Who is Jesus? A real person

[0:00] And that's true, but it is that because it is first of all the person, Jesus. And there's a sense in which Christianity has a cultural aspect.

[0:13] And to be a little bit more theologically precise, the God who made the world says of each and every man and woman and boy and girl that the status and the meaning and the security of your life, now this minute, and hereafter, forever and ever, but that status and security is pinned exactly and precisely on your relationship to Jesus Christ.

[1:10] It's as important as that. Now, I'm going to try and persuade you of an answer to this question, who is Jesus? I'm not doing it impartially.

[1:22] I am a believer in Jesus Christ. I've committed my life to Jesus Christ. I'm trusting him for the forgiveness of my sins. I'm trusting his promises for my security and my future.

[1:34] So I'm not being impartial. But I do want to be persuasive. I do want not just to tell you this is what I think. I want to give you reasons to come to your own conviction about who Jesus is.

[1:50] So that's what I want to try and do this morning. And I'm going to try and give you seven fairly brief answers to the question without going into any of them in huge detail. Number one. Jesus.

[2:04] The Jesus I'm referring to is Jesus of Nazareth. A real historical person. I'm not talking about a make-believe person or a mythical person.

[2:20] I'm talking about somebody as real as you are. And in fact more real than you are. He's recorded in history. That's the way we know anything about the past.

[2:36] Through records in history. And the records that we have. I know people dismiss the records in the Bible. But they do so out of ignorance really.

[2:50] We have four accounts of the life of Jesus. They're usually referred to as four gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And each of them in their own way.

[3:03] Leaves us in no doubt. That the writer believed he was conveying truth. Not fiction. And a coherent, convinced, accurate truth.

[3:19] So the gospel writer Luke at the beginning of his gospel says. I've researched this accurately. Let me just see. Because when I wrote that down. I didn't quote it in the version that we all have.

[3:32] Let me just see exactly what he does say. He says. At the beginning of his gospel. Myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning. He refers to eyewitnesses.

[3:46] And he says. I write this so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. So he's not making it up. He's not thinking this would be a great thought.

[3:57] He says. This is what I people have seen. I've got it first hand from these people. John. In one of his letters.

[4:09] Speaks about his testimony to Jesus. He says. It's the things that we have heard. The things we have seen with our eyes.

[4:21] And touched with our hands. And he wants to leave us in no doubt. He didn't make it up. It isn't a fable. It's sober.

[4:32] Factual truth. And the apostle Paul. Who didn't see Jesus in his earthly ministry.

[4:42] But he records that he knows people who saw Jesus. He knows people who saw the risen Jesus.

[4:55] And he knows that many of them are still alive. So Paul is saying. This is something I receive as factual. And I've checked it. It is checkable.

[5:06] And he goes on to say. If this actually isn't real and true. We are just complete idiots. He says. If it's not real and true.

[5:16] We are of all men most to be pitied. Jesus is a real historical person. There's an article in the Guardian on the 14th of April 2017.

[5:30] Written by Dr. Simon Gathercole. Which I invite you to look up. If you just Google it. Historical Jesus Guardian. You get it. And towards the end of the article.

[5:42] He says. These abundant historical references. Leave us with little reasonable doubt. That Jesus lived and died. The more interesting question.

[5:53] Which goes beyond history and objective fact. He says. Is whether Jesus died and lived. I'm not quite sure whether he's. Letting himself. Letting himself down a little bit in that last bit. Because this too is objective fact.

[6:05] But. Reading the Guardian. It's there. For what it's worth. Jesus. Jesus. Has to be. Thought of.

[6:17] As a real historical person. And C.S. Lewis. For what it's worth. Says. Something I couldn't find the exact quote. Professor of medieval renaissance literature.

[6:30] In Cambridge. And writer of many books. Somewhere. Where. I couldn't find the exact reference. He says. When you read. The stories of Jesus.

[6:41] When you read the gospel accounts. It. He is one of the very few people. That comes across. From the account. As being a real. Three dimensional.

[6:52] Living person. There are other fictional. There are fictional people. Who have that. Appearance. It's very difficult to make. A fictional person. Seem like that. In one of two cases. It succeeded.

[7:02] But the Jesus. Who. We find in the gospels. Is a real person. You find him saying things. And you think. Wow. Nobody could have made that up.

