I. JESUS THE DELIGHTFUL	III. JESUS THE EXASPERATING
II. JESUS THE SELF-ASSURED	IV. JESUS THE WORLD-BEATER

INTRODUCTION: GAINING A MATURE VIEW OF JESUS CHRIST.

Napoleon Bonaparte has said: "I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for him." (cited by Frank Mead ed., The Encyclopedia of Religious Quotations, Westwood: Fleming H. Revell, page 56.)

Napoleon, one of the leading men of history, describes in the most glowing terms a Jewish carpenter named Jesus. Who is Jesus Christ? Do you really know who He was, what He was like, and what He did?

1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things.

Jesus Christ was the most important figure in history. Is your knowledge of Him based on childhood information or on mature investigation? For many people, their understanding of Jesus is a sketchy conglomeration of Bible stories taught to them by their parents or a Sunday School teacher. Unfortunately, many adults assume that this small store of information about Christ is sufficient. But think about it. Do you make important decisions on the basis of what you knew when you were six or nine? Would you be comfortable with a childish understanding of business, or marriage, or politics? Of course not, we put away childish things, as the Apostle Paul states in the verse above.

2 Peter 1:16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

As teenagers or adults, some people have rejected Christianity, assuming that it must be based on myths and historical errors. Perhaps a professor told them that the Christian faith was a crutch for the intellectually handicapped. Perhaps they were influenced by some author who claimed that the Bible was riddled with historical errors.

In the face of such attacks, the Apostle Peter claims that the story of Christ was true. No one made it up. It really happened. In the following reference Luke speaks of the historical integrity of his biography of Jesus Christ.

Luke 1:1-4 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among as, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

A fellow once said, "As a child, I blindly accepted what I heard about Jesus Christ. Then, as an adult, I just as blindly rejected Christianity. Finally, I decided that the mature thing to do was to investigate the matter for myself and decide for myself."

Have you ever investigated about Jesus Christ for yourself? Don't base you opinion of Him on hearsay. Go to the only original sources there are: the four Bible books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These four brief books are primary sources of information about Jesus Christ, the most amazing person who ever lived. This course will introduce you to the contents of those books. But read them on your own as well, from beginning to end. You may find that the real Jesus is quite different from your personal understanding of Him.

For example, this first lesson will show that Jesus was a delightful, self-confident, yet exasperating person, who accomplished exactly what He set out to do.

I. JESUS THE DELIGHTFUL.

A. Jesus was sociable.

John 2:1,2 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

Luke 7:36 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him.

Jesus was good company. He was the kind of man people invited to weddings and dinners. And He loved to go. He knew how to have a good time.

John 21:9,12 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread....Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast."

Jesus loved to be with other people. For example, He got a charge out of hosting a morning fish fry on the beach.

Luke 18:15-17 People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

In His day, children were looked down upon and considered of little value. Jesus would have nothing to do with this attitude. His warmth and friendliness extended even to babes in arms.

John 1:35-39 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" "Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

Jesus established rapport with people quickly. In the reading above, even though the two disciples of John had just made Jesus' acquaintance, they spent the rest of the day enjoying one another's company. Jesus made people feel welcome.

B. Jesus had a witty sense of humor.

Luke 6:41,42 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, "Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye," when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

On a piece of paper try to draw the scene Jesus describes. He portrays our habit of criticizing others in comic fashion.

Matthew 7:15 Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

Luke 6:39 Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?

Mark 10:25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

These one-liners are perhaps so well known that we fail to capture the humor in them. No doubt, when Jesus first sprang them on His audience they responded with a chuckle. Yet laughter was not Jesus' only goal. He wanted people to grasp how laughably foolish we can be about ethical and religious matters.

C. Jesus was compassionate.

Matthew 8:2,3 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.

People with leprosy were "untouchables," forced to live at a distance from the rest of society, lest they spread the disease to others. Jesus not only heals the leper, He touches him. This caring action initiated the healing of the man's low self-image as well as his body.

Luke 19:1-9 (N. T. No. 3) Read it in your Bible.

