So we are right in the middle of an 8-part sermon series on the “I Am” statements of Jesus. In the Gospel of John, Jesus refers to himself with a variety of names and things. He is the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Gate, the Good Shepherd, the Resurrection and the Life, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the Vine, and most stunningly, “I am”.
There are a lot of viewpoints on who Jesus is and what he is like. Some say he is a nice guy who got killed, some say he is a great teacher who has harsh words for the spiritually arrogant, some say he is the one who saves humanity from sin.
I believe there are two essential questions you must answer.
Who does Jesus say he is?
Let’s get clear, it’s not “what other people say Jesus is,” it’s what Jesus said when he talked about himself. In a world where we are surrounded by lots and lots of information from channels like social media, video, it is refreshing to go back to the source, to read those very words that came out of Jesus’ mouth and hear it anew.
So this is what the series aims to do, to hear from the source again in order to get clarity on who Jesus is.
Now here is the next big question: who is Jesus to you?
You can read about a subject or a person all you want without being involved. Kind of like reading an ad for a product you don’t care about: you know about it, but you are not involved with it. It is written that Jesus having loved his own (those who were with him) who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The motivation behind knowing Jesus is not primarily driven by the need to know but the need to love. It’s the involvement you have with Jesus that grows on you, bringing you closer to God.
Finding answers to the these questions will change your life.
So far we have only gone through 3 of the 8 statements, I’d invite you to join us for the rest of the messages.
Grace and peace,
Dave