Jesus Christ Only - A dedication to our King of Kings!















 

 


We at "jesuschristonly.com" are trying to assemble resources to help you understand and come to appreciate the unique person of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

We commend him to you as the answer to your life’s deepest needs and questions.

Please be sure to have a look at the "Who is Jesus" presentation.

 
 

Illustrations - His Character

THE CONSTANT CHRIST - “The legs of the lame are not equal” Prov. 26:7

There is a way that seems right to a man but the legs of his thinking are unequal and in the circling eddy of his life he is swept to delusion and on death.In refreshing contrast it is written of the Christ*
‘His legs are as pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold.’ Song of Songs 5:15

He stands in the perfect balance of grace and truth; erect in all the fairness of unsullied manhood; rooted in all the essential nature of His deity. As man in all His walk,
He pointed heavenward,
pillard in light,
marbled in beauty,
adorning all doctrine of the Father.
His flawless righteousness upheld entire superstructure of God's purpose of grace.
With Him there was no variableness or shadow caused by turning. His heart was large with the largeness of God, running in the way of His commandments.... He is the constant Christ.
Geoffrey T.Bull - “God Holds The Key “ Hodder and Stoughton Limited London 1959


Zeal of Christ

‘Even Christ pleased not Himself.’ He was utterly consumed in the zeal of His Father’s house. As man He ever moved for God. As God He ever moved for man.

Geoffrey T.Bull - “God Holds The Key. Hodder and Stoughton Limited London 1959


A.W. Tozer says that people who are crucified with Christ have three distinct marks:

1. They are facing only one direction.
2. They can never turn back.
3. and they no longer have plans of their own.

HOLY SWEAT, Tim Hansel, 1987, Word Books Publisher, p. 187.


CHRIST
The print medium often intentionally distorts what we write. Over the years since I became a Christian, I have always deliberately explained that I have "accepted Jesus Christ." These word are invariably translated into "Colson's professed religious experience." I discovered that one major U.S. daily, as a matter of policy, will not print the two words Jesus Christ together; when combined, the editor says, it represents an editorial judgment.

-- Charles Colson, Kingdoms in Conflict



Admiring Christ’s Merciful Sovereignty and Sovereign Mercy

First, then let’s admire Christ together. What makes Christ so admirable, and so different than all other persons – what sets him apart as unique and inimitable – matchless, peerless – is that he unites in himself so many qualities that in other people are contrary to each other. That’s why I put together the words "sovereign" and "merciful." We can imagine supreme sovereignty, and we can imagine tenderhearted mercy. But who do we look to combine in perfect proportion merciful sovereignty and sovereign mercy? We look to Jesus. No other religious or political contender even comes close.

Look at three pointers in this text to his sovereignty. First, verse 37: "As he was drawing near – already on the way down the Mount of Olives – the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen." Jesus had made a name for himself as the worker of miracles, and they remembered them. He had healed leprosy with a touch; he had made the blind see and

the deaf hear and the lame walk; he had commanded the unclean spirits and they obeyed him; he had stilled storms and walked on water and turned five loaves and two fish into a meal for thousands. So as he entered Jerusalem, they knew nothing could stop him. He could just speak and Pilate would perish; the Romans would be scattered. He was sovereign.

Then look, secondly, at verse 38. The crowds cried out: "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Jesus was a King, and not just any king, but the one sent and appointed by the Lord God. They knew how Isaiah had described him:

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this." (Isaiah 9:7)

A universal, never-ending kingdom backed by the zeal of almighty God. Here was the King of the universe, who today rules over the nations and the galaxies, and for whom America and Iraq are a grain of sand and a vapor.

Third, verse 40. When the Pharisees tell him to make the people stop blessing him as a king, he answers, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out (Luke 19:40). Why? Because he will be praised! The whole design of the universe is that Christ be praised. And therefore, if people won’t do it, he will see to it that rocks do it. In other words, he is sovereign. He will get what he means to get. If we refuse to praise, the rocks will get the joy.

