Who do you say I am?
What do you think about the Christ, the Messiah?
Whose son is he?
These are questions that Jesus put to his disciples,
his followers, and people that came to question
and challenge him in Matthew.
Do you have an answer ready for this kind of questions?
Just don't let my phone echo.
So, what do you think?
When we were on a college mission back in 2018,
we were asked to finish an unfinished sentence,
Jesus is,
and be ready to share with people that we met.
So, someone wrote in and said that Jesus is worth checking out.
And others say Jesus is hard to believe.
One person wrote in and said Jesus is blue cheese.
He said,
In 2015, a survey of most hated foods in the UK
found that over one-third of people hated blue cheese.
It was a seventh on the list.
Generally, cheese is loved,
just not that variety.
I don't think people would mind that others like blue cheese
as long as the smell doesn't affect me.
How is Jesus like blue cheese?
If Christians want to believe in Jesus,
then fine,
but it's not for me.
And I don't want them to leave me or talk about him.
2017 research showed that 68% of Australians
follow a religion or have spiritual beliefs,
and 45% identify with Christianity.
The biggest changes in that survey is
one-third of people don't identify themselves with any religion.
People are still talking, though.
Just over half of people reported
having religious conversations with friends
often or on occasion.
Perhaps talking about the meaning of life
with people you trust smell less.
Today, my hope and wish
are to help you come to an answer
for those Jesus questions
and to show you who is this Jesus
that we believe in.
If you do not know Jesus,
I hope this introduction
will whet your appetite towards him.
If you are a follower,
I hope you will be more equipped and ready
to fill in the blank of Jesus is.
As Apostle Peter told us in 1 Peter 3.15,
always be prepared to give an answer
to everyone who asks you
to give the reason for the hope that you have.
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone
who asks you to give the reason
for the hope that you have.
We are spending time studying
and investigating the Apostle Creek
because it is a very good starting point for us
to find an answer for who Jesus is.
The Apostle Creek points us to the Trinity
and how they are three persons and one God.
And its structure places a lot of emphasis
on the second person of the Trinity, Jesus.
Because Christians are defined by one primary mark,
we believe in,
and are disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And it's not enough for any Christian
to simply say,
I love Jesus, I follow Jesus.
Many who say they love Jesus and follow Jesus
do not follow Jesus as he has revealed himself
in Scripture.
They are following an image
that is not the superior image of Jesus
that we feel in the Bible.
We read before in Hebrews 1, 34,
the Son is a radiance of God's glory
and the exact representation of his being,
sustaining all things by his powerful words.
He became as much superior to the angels
as the name he has inherited is superior to this.
If you do a search on Google,
these are the image of Jesus that you will see.
And if you are in China,
going to a government-sanctioned church,
you will be introduced to Jesus
that looks like this.
A Chinaman.
And most scholars will refer to an image
as this one.
As the most accurate Jesus,
taking into account the common features
of the first century Middle Eastern men.
If picture is worth a thousand words,
which image of Jesus should we think of
when we consider who Jesus is?
Shall we worry and be concerned
that Jesus has been presented
as certain ethnicity?
Is it really evil to present a Jesus
that appeased Chinese to the Chinese people
as people of color
accused European and Americans
of distorting the truth of Jesus
by presenting a Jesus of light-colored skin?
As we confess that we believe in Jesus Christ,
God's only Son, our Lord,
according to the Apostle Creek,
we are calling,
we are being called to consider Jesus' true identity
and his mission
as they are revealed in Scripture,
beyond any image we can come up with
with our limited mind.
As I have read out from,
as we have read out from 1 Hebrews 1, 4,
it says,
Jesus became
as much superior to the angels
as the name he has inherited
is superior to theirs.
So what is the name that Jesus has inherited?
We have the first name Jesus,
which is Greek for
Josiah means God is Savior.
But what about Jesus' last name?
Have you ever thought about Jesus' last name?
Is it Christ?
Christ is not a surname.
It's a title.
It's the Greek word for Messiah,
meaning the unhaunted one of God.
So, Jesus Christ is not merely a name.
It is a theological preposition.
By saying Jesus Christ,
we have made a profoundly theological statement.
We are declaring Jesus
is the atonement of God,
the Savior.
It is a claim that
all the promises given to Israel
regarding all human beings
are fulfilled in this one incarnate man,
Jesus Christ.
God saved us by this specific person,
Jesus,
who is also God himself,
because
in Hebrews,
it says,
Jesus sustains
all things
by his powerful words.
