Who Is This Jesus

This morning we're going to look at an important topic, namely, who is this Jesus?

You may remember that Jesus calmed the storm in Matthew chapter 8, 27.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

As a result of that, the disciples asked,

What sort of a man is this that even the wind and sea obey him?

They know that he's a teacher, and a teacher can do lots of things.

I have been a teacher for 40 years, and I can do lots of things.

But when you get your degree, they don't give you authority to calm the sea.

If you want to come with me, we'll go after the service, we'll go to the lake,

and I'll command the lake to be still, and you'll quickly see how silly I am.

So, Jesus is a teacher. He's the rabbi.

But he must be more than a rabbi.

So, what kind of a person is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?

They're asking themselves.

Well, they are going to get a final exam,

because Jesus is going to ask them at the Mount of Transfiguration,

Who do people say I am?

And then he turns and asks that sticky question,

Who do you say I am?

Well, I mean, one answer is, we don't know.

That's what we're asking.

We've been asking ourselves for eight chapters.

Who are you?

They haven't gotten to that point yet.

They're in the middle.

They're between, what kind of a man is this that even the wind obey him,

and the point, you are the Christ, the son of the living God.

They are transitioning in their understanding and grasp of who Jesus is.

So, in chapter 12, we have three wonderful answers.

So, I thought I would begin by asking you this.

Okay?

Don't write anything.

Just keep it in your mind.

Number two, I want you to think of a very famous Hollywood actor.

Number three, I want you to think of a famous governor of California.

And the answer is Arnold Schwarzenegger.

So, who is he?

Is he a bodybuilder, as in his youth?

Is he the Hollywood actor?

Or is he the governor of California?

Or is he the failed TV personality?

There is no simple answer to that.

If you just choose one answer, you're not getting the whole picture.

You need to see all these things to understand

who Schwarzenegger is.

The same is true of Jesus.

One answer is not enough.

It does not give you a rounded picture of Jesus.

So, what happens in

Matthew, chapter 12,

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

is that we have a phrase

that is repeated three times.

That phrase is someone greater than X, Y, or Z is here.

So, let's look up those three verses

and figure out what Jesus,

this is Jesus speaking,

figure out what Jesus think he is.

If anybody knows who Jesus is,

you assume that Jesus knows.

And he does.

And so, we have first of all,

in verse 6,

someone greater than the temple

is here.

In verse 41,

someone greater than Jonah

is here.

And in the next verse,

someone greater than Solomon

is here.

temple,

Jonah,

Solomon.

Jesus is referring to the Old Testament.

The Old Testament is three times

the size of the New Testament.

There are thousands of verses.

Of all the things to refer to,

why does he refer to these three

rather than some other three?

David,

Isaiah,

Jehoiakim.

Why does he refer to temple,

Jonah,

and Solomon?

For the simple reason,

Solomon was a king,

Jonah was a prophet,

and the temple is where the priests

ministered.

You have prophet,

priest,

king.

In Deuteronomy 17,

God wants to establish

his own kingdom.

But he doesn't want his kingdom

to be just like any other

earthly kingdom.

You know,

the Egyptians,

the Babylonians,

the Amorites,

et cetera, et cetera.

He wants his kingdom

to be unique and special,

to reflect him

as God

and Lord

over his kingdom.

A theocracy.

Not a monarchy,

but a theocracy.

The kingdom of God.

Not the kingdom of Solomon,

not the kingdom of David,

but the kingdom of God.

So,

in order to

make it reflect him,

he institutes

three offices

or three organizations

or three institutions.

The priesthood,

the prophets,

and the kings.

So,

Deuteronomy talks about

prophet,

priest,

and king.

And what Jesus says

in Matthew 12,

that he,

that someone

is he.

He himself

is greater

than all the

Old Testament

prophets,

he is greater

than all the

Old Testament

priests,

and he is greater

than all the

Old Testament

kings.

Kings.

Someone greater

than.

So,

what,

to the,

to the question,

who is this Jesus?

Well,

he is lots of

other things,

but at least

he is prophet,

priest,

and king,

and the greatest

one,

the greatest prophet,

the greatest king,

the greatest

priest.

priest.

Let's take a look

at each one

of those three,

someone greater

than.

The first one

is someone

greater than

the temple

is here.

