"Everybody ought to know.
Everybody ought to know.
Everybody ought to know who Jesus is.
He's the lily of the valley.
He's the brighter morning star.
He's the fairest of ten thousand.
Everybody ought to know."
John 3:36: " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life:
and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
Jesus is the most unique person ever to walk upon this earth.
He is the subject of the best-selling book -- the Bible -- that has ever been on the market.
His followers number in the untold millions.
In the past two thousand years, people have not only lived by His principles,
but many have died for their faith in Him.
In America and around the world, there are countless millions who call upon His name.
Everybody ought to know who Jesus is.
Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of all mankind and the Lord of the universe.
He deserves our worship and devotion.
Everybody ought to know who Jesus is.
There are over three hundred prophecies in the Old Testament about the coming of Christ.
These were written by God's prophets over a period of nearly fifteen hundred years.
They date from the time of Moses to the time of the prophet Malachi,
who lived four hundred years before the birth of Jesus.
They center on the coming of the Messiah (meaning " anointed one," called Christ
in the Greek New Testament).
They view Him as both coming to suffer for our sins and to reign in glory over all the world.
Mathematicians have told us that the chance of one person fulfilling even ten of these prophecies
would be one in quintillion.
I'm not sure how much that is, but I know that it is a tremendous amount.
Yet, Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled them all.
There was no way that He could have contrived the nature or place of his birth,
nor who would visit Him, nor what they would say about Him.
Of these three hundred prophecies, think about these:
Born of the Seed of Abraham.
Genesis 12: 3: " And in thee (Abraham) shall all the families of the earth be blessed."
Descendants of Isaac
Genesis 17:19: " Sarah thy shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shall call his name Isaac:
and I will establish my covenant with him ..., and with his seed after him."
Descendant of Jacob
Numbers 24:17: " There shall come a Star of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel."
From The Tribe of Judah
Genesis 49: 10: " The Sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from beneath his feet,
until Shiloh come."
Born Of A Virgin
Isaiah 7:14: " Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
(God with us)
Born in Bethlehem:
Micah 5: 2: " But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah,
yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel."
Of the Line of David
Jeremiah 23: 5: " I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper,
and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth."
The Son of God
Psalm 2:7: " The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee."
His Triumphal Entry
Zechariah 9: 9: " Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee:
he is just, and having salvation; lonely, and riding upon a donkey."
Betrayed for Thirty Pieces of Silver
Zechariah 11: 12: " So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver."
Crucified
Psalm 22:16: " The assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
Atoning Death
Isaiah 53: 5: " But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."
Soldiers Gambled for His Robe.
Psalm 22: 18: " They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture."
Crucified With Thieves, Buried with the Rich.
Isaiah 53: 9: " And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death."
His Resurrection
Psalm 16: 10: " For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer
thine Holy One to see corruption."
Even these 15 prophecies could not have been fulfilled just by chance.
People usually have little or no control over the circumstances of their birth or death.
Yet, the birth of Jesus and His death fulfill the prophecies in the exact detail.
After His resurrection, Jesus met with the disciples and personally taught them
the correlation of these prophecies.
" And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them
in all the scriptures of things concerning himself ... that all things must be fulfilled,
which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms concerning me."
(Luke 24:27, 44)
Thus, to deny these prophecies is to deny the very teaching of Christ about Himself.
No recognized religious leader who has ever lived claimed what Jesus Christ claimed about Himself.
Neither Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, nor Ghandi never made the incredible claims
that Jesus of Nazareth did.
Therefore, those claims must be taken seriously and examined thoroughly if we are to resolve
our search for the answer to whom Jesus Christ is.
He Claimed to be God.
There can be no doubt that Jesus claimed to be divine.
It was this claim that ultimately led to His crucifixion.
In John 10:30, Jesus Said, " I and my Father are one."
And John 8:58, Jesus claimed to pre-exist Abraham when He said,
" Before Abraham was, I am."
On several occasions zealous Jews actually sought to kill Him because they would not accept this claim.
In John 5: 18 we read, " Therefore, the Jews sought them to kill him,
because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father,
making himself equal with God."
He Claimed Divine Power.
Jesus' claim of deity was reinforced by His claim to divine power and authority.
In Matthew 28: 18, He said, " All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."
