I tell you, there's no greater
privilege either than to stand and to preach the gospel of Jesus
Christ. Matthew chapter 1, we're looking
at verse 21 this evening, Matthew chapter 1 and verse 21. The title
of my message tonight Who is Jesus? Very simple, very plain,
and Lord willing, I hope it to be the plainest message you ever
heard. Who is Jesus? Let's read our
text in Matthew chapter 1 and verse 21. The Scripture says,
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
Jesus. For he shall save His people
from their sins. I have three questions tonight
concerning this passage of Scripture. Three questions. First of all,
who is Jesus? Second of all, what did Jesus
do? And third, was He successful? Was He successful? First of all,
who is this Jesus mentioned in our text? It says, "...and she
shall call His name Jesus." Now, in our day, there are few people
in this world that have not heard of the name Jesus. Matter of
fact, in many cultures, they name their children after Him,
and we call them Jesus. They name their children after
Him, and many confess to worship Him. Others may see Him as a
good man. He did many wonderful things.
When you say Jesus, they say, yeah, that's a good man. While some of us see Him as more
than just a good man, we see Him as the Lord God, and we bow
and worship Him as our Lord and Savior. Even in his day, there
was much confusion concerning his person, this person of Jesus. And one day, the Lord himself
asked the question to his disciples. He says, whom do men say I, the
son of man, am? Who do men say that I am? His
answer to the apostles was, some said you're John the Baptist,
and some say you're Elijah the prophet, and some say you're
one of the other prophets. You see, there was much confusion
about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, my friend,
there is no difference in the day of our Lord as there is today
about who Jesus is. There is much confusion concerning
the person of Jesus Christ. Many people say the same things.
He was a good man. He was a prophet. But my friends, if we were to
take the Scriptures, the Word of God, and find out what God
says concerning this man Jesus in His Word, and we were to compare
Him to the Jesus of religion, the Jesus of false religion or
the Jesus of modern man, we would find that there is a great difference. There is a great difference.
There's a great difference in his person. From what the scripture
says concerning his person. And what the modern man says
about Jesus Christ, the lost man says about Christ, there's
a vast difference concerning his work. And there's a vast
difference concerning the success of that work. First of all, this
person, this one who was born of the Virgin Mary 2000 years
ago, who is called Jesus, is none other than God manifest
in the flesh. That's who I'm talking about.
You that have come to worship Jesus Christ tonight, this is
the man that I'm speaking of. So when you hear me say Jesus,
you must understand that I am telling you that Jesus Christ
is God. He's God. Paul said in 1 Timothy
chapter 3 and verse 16, you can quote it and I know you can.
Without controversy, in other words, without debate, There's
no reason to debate this with anyone, my friends. We don't
have to debate anything. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. He was manifest in the flesh. This man, Jesus, he was a prophet. But I tell you, he was more than
a prophet. He was and is the king of all prophets. He is the
sender of all prophets. He is God. Yea, the God of creation,
God manifest in the flesh. The one spoken of in our text
is the eternal son of God. The second person of the blessed
Trinity, God, the father, God, the son and God, the Holy Spirit. And when we say second, we don't
mean in place. You see, God, the son is not
second in power, purpose or will to the spirit or to the father,
he is equal with the father and the spirit. So when I say Jesus,
I'm saying he is God, he's God. I proclaim to you Jesus Christ
and declare unto you that He is the sovereign Lord and Creator
and Sustainer of all things. For in Him we live and move and
have our being." You know, you came tonight. You came and you
got in your car and you drove over here. How is it possible
for you to be in this place? I tell you that this man that
I'm speaking of has given you the power to get up, to get into
your car, to sit where you are and to hear this message tonight. We breathe in and we breathe
out at his command. He is God. That's who he is. Jesus is God. My friend, religion has no problem,
false religion, has no problem with the Jesus in the manger.