[7:14] Only Jesus. Could have said that. Only he could say something like that. With a straight face. Come to me all you labor. And a heavy laden. And I will give you rest. For I am humble in heart.

[7:26] Take my yoke upon you. And learn from me. Who could say something like that. Apart from Jesus. And I think it's. I don't know. But it still says this. About the. Christianity Explored course.

[7:37] That. As you read in Mark's gospel. Jesus steps off the pages. You read it. And you encounter. You come across. You meet a real person.

[7:49] And. The reality. Of the Jesus of the bible. Is. So much more. Than. The two dimensional characters.

[8:01] Like Thomas the tank engine. I've. Been watching quite a bit of Thomas the tank engine. Recently. I. I don't think he's a real historical character. He's just flat.

[8:11] And two dimensional. And predictable. Jesus is very unlike that. And you could think of other. Characters. Like Aragorn. Son of Arathorn. Or Iron Man. Or Captain America.

[8:22] They are just flat. Made up. People. But Jesus. Comes across. As being totally. Real. And.

[8:34] If you're not convinced. I invite you. To. Sign up for the. Christianity Explored course. If you haven't already done so. Or just read. The gospels.

[8:45] And perhaps with the prayer. Lord show me. Yourself. As I read. Okay. Number one. Jesus. Who is Jesus? Answer. A real historical person.

[8:57] Number two. Jesus. The Jesus of the Bible. Is an obscure person. An obscure person. There is nothing.

[9:08] Showy. Or showy offy. About Jesus. I'm. Sort of. Inclined. To make a contrast. With Donald Trump. Actually. But. Jesus.

[9:19] Comes across. As. There's a. A huge sense. Of humility. About him. So think. For example. Of his origins.

[9:30] So his. Family origin. In a. Small place. From. A little known. Family. Son.

[9:41] Of a carpenter. Or. Perhaps. He was a handyman. A. A. A. The local carpenter. His. Mother. A country girl. Not a princess.

[9:53] Um. Just. A. A. An ordinary. Country girl. Born. In. A. A. A stable. Actually. A small stable.

[10:03] I put the small in there. Located. In a small town. In a small country. A. Quite noticeable. About Jesus. Isn't he?

[10:13] Not. He didn't. God didn't. Choose to send him. To be born in Dubai. In a. In the. Skyscrapers of Dubai. Or in the. Palaces.

[10:24] Of. Some. Great. King. Or in. The heart of a. Modern. City. Like New York. The. The Jesus of the Bible. Comes to. An obscure.

[10:35] Place. For most of us. A distant place. In a little known family. The location of most of his ministry. Was in the north of his country.

[10:48] In the area of Galilee. And in English. We would. Think. Of. The decadent south. Which is where we're living now.

[10:59] Compared with up north. And Jesus. Did his. Work up north. And he had. An accent. Or certainly Peter. Had an accent.

[11:09] Because. When they came down south. They could be told. By their accent. Jesus never got married. Never lived in a. Lived in a palace.

[11:20] Never gained political power. Never headed up an army. Never got on the news. Never wrote a book. And his death. Death. Was an.

[11:31] An ignominious death. Meaning. A shameful death. The sort of death. That you would not. You would not think you would celebrate.

[11:45] The sort of thing you would. Be inclined to hush up. Crucifixion. That's how he was. That's how he died. By being nailed to a cross. By Roman soldiers. That sort of death.

[11:58] I think. If we were to compare it. To something shameful now. It would be. To be accused of. Being a pedophile. Or. Somebody doing.

[12:08] Sexual harassment. You know. Like. Alex Salmond. Has been accused of. Just now. And. You can tell. The sense of shame. That he. Feels.

[12:19] And is trying to. Defend himself from. And. That sense of shame. Would attach. To the sort of death. That Jesus died. That's how. A disgusting criminal.

[12:31] Would die. His death. Was ignominious. And yet. And yet.

[12:44] He. Who. Has. Had. Or. Who. Has. Such. A large. Devoted.

[12:55] Following. As Jesus. Do you think. Of the thousands. Upon thousands. And millions. Upon millions. Of people. Down through history.

[13:07] And. At this present time. Who say. Of this Jesus. Who was born. In a small place. Ministered.

[13:17] In a. An obscure. Place. Died. A shameful. Death. The millions. Of people. Who say. He. Is. The greatest. And.