It's,

it's the Sabbath

and the priests,

and the disciples

are hungry,

so they are gleaming,

they're like harvesting,

and the Pharisees,

chapter 12,

as Mike said,

is filled

with tension,

it's filled

with conflict.

Jesus and the Pharisees

argue about everything,

and the first one

that comes up is,

why are you

disciples doing this?

Because it's not right.

And so,

Jesus responds

by saying,

look at what

David did,

and look at what

the priests did.

David ate

food

that was

consecrated

for the priests.

He,

David,

David himself,

is not a priest,

so he is eating

priestly food

even though

he shouldn't.

And you can say,

well,

that's wrong.

And the

priests work

on the Sabbath

in the temple,

and that's work.

And so,

they're wrong,

too.

So,

in a superficial

reading of this passage,

you will conclude

that David was wrong,

and the priests

were wrong.

But that's not

what's going on,

because Jesus

gives us an insight

to why it is not wrong.

And the insight

is from

Hosea 6.6,

I desire mercy,

not sacrifice.

So,

if David is hungry,

what is the

merciful thing

for the priest

to do?

Just say to him,

go hungry,

or to feed him.

If it is more

merciful

to feed him,

to give him food,

then Jesus

is also more

merciful by allowing

the disciples

to eat as well.

David is hungry

and he eats,

the disciples are hungry

and they eat.

It's a parallel

situation.

But what about

working on the

Sabbath?

The priests,

by giving David

food,

fulfill

his physical

needs.

They are meeting

his physical needs,

hunger.

But what about

working on the

Sabbath?

On the Sabbath,

well,

on every day

of the week,

they had to offer

certain sacrifices

to consecrate

the temple.

That is to say,

to keep the temple

holy so that it

could be a place

of worship.

On the Sabbath,

they offered

all the ones

that they normally

offer every day,

plus two more

lambs.

And furthermore,

they needed to bake

the bread,

take away the

old bread,

bake the new bread,

and present it to

God.

And if a child

needed to be

circumcised,

he would need to

be circumcised too

on the Sabbath.

They had to do

all this work.

Why isn't that

allowed?

Why is that

allowed?

Because by

consecrating the

temple,

they make it

possible for people

to come to God

and receive

forgiveness of sins.

So the person

would say,

I'm a sinner,

I have disobeyed you,

O Lord,

please forgive me.

And the

priest,

as mediators

between God

and man,

serve in such

a way that

he can receive

God's forgiveness.

Food

meets our

physical needs.

forgiveness

meets our

what?

Spiritual

needs.

So the

priests are

acting in a

merciful way,

both in terms

of basic

physical needs

and,

much more

important,

spiritual

needs.

They are

showing

mercy

in both

areas.

And what

does God

want?

God wants

mercy.

mercy.

I want you

to really

understand that

God wants

mercy.

I want to

develop this

point some

more.

There's a very

important thing

that was going

on in

rabbinic

Judaism.

What's going

on is this.

In the

Torah,

there are

613

commandments.

613.

So the

rabbis,

naturally,

since they have

nothing else

to do,

ask themselves,

can we

list those

613

in order?

From the

lowest to

the highest.

From the

least important

to the

most important.

The least

important are

called the

lighter,

and the

most important

are called

the weightier,

and they

went at it

and did it.

The least

important

commandment

is this,

number 613,

at the bottom,

the very

bottom.

If you're

walking in

the forest,

and you

see a

small bird

that has

fallen from

its mother's

nest,

pick up

the bird,

climb the

tree,

put it

back in

its

mother's

nest.

That's

number

613.

You know

what number

612 is?

If you

climb to

the nest

and you

see lots

of eggs,

don't take

all the

eggs and

say,

God is

going to

give us

omelette

for breakfast.

don't take

all the

eggs,

leave some

for the

future,

so that

at least

that family

doesn't

become extinct.

So that's

612.

What are

the top?

Well,

usually when

rabbis discuss

these things,

I find it

historically

interesting,

but I

don't make

any spiritual

commitment

to what

rabbis

decide,

except in

this case,

Jesus also

is involved

in this

discussion.

And that

discussion is

in Matthew

23,

23.

Matthew

23,

23.

Remember,

lighter

means the

bottom of

the list,

heavier

means the

top of

the list.

