Who Was This Man?
This is going to be a VERY long entry, as it contains the entire narrative portion of my concert "Who Was This Man?". I have timed the concert out, and it is approximately 40 minutes, give or take a little. This is rough draft of the narratives, but it'll give you an idea of what I'm doing, in case you're curious. I was thinking last night that the timing on this concert is really quite good, because with all the controversy generated about the life of Christ by The DaVinci Code, it's good to have something like this that tells the non-fiction version of Christ's life.O Jesus, King Most Wonderful
“Who is this man?” the disciples asked, “that even the raging storms obey his voice?” “Who is this man?” the religious leaders asked, “that he would dare to call us hypocrites?” “Who is this man?” the lame, the blind and the lepers asked, “that he could heal our worst diseases?” “Who is this man?” Asked the Roman soldier, who watched him suffer, bleed and die, “surely he is the son of God.”
This question - Who is this man? Is a question which has come again and again through the centuries, as generation after generation of men and women grapple with trying to understand this enigmatic, puzzling man who was born into a remote corner of a great empire. Who is He? Why have books and songs and poems been written about him? Why has he inspired so much controversy, and why have thousands upon thousands of men and women faced death rather than deny him?
Who is this man? The apostle Paul wrote: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. By Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
He is the source of all light, and life, and hope. As Bernard de Clairvaux wrote long ago, he is Jesus, the King Most Wonderful.
Rainy Christmas/Thou Wayfaring Jesus
Every year on December 25th, we celebrate a day we know as a Christmas. It is a day for family, a day for giving and receiving of gifts. A day for decorations and festivities and celebration. And as we open our Christmas cards, we see beautiful images of mother Mary and Holy Jesus, of shepherds and sheep kneeling in silence and awe, of wise men traveling across desert dunes, following a brilliant, shining star.
But perhaps we have made this scene a bit more beautiful than it really should be; perhaps that first Christmas was not the Hallmark scene we often paint it to be, perhaps it was not the Kodak moment we want to imagine.
How could it be a Hallmark scene, with a baby born in a dirty, smelly, cattle stall, and laid to rest in a filthy feed trough? How could it have been a silent night on that night when the crowds were so thick underfoot that there was no room in any inn? How could there have been peace and joy for the little child when a raging king declared war on Him and chased him from His homeland?
No, there was no celebration for the little baby on that first Christmas. From before the beginning of all things, this baby Jesus knew the grandeur and glory of the heavens. Had he been born in the finest of human mansions, that would have been proof of his humility. But he went way beyond that, stooping to the lowest of the low, the most humble of the most humiliating positions. The apostle Paul described this moment in history like this: “He emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”
No, this was no Kodak moment, it was no Hallmark scene. But even in the stark grimness of the scene, we can find beauty, for it is in the grimness of that day that we see the truth of Jesus’ name: Immanuel, “God With Us” Surely, there is no better proof that God is with us, than that he took the form of a helpless child born into a life of grief and suffering, just like the rest of us.
Madman From Galilee
Little is known of the childhood of Jesus, except for one fascinating story from the gospel of Luke. Jesus was twelve years old when his parents took him to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. It was there that Jesus became separated from his parents, and in the bustling, carnival atmosphere of a great city in Holiday, Mary and Joseph searched for three days before they finally found Jesus seated in the temple, listening to the teachers, asking questions, and astounding everyone with his insight. And we see in this story the first inkling that Jesus will lead a passionate, driven, single-minded life. “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” he asked his worried parents.
It was this passionate, driven man who burst on the scene as an itinerant preacher years later, astounding and confusing the people with such strange statements as: “If you want to be first, you must be last.” “If you want to save your life, you must lose it.” “Blessed are they that mourn” – or, in more modern terms – “Happy are the sad”. People shook their heads at the mysterious paradoxes that Jesus declared, they shuddered at such statements as “If you want to have life, you must eat my flesh and drink my blood.” But for all the shaking and shuddering, the people could not get enough of him. “Surely, he is a madman,” they must have said, “Yet no one ever spoke with such authority and power as he does.” “Surely, he is a madman, yet no one ever calmed the seas, healed the blind and the lame as this man does.” “Surely he is a madman – yet there is something about him that rings truer, and saner than anything I have ever known.”
Even today, nothing has changed. Still, we are tempted to brand him as a madman, but there is something about him that, in our topsy-turvy world, our upside down and inside out mixed up world, there is something about him that seems truer and saner than anything we have ever known.
Rocks And Stones
For three years Jesus wandered the countryside, teaching about the Kingdom of God, healing the sick and raising the dead. There were many who followed him faithfully. There were even more who followed him simply out of curiosity. But there were some who hated him deeply. These were the religious leaders, who were often the brunt of Jesus’ direct and pointed comments. A family of snakes, he called them. A whitewashed tomb. Hypocrites and liars. It was these men who longed to see Jesus not just silenced, but dead. It was these men who connived and planned and lied to get him arrested and sentenced.
