Who Is Jesus Christ?

I have an interesting subject,
I believe, today, and I want you to take your Bibles and at
least read the opening scripture with me, but if I move along
too rapidly, why don't you take a piece of paper and a pencil
and jot down these scriptures and then go back later and study
them. I'm going to be reading a lot
of scripture and speaking to you on this subject, who is Jesus
Christ. Now that ought to be interesting.
I hope the Holy Spirit will give me some liberty to preach God's
word and you some understanding on this subject. Who is Jesus
Christ? One day our Lord asked the disciples,
whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And they said, well,
some say you're John the Baptist, some say you're Elijah, one of
the prophets, but he said, whom do you say that I, the Son of
Man, am? And Peter replied, we believe
that thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. And then
one day our master asked the religious leaders, what think
ye of Christ? Whose son is he? And that's my
subject today. Who is Jesus Christ? Now Jesus Christ was born in
poverty. There was no room for his mother
to be in the inn, so he was born in a stable. And when he came
forth from his mother's womb, he was swaddled, wrapped in swaddling
clothes, and laid in a box that's used to feed the cattle, the
horses and the cows. It's called a manger. And when
this man Jesus Christ, as an infant, came into the world,
born in a stable, he was placed in a box that was used to hold
the fodder for the cows and the horses. His foster father was
a carpenter, unknown, uninfluential, inconspicuous, very poor. And this man Jesus Christ had
no formal training or education. He never traveled over 90 miles
from his hometown. He never owned a piece of ground.
He never owned a house. He never held public office.
This man Jesus Christ, all of his friends were poor, unknown
and despised people. Someone said one day, everybody
who was anybody turned thumbs down on him. The religious leaders
called him the friend of sinners. They called him a winebibber.
They called him a blasphemer. They called him a troublemaker. At thirty-three years of age,
he was accused of preaching heresy, and false witnesses stood up
against him. Even his disciples forsook him
and fled, and one of them, sold him for just $18. All men turned
away from him. He was tried by a religious court,
he was tried by a political court, and he made no effort on either
occasion to defend himself against these false witnesses and false
charges. And then he was taken outside
the city of Jerusalem, and he was nailed to a cross between
two thieves. Forsaken by his disciples and
all of his so-called friends, deserted by everyone, hanging
alone between heaven and earth on a cross between two thieves,
and according to his own cries, he was forsaken by the Father
himself, by God Almighty. God turned his back on Christ.
He died on that cross and was taken down from the cross and
laid in a borrowed tomb that belonged to a man by the name
of Joseph of Arimathea. On the third day, he arose from
the grave, and after appearing to his disciples and many other
people, almost 500 people on one occasion, he ascended to
heaven. And just as at his birth, when
the angels appeared to the shepherds and said, Unto you is born this
day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord, these
angels appeared at his ascension and they said to the disciples
who were there watching the master go up into heaven they said ye
men of Galilee why stand ye gazing up into heaven this same Jesus
which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like
manner as ye have seen him go who is this man Jesus Christ
this man who while on the earth never wrote a book and yet all
the libraries of the world will not contain the books written
about him. This man Jesus of Nazareth never
wrote a song, and yet he's the theme of more songs than all
subjects combined. This man Jesus of Nazareth never
attended college, and yet all the colleges and universities
and schools in the world cannot hold the students of his life
and his doctrine. This man Jesus of Nazareth never
studied medicine, and yet he healed more bodies, and more
souls, and more hearts, and more homes than all the doctors, and
counselors, and psychiatrists, and psychologists, and healers
who ever lived. Satan could not seduce him. The
law could not accuse him. Men could find no fault in him.
The religious crowd couldn't answer him. Death couldn't destroy
him. The grave couldn't hold him,
and the earth couldn't keep him. Who is this man, Jesus of Nazareth? He was the finest specimen of
humanity that ever lived on this earth. He stood before Pilate's
court, and if Pilate could have found one flaw in his life or
in his character, he would have certainly brought it to light.
But as he stood before Pilate, even the ruler said himself,
I can find no fault. in this man. Who is this man
Jesus of Nazareth? His teachings were the purest
and the loftiest the world has ever witnessed. They sent some
soldiers out one day to arrest him. They listened to him speak.
