What Christ Says About Himself

Tom Shrader walks through a series of claims Jesus made about Himself across the Gospels, including His identity as Messiah, His eternal pre-existence, His authority to forgive sins, His power over death, His sinlessness, and His purpose to seek and save the lost. Each claim is shown to have provoked a strong response from those who heard it, dividing crowds and provoking hostility from religious leaders. Shrader closes by pressing listeners to move beyond intellectual acknowledgment and respond personally to Jesus as Lord and God, noting that genuine faith transforms the entire shape of a person's life.

“Jesus said he's God, and no good guy would say, I'm God, if he wasn't.”

— Tom Shrader

Series: A Study Of The Life Of Jesus Christ (2005)

Recorded: 2005 at East Valley Bible Church

Duration: 46 min

Themes: identity of jesus, faith, forgiveness, salvation, messiahship, responding to jesus, evangelism, lordship, seeker, new believer, intellectually curious, questioning faith, skeptic, missionary in everyday life, young adult, returning to church

Scripture: John 7:30, John 7:40-53, John 8:12, John 8:29, John 8:51, John 8:56-59, John 9, John 10:7, John 10:10-11, John 10:19, John 10:27-31, John 10:39, John 11:1-45, John 15:10, John 20:25-29, Luke 4:14-29, Luke 19:10, Mark 2:1-12, Matthew 10:34-38, Isaiah 61, Colossians 1:16, 1 Corinthians 15, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 1:19, 1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5

Theological Themes: christology, deity of christ, incarnation, soteriology, seeking the lost, sinlessness of christ, eternal pre-existence, personal faith

Full Transcript

Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was? So there was a division in the multitude because of Him. And some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

A Pattern of Response

So you see this pattern already beginning to emerge. Jesus is doing something, Jesus is saying something, and when He does and when He says, people respond. And as I was studying and reading through these chapters, I noticed this pattern over and over again. It struck me that this is really what is going on at the peak of His ministry. He is revealing Himself, and people are being forced to make a decision about who He is.

What I want to do this morning is look specifically at what Jesus says about Himself. Not what others say about Him, not what the religious leaders say about Him, not what the crowd says about Him, but what He says about Himself. Because I think when you look at what Jesus says about Himself, you are forced into exactly the same position that the crowds were forced into. You either believe Him or you do not. You either conclude He is who He says He is, or you conclude something else entirely.

And that is precisely the point. Jesus Himself said you are either for Him or against Him. There is no middle ground. There is no spiritual Switzerland, as it were. You may feel as though you are in the middle, still working things out, still trying to figure it out. But practically speaking, if you are not for Him, you are against Him. He has removed neutrality as an option.

Living as a Missionary

Now, the reason I want to walk through this carefully this morning is that I have a sense — and I will admit this is somewhat anecdotal — that there is a growing number of people joining us here at East Valley Bible Church who are genuinely new. New to church, new to the faith, and in many cases new to Jesus altogether. Some come with a religious background. Some come with no background at all. And the younger a person is, the more likely it is that they have simply never been introduced to who Jesus is. They may presume He existed because they have heard His name or read it somewhere, but they do not know Him.

And here is what I think is happening. As you begin to live the life of a missionary — and understand that being a missionary does not require a passport, shots, a visa, or travel to a foreign land — you are a missionary in your neighborhood, at your workplace, at school, among the people you spend time with and relax with. As you live that life, spiritual things inevitably come up in conversation. You can only stay on the surface so long. You can only talk about the Diamondbacks, or what ASU is going to do this season, or what your water bill is, for so long before the conversation wants to go somewhere deeper. And spiritual things are entirely acceptable conversation in our culture.

If you are truly living a transformed life, your life becomes so distinctive from the world around you that people notice. They are drawn to you. They may not be able to name exactly what it is, but they see something different. And that opens the door. All of a sudden you have opportunities to talk about what is really important to you — why you live the way you live, why you think the way you think. And inevitably, in that conversation, Jesus becomes a topic. Church becomes a topic.

What Jesus Says About Himself

So what I want us to see this morning is a pattern. As I was preparing this week, I was not just reading a section for the purpose of a lesson. I was reading through several chapters, and I began to see this pattern emerge. I thought it would be worth taking a brief side trip to look at it carefully, because I believe it pulls together much of what we have been studying in the life of Christ — sections we have covered, sections we have moved past — and draws them back into focus.

