1 00:00:00,250 --> 00:00:01,530 - Alright, Christianity for Beginners. 2 00:00:01,530 --> 00:00:04,423 This is lesson number four. 3 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:08,970 The topic of this lesson, Jesus Christ. 4 00:00:08,970 --> 00:00:10,700 You can't get more basic than that. 5 00:00:10,700 --> 00:00:11,800 Christianity for Beginners. 6 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:13,870 We're going to talk about Jesus tonight. 7 00:00:13,870 --> 00:00:16,510 So far in our series, entitled Christianity for beginners, 8 00:00:16,510 --> 00:00:19,290 we've covered the following topics, 9 00:00:19,290 --> 00:00:21,123 basic belief in God, 10 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:25,170 the Christian religion itself, 11 00:00:25,170 --> 00:00:26,003 and the Bible. 12 00:00:26,003 --> 00:00:29,070 And basically, we've tried to answer the question, 13 00:00:29,070 --> 00:00:30,680 why do Christians believe in God? 14 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:32,300 Why do they believe that there is God? 15 00:00:32,300 --> 00:00:35,290 And we've given answer to that question. 16 00:00:35,290 --> 00:00:36,500 The Christian religion, 17 00:00:36,500 --> 00:00:38,310 we compare the Christian religion 18 00:00:38,310 --> 00:00:40,282 to other major religions in the world 19 00:00:40,282 --> 00:00:44,150 to demonstrate its strengths and its advantages 20 00:00:44,150 --> 00:00:46,600 in comparison to other world religions. 21 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:49,200 And then last time we talked about the Bible. 22 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,470 Why do Christians believe that the Bible is inspired of God? 23 00:00:52,470 --> 00:00:54,240 We gave some reasons for that. 24 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:57,140 Today's lesson, we'll examine the reason for faith 25 00:00:58,890 --> 00:01:02,223 and the Bible, and that is Jesus Christ Himself. 26 00:01:04,630 --> 00:01:07,140 Now, there are a lot of theories about Jesus. 27 00:01:07,140 --> 00:01:09,883 Some say He's an ancient Jewish rabbi, 28 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:15,843 a prophet of some kind, a ghost, spirit. 29 00:01:16,770 --> 00:01:18,340 Some have even said that He is 30 00:01:18,340 --> 00:01:21,040 some kind of alien being from another planet, 31 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:22,810 some kind of advanced life form. 32 00:01:22,810 --> 00:01:23,950 I've actually read an article 33 00:01:23,950 --> 00:01:27,720 about somebody proposing that idea. 34 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:30,050 And I'm sure that the speculation is going to continue 35 00:01:30,050 --> 00:01:31,630 and more opinions and theories 36 00:01:31,630 --> 00:01:33,020 will eventually be developed. 37 00:01:33,020 --> 00:01:34,880 There's always some new angle 38 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,223 that someone is going to come up with who is Jesus. 39 00:01:39,420 --> 00:01:43,450 But in this class and for Christians, 40 00:01:43,450 --> 00:01:44,990 the only source of information 41 00:01:44,990 --> 00:01:47,760 about Jesus and His life and ministry and teaching, 42 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:50,290 the only authentic source, 43 00:01:50,290 --> 00:01:53,880 authoritative source for information about Jesus 44 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:55,653 is the Bible itself. 45 00:01:56,930 --> 00:01:59,140 This lesson should really be entitled: 46 00:01:59,140 --> 00:02:02,240 "What does the Bible say about Jesus?" 47 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:03,720 That should sound so simple. 48 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:07,320 That should sound so basic, like "Yeah, of course." 49 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,430 and yet many people who claim to be Christians 50 00:02:10,430 --> 00:02:14,140 come up with these wild-eyed ideas and theories. 51 00:02:14,140 --> 00:02:16,357 And you ask them, "Where did you get that? 52 00:02:16,357 --> 00:02:18,100 "Surely, you didn't get it from the Bible." 53 00:02:18,100 --> 00:02:20,234 And that's always the problem. 54 00:02:20,234 --> 00:02:22,900 They got it from the internet, but not the Bible. 55 00:02:22,900 --> 00:02:25,240 So this is the best way to discover who Jesus is, 56 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:27,000 because only the Bible contains 57 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:29,010 eyewitness accounts of His life, 58 00:02:29,010 --> 00:02:34,010 recorded and preserved for us to read even to this day. 59 00:02:34,150 --> 00:02:35,090 Now on our last session, 60 00:02:35,090 --> 00:02:37,810 I explained how the Bible was written, 61 00:02:37,810 --> 00:02:39,480 you know the Bible itself, 62 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:41,860 who it was organized and why Christians believe 63 00:02:41,860 --> 00:02:43,140 that it comes from God, 64 00:02:43,140 --> 00:02:45,170 or in other words, why Christians believe 65 00:02:45,170 --> 00:02:47,340 that the Bible is inspired. 66 00:02:47,340 --> 00:02:51,440 But I didn't tell you what the theme of the Bible was, 67 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:54,250 or what was the Bible about. 68 00:02:54,250 --> 00:02:56,783 Well the entire Bible is about Jesus. 69 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:01,453 He's the main point of all the books of the Bible. 70 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:05,710 The different parts explained different things about Him 71 00:03:05,710 --> 00:03:09,060 and His interaction with us. 72 00:03:09,060 --> 00:03:12,580 For example, the Old Testament is really 73 00:03:12,580 --> 00:03:15,190 the story about the creation of the world 74 00:03:15,190 --> 00:03:18,490 and then how God prepared for His coming, 75 00:03:18,490 --> 00:03:23,343 Jesus' coming, by forming the Jewish nation. 76 00:03:24,870 --> 00:03:27,180 All the events come together 77 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:33,270 to form a human and historical stage 78 00:03:33,270 --> 00:03:38,150 for His eventual appearance as a man in this world. 79 00:03:38,150 --> 00:03:40,120 I've mentioned that before. 80 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:43,990 The Old Testament basically tells this story 81 00:03:43,990 --> 00:03:46,470 through the eyes and through the words 82 00:03:46,470 --> 00:03:49,283 of the Jewish prophets and leaders and kings. 83 00:03:50,890 --> 00:03:53,350 A lot of times we get kind of caught up 84 00:03:53,350 --> 00:03:55,340 in the minutia of the Old Testament, 85 00:03:55,340 --> 00:03:57,880 the laws, the customers, the stories, 86 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,360 and we forget what is this all about. 87 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,540 It's simply the story of how God created 88 00:04:03,540 --> 00:04:07,190 a unique people with a culture whose only purpose 89 00:04:07,190 --> 00:04:08,620 was to deliver Jesus 90 00:04:08,620 --> 00:04:13,200 onto the human historical stage, period. 91 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,040 And once they did that, they have fulfilled. 92 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:20,280 This is why it's such a tragedy that they rejected Christ. 93 00:04:20,280 --> 00:04:22,020 They were prepared for thousands of years 94 00:04:22,020 --> 00:04:23,330 to bring Him on stage. 