Tag Archives: Salvation

Who is This Jesus?

Posted on by under Christian Evidences

who-am-i

People may often wonder about Jesus and who He really was.  It has been said by some that Jesus was just a good man, or that He was only a prophet, but that He was not the Son of God.  What evidence do we find in God’s word about who Jesus really was?  When Jesus and His disciples approached the region of Caesarea Philippi He asked them what the people thought about who He was.  They answered Him that some thought that He might be John the Baptizer, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.  However, when He asked His apostles who He was, “Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Matthew 16:16 NKJV).

How did Peter know who Jesus really was?  One reason is that Peter had been travelling with Jesus for some time and had seen the things that Jesus was able to do.  Some of what Peter had seen is recorded for us in Matthew chapter 8, which chronicles several of the miracles of Jesus.  In this chapter we can see that Jesus exhibited power that mere men or prophets simply did not have.  Specifically, there are 5 such miracles that demonstrate the power of Jesus over several aspects of life.

The miracles of Jesus in chapter 8 of the book of Matthew include the following:

  1. The healing of the leper (Mat. 8:1-4), which demonstrates Jesus’ power over the seen or external world.  All could see that the leper had the disease, but no one else could have healed him other than God.
  2. The healing of Peter’s mother-in-law (Mat. 8:14-15), which demonstrates Jesus’ power over the unseen or internal world.  She had a fever, and while others may be able to tell by her demeanor that she was ill, none but God could see the internal cause of the fever.
  3. The healing of the centurion’s servant (Mat. 8:5-13), which demonstrates Jesus’ power over time and space.  It was not necessary for Jesus to travel to the centurion’s home to heal the servant, He was able to do it from a distance.  This shows that Jesus had a power that mortal man does not posses.
  4. The calming of the storm at sea (Mat. 8:23-27), which demonstrates Jesus’ power over nature.  No mere man could have accomplished this feat as even His disciples exclaimed, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matthew 8:27b).
  5. The casting out of demons (Mat. 8:28-32), which demonstrates Jesus’ power over the spiritual realm.  Again this shows that Jesus was more than a man and that He really was the Son of God.

We see that the purpose of miracles was to confirm the message that was spoken (Mark 16:20).  Therefore, it is not unusual that Matthew shows these 5 miracles here in chapter 8 as Jesus has just finished delivering the Sermon on the Mount (Mat. 5-7).  Indeed, at the end of that great sermon the people realized that Jesus was not like other men.  “And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Mat. 7:28-29).  Thus the miracles of Jesus help to prove to us just who He really is, that being the Son of God and a member of the Godhead.

Do You Know Where You are Going?

Posted on by under Article

Image            Growing up we were fortunate to be able to travel different places each summer on vacation.  I can remember sitting in the back seat of the family vehicle with the road map so that I could track where we were and how much further we had to go.  I also remember that each year my father would ignore my advice about where to turn to get to our destination, even though I was proven to have been correct the year before.  You see, my father had a problem admitting he was lost or asking for help.  He much preferred to drive around the same block aimlessly than to actually ask for directions or admit that he made a wrong turn.

Many of us are the same way.  We know that something is not right about the direction we are traveling in life, but we never think to consult the road map to find our way back.  Well, there is hope, because in God’s word we find that Jesus has provided us with the perfect road map for our lives.  “Jesus said . . . ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6 NKJV).  It is important for us to consult regularly with our Gospel Positioning System (GPS) so that we will be able to reach our intended destination.  God’s word will provide that all important guidance that we need in order to live our lives in a way that will lead us to salvation.

We will also find that there are times when we need to stop and ask for directions.  Think about the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:30-34, who admitted to Philip that he needed help in understanding the scriptures.  He had come to a passage in Isaiah 53 and wondered if the prophet spoke concerning himself or some other person.  He was not too embarrassed or afraid to ask this question of Philip.  He had a desire to know the truth, and so he posed this question.  We likewise should not allow fear or potential embarrassment to stop us from making sure that we have a good grasp of God’s word.  After all, we need to know where we are going and how to get there.

A Quiet Life

Posted on by under Christian Living

quiet lifeIn this day and age we see and hear much on the TV, the radio, and on the internet regarding our political leaders on both sides of the aisle. Most of the time, the information is a negative comment or complaint about one party or the other. While our politicians may leave much to be desired and give us many opportunities to complain, the question we should ask is are we praying for these people?

To understand why we should pray for them we should look into God’s word. Paul writes that we are to pray for all men, but then calls special attention to kings and all who are in positions of authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2). God’s divine directions are that we are to pray for our leaders. The admonition to pray for all men (1 Tim 2:1) and to pray for our enemies (Mat. 5:44) would mean that we are to pray for those politicians that we do not agree with as well. This may seem like a hard thing to do, but as with all of God’s commands there is a purpose to this instruction.

We are to pray that our leaders will follow God’s plan so that we may live a quiet and peaceable life (1 Tim. 2:2). We may think that we have extraordinarily bad rulers, and that there is no way that we can pray for immoral leaders. However, consider that Paul is writing to Timothy at the time of the Roman Empire, which reached new heights of decadence, idolatry, and immoral living.

If Paul, Timothy, and those first century Christians could pray for the Roman Emperors, certainly we can do the same for our leaders today. If we want our leadership to improve, if we truly want to live a quiet life at peace with those around us, then the solution needs to start with each of us doing our part to pray for all leaders.