[13:32] Of course. I should add. That God. Himself. From the account. Seems. To have been. Absolutely. Determined. To set the record. Straight. On Jesus.

[13:42] He died. Condemned. As a criminal. And we're told. That God. Reversed. That. Verdict. And.

[13:54] Raised him. From the dead. Of all the people. No. That's a silly sentence. No one else. For no one else. Has God done this. For no one else.

[14:04] Has God said. You were condemned. You died. I raise you. To life again. I raise you. To deathlessness.

[14:15] And sinlessness. I vindicate you. In glory. Only. For Jesus. Has God done this. An obscure person.

[14:26] Yet. Raised. To the highest place. There's something. Extraordinary. Just about that. Humility. That Jesus. Shows.

[14:36] And the apostle Paul. When he comments on it. Would say. This is a. Godlike.

[14:47] Humility. Just stop and think about that. A Godlike. Humility.

[14:58] All the people. You and I have ever met. Who. Wanted to be like God. In the.

[15:11] In the normal sense of this world. Try and build themselves up. I remember. A rather awkward. Staff meeting. At the school. I used to. Teach at.

[15:22] Where. The. Head teacher. Inadvertently. Referred to the deputy head. As behaving like a little tin God. I think. He probably didn't. Mean to say that. But what he meant was.

[15:33] A chap was bossy. And full of himself. And. Made up the rules. As he went along. And he says. This is a little tin God. This is a. Somebody making themselves out. To be something. And Jesus is the exact opposite.

[15:47] His humility. Selflessness. Selflessness. Is God like. Being in very nature.

[15:59] God. Did not count. Equality with God. Something to be grasped. But made himself. A nobody. Taking upon him. The form of a servant. Number three.

[16:12] The Jesus. Of the Bible. Is a superb. Teacher. Teacher. And if he was anything. He was a teacher. Crowds followed him. Crowds listened to him.

[16:22] You just have to read a few. Chapters. Of the Gospels. And you find. Crowds. Listening. Listening to what he says. Are being. There being so much.

[16:34] Of a throng. That they're pushing. And shoving. And Jesus has to get into a boat. To distance himself. From the crowds. And then he teaches them. The incident of the.

[16:45] Healing. Healing. The feeding of the 5,000. They've been with Jesus. A long time. Listening. So much so. They haven't had anything to eat. That's some teaching.

[16:55] Isn't it? That's some teaching. That people just sit there. For hours and hours. And the whole day is gone. A superb teacher. He had a variety. Of teaching styles.

[17:07] He's well known. For his parables. A sower went out. To sow. The kingdom of heaven. Is like. Is like. Making bread.

[17:21] And putting yeast. Into bread. He taught with parables. He taught. Masses of people. With parables. And they listened to him.

[17:31] And hung on his every word. He must have been. A superb speaker. He gave private. Interpretations. To parables. He wasn't one of these. Speakers. Who's great on the platform. But is no good.

[17:42] One to one. He. He got on. Alongside his disciples. And. Sometimes they're a bit afraid. To ask him. But he. He could get through to them. And say. Did you understand that?

[17:53] And they said. Not really. And he said. Let me explain it to you. And he would explain things. Privately. One to one. He gave. What we would nowadays. Call a sermon.

[18:04] So we've got something called. The sermon on the mount. Which we were looking at. In church. A little while ago. That's quite a long. Long. Sermon. People sat and listened.

[18:15] To him. He had. Things that he would say. That would. Sound. Completely. Ridiculous. In the mouth. Of anybody else.

[18:26] There are. A certain. Place. Where he says things like. I am. I am. The bread of life. Come to me. You'll never go hungry.

[18:37] He says. I am. The good shepherd. He says. I am. The way. The truth. And the life. No one comes to the father. Except through me. You think of. This.

[18:50] Humble person. Saying. With a completely straight face. I am. The way.

[19:02] The truth. The life. There is no. Other way. To God. Except. Through me. That's the sort of thing.

[19:12] He said. That's the sort of person. He was. He also. Spoke in. What you might call. Mysterious meditations. He says. Things like. No one knows.

[19:24] The father. Except the son. And those. To whom. The son. Chooses. To reveal him. Just. What a thing. To say.

[19:36] There is almighty. God. The father. And Jesus. Says of himself. No one knows him. Except me. And the only reason. Anybody else.

[19:46] Ever gets to know him. Is I choose. To reveal him. And right at the beginning. Of the gospels.