95 00:04:23,330 --> 00:04:25,793 And when he finally arrived, they rejected Him. 96 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:29,313 Number two. 97 00:04:30,670 --> 00:04:35,000 The four gospels are the eyewitness accounts of His life, 98 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:37,370 His ministry, His death, resurrection, 99 00:04:37,370 --> 00:04:39,010 and ascension back to heaven. 100 00:04:39,010 --> 00:04:42,750 Again, the story recorded preserved by men 101 00:04:42,750 --> 00:04:44,520 who were with Him for years 102 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:46,453 and who knew Him intimately. 103 00:04:47,540 --> 00:04:51,980 The rest of the New Testament written by other apostles 104 00:04:51,980 --> 00:04:55,130 and disciples of the apostles 105 00:04:55,130 --> 00:04:59,300 show how His followers established the Christian church 106 00:04:59,300 --> 00:05:02,320 according to His instructions. 107 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:03,280 Now, in addition to this, 108 00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:05,520 there are teaching to help followers 109 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,620 and disciples live their Christian lives 110 00:05:07,620 --> 00:05:10,103 in every generation and environment. 111 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:12,810 So we could go anywhere in the Bible 112 00:05:12,810 --> 00:05:15,050 to find out about Jesus 113 00:05:15,050 --> 00:05:17,830 concerning the promise of His coming, 114 00:05:17,830 --> 00:05:21,070 concerning the preparation for His appearance. 115 00:05:21,070 --> 00:05:22,680 Concerning the circumstances 116 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:24,420 of His miraculous birth, 117 00:05:24,420 --> 00:05:26,440 the content of His teachings, 118 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:29,060 the details of his death and resurrection, 119 00:05:29,060 --> 00:05:30,870 the people who knew Him personally 120 00:05:30,870 --> 00:05:33,770 and spread His teaching throughout the world. 121 00:05:33,770 --> 00:05:35,990 This is what this book is about. 122 00:05:35,990 --> 00:05:37,993 It's always about Jesus. 123 00:05:38,830 --> 00:05:40,950 But I don't think we'd have time 124 00:05:40,950 --> 00:05:42,210 in a single lesson to do it. 125 00:05:42,210 --> 00:05:43,560 I don't just think it, I know it. 126 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:46,840 We don't have time in a single lesson to do this. 127 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:51,840 However, what we can do is to focus on what the Bible says 128 00:05:51,850 --> 00:05:54,600 about how Jesus is. 129 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:56,990 This is actually the most important question 130 00:05:56,990 --> 00:05:58,560 about Jesus Christ, 131 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:02,530 and we'll see what three individuals contained in the Bible, 132 00:06:02,530 --> 00:06:06,160 what do they say about Jesus, who He is. 133 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:07,860 So who is Jesus. 134 00:06:07,860 --> 00:06:10,090 Now remember, we're asking the question 135 00:06:10,090 --> 00:06:13,343 who is Jesus according to the Bible. 136 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:17,760 Not just what we think or what we feel 137 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:21,223 or what we learn from another book or a movie or a teacher. 138 00:06:22,730 --> 00:06:25,800 Since most of the direct and eyewitness accounts about Him 139 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:28,820 are in the New Testament portion of the Bible, 140 00:06:28,820 --> 00:06:32,453 we should go there to learn about Him. 141 00:06:33,530 --> 00:06:38,530 So, thousands of people saw and hear Jesus speak and teach, 142 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:41,230 even do miracles. 143 00:06:41,230 --> 00:06:43,940 There's absolutely no doubt of His existence 144 00:06:43,940 --> 00:06:45,740 because historians of that era 145 00:06:45,740 --> 00:06:48,223 write about Him and His ministry. 146 00:06:49,430 --> 00:06:50,607 Some people think, "Oh yeah, well, 147 00:06:50,607 --> 00:06:52,650 "just guys in the Bible that wrote about Jesus." 148 00:06:52,650 --> 00:06:53,970 No, no, no, no, he appears in secular history books. 149 00:06:53,970 --> 00:06:57,490 He appears in secular history books. 150 00:06:57,490 --> 00:06:58,323 Alright. 151 00:06:59,900 --> 00:07:04,900 Josephus Flavius was a Jewish historian 152 00:07:06,100 --> 00:07:10,660 who wrote about this particular period of time, 153 00:07:10,660 --> 00:07:11,913 the early first century. 154 00:07:13,210 --> 00:07:15,880 He was not a follower of Jesus, 155 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,670 but he mentions Jesus and the Christian religion in general 156 00:07:19,670 --> 00:07:21,310 in his history books. 157 00:07:21,310 --> 00:07:23,110 So here you have somebody who doesn't believe 158 00:07:23,110 --> 00:07:24,900 that Jesus is the son of God. 159 00:07:24,900 --> 00:07:26,200 He's not a follower of Jesus. 160 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:27,910 He's a historian. 161 00:07:27,910 --> 00:07:31,260 And he's documenting the history of that period. 162 00:07:31,260 --> 00:07:33,400 Now he doesn't only write about Jesus. 163 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:34,900 He writes about what was going on 164 00:07:34,900 --> 00:07:36,870 with the Jewish nation, the politics, 165 00:07:36,870 --> 00:07:41,340 the military conflicts that were happening at the time, 166 00:07:41,340 --> 00:07:43,840 and he mentions Jesus in his history 167 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:46,970 because Jesus played a big part 168 00:07:46,970 --> 00:07:51,220 at a certain point in Jewish history. 169 00:07:51,220 --> 00:07:54,420 So history, not the Bible, but history, 170 00:07:54,420 --> 00:07:57,140 writes that Jesus was a Jewish man 171 00:07:57,140 --> 00:07:59,730 born into a humble family who lived in Israel 172 00:07:59,730 --> 00:08:02,453 approximately 2,000 years ago. 173 00:08:03,420 --> 00:08:06,470 History now, history tells us 174 00:08:06,470 --> 00:08:07,730 that He began his ministry 175 00:08:07,730 --> 00:08:11,350 by claiming that He was the Jewish Messiah, the Savior, 176 00:08:11,350 --> 00:08:14,040 and He was eventually arrested and executed 177 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:15,930 by the Roman government at the 178 00:08:15,930 --> 00:08:18,380 insistence of the Jewish leaders 179 00:08:18,380 --> 00:08:20,310 who accused Him with covering 180 00:08:20,310 --> 00:08:24,310 a civil unrest by His teachings. 181 00:08:24,310 --> 00:08:26,860 That's not just the Bible, that's history. 182 00:08:26,860 --> 00:08:31,190 We can find out what happened by reading history books. 183 00:08:31,190 --> 00:08:33,410 Eventually, according to history, 184 00:08:33,410 --> 00:08:36,040 His followers established the Christian church 185 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:38,070 based on His teachings. 186 00:08:38,070 --> 00:08:40,130 So all of this that I've just mentioned, 187 00:08:40,130 --> 00:08:42,220 this is what history books teach 188 00:08:42,220 --> 00:08:44,570 about the facts of Jesus' life. 189 00:08:44,570 --> 00:08:46,517 So anybody whoever says to you, 190 00:08:46,517 --> 00:08:48,910 "That's just a fantasy, that's just in the Bible." 191 00:08:48,910 --> 00:08:50,110 No, no, no, no. 192 00:08:50,110 --> 00:08:52,690 We have plenty of historical documents 193 00:08:52,690 --> 00:08:55,970 that mention the existence of Jesus. 