Thursday, January 10, 2013

Jesus Christ -forever November 18, 2012


Last week we started a series on forever things.  Most everything we experience, we know, does not last.  Buildings deteriorate, bodies age, things wear down.  Even the great majestic mountains which seem to stand against all are slowly worn away by the smallest of raindrops and the expansion of ice in winter.
 
There are some things that are forever.  The verse on the right (my left) says, From everlasting to everlasting you are God.  Over and over in scripture we see that God is described, praised, and understood as being forever.  In fact the foreverness of God is essential to him being God.  If Go were any less than forever, eternal, without time, unconfined, he would not be God.  For me it simply is wrapped in this one simple statement “GOD IS.”

This statement, “God is” is actually how God described himself.  In Exodus chapter 3 Moses encounters God in a burning bush.  Not very impressive you might think. Haven’t we all seen burning bushes, or trees or fires.  Nice, warm, light giving.  Even a big fire can be impressive –a bon-fire or forest fire.  Last summer when we had the fire in town here Shelley and I went up to the balcony and had a pretty good view of the event.  One and a while a tree would flare up.  You could see the fire rush up the tree –spectacular, impressive.  But short lived.  In a moment it was gone.

But not this tree, or bush, in Exodus 3.  We read in verse two that the bush burned but was not consumed –that it did not burn up.  It was so strange that Moses had to go and see.  (verses 2-3)  In a small way the eternalness of God was shown here to Moses and to us.  A flame, a burning without end.  By all natural law and by all human understanding and perception the bush should be burned up.  But it was not. 

And out of this seemingly unending burning of a bush, the voice of the Lord comes out and when Moses asks, Who are you (abbreviated) God says, “I am.”  Verse 14 (READ).  And then he goes on in 15.  This is my name, forever!  Yhwh. 

This name, this description, this title of God is so sacred, so special, so central to the Jewish faith that they will not even pronounce it out loud.  In the reading of scripture, whenever they would come to this word they would pause, not say it and then move on. 

And so when Jesus came to the earth and claimed to be God, it was shocking, scandalous, sacrilegious.  CS. Lewis writes this in his book , Mere Christianity; “ (as per copy page 93). 

And claim to be the I am, Jesus did.  His claim to be the Son of God, the word of God, to be one with the Father, the be the good shepherd, the way and so many other things that connected him to his goodness.  But one of the clearest statements, one that really got the Jewish leaders upset, is found in John 8:54,ff. And it was this which really caused the high priest at least to seek the death of Jesus –he was blaspheming in claiming to be “I am.” (Mark 14:61-65)

Rather than a look at the Godhood of Jesus this morning I just want to look at his eternality and what that means for us.  You see, many people have a perception, and many in the church, that Jesus came into existence at Christmas –he was born.  And even more that He died at the crucifixion.  In other words, he was a human just like us. 

But Scripture is full of passages –both in the OT and the NT, speaking about the foreverness of Jesus.  That he was before all things -even created all things is seen in the familiar passages of John 1:1-4 and Colossians 1:15-20.  Many scholars see Jesus even appearing in the OT.  Many believe that it was Jesus who sat with Abraham and told him he would have decendents more numerous than the stars, that it was Jesus who came and wrestled with Jacob, that it was Jesus who stood with Shadrack Mishacka and Abednego in the fiery furnace. 

Those aside, Jesus own claim to have been before Abraham and that he came from the Father (John 3:13) and would return to the Father are bold declarations  of his eternity.  The writers of the NT speak of his resurrection, his appearing after his death to as many as 500 people.  To his ascending to heaven, to his being at the right hand of the father, to his return (Acts 1:9-11; 7:54-56) John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, records for us the powerful and wonderful picture of Jesus in heaven in revelation 1.  Listen to the eternal-ness of the words of Jesus in 7-8, 17-18.

Just as the eternality of God is essential to God being God, so the eternality of Jesus is essential for him.  Why?

The forverness, the eternality of Jesus means his power has no bounds, his love has no end, his grace has no stopping, his goodness does not cease.  His eternalness means that he can do all he said he will do and he has the power and ability to do it.  Stop and think of this for a moment.

Because “He is”  when he says I know my sheep, he knows his sheep.  He knows all of them and all about them.  John 10:14-15 “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me.  Just as the Father know me and I know the Father…”  Nothing about us surprises or shacks Jesus.  He know us.  He can meet all our needs because he knows all aout us.  Not mostly about us, not just what we tell him about us, not just what is written on facebook, not the lies or deceptions or half truths we even tell others, he knows us and can meet our needs.  I care for the sheep, he says, even to the point of laying down my life! 