It is remarkable, therefore, that the tears of Jesus in verse 41 are so often used to deny his sovereignty. Someone will say, "Look, he weeps over Jerusalem because his design for them, his will for them, is not coming to pass. He would delight in their salvation. But they are resistant. They are going to reject him. They are going to hand him over to be crucified." And so his purpose for them has failed. But there is something not quite right about this objection to Jesus’ sovereignty.

He can make praise come from rocks. And so he could do the same from rock-hard hearts in Jerusalem. What’s more, all this rejection and persecution and killing of Jesus is not the failure of Jesus’ plan, but the fulfillment of it. Listen to what he said in Luke 18:31-33 a short time before:

And taking the twelve, he said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written [planned!] about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise."

The betrayal, the mockery, the shame, the spit, the flogging, the murder – and so much more – was planned. In other words, the resistance, the rejection, the unbelief and hostility were not a surprise to Jesus. They were, in fact, part of the plan. He says so. This is probably why it says at the end of verse 42, "But now they are hidden from your eyes." Remember what Jesus said about his parables back in Luke 8:10: "To you [disciples] it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’" God was handing them over to hardness. It was judgment.

We have seen all this in Romans 9. The mercy of God is a sovereign mercy. "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion" (Romans 9:15). But here is the point I want you to see today: This sovereign Christ weeps over heard-hearted, perishing Jerusalem as they fulfilled his plan. It is unbiblical and wrong to make the tears of mercy a contradiction to the serenity of sovereignty. Jesus was serene in sorrow, and sorrowful in sovereignty. Jesus’ tears are the tears of sovereign mercy.

And therefore his sovereign power is the more admirable and the more beautiful. It’s the harmony of things that seem in tension that makes him glorious: "Merciful and Mighty," as we sing. We admire power more when it is merciful power. And we admire mercy more when it is mighty mercy. And, as I said, my prayer is that as you see his mercy and admire his mercy, you will become like him in his mercy.

There are at least three ways that Jesus is merciful, which we can draw out of this context. And I pray that I will become like him in all of these. I pray that you will too.

PALM SUNDAY - TEARS OF SOVEREIGN MERCY
John Piper, Pastor (See full sermon at SERMONS)


In the Old Testament we have preparation for Christ; in the Gospels, the presentation of Christ; and in the Acts through Revelation, the appropriation of Christ.

-- Warren Wiersbe, Be Free, p. 85.


2. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMB.

When Jesus faced the soldiers of the High Priest,
He ordered Peter to put up his sword.
When cruelly nailed to the Cross by the Romans, He whispered "Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing."
We mostly would have screamed, fought back, kicked, cursed, wished we could kill them.
But Jesus did not say a word!
The old prophecy had said years before when it spoke of what would happen to the Messiah: ISA 53:3-7 "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth."
The silence of the Lamb! There is something majestic, about His control and courage.

Archaeologists have identified where Jesus was born because they have discovered the special fields of the shepherds.
Lambs were sacrificed in the Temple in Jerusalem for the sins of believers, and "according to the Law almost everything is purified by blood, and sins are forgiven only if blood is poured out." Heb. 9:22 Every family had to sacrifice a lamb in the Temple, so flocks of suitable lambs were kept nearby five miles south?west from Jerusalem at Bethlehem. The fields were called Migdal Edar, which means "the Tower of the Flock". The Temple shepherds cared for their Lambs 24 hours a day, by night even in winter! The shepherds had no need of a star to guide them. They knew the manger in the fields Migdal Edar! Micah had prophesied 700 years earlier that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and that Jerusalem would see the demonstration of God's presence and power in a place nearby called The Tower of the Flock or in Hebrew, Midgal Edar! Here, with the sacrificial lambs was born the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.
John the Baptist looked at Jesus coming to be baptised, and said: "There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29
Peter, spoke of Jesus redeeming us: "the costly sacrifice of Christ, who was like a lamb without defect or flaw." 1 Peter 1:19
The Apostle Paul, described what happened in the death of Jesus as "Christ, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed for us." 1 Cor. 5:7
St John in The Revelation saw the Heavens opened and "I saw a Lamb, standing in the centre of the Throne...the Lamb appeared to have been killed...and I heard angels, thousands and millions of them...and they sang in a loud voice:

"The Lamb who was killed is worthy to receive power, wealth, wisdom and strength, honour, glory, and praise! To Him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb, be praise, honour, glory and might for ever and ever." Rev. 5:6?13

But the price of being the Saviour of the world was high. He would be despised and rejected of men, cast outside the city wall, crucified and buried. And like a Lamb before his shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth.
Jesus had said: "I have come in order that you might have life ? life in all of its fullness. I am the good shepherd who is willing to die for His sheep....I am willing to die for them. The Father loves Me because I am willing to give up My life in order that I may receive it back again. No one takes My life from Me. I give it up of My own free will. I have the right to give it up and I have the right to take it back. This is what My Father has commanded me to do." John 10:7?18
The death of Jesus was no evil accident, nor a victory by fearful and rigid men.
God allowed the death of His Son.
His Son, of His own free will, chose to die.
Why? Each person who has sinned deserves to die.
But a sacrifice was made instead ? the blood of the sacrificed lamb being given in place of the blood of the person who deserved to die. The guilty sinner deserved to die, but the Lamb's life was the sinner's substitute.
The silence of the Lamb as He took our punishment!
The Lamb of God taking away the sins of the world! He opened not His mouth!

"What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!"

The silence of the Lamb who was taking away the sins of the world!

"The Silence Of The Lamb." By Gordon Moyes
(See full sermon at “SERMONS”)


KING OF KINGS

Nikita Khrushchev once boasted that he would exhibit the last Soviet Christian on television by 1965. Khrushchev has since gone to give account of himself to the Judge of all mankind, and his deadline for the extinction of Christianity in Russia has also passed. Throughout history, so-called big men and little men have strutted across the stages of life defying God.
But as Psalm 145:13 promises, "Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations."

See: Psa 2:2



Charles Edward Jefferson characterized Jesus this way,

"There is something so pure and frank and noble about Him that to doubt His sincerity would be like doubting the brightness of the sun."

-- Jon Johnston, Courage: You Can Be Strong in the Face of Fear, p.94.


To the artist He is the One Altogether Lovely.
To the architect He is the Chief Cornerstone.
To the astronomer He is the Sun of Righteousness.
To the baker He is the Living Bread.
To the banker He is the Hidden Treasure.
To the biologist He is the Life.
To the carpenter He is the Sure Foundation.
To the doctor He is the Great Physician.
To the educator He is the Great Teacher.
To the farmer He is the Sower and Lord of the Harvest.
To the florist He is the Lily of the Valley and the Rose of
Sharon.
To the geologist He is the Rock of Ages.
To the horticulturist He is the True Vine.
To the judge He is the Righteous Judge.
To the juror He is the True Witness.
To the jeweler He is the Pearl of Great Price.
To the editor He is the Good Tidings of Great Joy.
To the oculist He is the Light of the Eyes.
To the philosopher He is the Wisdom of God.
To the Printer He is the True Type.
To the servant He is the Good Master.
To the student He is the Incarnate Truth.
To the toiler He is the Giver of Rest.
To the Sinner He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the
world.
To the Christian, He is the Son of the Living God, the Savior, the
Redeemer and Lord!

See: Matt 16:16; John 1:29


Standards of success

By current standards of success, Jesus might be considered a failure.
Let's look at how Jesus measured up to these standards: Was he popular? No.
He was not well-liked. In fact, after one of his sermons, all of his followers deserted him, except for the Twelve Apostles.

Did he have political power? No. He was a political failure. All levels of government first rejected him. Then they conspired to kill him.

Did he have lots of friends? No. His friends often hurt him, eventually abandoned him, and one of them betrayed him to death.

Did he have money and possessions? No. No house, no "wheels", no world headquarters, no Christian amusement park.