194 00:08:55,970 --> 00:08:58,930 There were others, however, at the time, 195 00:08:58,930 --> 00:09:02,960 who actually followed Jesus as His special disciples, 196 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:07,500 and they, too, recorded their accounts of His life, 197 00:09:07,500 --> 00:09:09,520 and we have these today. 198 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:11,190 And so, it is from these writers 199 00:09:11,190 --> 00:09:13,110 whose records from the New Testament 200 00:09:13,110 --> 00:09:16,160 that we can establish a much more comprehensive 201 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:19,300 picture of who Jesus really was. 202 00:09:19,300 --> 00:09:20,590 For the sake of our study, 203 00:09:20,590 --> 00:09:22,990 we're going to examine three of these men's 204 00:09:22,990 --> 00:09:25,403 writings and descriptions of Jesus. 205 00:09:26,460 --> 00:09:28,070 So the first witness. 206 00:09:28,070 --> 00:09:30,170 The first witness is Peter, 207 00:09:30,170 --> 00:09:33,280 of course, Peter the apostle. 208 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:35,600 Peter was a fisherman by trade 209 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:38,980 and along with his brother Andrew had a family business. 210 00:09:38,980 --> 00:09:41,590 He was the first apostle called by Jesus 211 00:09:41,590 --> 00:09:44,363 to follow Him on a full-time basis. 212 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:48,620 He was to hear all of Jesus' teachings, 213 00:09:48,620 --> 00:09:50,310 witness His miracles, 214 00:09:50,310 --> 00:09:53,470 and later on be a leader in the establishing of the church 215 00:09:53,470 --> 00:09:55,840 and finally die as a martyr in Rome, 216 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:58,100 claiming to the very end 217 00:09:58,100 --> 00:10:00,520 that what he had heard and saw was true. 218 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:02,960 Remember, these guys who were martyred, 219 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:04,730 they could have saved their own lives 220 00:10:04,730 --> 00:10:08,407 simply by saying, "Okay, I was just kidding. 221 00:10:08,407 --> 00:10:10,387 "Is it too late to apologize? 222 00:10:10,387 --> 00:10:11,837 "I don't really believe that stuff. 223 00:10:11,837 --> 00:10:15,800 "I'm just saying it to get popular and to make money," 224 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:16,633 but they didn't. 225 00:10:16,633 --> 00:10:17,983 They went to there deaths. 226 00:10:19,430 --> 00:10:21,010 During Jesus' ministry, 227 00:10:21,010 --> 00:10:24,233 Jesus asked the apostles, including Peter. 228 00:10:25,290 --> 00:10:28,080 Based on what they saw Him say and do, 229 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:30,800 who did they think he was? 230 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:31,820 And we know the answer. 231 00:10:31,820 --> 00:10:34,170 Peter answered without hesitation. 232 00:10:34,170 --> 00:10:36,027 He said, "You're the Christ, 233 00:10:36,027 --> 00:10:37,917 "the Son of the living God." 234 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:41,040 So even while Jesus was alive, 235 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:44,030 the Bible says that Peter believed and declared Him to be 236 00:10:44,030 --> 00:10:45,533 the divine Son of God. 237 00:10:46,590 --> 00:10:48,680 Later on, after Jesus was executed, 238 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:50,660 Peter describes the things that he saw 239 00:10:50,660 --> 00:10:53,730 with his own eyes as he rebukes the Jews 240 00:10:53,730 --> 00:10:57,563 for their hard hearts and disbelieve, Pentecost Sunday. 241 00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:00,730 This is Peter preaching to the crowd. 242 00:11:00,730 --> 00:11:03,550 This is after Jesus has ascended to heaven. 243 00:11:03,550 --> 00:11:05,780 The apostles have received the Holy Spirit. 244 00:11:05,780 --> 00:11:08,537 Peter gets up to preach, and he says to the crowd, 245 00:11:08,537 --> 00:11:12,007 "But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One 246 00:11:12,007 --> 00:11:14,500 "and asked for a murderer to be granted to you." 247 00:11:14,500 --> 00:11:17,710 You know when they exchanged Jesus for Barabbas, 248 00:11:17,710 --> 00:11:18,907 that's what he's talking about here. 249 00:11:18,907 --> 00:11:21,597 "You exchanged the holy and living one 250 00:11:21,597 --> 00:11:24,757 "for a murderer," he says, "to be granted to you, 251 00:11:24,757 --> 00:11:26,737 "but put to death the Prince of life, 252 00:11:26,737 --> 00:11:28,607 "the one whom God raised from the dead, 253 00:11:28,607 --> 00:11:32,167 "a fact to which we are witnesses." 254 00:11:33,195 --> 00:11:34,527 Now, verse 15. 255 00:11:34,527 --> 00:11:36,340 "A fact to which we are witnesses." 256 00:11:36,340 --> 00:11:39,020 We meaning he and the other apostles. 257 00:11:39,020 --> 00:11:41,720 Now, there's a lot written about Peter in the New Testament, 258 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:45,080 and Peter himself writes two of the epistles 259 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:47,620 contained in this part of the Bible. 260 00:11:47,620 --> 00:11:50,760 But Jesus these two passages just read 261 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:54,050 summarize well what Peter thought about Jesus 262 00:11:54,050 --> 00:11:56,480 based on what he experienced. 263 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:57,313 Okay. 264 00:11:59,220 --> 00:12:03,380 So peter claimed that Jesus was the Christ and the Messiah, 265 00:12:03,380 --> 00:12:06,980 the Savior promise by the Old Testament. 266 00:12:06,980 --> 00:12:09,640 In other words, Jesus was the One sent by God 267 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:10,770 to save mankind. 268 00:12:10,770 --> 00:12:12,263 That's what Peter said. 269 00:12:13,610 --> 00:12:16,740 Peter also concluded that Jesus was divine 270 00:12:16,740 --> 00:12:20,140 based on water he heard Jesus says and saw Him do. 271 00:12:20,140 --> 00:12:23,170 So you see a man raise another person from the dea, 272 00:12:23,170 --> 00:12:25,910 there's only one conclusion you're going to come to. 273 00:12:25,910 --> 00:12:28,580 Okay, this is not just some ordinary person here. 274 00:12:28,580 --> 00:12:31,713 This person has diving power, is divine. 275 00:12:33,420 --> 00:12:36,390 And then finally, people saw Jesus executed 276 00:12:36,390 --> 00:12:39,570 by the Roman soldiers and then saw Him 277 00:12:39,570 --> 00:12:41,963 after God raised Him from the dead. 278 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:44,500 So, as I said before, 279 00:12:44,500 --> 00:12:47,100 Peter never changed or denied his witness, 280 00:12:47,100 --> 00:12:49,130 even when he was threatened, imprisoned, 281 00:12:49,130 --> 00:12:53,220 and finally sent to his death for saying these things. 282 00:12:53,220 --> 00:12:56,310 So when we want to know who is Jesus, 283 00:12:56,310 --> 00:12:58,400 the Bible, through Peter's words, 284 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:02,180 says that he's the Son of God, he's the Savior, 285 00:13:02,180 --> 00:13:05,330 and He was resurrected from the dead. 286 00:13:05,330 --> 00:13:06,350 That's what Peter says. 287 00:13:06,350 --> 00:13:09,090 That's his witness if he was here today. 288 00:13:09,090 --> 00:13:12,020 Let's ask somebody else who was there at the time. 289 00:13:12,020 --> 00:13:13,463 Let's ask Thomas. 