They came back without him. And the hirelings he sent them
out said, well, where is the man? They said, we couldn't arrest
him. We listened to him speak. No man ever spake like this man. Who is this man, Jesus of Nazareth? His deeds were all so miraculous
and so unselfish and so powerful that even a representative of
the highest Jewish religious order, Nicodemus, came to him
and said, we know you've come from God because no man could
do the miracle that you do except God be with him. Who is this
man, Jesus of Nazareth? Since he walked on this earth
There has been no end to the controversy regarding this man. Who is Jesus Christ? Do you really want to know? Do
you? Are you willing? Are you willing
to lay aside all your tradition? Do you want to know who he is
and why he came and what was his mission and what he did?
Do you want to know where he is? Are you willing to lay aside
all of your tradition and all of your prejudice and all of
your preconceived notions? Are you willing to listen to
the word of God? Are you willing to approach this subject with
an open heart and an open mind and cry, Spirit of the living
God, be my teacher? I want to know, as if I had never
met the man and never heard of him and had no teaching in the
past regarding him or his work, I want to know who he is. What
does the word of God say about Jesus Christ? All right, first
of all, I call in the angels of God. I call in the angels
of God to let them tell you who Jesus Christ is. And the scripture
I'm reading is Matthew 1, verse 18. Now, the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wife when his mother Mary was a spouse to Joseph.
Before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy
Ghost. was a just man, and not willing
to make her a public shame, a public example, would have put her away
privately. But while he thought on these
things, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and said,
Joseph, don't be afraid to take unto thee Mary to be thy wife.
For the child in her womb is conceived by the Holy Ghost,
and she shall bring forth a And thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sin." And then the
angel appeared to Mary, and the angel approached Mary, the angel
of the Lord, in Luke 1, 28. He appeared to Mary and he said,
Hail, thou art highly favored. The Lord is with thee, Mary.
Blessed art thou among women. Behold, thou shalt conceive in
thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
Jesus. He shall be great, and he shall
be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God will give unto
him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over
the house of Israel for ever and for ever. And of his kingdom
there shall be no end. And Nehru said, well, how can
these things be, seeing I know not a name? And the angel said,
the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest
shall overshadow thee, and that holy thing, that holy thing which
shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. That's who he is. The angels
of God tell us who he is. He is the Son of God. He is the
virgin-born Son of God. He is the supernaturally conceived
Son of God. Listen to the angel again. The
angels appeared then to the shepherds out on the Judean hillsides as
they grazed their flock by night. And the angels came and appeared
to these shepherds and said, Glory to God in the highest and
on earth peace and goodwill towards men. And the angels were afraid.
And in Luke 2.10 it says, The angels said to the shepherds,
Fear not. Fear not. For we bring you good tidings
of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is
born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ
the Lord, who is Christ the Lord. All right, secondly, call in.
You want to know who he is? We've called in the angels. We've
heard from the angels of God. Now call in the prophets of old.
The scripture says God, in Hebrews 1.1, God who at sundry times
and in different ways spake to our fathers by the prophets.
God spake to our fathers by the prophets. What God had to say
to the people, he said to the people through the prophets.
Let's listen to these men. Isaiah, who is Jesus Christ? Isaiah 7.14. Behold, the Lord
himself will give you a sign. A virgin shall conceive and bring
forth a son. And thou shalt call his name
Immanuel. What does Immanuel mean? Immanuel
being interpreted means God with us. God in human flesh. God came to the earth. God Almighty
took upon himself a human body and walked on this earth. That's
what Isaiah said. And then in Isaiah 9, 6, For
unto us a child is born, Under us a son is given, a child is
born. Now Christ became a man, and
he came from the womb just like any other baby, and he nourished
at the breast just like any other baby. A child is born, but he
was not only a man, he was God, so a son, the beloved son, the
only begotten son, the son of the highest, a son was not born,
not made, but given. The word of God is very exact.
And Isaiah, prophesying hundreds of years before Christ came to
this earth, said, Behold, unto us a child is born, but a son
is given. And listen, and his name, the
government shall be on his shoulders, and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. Who is Jesus Christ? Let the
prophets tell you. He's the mighty God. He's the
everlasting Father. He's the Prince of Peace. And
listen to Isaiah in chapter 53. He was despised and rejected
of me. That's what I read to you a moment
ago. Born in poverty, reared in obscurity, hated by men, spit
upon, crucified, buried, despised and rejected, a man of sorrows,
acquainted with grief. And we, here does it wear our
faces from him. He was despised. and we esteemed
him not, but surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. We did esteem him stricken of
God and afflicted, but he was wounded not for his transgressions,
but for our transgressions. He was bruised not for his iniquities,
but for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace was
laid on him. By his stripes we are healed."
