Perhaps as one of the multitude hearing the preaching of Jesus you may have missed His relational claim to God as His Father. Even now as one seeing signs on a mountainside and your amazement by the Lord’s miracles, your ears failed to hear His mention of the Father.
And like those in the crowds who followed Jesus for a time, but later left Him when their path to Heaven became steep and dangerous, you may have asked yourself a question like this:
Why would I follow Jesus or worship Him instead of God?
Why? Same reason that the multitudes did NOT follow Jesus. The Lord asks us to submit to His will in place of our own.
Today we will show some signs of Jesus and address reactions of those who claimed to believe in God while selfishly opposing to follow the Messiah of Israel.
Miracles & Signs by Jesus
The Apostle John outlines several signs and proofs of the Good News that Jesus IS the Son of the Living God. That is to say, Jesus proves to witnesses that God IS His Father and He IS God’s only Son!
Before hearing (or reading) Jesus’ words about the Father, let’s briefly look at John’s list of proofs witnessed by many in several places.
Cana, Galilee
John 2:7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom…
Jerusalem, Judea
John 2: First Passover—Cleansing the Temple
18 The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?”
19 Jesus answered them,
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
John 2:23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.
Galilee, along road through Samaria from Jerusalem
There was a certain royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to him and pleaded with him to come down and heal his son, since he was about to die.
Jesus told him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
John 4:48 CSB
Do you and I tend to require more proof from God?
(I know sometimes my faith falters.)
Jesus provides proof of a miracle here even though the Lord lamented that we so often require signs.
49 “Sir,” the official said to him, “come down before my boy dies.”
50 “Go,” Jesus told him, “your son will live.”
A pool by the Sheep Market gate, Jerusalem, Judea
John 5: (Most likely during a second Passover) The Healing at Bethesda
3 Within these [five porches] lay a large number of the disabled—blind, lame, and paralyzed.
5 One man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and realized he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to get well?”
8 “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk.” 9 Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.
Now that day was the Sabbath…
Son’s Signs through the Father
“Truly I tell you, the Son is not able to do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing… And just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom he wants.
John 5:19b,21 CSB
28 Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of condemnation.
We show no awe of Jesus in our no-salt ‘christian’ lives. Oh, perhaps in a stanza of singing, a sentence of sermon or a moment of compassion in our encounter with another; but for the most part we Christians fail to show any awe of Jesus in our worship or daily lives.
Our church and yours will most likely witness the “aahhh” of a baby born in Bethlehem directed for our children. Ah, not awe — the small sprinkling of Christ for the community, rather than Spirit led worship of the Christ who still lives.
AWE!
The forgotten awe of the Lord God witnessed in the past becomes the superstition of today’s disbelief.
When we read of the awe of Jesus we quickly overlook it. How easily we miss a personal awe of the Lord.
So just for a moment put yourself in the sandals of some witnesses we missed in Jesus’ introduction. (For the Gospel shows us much more than the ‘ah’ of a babe in a manger.)
The Gospel of Matthew
1:20b … an angel of the Lord appeared to him [Joseph] in a dream… 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him.
Note: Maji: Matthew 2:1 A caste of wise men specializing in astronomy, astrology, and natural science
2:2 “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.
The Gospel Mark
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”
The Good News (εὐαγγέλιον) of Luke
1:8 … he was serving as priest before God… 11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and overcome with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah…
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David…
2:9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid…
13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
Luke 2:14 NASB – Strong’s G2107 – eudokia Blueletterbible.org
33 And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.
Does Jesus still amaze you after hearing HIS STORY each year?
Do you hear the awe in these witnesses of Christ? And like them do hold HIM in awe as well?
34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—
Prophecy – Simeon recalls and applies prophecy of the Messiah to Jesus, the Son of Man born in a manger in Bethlehem.
The Gospel of John
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:2 KJV of Christ Jesus ‘this one, visibly present here
The Lamb of God in a manger
The Lamb of God
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’
John the Baptist was in awe of Jesus. Are you?
51 And He said to him [Nathanael], “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Awesome! Truly, the Gospel records many instances of awe connected to Christ Jesus.
You know the greek root and its connection to fear, dread, terror and that which strikes terror.
Yet we marginalize our phobias even of miracles. And awe in this sense startles our sense of the natural. For our human understanding must be finite and understanding of the infinite baffles us.
We mention the fear of the shepherds who witnessed the awe of angels at Jesus’ birth. Yet seldom will we note the supernatural motivations for the multitudes of followers who subsequently had to see and hear the Messiah Jesus.
In just one scene here in Nain, imagine yourself as part of the crowd gathered for the funeral of this man. Jesus, of whom you have heard, walks up and touches the coffin.
“Young man, I say to you, arise!”
The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying,
Oh, the humility and love of GOD to be born as a Son of Man!
Roger Harned – on the birth of the Messiah Jesus
Think of it – consider the concept of The Almighty LORD God, born as a human being through a woman. In this sense Jesus, the Christ, comes to man through a woman as a son of man born of mankind.