[19:57] We find him teaching. Ray read it to us. From Mark. The people. When they heard him teach. In. In modern English.

[20:07] They'd say. Wow. Such. Teaching. And with authority. Not like. The teachers. They were used to.

[20:17] The Jewish scribes. The. The. The. Gospel. The Jesus. Of Mark's gospel. Is constantly. Amazing. People. There's a word.

[20:28] A Greek word for it. Which means. To. Well. I think. It. It means. To go. Wow. That's the Jesus.

[20:40] That's who Jesus is. Somebody that made people go. Wow. And of him. The teacher. There is a. A. Place. Where.

[20:52] God. The father. Speaks from heaven. About him. And says. This is my son. Listen to him. Advice for us.

[21:05] Crucial advice. Listen to him. Take his word. At his word. Take his word.

[21:16] As gospel. If he said something. Think about it. Retain it. Live by it. Stake your life on it. He was a superb teacher. Number four.

[21:26] He was a miracle worker. I'm sure. Richard Dawkins. Doesn't agree with this. But Richard Dawkins. Is a very clever man. And there are some things.

[21:36] That. Some silly things. That only clever people. Can. Bring themselves. To believe. Richard Dawkins. If he doesn't believe. Jesus is a miracle worker.

[21:46] He's silly. The. The Jesus of the bible. Is a worker of miracles. His opponents. Did not deny this.

[21:59] They say things like this. Here is this man. Performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this. Many will believe in him. And that can't happen. And that's what his opponents say. He.

[22:10] Just. Did. Loads. And loads. Of miracles. You think of the quantity of them. In the little bit that. Ray read to us. The whole town. Came around Jesus.

[22:22] That. That. Saturday evening. And he healed. Multitudes of people. So I remember one preacher saying.

[22:35] The hospitals were emptied. That weekend. There was nobody in A&E. There was nobody waiting for surgery. The. The beds were all empty.

[22:46] Because Jesus was there. He. Just. Did. Multitudes. Of miracles. The whole town gathered at the door. Jesus healed many. Who had various diseases.

[22:58] Matthew chapter 4. All over Syria. All who were ill with various diseases. Came and he healed them. The quantity. Of miracles. That Jesus did. The quality.

[23:12] Of Jesus. Of miracles. That Jesus did. What sort of things. Did he do. So did he make. A. 30 foot. Ice cream cone.

[23:23] Appear. And he could have done. Couldn't he. Did he. Oh I don't know. Do you think. Think of. Silly things that he could have done.

[23:34] What sort of things he did do. He healed people. He did exorcisms. He cast out demons. And his exorcisms. Were not like exorcisms.

[23:45] In a horror film. Where you have to take. You have to draw pentagrams. And use. Holy water. And blow smoke. And go around. Seven times one way. And seven times another way. Or whatever.

[23:56] Jesus just said. Get out. And the devil got out. With a word. You see. He did. Some miracles in public. He did some miracles in private.

[24:06] Herbert. He's very famous. For doing this. Feeding miracle. Of healing. Oh dear. Feeding the 5,000. Which is a miracle.

[24:17] With huge significance. Which we won't go into. Just at the moment. He also. Fed. 4,000. He did miracles with water. He never. As far as I know.

[24:29] He never produced water. Out of nothing. He did. Cross water. He walked on water.

[24:39] And he turned water into wine. Very interesting to just. Ponder. The type of things. That he did do. And the type of things. He didn't do. But none of these miracles.

[24:50] Benefited himself. When he was tempted. When he was very hungry. To turn stones into bread. He said. No. I'm not going to do that. He never.

[25:01] Took. A pile of dust. And turned it. Into a million. Dollars. Or diamonds. Or. Anything like that. Or gold.

[25:11] He never did. Miracles to do with money. Apart from. The one thing. When. There was a tax. Needed to be paid. And he said. Go down. And look in the mouth. Of a fish. And you can use that money. In the mouth of the fish.

[25:22] To pay the tax. But what he did. Supremely. Was. To restore. Human life. When human life.

[25:32] Was battered. And spoiled. And diminished. He restored it. And when. Human life. Was under threat.

[25:44] He preserved it. And he took human beings. And he made them. A bit more. Or perhaps a lot more. What they were meant to be.

[25:57] It's interesting. Isn't it? He restored people. You remember the demonized man. Who. Was. Bound up with chains. And he. Self harmed.