290 00:13:14,860 --> 00:13:16,880 Thomas, another apostle, 291 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:19,100 we don't know as much about Thomas 292 00:13:19,100 --> 00:13:21,090 as we know about Peter of course, 293 00:13:21,090 --> 00:13:25,280 but he's the one often referred to as doubting Thomas. 294 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:26,790 Doubting Thomas because he wanted 295 00:13:26,790 --> 00:13:30,573 proof of Jesus's resurrection before he would believe. 296 00:13:31,500 --> 00:13:33,470 What he says about Jesus is interesting 297 00:13:33,470 --> 00:13:35,070 because of this very fact. 298 00:13:35,070 --> 00:13:38,930 He demands proof before he would continue to believe. 299 00:13:38,930 --> 00:13:39,830 I mean he believed. 300 00:13:39,830 --> 00:13:42,101 He was the one that said, when Jesus was alive 301 00:13:42,101 --> 00:13:46,200 and he was planning to go into the area of Judea 302 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:48,200 where it was dangerous for Jesus to go 303 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:51,160 because they were looking for him and everything. 304 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:53,457 Isn't it Thomas who said, "Hey, let's all go with him. 305 00:13:53,457 --> 00:13:55,720 "Let's go die with him if we have to." 306 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:59,110 So he was pretty zealous, he was not afraid. 307 00:13:59,110 --> 00:14:01,830 I have a feeling, and this is only an opinion, 308 00:14:01,830 --> 00:14:06,370 he was crushed with disappointment when Jesus was executed. 309 00:14:06,370 --> 00:14:09,630 I mean he really thought this was the real deal right here. 310 00:14:09,630 --> 00:14:10,890 He was the Messiah. 311 00:14:10,890 --> 00:14:12,550 He was ready to die with Him 312 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,670 when Jesus was ministering. 313 00:14:17,670 --> 00:14:21,750 And so, when Jesus was executed, he was crushed. 314 00:14:21,750 --> 00:14:23,250 And so, when the others came to him 315 00:14:23,250 --> 00:14:25,247 and said, "We've seen the messiah, we've seen the Lord. 316 00:14:25,247 --> 00:14:26,163 "He's risen." 317 00:14:26,163 --> 00:14:28,440 No, no, no, no, no. 318 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:31,210 I've been burned once, that's enough, 319 00:14:31,210 --> 00:14:34,710 unless I see the holes, unless I see it with my own eyes, 320 00:14:34,710 --> 00:14:39,040 unless I can put my hands in the holes inside myself, 321 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:40,290 I'm not going to believe it. 322 00:14:40,290 --> 00:14:41,913 And somehow I don't hold it against Thomas, 323 00:14:41,913 --> 00:14:45,490 because that's a very human reaction that he had. 324 00:14:45,490 --> 00:14:46,830 I don't want to be hurt again. 325 00:14:46,830 --> 00:14:50,800 I don't want to be up and then be disappointed. 326 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:52,803 I'm mourning, I'm grieving. 327 00:14:55,607 --> 00:15:00,360 And so, what he says about Jesus is fascinating 328 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:04,270 because of his disbelieve at some point. 329 00:15:04,270 --> 00:15:05,410 He knew Jesus, 330 00:15:05,410 --> 00:15:06,880 and like the other apostles, 331 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:10,110 he had lived and worked with Jesus for three years. 332 00:15:10,110 --> 00:15:12,380 He saw the miracles, he heard the teachings. 333 00:15:12,380 --> 00:15:15,300 He witnessed Jesus die on the cross. 334 00:15:15,300 --> 00:15:17,550 He was convinced Jesus was dead, 335 00:15:17,550 --> 00:15:19,840 so brutal and final was His execution 336 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:22,060 at the hands of the Roman soldiers. 337 00:15:22,060 --> 00:15:23,820 And as I said, when the other apostles 338 00:15:23,820 --> 00:15:25,500 reported that they have seen Jesus 339 00:15:25,500 --> 00:15:29,653 resurrected and alive again, Thomas was not onboard. 340 00:15:30,550 --> 00:15:31,770 Now in the Gospel of John, 341 00:15:31,770 --> 00:15:34,660 we read about Jesus' confrontation with Thomas 342 00:15:34,660 --> 00:15:37,580 and how Thomas is encouraged to believe. 343 00:15:37,580 --> 00:15:40,750 So in John chapter 20, verse 24, 344 00:15:40,750 --> 00:15:42,627 all the way to 28, it says, 345 00:15:42,627 --> 00:15:45,337 "But Thomas, one of the 12, called Didymus, 346 00:15:45,337 --> 00:15:47,527 "was not with them when Jesus came. 347 00:15:47,527 --> 00:15:49,203 "So the other disciples were saying to him, 348 00:15:49,203 --> 00:15:51,087 "'We've seen the Lord.' 349 00:15:51,087 --> 00:15:52,167 "But he said to them, 350 00:15:52,167 --> 00:15:55,107 "'Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, 351 00:15:55,107 --> 00:15:57,147 "'and put my finger into the place of the nails 352 00:15:57,147 --> 00:16:00,837 "'and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.' 353 00:16:00,837 --> 00:16:04,397 "After eight days, his disciples were again inside, 354 00:16:04,397 --> 00:16:06,067 "and Thomas with them. 355 00:16:06,067 --> 00:16:08,417 "Jesus came, the doors having been shut, 356 00:16:08,417 --> 00:16:11,647 "and stood in their mist and said, 'Peace be with you.' 357 00:16:11,647 --> 00:16:14,567 "Then he said to Thomas, 'Reach here with your finger, 358 00:16:14,567 --> 00:16:16,427 "'and see my hands, 359 00:16:16,427 --> 00:16:17,557 "'and reach here with your hand 360 00:16:17,557 --> 00:16:19,037 "'and put it in into my side, 361 00:16:19,037 --> 00:16:22,367 "'and do not be unbelieving, but believing,' 362 00:16:22,367 --> 00:16:24,337 "And Thomas answered and said to him, 363 00:16:24,337 --> 00:16:28,360 "'My Lord and my God.'" 364 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:31,663 Note what this exchange teaches us about Jesus. 365 00:16:33,630 --> 00:16:38,270 Thomas believes that Jesus has actually risen from the dead. 366 00:16:38,270 --> 00:16:40,280 He believes it now. 367 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:42,940 Thomas acknowledges that Jesus is God, 368 00:16:42,940 --> 00:16:46,300 not just a prophet, or a teacher, or a holy man. 369 00:16:46,300 --> 00:16:47,520 He is God. 370 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:50,690 My Lord and my God. 371 00:16:50,690 --> 00:16:52,240 The apostle also demonstrates 372 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:56,403 that Jesus is worth of not only belief but worship, 373 00:16:57,420 --> 00:16:59,510 but worship as well. 374 00:16:59,510 --> 00:17:02,240 And Thomas in calling Jesus Lord indicates 375 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:06,060 that Jesus has authority over him. 376 00:17:06,060 --> 00:17:08,290 Once again, a short passage, 377 00:17:08,290 --> 00:17:10,110 but one where the Bible sets forth 378 00:17:10,110 --> 00:17:12,710 important facts about who Jesus is, 379 00:17:12,710 --> 00:17:15,330 the divine object of belief and worship. 380 00:17:15,330 --> 00:17:17,073 And the Lord over us. 381 00:17:19,770 --> 00:17:23,583 People are free to choose whether they believe this or not. 382 00:17:25,310 --> 00:17:27,660 I share this with people. 383 00:17:27,660 --> 00:17:31,023 People write on the website. 384 00:17:33,670 --> 00:17:35,883 They say sometimes nasty things, 385 00:17:36,970 --> 00:17:41,863 that we're crazy, and this is just a lot of hooey. 386 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:44,970 And my response to them is, hey, 387 00:17:44,970 --> 00:17:47,690 you can choose to believe if you want or not. 388 00:17:47,690 --> 00:17:49,650 That's your choice, buddy, 389 00:17:49,650 --> 00:17:52,343 but you can't deny that that's what this teaches. 