Even now, the good shepherd, the I am, knows your needs.  Rather than something to be scared of it is something to be delighted in.  he knows what we need!  And even more…

Because he is the “I am” he has the power and ability to meet those needs.   If Jesus were not eternal, he could only meet most or some of our needs.  And this is a subtle but incorrect fallacy about Jesus and about God we have fallen into as a church –Jesus did not do what I wanted so he must either not care, not be able to or not want to. 

Because jesus is infinite, he cares infinitely.  He is infinitely able to meet our needs and he has the infinite desire and delight in us.  So often like a spoiled child we throw a tantrum when we do not get what we want and scream out –you do not love me, we mistakenly see the wise, caring, loving with-holding of God as a sign that he is powerless, loveless or finite. 

Last week we looked at this verse in Isaiah –“His ways are not our ways, his thoughts are not our thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9-11).  God is up here (hand high) and we are down here (other hand down).  We cannot, we must not, seek to bring ourselves equal to or above God nor bring his down to the petty foibles of humanity.  God is. 

And in the same way Jesus is.  But also know this, “I know my sheep, I care for my sheep, I protect my sheep, I love my sheep, I listen to my sheep, I lay down my life for my sheep.”  And as sheep we can trust the good shepherd, even when we do not know why we are in this pasture and not that, why we are walking this path and not that, why we are not getting what we want when we want.  We can be assured that he know and he cares and he has the power to do what he said he would do because he is!

Because he is forever, he can be the perfect sacrifice for all.  Imagine if Jesus was not eternal, but finite and could only die for some or most.  Imagine if the blood of Jesus could only cover most of our sins.  Imagine if the forgiveness of Jesus would only be effective for most of our confessions. 

But because Jesus is forever, because “he is,” we know that his death is sufficient, that his sacrifice is complete, that his blood covers all, that his forgiveness is as far as the east is from the west (interesting not north to south!).  

Because he is we can have complete assurance that when Jesus says, “What the father has given to me I will never let go of.”  Let’s take a look at that passage in John 6.  Begin reading at verse 35 –already starting with the eternalness of himself as bread and water.  WOW!  Read on, to verse 40.
Blessed assurance, Jesus is Mine!  (319 look at if time).  I am has and he is mine.   Because he is, he can! 

And this foreverness of Jesus extends into all of his promises.  My peace that passes understanding is yours, not as the world knows or gives.  This is an eternal peace I have and extend to you!  My joy, everlasting, my joy is in you and made complete!  My love I pour out to you, the inexhaustible love that comes from my eternal being, a love that has no bounds, high, wide, long deep as the fathers is mine for you.  Imagine, imagine if Jesus could only love us mostly!  We would be in danger of exceeding that love, or his forgiveness, or his joy, or his patience, or his goodness.  The foreverness of Jesus is so central, so essential to all he is and does because it brings completeness –he loves, forgives, gives and holds completely!

The foreverness of Jesus means he hears our prayers and carries them to the father.  And even more that he intercedes for us as a perfect high priest.  Both Paul in Romans 8 and the writer of Hebrews in chapters 5-7 talk about the high-priesthood of Jesus.  As the high priest he is the one who stands before God to bring our needs and speaks on our behalf.  Listen to the words in Hebrews 7:23-25.  Another WOW!  Did you catch the words?  Lives forever! Permanent! Save completely! Always lives (again)! And then you go on into verse 26, then 27b.  Jesus is!  He is eternal!  And in this we have great hope, complete assurance, confidence!  Ask in my name and the father will hear!  He is our great high priest, our advocate, our intercessor! 

And lastly I just want to touch on one more important things that comes out of the foreverness of Jesus.  And that is his promise given in 28:20.  I am with you always.  How can Jesus, who is dead be with us?  How can Jesus who may have risen and is in heaven be with us?  How can Jesus who is limited in any way be with “us” always?  Because he is the I am, the one who is. 

And this brings us back full circle to the account of Moses and the burning bush.  Jesus sends out his disciples with a promise –to be with them.  And it is the same that the eternal God did with Moses. 

God said to Moses, go and bring this message to Pharoah, and I will be with you! (Ex 3:12). 

Because Jesus is the I am, we can have absolute confidence that he will be with us.  He will save us, he will keep us, he will meet our needs in all wisdom and love, praise be to the lamb, to receive power and glory and riches and strength!

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