Remember what we have said: Jesus is now at what we might call the peak of His ministry in terms of numerical support. And the reason that peak is beginning to shift is that He is increasingly revealing who He really is — both by what He says and by what He does. As that revelation increases, so does the response. And the response is inevitable. It is so inevitable, in fact, that I am preaching this morning with the full intention that you will respond. That is what Jesus does. Whenever His name is genuinely raised — and I will go out on a limb and say the biblical Jesus — you get a response. I believe that is by design. He intended it to be that way.

Look at John chapter 7, verse 30. Jesus has just said, "I know Him, and because I am from Him, He has sent Me," speaking of God and His relationship with the Father. The text then tells us: "They were seeking therefore to seize Him, but no man laid hands on Him, because His hour had not yet come. But many of the multitude believed in Him; and they were saying, 'When the Christ shall come, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?'" And then the Pharisees and the chief priests heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, and they sent officers to seize Him. There is the reaction. There it is.

Division in the Multitude

Now look at verse 40, where the pattern continues. Jesus has again been teaching and acting in ways that demand a response. Verse 40: "Some of the multitudes therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, 'This certainly is the Prophet.' Others were saying, 'This is the Christ.' Still others were saying, 'Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?'" And so there was a division in the multitude because of Him. Some wanted to seize Him. And yet no one laid hands on Him.

You see the pattern. Every time Jesus speaks, every time He acts, there is a split. Some believe. Some reject. Some are confused and push back with objections. But no one is indifferent. That is the point. No one walks away from an encounter with Jesus having felt nothing and decided nothing. He is not the kind of figure who allows that. He presses the question. He forces the issue. And that is exactly what we are going to trace together in this series — what Christ says about Himself, and what it demands of everyone who hears it.

The Growing Hostility Toward Jesus

"Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is it? Had not the Scripture said that the Christ will come from the offspring of David and from Bethlehem, the village of David?" So there arose a division in the multitudes because of Him, and some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him. Why? Back to verse 30 — His time had not yet come.

The officers came to the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they said to them, "Why did you not bring him?" The officers answered, "Never did a man speak the way this man speaks." Jesus was again beginning to reveal Himself. The Pharisees answered and said, "You have not also been led astray, have you? No one of the rulers of the Pharisees has believed in him, has he? But the multitudes, which does not know the law, is accursed." A little arrogance there.

Nicodemus — we know him from John 3 — said to them, "Our law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he's doing, does it?" They answered him, "You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee." Notice the hostility, the discussion.

Stones, Division, and the Claims of Christ

Look at chapter 8, verse 59. As you turn there — especially as you look at John chapter 8, you'll see all of this in red letters if your Bible is a red-letter edition. Jesus has been teaching. He's been saying things like, "I am the light of the world" — we'll talk about that. He's also saying, in verse 51, "Truly I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death" — and we'll come back and talk about that as well.

Look at verse 59, when He is done teaching: "Therefore they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple." They understood what Jesus was saying. We'll come back and unpack it, but for now stay focused on this: they picked up stones. Why? They understood the claim to be God, and they were responding to that.

Look at chapter 10. Again, chapter 10 begins with Jesus teaching. Verse 7: "I am the door of the sheep." Verse 11: "I am the good shepherd." As He used the picture of the shepherd, the Jews clearly understood exactly what He was saying. Verse 19: "There arose a division among the Jews because of these words." Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and he is insane. Why do you listen to him?" But others were saying, "These are not the sayings of one that is demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?"

Some more dialogue takes place, and then look at verse 27 — we're still in John 10: "My sheep hear my voice. I know them. They know me. I give them eternal life. They will never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hands." Verse 30: "I and the Father are one." Look at verse 31: "The Jews took up stones again to stone him." He is teaching, and the claim here is obviously one of deity. They understood it. He didn't have to spell it out any further — that is exactly what they are stoning Him for, exactly what they are responding to. They dialogue a little more, and then verse 39: "Therefore they were seeking again to seize him and he eluded their grasp."

Extraordinary Claims That Demand a Response

Here is what is starting to happen in Jesus' ministry over and over again. He is beginning to reveal to those around Him — to the multitudes, to those close to Him, to the Jewish leaders — who He really is. He is making claims, and these claims demand a response. They inevitably generate a response.

