The 3 Things We Forget About Jesus Christ- Who He Is, What He Said, and What He Did
Any Christians offended yet? Sometimes I like to “offend” Christians, because when someone is offended, they’ll engage in a “fight”. And if I can engage you, hopefully you will listen. Jesus was known to offend people, but we’ll get into that shortly.
1. Jesus- Who Is He?
Of course, Jesus Christ was the Son of God. Most Christians will agree with that.
But, also, Jesus was a Jew. Not only was he a Jew by the nationality of the word, or the religious sense, he was a Jew through and through. The gospel of Luke tells of his genealogy from Joseph, his earthly father, all the way back to Adam, the first man created by God (read Luke 3: 38).
So we as Christians need not forget this important fact: Mary was favoured by God (read Luke 1:30), a servant to God (Luke 1:38) and her husband to be, Joseph, was a man faithful to the Law of God (Matt. 1:19).
We can consider the specific ‘role’ of parenting the Son of God, but I just want us to point out that God chose two people with such a task who were obedient and faithful.
This brings me to point 1 of Jesus Christ and who he is: He did not distance himself from the Old Testament. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-19.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets;
I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen,
will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
2. Jesus And The Pharisees (What He Said)
The Pharisees were important to the story of Jesus Christ and his ministry. They were highly religious, they loved the Law and they could not tolerate people who broke the Law. They even made laws to prevent people from breaking the Law.
Isn’t that interesting?
In a lot of sense, Jesus would have fit right in because of his exceptional moral character. Sadly, Jesus was (and is) the Son of God, and thus Jesus cared more about the people than a position of high status. In Matthew 23 many flaws in the Pharisees. Let’s begin with verses 2-6:
“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.”
“Everything they do is done for people to see…they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues…”
I encourage you to read Matthew 23 for yourself, but I’ll share a few key verses with you here:
13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.
25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
3. Jesus And What He Did
In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus said,
“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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Sadly, a lot of people simply believe Jesus came to earth to die. But he didn’t.
- He was born in Bethlehem (fulfilling prophecy from Micah 5:2)
- Fleeing to Egypt (fulfilling prophecy from Hosea 11:1)
- Growing up in Nazareth (fulfilling prophecy)
- Going to Jerusalem on a donkey (fulfilling prophecy from Zechariah 9:9)
- Dying on a cross (fulfilling prophecy fulfilling Psalm 22:14 “my bones are out of joint” which illustrates that the death was not by weaponry. Psalm 22 also records the people around Jesus in verse 16 as “dogs” and “a pack of villains”, their actions in verse 18 “they cast lots for my garments” and their words in verse 8, “He trusts in the LORD let the LORD rescue him.”
- Resurrecting (fulfilling prophecy from Psalm 16:10)
- And ascending to Heaven and seated at the right hand of God recorded in Hebrews 1:3 (fulfilling prophecy from Psalm 16:11)
Now that you see that Jesus was born and lived, let’s go back to the verse above where Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and LEARN from me…”
So what did he do in the time on the earth? He taught. How many times did people call him “Rabbi” or “Teacher”.
The Sermon On The Mount
And the most famous of sermons? “The Sermon on the Mount” found in Matthew 5-7. And what did Jesus teach? Law. Not the Law the Pharisees taught. Not a Law that is designed to condemn man kind in their sins. He taught the Law in it’s purest form.
Matthew 7:28-29 says, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Now, let’s look at the teaching of Jesus Christ.
Jesus would say, “You have heard it said (dot dot dot), but I tell you.” He would take the Old Testament Law and put it on a higher plateau. “You’ve heard it said murder is a sin, but I tell you that if you call someone a “Fool” you’re endanger of the fires of hell.”
“Oh, you’ve heard not to commit adultery? Well I tell you that if you look at a woman lustfully, you’re an adulterer at heart.”
Check out what he says in Matthew 5:20-
“For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
I encourage you to read for yourselves. But check out this last line concluding the Sermon On The Mount:
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,
because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Why Am I Sharing This?
I am sharing this with you because God loves you. By no means am I saying that we are saved by the Law, but through it we get a glimpse of the Holy, Eternal God who has set eternity before us.
In 1 John 1:5-6, it says,
God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him
and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.
Let us put away our sins. “Put To Death,” Apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 3:5, “sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”
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