So here

Jesus gives

us his

answer to

what are

the really

important

commandments.

So in

Matthew

23,

23,

Jesus says,

Woe to

you,

teachers of

the law

and Pharisees,

you hypocrites,

you tithe,

you give

a tenth

of your

spices,

mint,

dill,

and cumin,

but you

have neglected

the weightier

matters of

the law,

justice,

mercy,

and faithfulness.

Not

paying taxes,

mowing the

lawn,

changing

clothes.

Justice,

mercy,

and faithfulness.

What's in the

middle of those

three?

Mercy.

Mercy is

what Jesus

considers at

the top of

the list.

Where is he

quoting from?

He is

quoting from

Micah,

Micah 6:8

chapter 6,

verse 8.

Micah begins

by asking,

with what shall

I come before

the Lord?

And then he

comes with an

answer.

He has told

you,

O man,

what is good,

and what does

the Lord

require of

you?

Justice,

mercy,

and walking

with your

God.

God.

In

Matthew,

Hosea says,

God says,

I desire

mercy.

So God

desires

mercy.

In Micah,

it's slightly

different.

Micah is

asking,

what should

I do?

And the

answer is,

he has

showed you,

O man,

to do

justice,

to do

mercy,

and to

walk.

So God

desires

mercy,

and God

wants us

to desire

mercy.

Mercy is

important to

him,

and it is

important to

us.

And Jesus

says,

the priests

are serving

with mercy.

They are

taking care

of physical

needs,

they are

taking care

of spiritual

needs.

But the

statement is,

someone greater

than the

temple is

here.

how is

Jesus greater

than the

temple?

Well,

in Israel,

in the

Old Testament,

Israel failed

to keep the

covenant.

They disobeyed

God,

they forsook

him,

they abandoned

him,

they pursued

other gods,

they broke

the Ten

Commandments

constantly,

and so God

sent them

to exile.

That was

the big

punch.

so they

ended up

in exile.

The reason

they ended

up in exile

is because

of their

sins.

In

relationship

to the

temple,

by sinning,

they could

sin in an

even very

specific way

in relationship

to the

temple itself.

listen to

the words

of Jeremiah

711.

Has this

house,

which is

called by

my name,

become a

den of

robbers in

your sight?

You should

recognize the

words,

den of

robbers.

robbers.

They were

abusing

the temple

and making

it a place

where all

of these

criminals

hide.

So they

sin,

and they

hide in

the temple,

and everybody

would see

them in

the temple,

and they

say,

oh,

they're

religious

people,

how

wonderful.

You remember

when Jesus

cleansing the

temple,

he says,

my father's

house is

called as a

house of

prayer,

but you

have made

it a den

of robbers.

the temple

can be

abused.

Secondly,

the enemy

can destroy

it,

and indeed

in 586,

the Babylonians

invaded Jerusalem

and captured

it and

destroyed the

temple,

and so when

they came back

from captivity,

they needed

to rebuild

the temple.

In 70

AD,

the Romans

destroyed the

temple,

so people

can abuse

it,

our enemies

can destroy

it,

but what

is worse

is what

happened in

Ezekiel.

Ezekiel has

a vision

in which God

abandons the

temple.

The glory of

God moves

up,

moves out of

the temple,

out of the

city,

out of the

country,

and goes

away.

So,

the underlying

imagery in

Ezekiel is

the departure

of the glory

of God.

God has

abandoned us.

Will he

ever come

back?

So,

people can

abuse it,

enemies can

destroy it,

and God

can abandon

it,

can abandon

it.

But even

when the

temple is

being used

correctly,

it has

limited access

to God.

The outer

court,

the holy

place,

and the

most holy

place.

God sat

enthroned on

his throne

above the

Ark of the

Covenant,

Testament.

But only

one person,

only once

a year,

could that

person come

before God.

Once a year,

one person,

out of a

population of

two and a

half million.

That's really

restricted access

to God.

What does

Jesus do?

He removes

all these

obstacles.

By dying

on the

cross,

he opens

a way for

us to

enter,

and that

is reflected

in the

tearing of

the curtain

from top

to bottom.

It is

saying no

more

restrictions,

everybody is

welcome,

come in.

The

temple

houses

God.