If you were at Starbucks today and someone sitting there said, "I am God," you would have some reaction. You might say, "You're an idiot, you're nuts." Or you might say, "Well, he must be God, or he wouldn't say it." Or you might say, "What's the evidence? You say you're God — can you prove it to me? Can you show me?" That is exactly what is going on in this entire process. Jesus is making extraordinary claims that inevitably generate a strong reaction.

Jesus understood this. In fact, let me read it to you. Matthew chapter 10, verse 34 — Jesus spoke these words: "Do not think I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies will be members of his household. He who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

Jesus said He came to divide — to pit people against one another in a certain sense. The word "against" here means literally to cut in two. In some cases there will be permanent separation and irreconcilable differences. It is inevitable.

The Cost of Following Christ

One author writes this: "One member of a family coming to Christ sometimes leads to the whole family being converted, but the conversion of one member often leads instead to bitterness and permanent disruption of family relations. No one can be sure in advance what other people's reaction to his conversion will be, not even the reaction of his own family. But Jesus' point is that the concern for saving one's soul and yielding to Christ absolute lordship must be paramount, whatever the cost." The phrase "is not worthy of me" identifies the person who will not come to Christ because of other intimate and meaningful relationships that might be affected.

We see that around us all the time, and we see it in Jesus' life. He preaches, He teaches, He acts, and then there is division. There are situations where parents' hearts are absolutely broken because they believe that Jesus is Lord — they have come to Him in repentance and faith — and yet they do not see their own children share that same faith.

When Faith Divides

Sometimes it is people who have come to Christ at an older age, and now they see their children and feel open to guilt, saying they blew it — and yet there is division, with the kids thinking the parents have gone off the deep end. We also see it the other way, where a child gets saved in student ministry or college ministry and aches for their parents. We see friends whose relationships are literally destroyed because one of them has come to Christ in repentance and faith, and that inevitably changes what they think and how they behave. The practical outgrowth of it is that they are no longer going to be friends.

I was listening to a young lady the other day, and she was saying that her sister and she have literally agreed they will not speak about religion anymore. She has her faith, God saved her, she has been converted, and as she begins to talk about what the Scripture says — she says she tries to do it lovingly and kindly — the battle begins the minute the topic comes up. So when we look at these sections of Scripture from John's Gospel, though they may be occurrences from the life of Christ two thousand years ago, they are as fresh relationally as today.

Why John Wrote His Gospel

John records the teaching and the miracles that lead up to that reaction for a specific reason. John writes his whole Gospel for a specific reason, and that is what he says. John chapter 20, verse 30: "Many other signs, therefore, Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book, but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."

John says, let me tell you why I wrote this Gospel — let me tell you why I hand-picked these things. I did not give you everything Jesus did. I did not tell you everything Jesus said. I hand-selected these for this purpose: that you would look at them and they would push you to a decision, that you might believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that by believing in Him you would have eternal life. It would not be merely an intellectual commitment, but your life would be transformed by it.

So that is what I want to spend time on today. I want us to look at some of the claims that Jesus made, and I want to ask you to respond to them.

Jesus Claims to Be the Messiah

Let us start in Luke's Gospel, chapter 4, verse 14. "Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit, and the news about Him spread through all the surrounding district, and He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all." He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. He stood and read, welcomed as a visiting teacher. They gave Him the scroll, and as God had providentially ordained, the reading of the day was Isaiah chapter 61.

Here is what He read: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor, and He sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of the sight of the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." When Jesus read that passage, all of the Jews in the synagogue would have known it was a Messianic prophecy — a passage that speaks of the Messiah, the One they had prayed and anticipated for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Look at what Jesus does in verse 20. He closes the book, gives it back to the attendant, and sits down — placing Himself in the position of a teacher. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. It must have been an incredible moment. Everybody is looking, everybody is listening, and Jesus simply says: "Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

What Jesus is claiming is this: that is Me. I am the Messiah. I am here. You can see why He gets a reaction. He is saying, you have been praying and waiting for thousands of years for this Messiah, it looked like an ordinary day to you, but you came into the synagogue and here I am, and this passage is talking about Me. They could not deal with that.