390 00:17:54,070 --> 00:17:57,140 The Bible teaches that Jesus is the Son of God, 391 00:17:57,140 --> 00:17:58,760 that Jesus is divine, 392 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:00,693 that Jesus resurrected from the dead. 393 00:18:00,693 --> 00:18:02,520 The Bible teaches all of that. 394 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:04,517 You don't have to believe it if you don't want to, 395 00:18:04,517 --> 00:18:05,640 but you can't tell me 396 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:07,593 that that's not what the Bible teaches. 397 00:18:11,460 --> 00:18:14,353 Alright, a third person, moving a long. 398 00:18:15,270 --> 00:18:20,270 And the third person would be the apostle Paul of course. 399 00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:23,500 Perhaps no one other than Jesus Himself 400 00:18:23,500 --> 00:18:25,160 articulate in more detail 401 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,360 the character and the person of Jesus Christ 402 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:28,926 than Paul the apostle. 403 00:18:28,926 --> 00:18:31,203 As we know, Paul was a Jew, 404 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:35,760 and early persecutor of the Christian church. 405 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:37,093 He was a pharisee. 406 00:18:38,607 --> 00:18:39,440 Pharisees were lawyers. 407 00:18:41,157 --> 00:18:42,560 Okay, they were layers. 408 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:44,270 They knew the law, 409 00:18:44,270 --> 00:18:47,283 and they interpreted the law for the people. 410 00:18:48,307 --> 00:18:51,400 Pharisees was a kind of lawyer. 411 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:54,400 He belonged to the pharisee party if you wish. 412 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,530 The term pharisee means the separate ones, 413 00:18:57,530 --> 00:18:59,270 the separated ones. 414 00:18:59,270 --> 00:19:00,550 There was a time when pharisees 415 00:19:00,550 --> 00:19:02,633 were the heroes of the people, 416 00:19:04,420 --> 00:19:06,770 during the Intertestamentary period. 417 00:19:06,770 --> 00:19:08,670 There was a time when Greek was over 418 00:19:08,670 --> 00:19:10,435 the Greek culture and the Greek language. 419 00:19:10,435 --> 00:19:14,350 Greek ways were starting to overwhelm the Jews 420 00:19:14,350 --> 00:19:16,160 to the point where they were not even 421 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:18,070 knowing the Hebrew language anymore, 422 00:19:18,070 --> 00:19:21,160 and they were drifting away from the holy scriptures 423 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:26,010 and into the Greek mythology and into Greek philosophy. 424 00:19:26,010 --> 00:19:29,310 And among the Jewish people, there rose up this group 425 00:19:29,310 --> 00:19:32,120 to protect the word, to protect God's word, 426 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:34,200 to protect the scriptures, 427 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:37,670 back to the Bible, back to basics. 428 00:19:37,670 --> 00:19:40,900 They were the separated ones, the pharisees. 429 00:19:40,900 --> 00:19:42,483 They were heroes at that time. 430 00:19:43,370 --> 00:19:45,680 But after a while, after century or two, 431 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:47,880 these people drifted into legalism 432 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:52,880 and all kinds of showy religion and so on and so forth. 433 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:54,970 So they kept the name and they kept the rep, 434 00:19:54,970 --> 00:19:58,110 but they no longer really the separated ones. 435 00:19:58,110 --> 00:20:00,203 So Paul was one of these guys. 436 00:20:01,065 --> 00:20:01,965 He was a pharisee. 437 00:20:05,350 --> 00:20:06,970 And the pharisees themselves 438 00:20:06,970 --> 00:20:08,280 were part of the ruling class, 439 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:11,816 so the Jewish society of Jesus' day. 440 00:20:11,816 --> 00:20:14,710 He was a religious zealot for Judaism 441 00:20:14,710 --> 00:20:16,110 who have obtained a mandate 442 00:20:16,110 --> 00:20:18,950 from the ruling counsel of Jewish leaders 443 00:20:18,950 --> 00:20:21,340 to wage a campaign of prosecution 444 00:20:21,340 --> 00:20:24,650 against Christians in order to discourage their growth. 445 00:20:24,650 --> 00:20:27,470 In other words, he got the leaders of the nation 446 00:20:27,470 --> 00:20:30,690 to give him permission by law 447 00:20:30,690 --> 00:20:32,060 to hunt down Christians 448 00:20:32,060 --> 00:20:36,020 and put them in jail and destroy this religion. 449 00:20:36,020 --> 00:20:37,850 In recounting his own experience, 450 00:20:37,850 --> 00:20:40,720 Paul describes the meeting with Jesus Christ 451 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:42,323 that changed his life. 452 00:20:43,510 --> 00:20:45,007 In Acts 22, we read, 453 00:20:45,007 --> 00:20:48,010 "Brethren," this is Paul now speaking, 454 00:20:48,010 --> 00:20:49,227 He says, "Brethren and fathers, 455 00:20:49,227 --> 00:20:51,190 "hear my defense which I now offer you." 456 00:20:51,190 --> 00:20:53,320 And when they heard that he was addressing them 457 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:54,910 in the Hebrew dialect, 458 00:20:54,910 --> 00:20:56,380 they became even more quiet. 459 00:20:56,380 --> 00:21:00,697 And he said, "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, 460 00:21:00,697 --> 00:21:02,027 "but brought up in this city, 461 00:21:02,027 --> 00:21:04,687 "educated under Gamaliel, strictly according 462 00:21:04,687 --> 00:21:07,137 "to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God 463 00:21:07,137 --> 00:21:09,227 "just as you are all today. 464 00:21:09,227 --> 00:21:11,780 "I persecuted this way to the death." 465 00:21:11,780 --> 00:21:13,700 That's how Christianity was referred to 466 00:21:13,700 --> 00:21:16,497 at the beginning, it was called the way. 467 00:21:16,497 --> 00:21:19,617 "I persecuted this way to the death, 468 00:21:19,617 --> 00:21:23,067 "binding and putting both men and women into prisons. 469 00:21:23,067 --> 00:21:24,277 "as also the high the priest 470 00:21:24,277 --> 00:21:26,717 "and also the council of the elders can testify. 471 00:21:26,717 --> 00:21:29,257 "From them I also received letters to the brethren, 472 00:21:29,257 --> 00:21:30,727 "and started off for Damascus 473 00:21:30,727 --> 00:21:32,997 "in order to bring even those who were there 474 00:21:32,997 --> 00:21:35,937 "to Jerusalem as prisons to be punished. 475 00:21:35,937 --> 00:21:38,887 "but it happened that I was on my way, 476 00:21:38,887 --> 00:21:40,947 "approaching Damascus about noontime, 477 00:21:40,947 --> 00:21:42,707 "a very bright light suddenly flashed 478 00:21:42,707 --> 00:21:44,037 "from heaven all around me, 479 00:21:44,037 --> 00:21:46,663 "and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 480 00:21:46,663 --> 00:21:49,637 "'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 481 00:21:49,637 --> 00:21:51,420 "And I answered, who are you, Lord? 482 00:21:51,420 --> 00:21:54,037 And he said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, 483 00:21:54,037 --> 00:21:55,967 "'whom you are persecuting.' 