WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.540 --> 00:00:09.519 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:15.419 redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:22.640 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:35.179 Old Testament reading, a reading from the prophet Isaiah. 00:00:35.960 --> 00:00:38.000 Isaiah 52, 13. 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:40.980 Behold, my servant shall act wisely. 00:00:41.500 --> 00:00:44.799 He shall be high and lifted up and shall be exalted. 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:48.060 Isaiah 53, 3-9. 00:00:48.420 --> 00:00:54.079 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. 00:00:54.859 --> 00:00:59.179 And as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised. 00:00:59.179 --> 00:01:00.979 And we esteemed him not. 00:01:02.119 --> 00:01:05.140 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. 00:01:05.420 --> 00:01:10.039 Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:14.340 But he was pierced for our transgressions. 00:01:14.920 --> 00:01:17.840 He was crushed for our iniquities. 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:22.879 Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:26.200 And with his wounds we are healed. 00:01:26.200 --> 00:01:29.740 All we, like sheep, have gone astray. 00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:32.820 We have turned everyone to his own way. 00:01:33.260 --> 00:01:36.560 And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 00:01:37.560 --> 00:01:40.180 He was oppressed and he was afflicted. 00:01:40.579 --> 00:01:42.840 Yet he opened not his mouth. 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:48.700 Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent. 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:52.460 So he opened not his mouth. 00:01:52.459 --> 00:01:56.519 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. 00:01:57.119 --> 00:02:05.979 And as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 00:02:06.739 --> 00:02:17.560 And they made him his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth. 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:20.580 Isaiah 53, 12. 00:02:21.379 --> 00:02:32.300 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors. 00:02:32.840 --> 00:02:37.580 Yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors. 00:02:39.020 --> 00:02:40.539 New Testament readings. 00:02:41.099 --> 00:02:42.560 A reading from the Epistle to the Philippians. 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:46.420 Philippians chapter 2, verses 3 through 11. 00:02:46.419 --> 00:02:54.339 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 00:02:55.179 --> 00:03:01.259 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 00:03:01.259 --> 00:03:14.060 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 00:03:14.659 --> 00:03:20.159 but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:29.139 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 00:03:29.139 --> 00:03:44.339 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 00:03:44.839 --> 00:03:56.139 in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 00:03:56.139 --> 00:04:03.639 A reading from the first epistle to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 1, verses 18 to 29. 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:13.479 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:20.860 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart. 00:04:20.860 --> 00:04:28.379 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? 00:04:29.100 --> 00:04:31.920 Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:37.139 For since in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom, 00:04:37.699 --> 00:04:42.240 it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:50.259 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, 00:04:51.100 --> 00:04:57.540 a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, 00:04:58.259 --> 00:05:01.420 Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. 00:05:01.840 --> 00:05:08.920 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:11.620 For consider your calling, brothers. 00:05:12.379 --> 00:05:17.960 Not many of you were wise, according to worldly standards, and not many of you were powerful. 00:05:18.900 --> 00:05:20.759 Not many were of noble birth. 00:05:21.860 --> 00:05:26.300 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:30.660 God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 00:05:30.660 --> 00:05:36.140 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, 00:05:36.420 --> 00:05:42.520 to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 00:05:43.180 --> 00:05:44.480 This is the word of the Lord. 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:46.280 Praise to God. 00:05:49.780 --> 00:05:50.540 Is that you? 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:50.900 Oh. 00:05:54.840 --> 00:05:56.320 Do we know what that buzz is, Scott? 00:05:56.960 --> 00:05:57.860 Oh, there we go. 00:05:58.220 --> 00:05:58.780 Thank you. 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:01.699 Well, thanks for that reading, Melissa, that long reading. 00:06:01.919 --> 00:06:02.539 That's my fault. 00:06:02.679 --> 00:06:06.579 I kept adding verses this week because I had so many ideas, so many things I wanted to say. 00:06:07.299 --> 00:06:08.359 Welcome to Christ Church, everyone. 00:06:08.419 --> 00:06:10.139 My name is Andrew, one of the pastors here. 00:06:10.500 --> 00:06:13.439 And I ask that you'd pray with me as we get into God's word. 00:06:16.019 --> 00:06:22.139 Father, I pray that you would simply open our eyes and lift up our eyes to the crucified and risen Christ, 00:06:23.079 --> 00:06:26.739 who is your son, who is God. 00:06:26.740 --> 00:06:36.759 And would we behold you, Father, Son, and Spirit, as the wonderful God that you are, for whom there is no one like you. 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:42.519 So would you be honored, Lord God, in the preaching of your word, and would we behold Christ. 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:43.379 In his name we pray. 00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:44.160 Amen. 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:44.240 Amen. 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:48.120 All right, so we're in week six of our seven-week series, right? 00:06:48.340 --> 00:06:49.060 Exploring God. 00:06:49.140 --> 00:06:53.580 And today we're addressing the question, is Jesus really God? 00:06:54.420 --> 00:06:58.260 And, you know, this is, I think, really where the rubber meets the road in our series. 00:06:58.259 --> 00:07:04.899 Because if Jesus is not God, then we can just view him maybe perhaps as some kind of legendary hero of Christianity, 00:07:05.139 --> 00:07:10.459 someone whose legend has left a mark on the world, but also someone we can't really know the truth about, right? 00:07:11.039 --> 00:07:15.360 Or maybe we could accept him as a wise, rabbinical lecturer and teacher, 00:07:15.500 --> 00:07:19.240 someone with some pretty good ethical teachings that we can, you know, for the most part, 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:21.980 add to the best of human conventional wisdom. 00:07:21.980 --> 00:07:27.420 Or maybe we can reject him as a liar or as a lunatic, someone who claimed to be God, 00:07:27.540 --> 00:07:29.920 someone who said, eat my flesh and drink my blood. 00:07:30.700 --> 00:07:32.640 If Jesus isn't God, these are our options. 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:37.460 He's either a legend, he's either a lecturer, or he's a liar, or he's a lunatic. 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:40.960 But really, if he's any of these, there's nothing too compelling about him. 00:07:41.020 --> 00:07:43.420 There's nothing life-changing about him. 00:07:43.939 --> 00:07:48.020 But if Jesus really is God, then he isn't just a legend. 00:07:48.520 --> 00:07:49.680 He's not just a lecturer. 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:51.860 He's neither a liar nor a lunatic. 00:07:52.300 --> 00:07:53.780 He's Lord, all right? 00:07:53.819 --> 00:07:56.000 If Jesus is God, he's Lord. 00:07:56.120 --> 00:07:59.620 Our maker, our sustainer, our only hope and comfort in life and death. 00:08:00.580 --> 00:08:02.120 And he's the only one who can save us. 00:08:02.180 --> 00:08:04.620 He's the only one who can save this broken world. 00:08:04.819 --> 00:08:08.560 If Jesus really is God, then that means we were made for him and for his purposes, 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:12.620 and that we owe our entire lives to him and our exclusive devotion. 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:15.819 So whether you believe that Jesus is God or not, 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:18.700 this could have major life-changing implications. 00:08:19.340 --> 00:08:20.580 But now, why consider it at all? 00:08:20.579 --> 00:08:22.219 Why are we even talking about this? 00:08:22.300 --> 00:08:25.339 Why aren't we considering whether or not Steph Curry is God, right? 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:26.740 Why Jesus? 00:08:26.839 --> 00:08:29.120 Well, we're not asking this like in a historical vacuum, right? 00:08:29.659 --> 00:08:32.679 No one can deny that Jesus and his followers have birthed, you know, 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:34.819 the largest world religion in history. 00:08:35.179 --> 00:08:38.899 Even today, there are 2.8 billion Christians in this world. 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:40.879 Our world population's 8 billion, all right? 