So what

happens when

the temple

is destroyed?

Where is

God now?

Where is

God now?

With

Jesus,

it is

Emmanuel.

Emmanuel.

Emmanuel.

What does

Emmanuel mean?

God is

with us.

Where is

God?

God is

with us.

Where with

us?

Here in

Jesus.

Jesus is

greater than

the temple

because he

is where

God is.

He is

where God

is.

Moving on

to the

no,

not moving

on,

still.

What

happens

if we

keep the

Sabbath

correctly?

That is,

if we do

on the

Sabbath what

God wants

us to do

on the

Sabbath,

namely to

rest,

but to show

mercy.

Rest doesn't

mean you just

sit on the

sofa and

don't do

anything for

24 hours.

rest.

It's not

that people

who are in

coma are

the best

believers.

That's not.

If we

observe the

Sabbath

correctly,

we rest.

I want

you to go

to chapter

11,

verse 28.

Go back

to Matthew

Matthew 11:28

chapter 11,

verse 28.

This great

invitation

is,

come to

me all

you who

are weary

and burdened

and I

will give

you rest.

Take my

yoke upon

you and

learn from

me,

for I

am gentle

and humble

in heart

and you

will find

rest for

your souls.

Rest in

Matthew 11,

rest in

Matthew 12.

How do

we find

this rest

that Jesus

promises in

chapter 11?

Clearly

first by

coming to

him,

but then

by accepting

his teaching

on how

things are.

so,

moving on

then to

the next

title,

someone

greater than,

it is

someone

greater than

Jonah.

And the

next verse,

someone

greater than

Solomon.

Solomon.

Why did

he choose

Jonah and

Solomon?

Why didn't

he choose

Isaiah and

Josiah?

Why not

Hezekiah and

Jehoshaphat?

Why these

two?

Why Jonah

and

Solomon?

Solomon?

Because if

we look at

Jonah and

Solomon,

we see

something.

Let's look at

this passage.

Let's read it.

In Matthew

23,

I'm sorry,

Matthew 12,

Matthew 12:41

verse

41.

The men

of Nineveh

will stand

up at

the judgment

with this

generation

and condemn

it because

they repented

at the

preaching

of Jonah

and now

one greater

than Jonah

is here.

The queen

of the south

will rise

at the judgment

with this

generation

and condemn

it because

she came

from the

ends of

the earth

to listen

to Solomon's

wisdom and

now one

greater than

Solomon is

here.

If we

look at

the men

of Nineveh

and the

queen of

the south,

we can

see both

similarities

and differences.

Let's take

a look at

the obvious

differences.

How does

the queen

of the south

differ from

the men

of Nineveh?

The most

obvious one

is that she

is a woman

and they

are men.

She is

royalty,

she is a

queen,

they are

just

commoners.

If she

is queen,

I suspect

she is

rich.

If they are

average citizens,

I suspect

they are

not rich.

They are

just,

anybody here

rich?

I am not

rich.

If she

is queen,

then she

is famous

and important.

If you are

average citizen,

nobody

knows you.

I go to

city hall to

pay city

taxes and

they don't

even know

who I

am.

I felt

so offended.

I thought

they would

put the

red carpet

and blow

the trumpet.

Samir is

coming,

Samir is

coming.

They

couldn't

care less.

but the

most important

difference

between the

queen and

the people

is that

she came

to Jerusalem

to hear

Solomon.

The men

of Nineveh

did not

come.

Jonah

went to

them.

They

came.

He

went.

But the

same

result

took place.

They

both

heard the

word of

God.

They

both

heard the

word of

God.

They

both

believed

in God.

They

both

had

faith,

expressed

their faith

in them.

You can

see that

in 1

1 Kings 10 · chapter mention

Kings

chapter

10.

And

Jesus

says,

they

will

both

stand

up

with

this

generation

and

condemn

it.

She

came

to

hear

Solomon.

Solomon.

Not

Jesus,

but

Solomon.

She

came

to

hear

Solomon.

Look

at

Matthew

11,

28.

What

does

Jesus

say?

Come

to me.

And

she

came.

Not

to

Jesus

because

he

wasn't

even

born

yet,

but

to

Solomon.

and she

heard

the

word

of

God.

And

they

heard

the

word

of

God

and

repented

and

God

spared

Nineveh.