You see, they have no problem with Jesus on a cross. They have
no problem with Jesus in a tomb. Matter of fact, they make a lot
of statues and make a lot of money Concerning those things
you'll see the little Christmas times coming up You'll see the
little manger scene and you'll see a baby inside a stack of
hay. Oh, they don't have any problem
with that Jesus But my friend the Jesus that I am proclaiming
to you tonight this man thou shalt call his name Jesus. He
is God there's a vast difference a vast difference a between who
we proclaim and what the scriptures proclaim about God and what man
proclaims. You see, Jesus was born in a
manger. He did walk upon the face of
this earth, meek and lowly. But my friends, that man who
was crucified 2000 years ago is now ascended to the throne
of God. And there is a man in heaven
sitting on the throne of God. And his name is Jesus. His name is Jesus. Hebrews chapter
two in verse nine says, but we see Jesus who was made a little
lower than the angels. When Jesus, before He came into
human flesh, before He united Himself with human flesh, we'll
deal with that in just a second, where was He? Where was He before
the world was created? My friend, He was sitting on
His throne. in heaven. He was sitting on
his throne as God and sovereign over all things. John says in
the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the
word was. God, he was God. And the scripture says not anything
was made without him. He made all things. I'll tell you, anybody that says
Jesus was created has no idea who Jesus really is. Jesus is
the self-existent, eternal Son of God. So when you see the name Jesus
here, you know I'm speaking that Jesus is God, for He Himself
said this thing, didn't He? He said, I and my Father are
one. Before Abraham was, I am. And they took up rocks to kill
him because they knew exactly what he meant. He said, I am
God. And they knew it. They knew it. I'll tell you what, so does the
rest of this religious age pick up rocks at this Jesus. They
don't mind a Jesus they can control, but a Jesus that controls them,
they don't want anything to do with that. My friend, when I
say Jesus, I am not talking about a weak, effeminate Savior. I
am talking about the very Lord God of creation. That's who I've
come to worship tonight. I hope you've come here to worship
Him, for He is worthy of our praise. He is worthy of our worship. He is God. manifest in the flesh. Well, this Jesus, who is God,
as I've said, without controversy, he was manifest in the flesh.
He was manifest in the flesh. The eternal God, think the eternal
God. Came down and united himself. To human flesh. Now, my friends, I can't get
my mind around that. It's hard enough being a man,
but to imagine that God became man, I can't understand that.
That is beyond my comprehension to to fully grasp. If I were
to become a worm. That's not even a that's not
even in the same category. to what he did when he became
man. He took not on him the form of
angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham to become like
unto his brethren. And when Jesus walked on this
earth that he created, he did not prevent any pain or suffering
within himself, but he took on the pains of a man. You have pains. You hurt. I'm talking to a brother this
evening about that, and he hurts. Well, my friend, Jesus Christ
felt the pains of being a man. He wept. He felt hunger. He thirst. Well, this was foretold of Him
that He would come from the beginning when our father Adam plunged
us into sin The prophecy was the Savior, the seed of the woman
shall crush the head of the serpent and he shall bruise his heel. What we see in our text, this
fulfillment of that prophecy, that prophecy concerning the
Savior is fulfilled in this text. Thou shalt call his name Jesus. He was born of a virgin. took
on our nature yet without sin. And it was foretold that he would
condescend so low, even to death. Even to death. This is the Jesus
whom we serve. Is this the Jesus you serve?
Is this the one you you serve? I hope so, because this is the
one written in the scriptures. God manifest in the flesh. So who is Jesus? God manifest
in the flesh. Now then, secondly, what did
he come to do? What was his purpose? Go back to our text. You shall
call his name Jesus for here it is. He shall say that was
his purpose. He shall say. I know you know this, but the
name of Jesus means Jehovah saves. Jehovah saves. He himself is
Jehovah and he has come to save. He has come to save. He said,
I am come to seek and to save that which was lost. He's come
to save. Another way that you can say
Jesus would be Joshua. And like Joshua of old, Joshua
was the captain of the armies of Israel. Well, my friend, this
man Jesus that I'm speaking about tonight, he has come to save
and to be the captain of our salvation. He, like Joshua, the
high priest at the restoration of the temple, has become our
great high priest. He has come to save. This was
his mission. This is what he was sent to do.
This was the purpose of his coming into this world and taking on
the form of a servant. Well, if he's come to save, then
how does he save? How does He save? The Scripture
reveals to us that by one man sin entered into the world. Isn't
that right? By our father Adam, sin entered
into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all
men. By Adam came sin, and as a result,
death passed upon us all. Spiritual death. all who are
lost in sin and in false religion and works or free will religion,
who have no interest or have no interest in the sovereignty
of Christ, the sovereign Lord Jesus. My friend, it is because
they are spiritually dead. Obviously, the brother spoke
on depravity this morning, I heard that. My friends, every one of
us were born dead. I have two children, and I love
them to death. I love them so much. But as they grow, I can
see the depravity. I can see it. You didn't teach
our children to lie, and we didn't teach our children to steal.
How did they know that? My friends, they were dead. They
were spiritually dead when they were born. Well, see, I know
that because I was spiritually dead when I was born as well,
because death passed upon all men. And just as it says in Genesis,
which is a beautiful picture, the Genesis, in the beginning,
God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was without
form and void and darkness covered the face of the deep. Just as
the waters cover the earth, so does our sin cover us. And we are born into this world.
