Month: August 2016

…because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rm 10:9)

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. (II Cor 4:5)

And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “’Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’” David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son? (Mk 12:35-7)

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:27-28)

Why do you call me “Lord, Lord,” and not do what I tell you? (Lk 6:46)

If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come [Maranatha]! (I Cor 16:22)

Lord, You are king.  I have no other.  Praise to Your name.

The most basic and common proclamation of a follower of Jesus is that “Jesus is Lord!” That simple statement is the foundation of a life lived for God, for in simplest terms, a follower of God is one for whom Jesus has become Lord. The New Testament could not be clearer. Jesus is declared “Lord” more than any other name, and the title is early and widespread. When Paul writes to the Greek-speaking church of Corinth in the mid-50s, he quotes, in Aramaic, a saying that goes back to the original Aramaic-speaking church. He writes “Maranatha,” which means “Our Lord, come!” He does not translate it but refers to it as if everybody knows what it means. Indeed, the New Testament declares Jesus “Lord” so many times, that the term has actually become another name for Jesus.

Here’s what the word means. In the Bible, sometimes the word “Lord” is a blatant reference to God, as we see in phrases like “Thus says the Lord” and “the day of the Lord.” Other times, the word refers simply to a person in authority. One might use the word to describe a king, a commander, a business owner, the head of a respected house, or the master of some slaves, but no one ever called the garbage man “Lord.”

In the New Testament, the word is used of Jesus in both ways, but at its lowest common denominator, both ways still get at one common idea, for no matter which meaning a passage uses, it is still saying that Jesus has authority. Therefore, when people say that Jesus is Lord, what they are saying is that He is king and has every right to demand our allegiance and obedience. In other words, if Jesus is Lord, we have to do what He says. That’s what “Lord” means.

Many people like Jesus but dislike the Lord part. To them, Jesus is a wonderful teacher and a great role model, but “Lord” is going a bit far. Let’s make no mistake. A follower of Jesus follows Jesus. Disciples are not just attracted to Jesus; they are committed to Him as Lord. To Jesus, attraction without commitment is phony. Jesus is not looking for people who merely like Him. He is looking for people who will lay down their lives. That’s what “Lord” means.

When people trust Jesus, He changes their lives. You will often meet people who say they trust Jesus but whose lives haven’t changed. They say they belong to Him, but they live no different from everyone else. It is quite possible that what they thought was faith was not faith. Perhaps it was attraction; perhaps it was a warm, fuzzy feeling. True faith trusts Jesus, and “Lord” is simply who Jesus is. The problem with these people is that Jesus is not their Lord. They may call Him Savior.  They may call Him wonderful.  They may see beauty in His words.  But He isn’t their Lord because if He was, they would actually follow Him. That’s what “Lord” means.

If Jesus is Lord, it affects life. Submitting to Him is not just about church and worship. It includes work, food, sex, money, talents, desires, family relations — everything. If Jesus is Lord, He gets to decide how we spend our money, how we use our talents, which desires we pursue and how. He directs our career, our family planning, and our sex life. He tells us when to fast, when to sleep or get up, and what to say or not say to our relatives. I don’t mean He micromanages every word or detail. I do mean that if Jesus is Lord, He has authority in all these areas of our lives — and more. That’s what “Lord” means.

“’But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’” — he then said to the paralytic — ‘Rise, pick up your bed and go home.’” (Mt 9:6)

 “So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mk 2:28)

 “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mk 10:45)

 “And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, ‘Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?’ But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?’ And Jesus said, ‘I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.’” (Mk 14:60-62)

 “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Lk 9:26)

 “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (Jn 3:13-16)

Father, I cannot comprehend the glory or the humility of the Son of Man. Be gracious to me and help me see the beauty of Jesus, the Son of Man.

In one sense, Jesus is like you and me. He was a man. The most common title Jesus used to refer to himself was Son of Man, and on the surface, the bare title, without any context, seems to imply nothing more than that Jesus was human. Of course, He certainly was human, and that idea is included in the title, but “Son of Man” is a rich phrase with multiple meanings. It carries with it the idea of glory, authority, suffering, and humility.

When Jesus says “you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven,” or when He talks about the Son of Man coming in his glory or descending from heaven, He is referring to a specific context. The prophet Daniel wrote this:

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. (Dan 7:13-14)

When Jesus speaks of the glory of the Son of Man, He is saying that He is the Son of Man Daniel saw in his vision. He is saying that He will come on the clouds of heaven, that He receives authority and a kingdom, that all people shall bow before Him, and that His kingdom shall not end. All these things are tied up in the title “Son of Man,” and none of them deals with mere humanity.

Sometimes the ideas “Son of Man” and “Son of God” are used in the same context to refer to the same person (Mk 14:60-62; Jn 3:13-16). The terms may not mean exactly the same things, but they can at times be used interchangeably.