484 00:21:55,967 --> 00:21:58,087 "And those who are with me saw the light, 485 00:21:58,087 --> 00:22:00,877 "to be sure, but did not understand the voice 486 00:22:00,877 --> 00:22:03,067 "of the One who was speaking to me. 487 00:22:03,067 --> 00:22:05,057 "And I said, what shall I do, Lord? 488 00:22:05,057 --> 00:22:08,570 "And the lord said to me, 'Get up and go on into Damascus, 489 00:22:08,570 --> 00:22:09,877 "'and there you'll be told 490 00:22:09,877 --> 00:22:12,617 "'of all that has been appointed for you to do.' 491 00:22:12,617 --> 00:22:14,037 "But since I could not see 492 00:22:14,037 --> 00:22:16,037 "because of the brightness of that light, 493 00:22:16,037 --> 00:22:18,597 "I was led by the hand by those who are with me 494 00:22:18,597 --> 00:22:20,527 "and came into Damascus. 495 00:22:20,527 --> 00:22:22,817 "A certain Ananias, a man who was devout 496 00:22:22,817 --> 00:22:23,987 "by the standard of the law, 497 00:22:23,987 --> 00:22:26,817 "and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 498 00:22:26,817 --> 00:22:30,257 "came to me, and standing near said to me, 499 00:22:30,257 --> 00:22:32,427 "'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' 500 00:22:32,427 --> 00:22:35,037 "And at that very time I looked up at him. 501 00:22:35,037 --> 00:22:36,867 "And he said, 'The God of our fathers 502 00:22:36,867 --> 00:22:38,517 "'has appointed you to know his will 503 00:22:38,517 --> 00:22:39,750 "'and to see the Righteous One 504 00:22:39,750 --> 00:22:41,837 "'and to hear an utterance from His mouth. 505 00:22:41,837 --> 00:22:45,527 "'For you will be a witness for Him to all men 506 00:22:45,527 --> 00:22:47,077 "'of what you have seen and heard. 507 00:22:47,077 --> 00:22:49,877 "'Now why do you delay? 508 00:22:49,877 --> 00:22:54,457 "'Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, 509 00:22:54,457 --> 00:22:56,370 "'calling on His name.'" 510 00:22:56,370 --> 00:23:00,100 And so, thus began the conversion and mission 511 00:23:00,100 --> 00:23:04,170 of one of the most prolific of Jesus' apostle. 512 00:23:04,170 --> 00:23:09,170 Now, we know, both from history and the Bible, 513 00:23:10,370 --> 00:23:11,890 that Paul went onto preach 514 00:23:11,890 --> 00:23:13,690 and establish the Christian religion 515 00:23:13,690 --> 00:23:16,790 throughout the Roman provinces and empire. 516 00:23:16,790 --> 00:23:19,420 He was eventually imprisoned by the Emperor Nero 517 00:23:19,420 --> 00:23:22,030 and executed in Rome in 67 AD 518 00:23:22,030 --> 00:23:25,330 on account of his role as a Christian leader. 519 00:23:25,330 --> 00:23:28,900 And so, Paul, the adversary of the church, 520 00:23:28,900 --> 00:23:32,320 the one who initially denied who Jesus was, 521 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:36,180 ended up giving his life for his faith in Christ. 522 00:23:36,180 --> 00:23:40,160 In his writings, we have a very dynamic description of Jesus 523 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:41,760 and his exalted position. 524 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:43,220 He's a good witness 525 00:23:43,220 --> 00:23:46,363 because he started of not believing in Jesus. 526 00:23:47,270 --> 00:23:51,090 He started off wanting to destroy Christianity. 527 00:23:51,090 --> 00:23:55,970 So he's got something important to say about Christianity 528 00:23:55,970 --> 00:23:57,990 and about Jesus. 529 00:23:57,990 --> 00:24:00,140 So, let's just look at what he says. 530 00:24:00,140 --> 00:24:01,130 I won't paraphrase it. 531 00:24:01,130 --> 00:24:02,330 We'll just read what he says. 532 00:24:02,330 --> 00:24:04,690 He talks, he's speaking about Jesus now 533 00:24:04,690 --> 00:24:06,350 in a letter to the Colossian church. 534 00:24:06,350 --> 00:24:08,617 And he says, "He," meaning Jesus, 535 00:24:08,617 --> 00:24:12,507 "He is the image of the invisible God, 536 00:24:12,507 --> 00:24:14,797 "the first born of all creation. 537 00:24:14,797 --> 00:24:16,687 "For by him, all things were created, 538 00:24:16,687 --> 00:24:18,457 "both in the heavens and on earth, 539 00:24:18,457 --> 00:24:19,827 "visible and invisible, 540 00:24:19,827 --> 00:24:22,917 "whether thrones or dominions or rules or authorities. 541 00:24:22,917 --> 00:24:27,797 "All things have been created through Him and for Him. 542 00:24:27,797 --> 00:24:29,297 "He is before all things, 543 00:24:29,297 --> 00:24:31,227 "and in Him all things hold together. 544 00:24:31,227 --> 00:24:33,887 "He is also the head of the body, the church, 545 00:24:33,887 --> 00:24:37,387 "and he is the beginning, the first born from the dead, 546 00:24:37,387 --> 00:24:40,060 "so that He Himself will come to have 547 00:24:40,060 --> 00:24:42,950 first place in everything. 548 00:24:42,950 --> 00:24:47,950 So note what Paul specifically says about who Jesus is. 549 00:24:48,430 --> 00:24:52,580 First of all, he says He's the invisible image of God. 550 00:24:52,580 --> 00:24:55,833 When you see Jesus, you're looking at God. 551 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:00,403 When you see Jesus, you're looking at God. 552 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:04,610 He says He existed before creation. 553 00:25:04,610 --> 00:25:08,400 That means that He existed before time. 554 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:10,180 What's the significance of that? 555 00:25:10,180 --> 00:25:13,190 Well, who else existed before time? 556 00:25:13,190 --> 00:25:14,660 God. 557 00:25:14,660 --> 00:25:17,113 It's just another saying He's God. 558 00:25:18,130 --> 00:25:20,630 He says He's supreme over creation. 559 00:25:20,630 --> 00:25:21,950 Well, what does that mean? 560 00:25:21,950 --> 00:25:24,940 Well, he says it in Mark 16, doesn't he? 561 00:25:24,940 --> 00:25:27,743 "All authority has been given unto me." 562 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:31,130 That's what Mark says about Him. 563 00:25:31,130 --> 00:25:33,340 Here Paul says the same thing. 564 00:25:33,340 --> 00:25:35,563 He has authority over all things. 565 00:25:36,460 --> 00:25:38,960 He's also the Agent of creation. 566 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:41,660 Everything in the material and spiritual world 567 00:25:41,660 --> 00:25:45,173 was created by Him and for Him. 568 00:25:47,100 --> 00:25:50,720 He's eternal, another quality of the living God. 569 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:53,380 Paul says He's the head of the church. 570 00:25:53,380 --> 00:25:54,950 And here's a point I want to make. 571 00:25:54,950 --> 00:25:57,990 Jesus is the only leader of the church 572 00:25:57,990 --> 00:25:59,690 in heaven and on earth. 573 00:25:59,690 --> 00:26:03,140 He does share this with any other person. 574 00:26:03,140 --> 00:26:06,413 There are no co-leaders of the church. 575 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:10,170 In the local congregation, 576 00:26:10,170 --> 00:26:13,050 we have leaders in the local congregation, 577 00:26:13,050 --> 00:26:15,380 of course, the elders, shepherds, pastors, 578 00:26:15,380 --> 00:26:16,620 whatever you wish to call them. 579 00:26:16,620 --> 00:26:17,840 Okay. 580 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:20,710 But in the entire body of Christ 581 00:26:20,710 --> 00:26:22,820 that includes all of the congregations 582 00:26:22,820 --> 00:26:23,980 of the church in the world, 583 00:26:23,980 --> 00:26:25,820 you know, the body of Christ, 584 00:26:25,820 --> 00:26:28,890 there's only one head of that, and that's Jesus. 585 00:26:28,890 --> 00:26:31,610 Whether He's on heaven or on earth, it's always Jesus. 586 00:26:31,610 --> 00:26:34,620 It's not a man, it's not a woman, it's not a person. 587 00:26:34,620 --> 00:26:36,160 Okay. 588 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:39,200 Also, He leads those who will resurrect. 