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:45.340 2.8 billion people in this world right now who believe that Jesus is God. 00:08:45.399 --> 00:08:51.340 And more important than the numbers is the impact that belief in Jesus' divinity has had on the modern world, 00:08:51.399 --> 00:08:53.460 even the secular modern world. 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:55.960 But now, how do we tackle this question, though? 00:08:56.220 --> 00:08:57.700 Is Jesus really God? 00:08:57.740 --> 00:09:01.720 How do you prove or disprove that something or someone is God or not? 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:05.120 And like what God or what kind of God are we even talking about? 00:09:05.180 --> 00:09:07.080 How do you define the divine? 00:09:08.060 --> 00:09:12.379 There are multiple complexities, right, to this question, multiple rabbit trails that we could pursue. 00:09:12.540 --> 00:09:14.060 Should we try to define God first? 00:09:14.160 --> 00:09:20.259 Maybe get some consensus on a basic, universal, lowest common denominator definition of God 00:09:20.259 --> 00:09:22.220 and then see if Jesus measures up to that? 00:09:22.820 --> 00:09:26.460 Or can we maybe get philosophical and talk epistemology? 00:09:26.460 --> 00:09:30.980 What's our method for knowing for sure that Jesus is God with any degree of certainty? 00:09:31.920 --> 00:09:35.240 Or maybe you're here today and you're not even sure if you can believe in God 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:39.120 and, you know, you maybe would like me to rehash a sermon I preached a couple weeks ago. 00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:40.879 You know, is there a God? 00:09:40.980 --> 00:09:43.160 We could go down all these different rabbit trails 00:09:43.160 --> 00:09:47.420 and unfortunately we can't do that in the next 20, 25 minutes, right? 00:09:48.680 --> 00:09:50.860 But what I think will be most fruitful 00:09:50.860 --> 00:09:56.720 is addressing this question by paying attention to the person of Jesus himself. 00:09:57.700 --> 00:09:59.379 See, because, you know, I get it. 00:09:59.720 --> 00:10:02.120 If you have trouble believing in God, 00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:08.860 and honestly, you might be right to not believe in that God that you have in your head. 00:10:09.500 --> 00:10:13.000 We Christians might even agree with you that that God doesn't exist either. 00:10:13.639 --> 00:10:18.340 But what I've found is that when people gaze upon and behold the man Jesus, right, 00:10:18.340 --> 00:10:21.960 Jesus of Nazareth, who claimed to be God, whose tomb was empty, 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:26.980 who sparked a movement that altered the world more than any other movement in world history, 00:10:27.780 --> 00:10:31.060 when people consider the life and legacy of Jesus, 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:34.600 his claims, his character with an open mind and an open heart, 00:10:35.420 --> 00:10:37.920 when people see Jesus for who he really is, 00:10:38.280 --> 00:10:40.480 even those who formerly didn't even believe in God, 00:10:40.560 --> 00:10:45.320 often I find that they find themselves encountering the one true God 00:10:45.320 --> 00:10:47.460 that they actually can believe in. 00:10:47.460 --> 00:10:48.580 And so we're going to look at Jesus today. 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:49.900 I want to invite you to just come and see. 00:10:49.980 --> 00:10:51.000 Just come and see this morning. 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:55.800 Let's explore the data on this incredible person named Jesus of Nazareth. 00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:58.460 Whether or not you end up believing he's God, 00:10:58.500 --> 00:11:02.680 you have to at least reckon with this guy who's incredibly unique, 00:11:02.780 --> 00:11:03.820 his incredible uniqueness. 00:11:04.780 --> 00:11:06.340 Like, if you studied the world religions, 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:08.639 if you considered all of world history, 00:11:08.940 --> 00:11:11.620 there really is, like, no one like this God. 00:11:11.620 --> 00:11:15.600 You know, there's this scholar, he's passed away not too long ago, 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:17.039 right here in Berkeley. 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:18.259 His name was Huston Smith. 00:11:18.860 --> 00:11:20.860 And he's a really big deal, religious studies scholar, 00:11:20.980 --> 00:11:23.620 spent the majority of his career at MIT and Syracuse, 00:11:24.340 --> 00:11:25.539 and then he retired here in Berkeley, 00:11:25.620 --> 00:11:28.820 and he was a visiting faculty there at Cal. 00:11:29.580 --> 00:11:32.200 And in his classic textbook, The World's Religions, 00:11:32.460 --> 00:11:33.720 he observes something really interesting. 00:11:33.820 --> 00:11:35.759 He observes that in all of history, 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:38.019 there have only been two people 00:11:38.019 --> 00:11:40.980 who have lived with such influence 00:11:40.980 --> 00:11:42.980 and who've lived such compelling lives 00:11:42.980 --> 00:11:45.559 and who've gained, like, hundreds of millions of followers 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:47.340 across multiple millennia 00:11:47.340 --> 00:11:49.480 and made such an impact that it provoked people 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:51.200 not just to ask, who are you, 00:11:51.799 --> 00:11:53.159 but what are you? 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:55.740 And he says, not Caesar, not Napoleon, 00:11:55.960 --> 00:11:57.580 not Socrates, only two, 00:11:58.279 --> 00:11:59.700 Jesus and Buddha. 00:12:01.059 --> 00:12:03.019 All right, but then he notes that for Buddha, 00:12:03.019 --> 00:12:06.079 Buddha consistently denied that he was God. 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:07.639 He only ever claimed to be human, 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:09.059 but Jesus, on the other hand, 00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:12.879 this was a human who claimed to be God. 00:12:13.439 --> 00:12:16.299 This was a human who let people worship him. 00:12:17.500 --> 00:12:20.600 Now, when Jim Jones and Charles Manson claimed to be God, 00:12:20.980 --> 00:12:22.620 they only ever managed to, you know, 00:12:22.699 --> 00:12:25.159 convince a tiny group, right, of unstable people. 00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:26.159 They never changed the world, 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:27.960 and their legacy is really just that 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:30.240 of being toxic mad men, right? 00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:32.279 No one's gathering to worship them today, 00:12:32.279 --> 00:12:34.059 even just decades later. 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:36.480 But with Jesus of Nazareth, 00:12:37.220 --> 00:12:39.059 he too claimed to be God, 00:12:39.139 --> 00:12:40.860 and yet this is someone you could make a case for 00:12:40.860 --> 00:12:43.480 as perhaps the most influential human 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:44.919 to ever have lived, 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:47.259 with hundreds of millions of followers, 00:12:47.379 --> 00:12:48.939 again, over multiple millennia. 00:12:49.019 --> 00:12:49.899 Think about that for a second. 00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:51.899 Think about that for a second. 00:12:52.679 --> 00:12:53.879 Like, try to come up with a list 00:12:53.879 --> 00:12:56.899 of, like, all the most positively influential, 00:12:57.519 --> 00:12:59.139 impactful, compelling, wise, loving, 00:12:59.259 --> 00:13:00.579 and compassionate people 00:13:00.580 --> 00:13:01.980 throughout world history. 00:13:02.759 --> 00:13:03.740 All right, got that list? 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:06.660 And then a list of all the people 00:13:06.660 --> 00:13:08.480 who ever claimed that they were God. 00:13:10.100 --> 00:13:11.860 There is only one person 00:13:11.860 --> 00:13:14.300 who is on both those lists. 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:16.840 Only one person who claimed to be God 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:18.360 and got tons of people 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:20.100 to also believe it, 00:13:20.360 --> 00:13:21.840 to devote their lives to him 00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:22.700 and gather in churches 00:13:22.700 --> 00:13:25.759 to worship him 2,000 years later. 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:29.439 And we ourselves are here listening right now, 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:30.860 entertaining this question, 00:13:30.939 --> 00:13:31.460 because you know, 00:13:31.980 --> 00:13:33.519 we all know, right, 00:13:33.700 --> 00:13:36.100 that this is a question that's worth our time. 00:13:37.419 --> 00:13:40.120 We know that if one of the most important, 00:13:40.179 --> 00:13:41.580 if not the most important, 00:13:41.740 --> 00:13:43.460 impactful person in history 00:13:43.460 --> 00:13:44.379 claimed to be God, 00:13:45.159 --> 00:13:47.759 this is a person that we cannot ignore. 