When Jesus says that “the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Mt 9:6) or that the Son of Man is lord even over the law that God gave (Mk 2:28), He is claiming an authority beyond that of a normal human. This authority is bound up in the identity of the Son of Man. Jesus has authority over the law, authority to judge the world, and authority to forgive sins because He is the one like a son of man who receives authority and a kingdom that shall never end, before whom all people shall bow. He has this authority because He is the son of man in Daniel 7. Jesus identifies Himself as such.

And yet, the term Son of Man carries another meaning as well. It entails humility and suffering. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45). Jesus may have the glory and authority of Daniel’s son of man, but for a time, He laid it aside and took up the sufferings of a man. Jesus did not think it robbery to be equal to God. Nonetheless, “he made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Ph 2:7-8). At times, the title “Son of Man” refers to this great act in which Jesus stripped Himself of His glorious prerogatives and became nothing. The glorious son of man in Daniel died on a cross. He did so because He was in a real way a son of man.

Jesus identified with us, for “the Son of Man came eating and drinking” (Mt 11:19), and “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Lk 9:58). The Son of Man is one of us. He became one of us that He might give His life for us. The Son of Man has full right to represent the human race. He has that right because He was a man.

And yet He was so much more.

“All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Mt 11:27)

“He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said ‘This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’” (Mt 17:5)

“And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, ‘Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?’ But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?’ And Jesus said, ‘I am…’” (Mk 14:60-62a)

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (Lk 1:31-32a)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16a)

Father, may we see your Son and see Him clearly, that we may enjoy His beauties and that our lives may be transformed by His.

Christianity is unique, and Jesus is the reason why. He is the center of our faith.  He is the reason why people are Christians, and He is also the reason why others are not.  Everyone does something with Jesus, even if it is to ignore Him.  You will stand before God clean or unclean, according to what you do with Jesus. That is a radical claim, but it is the heart of Christianity.

Jesus claimed for Himself a position and authority that no sane man would ever claim.  Jesus is not like you or me. He is the Son of God. This phrase, “Son of God,” or some equivalent phrase (the Son, Son of the Most High, etc) occurs more than 120 times in the New Testament and always in reference to Jesus. It is one of the most basic proclamations that a follower of Jesus makes. Jesus understood Himself to be the Son of God. He acknowledges that fact in all four gospels.

Now when the Bible calls Jesus “Son of God,” it is not saying that He is like Hercules whose mother was human and whose father was Zeus. God the Father did not come to earth and have sex with Mary. Sometimes Muslims think this is what Christians mean by “Son of God.” They are wrong. That understanding of “Son of God” has no Biblical warrant, even in the Annunciation narrative.

In addition, when the Bible calls Jesus “Son of God,” it does not mean that Jesus is merely a son of God, as you or I might call ourselves children of God. Jesus calls Himself something different. He is the Son of God. He is the only one, the only begotten. In other words, He is unique.

Finally, when the Bible calls Jesus “Son of God,” it does not mean that Jesus had a beginning and that the Father existed before the Son. This is what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe. Instead, the Bible is using a human picture to describe a divine reality. The picture of father and son is a reference to a shared nature and inheritance. As a son has the same nature as his father, so does Jesus have the same nature as His Father, and as a son owns His Father’s inheritance, so does Jesus own everything that God owns. In addition, the picture is also a reference to how the two beings relate. The love and intimacy between Jesus and the Father is something like what you might see in a good father/son relationship. The voluntary submission of Jesus to the will of the Father is something like the voluntary submission of a good son to his father. Fathers and sons have the same nature but different roles. That is the picture of the Son of God. He is the same as His Father in terms of His nature, but He differs from His Father in terms of His role.

This means that Jesus is no ordinary man. He has the power of God. He commands demons to flee, sickness to be gone, and death to die. His death on the Cross saves all peoples in all times because He is the infinite, eternal Son of God. The love He demonstrates through the Cross is the inexhaustible love of God. His righteousness is God’s righteousness; His mercy is God’s mercy; His authority God’s authority.

Jesus does not have these things imputed to Him as gifts from God. He has them on His own by virtue of His nature. He is God. He is the glory of God on earth, the exact imprint of God’s nature (Heb 1:3).   He is the Creator (Jn 1:3; Col 1:15; Heb 1:3). He is wondrous. As wondrous as God Himself.

He has an intimacy with the Father that we can never have on our own. The Father is his Abba, his Daddy, in an original sense. We can taste that intimacy through the Son of God, but we can never experience it apart from Him (Mt 11:27).

He knows God and the ways of God because He is God. He knows heaven because He has come from heaven. He does not know these things by virtue of someone teaching Him. He knows them as an insider. Heaven is His turf.

No other person in history is like Jesus. Get to know Him, and you will find yourself discovering depths you never dreamed of — the marvels of the Son of God.