Alright, who is Jesus Christ? Isaiah says he's the mighty God,
he's God with us, he's the everlasting Father, he's the Prince of Peace.
Call in the Heavenly Father. In Matthew chapter 3 verse 16,
our Lord came to Jordan's river to be introduced, to be declared
who he is by John the Baptist. John the Baptist pointed to him
as he came to that river and he said, behold the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the world. John the Baptist regarded
every lamb ever slain on a Jewish altar for these thousands of
years and then he pointed at Jesus Christ and he says there
comes the Lamb of God there comes the sacrifice of which all sacrifices
are but tithes there comes the Lamb of which all lambs are but
tithes there comes the Lamb of God that really taketh away sin
the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin they point
to him who can And listen to the Heavenly Father, in Matthew
3, on that same occasion. And Jesus, when he was baptized,
went up straightway out of the water. And lo, the heavens were
opened unto him. And he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. And lo, a voice from
heaven said, you want to know who Jesus Christ is? Listen.
This is my beloved son. in whom I'm well pleased. That's
what the father said. This is my son. Not this is a
prophet, this is a healer, this is a reformer, this is my son. And then one day he was on the
mountain with three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John, and they
fell asleep while he prayed. And our Lord's glory was revealed
in that moment. And Moses and Elijah stood on
either side of him talking to him. And when the disciples awakened,
they saw his glory. And the voice from heaven came
again. A cloud covered them. It said there came a cloud that
overshadowed the disciples, and they were engulfed in this great
cloud. And a voice came out of that cloud saying, This is my
beloved son. Hear him. Hear him. Hear him. Here's a strange witness. We've
listened to the angels. We've listened to the prophets.
We've listened to the Heavenly Father. I want you to hear another
witness. I want you to hear the demons.
Who preacher? The demons. I want you to hear
what the demons have to say about Jesus Christ. The demons know
more than most preachers today. The demons know more or will
admit more or confess more than comes from the average prophet
today. You hear from the average prophet today that Jesus Christ
is only a good man, only a healer, he is only a reformer, he's a
superstar who came down here who didn't know where he came
from, or why he came, or who he was, or where he was going,
or why he was dying. The demons know better than that.
If you turn in your Bibles to Mark chapter 1 verse 23, listen
to this. And there was in their synagogue
a man with an unclean spirit. who cried out, and this is the
demons, in this man with the unclean spirit, the demons, the
unclean spirits are crying out to Jesus Christ, let us alone,
let us alone. What have we to do with thee,
thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us?
I know thee, I know thee, said the demons, I know thee, I know
who thou art, the Holy One of God. That's what the demon says. We know who you are. Have you
come to destroy us? We know who you are, Jesus, and
as with you, the Holy One of God. Then in Matthew 8, verse
28, And met him in the land there in the tombs, coming from the
cemetery, two men, possessed with devils, And behold, as they
met Jesus Christ, they cried out, What have we to do with
thee, Jesus, thy Son of God? Now watch this next statement.
Are thou come hither to torment us before the time? The time of our destruction has
not come. The time of our being cast into
hell has not come. Have you come, have you come
to torment us before our time? Interesting, isn't it? Who is
Jesus Christ? Let the demons tell you. If you
won't listen to the angels, if you won't listen to the prophets,
if you won't listen to the Father, listen to the demons. They know
who you are, and they kill you. All right, call in the disciples.
Let the disciples tell you who Jesus Christ is. Peter, who is
Jesus Christ? Our Lord said, whom do you say
that I am? Whom do you say that I, the Son
of Man, am? Listen to Peter. Thou art the Christ. Thou art
that prophet of whom Moses wrote. The Lord himself shall raise
up from the midst of the brethren a prophet, him you shall hear.
Thou art that Christ, that Christ for whom Israel waited. Thou
art that Christ, the consolation of Israel, for whom the people
of God waited. Call in Thomas. Thomas wasn't
with the disciples when the Lord appeared to them after his resurrection.
He missed the blessing. He says the disciples were assembled
in the upper room and Christ appeared to them and Thomas was
not there. And they went and told Thomas, they said, the Lord
has risen. He said, I don't believe it.