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:50.179 And as the late, great pastor Tim Keller 00:13:50.179 --> 00:13:50.659 would put it, 00:13:50.980 --> 00:13:52.860 the magnitude of Jesus' claims 00:13:52.860 --> 00:13:54.379 and the magnitude of his impact 00:13:54.379 --> 00:13:55.820 indicate you'd better 00:13:55.820 --> 00:13:57.700 not just doubt he's not God, 00:13:58.419 --> 00:14:00.779 you better know he's not God. 00:14:01.620 --> 00:14:02.980 He gives this illustration, Keller, 00:14:03.159 --> 00:14:03.740 he says like, 00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:05.659 let's say you got a letter from the IRS, 00:14:05.860 --> 00:14:07.919 official IRS stationary, 00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:11.200 and it says you owe $50 million in taxes, 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:12.300 and you think to yourself, 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:13.159 like, that can't be true, 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:15.139 because I only made 50,000, right? 00:14:15.139 --> 00:14:15.220 Right? 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:18.840 Will you not at least pick up the phone, though? 00:14:19.379 --> 00:14:19.560 Right? 00:14:20.239 --> 00:14:22.339 Even let them place you on hold 00:14:22.339 --> 00:14:23.839 just to make sure. 00:14:24.859 --> 00:14:25.239 Why? 00:14:25.899 --> 00:14:27.879 Because of the magnitude of the claim. 00:14:28.959 --> 00:14:29.739 When Jesus says, 00:14:29.979 --> 00:14:32.879 I am the way, the truth, and the life, 00:14:33.139 --> 00:14:34.639 you only come to God through me, 00:14:34.699 --> 00:14:36.419 if you're gonna live as though that's not true, 00:14:36.500 --> 00:14:39.079 you'd better know that that's not true. 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:40.759 You'd better do your homework, 00:14:41.179 --> 00:14:42.739 you'd better do your due diligence. 00:14:43.699 --> 00:14:45.599 Because again, if you live without Jesus, 00:14:45.719 --> 00:14:46.959 and he really is God, 00:14:47.459 --> 00:14:49.079 the way, the truth, and the life, 00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:50.220 then you're living estranged 00:14:50.220 --> 00:14:52.580 from your maker and sustainer. 00:14:53.180 --> 00:14:54.259 You're going the wrong way. 00:14:55.139 --> 00:14:56.440 You're living in falsehood, 00:14:56.800 --> 00:14:58.280 and you're closer to death than life. 00:14:58.400 --> 00:14:59.660 And contrary to what you think, 00:14:59.700 --> 00:15:01.080 you're only inching further and further 00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:02.860 away from the most ideal version 00:15:02.860 --> 00:15:04.540 of yourself and the world. 00:15:04.620 --> 00:15:06.060 You're forfeiting love and joy 00:15:06.060 --> 00:15:07.840 and peace and satisfaction, 00:15:07.980 --> 00:15:09.320 the satisfaction that your soul 00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:11.100 was made to enjoy. 00:15:12.440 --> 00:15:12.960 So with that said, 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:13.879 I wanna turn to the data. 00:15:14.060 --> 00:15:15.400 I wanna turn to the data this morning, 00:15:15.520 --> 00:15:18.040 the most basic, undisputed data points 00:15:18.039 --> 00:15:18.779 surrounding Jesus, 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:20.799 the facts that everyone can agree upon, 00:15:20.899 --> 00:15:22.839 whether you believe Jesus is God or not, 00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:23.919 the historical facts 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:26.879 that no honest and thinking person can deny. 00:15:26.980 --> 00:15:28.639 Just put them out there for all of us 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:30.240 to try to make sense of 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:31.659 and account for, all right? 00:15:32.259 --> 00:15:33.699 And there are five things I wanna say. 00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:36.439 First, there was a man, 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:37.599 Jesus of Nazareth, 00:15:38.079 --> 00:15:40.259 lived 2,000 years ago in Palestine 00:15:40.259 --> 00:15:42.120 who claimed not only to be Messiah, 00:15:42.299 --> 00:15:43.959 not only to be the servant of God, 00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:45.620 but he claimed to be God himself. 00:15:45.780 --> 00:15:47.440 He let people worship him. 00:15:48.040 --> 00:15:49.740 He said he could forgive sins. 00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:52.759 And he said to know him and to see him 00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:54.460 and to receive him is to know and see 00:15:54.460 --> 00:15:55.639 and receive God himself. 00:15:56.800 --> 00:15:57.860 All right, so that's number one. 00:15:57.980 --> 00:16:00.080 Number two, thousands of people, 00:16:00.680 --> 00:16:01.360 thousands of people, 00:16:01.460 --> 00:16:03.259 people who liked him 00:16:03.259 --> 00:16:04.440 and people who hated him, 00:16:05.400 --> 00:16:06.700 they saw him do things 00:16:06.700 --> 00:16:08.440 that appeared to be miraculous. 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:10.660 Thousands of people fed 00:16:10.659 --> 00:16:12.740 by five loaves and two fish, 00:16:13.299 --> 00:16:14.439 paralytics made to walk, 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:16.100 lepers clean, right? 00:16:16.719 --> 00:16:17.899 The blind able to see, 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:19.339 even the dead alive. 00:16:20.139 --> 00:16:20.539 And again, 00:16:20.740 --> 00:16:22.459 not all of these thousands of witnesses 00:16:22.459 --> 00:16:23.699 even liked or believed 00:16:23.699 --> 00:16:25.179 he was who he said he was, 00:16:25.939 --> 00:16:27.360 but they saw it, all right? 00:16:27.439 --> 00:16:28.860 It appeared to them as miraculous. 00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:30.539 Number three, 00:16:31.419 --> 00:16:32.319 Jesus of Nazareth, 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:33.659 he didn't just claim to be God, 00:16:34.139 --> 00:16:35.299 but he managed to convince 00:16:35.299 --> 00:16:38.079 the most staunchly monotheistic people, 00:16:38.299 --> 00:16:40.500 the people with the most transcendent view of God, 00:16:40.500 --> 00:16:41.340 he convinced thousands 00:16:41.340 --> 00:16:43.379 of first century Jewish people 00:16:43.379 --> 00:16:44.200 who lived to uphold 00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:45.399 the first and second commandment, right? 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:47.379 Don't have any other gods besides Yahweh, 00:16:47.659 --> 00:16:48.840 don't worship anything 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:50.960 that's created or material as God, 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:52.720 the last people in the world 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:54.220 who would have believed he was God, 00:16:54.259 --> 00:16:56.679 he convinced them that he was God. 00:16:57.240 --> 00:16:57.899 They were convinced 00:16:57.899 --> 00:16:59.559 that he was who he said he was. 00:17:00.700 --> 00:17:01.179 Number four, 00:17:02.139 --> 00:17:04.420 he was crucified, dead, and buried. 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:06.220 And yet hundreds of people 00:17:06.220 --> 00:17:07.980 saw him again after that. 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:10.460 Even at one point, 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:13.039 there were 500 who saw him at one time. 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:14.880 And there is no record 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:16.000 in all of ancient history 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:17.660 of anyone ever surviving 00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:19.180 a Roman crucifixion. 00:17:19.259 --> 00:17:19.680 And in fact, 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:21.319 there are five ancient sources 00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:22.819 outside of New Testament 00:17:22.819 --> 00:17:23.920 that can corroborate 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:26.339 that he really was crucified to death 00:17:26.339 --> 00:17:29.180 and then seen again as alive. 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:30.980 Number five, 00:17:32.059 --> 00:17:32.980 this apparent experience 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:35.440 that people supposedly had 00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:37.320 of this supposedly risen Christ, 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:38.880 what changed people? 00:17:39.100 --> 00:17:39.860 It changed the world. 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:41.200 It changed people so much 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:42.559 that they went out into the world 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:45.640 and even died to spread the news. 00:17:45.980 --> 00:17:47.160 They spread it all throughout 00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:48.320 the Mediterranean world, 00:17:48.420 --> 00:17:50.500 even though many were flayed for this, 00:17:50.600 --> 00:17:52.000 many were burned for this, 00:17:52.080 --> 00:17:52.700 thrown to the lions, 00:17:52.820 --> 00:17:53.900 crucified themselves. 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:56.660 They continued to spread the word 00:17:56.660 --> 00:17:58.320 and it's still being spread today 00:17:58.320 --> 00:18:00.100 across every continent. 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:02.320 Now having laid out 00:18:02.320 --> 00:18:04.200 these undisputed points about Jesus, 00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:05.400 I know they don't prove 00:18:05.400 --> 00:18:06.420 that Jesus is God, right? 