Psalm 104 and verse 6 says, the waters stood above the mountains. This picture is that the highest
and most moral of a man's sin has covered him. The highest
of our works, the best deeds that we have ever done in our
time have been covered in sin. Covered in sin. This is man by
nature covered in sin to the highest. So as by one man sinned
in the world, so must by one man righteousness come. to us. My friends, Jesus came
to provide a righteousness and not just any righteousness, the
righteousness of God. He came to provide a righteousness,
to make a righteousness. You see, Jesus did not come to
be an example, although a better example you could not find. He
did not come to be a way. My friend, he came with this
one mission to be the way, the only way. And so then he humbled
himself under the law of God so as to satisfy its demands
and holy perfections. And he provides righteousness. That's how he saves. He provides
righteousness that we need to be accepted with God. Go over
to Romans chapter 3 for just a second. Hold your place here. We're just going to look here
briefly at Romans chapter 3. Romans chapter 3, I know you know this
well, but I'll tell you in Romans chapter 3, I think this is one
of the best places See the gospel in its entirety in such a short
passage. Romans chapter three and verse
20, it says, therefore, by the deeds of the law. Therefore,
by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his
side. Why? Because we were all sinners. We were all born into sin. We could not obey the law of
God. And my friends, we would not
obey the law of God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law shall no flesh be justified. But by the coming of Jesus Christ,
the righteousness of God is manifest, being witnessed by the law and
prophets which foretold of his coming, even the righteousness
of God, which is by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. You see, he
alone was faithful. He alone was faithful. To God. My friends, he came and provided
a righteousness. He worked out a righteousness
with his own hands, by his own actions and by his own thoughts.
Let me ask you this. Did he need righteousness? Did
he need it? I needed it. You needed it. And my friends,
this Jesus, who is God manifest in the flesh, has come to provide
righteousness. But my friends, that's not enough,
is it? That was not enough. If Jesus Christ came and provided
righteousness and ascended into heaven, what good would that
do us? Well, I imagine if we came into
this world with a blank slate, that would do well. If we came
with no sin and He clothed us with His righteousness, that
would do well. But we didn't come with a blank
slate, we came with a black slate. And therefore, sin must be dealt
with. Jesus Christ not only came to
provide a righteousness, to obtain righteousness, but He also came
to be the Redeemer of His people. That's how he saves. My friends,
he saves by giving us the righteousness we need. And he also saves because
by his blood he pays our sin debt we owe to God. The law demanded obedience, but
its demands also demanded the violators to death. Isn't that
the demands of the law? The soul that sinneth, it shall
surely die. But God, who is rich in mercy,
sent Jesus to redeem fallen sinners by becoming their substitute.
When Jesus was come at the appointed time. Of his death. He said, what shall I say then?
Father, save me from this hour. No. This is the reason I came. This is the reason I came so
that I might provide a righteousness and be the substitute for sinners. He came for this hour. This was
His mission, to be the Redeemer and pay the sin debt. He who
knew no sin was so grieved because He was made sin for us. He was
made a curse. We who believe might be made
the righteousness of God in Him. Does that not bless your heart?
I know it does to you who believe. I know it does to me. He came
to be my substitute. So then he humbled himself unto
death, even the death of the cross, so that God might be just
and the justifier of the ungodly. Oh, friend, let us see it again
and again and proclaim it wherever we go. Jesus Christ and him crucified. Is that not the gospel? That's
the gospel. I'd ask you, are there any sinners
here in this place? Are there any sinners in this
place? Are there any here in need of forgiveness? Anyone? Anyone need forgiveness? Anyone need righteousness? I
tell you, by the Word of God, behold the Lamb of God. Take it away, the sin of the
world. Behold, Christ Jesus, the Lord. And I tell you, believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. I say that without
apology. I say that with a heart full
of love for you. You see, I believed on the Lord
Jesus Christ. And I believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and by the grace of God, I shall believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. He came to save sinners. Well, you ask me, how can you
be so sure about this, preacher? You don't know me. You don't
know what I've done. You don't know where I've been.
Are you sure God can save me? Are you sure that Christ is enough? Well, this leads me to my last
question. Was he successful? Jesus, who is God manifest in
the flesh, came down to provide righteousness for sinners and
bleed in their stead underneath the wrath of almighty God. to
pay their sin debt, was he successful? Was he successful? Let's go back
to our text, read the prophecy. You shall call his name Jesus,
for he, notice this word, shall. He shall save. his people from their sins. That's a very important word,
isn't it? It's a very important word concerning the success of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall save his people. My friend, the Jesus of our day.