Look at what they say. They were all speaking well of Him and wondering — but then they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?" We know this boy; he grew up here. This is not the Messiah. And then the dialogue shifts. Verse 28: "And all in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things, and they rose up and cast Him out of the city, led Him to the brow of the hill on which the city had been built in order to throw Him down the cliff."

A Different Kind of Messiah

Jesus says He is the Messiah, and they are saying that cannot be — because in their minds, when the Messiah comes, there will be prosperity, peace, and political freedom and power. Jesus is saying no, I am a different kind of Messiah. He is a suffering Messiah, and they missed it.

The same kind of thing can happen today. We were sitting the other day — Haley was over, and Haley and Susan and I were sitting there when the hour changed. When the hour changes, the only right thing to do is go through all 128 channels to see if there is anything worth watching. We got to a Christian television station, and there was a man on there who is very popular — in fact, Haley had called me several months ago and said she was leaving —

The Gospel Must Be the Same Everywhere

The gospel isn't just "come to Jesus and everything will be great." You can say no to that in spades. The gospel we preach in Newport Beach or Gilbert or Houston or New York or Chicago has to be the same gospel we preach in the streets of Calcutta, or it is not the gospel at all. I have had guys say to me, "Hey, I tried Christianity for 30 days and it didn't work" — just as if it were Crest or Colgate or something. What they meant was, "I tried this, but my path wasn't strewn with roses, therefore it didn't work."

You can be here today and miss the Messiah.

Jesus Claims Eternal Pre-existence

Look at this claim. Go to John chapter 8. It is one of the dialogues that led to the response we saw earlier. Jesus is teaching in John chapter 8, verse 51: "Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he shall never see death." They don't get this at all.

Jesus says in verse 56 — and we are skipping sections, but you will get the gist of this — "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." The Jews therefore said to Him in verse 57, "You are not yet 50 years old, and You have seen Abraham?" We know that Jesus was probably in His early 30s at this point. He wasn't barely 30. And Jesus said, "Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."

Now you and I might say, "I don't know what that means — that's cryptic." Look at verse 59. They picked up stones to stone Him. Why? Because they understood exactly what He was saying. He is saying, "I pre-exist." That is how John starts this gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." That is what Jesus is claiming.

Paul picks up the same idea in Colossians chapter 1, verse 16: "For by Him, Jesus, all things were created both in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether the thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things and He is in all things and He holds all things together." Jesus is saying here, "I am eternal." Now — what do you do with that?

Jesus Claims Authority to Forgive Sin

Here is a third claim. Mark's gospel this time — Mark chapter 2. This is an extraordinary claim that really only a God or a fool could make. Mark chapter 2, verse 1 is the story of a paralytic man. His friends want to bring him to Jesus to be healed, but they cannot get in. So in verse 4, they lower him down through the roof. Jesus says to him in verse 5, "My son, your sins are forgiven."

Look at the response. There were some of the scribes sitting there — and this is important — reasoning in their hearts. They were not saying this out loud. This was in their minds. "Why does this man speak this way? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone?" What is the answer to that, by the way? No one. Only God can forgive sin.

Jesus, in verse 8, aware in His spirit what they were reasoning, said to them, "Why are you reasoning these things in your heart? Which is easier to say — not do, which is easier to say — to the paralytic: 'Your sins are forgiven,' or 'Arise and take up your pallet'?" It is much easier to say "Your sins are forgiven," because we have no empirical data to work with. We cannot look into the soul to determine whether sins are forgiven or not. But it is impossible to simply say "Arise and walk" and have it happen — that is the whole point.

Jesus says in verse 10, "But in order that you might know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sin" — He said to the paralytic — "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home." He arose and immediately took up his pallet and went out in the sight of all, so that they were all amazed and glorifying God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."

Every one of these claims is saying, "I am God, I am God, I am God." Who can forgive sin? Rightly so — only God. He comes to the man and says, "Your sins are forgiven," and they are thinking, "Wait, that is reserved for God." He then asks which would be easier to say, and then commands the man to arise and walk. There is the evidence. That man, in that instance, becomes a display case for the work of God — just as we see in John chapter 9, where the disciples ask about the blind man, "Who sinned, this man or his parents?" and Jesus answers, "Neither, but that he might become a display case for the work of God."