It was on the basis of this claim that He sent His disciples to teach and baptize in His name,
promising, " I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." (Matthew 28:20)
This command has often been called the Great Commission, and it serves
as the divinely appointed mission of the church.
Thus, the very authority of the Church rests upon the power and authority of Christ.
He Claimed to Forgive Sin.
On several occasions, Jesus shocked His listeners by pronouncing the forgiveness of someone's sins
Such was the case of the paralyzed man suffering from palsy. (Matthew 9: 1-8)
Before healing him, Jesus said, " Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." (verse 2)
When certain of the scribes in the audience questioned His authority to do so,
Jesus asked them to whether it was easier to forgive sins or to heal a paralytic.
Before they could even attempt to answer, He said,
" That ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins,
(then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thine house." (verse 6)
The power of that miracle confirmed Jesus' divine authority to forgive sin.
He Predicted His Own Resurrection
Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus was well aware of His impending death
and His eventual resurrection.
In John 2:19, referring to the temple of His body, Jesus said,
" Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
On another occasion, He announced that He would be in the earth three days and three nights
as Jonah was in the fish three days and three nights. (Matthew 12:40)
At numerous other times, He clearly told His disciples that He would rise from the dead
on the third day. (Matthew 16:21, 20:19; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22; John 2:19)
This prediction was so well known that the Pharisees requested Pilate to station Roman soldiers
at the tomb of Christ to prevent any trickery. (Matthew 27:62-66)
He Claimed to Be the Only Way to Eternal Salvation.
This was the most narrow and distinctive of all Christ's claims.
It separates Christianity from all other religions by emphasizing that Jesus is the only way to heaven.
Our Lord stated this Himself on several occasions.
In John 10: 9, He said, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved."
In John 3:36, Jesus said, " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life:
and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
In perhaps His clearest statement on this issue, Jesus said,
" I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
(John 14: 6)
A person cannot read the claims of Christ without realizing that either they are true or they are false.
Either he was the Son of God who gave His life for our sins or He was the most
arrogant person who ever lived.
These are not the quiet thoughts of a pious teacher or the ambiguous generalities of a modern day,
self-proclaimed soothsayer.
These are specific claims based upon precise predictions that only God Himself could perform.
Jesus Christ is the most central figure in human history.
Our very calendar is dated B.C. (" Before Christ")
and A.D. (anno Domini, " in the year of [our] Lord").
In all of recorded history, there has never been a person like Jesus Christ.
He is the most unique person to ever live on this planet.
He was not only a great teacher and prophet, but He was the only person ever to die
for the sins of the world and rise from the dead.
Napoleon Bonaparte, the emperor of France, said:
" I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man.
Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison.
I searched history in vain to find somebody similar to Jesus Christ."
Napoleon was astounded that millions of people or willing to die for a person
who founded a kingdom upon love.
Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States said,
" Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern, which have come under my observation,
none appeared to me so pure as that of Jesus."
Benjamin Franklin said, " He who introduces into public affairs the principle
of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world."
Another great patriot and leader of the American Revolution, Patrick Henry put it best
when he said, " I wish I could leave with you my most cherished possession,
my faith in Christ Jesus.
For with Christ you have everything, without Christ you have nothing at all."
Someone has said: "While many modernist have attempted to write Christ
out of our history books, they can never eliminate His influence from history.
Jesus is the hinge on which the history of this world turns.
His first coming marked the fulfillment of Old Testament Messianic expectation
and His second coming will mark the fulfillment of New Testament eschatology as well.
At His return, it will be obvious that history is indeed His story."
An examination of the life and character of Jesus Christ confirms the genuineness
of His claims to be both the Son of Man and the Son of God.
He displayed the wisdom, compassion, and sincerity of the highest, personal character.
For it is in one's behavior that his character is revealed.
What we do, tells others what we really are.
Jesus Christ proved every claim that He made with a flawless life -- without sin.
He proved that He was exactly what He claimed to be.
His sinless life was ample testimony to His pure character.
No one ever lived a life like Jesus.
Even His accusers could not find anything of which to accuse Him.
Even Pilate said, " I find no fault in him." (John 19: 6)
The character of Jesus was absolutely sinless in every respect.
No other man or woman who has ever lived has come close to His sinless character.
He never told a lie or broke a promise.
He fulfilled every promise He ever made.
The character of Jesus was beyond reproach.
His integrity was never doubted.
His sincerity was beyond question.
