Who is this man?

Sermon for 8th March 2009 (Gen 17: 1-7, 15-16, Mark 9: 2-9)

Who is Jesus? Every year Lent asks us this huge question ‘Who is Jesus?’- think about it for a moment; how would you describe Jesus to someone else?...

He is all sorts of things to different people; to Muslims he is a prophet, the second greatest after Mohammed, to many people, including those of other religions he is a good man, an inspiration, a great teacher, to many Christians he is more than that; he is God. So why do these Christians believe that? Let’s look at what Jesus says about himself, let alone what others say about him…

John 2:16 Stop making my Father’s house a market place

2:19 Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up

3:13 None has ascended into heaven except he who had descended… the Son of Man’

3:16 God sent his only Son, that all who believe in him… should have eternal life

3:17 the world might be saved through him

4:14 the water I give will well up into eternal life

5:20 The Son judges no-one but leaves all judgements to the Son

5:20 the dead will hear his voice, and those who hear will live

6:35 I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never be hungry

7:29 I am from God and God sent me

8:58 Before Abraham was, I am

10:11 I am the Good Shepherd who lays his life down for his sheep

10:30 I and (God)the Father are one

11:25 I am the Resurrction and the Life; those who believe in will …live

12:45 Whover sees me sees who sent me(God)

14:1 Believe in God; believe also in me

14:5 I am the Way, the Truth and the Light. No-one comes to (God) the Father except though me

14:9 Whoever has seen me has seen (God) the Father


If you look at these verses and ask what would you think of a neighbour who said these things of themslves, you would think, with CS Lewis one of three things:

That they were ‘Mad or bad or God’ and just because Jesus did amazing things, realistically you can still only come up with one of those three conclusions; he was ‘Mad or bad or God’. Whichever way you try it, there are just three possibilities you come back to. So why does it matter that we really decide?

I was talking with a woman as part of my research on why people leave the church; this woman had moved to a different faith for very positive reasons, reasons about justice for all, compassion that I would expect someone to find answers to in the life and teaching so Jesus, as I do. It was after nearly two hours of telling me her story that she said something that made me realise why she had not stayed with Christianity – ‘Jesus was a really good man’ – that is all she believed about him. But if he was just a man, he could not say all these things about himself. If he was just a good man, he would be like Martin Luther-King, inspirational but not someone you worship on Sundays and live your life for. I want people to do the sort of things that Martin Luther King did, but you need a reason, a motivation for giving your life to that kind of self-giving ministry. Hours before he was assassinated Martin Luther-King gave a speech, called the Mountain-Top Speech:

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land....

Just like the disciples in today’s story, what kept them going with Jesus’ vision for a changed world was a vision of Jesus as more than just a man, neither mad, nor bad, but what he claimed to be all along, which is God himself.

My challenge to you all today and through this Lent is to ask yourself what it is you really believe about Jesus?

And what difference should that make to your life?