Tagged: Son of God

The Lion from the Tribe of Judah: Rev. 5:5

Previously: The Lion and the Lamb – Rev. 5:5-7

The scripture

Rev. 5:5 – Then one of the elders said to me, “Stop crying. Look! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has been victorious so that He may open the scroll and its seven seals.”

The Lion from the tribe of Judah

The lion from the tribe of Judah echoes Jacob’s blessing on his son Judah, conferring leadership over his brothers (Gen. 49:8-10). Jacob prophetically gives the scepter to Judah and makes it the tribe of kings – and the tribe from which the King of kings will come. It is interesting to note that God never intended Saul to establish a dynasty; he came from the tribe of Benjamin. When the people rejected God as their King and clamored for a human ruler, the Lord disciplined them by giving them Saul. But He established the eternal dynasty through David, who was from the tribe of Judah.

Some commentators associate this title for Jesus with the lion-headed living creature near the throne of God – an expression of His power, majesty, courage and victory. Some also connect this title with the Book of Matthew, in which Jesus is strongly depicted as the promised Messiah. (Those who hold this view tend to see the four living creatures as representatives of the four Gospels.) In any case, Jesus of Nazareth is the greatest king to come out of the tribe of Judah – greater even than David, who, inspired by the Holy Spirit, calls Him Lord (Ps. 110:1; Matt. 22:44). There can be little doubt that this exalted Savior is the fulfillment of Jacob’s ancient prophecy. But that’s not all.

The Root of David

The elder also describes Jesus as “the Root of David” (v. 5). In the Old Testament, the coming Messiah is called both the “shoot” and “branch” that will spring from Jesse’s root to restore David’s dynasty. Here’s what the prophet Isaiah records: “Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit” (Isa. 11:1). But then Isaiah calls this coming Redeemer the root of Jesse: “On that day the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His resting place will be glorious” (Isa. 11:10). If the Messiah is the root of Jesse, as Isaiah declares, He also is the root of Jesse’s son David, as the elder makes clear in Rev. 5:5. But how can a single person be both a “shoot” and a “root?” The ESV Study Bible explains: “Jesus is not only the royal descendant (Rev. 22:16) but also the source of David’s rule (Mark 12:35-37).”

Let’s look at these two New Testament passages. In Rev. 22:16, Jesus identifies Himself as “the Root and the Offspring of David,” confirming what Isaiah and the elder in heaven have claimed about Him. As the Son of God, Jesus is the eternal Creator and sovereign Lord of the universe, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit; any earthly rule, including King David’s, is under His divine authority. As the Son of Man, Jesus is God in human flesh, adding to His deity sinless humanity; He is, in other words, the God-Man. In Mark 12, Jesus is teaching in the temple complex and He asks, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the Son of David? David himself says by the Holy Spirit: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.’ David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how then can the Messiah be his Son” (vv. 35-37)? Quoting from Ps. 118:22-23, Jesus ties together the deity and humanity of the Messiah and emphasizes the important truth that He is not one or the other, but both.

“He who is a middle person, God and man, and bears the office of Mediator between God and man, is fit and worthy to open and execute all the counsels of God towards men,” writes Matthew Henry. “And this he does in his mediatorial state and capacity, as the root of David and the offspring of Judah, and as the King and head of the Israel of God; and he will do it, to the consolation and joy of all his people” (Re 5:1-5)

Before we leave this section, we should note that the elder in Rev. 5:5 not only tells John who Jesus is, but what He has done. The Lion of Judah and the Root of David is worthy to take the scroll, loose its seals and look inside because He “has been victorious.” As the sinless Son of Man who died on the cross and rose from the dead, Jesus is the qualified Kinsman-Redeemer who will reclaim fallen humanity and a cursed creation. He has defeated Satan – the usurper, the accuser of mankind, the father of liars – and destroyed his works (1 John 3:8). No offspring of Adam can retake what Adam lost because no human is sinless. But now the Lion of Judah and the Root of David steps forward – the “last Adam” who is a “life-giving Spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45). He is worthy to take the scroll because He has been victorious.

