Mood:
not sure WHOM DO YE SAY THAT I AM?
Pastor: John B. Neal
God said unto Moses, “I am that I am.” God will be what ever he wants to be. If he wants to be in the burning bush that was not consumed, then that is what he will be. If he so chooses to be a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to lead his children, then that is what he will be. If he wants to step through the portals of time to be born of the Virgin Mary, to be clothed in human flesh, and dwell among men for 33 and 1/2 years in the bodily form of Jesus Christ, then that is what he will do. For who are we to say what God can do and what he cannot do? Who are we to tell God he cannot do this, if he so desires?
If he chooses to test this frail human form, its weakness and flaws, to feel our pain and our suffering, to know what makes us happy or sad. Can a child say to its mother, “you never gave birth to me?” Or a pot says to the potter, “you never made me?” Then how can we say, “Lord you can’t do this?” Nothing is impossible with God. He can do anything that pleases him.
Jesus, this human child, who had dwelt among men for 33 and 1/2 years, said unto John on the island of Patmos, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty,” (Revelation 1:8).
How can Jesus, who was born of a virgin, a woman of flesh and blood, the same as you and I, say, “I am the beginning.” How can he say, “I am the Almighty.” God does not lie. So how can this be? God plainly says, “My glory I will not give to another,” (Isaiah 42:8).
“Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me, I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no Savior,” (Isaiah 43:10-11).
“Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God,” (Isaiah 44:6). There is not, nor ever shall be two Gods.
God said, “I am the beginning.” Yet, Jesus, this child born of a woman, told John on the island of Patmos, “I am the beginning.” This is very confusing to many people, wondering, how can this be? There are so many interpretations on this subject, it almost boggles the mind. Which interpretation to believe. Jesus tells us to, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life:.......” (St. John 5:39).
If we believe in God, then we know that God does not lie, but we also know that Jesus does not lie. So the explanation lies in the pages of the Bible. Remember, Jesus said, “Search the scriptures.”
We find in the book of Revelations that the Apostle John said, “Behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.” Neither two nor three, but one sat on the throne.
When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his Disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He said unto them, but whom say ye that I am?” (St. Matthew 16:15).
Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” (verse 16) Jesus leaves no room for man made interpretations. You may want to think about it for awhile, but what man do you know that can raise the dead? Can a mere man or even a prophet? The dictionary says, a prophet is, “A person who tells what will happen.” If Jesus is no more than a mere man or just a prophet, how could he just speak to the raging storm and everything becomes calm? “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat upon the ship, so that it was now full. And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm,” (St. Mark 4:37, 39). Who has the power to control the elementals?
The human race is searching for something, but they don’t know exactly what it is. There is something lacking within each individual’s soul, an emptiness down deep within, that causes a yearning, a hunger within them. Because they don’t know what it is they are searching for, it is causing restlessness within them. Food can’t satisfy this type of hunger, drink can’t satisfy it either. Even in this modern enlightened age we are living in, with all its high tech knowledge, Jesus is still asking the same question, “Whom do ye say that I am?”
Regardless of what people think, most of them believe there is a God, a higher power that is in control. In the Apostle Paul’s journeys, he spoke to the men of Athens and said, “For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To the Unknown God, who therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you,” (Acts 17:23).
In the New Testament we find John shut up in prison, but he heard the talk about Jesus and all the wonderful things he was doing. John then sent two of his disciples to Jesus and asked him, “.....Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” (St. Matthew 11:3). And in searching the scriptures we find in St. John 1:41 that Andrew, “First findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, we have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus.” The name Messiah means: The expected deliverer. So Jesus is more than a man, for how can mere men deliver anyone?
How can man teach you what they don’t know? Jesus tells us to “Search the Scriptures.” History tells us that the Roman Emperor Constantine, summoned all the Bishops of the church for a general council at Nicaea in the year 325 A.D. The principal work of this council was the settlement of a great dispute which had risen over the nature of Jesus Christ. There was confusion and misunderstanding of who Jesus was, and many people today are still just as confused.
The Prophet Isaiah said, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel,” (Being interpreted is God with us, Isaiah 7:14). But who would believe such a report? Who ever heard of a virgin conceiving a child with no man present? Would you? Do you? When Isaiah glimpsed the glory of God he was seeing Jesus Christ. He said, “.....to whom hath the Arm of the Lord been revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1).
In Isaiah 40:5 we find, “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Jesus did nothing in secret, all he did and all he said was before their eyes for all to see and hear, that would look or listen.
In searching the scriptures we find the Physician Luke, wrote that the angel Gabriel came down and told the Virgin Mary of the event to come. Mary asked, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” And the angel of God said, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee: therefore also that Holy thing shall be called the Son of God,” (St. Luke 1:35).
But, who or what is this Holy thing? We find in St. Matthew 1:20-21, speaking of the Virgin Mary, “......for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus...”760 years before the birth of this child who was named Jesus, the Prophet Isaiah said, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace,” (Isaiah 9:6). How could Jesus be all of these things, if he is just a mere man, or even a prophet? Isaiah never saw this child with his own eyes, but was told of God of his coming. The scriptures tell us that the Old Testament is for our learning. We cannot discard any part of the Bible. How did Isaiah have enough insight to call this child the Mighty God?” When God himself said, “I am He: before me there was no God formed; neither shall there be after me, I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no Savior,” (Isaiah 43:10-11. Jesus, Himself declared, “Before Abraham was I Am,” (St. John 8:58)
How can he call this child Jesus the Everlasting Father?” Jesus was never married. Remember, God’s Arm was to bring Salvation unto Him. “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world knew him not. He came to his own, and his own received him not The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us......” (St. John 1: 1, 10-11,14). Is it possible that Divinity and Humanity are united in the person of Jesus Christ, making Him both God and man?
God’s dwelling place was no longer to be a house of wood and gold, as it was in the Tabernacle, but a house of flesh and bones, in the bodily form of Jesus Christ, the True Tabernacle, which God pitched, and not man. “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me,” (Hebrew 10:5).
As a man Jesus wept over the tomb of Lazarus, but as God He raised him from the grave,” (St. John 11:35, 44). As a Man he died upon the cross of Calvary,” (St. John 19:33 it was His humanity that died upon the cross), but as God, He arose from the tomb,” (I Cor. 15: 4; John 10:18 this was His Divinity). As God, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” (St. John 11:25) as a man Jesus said, “The son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men, and they shall kill him,” (St. Matthew 17: 22-23). But as God, He declared, “Destroy this temple (body) and in three days I will raise it up,” (St. John 2:19). “Unto us a Son is given, (this is the humanity of Jesus) The Mighty God and the everlasting Father, ( this is his Divinity)
While Jesus Christ was both God and man, the man was not God and the God was not the man, but both God and man were united in Jesus Christ. The reason why the Son could say, “I and my Father are one,” (St. John 10:30) was because divinity and humanity were united in one person. The reason Jesus said, “My Father is greater than I,” (St. John 14:28) was because divinity is greater than humanity.
“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him is glory both now and forever. Amen, (II Peter 3: 18). Search the Scriptures for in them we can find the truth. Whom do you say that I the Son of man am? This is a personal thing that each individual must answer for themselves. May God bless.