Jesus did not say, "I am a good teacher." He did not say, "I am just a prophet." In everything He says and everything He does, He is saying, "I am God."

Jesus Claims Power Over Death

Here is a fourth claim. Back to John's gospel — John chapter 11. He claims to have power over death. John chapter 11 is the story of Lazarus. Lazarus, his sisters Mary and Martha, and Jesus are close friends.

The Delay Before the Miracle

The word comes in verse 3: "Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick." Here is Lazarus, described as a person that Jesus loves. He is sick, and the implication of the message is clear: come and do something about it. But Jesus does not. He delays. He waits. When He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed two days longer, as verse 6 tells us.

Then Jesus says, "Let us go to Judea." The disciples push back, reminding Him that the Jews were just now seeking to stone Him there. Jesus says they are going regardless. "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep," He says in verse 11, and the disciples wonder whether sleep means he will recover. Jesus clarifies plainly in verse 14: "Lazarus is dead, and I am glad." Wait — this is the one He loves, and He is glad? The reason He gives is telling: "For your sake I was not there, so that you may believe."

Power Over Death

They make their way to Bethany. Mary and Martha each come to greet Him, expressing that if Jesus had been there, Lazarus would not have died. Jesus makes clear they have missed the point. They go to the tomb, and in verse 39 Martha warns that after four days the body will already smell. Jesus instructs them to roll away the stone, prays, and then calls out: "Lazarus, come forth." And he comes. This is power over death. God is written all over this moment.

Look at the response in verse 45. To many, this is one of the most amazing verses in all of Scripture: "Many therefore believed." How can it say many and not all? What more would a person need to see? If someone standing right there, watching a dead man walk out of a tomb, still did not believe, it is because they would not believe — not because the evidence was insufficient. Evidence is all around. Jesus has power over life and death.

You do not need to turn there, but 1 Corinthians 15 is the resurrection chapter. Paul says that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Jesus did not rise, and if Jesus did not rise, then his preaching is useless and our faith is useless. But He did rise from the dead. And so Paul writes, quoting from the Old Testament: "O death, where is your sting? O death, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is in the law. But thanks be to God who gives us victory through Jesus Christ."

What "You Will Never Die" Really Means

When Jesus says you will never die, He is certainly not speaking physically. Physically, every one of us will die — we cannot avoid that. Here is what He is saying: those who die physically will live spiritually forever, because they believe in Him. If you believe in Him, you have eternal life. And He can promise that because He has conquered death — conquered it Himself and defeated it on your behalf, defeating your separation from God.

The Fifth Claim: Jesus Is Sinless

This brings us to the fifth claim. In John chapter 8, verse 12, Jesus declares, "I am the light of the world." Wayne Grudem writes that the statements about Jesus' sinlessness are most explicit in John's gospel. If we understand light to represent both truthfulness and moral purity, then Jesus is claiming to be the source of truth and the source of moral purity and holiness in the world. It is an astounding claim, and one that could not be made by someone who was not free from sin.

Look at verse 29 of chapter 8: "I always do what is pleasing to the Father." And in chapter 15, verse 10: "I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love." These are Jesus' own claims to sinlessness, and Scripture gives testimony to them throughout. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21 of Jesus "who knew no sin." Hebrews 4:15 says He "has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet He is without sin." 1 Peter 1:19 calls Him "a lamb without blemish or spot." 1 Peter 2:22 says "He committed no sin, no guile is found in His lips." And 1 John 3:5 declares that "in Him there is no sin."

Why Sinlessness Matters

Why does this matter? Because Jesus is going to the cross. He is going to die there in your place. The wage of sin is death. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We love to make comparisons between ourselves and others, but here is what Scripture says: if you violate the law, you violate the law. If ever once you have sinned — told a lie, stolen a paperclip, anything — you are a sinner. That sin has separated you from God, and you are no longer capable of making a perfect sacrifice. That is what God demands.

No ordinary human being could go to the cross and die in someone else's place. No human being could save himself. But Jesus, the sinless one, comes to earth and dies so that you and I might have eternal life.

