WHO IS JESUS

WHO IS JESUS - # 1

1. Jesus once said, “Who do men say that I am?” (Mt. 16:13).

2. Who is Jesus?

3. Whoever He is, He seems to be in a unique category.

4. When people swear (curse) they often employ His name.

5. I find it interesting that people will curse using the name of Jesus but not the name of Buddha.

6. People will use the name Jesus in their swearing but they will not use the name Confucius.

7. Who is Jesus?

8. We could answer this question in a general way.

9. We could say that Jesus did good things (Acts 10:38).

10. He produced food for hungry people.

11. We could say that He was kind to small children

12. We could say that He chased people with a whip on at least one occasion.

13. He cursed and killed a fig tree.

14. He preached on hell more than any other Bible character.

15. These facts are all true but they still don’t tell who Jesus is.

THE BIBLE DESCRIBES JESUS IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. MY GOAL IS TO TAKE SOME TIME TO EXPLORE SOME OF THESE DESCRIPTIONS.

A. Today we are going to look at Jesus from the standpoint of leadership.

B. For our scripture reading Heb. 2:10 was read.

C. In the passage the ASV uses the word author.

D. The KJV has the word “captain.”

E. The RSV uses the word “pioneer.”

F. The original word is found only four times in the New Testament.

G. It is used in Heb. 2:10; 12:2; Acts 3:15; and Acts 5:31.

H. In Heb. 2:10 the best translation may be “leader.”

I. Jesus is a leader.

J. We know that leaders come in all shapes and sizes.

K. Leaders lead people in a variety of different ways.

L. The leading of Jesus is described in Acts 3:15.

M. Acts 3:15 is one of the passages that uses the word found in Heb. 2:10.

N. In Acts 3 Peter and John had healed a lame man.

O. This miracle caused some people to sit up and take notice.

P. In Acts 3:13 Peter said that God had glorified Jesus.

Q. God did this in spite of what the people had done.

R. Here is the verse – Acts 3:15– READ.

S. Jesus is called the “prince” of life.

T. The word “prince” is the same word translated “author” or “captain” in Heb. 2:10.

U. In Acts 3:15 the word “prince” meant, “The one who leads into life.”

V. Jesus not just a leader.

W. He is the leader who leads His people into life.

X. We may remember that Jesus once said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

Y. Jesus was claiming to be a leader.

Z. The Lord’s claim is further described in Heb. 12:2.

AA. If you will recall I said that the word being examined is found in four places.

BB. One of these four places is Heb. 12:2.

CC. In Heb. 12:2 this word has been defined as “the leader of the faith.”

DD. READ Heb. 12:2.

EE. Jesus is the leader of our faith.

FF. What kind of leader is the Lord?

GG. He is the type of leader that makes our faith perfect.

HH. He is also the type of leader that gets us to the goal.

2. IN LIFE MOST OF US HAVE SEEN SOME BAD LEADERS.

A. There have been bad leaders in the church.

B. There are poor leaders in the work world.

C. We have been exposed to leaders we don’t like in politics and perhaps civic organizations.

D. Some leaders are weak; others are domineering and bossy.

E. Some leaders are fine until a crisis comes.

F. Others are poor leaders until the arrival of a crisis.

3. None of these characteristics describe the Lord.

4. Jesus is a leader who is unlike all others.

5. Someone has said that a good leader has the following qualities.

A. First, a leader has vision for his organization (people).

B. Such a person understands the “big picture.”

C. This type of leaders knows where he is, where he is going, and how to get there.

D. Secondly, a good leader lives the vision that He has.

E. Thirdly, a good leader attracts others to what he is doing.

F. Fourthly, the best leaders confront and defeat the things that oppose them.

6. This may not be an exhaustive list but it is a pretty good description of Jesus.

7. The Lord is an excellent leader because He has a vision.

8. At the present time the Lord is involved in a building program.

9. He is currently engaged in a massive project.

10. Peter describes this project in 1 Pet. 2:5.

A. Peter affirmed that Jesus is building a house.

B. He is a building a spiritual house by using people.

C. Building a house with regular building materials is a hard enough task.

D. Imagine the Lord’s task; He is using people in His house.

E. READ 1 Pet. 2:5.

F. Jesus understands the “big picture.”

G. He has already laid the foundation for His house.

H. He has paid the price for the house (His death on the cross).

I. He has already gone ahead to prepare a place for His people in heaven.

J. At the present time He is building a spiritual house that will be fit for God.

11. The second quality of leadership I listed is someone who actually lives His vision.

A. We must say that Jesus is someone who lives His vision.

B. The Lord envisioned people living and abiding by the word of God.

C. He envisioned having people become part of a spiritual house.

D. Instead of having a plan that sounded good but was impractical Jesus became personally involved.

E. He left heaven so He could come to earth and give us a personal example.

F. Some try to lead people by leaving those under them with a bunch of orders.

G. Others lead people by saying, “Figure this out on your own.”

H. Jesus is the kind of leader who goes first; He literally leads.

I. He went up against Satan. He died a horrible death and then experienced a resurrection.

J. Jesus is the kind of leader who willingly goes before His people.

12. Because Jesus is this type of leader He attracts others.

A. The people in this room, to one degree or another, have been attracted to the Lord.

B. Why?

C. It isn’t because Jesus has offered us material possessions.

D. It is not for a better job or prestige.

E. Jesus is a leader who is taking people to the best place known to man.

F. In addition to leading His people Jesus is ready to do battle with those who oppose Him.

G. It was said that a good leader confronts and defeats the opposition.

13. This is exactly what the Lord does.

14. Jesus defeated Satan when He died as a sinless sacrifice.

15. He whipped Satan a second time when He returned from the dead.

16. Satan took another licking when Jesus established the church.

17. When the Lord returned to heaven and glory the devil must have realized that he had lost.

18. At the end of time Satan and all his helpers will be permanently destroyed.

19. THE PERSON WE KNOW AS JESUS CHRIST IS A LEADER. THE BIBLE SAYS THAT HE IS A LEADER.\

A. Not only is He a leader, He is the best leader.

B. He is a successful leader.

C. He is a conquering leader.

D. He is the only leader who can succeed in saving man.

E. He is the only leader who can save both anyone and everyone.

F. When we look to Jesus we are looking at a true leader.

G. For my last two passages I want to read from Matthew and Mark.

H. The Matthew reference is found in Mt. 9.

i). According to Matthew a man came to see Jesus.

ii). This man had a sick daughter.

iii). He wanted the Lord to heal her.

iv). The position that this man had is given in verse 18. READ.

v). The ASV says, “a ruler.”

vi). This man was an official; a leader (Jairus, Mk. 5:22).

vii). Even though he was a leader He recognized who the true leader of men is.

I. The next reference comes from Mk. 4.

J. Jesus was in a boat and He was sleeping.

K. A great storm arose. The boat was beginning to fill with water (verse 37).

L. These men on board this craft were fishermen.

M. Since these men were selected as the apostles it seems they had some natural leadership skills.

N. Whatever their skills were they rushed to their leader. Verse 38 -- READ.

O. This morning we are thinking about the most important leader the world will ever see.