589 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,250 It's another way of saying that He's eternal 590 00:26:41,250 --> 00:26:43,390 by saying that He leads in the future. 591 00:26:43,390 --> 00:26:45,530 In other words, Paul is saying 592 00:26:45,530 --> 00:26:48,060 He's the one who will resurrect you in the future, 593 00:26:48,060 --> 00:26:49,810 but He's already in the future. 594 00:26:49,810 --> 00:26:50,643 How is that? 595 00:26:50,643 --> 00:26:52,790 Well, because He exists outside of time. 596 00:26:52,790 --> 00:26:55,750 We live in time, yesterday, today, tomorrow, you know. 597 00:26:55,750 --> 00:26:56,960 We live in time. 598 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:58,800 He lives outside of time. 599 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,480 That's why Paul talks about Him as being there 600 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:03,560 before the creation was made. 601 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:05,920 And He's there after the creation is finished 602 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:07,490 and we're resurrected from the dead. 603 00:27:07,490 --> 00:27:11,390 He's both at the beginning, at the end at the same time. 604 00:27:11,390 --> 00:27:12,640 Well, who can do that? 605 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:14,590 Well, only God can do that. 606 00:27:14,590 --> 00:27:19,030 So he's saying that Jesus is God 607 00:27:19,030 --> 00:27:21,450 five, six, seven, different ways. 608 00:27:21,450 --> 00:27:23,960 So these things of course are not the only things 609 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:25,880 that Paul says about Jesus, 610 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:27,300 but we can see from these 611 00:27:27,300 --> 00:27:29,210 that Paul was proclaiming Jesus 612 00:27:29,210 --> 00:27:32,790 as the divine Son of God based on his own experiences 613 00:27:32,790 --> 00:27:35,570 and knowledge of Christ and His teachings. 614 00:27:35,570 --> 00:27:38,700 So, we've reviewed three of the eyewitnesses 615 00:27:38,700 --> 00:27:41,090 who describe and explain in the Bible 616 00:27:41,090 --> 00:27:43,630 who they believe Jesus to be. 617 00:27:43,630 --> 00:27:46,433 And I repeat again, people don't have to believe that. 618 00:27:47,510 --> 00:27:49,110 They don't have to believe that, 619 00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:53,830 but they cannot say that that's not what the Bible teaches. 620 00:27:53,830 --> 00:27:55,310 Alright. 621 00:27:55,310 --> 00:27:56,780 And if you're teaching someone else 622 00:27:56,780 --> 00:27:58,430 and sharing with someone else, 623 00:27:58,430 --> 00:28:00,950 there's no reason for them to be angry with you. 624 00:28:00,950 --> 00:28:03,810 There's no reason for them to call you names, you know, 625 00:28:03,810 --> 00:28:05,770 or you're narrow-minded. 626 00:28:05,770 --> 00:28:08,320 All you're saying is I'm just showing you 627 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:11,070 what the Bible teaches about Jesus. 628 00:28:11,070 --> 00:28:11,903 That's it. 629 00:28:11,903 --> 00:28:13,640 You can accept it or reject it. 630 00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:15,093 I'm just wanting to show you. 631 00:28:17,090 --> 00:28:20,550 So this leaves us with one last person to examine, 632 00:28:20,550 --> 00:28:23,470 and that is of course Jesus Himself. 633 00:28:23,470 --> 00:28:25,850 Our description of Jesus would be incomplete 634 00:28:25,850 --> 00:28:28,300 if we didn't examine at least the few things 635 00:28:28,300 --> 00:28:31,020 that the Lord said about His true identity. 636 00:28:31,020 --> 00:28:32,900 Here are three things, very briefly, 637 00:28:32,900 --> 00:28:35,160 that He said about Himself 638 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:37,070 to three different people. 639 00:28:37,070 --> 00:28:38,160 Okay. 640 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:40,340 Number one, the Samaritan woman 641 00:28:40,340 --> 00:28:42,980 in John 4:25-26. 642 00:28:42,980 --> 00:28:46,470 In a conversation with a woman while traveling, 643 00:28:46,470 --> 00:28:51,470 Jesus answers her question about who is the true Messiah. 644 00:28:51,529 --> 00:28:54,877 4:25 and six, it says, "The woman said to Him, 645 00:28:54,877 --> 00:28:56,837 "'I know that Messiah is coming, 646 00:28:56,837 --> 00:28:58,767 "'He who is called Christ. 647 00:28:58,767 --> 00:29:01,887 "'When that one comes, He will declare all things to us.' 648 00:29:01,887 --> 00:29:06,580 "Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am He.'" 649 00:29:08,250 --> 00:29:11,530 That is an amazing passage of scripture, 650 00:29:11,530 --> 00:29:14,183 because Jesus doesn't say that to anybody, 651 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:17,940 but he says it to a Samaritan woman. 652 00:29:17,940 --> 00:29:19,720 Flat out, there's no... 653 00:29:20,700 --> 00:29:23,020 Sometimes Jesus would say the Son of Man. 654 00:29:23,020 --> 00:29:25,470 That was a coded way of referring to Himself, 655 00:29:25,470 --> 00:29:26,303 you know what I'm saying. 656 00:29:26,303 --> 00:29:28,740 But right here, I mean it's all out there. 657 00:29:28,740 --> 00:29:30,710 Yeah, the Messiah is coming, that's right. 658 00:29:30,710 --> 00:29:32,970 That's Me, the One who's speaking to you, 659 00:29:32,970 --> 00:29:34,310 I'm the Messiah. 660 00:29:34,310 --> 00:29:38,170 That's just an amazing thing that Jesus is saying here. 661 00:29:38,170 --> 00:29:40,590 So Jesus describes Himself 662 00:29:40,590 --> 00:29:43,350 as the Savior spoken off by the Jews. 663 00:29:43,350 --> 00:29:46,209 One argument is that, well, Jesus was a well-meaning, 664 00:29:46,209 --> 00:29:48,590 but he was diluted. 665 00:29:48,590 --> 00:29:50,030 He was crazy. 666 00:29:50,030 --> 00:29:52,240 Well, crazy people don't raise people from the dead, 667 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:53,073 but you know. 668 00:29:53,910 --> 00:29:55,800 And here, this is not a crazy person. 669 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:59,510 He's just flat out saying who He is. 670 00:29:59,510 --> 00:30:03,170 The second person that Jesus talks to 671 00:30:03,170 --> 00:30:05,690 is Peter the apostle. 672 00:30:05,690 --> 00:30:07,760 You know, we've looked at Peter's declaration 673 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:09,160 earlier in this lesson, 674 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:12,320 but this time let's focus on Jesus' response 675 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:14,220 to what Peter said. 676 00:30:14,220 --> 00:30:16,210 Okay, in Matthew 16. 677 00:30:16,210 --> 00:30:19,930 He said to them, here's Jesus talking to His apostles, 678 00:30:19,930 --> 00:30:23,567 and He's asking them, "Who do people think that I am? 679 00:30:23,567 --> 00:30:25,280 "What do people say about Me?" 680 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:28,050 So He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 681 00:30:28,050 --> 00:30:29,287 And Simon Peter answered, 682 00:30:29,287 --> 00:30:31,190 "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 683 00:30:31,190 --> 00:30:35,087 And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, 684 00:30:35,087 --> 00:30:37,927 "because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, 685 00:30:37,927 --> 00:30:41,200 "but my Father who is in heaven." 