I won't believe it unless I can put my hand, the nail points
in his hand and in the spear mark of his side. And our Lord
appeared to him later and stood before him. He said, Thomas,
Thomas reach into thy finger. and touch my hand and reach into
thy hand and thrust it into my side and Thomas don't be without
faith believe and Thomas fell on his knees in front of Christ
the master and then he looked up and he said what did he say
my Lord and my God that's who he is let Thomas tell you who
he is he's my Lord and my God he's not sweet little Jesus boy
he's not the failure He's not the imposter. He is my Lord and
my God. John, come in, John, the beloved
disciple who leans on the breast of the Son of God at the last
supper. Come in, John, and tell us who
he is. All right, John said, we know
that the Son of God has come. 1 John 5, verse 20. The Son of God has come and given
us an understanding that we may know him that is true. and we're
in him. That is true. Even in his son,
Jesus Christ, this is the true God and eternal life. That's what I've got to say,
Johnson. This is the true God I'm talking about, and this is
eternal life. Eternal life is to know Christ.
Eternal life is vested in Christ. Eternal life is given by Christ. He said, Thou hast given me power,
praying to the Father, Thou hast given me power over all flesh,
that I should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given
me. Paul, come in. Tell us who he is. All right,
Paul said in Philippians 2, verse 5, Let this man be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought
it not right for him to be equal with God, but made himself of
no reputation. and took upon himself the form
of a servant, and became obedient unto death, even unto the death
of the cross. Wherefore God hath highly exalted
him, and given him a name which is above every name, that is
the name of Jesus. Every knee shall bow in heaven,
earth, and hell, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Two men were
sitting one time in a garden, talking on a bench, and one of
them turned to the other and said, wouldn't it be wonderful,
wouldn't it be wonderful if somebody from up there, somebody from
the throne of God would come down here and tell us what it's
all about. And the other man wisely replied,
someone did. His name was Jesus Christ. He
came down here in human flesh, and spoke our tongue, and suffered
in human flesh, and thirsted, and was weary, and was a man
of sours, and acquainted with grief, and he was God's prophet.
God sent him. He said, He that seeth me hath
seen the Father. He that honoreth me honoreth
the Father. He that knoweth me knoweth the
Father. He that rejecteth me rejecteth the Father. I am the
Father one. in the fullness of time. God
sent his Son into the world, made of a woman, made under the
law, to redeem them that were born under the law. John said
in chapter 1, verse 10, he was in the world, and the world was
made by him. And the world was made by him.
And the world knew him not. And he came to his own, and his
own received him not, but as many as received him. He had
three groups of people that You have the world in general. He
was in the world, and the world didn't know him. That's the world
in general. They didn't know him. He came to his own, his
own people, his own kingdom, his own nation, Israel, and they
received him now. But, you have the third group,
as many as received him. Some did, some old Simeon standing
there in the temple waiting for the consolation of Israel. And
God had promised him that he would not see death until he
had seen the Messiah. And Malan Joseph brought that
baby, Jesus Christ, and put him in the arms of that old man,
that priest of God. And he looked down into the face
of that child, and then he looked at his eyes to heaven, and he
said, Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace. Mine eyes have
seen thy salvation. Simeon knew who he was, as many
as received him, for then gave he the right to become sons of
God, as many as believed on his name, which were born, not of
blood, that is, not of family inheritance, not of the will
of the flesh, not of the will of man, but born of God. Who
was Jesus Christ? He not only came as the prophet
to tell us who God is, to reveal the mercy of God, and the grace
of God, and the righteousness of God, and the justice of God,
but he came as our priest to do for us what we couldn't do
for ourselves. Because we were in sin, and we
were in darkness, and we were in death, and we were in inability,
and what the law could not do because of the weakness of the
flesh. The law wasn't weak, the flesh was. God sending his own
son in the likeness of sinful flesh redeemed us. and condemned
sin in the flesh. He came as the only sacrifice
for sin. He put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. There is a fountain filled with
blood, drawn from Immanuel. Who is Immanuel? God with us.
From Immanuel's veins, and sinners plunge beneath that flood. It
cleanses, it atones, it redeems. Lose all their guilty stains. Jesus Christ. Now if you want
this message on tape, you write to me. The tape will contain
two messages, this week and next week. It costs three dollars. We'll be glad to hear from you.
Until next week at the same time, I bid you a very pleasant good
day.

Who Is Jesus Christ?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Who Is Jesus Christ?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

More from Henry Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Henry Mahan

Books by Henry Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book