He Left Paradise to Come Here

This week I was at a funeral for Chuck Bishop's father. The man conducting the service said something I seem to hear at every funeral I attend: "He is in a better place. As much as he loved you, he would not come back even if he could, because he is in paradise — a magnificent place." That is a great truth. But consider this: so was Jesus. Jesus was in that paradise, in that glory. And yet He emptied Himself of His glory — not His deity, but His glory — and did what we say we would never want to do. He, as God, left there and came here to die so that you and I might have eternal life.

Christ Came to Save

"The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost." That is Jesus speaking of Himself in Luke chapter 19, verse 10, in the story of Zacchaeus, the wee little tax collector, to whom salvation comes. When the angel appeared to Joseph, he said — and I am paraphrasing part of this — "I know you have issues here with Mary. How can she be pregnant when you have never slept with her?" The angel confirms that neither has any other man, and that what is inside of her is a product of the Holy Spirit. The angel continues: "I do not want you to leave her. I want you to embrace her, be with her, marry her. Take this child and name Him Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins."

Christ Came to Give Life

Jesus also claims to give life. In John chapter 10, verse 10, in the midst of a body of teaching — where He declares Himself the door and the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep — He says this: "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy. I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly." One of the paraphrases puts it this way: "I have come that you might have real living."

We, as fallen people, tend to look for not just love but for all sorts of meaning and direction in all the wrong places. We try to find love, joy, and peace in achievement and accomplishment. We try to earn peace, or smoke peace, or snort peace, or sleep with peace — we look for it everywhere. Some of you are very driven people, and what is really driving you is a sense of inadequacy. It is amazing to me that some of the most talented, gifted people I have ever seen — overachievers, achievement all over — are, when you really sit down with them, the most insecure and hurting people I have ever been around. They are so empty, so driven, trying to find meaning.

Jesus says: no. If you want life, if you want the abundant life, you come to Him in repentance and faith. That is the thread running through all the great "I am" statements sprinkled throughout John's gospel. "I am the bread of life." "I am the light of the world." "I am the door." "I am the good shepherd." "I am the resurrection and the life." "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me." "I am the true vine."

Christ Accepts Worship Due Only to God

Let me give you one final claim of Jesus: He accepts praise that is worthy only of God. Turn to the very end of John's gospel, chapter 20. Jesus is risen from the dead and has appeared to the ten — Judas is gone, and Thomas is gone. We fast forward to when Thomas is now present. Verse 25 tells us the others say to him, "We have seen the Lord." There are some characteristics here that are actually admirable about Thomas. His mother is never going to say to him, "If all the boys jumped off a bridge, would you?" — because Thomas is clearly resisting the crowd. The other ten are saying they have seen Jesus, and Thomas is saying there is no way.

I understand this is doubting Thomas, and I understand he made a mistake, but there is something in that characteristic that at least catches my attention. He states it in the strongest possible terms: unless he can put his finger in Jesus' hand and his hand in Jesus' side, he will not believe. Eight days later, Jesus appears to the now eleven and says, essentially, "All right, Thomas, here you go." And Thomas responds in John chapter 20, verse 28: "My Lord and my God."

Now, if Jesus were merely a good man, He would have to say at that point, "I think you have overstated the case, Thomas. I might be a remarkable person, a great teacher, but you have gotten carried away here — Lord? God? Me? No." That is not what He says. Instead He says, "Because you have seen, you have believed. Blessed are they who have not seen and yet believe." He is saying: I am God.

You Must Respond

Now you have to respond. Some of you, even as we have gone through this, are saying amen — this is what you believe, this is what you know, and it affirms your faith. Some of you are having a very strong negative reaction. Some of you want no part of this. It upsets your tradition, just as it upset the Jews at that point. You understand the ramifications, because here is what Jesus is saying: if you believe in Him, you have eternal life; if you do not, you will not. And if you do believe in Him, what you are going to have to do is deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him. It will radically change your whole life.

If your Christian faith has not radically changed the way you think, the way you behave, and the way you live, then you have some very serious questions to answer about whether you have been converted at all. Faith in Christ also strips away your pride. Religion keeps your pride in place, because with religion you can say, "Done that, done that, done that, done that." Jesus says there is nothing you can do — in fact, everything you try to do just gets in the way. It does not make it better.