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:07.000 It doesn't prove 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:08.460 that Christianity is true, 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:09.519 but my question for you 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:10.600 is how do we account 00:18:10.600 --> 00:18:12.140 for these data points? 00:18:13.019 --> 00:18:14.279 How do we make sense 00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:15.120 of these facts? 00:18:16.220 --> 00:18:17.259 Now maybe you're inclined 00:18:17.259 --> 00:18:18.620 to think all this Jesus stuff 00:18:18.620 --> 00:18:19.720 is just a myth, 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:20.340 just a legend. 00:18:20.519 --> 00:18:20.740 Like sure, 00:18:20.819 --> 00:18:21.900 this Jesus guy, 00:18:22.039 --> 00:18:23.039 maybe he was kind of special, 00:18:23.140 --> 00:18:23.880 but we can't really know 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:24.700 the truth about him. 00:18:25.420 --> 00:18:25.900 I mean that was 00:18:25.900 --> 00:18:27.200 thousands of years ago. 00:18:27.299 --> 00:18:28.380 Maybe he was a pretty amazing, 00:18:28.600 --> 00:18:29.539 pretty special dude, 00:18:29.980 --> 00:18:30.980 but aren't these accounts 00:18:30.980 --> 00:18:31.920 about him in the Bible 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:33.539 just kind of embellished tales 00:18:33.539 --> 00:18:34.480 that his followers 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:35.980 kind of wove together? 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:37.240 Maybe his followers, 00:18:37.380 --> 00:18:38.140 followers, followers 00:18:38.140 --> 00:18:39.060 put them together 00:18:39.060 --> 00:18:40.039 long after he died? 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:41.840 How do we know 00:18:41.840 --> 00:18:43.560 they didn't put these words 00:18:43.560 --> 00:18:44.500 into Jesus' mouth, 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:46.160 spin the stories about him 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:47.900 to make him sound extra special? 00:18:48.620 --> 00:18:48.800 You know, 00:18:48.820 --> 00:18:50.039 especially with their biases, 00:18:50.279 --> 00:18:50.480 right, 00:18:50.539 --> 00:18:52.740 and their ancient superstitions. 00:18:52.860 --> 00:18:53.960 Can we even read 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:54.539 the New Testament 00:18:54.539 --> 00:18:55.680 as history? 00:18:56.680 --> 00:18:56.860 Well, 00:18:56.880 --> 00:18:57.320 I want to say 00:18:57.320 --> 00:18:58.120 that if we approach 00:18:58.120 --> 00:18:59.940 the scriptures literarily, 00:19:00.200 --> 00:19:00.400 right, 00:19:00.460 --> 00:19:01.480 as their authors intended, 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:02.180 if we pay attention 00:19:02.180 --> 00:19:03.200 to how the New Testament 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:04.160 is written, 00:19:04.279 --> 00:19:05.279 it is very much written, 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:06.420 not as a myth, 00:19:06.740 --> 00:19:07.500 not as a legend, 00:19:07.620 --> 00:19:09.240 like any other ancient text 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:09.700 that was written 00:19:09.700 --> 00:19:11.099 as a legend in that time, 00:19:11.180 --> 00:19:11.700 but it's actually 00:19:11.700 --> 00:19:13.920 quite intentionally historical. 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:15.460 Luke's gospel, 00:19:15.579 --> 00:19:16.620 how does Luke's gospel open? 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:16.980 He says, 00:19:17.079 --> 00:19:19.380 as many have undertaken 00:19:19.380 --> 00:19:20.700 to compile a narrative 00:19:20.700 --> 00:19:21.360 of the things 00:19:21.360 --> 00:19:22.059 that have been accomplished 00:19:22.059 --> 00:19:22.680 among us, 00:19:23.160 --> 00:19:23.880 just as those 00:19:23.880 --> 00:19:24.559 who from the beginning 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:25.579 were eyewitnesses 00:19:25.579 --> 00:19:26.920 have delivered them to us, 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:28.559 it seemed good to me also, 00:19:28.660 --> 00:19:29.099 having followed 00:19:29.099 --> 00:19:30.299 all things closely 00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:31.599 for some time past 00:19:31.599 --> 00:19:33.399 to write an orderly account 00:19:33.399 --> 00:19:34.000 for you 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:35.659 that you may have certainty 00:19:35.659 --> 00:19:37.159 concerning the things 00:19:37.159 --> 00:19:38.019 you've been taught. 00:19:38.099 --> 00:19:38.740 Luke's intention 00:19:38.740 --> 00:19:39.779 is accuracy, 00:19:40.200 --> 00:19:40.839 being historical, 00:19:41.399 --> 00:19:42.259 an accurate historical 00:19:42.259 --> 00:19:43.159 account and record 00:19:43.159 --> 00:19:45.680 in line with the eyewitnesses. 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:47.359 And the rest of the New Testament 00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:48.599 is full of tidbits 00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:49.720 that you wouldn't expect 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:51.559 to find in myths and legends. 00:19:51.700 --> 00:19:52.740 You have historical 00:19:52.740 --> 00:19:54.559 and geographical details, 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:54.819 right, 00:19:54.899 --> 00:19:57.319 details about the apostles' flaws. 00:19:57.319 --> 00:19:59.000 And not only that, 00:19:59.059 --> 00:20:00.139 but legends usually take 00:20:00.139 --> 00:20:00.939 over 100 years, 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:02.460 150 or more years 00:20:02.460 --> 00:20:03.179 to develop. 00:20:04.399 --> 00:20:04.740 But you know, 00:20:04.779 --> 00:20:06.339 even the most liberal scholars 00:20:06.339 --> 00:20:07.539 of the New Testament 00:20:07.539 --> 00:20:08.899 would say 00:20:08.899 --> 00:20:09.559 there's a consensus 00:20:09.559 --> 00:20:10.419 that the latest dates 00:20:10.419 --> 00:20:12.200 are within 70 to 80 years 00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:13.339 of the time 00:20:13.339 --> 00:20:15.059 of Jesus' crucifixion. 00:20:15.859 --> 00:20:17.000 Meaning that these writings 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:17.419 were written 00:20:17.419 --> 00:20:18.439 during the lifetime 00:20:18.439 --> 00:20:20.240 of eyewitnesses. 00:20:20.599 --> 00:20:21.339 These writings 00:20:21.339 --> 00:20:22.379 would have been falsifiable. 00:20:22.679 --> 00:20:23.539 Someone could have said, 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:24.659 hey, I was there, 00:20:25.380 --> 00:20:26.519 that it was a lot more 00:20:26.519 --> 00:20:27.200 than five loaves 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:28.060 and two fish, all right? 00:20:28.259 --> 00:20:29.259 Someone could have said that. 00:20:30.259 --> 00:20:31.060 These accounts were written 00:20:31.060 --> 00:20:32.140 far too early 00:20:32.140 --> 00:20:33.240 to be fabricated 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:34.160 and embellished. 00:20:35.140 --> 00:20:36.060 And not only that, 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:37.060 but who would die? 00:20:37.700 --> 00:20:38.300 Who would die 00:20:38.300 --> 00:20:39.540 for a mere legend, right? 00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:40.279 Who would die 00:20:40.279 --> 00:20:41.340 for a hoax 00:20:41.340 --> 00:20:42.519 like the apostles did 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:43.340 and like many 00:20:43.340 --> 00:20:44.700 early church Christians did? 00:20:45.340 --> 00:20:46.460 Would they really have 00:20:46.460 --> 00:20:47.240 given their lives 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:48.160 for a lie? 00:20:49.080 --> 00:20:49.980 Like if they were the ones 00:20:49.980 --> 00:20:51.060 who hid Jesus' body? 00:20:52.540 --> 00:20:53.519 Now some have suggested, 00:20:53.800 --> 00:20:54.640 okay, maybe they, 00:20:54.660 --> 00:20:55.580 were seeing visions. 00:20:55.700 --> 00:20:56.700 They were hallucinating 00:20:56.700 --> 00:20:58.420 because they just wanted 00:20:58.420 --> 00:20:59.860 to believe it so badly. 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:01.740 But really, 00:21:02.940 --> 00:21:04.000 over 500 people 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:06.000 having the same hallucination 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:06.580 and vision 00:21:06.580 --> 00:21:07.920 all at the same time 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:08.980 and then able to convince 00:21:08.980 --> 00:21:10.640 another 3,000 Jewish people 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:11.700 to follow them 00:21:11.700 --> 00:21:12.700 at Pentecost? 00:21:12.840 --> 00:21:13.080 I mean, 00:21:13.420 --> 00:21:14.080 what sounds like 00:21:14.080 --> 00:21:14.740 the bigger miracle? 00:21:16.900 --> 00:21:18.040 And speaking of bigger miracles, 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:18.320 okay, 00:21:18.460 --> 00:21:19.440 could Christianity 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:20.920 really have even spread 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:21.740 and endured 00:21:21.740 --> 00:21:22.540 the way it has? 00:21:22.539 --> 00:21:24.359 Especially as a minority 00:21:24.359 --> 00:21:25.200 religious movement 00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:26.500 that was violently 00:21:26.500 --> 00:21:28.180 persecuted by the Roman Empire. 