People will search the world in vain to find someone else like Jesus Christ.
Not one single character from the history of the world can compare with Him.
His Miracles
No single incident in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ speaks any louder
than His many miracles.
They attest to His divine nature and power.
They range in impact from healing lepers (Matthew 8:2-3); giving sight to the blind (Matthew 9:27-30);
causing the lame to walk (Luke 5:18-25; feeding the five thousand (Matthew 14:13-21);
casting out demons (Matthew 9:32-33); calming a storm (Mark 4:35-39);
and walking on the water (John 6:19).
His miracles demonstrated His power over the natural and spiritual realms.
Three times He even raised people from the dead. (Matthew 9:23-25; Luke 7:11-15; John 11:43-44)
The miracles of Christ were so sudden and complete such as the lame man leaping up
and walking away which cannot be explained as a mere coincidence.
Even the skeptics of His own time and admitted they had never seen the likes of Him before.
Every honest critic who has examined the miracles of Christ has been astounded
by the public manner in which they were performed.
But even more powerful and compelling is the evidence of Christ's miraculous power
in the lives of those who have put their faith in Him.
More than two thousand years later, individuals are still being transformed
by the miraculous grace of God.
Their sins are being forgiven.
Their lives are being changed.
Their bad habits are being broken.
Their destinations are being rerouted to heaven.
No one has ever risen from the dead, never to die again, except Jesus Christ.
After His resurrection, He not only appeared to the twelve disciples,
but He also appeared to over five hundred men at once. (1 Corinthians 15:5-6)
Every one of His disciples gave his life to verify that the testimony of the resurrection was true.
Every one hearing or reading this message must come to a conclusion about Jesus Christ.
This must be a personal conclusion.
We must decide if Jesus was merely a man, or if He is the eternal Lord.
If He was anything less than He claimed to be, then every Bible ought to be burned.
Every voice which sings His praise ought to be silenced.
The choir ought to throw off their robes and go home.
Every preacher should resign and every church member should quit -- never to return.
If Jesus Christ was simply man and nothing more, we should lock the doors of the church.
On the other hand, if we have come to the conclusion that Jesus is who He claimed to be,
then we must bow down and worship Him as our Lord.
If He is the Son of God, every knee should bend and every tongue confess that He is Lord!
Some years ago, the great, literary genius, Lou Wallace, covenanted with an infidel friend
to write a book which would destroy what he believed was the of myth of Christianity.
He would call it it, "Ben-Hur", and it would present Jesus Christ as nothing more
than the mere man that Wallace thought Him to be.
In preparation for the writing, Lou Wallace spent two years in the leading libraries
of Europe and North America, seeking out information on the facts concerning
the claims of Christ and of His divinity and His fulfillment of those claims.
But, while reading the historical evidence, which in overwhelming preponderance
proved Christ was who He said He was, Lou Wallace came face to face
with the fact of the living Christ, fell to his knees, and cried out, " My Lord and my God!"
He later gave us one of the greatest Christian novels of all time -- "Ben-Hur."
If your search has led you to this same inescapable conclusion that Jesus
is the Saviour of the world, you dare not reject His great salvation.
There is no middle ground.
Christ must be received or rejected.
He must be believed or denied.
Today, you will do one or the other.
Albert B. Simpson said this in his hymn:
" What will you do with Jesus?
Neutral you cannot be;
Some day your heart will be asking,
" What will He do with me?"
Jesus said, " He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life:
and he that believeth not the Son shall not see the life;
but the wrath of God abideth on him." (John 3:36)
That is a powerful statement that tells every individual what they need to do with Jesus,
and the terrible consequence if they do not believe in Him.
Everyone needs to know that your sins are forgiven and that there is hope for you beyond this life.
You need to know that your eternal destiny has been settled once and for all.
If God's Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart and drawing you to Jesus Christ
-- right now --you must respond by a trusting Jesus as your personal Saviour.
Right now, call upon Him in prayer.
Ask God to forgive you of your sins and cleanse your heart.
If you do that now, you can thank Him in this moment for settling the greatest issue
that you will ever face in this world, and that is receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour
"Everybody ought to know.
Everybody ought to know.
Everybody ought to know who Jesus is.
He's the lily of the valley.
He's the brighter morning star.
He's the fairest of ten thousand.
Everybody ought to know."
This sermon was adapted from several sources by Dr. Harold L. White