The man in this story was plagued by another disease--greed. Jesus is just as concerned to heal the rich Zachaeus as He was the poor leper.

Luke 7:11-15 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out--the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

"His heart went out to her." Can you sense the compassion and kindness of this man? Jesus did not help people just to draw attention to Himself. He was motivated by an overwhelming love for others.

Matthew 9:35,36 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

D. Jesus was a man of feeling.

Mark 14:32-35 They came to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch."

In order that people may not guess what we really think or feel, we occasionally wear masks in public. Jesus refused to wear such a mask. On the contrary, He showed His feelings openly and did not fear to be seen with tears on His face. It is revealing to see what aroused His emotions. The reading above occurred the night before His death. The next morning He would bear the heavy punishment for all human sin and evil. Surely, He had cause to be "overwhelmed with sorrow." Who else has ever borne a burden like that for you?

Luke 19:41,42 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes."

Jesus was upset by unbelief. The citizens of Jerusalem, especially the religious leaders who resided there, constantly opposed Him. They refused to admit that He could bring them peace with God. He had come to give the light of God's truth to a world that had experienced a power failure. Yet many turned away from His light. To a sensitive man like Jesus, this would be an agony. Thus their unbelief moved Him to tears.

John 11:32-44 (N. T. No. 4) Read it in your Bible.

Here Jesus is troubled by what troubles us the most--death. It bothers us so much that we go to great lengths to ignore it. Jesus was so angered at death that He went to great lengths to defeat it.

All the characteristics cited so far--sociability, humor, compassion, and feeling--all declare that Jesus was a delightful person. He has the qualities which qualify Him for being your best friend.

II. JESUS THE SELF-ASSURED.

Jesus was a confident man. By no means did He suffer from a poor self-image. As you read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you will see that Jesus was the most crisis-producing person who ever lived. The crises were caused by the claims that Jesus made about His identity.

A. Jesus claimed to be both God and man.

John 8:51-59 I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?" Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!" "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born I am!" At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Abraham was the forefather of the Jewish nation. He lived around 2000 B. C. In the reading, the people are incensed because Jesus claimed that He existed before Abraham, saying, "Before Abraham was, I am." Now that may sound like poor grammar, but Jesus said, "I am" and not "I was" for a very good reason. "I am" is the most holy name for the God of the Jews. "I am" is the meaning of the names Jehovah and Yahweh. By phrasing His words in this manner, Jesus was claiming to be Jehovah, God Himself.

John 10:24-33 The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."

The Jewish people rarely referred to God by the term "Father." And when they did use that word, they would say, "our Father." But then along comes this fellow, Jesus of Nazareth, who has the nerve to constantly say, "My Father," implying that there is a special, intimate relationship between God and Himself. In the above text, however, Jesus goes beyond implying this relationship. He says it straight out: "I and the Father are one." Infuriated over this claim, they again pick up stones to kill Him."

Obviously, to tell the Jews that He was God was to risk getting buried under a torrent of well-aimed stones. If Jesus had not intended to claim He was divine, He would have said, "Wait a minute. You misunderstood. What I meant to say was..." But Jesus never retracted His statements. He was altogether serious.

B. The uniqueness of Christ's claim to be God.

An assumption made by many is that all the major religions in the world are equal, because their founders (Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, etc.) all claimed the same thing--that they were God. This assumption is false. No religious leader ever claimed to be God--except Jesus Christ. No religious leader ever succeeded in convincing multitudes of people that He was God--except Jesus Christ.

The greater a man is, the more he is aware that he is not God. But Jesus, the greatest man of all, claimed to be God. What He claims about Himself is surely the most shocking thing ever said by a human being. The Bible affirms the divinity of Christ in many ways:

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

* Colossians 2:9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form. (Please memorize this verse and ponder its mystery.)