686 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:44,760 So note that Jesus confirms what Peter says about Him 687 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:46,760 that it's true. 688 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:48,950 And even goes on to reveal how Peter 689 00:30:48,950 --> 00:30:50,910 has come to this knowledge. 690 00:30:50,910 --> 00:30:52,400 The Lord has shown this to you. 691 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:55,200 The Father has revealed this to you. 692 00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:59,290 Alright, the third group are the Apostles themselves. 693 00:30:59,290 --> 00:31:02,220 After Jesus' resurrection and appearance 694 00:31:02,220 --> 00:31:04,640 to over 500 disciples, 695 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:08,333 Jesus gives His apostles and future disciples their mission. 696 00:31:09,290 --> 00:31:10,287 Chapter 28. 697 00:31:10,287 --> 00:31:12,187 "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 698 00:31:12,187 --> 00:31:13,543 "'All authority has been given to Me 699 00:31:13,543 --> 00:31:14,807 "'in heaven and on earth. 700 00:31:14,807 --> 00:31:17,587 "'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, 701 00:31:17,587 --> 00:31:19,427 "'baptizing them in the name of the Father 702 00:31:19,427 --> 00:31:20,767 "'and the Son, the Holy Spirit, 703 00:31:20,767 --> 00:31:23,707 "'teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, 704 00:31:23,707 --> 00:31:25,397 "'and lo, I am with you always, 705 00:31:25,397 --> 00:31:27,680 "'even to the end of the age.'" 706 00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:30,030 Mathew 28:18-20. 707 00:31:30,030 --> 00:31:32,640 Note here in this passage, 708 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:37,640 Jesus claims exclusive divine authority over everything. 709 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:40,593 Over everything. 710 00:31:41,670 --> 00:31:43,890 Now, these are are only a few of the things 711 00:31:43,890 --> 00:31:46,230 that are recorded concerning Jesus. 712 00:31:46,230 --> 00:31:48,880 But from these, we see some of the things 713 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:51,010 that the Bible teaches about Jesus. 714 00:31:51,010 --> 00:31:52,420 I'll just put them in a list. 715 00:31:52,420 --> 00:31:53,510 Okay. 716 00:31:53,510 --> 00:31:54,770 These are some of the things 717 00:31:54,770 --> 00:31:57,180 that the Bible teaches about Jesus, 718 00:31:57,180 --> 00:31:59,863 that He is a true historical figure. 719 00:32:00,870 --> 00:32:03,470 He wasn't a ghost or a fairytale. 720 00:32:03,470 --> 00:32:04,603 He was a real person. 721 00:32:05,540 --> 00:32:07,130 He was the Jewish Messiah. 722 00:32:07,130 --> 00:32:08,880 In other words, the Bible teaches 723 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:10,960 that Jesus was the Jewish messiah. 724 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:14,600 The Bible teaches that he was the divine Son of God. 725 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:18,700 The Bible teaches that He is God Himself. 726 00:32:18,700 --> 00:32:20,730 The Bible teaches that in human form, 727 00:32:20,730 --> 00:32:22,210 He resurrected from the dead. 728 00:32:22,210 --> 00:32:24,540 The Bible teaches He's an eternal being. 729 00:32:24,540 --> 00:32:26,640 The Bible teaches the Agent of creation. 730 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:28,650 The Bible teaches He's the head of the church. 731 00:32:28,650 --> 00:32:31,110 He's the supreme authority over heaven and earth, 732 00:32:31,110 --> 00:32:32,673 and we could keep going. 733 00:32:33,590 --> 00:32:35,403 I only have 35 minutes. 734 00:32:36,310 --> 00:32:37,560 I could keep going, 735 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:41,850 but the Bible teaches these things about Jesus, clearly, 736 00:32:41,850 --> 00:32:43,490 and there's no ambiguity. 737 00:32:43,490 --> 00:32:44,423 It's clear. 738 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:50,590 So, we could go on for more, 739 00:32:50,590 --> 00:32:52,500 but I'm going to close this lesson with a quote 740 00:32:52,500 --> 00:32:56,540 from the Gospel of John who face the similar dilemma, 741 00:32:56,540 --> 00:32:59,330 and that is trying to list all the things 742 00:32:59,330 --> 00:33:03,720 he actually heard and saw Jesus do. 743 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:07,110 Faced with the mountain of information before him, 744 00:33:07,110 --> 00:33:10,220 Jesus writes in the 20th and 21st chapters 745 00:33:10,220 --> 00:33:12,283 of his gospel record the following. 746 00:33:13,420 --> 00:33:16,237 In chapter 20, he says, "Therefore many other signs 747 00:33:16,237 --> 00:33:19,467 "jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, 748 00:33:19,467 --> 00:33:22,600 "which are not written in this book," 749 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:24,187 meaning in his gospel, 750 00:33:24,187 --> 00:33:27,827 "but these have been written so that you may believe 751 00:33:27,827 --> 00:33:30,877 "that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, 752 00:33:30,877 --> 00:33:33,860 "and that believing, you may have life in His name." 753 00:33:33,860 --> 00:33:36,330 In other words, I haven't put down 754 00:33:36,330 --> 00:33:38,670 everything that I saw and heard. 755 00:33:38,670 --> 00:33:41,463 I just put down enough for you to believe. 756 00:33:42,910 --> 00:33:46,830 That tells me there's enough information in here 757 00:33:46,830 --> 00:33:48,760 to create belief in me. 758 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:49,593 The person we says, 759 00:33:49,593 --> 00:33:50,426 "Well, I'm not sure. 760 00:33:50,426 --> 00:33:52,550 "I don't have quite enough information." 761 00:33:52,550 --> 00:33:53,570 No. 762 00:33:53,570 --> 00:33:57,300 God Who created me and you knows how much we need, 763 00:33:57,300 --> 00:33:59,950 how much information we need to make a decision, 764 00:33:59,950 --> 00:34:02,950 and He's saying we've got plenty of information 765 00:34:02,950 --> 00:34:04,170 to make up our minds. 766 00:34:04,170 --> 00:34:07,220 And then the same gospel, John 20, 767 00:34:07,220 --> 00:34:09,910 a little further in chapter 21. 768 00:34:09,910 --> 00:34:12,167 He says, "and there are also many other things 769 00:34:12,167 --> 00:34:13,207 "which Jesus did, 770 00:34:13,207 --> 00:34:15,217 "which if they were written in detail, 771 00:34:15,217 --> 00:34:17,987 "I suppose that even the world itself 772 00:34:17,987 --> 00:34:21,247 "would not contain the books that would be written." 773 00:34:22,890 --> 00:34:26,940 So just the very little that we have about Jesus 774 00:34:26,940 --> 00:34:28,693 fills libraries. 775 00:34:29,586 --> 00:34:33,440 Do you ever Google "Jesus" online? 776 00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:34,490 It's never ending. 777 00:34:34,490 --> 00:34:37,100 There's so much, so much material. 778 00:34:37,100 --> 00:34:38,600 Okay. 779 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:39,610 Who is Jesus? 780 00:34:39,610 --> 00:34:41,340 Actually, answering the question, 781 00:34:41,340 --> 00:34:44,060 what does the Bible say about who Jesus is? 782 00:34:44,060 --> 00:34:45,733 Well, we've kind of listed a lot of things 783 00:34:45,733 --> 00:34:46,900 that the Bible says. 784 00:34:46,900 --> 00:34:48,940 Alright, next time, we're going to talk about 785 00:34:48,940 --> 00:34:50,820 what does the Bible say about salvation. 786 00:34:50,820 --> 00:34:52,250 We keep going through our lesson. 787 00:34:52,250 --> 00:34:55,020 Thank you for your attention. 788 00:34:55,020 --> 00:34:56,113 I appreciate it.