But it would be a mistake to think that Jesus was unaware of their plans. It would be a mistake to think his crucifixion came as a surprise to Him. When He arrived in Jerusalem for his very last Passover, Jesus said, “Now my soul has become troubled. What shall I say? Shall I say, ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ For this purpose I came to this hour.”
But Jesus seemed to be the only one was troubled in his soul – the crowds were eagerly waiting to greet him as he entered Jerusalem, and, unaware of his sorrows, were shouting words of praise and adoration. “Hosanna!” they exclaimed, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”
The Pharisees, those religious leaders who wanted to see Jesus dead, said to him, “Tell your disciples to be quiet!” But Jesus, troubled as he was, was not about to dampen the spirits of His followers. He replied simply, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out.”
Blessed Be The Name
Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! I wonder if perhaps we should take a lesson from the rocks and stones, which would burst into song if we left off praising our Savior and God? Let us raise our voices together in praise and adoration of Jesus, the King Most Wonderful.
When I Survey
On the night before He was crucified, Jesus met one last time with His disciples. As they celebrated the Passover together, Jesus held the bread and said, “This is my body, broken for you.” He held the cup of wine and said, “This is my blood, shed for you.” I wonder if the disciples remembered those strange words Jesus had spoken before: “Unless you eat my body and drink my blood, you will have no life.” It was not until much later that they understood he was speaking of his death on the cross, that his body would be broken, and his blood spilled out on their behalf. It was not until much later that they understood that the torment, shame and agony of the cross was the torment, shame and agony that their sins, their selfishness, their deceit deserved. It was not until much later that they understood the true meaning of this Passover – that an innocent, willing sacrifice could take the guilt and the judgment deserved by another. In bearing the agony of the cross, their teacher had become their savior. Later, Peter would write: He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by his wounds you are healed.
That is what the cross meant to Peter, and next to that wondrous cross, everything else counts as nothing.
Morning Breaks Upon The Tomb
Jesus once said: “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter.” This was an apt description of what happened at the crucifixion; Jesus was struck down by his enemies, and his disciples scattered into the night, fleeing in terror for their own lives. But something happened to these terrified, fleeing men. Something changed them from scattered sheep into men of bravery and courage who would stand in defiance of kings in the courts, and wild animals in the arena. What was it? What happened to change them so drastically?
It was the morning of the third day, and the crucified body of Jesus Christ had lain in the grave since his death on the cross. On that day, when the women came early in the morning to anoint the body with embalming spices, they found the grave empty, and an angel declared, “Do not be afraid, for I know you are seeking Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as he said. Come, see the place where he was lying. Go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead.”
From that day until now, this has been the cry of triumph of all his followers throughout the world. He is risen, and because he is risen, we too will one day be raised. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians exclaims: Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Why do we live lives of hope and courage in the midst of the suffering of this life? Because two thousand years ago, morning broke upon an empty tomb, and that empty tomb has forever changed everything.
Tourist In Jerusalem
Who was this man? That is the question we began with, and it is the question we must come back to. Who was this man? And what could he – who lived so long ago – what could he mean to me? This is the question which every man, woman and child must answer. What does He mean to you? Jesus said: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to God except through me. Is that what he means to you? Jesus said: I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live a new life. Is that what he means to you? Jesus said: I am the good shepherd, who lays down his life for His sheep. Is that what he means to you? Jesus said: I have come, that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly. Is that what he means to you?
Our Great Savior
Who was this man? What could he mean to you? The most famous of all verses in the Bible says this: For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. God loved you so much that he sent his beloved son Jesus Christ to take the judgment your sin deserves. And what is required of you? To believe in Him. WHOEVER believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
As many as received him, John writes, to them he gave the power to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. The call of Jesus Christ is simply this: to turn to him in faith, putting your trust and your hope in him, for he alone can rescue you from the penalty that your sin requires. As we finish today by singing one last song to Our Great Savior Jesus Christ, I invite you, in the quietness of your heart, to start your new life of faith in Jesus Christ, turn away from the false hopes that you can save yourself, or that your church can save you, or that your family can save you. Turn your heart to the only one who can save you. Lord Jesus, King Most Wonderful, you alone are my salvation, and I place my faith and my trust and my hope in you. Forgive my sins, save me, I pray. And as we sing, let the words of this song be words of thanks to the only God and Savior who can save, help, heal, and love us ‘til the very end.
Posted On May 24, 2006 at 7:51 AM
On May 26, 2006 Trent wrote: Excellent!!
I can hear Isaac beginning to hum along.
It matters little what the popular culture is doing. "the old old story, of Jesus and his love", is always relevent.
Doug Replied: yep. so true.
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