Next: The slaughtered Lamb – Rev. 5:6

Jesus in the Passover – Part 2

Previously: Behold the Lamb of God

With Easter approaching, as Christians celebrate the finished work of Christ — His death, burial and resurrection — it may increase our joy to see His earthly ministry in light of the Jewish feasts. In this post, we will continue to look at the Passover, which foreshadows Jesus’ substitutionary and sacrificial death. For a free download of the complete study of Jesus in the feasts of Israel, click here.

Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper during the observance of Passover on the night before His crucifixion. Just as faithful Jews gather for Passover to celebrate God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, Christians take part in Holy Communion, focusing on two elements of the Passover meal — the unleavened bread and fruit of the vine — in remembrance that “Christ our Passover has been sacrificed” (1 Cor. 5:7 HCSB).

LISTEN: Jesus in the Passover (mp3)

 

Was Jesus Both God and Man?

Apologetics 101: Part 7 — How can I identify the real Jesus?
This is session seven in a 10-part series designed to help Christians defend their faith.

Keys to identifying the real Jesus (audio part 2)

Keys to identifying the real Jesus (audio part 1)

Keys to identifying the real Jesus (pdf)

 

Keys to Identifying the Real Jesus

Apologetics 101: Parts 6-7 — How can I identify the real Jesus?

This is sessions six and seven in a 10-part series designed to help Christians defend their faith.

Keys to identifying the real Jesus (audio part 1)

Keys to identifying the real Jesus (pdf)

1. His origin

What Jesus says about Himself: He is eternal and uncreated.

  • John 8:58 – “I assure you: Before Abraham was, I am” (I AM is the name God gave Himself at the burning bush [Ex. 3:13-14]).
  • John 17:5 – “Now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with that glory I had with You before the world existed.”
  • Rev. 1:17-18 – “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last, and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

What the eyewitnesses say about Jesus: He has always existed and is the uncreated Creator.

  • John 1:1-3 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.
  • Col. 1:15-17 – He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation; because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him.

What do you say about Jesus’ origin?

2. His deity

What Jesus says about Himself: He is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit

  • Mark 14:61b-62 – Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am,” said Jesus, “and all of you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
  • John 8:24 – “Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am [He], you will die in your sins.” (I AM is the name God gave Himself at the burning bush [Ex. 3:13-14]).
  • John 10:30 – “The Father and I are one.”

What the eyewitnesses say about Jesus: He is God, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit; the fullness of deity in the flesh

  • John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
  • John 5:18 – This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill Him: not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
  • Col. 2:9 – For in Him the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily …
  • Heb. 1:3 – He is the radiance of His glory, the exact expression of His nature, and He sustains all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

What do you say about Jesus’ deity?

3. His humanity

What Jesus says about Himself: He is fully human, sharing the full range of mankind’s experiences from thirst to temptation.

  • Matt. 4:1-11 – Jesus is hungry and tempted by Satan but responds to both with God’s Word.
  • Luke 19:41; John 11:35 – Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and at the tomb of Lazarus.
  • John 11:33, 38 – Jesus is “angry in His spirit.”
  • John 19:28, 30 – “I’m thirsty,” he says, and then He dies.

What the eyewitnesses say about Jesus: He is virgin born, adding sinless humanity to His deity; His humanity enables Him to serve as our great high priest.

  • Matt. 1:18-25 – The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit…. Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”
  • John 1:14 – The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
  • Phil. 2:5-8 – Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.
  • Heb. 2:17-18 – Therefore He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested.

What do you say about Jesus’ humanity?

4. His purpose

What Jesus says about Himself: He came to bring God’s kingdom; to seek and save the lost; to pay mankind’s sin debt; to defeat Satan and his works; and to offer us eternal life.

  • Matt. 12:28 – “If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.”
  • Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
  • John 10:10-11 – “A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
  • John 12:32-33 – “As for Me, if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all [people] to Myself.” He said this to signify what kind of death He was about to die.

What the eyewitnesses say about Jesus: He came to die and rise from the dead in fulfillment of Scripture; to save sinners and reconcile them to God.

  • Rom. 5:6-11 – For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us! Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, [then how] much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life! And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
  • 1 Cor. 15:3-4 – For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures …
  • 2 Cor. 5:21 – He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
  • 1 Tim. 1:15 – This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them.
  • Heb. 2:9 – But we do see Jesus—made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God’s grace He might taste death for everyone—crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death.
  • 1 John 3:8b — The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil’s works.