When you say Jesus Christ,
even when you are using it
in a cursing,
non-Christian way,
you are proposing a truth
that Jesus is the Christ,
the Savior of sinners,
the sustainer of all things.
when Christians declare
we believe in Jesus Christ,
we are declaring that
we do not believe in a Christ
of our own imagination,
but in a Christ of Scripture.
We are declaring that
we believe in the Christ,
the Messiah,
the Atonement Savior,
they are believed in
and declared by
every generation of true Christians.
If you are a Christian,
it says true of you
when you make that declaration.
At this point,
if you are non-Christian,
you might say,
this is exactly
why I don't want
to be a Christian.
This is why I think
I don't need to be a Christian,
because I'm okay.
I'm looking after myself
and my family well.
I don't need a Savior.
And in fact,
I'm doing something actively
to save this planet
and humankind.
All this talk about
needing a Savior's own name,
and I will think about religion
when I need a question.
I want to congratulate you
on your success in life.
It's not easy,
even now a day,
to achieve stability in life.
And you are willing
to make sacrifice
to not just look after
your immediate family,
but the wider community.
But at the same time,
I would like to ask you
to think again
about your need for Jesus.
Of course,
being saved
does not necessarily mean
all your life's trouble
and problems
will go away.
But also,
being successful in life
also does not mean
you don't need to be saved.
If you're honest to yourself,
or if we are honest to ourselves,
we will admit that
there's a lot of things
and issues
beyond our control.
things like greed,
jealousy,
unforgiving,
injustice,
and cruelty.
Those are things
that Christians call sins.
They are beyond
our ability to deal with.
We need to be saved
from sin,
and salvation
is found in no one else.
For there is no other name
under heaven
given to mankind
by which we must be saved.
We read in Hebrew
that Jesus' name
is much superior
to the angels.
Our understanding
of who Christ is
defined
how we live our life.
Living in the certainty
and assurance of Christ
as our savior
and sustainer
is so much different
to living in the uncertainty
and fear
of Christ
as our judge.
When we say
we believe in Jesus Christ,
we are making
a theological statement
that Jesus
is the only means
of our salvation,
and there is no other name
under heaven
given to mankind
by which we must be saved.
Jesus is our only salvation
because he is
God's only son,
and that is what
Christians cherish
and treasure.
we have a God
that came to us
and become part
of what he has created
so to free us
from our sins,
from the troubles
we have caused
to ourselves.
Jesus is God's only son,
means
God the son,
Jesus,
and God the father
are both God
and of the same being.
at Nicene Creed,
which was written
after Apostle Creed
to give further explanation.
It says,
Jesus is the only son of God,
eternally begotten
of the father,
God from God,
light from light,
true God
from true God,
begotten not made
of one being
with the father.
Through him
all things were made.
Jesus and God the father
made this world together.
He is begotten
not made,
which means
he is not part of
but superior to
the creation.
Being outside
of the fallen creation
was what enabled him
to purify
this fallen world
that we live in.
He did it
by becoming
one of us
to restore
mankind's rebellion,
to a perfect obedience.
Hebrews chapter 2
from 2nd verse 9
tells us that
Jesus,
who was made lower
than the angels
for a little while,
now crowned
with glory
and honor
because he suffered death
so that by the grace
of God
he may taste death
for everyone.
In bringing
many sons and daughters
to glory,
it was fitting
that God
for whom
and through whom
everything exists
shall make
the pioneer
of their salvation
perfect
through what he suffered.
Both the one
who makes people
holy
and those
who are made holy
are of the same family
so that Jesus
is not ashamed
to call them
brothers and sisters.
Spurgeon once said
when we think
of Jesus
we can say
that we have
a brother
in heaven.
I may be poor
but I have a brother
who is rich
and is a king.
Will he permit me
to be in need
when he is
on his throne?
Oh no!
He loves me.
He is my brother.
Jesus is the only
son of God
and only through him
we become
sons and daughters
of God.
He is the only
son of God
in the sense
that he is the only
one person
in the whole world
past,
present and future
capable
to fully obey
what God
the Father
commanded
and stipulated
for his children.
He is the only
one
that can
please the
Father
perfectly
because
he has always
been
in that perfect
loving
glorifying
honoring
relationship
within the
trinity
between the
Father
the Son
and the Holy
Spirit.
