Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up!
Part 3
“He Was a Sinless Savior”
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made…10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own (the Jewish people) he , but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. 14 The Word became flesh (human) and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
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Based on these passages alone it is crystal clear that there is no one in history like Jesus.
He never wrote a book, yet countless millions of books have been written about him.
His shadow stretches across all of history, covering every nation, city, town, and hamlet—every race, color, and creed.
The very calendar itself testifies to his influence—For more than ten centuries all events have been dated as either before him (BC), or after him (AD).
He is the greatest figure of all time.
As no other, His personality has influenced the human race.
Think about it!
If Jesus had not been born, many of the great, classic books in our libraries would never have been written.
If Jesus had never lived, many if not most of the great music symphonies composed by the great masters like Beethoven, Handel, and Bach would never have been heard.
And other vast volumes of Christian themed music would instantly disappear,
including tens of thousands of hymns,
stage and choir productions,
Inspirational movies and plays,
and endless thousands of Christ-centered songs both old and new.
Huge numbers of the great works of art—paintings, sculptures, and architectural wonders would never have been.
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So how did Jesus make such an impact?
Who was and is the real Jesus?
Well to begin with, Jesus repeatedly presented himself as completely unique.
He claimed to be “sent” directly from God on a pre-planned rescue mission.
John 3:34 “For he whom God has SENT speaks the words of God.”
John 4:34 “My food is to do the will of Him who SENT me, and to finish his work.”
And what was Jesus SENT to do? He tells us:
Luke 19:10 “The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.”
This brief autobiographical sketch is what made Jesus so unique!
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Throughout history the founders of the world’s religions have made various claims, but none like him.
“I have found the way,” said Buddha.
“I show you the way,” said the Hindu god Brahman.”
Mohammad claimed, “Through an angel, God has revealed to me the way.”
But Jesus said, “I Am the way!”
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Now, the one thing Satan has attacked most viciously from the get-go is the Person of Christ Jesus—who he was and what he came to do.
In fact, the greatest heresies in the history of the church have been about the Person and work of Christ Jesus.
He was a good man, some claimed, but not God.
He didn’t really die on the Cross.
He was not virgin born.
He didn’t literally rise from the dead.
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And the greatest heresies surrounding us today are no different.
In fact, they’re not really new heresies, just old lies in a new suit!
I want to look at a couple of those lies today and dispel them.
First:
I. Jesus came into existence when he was born of the Virgin Mary.
Until then, critics contend, he wasn’t there.
In other words, He wasn’t eternal God the Son—He had a beginning like all of us.
But that’s not true!
Scripture is clear that Our Lord Jesus has always been.
At no time did Jesus “come to be.”
He did not “come to be” when he was born in Bethlehem that first Christmas morn.
He had simply changed locations from heaven to earth!
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Jesus was never created, invented, or conjured.
He was, as the prophet Micah said, “. . .The One to be ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting . . .” (Mic. 5:2, NKJV)
He was pre-existent as only God can be.
As far back in time and eternity you want to reach, He was there as the 2nd member of the Godhead—God the Son.
ILLUS: Imagine for a moment a mile high mountain of granite. And then imagine that once every ten-thousand years a little bird flies past and brushes it with a feather. By the time that mountain of granite is worn down to nothing, you have only a fraction, a mere second of Jesus’s existence in eternity past
There was never a time when He was not!
He was and is and always will be God the Son.
The Prophet Isaiah wrote, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.”—Isaiah 9:6-7
He’s always been and His future rule will never end!
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We find Him centuries before His birth in the Old Testament through many Christophanies—visible appearances of Christ during OT times.
For example, When the 3 Hebrew children were thrown into the burning, fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar for refusing to bow to an idol, the Bible says:
“Then King Nebuchadnezzar…said to his counselors, ‘Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?’ They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
This was a Christophany—an appearance of the pre-existent, pre-incarnate Christ in the OT!
So Jesus never came to be—as God the Son He has always been.
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Now here’s another lie floating around out there.
Many people now believe that:
II. Jesus sinned like we all do
Because he became fully human He had a sin nature and was sinful.
In fact, in a recent Barna survey, “About half of Americans polled agree, either strongly or somewhat, that while he lived on earth, Jesus Christ was human and committed sins like other people” (52%).
But this was not the case at all!
A sin nature is the inheritance of us all as children of Adam.
Romans 5:12 “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”
This is why the Bible says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
As head of the human race, Adam’s sin and fallen nature were passed down to everyone.
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But this was not true of Jesus!
Because of the Virgin Birth, He had no human father.
The Angel Gabriel told Mary, who wanted to know how she would become pregnant as a virgin, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of God shall overshadow you; so the baby born to you will be utterly holy—the Son of God” (Luke 1:35 LB).
Because of his miraculous, supernatural conception, Jesus did not inherit Adam’s fallen nature.
Jesus lived a Sinless life in every way.
Hebrews 4:15 “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses since he had the same temptations we do, though he never once gave way to them and sinned.”
The Bible says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”—2 Cor. 5:21 NIV
As the old puritans used to put it: “He had no sin, knew no sin, and did no sin.”
Only a sinless Savior could die on the Cross for you and me, and take our sin upon himself that we might be forgiven and saved!
In fact, His pure, sinless blood was the only currency that could purchase us off the slave block of sin and and deliver us from hell!
“God paid a ransom to save you…and the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver as you very well know. 19 But he paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.”—1 Pet 1:18-19 LB
All of our sin and guilt were placed on Him while hanging on the Cross:
“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, 5 He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”—53:4-6
Only a sinless Savior was qualified to take your sins and mine and wipe them away with His innocent shed blood!
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So in summary: Jesus has always been and always will be, and He lived and died and rose again the sinless, spotless Savior!