[26:08] And he. Cried out. And he was violent. And he lived. Not in a. Proper accommodation.

[26:19] He lived in the tombs. Where. Only dead things are. And. That man. Jesus. Restored. So that at the end of it.

[26:30] He was. Clothed. In his right mind. Sitting at the feet of Jesus. That is a very. Typical. Iconic.

[26:41] Sort of miracle. That Jesus would do. To restore. Human life. And dignity. And you could even. Look at it. And say. What he was doing. In sort of.

[26:51] In a miniature way. Was. Putting the clock back. To what the world was. In the garden of Eden. When. Everything was right.

[27:03] Between. Man and God. Between. Man and his environment. Between human being. And human being. When everything was. What it ought to be. That in a little way.

[27:15] Jesus was. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Just. Bringing that. Bringing glimpses of that. As he restores. Human beings.

[27:25] Bringing in a. A new world order. You might almost say. And some of his miracles. Are referred to as signs. And John's gospel. That's the word that's used. And a sign of course.

[27:36] Is something that points. To something. It says. Look at this. This should tell you something about. Something else. This sign says. To Hayward's Heath. And that's where you want to go.

[27:47] Hayward's Heath. Or whatever. And signs point beyond themselves. Jesus opened eyes. Does that point to something.

[28:01] That he is the person who can take. Blind. Spiritually blind eyes. And open them. Jesus opened people's ears.

[28:13] So they could hear. And doesn't that point. Beyond itself. To his ability. To take our. Sort of.

[28:24] Stupidness. That we can't hear God. Properly. And to open our ears. So that we can hear him. And he. People who are paralyzed. He put them back on their feet again.

[28:36] He gave them. Strong legs. As it were. So that they could. So that they could. Function and move. And. Does that point towards something. That he. Puts us back on our feet.

[28:47] To serve him. So that we can. Go and come. In his service. I think that's. That's. What science is getting at. And.

[28:59] All these miracles. Show us. The authority of Jesus. And they also show us. The helplessness of human need.

[29:12] Eyes. Eyes. That cannot see. Ears. That cannot hear. Bodies. That will not. Operate.

[29:24] As. God. Wants. It's all bound up. With. What the Bible calls. Sin. And it tells us.

[29:35] That. Or. Puts to us. That the condition. That we are in. Without. Jesus Christ. Without God. Is. Of being blind. And deaf.

[29:46] And unresponsive. And. Spiritually. Ill. Paralyzed. Dead. I think we are pointed.

[30:00] In that direction. And perhaps. You this morning. Can identify with that. Because we sang a song. Didn't we. Once I was blind. Believed I saw everything. But actually.

[30:11] I was foolish. And. Jesus opened my eyes. And perhaps. You can. Say something like that. This morning. I was dead. Jesus raised me. I was lost.

[30:21] Jesus found me. I was paralyzed. Jesus gave me life. Number five. Who is Jesus? He is a radical.

[30:34] Interpreter. Of. Judaism. And I say Judaism. I put it. In inverted commas. Because. I think. Technically. Judaism is something. That developed. After the time of.

[30:45] Jesus. But. Let's say. The Jewish. Religion. That was. Around. At the time of Jesus. Because Jesus didn't. You know this.

[30:56] He didn't operate. In a religious. And spiritual vacuum. We're not to imagine. That Jesus lived. You know. In Patchen. Or. That Jesus lived.

[31:06] In. Renaissance. Or. That Jesus lived. In Geneva. Or. Modern Europe. He lived. In. Israel.

[31:17] He lived. In. That. Country. In. That. Culture. With. That. History. That's where. He was. And. Just. Without.

[31:27] Trying to put it into a huge amount of detail. If you think of Israel. As God's petri dish. A petri dish. Is a. A little. Dish. With some. Gel. On it.

[31:38] And you put things on there. To see whether they will grow or not. And typically you can work out whether there are infections. And germs. Because you put them on there. And see what grows. And what. Kills what.

[31:49] And so on. And you can put it under a microscope. And you can see there. Really what's happening in the whole world. But you can see it on the petri dish. As a clear example. And Israel.

[32:00] It was if you like God's petri dish. A specific. Instance of the human. Condition. And. To these people. Over the course of centuries.

[32:12] God. The creator. Showed his character. What sort of God he was. They. As a nation. Experienced the power of. The Lord. The creator God. They were commanded with the ethical norms.