00:21:28.879 --> 00:21:29.779 What legend 00:21:29.779 --> 00:21:30.519 has ever been 00:21:30.519 --> 00:21:31.259 that powerful 00:21:31.259 --> 00:21:32.599 and that successful 00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:34.139 when it wasn't true? 00:21:35.139 --> 00:21:36.200 Are we here today, 00:21:36.299 --> 00:21:37.139 2,000 years later, 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:38.619 because some Jewish fishermen 00:21:38.619 --> 00:21:39.700 overpowered 00:21:39.700 --> 00:21:41.539 or slipped past Roman guards, 00:21:41.700 --> 00:21:43.379 stole their rabbi's corpse, 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:44.420 hid it, 00:21:44.420 --> 00:21:45.500 and then somehow 00:21:45.500 --> 00:21:46.160 wove together 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:47.340 a legendary religion 00:21:47.340 --> 00:21:48.259 about a God 00:21:48.259 --> 00:21:49.840 who became a crucified man 00:21:49.840 --> 00:21:51.000 whose followers 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:52.100 eventually won over 00:21:52.100 --> 00:21:53.180 like the Roman Empire? 00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:55.960 Thomas Aquinas said 00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:56.820 that if these 00:21:56.820 --> 00:21:57.920 miraculous events 00:21:57.920 --> 00:21:58.380 about Jesus 00:21:58.380 --> 00:21:59.500 didn't actually happen, 00:22:00.080 --> 00:22:00.900 an even more 00:22:00.900 --> 00:22:02.440 unbelievable miracle 00:22:02.440 --> 00:22:03.019 happened, 00:22:03.720 --> 00:22:04.740 the eventual conversion 00:22:04.740 --> 00:22:05.880 of like the Roman world, 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:07.740 all by the biggest lie 00:22:07.740 --> 00:22:08.220 in history. 00:22:09.880 --> 00:22:10.120 Like sure, 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:10.940 it's hard to believe 00:22:10.940 --> 00:22:11.380 in miracles 00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:12.519 and it's hard to believe 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:13.720 Jesus is who he says he is. 00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:14.259 I get that, 00:22:14.339 --> 00:22:15.680 but might it be harder 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:17.079 not to believe 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:18.279 or to construct 00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:19.480 some other narrative? 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:21.600 See, all this is to say 00:22:21.600 --> 00:22:22.779 that it is very unlikely 00:22:22.779 --> 00:22:24.380 that Jesus is just 00:22:24.380 --> 00:22:26.279 some legendary figure 00:22:26.279 --> 00:22:27.339 that we can treat, 00:22:27.400 --> 00:22:27.559 you know, 00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:28.620 like Odysseus. 00:22:29.360 --> 00:22:30.180 He's more than that. 00:22:31.339 --> 00:22:31.660 But now, 00:22:31.720 --> 00:22:32.360 if he's not some 00:22:32.360 --> 00:22:33.680 mythical legend, 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:35.539 then what options remain? 00:22:35.640 --> 00:22:35.980 Well, again, 00:22:36.059 --> 00:22:36.519 some would say 00:22:36.519 --> 00:22:37.519 he was just a good 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:38.980 rabbinical teacher, 00:22:39.100 --> 00:22:39.600 a lecturer, 00:22:39.799 --> 00:22:40.480 a do-gooder. 00:22:41.620 --> 00:22:42.579 But the question is 00:22:42.579 --> 00:22:43.400 what kind of a good 00:22:43.400 --> 00:22:44.360 teacher claims 00:22:44.360 --> 00:22:45.040 to be God, 00:22:46.100 --> 00:22:46.800 tells you to eat 00:22:46.800 --> 00:22:47.259 his flesh 00:22:47.259 --> 00:22:48.180 and drink his blood, 00:22:48.780 --> 00:22:48.900 right? 00:22:48.940 --> 00:22:49.540 Jesus wasn't just 00:22:49.540 --> 00:22:50.080 teaching people 00:22:50.080 --> 00:22:51.080 to be nice. 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:52.200 He was saying stuff 00:22:52.200 --> 00:22:53.620 like I am the I am, 00:22:53.840 --> 00:22:54.620 the one who's always 00:22:54.620 --> 00:22:55.400 existed. 00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:56.300 I forgive sins. 00:22:56.420 --> 00:22:57.120 I'm gonna judge 00:22:57.120 --> 00:22:57.960 the world. 00:22:59.019 --> 00:23:00.360 To esteem Jesus 00:23:00.360 --> 00:23:01.700 as simply a nice teacher 00:23:01.700 --> 00:23:03.180 is to engage him 00:23:03.180 --> 00:23:03.700 with very, 00:23:03.820 --> 00:23:05.180 very selective hearing 00:23:05.180 --> 00:23:06.100 and not to take him 00:23:06.100 --> 00:23:07.360 in his entirety 00:23:07.360 --> 00:23:08.480 seriously. 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:09.080 And this is why 00:23:09.080 --> 00:23:09.960 C.S. Lewis said, 00:23:09.960 --> 00:23:10.980 a man who was merely 00:23:10.980 --> 00:23:11.600 a man 00:23:11.600 --> 00:23:13.500 and said the sort 00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:14.700 of things Jesus said 00:23:14.700 --> 00:23:15.940 would not be 00:23:15.940 --> 00:23:16.940 a great moral teacher. 00:23:17.079 --> 00:23:17.519 He would either 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:18.319 be a lunatic 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:19.340 or he would be 00:23:19.340 --> 00:23:20.340 the devil of hell. 00:23:21.100 --> 00:23:22.259 You must take your choice. 00:23:23.079 --> 00:23:23.900 Either this was 00:23:23.900 --> 00:23:25.160 and is the son of God 00:23:25.160 --> 00:23:26.319 or else a madman 00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:27.720 or something worse. 00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:28.980 You can shut him up 00:23:28.980 --> 00:23:29.539 for a fool 00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:30.220 or you can fall 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:30.779 at his feet 00:23:30.779 --> 00:23:31.700 and call him 00:23:31.700 --> 00:23:32.480 Lord and God. 00:23:32.539 --> 00:23:33.259 But let us not come 00:23:33.259 --> 00:23:34.259 with any patronizing 00:23:34.259 --> 00:23:34.819 nonsense 00:23:34.819 --> 00:23:35.920 about us being 00:23:35.920 --> 00:23:37.779 a great human teacher. 00:23:37.779 --> 00:23:40.359 So it cannot be said 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:41.879 that Jesus was simply 00:23:41.879 --> 00:23:42.500 a good teacher 00:23:42.500 --> 00:23:43.539 up there of Confucius 00:23:43.539 --> 00:23:44.319 and Buddha, 00:23:44.619 --> 00:23:45.279 Dr. King, 00:23:45.579 --> 00:23:46.160 Mother Teresa. 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:47.599 Buddha and Mother Teresa 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:48.680 would never have made 00:23:48.680 --> 00:23:50.019 such brazen claims. 00:23:51.619 --> 00:23:52.379 So then what? 00:23:52.460 --> 00:23:53.660 If not a mythical legend, 00:23:53.779 --> 00:23:55.500 if not a mere lecturer, 00:23:55.680 --> 00:23:56.299 is he a liar 00:23:56.299 --> 00:23:57.319 or a lunatic? 00:23:58.619 --> 00:23:59.680 Well if you think he is, 00:23:59.740 --> 00:24:00.319 I want to at least 00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:00.920 commend you 00:24:00.920 --> 00:24:02.079 for taking all 00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:02.940 of his words seriously 00:24:02.940 --> 00:24:04.019 and viewing him 00:24:04.019 --> 00:24:05.220 in his entirety. 00:24:05.379 --> 00:24:06.259 But then I would ask, 00:24:06.259 --> 00:24:08.559 are you really ready 00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:09.359 to call him 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:10.259 a liar 00:24:10.259 --> 00:24:11.460 or a lunatic? 00:24:12.379 --> 00:24:13.259 Are you really ready 00:24:13.259 --> 00:24:14.059 to reject him 00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:14.400 and put him 00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:15.319 on the crazy list 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:16.519 with Jim Jones 00:24:16.519 --> 00:24:17.740 and Charles Manson 00:24:17.740 --> 00:24:18.359 and all the other 00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:20.099 power hungry cult leaders 00:24:20.099 --> 00:24:20.779 who claimed 00:24:20.779 --> 00:24:22.299 to be God? 00:24:23.660 --> 00:24:24.460 Does it seem like 00:24:24.460 --> 00:24:25.019 he belongs 00:24:25.019 --> 00:24:25.779 on the same list? 00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:27.799 Have you studied 00:24:27.799 --> 00:24:28.420 his life, 00:24:28.599 --> 00:24:29.519 his character 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:30.640 and is that really 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:31.420 the most logical 00:24:31.420 --> 00:24:32.259 conclusion that you 00:24:32.259 --> 00:24:32.759 can come to 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:33.200 that he is 00:24:33.200 --> 00:24:34.619 just a nut job? 00:24:36.259 --> 00:24:38.279 Or do not resonate 00:24:38.279 --> 00:24:39.000 with or at least 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:39.460 find it hard 00:24:39.460 --> 00:24:40.339 to disagree 00:24:40.339 --> 00:24:41.180 that he is 00:24:41.180 --> 00:24:42.579 an incredible person? 00:24:43.819 --> 00:24:45.019 As one Presbyterian 00:24:45.019 --> 00:24:45.640 theologian wrote, 00:24:45.940 --> 00:24:46.559 no one has ever 00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:47.220 yet discovered 00:24:47.220 --> 00:24:48.059 the word Jesus 00:24:48.059 --> 00:24:49.059 ought to have said 00:24:49.059 --> 00:24:50.059 or the deed 00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:51.079 he ought to have done. 00:24:51.799 --> 00:24:52.440 Nothing he does 00:24:52.440 --> 00:24:53.019 falls short. 