Hebrews
chapter 2
further explains
in verse 14
16
since the
children
have flesh
and blood
he too
shared
in the
humanity
so that
by his
death
he might
break
the power
of him
who holds
the power
of death
that is
the devil
and free
those
who all
their lives
were held
in slavery
by the
fear of death
for this
reason
he had
to be
made
like them
fully
human
in every
way
in order
that he
might
become
a merciful
and faithful
high priest
in service
to God
and that
he might
make
atonement
for the
sins
of the
people
because
he himself
suffered
when he
was tempted
he is able
to help
those who
are being
tempted
it's
important
for Jesus
to be
100%
human
to be
born of
Mary
so that
he can
offer
himself
as a
substitute
for our
disobedience
and take
on the
punishment
we
deserve
in
verse 15
he further
explained
for we
do not
have a
high priest
who is
unable
to
emphasize
without
weaknesses
but we
have one
who has
been
tempted
in every
way
just as
we are
yet
did not
sin
we have
one
that is
able to
emphasize
empathize
with us
with our
witnesses
he's
tempted
in every
way
just as
we are
but he
did not
sin
whatever
sin
you have
committed
with that
heavy guilt
that is
burdening your
heart
Jesus
can
empathize
with you
he knows
how hard
you try
to resist
and know
you have
failed
due to
your
weaknesses
but most
importantly
he's now
speaking
to our
father
in heaven
on our
behalf
to defend
for us
for you
and for
me
Jesus
is the
only
person
lived
on
this
earth
that
is
never
seen
and
therefore
he's
the
only
perfect
sacrifice
that is
without
blemish
that can
fully
appease
God
perfectly
paid
the price
required
for the
reconciliation
between
us
the
offender
and
God
the
offender
living
in
metropolitan
city
in
2020
we
may
not
be
very
familiar
with
the
idea
of
having
a
high
priest
acting
on
our
behalf
you
would
like
to
understand
more
about
the
idea
of
high
priest
in
the
book
of
Hebrew
if you
read
on
from
chapter
5
7
and
10
we
actually
have
a
lot
more
details
in
there
but
even
though
you
may
not
be
familiar
about
the
sacrificial
system
that
this
passage
is
referred
to
have
you
ever
heard
the
saying
of
someone
being
made
a
scapegoat
someone
taking
the
blame
for
the
misdeeds
of
others
being
made
a
scapegoat
is
often
an
involuntary
act
done
by
some
evil
boss
or
superior
someone
who
has
no
regard
towards
justice
or
fairness
and
only
concerned
about
protecting
their
own
interests
or
cover
up
their
own
incompetence
is the
opposite
here
God
the
offender
offered
himself
as a
sacrificial
lamb
going
out of
his way
to
defense
us
the
offender
offering
himself
to pay
for the
punishment
that is
due
it was
done
because
we have
a
Lord
that is
different
to any
boss
we can
find
in this
world
it was
through
the
obedience
of
God
the
Son
to
God
the
Father
that
we
creatures
are
reconciled
to
our
creator
such
a
profound
teaching
that
God
is
willing
to
obey
and
submit
to
God
to
God
Apostle
Paul
explained
it
sustaining
in
Philippians
2
verse
5
to
8
a
passage
that
we
often
read
out
here
in
St.
Paul
but
today
I
would
like
us
to
read
it
slowly
to
really
think
about
what
it
is
saying
about
Jesus
who
being
in
very
nature
God
did
not
consider
equality
with
God
something
to
be
used
to
his
own
advantage
rather
he
made
himself
nothing
by
taking
the
very
nature
of
a
servant
being
made
in
human
likeness
and
being
found
in
appearance
as
a
man
he
humbled
himself
by
becoming
obedient
to
death
even
death
on
a
cross
being
in
very
nature
God
made
himself
nothing
by
taking
the
very
nature
of
human
humble
himself
by
becoming
obedient
to
death
even
death
on
a
cross
this
is
a
Jesus
that
we
believe
in
we
have
looked
into
Jesus
as
a
Christ
and
Jesus
the
God's
only
son
and
the
final
part
of
what
I
want
to
look
into
today
with
you
is
Jesus
is
our
Lord
once
again
in
modern
day
Australia
the concept
of having
a
Lord
over
us
seems
out
of
place
or
outdated
who
would
you
consider
as
your
Lord
and
what
feeling
do
you
have
towards
this
Lord
of
yours
who
comes
to
your
mind
as
your
Lord
anyone
like to
share
their
thought
at
this
moment
I
am
