Who is the Christ
John 7:25-36
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text for this morning is from the Gospel lesson. Here we find the real and true question of the holiday season. "Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ?" The people ask the simple question,whether this is really the Christ. It is followed up by the question: "When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” The expected answer being of course not.
But who is the Christ expected to be. Is he expected to be the great miracle worker? Is he expected to be the one who knows everything you ever did? Is he the one who seems to have better understanding than the leaders of Israel? Most of the time when we ask the people who the Christ is supposed to be they get it wrong. Even our ideas of who Jesus is and what he should do for us fall short of who Jesus actually is.
They do not know truly where he comes from. Even as they say, “But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” What is their answer? Is Jesus from Nazareth? Is the Christ supposed to be born in Bethlehem? Or as Jesus implies does he come from him who sent him, namely the Father who is in Heaven? So where exactly does he come from?
Jesus tells us, “But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” So apparently Jesus comes from the generic “him.” So who sent Jesus? Who does Jesus know and yet the people do not know? The answer is very simple, Jesus and the Father are one.
God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son into the flesh to die for the forgiveness of sins of the World. Jesus is the Word made flesh. Jesus is the Lamb of God who is sent to take away the sins of the World. Jesus is the only Son of the Father. Where does Jesus come from, he was begotten of the Father before all ages.
This must be the Christ. He has done great signs and wonders. He has changed Water into Wine. He talked about the Son of Man being raised up like the serpent in the desert. He told a woman everything she had done. He healed the Paralyzed man at the Bethesda pool. He fed more than 5,000 people. Now the people are still not quite sure who he is.
I am going to assume that we are in that same situation. We may know a little about the bible. We may now that if I confess my sins I receive forgiveness of my sins. I know that Jesus Christ is the one who died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins. I know that he has washed me in his blood in my Baptism. I know he feeds me his true body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.
I can even recite for you various parts of Chemnitz discussion on the Two Natures in Christ. But even this still leaves us with questions about who the Christ actually is. There are even popular misconceptions surrounding who Jesus is and who he was supposed to be.
Many people in the world may be willing to concede that Jesus was a good teacher. Even Christians will tells us, he brought us a message of forgiveness and peace. But this message does not find it’s foundation in his teachings, it only has a foundation in his cross.
There even are times when we think of Jesus as some kind of Genie or magician. We want someone to make our problems disappear. This time of year, we may even just want something happy to think about. This is the time when we might not even focus on Christ’s birth, but all the fun Christmas songs we can sing.
I know a little music gets me in the mood for Christmas. But I also know that a song can remind me of my sins, selfishness, pride, and even short sightedness. They also remind us of forgiveness and the love of God that truly is beyond our comprehension.
Our opening hymn’s second verse said, “How vast your mercy to accept The burden of our sin And bow Your head in cruel death To make us clean with in.”
Even our hymn of the day’s second verse, “Why lies He in such mean estate Where ox and ass are feeding? Good Christian, fear; for sinners here The silent Word is pleading. Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, The cross be borne for me, for you; Hail, hail the Word made flesh, The babe, the son of Mary!”
But the important thing is not how these songs make us feel. It is about reminding us that Jesus is the Christ. He is sent from the Father, in order to die for the forgiveness of sins. Truly Christ the Savior was born on Christmas morn, for all your sins.
Can it really be that [everyone] really know[s] that this is the Christ? They just continue to lie to themselves. They continue to do their best to convince themselves and others it can not be true. They listen to Jesus call them sinners or hypocrites, and object to their lifestyle, so they decide it is a better idea to kill him, or as the text says seek to arrest him. Even Caiaphas, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” Thanks be to God. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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