[32:25] Of the Lord. The things that he valued. The things that he himself. Exemplified. In Hebrew. Sedek. Meaning. Righteousness.

[32:37] Mishpat. Meaning. Justice. Hesed. Meaning. Steadfast love. And the God. Who. Formed Israel. Said. These are the things.

[32:48] That I love. And if you want to say. The things that characterize me. It's this sort of thing. And I want them to characterize you. As well. As my people. And.

[32:58] And Israel was also brought in. On the future plans. And promises of the Lord. Actually. Promises that went beyond Israel. To the whole world. But anyway. There's Jesus.

[33:09] Who comes to this. Nation. At that point. And. Radically. Interprets. All of this.

[33:20] In other words. He says. You have your scriptures. You have your history. Let me tell you. What this really means. If you read the gospels.

[33:33] You find him doing this. And the really. Really. Surprising thing. In all the way. Jesus. Reinterprets it. And tells it.

[33:43] What tells him. What it really means. Is he puts himself. At the center of it. He says. Your history. Is actually. All to do with me. And all that you've.

[33:54] Been expecting. Is all to do with me. And all that you. See. You ought to be. Is modeled in me. The law.

[34:07] Was given through Moses. But grace. And truth. Came. Through Jesus Christ. I am this.

[34:19] Now. In front of you. Embodied. As it were. And of course. Jesus. Was scathing. In his. Criticism. Criticism.

[34:30] Of what the Jewish. Establishment. Had done. With that promises. That ethics. That. Understanding. Of God. And the Jesus. Of the Bible. You'll understand this.

[34:42] It's not only a Jesus. Who's compassionate. But a Jesus. Who could go into the synagogue. And he could look round. Eyeballing the people.

[34:55] Angry. At their hardness of heart. Just imagine that. Perhaps in a room. Like this. Jesus. Looking round.

[35:06] Angry. At their hardness of heart. There's a. Christmas carol. Which says.

[35:17] About the birth of Jesus. And the town. In which he was born. The hopes and fears. Of all the years. Are met. In thee. Tonight. And that's. True.

[35:27] Of Jesus. That's who he is. He is. The embodiment. Of the hopes. And fears. The promises. The power.

[35:38] The grace. That God has put. Into. This. Created world. For. Everybody. Not just for Jews. But for Swiss.

[35:50] And Germans. And Koreans. And Japanese. And everybody. That's. How important. Jesus. Is. That was number five.

[36:02] He's a radical interpreter. Of Judaism. Number six. He's a man of colossal. Personal authority. It would be hard.

[36:13] To imagine. Anyone. Making up the things. That only Jesus. Could say. I'm particularly thinking. About his authority. There's an example. Early on.

[36:23] In Luke's gospel. Where he. Infuriates. A crowd. In the. Actually. I think it's in the synagogue. They're so infuriated. By Jesus.

[36:34] That they want. To take him. To the local. Cliff. The edge of the local cliff. And chuck him over. And. They get out there.

[36:45] And it says. In Luke 4. 30. He walked. Right through the crowd. And went his way. Now. I. I could be wrong.

[36:56] But as I. Imagine that. I imagine. A load of people. Pushing and shoving. And shouting. And threatening. And showing their fists. And Jesus.

[37:07] Just calmly saying. Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me. Or something like that. Or no. I'm going that way. And. By. I think what must have been. His.

[37:17] His sheer. Personal authority. Not being thrown over a cliff. Can you imagine doing that? There was something special about Jesus.

[37:31] As Ray read to us. He went into the synagogue. Early on in his ministry. And people said. What is this? A new teaching.

[37:43] With authority. He says to the demon. Be quiet. Get out. His authority. At a later point.

[37:54] Jesus. Jesus. Is in a boat. And it's a storm. And. The storm. Is. Intimidating. Frightening. The sailors. Who are in the. The fishermen.

[38:05] Who are in the boat. And Jesus. Says to the storm. Be quiet. Be still. And immediately. The storm. Stops.

[38:17] And the fishermen. In the boat. Are. Absolutely. Gobsmacked. And say. Who is this? Even the wind. And the waves.

[38:28] Obey him. A man. Of colossal. Personal. Authority. There's a very comical. Incident. In.