not
going
to
pick
on
anyone
I
would
be
nice
to
you
guys
be
charitable
being
a
student
and
a
married
man
I
have
two
that
come
to
my
mind
first
one
is
my
lecturer
especially
this
is
my
last
year
of
study
and
they
will
determine
whether
I
graduate
or
not
second
one
goes
without
saying
being
a
married
man
if
you
are
working
or
studying
or
think
back
to
the
time
you
were
how
do
you
feel
when
your
boss
or
your
lecturer
is
away
do
you
feel
more
relaxed
or
even
to
a
point
that
we
often
say
no
when
the
cats
are
away
the
mouths
come
out
to
play
we
all
seem
to
have
a
love
hate
relationship
with
those
people
that
we
identify
as
our
lord
or
master
we
love
them
when
we
want
to
get
things
of
benefit
from
them
and
we
hate
them
when
they
demand
our
loyalty
or
performance
so
we
all
seem
to
look
over
our
shoulder
and
have
our
feet
up
when
they
are
away
looking
at
Hebrew
looking
back
at
the
chapter
that
we
have
read
today
where
does
it
say
Jesus
is
located
right
now
have
you
ever
thought
about
that
in
chapter
1
verse
3
it
says
after
he
had
provided
purification
for
sins
he
sat
down
at
the
right
hand
of
the
majesty
in
heaven
and
the
verse
13
it
says
sit
at
my
right
hand
which
is
the
right
hand
of
God
in
heaven
until
I
make
your
enemy
a
food
stool
for
your
feet
Jesus
right
now
is
sitting
next
to
God
the
father
in
heaven
crowned
with
glory
how can
we
say
Jesus
is
close
to
us
is
his
absence
means
that
we
can
put
our
feet
up
we
declare
with
our
mouth
that
Jesus
is
our
Lord
but
how
are
we
to
live
out
what
we
have
declared
that
Jesus
is
truly
our
Lord
in
our
life
back
in
2018
one
of
the
minister
right
one
of
minister
from
down
self
wrote
the
following
about
who
Jesus
is
and
in
it
I
see
that
it's
an
example
of
how
we
can
live
out
the
belief
that
Jesus
is
our
Lord
he
said
this
I'll
just
read
out
before
my
wife
and
I
were
Christian
we
had
more
disposable
income
but
we
also
find
more
ways
to
spend
it
now
Jesus
has
changed
our
financial
priority
I
remember
sitting
with
a
mortgage
salesman
who
was
telling
us
how
quickly
we
can
own
our
home
I
then
asked
him
to
do
the
sums
again
taking
into
account
the
money
we
want
to
give
to
church
student
ministry
overseas
mission
and
child
sponsorship
should
he
told
us
he
can't
afford
the
house
now
we
are
paying
our
mortgage
off
at
an
incredibly
slow
rate
but
we
are
supporting
our
local
church
now
we
only
have
one
car
but
we
are
supporting
university
ministry
around
Australia
now
our
holidays
are
fairly
simple
affairs
but
we
are
supporting
overseas
mission
now
we
are
spending
less
on
restaurant
and
clothes
but
we
are
helping
the
poor
in
other
parts
of
the
world
part
of
me
wants
more
part
of
me
want
to
give
my
family
all
the
best
holidays
and
experience
part
of
me
wants
the
self
that
other
people
have
the
truth
is
I
feel
the
allure
of
fun
family
holidays
and
gadgets
and
new
car
and
gadgets
and
paying
off
our
mortgage
and
gadgets
but
Jesus
helped
keep
our
priority
in
perspective
the
gifts
Jesus
gives
us
is
greater
than
those
things
it's
a
gift
of
contentment
and
ability
to
say
no
to
something
good
for
the
sake
of
something
better
Jesus
helped
him
to
keep
their
priority
in
perspective
enable
him
to
say
no
to
something
good
for
something
better
Jesus
gave
up
his
equal
status
to
God
the
father
to
become
one
of
us
to
reconcile
us
to
God
in
Philippians
2
it
say
therefore
God
exalted
him
to
the
highest
place
and
gave
him
the
name
that
is
above
every
name
that
at
the
name
of
Jesus
every
knee
shall
bow
in
heaven
and
on
earth
and
under
the
earth
and
every
time
acknowledge
that
Jesus
Christ
is
Lord
to
the
glory
of
God
the
father
Jesus
that
we
believe
in
is
the
Christ
is
God's
only
son
is
our
Lord
do
you
really
know
Jesus
that
he
has
revealed
himself
in
scripture
if
not
I
would
like
to
invite
you
to
take
this
time
this
moment
to
ask
him
to
reveal
himself
to
you
take
this
time
and
this
moment
to
invite
him
to
your
life
so
that
you
will
see
him
as
who
he
is
who
he
really
is
the
most
superior
one
an
of
his
head
to
him
he
an
man
who
especially
his
h
would
take