Who Is Jesus Christ? – Hit the Mark
The charge would have been attempted murder. They fully intended to kill Him. What makes this more shocking is that they accosted Him in the sacred temple. The solemnity of their worship was turned into a mob scene of violence. In a rage they pounced on Him, grabbing and dragging Him out of the temple, down the streets until they came to the edge of a cliff.
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
The same voices that just a short while ago were expressing reverence and praise to God were now pouring forth curses and accusations. The hands that had been clasped in prayer and salutations were now reaching to thrust Him off the cliff to an immediate death. They wanted Him dead! But why?
Luke 4 records that day with painful clarity. Jesus, as His custom was, attended the Sabbath temple service. Taking in His hands the sacred Scriptures He began to read aloud a wonderful passage from Isaiah.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19 (Isaiah 61:1-2)
As Jesus explained the role of the Messiah as a reliever, healer, liberator, restorer and teacher of the truth, the people were enthralled. The power of the Holy Spirit was moving on their hearts. And, as if to confirm the conviction His words were making, He said to them plainly, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:21
Who could find fault with anything that He said that morning? Helping the oppressed and the poor while freeing captives and giving sight to the blind is something worth celebrating. This was a mainstay of their religious history and the hope of their future.
Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains; truly, in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. Jeremiah 3:23
So what went wrong? Simply put, He offended them.
As He spoke it began to dawn on them that His words of deliverance were, by implication, saying that they were in bondage to sin and in need of deliverance. His words made plain that they were blind and in need of a miracle in order to see. And to add insult to their injury, there was no hint of a deliverance from the hated Roman government. Just who does he think that he is? Is not this Joseph’s son!?
This week as we look at “Who is Jesus Christ” we study an example of the danger of not knowing who He is and also of not knowing who we are. Those same people who attempted to murder Jesus that day were upstanding citizens of society, revered religious leaders and respected elders who in an instant changed into a mob of murderous zealots. Their religious pride and ambitions for power and prominence overtook all nobler impulses and they wanted to kill the One who dared point that out.
Today, our daily task is to know Jesus Christ better. Not just theoretically but experientially. And in the process we will learn more about ourselves. The truth and the claims of God on our lives will reveal our hidden motives and desires.
There is no doubt that we will often close the day asking God to forgive our deviations from our commitments to Him. Our sincere, best intentions are confronted by our personal weaknesses and frailties. Daily we will have to hold onto the promises of God and trust implicitly in His word.
“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6
Here are a few Hit the Mark questions for this week’s lesson discussion:
- What does “knowing Jesus” mean to you?
- What, if any, is the difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus?
- How can one tell if they know Jesus?
- Is it true that being very religious as a Christian is indicative of knowing Jesus? Why yes or no?
- If Jesus answers my prayers doesn’t that indicate that I have a relationship with Him? Why yes or no?
- Is the following statement True, Mostly True, Somewhat True or Not True: The closer I get to Jesus the less I will need to study my Bible to learn about Him. Explain your answer.
We close this week with a reality check from the book of Job. It helps keep things in perspective:
“Do you think you can explain the mystery of God? Do you think you can diagram God Almighty?
God is far higher than you can imagine, far deeper than you can comprehend, Stretching farther than earth’s horizons, far wider than the endless ocean.” Job 11:7-9 The Message
Until next week, let’s all continue to Hit the Mark in Sabbath School!
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