00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:53.460 In fact, 00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:54.539 he is always surprising 00:24:54.539 --> 00:24:55.259 you and taking 00:24:55.259 --> 00:24:56.379 your breath away 00:24:56.379 --> 00:24:56.960 because he is 00:24:56.960 --> 00:24:58.000 incomparably better 00:24:58.000 --> 00:24:58.980 than you could imagine. 00:24:59.740 --> 00:25:00.480 He is tenderness 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:01.359 without weakness, 00:25:01.980 --> 00:25:03.259 strength without harshness, 00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:04.259 humility without 00:25:04.259 --> 00:25:05.240 the slightest lack 00:25:05.240 --> 00:25:05.799 of confidence, 00:25:06.259 --> 00:25:06.960 holiness and 00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:07.920 unbending convictions 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:08.740 without the slightest 00:25:08.740 --> 00:25:10.160 lack of approachability, 00:25:10.539 --> 00:25:12.099 power without insensitivity, 00:25:12.460 --> 00:25:13.640 passion without prejudice. 00:25:13.879 --> 00:25:14.500 There is never 00:25:14.500 --> 00:25:15.279 a false step, 00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:16.720 never a jarring note. 00:25:17.019 --> 00:25:17.859 This is life 00:25:17.859 --> 00:25:18.960 at the highest 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:19.819 when we're looking 00:25:19.819 --> 00:25:20.619 at Jesus. 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:22.940 Like sure, 00:25:23.019 --> 00:25:23.559 when we consider 00:25:23.559 --> 00:25:24.940 Jesus' shocking 00:25:24.940 --> 00:25:26.220 divine claims, 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:26.460 right, 00:25:26.500 --> 00:25:27.299 it might sound 00:25:27.299 --> 00:25:28.000 like he's a liar 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:29.039 or he's a lunatic, 00:25:30.220 --> 00:25:30.740 but it's hard 00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:31.480 to make that call 00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:32.339 when we also consider 00:25:32.339 --> 00:25:33.000 his character. 00:25:35.079 --> 00:25:35.879 And we might not 00:25:35.879 --> 00:25:37.220 be ready to adore him 00:25:37.220 --> 00:25:38.720 in faith and honor 00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:40.000 as the self-attesting Lord, 00:25:40.140 --> 00:25:41.440 but doesn't it seem 00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:42.259 just as difficult 00:25:42.259 --> 00:25:43.440 to abhor him 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:45.319 in fear and hatred 00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:46.799 as the self-aggrandizing 00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:48.000 liar and lunatic? 00:25:49.339 --> 00:25:50.539 Even if we don't believe 00:25:50.539 --> 00:25:51.200 that he's God, 00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:52.640 even if we don't believe 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:53.559 he's sent from God 00:25:53.559 --> 00:25:54.099 or that he's 00:25:54.099 --> 00:25:55.220 the suffering servant 00:25:55.220 --> 00:25:56.359 and savior of the world 00:25:56.359 --> 00:25:57.240 who died on a cross 00:25:57.240 --> 00:25:58.379 to pay for the sins 00:25:58.379 --> 00:25:58.859 of the world, 00:25:58.960 --> 00:25:59.599 what's clear 00:25:59.599 --> 00:26:01.379 is that he believed 00:26:01.379 --> 00:26:02.720 this about himself. 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:04.480 And he consistently 00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:05.960 lived for that purpose 00:26:05.960 --> 00:26:07.339 and to that end. 00:26:07.400 --> 00:26:07.720 He said, 00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:09.740 I came not to be served, 00:26:10.059 --> 00:26:10.880 but to serve 00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:12.420 and to give my life 00:26:12.420 --> 00:26:13.920 as a ransom for many. 00:26:13.980 --> 00:26:14.220 He said, 00:26:14.279 --> 00:26:15.079 I am the good shepherd 00:26:15.079 --> 00:26:16.319 who lays my life down 00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:17.700 for my sheep. 00:26:18.600 --> 00:26:19.299 And then just as 00:26:19.299 --> 00:26:20.100 was prophesied 00:26:20.100 --> 00:26:20.900 by Isaiah, 00:26:21.220 --> 00:26:22.299 Isaiah chapter 53, 00:26:22.420 --> 00:26:22.819 verse 7, 00:26:22.900 --> 00:26:24.000 it's in our bulletin today, 00:26:24.100 --> 00:26:24.880 he was oppressed, 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:26.880 he was afflicted, 00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:28.100 yet opened not his mouth, 00:26:28.620 --> 00:26:29.360 like a lamb 00:26:29.360 --> 00:26:29.880 that is led 00:26:29.880 --> 00:26:30.480 to the slaughter, 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:31.799 and like a sheep 00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:32.860 that before its shearers 00:26:32.860 --> 00:26:33.400 is silent, 00:26:33.720 --> 00:26:34.880 so he opened 00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:36.420 not his mouth. 00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:38.860 Like whatever you believe 00:26:38.860 --> 00:26:40.200 about Jesus of Nazareth, 00:26:40.319 --> 00:26:41.579 this is incredible stuff 00:26:41.579 --> 00:26:42.460 that on the one hand 00:26:42.460 --> 00:26:43.279 he opens his mouth 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:44.400 to wildly claim 00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:45.339 that he's God 00:26:45.339 --> 00:26:46.500 and yet on the other hand, 00:26:47.660 --> 00:26:48.640 the moment he's about 00:26:48.640 --> 00:26:49.380 to be crucified, 00:26:50.539 --> 00:26:51.360 he sees himself 00:26:51.360 --> 00:26:52.400 as the suffering servant 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:52.920 of fulfillment 00:26:52.920 --> 00:26:53.500 of prophecy 00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:54.579 and he does not 00:26:54.579 --> 00:26:56.120 open his mouth 00:26:56.120 --> 00:26:57.700 in fulfillment 00:26:57.700 --> 00:26:59.019 of Isaiah's prophecy. 00:26:59.099 --> 00:26:59.940 He doesn't say a word, 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:01.799 but instead 00:27:01.799 --> 00:27:02.539 as both 00:27:02.539 --> 00:27:03.660 self-proclaimed 00:27:03.660 --> 00:27:05.640 God 00:27:05.640 --> 00:27:06.720 and suffering servant, 00:27:06.940 --> 00:27:08.240 he says in verse 4, 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:09.400 he bears our griefs, 00:27:09.720 --> 00:27:10.900 he carries our sorrows, 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:11.339 stricken, 00:27:11.559 --> 00:27:11.860 smitten, 00:27:12.200 --> 00:27:12.799 and afflicted 00:27:12.799 --> 00:27:14.019 in our place. 00:27:15.160 --> 00:27:15.539 Verse 5, 00:27:15.599 --> 00:27:16.180 he was pierced 00:27:16.180 --> 00:27:17.380 for our transgressions, 00:27:18.099 --> 00:27:18.420 crushed 00:27:18.420 --> 00:27:19.360 for our iniquities, 00:27:19.559 --> 00:27:19.860 wounded 00:27:19.860 --> 00:27:21.420 so we could be healed. 00:27:22.519 --> 00:27:23.120 Verse 6 says 00:27:23.120 --> 00:27:24.279 he bore our sins. 00:27:24.420 --> 00:27:24.799 Verse 8, 00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:26.360 that he was cut off 00:27:26.360 --> 00:27:27.180 from the land 00:27:27.180 --> 00:27:27.960 of the living. 00:27:29.360 --> 00:27:30.019 So now seriously, 00:27:30.019 --> 00:27:31.279 what kind of a man 00:27:31.279 --> 00:27:32.440 was this? 00:27:33.400 --> 00:27:34.160 What are we supposed 00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:35.079 to make of him? 00:27:36.460 --> 00:27:36.700 I mean, 00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:37.500 maybe after hearing 00:27:37.500 --> 00:27:38.839 of his taking on 00:27:38.839 --> 00:27:39.440 of this identity 00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:40.400 as a suffering servant, 00:27:40.639 --> 00:27:41.700 maybe now you are convinced 00:27:41.700 --> 00:27:42.460 that he was a lunatic 00:27:42.460 --> 00:27:43.539 because who would do this? 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:45.519 Who would do this? 00:27:46.279 --> 00:27:46.799 Who would claim 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:47.379 to be God 00:27:47.379 --> 00:27:49.180 and subject himself 00:27:49.180 --> 00:27:50.619 to such suffering? 00:27:51.319 --> 00:27:52.680 And if he was God, 00:27:53.240 --> 00:27:54.180 why would he silently 00:27:54.180 --> 00:27:55.000 allow himself 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:56.379 to be an innocent 00:27:56.379 --> 00:27:57.200 sufferer 00:27:57.200 --> 00:27:58.440 of such injustice 00:27:58.440 --> 00:28:00.039 and how could he even die? 00:28:02.019 --> 00:28:02.319 And like, 00:28:02.380 --> 00:28:02.880 maybe you're thinking 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:03.420 to yourself, 00:28:03.559 --> 00:28:03.660 well, 00:28:03.740 --> 00:28:04.380 if I were God, 00:28:04.440 --> 00:28:04.920 I would never 00:28:04.920 --> 00:28:05.960 let this happen. 00:28:07.080 --> 00:28:08.000 But what I want to say 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:08.620 to you this morning 00:28:08.620 --> 00:28:10.380 is maybe it's a good thing 00:28:10.380 --> 00:28:12.460 then that you're not God 00:28:12.460 --> 00:28:14.220 and that Jesus is. 00:28:16.319 --> 00:28:17.519 What if the lunacy 00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:18.140 of Jesus 00:28:18.140 --> 00:28:19.220 as both God 00:28:19.220 --> 00:28:20.600 and suffering servant 00:28:20.600 --> 00:28:21.559 is not evidence 00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:23.460 against his mighty lordship, 00:28:23.460 --> 00:28:24.079 but evidence 00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:27.059 for his merciful lordship? 