Christmas – Celebration of the ‘Mass of Christ’
Shouldn’t we see Christmas not so much as the all-too-familiar scene of ‘a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger,’ but rather a sign of God’s tender mercy for mankind?
Therefore the humbleness of the Christ child, who was and is and will be the Lord God Almighty, Creator of the heavens and earth should bring us to our knees. Picture the LORD GOD more fully in the Person of Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit!
We speak of the Messiah Jesus, Son of Man and Son of God. He was born by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary, betrothed of Joseph of Nazareth, a son of David.
And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
This seventeen verse genealogy from the Gospel of Matthew introduces a touching story of a child for children of God. Yet it is not the picture I ask you to see today.
Son of Man
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
What’s the point of this extensive genealogy from Abraham? The list through David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeconiah and through Jacob the father of Joseph (who was only engaged to Mary)? Of course we know few of these men and women (like Rahab & Tamar or Jeconiah).
Clearly Jesus is the son of Mary, a woman with child sometimes accused of being with another man. To call Jesus a son of man, that is, adam, refers only to Mary!
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 from the Holy Spirit.
Jesus’ self-designated title, Son of Man, is at issue here. Who is the father of this Messiah of Israel? (And what role do Joseph and Mary play in God’s mysterious plan of redemption for mankind?)
If Joseph is not the father why follow his bloodline or ancestry at all?
(… for she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit}
Mary, a virgin, is not some young girl who pridefully claims a status as ‘single mom’ as some today will. She does not speak of an indiscretion with a young man other than Joseph who she will not name.
This is a truly unique instance of Divinity interacting with creation. God becomes the Father of Jesus, yet not a husband to Mary.
So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.
The LORD God is Father to Jesus, Son, a man (child) born to ‘man‘ (adam) in the person of Mary.
He IS the Very Image of the invisible Father (LORD & Creator of the first Adam and the first woman created). The Son of Man IS fully the Father and yet the seed of adam through Mary.
But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,
“Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
So scripture records clearly that Mary is the single mom of Jesus. Yet the overshadowing cloud of Life in the Holy Spirit is the Father of this Christ child.
Jesus the Christ IS the Son of God incarnate (in the flesh).
“She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Joseph, Step-father of God
Mat 1:24-25 – When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.
Here also Joseph demonstrates humility and righteousness as did Mary. He too obeys the angel of the Lord God; for this Son of David must lead a young Jesus to grow in wisdom and grace.
Son of Man – a babe in a manger
Joseph flees Bethlehem, near Jerusalem in Judea, over 300 miles to Egypt, later returning to Nazareth in Galilee several more miles to the north.
Matthew 2:
…an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying,
“Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt. He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled:
Out of Egypt I called my Son.
An angel of the Lord warns Joseph to flee to Egypt.
Also angels had appeared in person to shepherds in the hills where David had watched over flocks. Then later after Herod’s death [~4BC] an angel tells Joseph to return.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.
And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. 23 Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth
.. to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Follow the Lord Incarnate
As any wise men or women might observe, God did not come into this world to condemn the world. Christmas gifts represented by the wise men attract our focus, but should never substitute for our worship of the Lord. Jesus IS the Christ of Christmas.
We overlook an obedient step-father who saves them all from Herod the Great, murderer of the innocents of Bethlehem. Let’s not hold too high a chosen mother in this iconic manger scene. The Lord God our Father sent Salvation to mankind as a baby born for a Cross.
Follow the Son of Man
Later Matthew reveals to us the cost to the Father of the manger, which is the Cross of Christ. The Apostle also reveals the Gospel Good News.
Matthew later describes a scene where the Apostle Simon Peter asks the Lord the cost of discipleship. Jesus has just told them of the difficulty for men, even faithful men and women, to enter heaven. Peter wants to know our reward.
“Then who can be saved,” they ask?
The Lord then states:
“With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Then Peter responded to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you. So what will there be for us?”
So Peter asks for all of us: doubters with limited faith.
28 Jesus said to them,
“Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Good for the Twelve, you think. What about us?
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or motheror children or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
Following Christ from the Manger
Have you long ago left your gift at the manger or even forgotten Christ’s difficult journey?
The Son of Man came down to Creation humbly and lived a difficult life in the flesh for us. He lived it without sin so that He could bear ours.
From Bethlehem to Egypt to Nazareth to Capernaum to Jerusalem to Golgotha…
to Hell and back from the empty tomb, to the road to Emmaus…
to rising into the clouds at Pentecost, to appearance to Saul near Damascus, to Revelation to John on Patmos:
The Lord came to the Created – to you and to me, Jesus lived, died and rose that we might follow Him further than as a Babe in a manger in Bethlehem.
He has been here before. The Son of Man who was journeys from before Eden until beyond now.
Next we will explore some of the Lord’s previous appearances to mankind, God-willing.
To Be Continued...
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