Hebrews 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

The full humanity and divinity of Christ is essential to Christian teaching. Christ is both God and Man. He is not half God and half man. He is completely divine and completely human. Although we cannot comprehend this with our limited minds, still it is a fact which is clearly taught in the Scriptures. And with good reason. Because Christ is a man, He was able to suffer and die on the cross for our sins, as our substitute. Because He is God, He was able to obey God's law perfectly and give His precious and innocent life as a sufficient and complete payment for our sins.

It is very possible that you do not agree that Jesus was God. At this point, I am not asking you to believe this. I simply want you to realize that this is what the Bible teaches about Jesus.

C. His miracles substantiate His claim.

Mark 7:37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

Matthew 8:23-27 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us!! We're going to drown!" He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

Many people in the 20th century, upon reading of Christ's miracles object, "That's impossible. There are no such things as miracles." Upon what is this argument founded? Ultimately, arguments against miracles are arguments against the existence of God, because they are based on the presupposition that there is no Almighty being called God to do miracles.

If you don't believe miracles are possible, you are certainly free to hold that opinion. But take this into consideration: There is one man in history who both claimed to be God and performed many miracles. I challenge you to thoroughly investigate this man. If Jesus Christ is not God, then I will grant that you have reason to conclude that there is no God.

III. JESUS THE EXASPERATING.

John 1:10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

John 6:66-68 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

Some believed Christ's claims. Others refused. Why? Because, being the divine Son of God, Jesus said and did things that totally exasperated His listeners.

A. Jesus was too holy for them.

Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man "unclean."

John 8:46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me?

1 Peter 2:22 He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.

The words Jesus speaks in Matthew 15:19,20 are an accurate appraisal of the human race. In our honest moments, we human beings must admit that we are each hopelessly tainted by traits such as selfishness, pride, greed, lust, deceit, malice, gossip, prejudice, injustice.... The painfully true list goes on and on, doesn't it?

Now into a world filled with such people as us steps one man, Jesus Christ, who is faultless and perfect. Although He does not flaunt His goodness, still the contrast between Him and us is glaring. Many people of Jesus' day wanted to get rid of Him, because His lifestyle revealed the lie of their own vain attempts to be righteous.

Our generation would treat Him no better. Humorist Will Rogers was once asked how he thought Jesus Christ would fare if He had come in the 20th century. Rogers retorted that we would have liquidated Him even faster than the people of the 1st century did. Leo Tolstoy's tale "The Grand Inquisitor" voices the same conclusion. The holiness of Jesus Christ makes us uncomfortable with ourselves!

B. Jesus was not religious enough for them.

This may sound like a total contradiction of the previous point, but let me explain. Being holy and being religious are two different things. True holiness means following God's laws perfectly. Christ did just that. In contrast, being religious often means following the laws and taboos which men have concocted. The Jews of Jesus' day had invented many laws which they had raised to the same level as God's laws. The Pharisees, the most pious and legalistic segment of the Jews, had exactly 613 traditional laws. In the conversation below, Jesus reveals how their traditions went contrary to God's command to love our neighbor.

Mark 3:1-6 Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

God has declared, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God." (Exodus 20:8-10) This command was given to provide us with needed physical rest and to set aside time for us to rejoice in God's love and kindness towards us. The Jewish traditions, however, set limits on just how much physical exertion was permissible on the Sabbath before it became "labor." In their legalistic blindness, they claimed that Jesus should not do the work of healing the sick on the Sabbath.

Luke 13:14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath."

The next exchange illustrates how their human tradition permitted adult children to break the commandment to honor their parents.

Matthew 15:1-6 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat!" Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' he is not to 'honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'

The most detrimental results of their legalism were that: (1) it led people's hearts far from God and caused them to worship Him in vain; and (2) it placed a tremendous and unnecessary burden on people's consciences. Look at another of Jesus' warnings. He doesn't pull any punches.

Matthew 23:4,13,15,23,24 They [the teachers of the law and the Pharisees] tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them....Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to....Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are....Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill, and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

The legalistic listeners must have winced at these words. Some people picture Christ as "gentle Jesus, meek and mild." Matthew 23 shows us that that mental image is totally out of focus. Yes, He was kind to those in need of compassion, but before the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, He is hard-nosed Jesus, brash and brave. With comic irony, He chides the nitpickers that it does no good to pick out the nits, if they are going to swallow the camel.