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:29.480 Not evidence 00:28:29.480 --> 00:28:31.319 against his forceful divinity, 00:28:31.519 --> 00:28:32.059 but evidence 00:28:32.059 --> 00:28:34.740 for his forgiving divinity. 00:28:36.180 --> 00:28:37.259 What if Jesus came 00:28:37.259 --> 00:28:37.759 to defy 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:39.259 our very notions of God, 00:28:39.340 --> 00:28:39.960 notions of God 00:28:39.960 --> 00:28:40.500 that we've made 00:28:40.500 --> 00:28:42.079 after our own images? 00:28:43.460 --> 00:28:44.559 As one Christian 00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:45.480 origin scholar, 00:28:45.880 --> 00:28:46.319 he writes, 00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:47.720 humanity wants 00:28:47.720 --> 00:28:48.740 and sometimes creates 00:28:48.740 --> 00:28:50.259 gods in its own image. 00:28:50.900 --> 00:28:51.579 Gods who serve 00:28:51.579 --> 00:28:52.160 the interests 00:28:52.160 --> 00:28:53.000 of the elites, 00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:54.420 gods who rule by power, 00:28:54.700 --> 00:28:55.759 but not gods who love, 00:28:56.079 --> 00:28:56.599 and especially 00:28:56.599 --> 00:28:57.940 who love the poor 00:28:57.940 --> 00:28:58.920 and the powerless. 00:29:00.039 --> 00:29:00.779 But the God 00:29:00.779 --> 00:29:01.880 of the early Christians 00:29:01.880 --> 00:29:02.759 did not follow 00:29:02.759 --> 00:29:03.579 that script 00:29:03.579 --> 00:29:05.059 because they believed 00:29:05.059 --> 00:29:06.180 God revealed himself 00:29:06.180 --> 00:29:07.160 as Jesus Christ, 00:29:07.259 --> 00:29:08.279 not as a wise man 00:29:08.279 --> 00:29:08.920 like Socrates, 00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:10.299 not as a strong man 00:29:10.299 --> 00:29:11.140 like Hercules, 00:29:11.299 --> 00:29:12.460 not as a powerful man 00:29:12.460 --> 00:29:13.099 like Augustus, 00:29:13.299 --> 00:29:14.799 not as a military commander 00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:16.039 like Alexander the Great. 00:29:16.440 --> 00:29:16.759 Instead, 00:29:16.940 --> 00:29:17.539 Jesus appeared 00:29:17.539 --> 00:29:18.420 to be a humble, 00:29:19.019 --> 00:29:19.380 foolish, 00:29:19.859 --> 00:29:20.460 weak man 00:29:20.460 --> 00:29:21.619 who was born 00:29:21.619 --> 00:29:22.299 in a stable 00:29:22.299 --> 00:29:23.720 and who suffered 00:29:23.720 --> 00:29:24.799 on a cross. 00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:27.279 Like, get this. 00:29:27.559 --> 00:29:28.579 What if Paul is right 00:29:28.579 --> 00:29:29.000 in his letter 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:29.500 to the Corinthians 00:29:29.500 --> 00:29:30.680 that we read earlier? 00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:31.899 What if it's precisely 00:29:31.899 --> 00:29:32.720 the folly 00:29:32.720 --> 00:29:34.519 and the foolishness 00:29:34.519 --> 00:29:36.119 of the cross of Christ 00:29:36.119 --> 00:29:36.879 that's actually 00:29:36.879 --> 00:29:38.220 the power of God 00:29:38.220 --> 00:29:40.180 on foolish display? 00:29:41.519 --> 00:29:41.839 Because see, 00:29:41.899 --> 00:29:42.399 this is actually 00:29:42.399 --> 00:29:43.259 what faithful Christians 00:29:43.259 --> 00:29:44.579 have always believed 00:29:44.579 --> 00:29:45.339 and celebrated 00:29:45.339 --> 00:29:46.599 about God. 00:29:46.680 --> 00:29:47.259 This paradox, 00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:48.079 this mystery, 00:29:48.379 --> 00:29:48.819 this God 00:29:48.819 --> 00:29:49.859 who has not only held 00:29:49.859 --> 00:29:51.399 the oceans in his hands 00:29:51.399 --> 00:29:51.859 and numbered 00:29:51.859 --> 00:29:52.959 every grain of sand, 00:29:53.019 --> 00:29:53.579 but a God 00:29:53.579 --> 00:29:54.859 who has also felt 00:29:54.859 --> 00:29:57.299 nails upon his hands 00:29:57.299 --> 00:29:59.439 and who bears 00:29:59.439 --> 00:30:00.039 the guilt 00:30:00.039 --> 00:30:01.599 of sinful man. 00:30:02.679 --> 00:30:03.740 A holy God, 00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:05.439 set apart, 00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:06.299 holy, unique, 00:30:06.419 --> 00:30:07.219 unlike any other, 00:30:07.319 --> 00:30:07.899 so holy 00:30:07.899 --> 00:30:08.859 in his righteousness 00:30:08.859 --> 00:30:09.859 that he had to die 00:30:09.859 --> 00:30:10.899 for the heinous sins 00:30:10.899 --> 00:30:11.399 of the world 00:30:11.399 --> 00:30:12.559 and at the same time 00:30:12.559 --> 00:30:14.079 so holy in his love 00:30:14.079 --> 00:30:15.099 that he was glad 00:30:15.099 --> 00:30:15.659 to die 00:30:15.659 --> 00:30:16.879 for the heinous 00:30:16.879 --> 00:30:17.539 sinners 00:30:17.539 --> 00:30:18.839 of the world. 00:30:20.079 --> 00:30:20.960 And my question is, 00:30:21.019 --> 00:30:21.859 don't you at least 00:30:21.859 --> 00:30:23.039 want this to be true? 00:30:24.359 --> 00:30:25.220 And if so, 00:30:25.299 --> 00:30:25.759 might it be 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:26.700 that it is precisely 00:30:26.700 --> 00:30:28.119 the unbelievability 00:30:28.119 --> 00:30:29.440 of Jesus as God 00:30:29.440 --> 00:30:31.579 that makes it so believable 00:30:31.579 --> 00:30:32.839 after all? 00:30:34.200 --> 00:30:35.420 Might the second century 00:30:35.420 --> 00:30:36.440 African theologian 00:30:36.440 --> 00:30:36.980 Tertullian, 00:30:37.339 --> 00:30:38.079 might he have been 00:30:38.079 --> 00:30:38.879 on to something 00:30:38.879 --> 00:30:39.480 when he wrote, 00:30:39.480 --> 00:30:41.139 the Son of God died, 00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:42.180 absurd, 00:30:42.980 --> 00:30:43.599 and therefore 00:30:43.599 --> 00:30:44.599 utterly credible. 00:30:45.720 --> 00:30:46.559 He was buried 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:47.399 and rose again, 00:30:47.799 --> 00:30:48.299 impossible, 00:30:49.339 --> 00:30:50.119 and therefore 00:30:50.119 --> 00:30:51.240 a fact. 00:30:52.759 --> 00:30:53.039 Now, 00:30:53.119 --> 00:30:53.819 I want to admit 00:30:53.819 --> 00:30:54.440 that none of this, 00:30:54.639 --> 00:30:54.879 again, 00:30:54.980 --> 00:30:55.619 none of this proves 00:30:55.619 --> 00:30:56.279 beyond a shadow 00:30:56.279 --> 00:30:57.119 of a doubt 00:30:57.119 --> 00:30:57.960 that Jesus is Lord, 00:30:58.259 --> 00:30:59.339 that Jesus is the God 00:30:59.339 --> 00:30:59.879 of the universe. 00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:01.839 But my question 00:31:01.839 --> 00:31:02.839 for all of us is, 00:31:03.159 --> 00:31:04.500 what's our better story 00:31:04.500 --> 00:31:05.440 of the world? 00:31:06.379 --> 00:31:07.119 What's your 00:31:07.119 --> 00:31:08.420 more intellectually 00:31:08.420 --> 00:31:09.200 credible 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:10.539 and more 00:31:10.539 --> 00:31:11.519 existentially 00:31:11.519 --> 00:31:12.799 satisfying story? 00:31:13.859 --> 00:31:14.819 How else 00:31:14.819 --> 00:31:15.559 shall we account 00:31:15.559 --> 00:31:16.419 for the data 00:31:16.419 --> 00:31:17.220 concerning 00:31:17.220 --> 00:31:19.139 Jesus of Nazareth? 00:31:19.980 --> 00:31:20.859 How shall we account 00:31:20.859 --> 00:31:21.700 for the empty tomb 00:31:21.700 --> 00:31:23.339 and the eyewitness accounts? 00:31:23.419 --> 00:31:23.980 How do you account 00:31:23.980 --> 00:31:24.700 for the impact 00:31:24.700 --> 00:31:25.919 that he and his followers 00:31:25.919 --> 00:31:27.299 have had on world history 00:31:27.299 --> 00:31:28.720 such that we are sitting here 00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:29.879 2,000 years later 00:31:29.879 --> 00:31:31.099 and we're still celebrating 00:31:31.099 --> 00:31:31.960 the same virtues 00:31:31.960 --> 00:31:32.799 that came 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:34.619 from his beautiful life, 00:31:34.839 --> 00:31:35.879 the virtues of humility 00:31:35.879 --> 00:31:36.599 and service 00:31:36.599 --> 00:31:37.700 and unselfish, 00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:39.119 sacrificial love 00:31:39.119 --> 00:31:40.000 that Paul commended 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:41.220 2,000 years ago? 00:31:41.619 --> 00:31:42.440 Look with me at our text 00:31:42.440 --> 00:31:43.500 in Philippians chapter 2. 00:31:44.200 --> 00:31:44.680 Paul's saying, 00:31:44.900 --> 00:31:46.240 do nothing from selfish ambition 00:31:46.240 --> 00:31:47.080 and we say amen, 00:31:47.240 --> 00:31:47.759 all of us, 00:31:47.779 --> 00:31:48.720 if you're Christian or not. 00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:50.559 Do nothing from selfish ambition 00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:51.279 or conceit, 00:31:51.840 --> 00:31:52.620 but in humility 00:31:52.620 --> 00:31:53.299 count others 00:31:53.299 --> 00:31:54.240 more significant 00:31:54.240 --> 00:31:55.220 than yourselves. 00:31:56.299 --> 00:31:56.980 Let each of you 00:31:56.980 --> 00:31:57.660 look not only 00:31:57.660 --> 00:31:58.620 to his own interests 00:31:58.620 --> 00:32:00.000 but also to the interests 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:00.660 of others. 00:32:01.279 --> 00:32:02.039 Have this mind 00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:02.799 among yourselves 00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:03.759 which is yours 00:32:03.759 --> 00:32:04.660 in Christ Jesus 00:32:04.660 --> 00:32:05.400 who though he was 00:32:05.400 --> 00:32:06.299 in the form God 00:32:06.299 --> 00:32:07.420 emptied himself 00:32:07.420 --> 00:32:08.920 by taking the form 00:32:08.920 --> 00:32:09.559 of a servant, 00:32:10.200 --> 00:32:10.980 becoming obedient 00:32:10.980 --> 00:32:12.059 to the point of death 00:32:12.059 --> 00:32:12.960 on a cross. 