What do you say about Jesus’ purpose?

5. His proof

What Jesus says about Himself: He fulfills Messianic prophecies, most notably by rising physically from the dead.

  • Matt. 12:39-40; 26:31-32 – “An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights…. Tonight all of you will run away because of Me, for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I have been resurrected, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”
  • Luke 18:31-33; 24:38-39 – “Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem. Everything that is written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished…. they will kill Him, and He will rise on the third day…. Why are you troubled …And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself! Touch Me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”
  • John 2:18-22 – So the Jews replied to Him, “What sign [of authority] will You show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered, “Destroy this sanctuary, and I will raise it up in three days.” Therefore the Jews said, “This sanctuary took 46 years to build, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking about the sanctuary of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. And they believed the Scripture and the statement Jesus had made.

What the eyewitnesses say about Jesus: He fulfills Messianic prophecies, most notably by dying on the cross for mankind’s sins and rising physically from the dead.

  • Mark 15:25-28 – Now it was nine in the morning when they crucified Him. The inscription of the charge written against Him was THE KING OF THE JEWS. They crucified two criminals with Him, one on His right and one on His left. [So the Scripture was fulfilled that says: And He was counted among outlaws.]
  • John 19:33-37 – When they came to Jesus, they did not break His legs since they saw that He was already dead. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out…. For these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: Not one of His bones will be broken. Also, another Scripture says: They will look at the One they pierced.
  • Acts 2:22-27 – “Men of Israel, listen to these words: This Jesus the  Nazarene was a man pointed out to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through Him, just as you yourselves know. Though He was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail Him to a cross and kill Him. God raised Him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it. For David says of Him: I saw the Lord ever before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh will rest in hope, because You will not leave my soul in Hades, or allow Your Holy One to see decay.”
  • 1 Cor. 15:3-4 – For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

What do you say about Jesus’ proof?

6. His uniqueness

What Jesus says about Himself: He is the Messiah/Christ; the Son of God; the Alpha and the Omega; the only means of salvation.

  • Matt. 26:63-64; 27:11 – Then the high priest said to Him, “By the living God I place You under oath: tell us if You are the Messiah, the Son of God!” “You have said it,” Jesus told him. “But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” … Now Jesus stood before the governor. “Are You the King of the Jews?” the governor asked Him. Jesus answered, “You have said it.”
  • John 14:6 – “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
  • Rev. 1:17-18 – “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last, and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
  • Rev. 22:13 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

What the eyewitnesses say about Jesus: He is the unique Son of God; divine; the Creator; the only means of salvation.

  • John 1:1, 14, 18 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…. No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son – the One who is at the Father’s side – He has revealed Him.
  • Acts 4:11-12 – This [Jesus] is The stone despised by you builders, who has become the cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.
  • Col. 1:16; 2:9 – because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through Him and for Him. … For in Him the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily.
  • Heb. 1:3 – He is the radiance of His glory, the exact expression of His nature, and He sustains all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

What do you say about Jesus’ uniqueness?

7. His call to us

What Jesus says about Himself: He calls sinners to trust in Him for eternal life; He invites the weary to rest in Him; He beckons the spiritually thirsty to be satisfied in Him; He warns of the danger of rejecting Him.

  • Matt. 11:28 – “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
  • John 3:16-18 – “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.”
  • John 5:24 – “I assure you: Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.”
  • John 7:37b-38 – “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.”
  • John 8:24 – “Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am [He], you will die in your sins.”

What the eyewitnesses say about Jesus: He calls sinners to receive forgiveness of sins and everlasting life by believing in Him; He grants salvation by grace through faith, apart from works; He calls us to salvation and to service.

  • Acts 2:39 – For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.
  • Rom. 4:4-5 – Now to the one who works, pay is not considered as a gift, but as something owed. But to the one who does not work, but believes on Him who declares righteous the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness.
  • Eph. 1:18 – [I pray] that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints …
  • Eph. 2:8-9 – For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift …
  • Eph. 4:1 – I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received …
  • 1 Thess. 2:12 – [W]e encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to walk worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
  • 2 Tim. 1:9 – [God] has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
  • Titus 3:5 – He saved us— not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

What do you say about Jesus’ call to you?