Maybe you are one of those people who thinks, "The church is full of hypocrites! So why should I have anything to do with it?" Well, Jesus Christ didn't like hypocrisy either. But He did not drop out of the church. Rather, He strove with all His might to convince the hypocrites of their errors. Jesus said harsh things to them, not just to win an argument, but to win their hearts so that they could see their sin and see the God who forgives.

C. Jesus hung around with the wrong people.

If a person is judged by his friends, then the teachers of the law and the Pharisees were not going to be impressed with Jesus. First of all, there were those fishermen and other commoners who hung around with Him. Then there were the tax collectors. The most hated people in the land, they had sold out to the Roman invaders, collecting taxes for the oppressors and grossly overcharging the populace. Any patriotic Jew hated them. So what did Jesus do?

Matthew 9:9-13 He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Mathew's house, many tax collectors and 'sinners' came and ate with him and his disciples.

When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come not to call the righteous, but sinners."

What Jesus did here was a definite no-no in the eyes of the super religious. They did not mingle with sinners. They were too careful about keeping themselves pure to ever get close to tax collectors and sinners. Jesus, on the other hand, loved them and desired their friendship, so that He might lead them back to the mercy of the heavenly Father. Christ's fraternization with such people led to harsh criticism, to which Jesus refers in the next verse:

Luke 7:34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, "Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and 'sinners.'"

Who were these "sinners?" Many were adulterers and prostitutes. Women whom others consider the dregs of society were treated by Christ with respect, kindness, and mercy. See for yourself:

John 8:3-11 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adul- tery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

What did Jesus write on the ground? Apparently He wrote the Ten Commandments or some other message which reminded the accusers of their own guilt before God. Finally the woman was left with Jesus. He was the only one without sin. He was the only one who had the authority to condemn her to death. Instead He pardoned her!

Such episodes did not endear Jesus to the religious leaders of His day. He had His enemies.

"In Jesus' case, we have the story of the holiest man who ever lived, and yet it was the prostitutes and lepers and thieves who adored him, and the religious who hated his guts.

"What do you do with a man who is supposed to be the holiest man who has ever lived and yet goes around talking with prostitutes and hugging lepers? What do you do with a man who not only mingles with the most unsavory people but actually seems to enjoy them? The religious accused him of being a drunkard, a glutton and having tacky taste in friends....Jesus was simply not your ideal Rotarian. It is a profound irony that the Son of God visited this planet and one of the chief complaints against him was that he was not religious enough." [Rebecca Pippert, Out of the Saltshaker, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979, pp. 39,40]

D. Fourthly, Jesus forgave sins.

Jesus did one other thing that unnerved the religious leaders of His day--He announced to people that their sins were forgiven. You already witnessed this in the confrontation with the woman caught in adultery in John 8:2-11 (See also Luke 7:36-50). Now look at one other such episode.

Luke 5:18-25 Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

When Jesus saw their faith, He said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." He said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home."

Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.

Here we see the union of Christ's miracles with His message of divine mercy. His miracles testify that He was God and therefore had the authority to forgive sins. If a friend of yours harms you, whether or not I forgive him makes little difference. You must do it, because you were the one who was sinned against. In the same vein, Christ's pronouncements of pardon at first seem presumptuous, for how can one forgive the offenses that someone has done to a third party? However, when we take into account the fact that all sins are an offense against God, then we understand how Jesus, the Son of God, has the personal right to forgive sins.

Christ's forgiving of others met with stern opposition, because they refused to accept that Jesus was God. As a result they plotted to have Him rubbed out. How tragically ironic.