00:32:13.559 --> 00:32:14.140 Therefore God 00:32:14.140 --> 00:32:15.440 has highly exalted him. 00:32:15.460 --> 00:32:16.539 Do you see that humility, 00:32:17.339 --> 00:32:17.860 servanthood, 00:32:18.220 --> 00:32:18.620 selfless, 00:32:18.759 --> 00:32:19.620 sacrificial love 00:32:19.620 --> 00:32:21.059 commended as virtues 00:32:21.059 --> 00:32:22.980 because they are grounded 00:32:22.980 --> 00:32:24.660 in the reality 00:32:24.660 --> 00:32:26.140 of a crucified 00:32:26.140 --> 00:32:28.200 and risen God? 00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:31.299 Like what genius, 00:32:31.940 --> 00:32:32.620 what genius 00:32:32.620 --> 00:32:33.240 could have made 00:32:33.240 --> 00:32:33.819 this world 00:32:33.819 --> 00:32:35.559 transforming story up? 00:32:36.539 --> 00:32:37.460 Either we believe 00:32:37.460 --> 00:32:38.299 that some fisherman, 00:32:38.539 --> 00:32:39.240 a tax collector 00:32:39.240 --> 00:32:40.740 and a former Pharisee 00:32:40.740 --> 00:32:41.660 invented a legend 00:32:41.660 --> 00:32:42.700 about a crucified God 00:32:42.700 --> 00:32:43.180 that stretched 00:32:43.180 --> 00:32:44.079 into every atom 00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:45.019 of our culture 00:32:45.019 --> 00:32:47.140 or we believe 00:32:47.140 --> 00:32:47.980 that Jesus is God 00:32:47.980 --> 00:32:48.620 in the flesh, 00:32:49.279 --> 00:32:50.079 crucified and risen 00:32:50.079 --> 00:32:51.079 2,000 years ago 00:32:51.079 --> 00:32:51.900 and the world 00:32:51.900 --> 00:32:53.359 could never be the same. 00:32:55.839 --> 00:32:56.200 You know, 00:32:56.259 --> 00:32:56.940 there's this historian, 00:32:57.400 --> 00:32:58.460 his name is Tom Holland, 00:32:58.599 --> 00:32:59.400 he's not Spider-Man 00:32:59.400 --> 00:33:00.880 and he wrote 00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:01.839 this incredible book. 00:33:01.980 --> 00:33:02.940 A few of us read it 00:33:02.940 --> 00:33:03.880 a couple years ago, 00:33:03.960 --> 00:33:04.819 it's called Dominion, 00:33:05.279 --> 00:33:06.579 How the Christian Revolution 00:33:06.579 --> 00:33:07.539 Remade the World. 00:33:07.539 --> 00:33:09.259 And if you ask him, 00:33:09.299 --> 00:33:09.659 he'll tell you 00:33:09.659 --> 00:33:10.799 that he's not a Christian 00:33:10.799 --> 00:33:12.940 but also that he is 00:33:12.940 --> 00:33:13.759 at the same time 00:33:13.759 --> 00:33:14.980 thoroughly Christian. 00:33:15.839 --> 00:33:16.779 And what he means by that 00:33:16.779 --> 00:33:18.339 is he doesn't worship Jesus, 00:33:18.859 --> 00:33:19.619 he doesn't pray, 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:20.960 he doesn't go to church, 00:33:21.579 --> 00:33:22.599 but he most definitely 00:33:22.599 --> 00:33:23.659 understands himself 00:33:23.659 --> 00:33:25.259 in all of Western culture 00:33:25.259 --> 00:33:26.359 as a product 00:33:26.359 --> 00:33:27.460 of the movement 00:33:27.460 --> 00:33:29.700 that Jesus Christ sparked. 00:33:30.460 --> 00:33:30.639 You know, 00:33:30.700 --> 00:33:31.379 this is in line 00:33:31.379 --> 00:33:32.399 with a growing body 00:33:32.399 --> 00:33:32.920 of literature 00:33:32.920 --> 00:33:34.299 testifying to the 00:33:34.299 --> 00:33:35.819 undeniable impact 00:33:35.819 --> 00:33:36.579 of Christianity 00:33:36.579 --> 00:33:38.099 even on our secular 00:33:38.099 --> 00:33:39.359 modern Western culture. 00:33:40.819 --> 00:33:41.179 And so, you know, 00:33:41.259 --> 00:33:42.019 in an interview, 00:33:42.399 --> 00:33:42.839 Tom Holland, 00:33:42.919 --> 00:33:43.500 he says that, 00:33:43.539 --> 00:33:43.659 you know, 00:33:43.679 --> 00:33:44.220 as a boy 00:33:44.220 --> 00:33:46.000 and as a young historian, 00:33:46.099 --> 00:33:47.139 he was always fascinated 00:33:47.139 --> 00:33:47.720 with, like, 00:33:47.859 --> 00:33:48.700 the strong men 00:33:48.700 --> 00:33:49.919 of the ancient world. 00:33:50.099 --> 00:33:50.619 The Egyptians, 00:33:50.960 --> 00:33:51.659 the Assyrians, 00:33:51.779 --> 00:33:52.319 the Babylonians, 00:33:52.379 --> 00:33:52.859 the Spartans, 00:33:52.939 --> 00:33:53.639 like, he calls them 00:33:53.639 --> 00:33:54.700 the big T-Rexes 00:33:54.700 --> 00:33:55.519 of the ancient world. 00:33:55.579 --> 00:33:56.179 The empires 00:33:56.179 --> 00:33:57.619 that our history books 00:33:57.619 --> 00:33:59.939 feature and highlight, 00:34:00.179 --> 00:34:00.419 right? 00:34:01.340 --> 00:34:02.400 And he says he found, 00:34:02.480 --> 00:34:02.640 you know, 00:34:02.680 --> 00:34:03.360 the little lambs, 00:34:03.400 --> 00:34:04.320 like the nation of Israel, 00:34:04.440 --> 00:34:05.259 to be unimpressive 00:34:05.259 --> 00:34:06.740 and actually quite boring. 00:34:08.180 --> 00:34:09.420 But in his studies, 00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:10.920 he says he's begun 00:34:10.920 --> 00:34:12.059 to be horrified. 00:34:12.240 --> 00:34:13.119 He began to be horrified 00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:14.780 by how mercilessly 00:34:14.780 --> 00:34:17.599 these strong man empires 00:34:17.599 --> 00:34:18.760 treated the weak. 00:34:20.059 --> 00:34:20.599 And so he began 00:34:20.599 --> 00:34:21.300 to ask himself, 00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:22.460 why am I horrified 00:34:22.460 --> 00:34:22.920 at, like, 00:34:22.960 --> 00:34:23.740 the Spartans 00:34:23.740 --> 00:34:24.800 throwing babies 00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:25.380 who didn't meet 00:34:25.380 --> 00:34:26.000 their standards 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:27.119 down the ravine? 00:34:28.099 --> 00:34:29.139 And why am I glad 00:34:29.139 --> 00:34:29.980 to live in a time 00:34:29.980 --> 00:34:31.599 and in a society 00:34:31.599 --> 00:34:32.500 where we put babies 00:34:32.500 --> 00:34:33.319 on life support? 00:34:34.440 --> 00:34:35.420 Why do I value 00:34:35.420 --> 00:34:36.019 compassion, 00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:36.880 service, 00:34:37.139 --> 00:34:37.880 and sacrifice? 00:34:38.819 --> 00:34:40.019 Why can't I follow Nietzsche 00:34:40.019 --> 00:34:40.699 in casting off 00:34:40.699 --> 00:34:41.940 all moral absolutes 00:34:41.940 --> 00:34:43.099 and viewing life 00:34:43.099 --> 00:34:43.779 as all about 00:34:43.779 --> 00:34:45.059 self-interested power 00:34:45.059 --> 00:34:45.599 and control 00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:46.859 rather than selfless love? 00:34:48.259 --> 00:34:49.339 Well, although he isn't 00:34:49.339 --> 00:34:50.079 yet a churchgoer, 00:34:50.299 --> 00:34:51.279 he's not a man of prayer, 00:34:52.119 --> 00:34:52.980 what he ultimately 00:34:52.980 --> 00:34:53.839 ascribes this to 00:34:53.839 --> 00:34:54.679 at the end of the day 00:34:54.679 --> 00:34:55.460 is what he considers 00:34:55.460 --> 00:34:56.299 the heart 00:34:56.300 --> 00:34:58.160 of the Christian revolution. 00:34:59.100 --> 00:34:59.420 Quote, 00:35:00.060 --> 00:35:01.240 the image of God 00:35:01.240 --> 00:35:02.820 dead on a cross, 00:35:04.019 --> 00:35:05.940 a twisted and defeated corpse 00:35:05.940 --> 00:35:07.340 that's found to be 00:35:07.340 --> 00:35:07.880 the glory 00:35:07.880 --> 00:35:09.039 of the creator 00:35:09.039 --> 00:35:10.300 of the universe. 00:35:12.700 --> 00:35:13.940 This is why I believe 00:35:13.940 --> 00:35:14.980 that Jesus is God. 00:35:16.019 --> 00:35:17.320 There is no other story 00:35:17.320 --> 00:35:17.860 like it. 00:35:18.480 --> 00:35:19.500 It's so unbelievable 00:35:19.500 --> 00:35:20.880 that I have to believe it. 00:35:23.480 --> 00:35:24.500 So the question is, 00:35:24.560 --> 00:35:25.260 what will we believe? 00:35:26.300 --> 00:35:27.980 Is Jesus crucified 00:35:27.980 --> 00:35:28.360 and risen? 00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:29.820 Is he really God? 00:35:30.960 --> 00:35:31.280 Well, again, 00:35:31.320 --> 00:35:32.400 I can't think of any 00:35:32.400 --> 00:35:34.140 better news for the world, 00:35:35.200 --> 00:35:36.060 news that's both 00:35:36.060 --> 00:35:37.620 intellectually credible 00:35:37.620 --> 00:35:40.640 and existentially satisfying. 00:35:41.640 --> 00:35:42.360 And my prayer 00:35:42.360 --> 00:35:43.720 is that this church 00:35:43.720 --> 00:35:44.360 would believe that 00:35:44.360 --> 00:35:45.240 with all their hearts, 00:35:45.840 --> 00:35:46.660 that those outside 00:35:46.660 --> 00:35:47.260 these walls 00:35:47.260 --> 00:35:47.940 would believe 00:35:47.940 --> 00:35:48.820 that Jesus 00:35:48.820 --> 00:35:50.260 is this kind of a God, 00:35:50.340 --> 00:35:50.860 that God 00:35:50.860 --> 00:35:52.140 is this kind of a God, 00:35:53.200 --> 00:35:54.019 crucified and risen 00:35:54.019 --> 00:35:54.639 and for us 00:35:54.639 --> 00:35:55.659 in Christ. 00:35:55.759 --> 00:35:56.480 This is the gospel. 00:35:57.159 --> 00:35:57.840 Will you pray with me? 00:36:05.900 --> 00:36:07.119 Lord, if we are not amazed 00:36:07.119 --> 00:36:07.860 at the kind of God 00:36:07.860 --> 00:36:08.259 you are 00:36:08.259 --> 00:36:09.320 as revealed to us 00:36:09.320 --> 00:36:10.440 in the crucified 00:36:10.440 --> 00:36:11.219 and risen Christ, 00:36:11.300 --> 00:36:12.380 would you make us amazed? 00:36:13.099 --> 00:36:14.300 And would you open our eyes? 00:36:15.860 --> 00:36:16.599 Help us to see, 00:36:16.679 --> 00:36:17.079 I pray. 00:36:17.079 --> 00:36:18.980 in Jesus' name, 00:36:19.579 --> 00:36:19.799 amen.