Responding to the Claims of Christ

The reaction some people have is a quiet one—like Gandhi's: "I read the Gospels. Put me down for yes, they're great, but to believe Jesus died for me? I don't think so." Or there is the Thomas Jefferson reaction, the same thing: I love His teaching. Jefferson, as you know, did his own Bible and took out everything supernatural. The Jefferson Bible ends with, "They placed him in the tomb and rolled the stone in front of the opening." Not very cheery and upbeat. Not a lot of hope there.

But that is where this line of thinking takes you. You do not have the option of concluding that Jesus was just a good guy, because Jesus said He is God, and no good guy would say "I am God" if he were not. John Stott writes it this way, speaking about these claims: "They do not in and of themselves constitute evidence of deity. The claims may be made false, but some explanation must be found. We can no longer regard Jesus simply as a great teacher if he was so grievously mistaken in one of the chief subjects of his teaching, namely himself."

C.S. Lewis wrote this: "You must make your choice. Either this man was and is the Son of God, or else he is a mad man or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool. You can spit at him or kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He does not leave that open to us. He did not intend to."

The Evidence Demands a Response

You need to respond to this. You need to go beyond merely understanding it intellectually. My mind is so convinced and my heart is so committed to this that if we sat and talked for hours, there is nothing you could do to change my mind—because I do not think the Scriptures change, and I do not think they stutter or stammer, and I do not think what we have is a book of myths written long ago.

Consider what happened not long ago with the group of scholars who took all the teachings of Jesus and voted on whether they were accurate. They had a red marble if they were sure a saying was not true, a pink marble if they thought it was not true, a white marble if they had no opinion, a gray marble if they thought it might be true, and a black marble if they thought it was absolutely true. When all these people had cast their votes, they came back and told us what Jesus really said. The argument is incredible: you cannot trust the Scriptures because these scholars, coming along after Jesus' death but two thousand years later, have determined otherwise. If you think about it even a little, it makes no sense.

Here is what the Bible says, and I believe it is the Word of God. If you study and look at the evidence, I believe you will conclude the same. That Jesus existed and was crucified is clear—even secular historians agree with that. And if Jesus rose from the dead, which I do not understand how anyone who looks at the evidence could deny, and if Jesus claimed to be God, then to me the only reasonable, logical, right response is to fall down and worship Him for who He is.

What It Means to Come to Christ

That response means coming to Him in repentance and faith, believing that when Jesus died on the cross He truly intended to die for His people—and that could be you, if you come to Him in repentance and faith and believe that Jesus is who He said He was. Your life will never be the same again. It will not all be smooth and easy—I can tell you that. But you will find peace and joy in the most difficult circumstances possible, and in the good times you will find an exhilaration beyond anything you ever dreamed possible.

Your life will not be yours anymore. You will start doing things that make no sense from a worldly perspective. You will begin spending half a day or a whole day here on Sunday, even though it is a busy day, even a day set aside for rest. You will begin to restructure the way you spend your money. You will restructure your family and your relationships, because you now have a relationship with the living God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Addressing the Skeptic

Some of you skeptics are already saying, "But what about those who have never heard?" For this discussion, that question does not apply, and I do not mean to be harsh in saying so. What about you, who are hearing right now? That question does not affect this conversation. It is either true or it is not. And if it is true, you must respond.

Please talk to the person who invited you here today, or talk to the people who will be at the front of the room after this service, or call us at the church—because this is the most important issue you will ever deal with.

Every Incident Points to the Same Truth

As I have been working my way through the Scriptures in preparation to teach, I find myself saying the same thing over and over again, because at this point in the life of Christ, that is exactly what He was doing. Every single day, every incident, He was saying by implication: I am God. I am God. I am God. What are you going to do about it?

You need to respond. I plead with you again—talk to the person who brought you here today, talk to the people at the front of the room after this service, or call us here at the church. We would love the opportunity to talk with you about what it means to be a follower of Christ.

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*Father, thank You for this truth. It truly is life-changing. For those of us who know Your Son, Jesus, in a personal way, we thank You that You saved us and that we can find life—real life, real meaning—in You.*

It looks like the transcript you've shared is only the closing prayer and benediction from the end of the sermon — there doesn't appear to be any sermon body content included.

Could you share the full transcript? Once you provide the complete text, I'll be happy to clean and format the entire sermon as a written blog post following all the rules you've outlined.