And

so,

what should

we

conclude?

What

should we

think

in the

light of

all of

these

things?

Let

me

suggest

three

things.

number

one,

we

need

to

start

to

ask

ourselves,

who

is

this

Jesus?

And

the

answer

is,

it's

a

complex

answer.

It's

not a

simple

answer.

Jesus

calls

himself

the

son

of

man.

He

does.

But

Jesus

is

the

one

who

is

greater

than

Old

Testament

kings.

Jesus

is

one

greater

than

Old

Testament

prophets.

And

Jesus

is

greater

than

Old

Testament

priests.

Who

is

Jesus?

He

is

the

one

who

is

greater

than

everything

in

the

Old

Testament.

I

thought

he

was

bold

when

he

says

no

one

knows

the

father

except

me.

Boy,

Jesus

doesn't

have

any

limits.

I

mean,

when

he

goes,

he

goes.

He

runs

with

it.

Nobody

knows

the

father

except

me.

I

am

greater

than

all

the

prophets.

I

am

greater

than

all

the

priests.

I

am

greater

than

all

the

kings.

You

can

imagine

the

poor

disciples

thinking,

boy,

who

is

this

guy?

And

the

answer,

you

are

the

Christ,

the

son

of

the

living

God.

We

should

think

big

of

Jesus.

Jesus

isn't

just

your

friend.

He

is

our

friend.

But

he

isn't

just

your

friend.

He

is

a

lot

more

than

that.

He

isn't

just

your

body.

He

isn't

just

the

one

who

is

there.

He

is

this

but

he

is

a

lot

more

than

that.

There

is

no

one

or

nothing,

no

person

and

no

institution

greater

than

Jesus.

Someone

greater

than

Solomon

is

here.

Someone

greater

than

Jonah

is

here.

Someone

greater

than

the

temple

is

here.

The

second

point,

and I

want

you

to

reflect

about

this.

Look

at

what

happens

to

the

gospel.

The

gospel

does

not

differentiate.

It

doesn't

matter

whether

you

are

a

woman

or

a

man.

It

doesn't

matter

whether

you

are

a

royalty

or

whether

you

are

a

commoner.

It

doesn't

matter

whether

you

are

rich

or

whether

you

are

poor.

It

doesn't

matter

whether

you

are

famous

or

not

famous.

it

doesn't

matter

whether

you

are

highly

regarded

by

society

or

not

highly

regarded

by

society.

It

doesn't

matter

whether

you

came

to

hear

the

gospel

or

the

gospel

went

out

to

you.

I

became

a

Christian

because

I

was

really

interested

in

the

truth.

So

rather

than

majoring

in

medicine

as

all

my

family

wanted

me

to

do

I

wanted

to

know

the

truth.

So

foolishly

I

majored

in

philosophy

and

then

God

changed

that.

So

I

majored

in

philosophy

because

I

was

searching

for

the

truth.

Other

people

aren't

searching

for

anything.

You

are

minding

your

own

business

and

I

sit

next

to

you

and

I

say

have

you

heard

of

Jesus?

As

we

did

with

InterVarsity

Christian

Fellowship

and

Campus

Crusade

and

Navigators

you

go up

to

total

stranger

and

you

interrupt

his

life

and

some

people

are

searching

and

they

come

and

some

people

are

not

searching

and

God

comes

to

them.

It

doesn't

matter

how

you

hear

the

gospel

you

hear

the

gospel.

And

the

third

thing

you

need

to

remember

is

now

that

I

have

either

come

or

it

has

come

to

me

what

do

I

do

next?

What

do

I

do

next?

Look

at

the

queen

of

Sheba

what

she

did

look

at

the

Ninevites

what

they

did

and

look

at

what

Jesus

tells

us

to

do.

41

verse

41

the

men

of

Nineveh

will

stand

up

at

the

judgment

with

this

generation

and

condemn

it

because

they

repented

at

the

preaching

of

Jonah

and

now

one

greater

than

Jonah

is

here

what

do

we

need

to

do

we

need

to

repent

we

disobey

God

we

ask

his

forgiveness

we

repent

what

did

she

do

the

queen

of

the

south

will

rise

on

the

judgment

with

this

generation

and

condemn

it

because

she

came

from