"God plans and engineers a Personal visit to His own world, and the reaction of the world is to get rid of Him!" [J. B. Phillips, Your God is Too Small, New York: MacMillan, 1969, p. 81]

IV. JESUS THE WORLD-BEATER.

John 16:33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Jesus spoke these words on the night before His enemies were going to have Him eliminated. They were going to silence Him like an actor cut from a soap opera plot, never to be heard from again. Jesus' enemies did not take Him by surprise. He knew exactly what they were plotting. And still He tells His disciples, "I have overcome the world." How could He ever gain this victory, if He was going to be brutally executed the very next day?

A. His goal was to die, so that we might be saved.

Many have pictured Jesus as nothing more than a good teacher or philosopher who roamed the countryside sharing His views about love and brotherhood. However, Jesus had much more in mind than teaching spiritual truths. He had a definite, concrete goal in mind.

"The life of Jesus went as swift and straight as a thunderbolt. It was above all things dramatic; it did above all things consist in doing something that had to be done. It emphatically would not have been done, if Jesus had walked about the world forever doing nothing except tell the truth....it is a journey with a goal and an object, like Jason going to find the Golden Fleece....The gold that he was seeking was death. The primary thing that he was going to do was to die.... Therefore the story of Christ is the story of a journey, almost in the manner of a military march; certainly in the manner of the quest of a hero moving to his acheivement or his doom." [G. K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man, Garden City, NY: Image Books, 1955, pp. 210-11.]

The following texts describe Jesus' quest.

John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

Mark 10:45 The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

2 Corinthians 5:19,21 God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them....God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus Christ claimed that faith in His death frees you from condemnation. Perhaps you do not believe this, but don't you think it is worth the effort to investigate His claims so that you can judge for yourself whether He was right or wrong?

B. His goal was to conquer death and give us life.

John 11:25-27 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

Revelation 1:17,18 I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades [the Greek word for hell].

John 4:13,14 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

John 10:10,11 I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

They could not keep this good man down. Jesus rose from the dead. Christ claims all power over death and promises eternal life to all those who will trust in Him. What a promise! Do you know anyone else making such claims? If you find the resurrection hard to believe, you'll enjoy Lesson Three where we deal with the resurrection in great detail.

Please realize that the eternal life Jesus offers is not just for after you die. When someone believes in Christ, he starts living a life of the eternal quality right now! The life in heaven will only be a continuation and expansion of the quality of life that begins when a person's central confidence is transferred from himself to Christ. [Phillips, p. 115]

CONCLUSION

Hopefully, this lesson has helped you realize that there may be more reasons to investigate Jesus Christ than you had previously thought. Do so by continuing on to Lesson Two and by reading the Bible books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Start with John, for in nearly every chapter Jesus advertises that He can give us something that no one else can--LIFE. As you read the Gospels, use the following criteria to judge Jesus' claims:

IF GOD BECAME MAN, THEN YOU WOULD EXPECT HIM TO:

1. Have an unusual entrance into life.

2. Be without sin.

3. Manifest the supernatural by doing miracles.

4. Have an acute sense of difference from other men.

5. Speak the greatest words ever spoken.

6. Have a lasting and universal influence.

7. Satisfy the spiritual hunger in man.

8. Exercise power over death.

[John McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Campus Crusade for Christ, 1972, p. 116]

If Jesus cannot meet these criteria, then He does not merit your attention. But if He does meet them, then He is all that He claimed to be: your delightful, exasperating, world-beating God and Savior.

Matthew 13:45,46 The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

Of all the people who ever lived, Jesus Christ is the pearl of great value. He is almost too amazing to be true! Someone once analyzed the identity of Jesus with these thoughts:

A character so original, so complete, so uniformly consistent, so perfect, so human and yet so high above all human greatness, can be neither a fraud nor a fiction. The poet...would in this case be greater than the hero. It would take more than a Jesus to invent a Jesus." [Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, reprint, 1962, p. 110.]

BRIDGE TO LESSON TWO

Christ's life did not take place by accident. It was all part of a plan. And God gave glimpses of that plan centuries before it happened. You will see detail of that plan in Lesson 2, "The One Who Fulfilled God's Promises."

© 1989 Philip M. Bickel

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.