Copyright 2009 by Rob Phillips

The Debate Over Jesus

Apologetics 101: Part 5: –Who’s the real Jesus?

This is the fifth in the 10-part series designed to help Christians defend their faith.

The debate over Jesus (audio)

The debate over Jesus (pdf)

Jesus of Nazareth is among the world’s most famous and admired people. Amazon.com has more than 175,000 titles about Him. Google lists about 145 million references to Jesus Christ. The world’s major religions hold a high view of Jesus, although they do not agree on who He is or what He accomplished. For example:

  • Islam teaches that Jesus was a great prophet who lived a sinless life; but He is not the Son of God or Savior.
  • Hinduism teaches that Jesus was an Avatar or incarnation of God, a great spiritual teacher, a guru, or even a major god in the Hindu pantheon of 330 million gods; but He is not unique as the Son of God or Savior.
  • Buddhism tells us Jesus was a teacher who may have possessed Buddha hood or enlightenment; but He is not unique and is not mankind’s Savior.
  • Judaism teaches that Jesus was a humble and insignificant prophet, a reformer who performed good deeds; but He is not the Messiah and certainly not divine.
  • Christianity, of course, professes that Jesus was and is the Son of God, Messiah and Savior, whose death and resurrection paid mankind’s sin debt and provided forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Even so, not all who profess Christianity agree about Jesus’ life and work. Mormons, for example, say Jesus was a man who became a god; and Jehovah’s Witnesses insist that Jesus was Jehovah’s first creation.

The debate over Jesus is nothing new. It raged 2,000 years ago in Israel and involved everyone from John the Baptist to Jesus’ own family members, many of whom did not believe He was the promised Messiah. Jesus was fully aware that His life and ministry produced tension, and He challenged His followers to examine the evidence and decide for themselves.

In Matthew 16:13-17, Jesus asks His disciples two questions. First, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” A loaded question to be sure, since by calling Himself “Son of Man” Jesus is claiming to be both divine and the Messiah (see Dan. 7:13-14). Second, Jesus asks a more pointed question, “Who do you say that I am?” Notice several keys in these verses:

  • There are many opinions about Jesus – all of them good. Some say He is John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Today, members of every major world religion agree that Jesus is someone to be admired, even followed. But it’s not enough to have a high opinion of Jesus; one must have the right view of Jesus.
  • Peter offers a different answer – and the correct one: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!”
  • Jesus acknowledges Peter’s answer as the proper one and states that it was not revealed by human wisdom but “by My Father in Heaven.” Flesh-and-blood opinions about Jesus are subject to error because people are sinful and fallen and prone to mistakes. God the Father, however, is not. He sent Jesus to earth and reveals the Person and work of Christ to human hearts. In fact Jesus made it clear that no one can be saved unless he or she is drawn by the Father to the Son (John 6:44).

Today, we have God’s complete written revelation to us – the Bible – which features convincing evidence that Jesus is who He claimed to be: Messiah, Son of God, Son of Man, Savior, King of kings and Lord of Lords. So let’s go to the evidence in Scripture. We will use the Bible because it records the words of Jesus and features the accounts of eyewitnesses. Some may raise objections to using the Bible instead of other sources but keep in mind:

  • The New Testament is perhaps the most accurate set of ancient documents available to us (see the notes for sessions 2-4);
  • The eyewitnesses wrote their accounts in the presence of hostile witnesses, who could have refuted them if they were wrong, but didn’t.
  • The apostles willingly suffered – and most died – for their testimony.
  • Recent “new” gospels challenging the historical view of Jesus were penned much later (2nd – 4th centuries) and were recognized as false teachings or even forgeries; one has been proven to be a 20th century fraud.

So let’s turn our attention to “In Search of the Real Jesus” (comparison chart). Our premise is that everyone can find the real Jesus by asking three important questions:

1. Who does Jesus say He is?

2. Who do the eyewitnesses say He is?

3. And who do you say He is?

Copyright 2009 by Rob Phillips