May have many similar characteristics. To the Jesus that I've described.
To the Jesus I have presented to you, the religious world has
a very close thing. There's matches in some of the
areas. It's like a counterfeit dollar.
Take a counterfeit dollar. It has a picture of the president
on it, has all the signatures on it, and it looks like a real
dollar and feels like a real dollar. What's the difference
between a counterfeit dollar and a real dollar? One thing,
value. Value. No matter how much the
counterfeit looks like the real, it has no value. It has no value. And I tell you,
the counterfeit Jesus of this day has no value for your soul. He has none. He has no value. He is absolutely worthless. Absolutely worthless. The counterfeit
Jesus of religion. Why is he worthless? Why do I
say that? It's very strong statement, isn't
it? The counterfeit Jesus of our
day. This is the way this text would read. You shall call his
name Jesus, for he might save someone if they'll let him. That's
that's putting it in a nutshell, isn't it? That's another Jesus. It's not the Jesus of this Bible.
That's not the Jesus of our text. That is not the Christ that came
to this earth and provided a righteousness and died in the stead of His
people. That's not Him. Why? Because
my Scripture says, He shall save His people from their sins. And my friend, anyone who worships
such a Jesus that might save somebody and has the power to
save no one, is worshiping a false God. Let me make this as plain as
I can. I hope I've been plain so far. I want to make this as
plain as I can. This Jesus, who is God, manifest
in the flesh, died on the cross, did not die for every person
without exception. He did not come to save all men,
but what does our text say? He came to save His people from
their sins. These, my friend, are the elect
of God. That's who they are. I know this riles the natural
man, that God in his sovereignty chose
a people before the world began by his free and sovereign grace. But when I witnessed to others
of this counterfeit religion, and you do too, I've noticed
that this is not my question. This is a question that was given
to me, and I found it quite effective to silence the fools of our day. And if God, by His grace, would
use it, I pray that He might show them the gospel by it. But when I encounter those of
freewill works religion, I ask them a question, very simple
questions, not deep. Is there anyone right now in
hell for whom Christ died? What I ask him. Isolated the
other day about that, and she said, well, yes, I mean, no,
I mean, well, I don't know. Most likely you'll get the answer,
yes. Why? Because they're serving
a Jesus that is not successful. They're serving a Jesus that
is not successful. I don't know about their Bible,
but the scriptures that I read in Isaiah chapter 42 concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ, it says, He shall not fail nor be discouraged. Now, my friends, if Jesus Christ
died for the sins of all of mankind and all of the world without
exception, you cannot tell me He is not a failure. My scripture reads, according
to Jesus Christ himself in John 6 39. And this is the father's
will, which has sent me that of all which he has given me,
I should lose how many? Nothing, I should lose nothing. Is that not clear? Is that not
plain? How then can there be anyone
in hell for whom Christ died concerning the scriptures that
I've just said to you? Well, you'll get this answer without
exception, unbelief. Oh, well, they're in hell because
they didn't believe. Well, my friend, is unbelief a sin? Absolutely. Well, you mean to tell me that
faith pays for sin then? Where can you find that in Scripture?
My Scripture reads, without the shedding of blood, there is no
remission. Jesus Christ, my friend, is a
successful Savior. He died for all His elect and
He paid for all of their sins. Therefore, we who believe may
rejoice in a successful Savior. We may rejoice and be glad with
joy unspeakable and full of glory because our successful Savior
has died for our sins, paid for them and risen to sit at the
throne of God and make intercession for us until he receives us up
to glory to be with himself. He's a successful Savior. He,
by his blood and righteousness, saved us from the curse of sin,
the penalty of sin. And one day he shall save us
and deliver us from the very presence of sin. Isn't that a
glorious thought? Isn't that a good hope? It is. It is. Well, then the
question then may come, well, Pastor, how do I know if God
has chosen me? How do I know that? How can I
know that Jesus died for my sins? Let me ask you this, do you need
a Savior? If you need a Savior, my friends,
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And those of us who have believed
and do believe and shall believe, my friends, We have been chosen
of God and our sins have been done away with in Christ. Isn't that glorious? Isn't that
wonderful? I love that song. Glory, I'm
saved. Glory, I'm saved. My sins are all pardoned. My
guilt is all gone. It's all gone. It's all gone. Why? Because the Lord God came
down and took upon Him flesh, obtained my righteousness, died
for my sins, rose again, and has given me faith to believe. You believe. Does this not bring
joy to your heart concerning your successful Savior? He's
successful. Praise God. Give him glory. Give him glory. Pray, Lord, to
bless this to us.