

2

verse

5

to

8

a

passage

that

we

often

read

out

here

in

St.

Paul

but

today

I

would

like

us

to

read

it

slowly

to

really

think

about

what

it

is

saying

about

Jesus

Jesus

who

being

in

very

nature

God

did

not

consider

equality

with

God

something

to

be

used

to

his

own

advantage

rather

he

made

himself

nothing

by

taking

the

very

nature

of

a

servant

being

made

in

human

likeness

and

being

found

in

appearance

as

a

man

he

humbled

himself

by

becoming

obedient

to

death

even

death

on

a

cross

being

in

very

nature

God

made

himself

nothing

by

taking

the

very

nature

of

human

humble

himself

by

becoming

obedient

to

death

even

death

on

a

cross

this

is

a

Jesus

that

we

believe

in

we

have

looked

into

Jesus

as

a

Christ

and

Jesus

the

God's

only

son

and

the

final

part

of

what

I

want

to

look

into

today

with

you

is

Jesus

is

our

Lord

once

again

in

modern

day

Australia

the concept

of having

a

Lord

over

us

seems

out

of

place

or

outdated

who

would

you

consider

as

your

Lord

and

what

feeling

do

you

have

towards

this

Lord

of

yours

who

comes

to

your

mind

as

your

Lord

anyone

like to

share

their

thought

at

this

moment

I

am

not

going

to

pick

on

anyone

I

would

be

nice

to

you

guys

be

charitable

being

a

student

and

a

married

man

I

have

two

that

come

to

my

mind

first

one

is

my

lecturer

especially

this

is

my

last

year

of

study

and

they

will

determine

whether

I

graduate

or

not

second

one

goes

without

saying

being

a

married

man

if

you

are

working

or

studying

or

think

back

to

the

time

you

were

how

do

you

feel

when

your

boss

or

your

lecturer

is

away

do

you

feel

more

relaxed

or

even

to

a

point

that

we

often

say

no

when

the

cats

are

away

the

mouths

come

out

to

play

we

all

seem

to

have

a

love

hate

relationship

with

those

people

that

we

identify

as

our

lord

or

master

we

love

them

when

we

want

to

get

things

of

benefit

from

them

and

we

hate

them

when

they

demand

our

loyalty

or

performance

so

we

all

seem

to

look

over

our

shoulder

and

have

our

feet

up

when

they

are

away

looking

at

Hebrew

looking

back

at

the

chapter

that

we

have

read

today

where

does

it

say

Jesus

is

located

right

now

have

you

ever

thought

about

that

in

chapter

1

verse

3

it

says

after

he

had

provided

purification

for

sins

he

sat

down

at

the

right

hand

of

the

majesty

in

heaven

and

the

verse

13

it

says

sit

at

my

right

hand

which

is

the

right

hand

of

God

in

heaven

until

I

make

your

enemy

a

food

stool

for

your

feet

Jesus

right

now

is

sitting

next

to

God

the

father

in

heaven

crowned

crowned

with

glory

how can

we

say

Jesus

is

close

to

us

is

his

absence

means

that

we

can

put

our

feet

up

we

declare

with

our

mouth

that

Jesus

is

our

Lord

but

how

are

we

to

live

out

what

we

have

declared

that

Jesus

is

truly

our

Lord

in

our

life

back

in

2018

one

of

the

minister

right

one

of

minister

from

down

self

wrote

the

following

about

who

Jesus

is

and

in

it

I

see

that

it's

an

example

of

how

we

can

live

out

the

belief

that

Jesus

is

our

Lord

he

said

this

I'll

just

read

out

before

my

wife

and

I

were

Christian

we

had

more

disposable

income

but

we

also

find

more

ways

to

spend

it

now

Jesus

has

changed

our

financial

priority

I

remember

sitting

with

a

mortgage

salesman

who

was

telling

us

how

quickly

we

can

own

our

home

I

then

asked

him

to

do

the

sums

again

taking

into

account

the

money

we

want

to

give

to

church

student

ministry

overseas

mission

and

child

sponsorship

should

he

he

told

us

he

can't

afford

the

house

now

we

are

paying

our

mortgage

off

at

an

incredibly

slow

rate

but

we

are

supporting

our

local

church

now

we

only

have

one

car

but

we

are

supporting

university

ministry

around

Australia

now

our

holidays

are

fairly

simple

affairs

but

we

are

supporting

overseas

mission

now

we

are

spending

less

on

restaurant

and

clothes

but

we

are

helping

the

poor

in

other

parts

of

the

world

part

of

me

wants

more

part

of

me

want

to

give

my

family

all

the

best

holidays

and

experience

part

of

me

wants

the

self

that

other

people

have

the

truth

is

I

feel

the

allure

of

fun

family

holidays

and

gadgets

and

new

car

and

gadgets

and

paying

off

our

mortgage

and

gadgets

but

Jesus

helped

keep

our

priority

in

perspective

the

gifts

Jesus

gives

us

is

greater

than

those

things

it's

a

gift

of

contentment

and

ability

to

say

no

to

something

good

for

the

sake

of

something

better

Jesus

helped

him

to

keep

their

priority

in

perspective

enable

him

to

say

no

to

something

good

for

something

better

Jesus

gave

up

his

equal

status

to

God

the

father

to

become

one

of

us

to

reconcile

us

to

God

in

Philippians

2

it

say

therefore

God

exalted

him

to

the

highest

place

and

gave

him

the

name

that

is

above

every

name

that

at

the

name

of

Jesus

every

knee

shall

bow

in

heaven

and

on

earth

and

under

the

earth

and

every

time

acknowledge

that

Jesus

Christ

is

Lord

to

the

glory

of

God

the

father

Jesus

that

we

believe

in

is

the

Christ

is

God's

only

son

is

our

Lord

do

you

really

know

Jesus

that

he

has

revealed

himself

in

scripture

if

not

I

would

like

to

invite

you

to

take

this

time

this

moment

to

ask

him

to

reveal

himself

to

you

take

this

time

and

this

moment

to

invite

him

to

your

life

so

that

you

will

see

him

as

who

he

is

who

he

really

is

the

most

superior

one

an

of

of

his

his

head

to

him

he

an

man

who

especially

his

h

would

take