Was he respected by his peers? No. His professional peers (Pharisees) rejected his work.

Despite his apparent failure by these standards, Jesus Christ has changed the lives of millions of men and women across the centuries. How could he, in light of his failures? .


Christ -- was never in a hurry, never impressed by numbers, never a slave to the clock.

-- J.B. Phillips


My husband Glenn, a weekend woodworker, cut off the tips of his thumb and index finger while using a table saw. Our doctor bandaged his wounds and sent him to a hand surgeon, whom Glenn discovered was a Christian.
After the surgeon, Dr. Drew Niany, stitched Glenn's fingers, my husband asked, "Do you get a lot of woodworkers in here?"
"Sure do," Dr. Niany answered with a chuckle. "I only know of one Carpenter who was sharper than all his tools." -- Rhonda Reese, Jacksonville, Florida. Christian Reader, "Lite Fare."


More of his Son.

Watchman Nee wrote, "God will answer all our questions in one way and one way only. Namely, by showing us more of his Son."

Mark Hatfield, "Integrity Under Pressure," Leadership, Spring 1988, p. 132. See: Psa 27:8; Phil 3:7-10


His authority
Therefore it is not surprising that the authoritative note in the teachings of Jesus drew the multitudes after Him. What the issues of their following were is not the question under consideration. We must never forget that the element of will enters largely and finally into the question of issue.
My ultimate relation is determined not by what is said to me, but by what I answer. For example, the claim of the Bishop of Rome to authority in matters of Christian doctrine does not constitute authority for me. I deny the claim, and therefore am not bound by it.

If I am able to establish the claim that the authority of Christ is based on truth, even then how it affects any of us will depend upon one's answer. We may keep His sayings and so build upon the rock, or we may refuse them and erect the superstructure of character upon sand. In this lies the awful majesty of human life.
The supreme and overwhelming dignity of human personality is that of will.
The majority of the multitudes who were attracted by His authority did not crown Him.

by G. Campbell Morgan - From Westminster Pulpit, volume 1, chapter 6
THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS by G. Campbell Morgan -
See the full sermon at SERMONS.


The music of the love of God
But this Teacher is more than One of intellectual accuracy. He is also a Man of pure emotions. His sense of justice is of the keenest.
His words are characterized by a fine scorn of imperfection, and yet they thrill with the tone of delicate and exquisite sympathy.
He is not a mere man of tears, maudlin in His pity, and unable to help me. Neither is He merely an iron-handed administrator. He is both.
The same lips said, "He that looketh on sin with desire hath committed it," and "Your Father knoweth."
No tone of mine can give full expression to either of the things in these words.
The first scorches and burns.
The second has in it the infinite music of the love of God.

THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS by G. Campbell Morgan
See the full sermon


"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased (Matt 3:17).

How was it that, even in the common tasks of an ordinary life, Jesus drew the praise of heaven? At the core of His being, He only did those things which pleased the Father. In everything, He stayed true, heartbeat to heartbeat, with the Father's desires. Jesus lived for God alone; God was enough for Him. Thus, even in its simplicity and moment-to-moment faithfulness, Christ's life was an unending fragrance, a perfect offering of incomparable love to God.

Part of "THE BELOVED" By Francis Frangipane ( Go to "Article's" for full text )

Copyright (c) 2003 Frangipane Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.
USED BY PERMISSION


Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased' (Luke 3:21-22).

The deep, unfathomable perfection of God, the incomprehensible ethos of the divine nature, knows only pleasure in Jesus.
The Almighty, who gives to all life, receives life from the Son and is fulfilled to the depth of His being. The Father gazes at His Son and harbors no slight shadow of regret, no lingering wish for someone or something to be done better.
We behold God on earth satisfying God in heaven: perfect surrender in the embrace of perfect acceptance.
Part of "THE BELOVED" By Francis Frangipane ( Go to "Article's" for full text )

Copyright (c) 2003 Frangipane Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.
USED BY PERMISSION


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