[38:38] One of the. Adrian Plass books. Adrian Plass is a. Christian writer. And he writes funny things. The earlier ones are funnier than the new ones. I think.

[38:49] And he's saying. Oh. He has a paper clip. On his table. And he tries. By. By the force of his word. And by prayer. To move the paper clip. Across the table.

[39:00] And it doesn't work. And it doesn't. Does it? We don't have. The authority. To do that. There's something very different. Very different. About a man.

[39:11] Who can say to a storm. Be quiet. And it's quiet. To a dead girl.

[39:22] He says. Little girl. I say to you. Get up. To Lazarus. Who is dead. He says. Lazarus. Come out. Now isn't there something there?

[39:33] There. Which. I've put a man of colossal personal authority. But I think. If you ponder that. It goes well beyond that. It goes beyond that.

[39:45] Into another realm. Of. Divinity. Who is Jesus? Did I say I was going to do seven?

[39:56] Looks as though I did six. Right. Here we go. So. What do we look at? Jesus is a real historical person. Inescapably.

[40:07] Real. An obscure person. But his humility. Shouldn't blind us. To. His.

[40:19] Grandeur. A super teacher. And if you're not sure about Jesus. Why not start there. With the.

[40:30] Words that. The father speaks about him. Listen to him. Why not. Start listening. To him. A miracle worker.

[40:41] Doing things. That are signs. To something. Way beyond.

[40:53] Just. Producing bread. Or. Producing wine. A radical interpreter. Of Judaism. We mustn't forget this. He's.

[41:04] In a. Religious context. And he does something with that. And speaks about it. And interprets it. In a most. Remarkable. Way. In particular.

[41:15] Saying that he is. The focus of all that. A man of colossal. Personal authority. He's these things. He's not less than these things.

[41:28] But he is. These things at least. And more. And I haven't. Touched this morning. Upon. His death. But that.

[41:39] Ignominious. Wretched. Shameful. Death. Is. Surprisingly. And if you come to Christianity. New. You ought to be surprised by this.

[41:50] That people say that's the. In some ways. The focus of the best thing about him. When we. We joined earlier this morning. In communion.

[42:01] Christian people. Join together. We're told to join together. To remember Jesus. By drinking. Wine. And eating bread. And. Particularly Jesus. Is saying. Remember.

[42:13] Remember me. Remember my death. And I haven't stopped. To. Enlarge upon that. This morning. But. We will certainly do so.

[42:24] But let's just say that. As I said with the children. There is something. Totally remarkable. About his death. Death. Death.

[42:35] Comes. To sinners. The wages of sin. Is death. So why did Jesus die? And the short.

[42:46] And the profound answer is. By his death. We. Are. Forgiven. By his. Wounds. We. Are. Healed.

[42:57] The punishment. That gave us peace. Was upon him. A profound. And enormous. Substitution. Exchange. Replacement.

[43:07] Something like that. Has taken place. That he. Suffered. What we. Deserved. So that we. Could go free. Who is Jesus?

[43:21] The person. In the Bible. Who gives us. Or exemplifies. For us. The full answer. Is. Thomas. In the gospel. Of John. He goes down. As being called. Doubting.

[43:32] Thomas. A little bit. Unfair on him. But. Jesus. He. He saw Jesus. And at the end. I don't know. Having seen. The risen. Jesus Christ.

[43:43] What he says. Is. In answer. To this question. Who is Jesus? He says. My Lord. And my God. God. And would.

[43:59] That we all. Could answer. That question. That way. To really. See. Who he really. Is. And let me.

[44:09] Close. With a promise. This is a promise. That sort of. Synthesized. From the. Various promises. In the Bible. Here is a promise.

[44:20] From God. You. Yourself. Can. Know. Jesus Christ. As a living. Person. Today. That's a promise.

[44:31] From God. You. Can. Have. That. Certainty. That. Relationship. You. Can. Have. That. Yourself.

[44:43] Today. Talk. To God. About. It. Listen. To Jesus. About. It. Don't. Be. Satisfied. Until.

[44:53] You. Wrestled. Your. Way. With. God. Through. To us. A. Clear. Answer. Please. Don't. Go. Away. Thinking. Oh. I. Could. Never. Manage. That.

[45:03] It's. Far. Too. Difficult. Please. Don't. Think. That. It. Is. Just. A. Breath. Away. From. You. To. we're going to close by singing and what are we going to sing can you tell us what we're going to sing