christ alone: the uniqueness of jesus as saviorhighlandspca.com/sermons/2017/20170625 christ alone,...

Mark 2:1-12Christ Alone: The Uniqueness

of Jesus as SaviorPart 1 of the 5 Solas Series

Preached at Highlands Presbyterian Church

Sunday AM, June 25, 2017

By

Dr. Bob Borger, Assistant Pastor, HPC

Theme: Who Christ is determines what he does; what he does reveals who he is.

Word Count: 3,287

of 26

Introduction:

Pastor Tom has asked me to preach a little more regularly in 2017, and I appreciate this invitation. And speaking of 2017, did you know that this year marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation? That’s because it was on October 31st, 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church.

I don’t know if you realize it or not but the Reformation has had a huge impact upon who Highlands Presbyterian Church is and what we stand for. As a PCA congregation, we have inherited the foundational beliefs of the Reformation and key among those beliefs are what have become known as the Five Solas. Sola is a Latin word and here are those 5 great doctrines in both Latin and English…

of 26

Sola Scriptura = Scripture Alone

Sola Gratia = Grace Alone

Sola Fide = Faith Alone

Solus Christus = Christ Alone

Soli Deo Gloria = Glory to God Alone

Now it could be that you’ve never heard of these labels before, but regardless, I pray that you embrace what they stand for, because this is what the Bible teaches. You see, we live in a day when Scripture’s authority is questioned, the exclusivity of Christ as mediator as well as the necessity of saving faith are offensive to pluralistic ears, and the glory of God in vocation is diminished by cultural accommodation as well as by individual and ecclesiastical narcissism. So, the temptation is to think that these 5 solas are museum pieces of a bygone era with little relevance for today’s church. But I disagree. We need these solas just as much today as the Reformers

of 26

needed them in the 16th century.1 This morning, I would like to begin to show you the why and how of one of these solas. I want to examine Solus Christus or Christ Alone. This morning I want you to better understand the uniqueness of Jesus as Savior. To do so, I invite you to turn to Mark 2:1-12…

Mark 2:1–12 (ESV)

1And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.

2And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.

3And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.

4And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the

1 Stephen Wellum, Christ Alone: The Uniqueness of Jesus as Savior, Zondervan, (Grand Rapids, 2017), p. 11.

of 26

roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.

5And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

6Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,

7“Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

8And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?

9Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?

10But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—

of 26

11“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”

12And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Dear friends, if you forget everything else I say this morning, I want you to remember this:

Who Christ is determines what he does; what he does reveals who he is. 2

Who was Jesus? Who is Jesus? Over 2,000 years ago, an historical man named Jesus of Nazareth, lived and ministered in the land of Israel. Vs. 1 tells us about an incident in which he returned to a village he spent much time in, the town of Capernaum. (cf. Matthew 9:1 and Luke 4:16) If you visited Capernaum today, you might see something like this, for

2 Ibid, p. 107.

of 26

Capernaum was a small village on the north side of the Sea of Galilee.

People found out rather quickly that Jesus was at home there in Capernaum and soon crowds kept pressing into the home and even flowing out of the door.

Vs. 2 of our text tells us that Jesus “was preaching the word to them.”

What was that word? The gospel writer, Mark, doesn’t leave us in any doubt. Mark writes in chapter 1:14-15…

of 26

Mark 1:14–15 (ESV)

14Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,

15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

I hope that before we are done this morning that you will ask yourself, either for the first time or the umpteenth time: Do you believe the good news? Do you believe Jesus Christ has made His rule visible on earth, including in your heart? Are you turning from your sins and turning toward the only Savior who can help you?

Now the house where Jesus was staying was not like this room. It was not made from heavy logs, but rather mud and sticks. And the roof was particularly unsteady, at least by our modern building codes. It consisted of light wood frame covered with straw, sticks and mud. First century Jewish houses like this were about

of 26

half the size of a modern-day double-wide mobile home and yet it housed a whole family.

of 26

The size of the crowd and the logistics of the house presented a great complication to the friends of the paralytic because this poor man REALLY needed to see Jesus. Vs. 3 introduces us to this paralytic. We don’t know what had caused this man’s condition, but it was obvious he couldn’t walk. He had to be carried on a stretcher by four of his friends. But when they couldn’t reach Jesus because of the crowd, that’s when his friends got creative. They dug through the cheap roof and they lowered the paralyzed man’s bed down in front of Jesus with ropes. You have to admire their ingenuity, but that is not what Jesus commends. Vs. 5 notes that “Jesus saw their faith”. “Their” must refer to all five men. They believed they had a problem – namely, the paralytic’s condition – and they were likewise convinced that only Jesus could help them.

All of which brings us back to the question of who Jesus is. What is so unique about Jesus?

of 26

If we are going to answer that question following the biblical story line we must first frame the question as who is the God of the Bible? Professor Stephen Wellum offers this helpful summary:

“In a summary way, we can say that he is the triune Creator-Covenant Lord. From the opening verses of Scripture, God is presented as the uncreated, independent, self-existent, self-sufficient, all-powerful Lord who created the universe and governs it by his word. (Gen 1-2; Pss 50:12-14; 93:2; Acts 17:24-25. This reality gives rise to the governing category at the core of all Christian theology: the Creator-creature distinction. God alone is God; all else is creation that depends upon God for its existence. But the transcendent lordship of God (Pss. 7:17; 9:2; 21:7; 97:9; 1 Kings 8:27; Isaiah 6:1; Rev 4:3) does not entail the remote and impersonal deity of deism or a God uninvolved in human history. Scripture stresses that God is transcendent AND immanent with his creation. As Creator, God is the Covenant Lord who is fully

of 26

present in this world and intimately involved with his creatures: he freely, sovereignly, and purposefully sustains and governs all things to his desired end (Ps 139:1-10; Act 17:28; Eph 1:11; 4:6). And yet this immanent lordship does not entail pantheism, which undercuts the Creator-creature distinction in Scripture. Even though God is deeply involved with his world, he is not part of it or developing with it.”3

But we also know that this Triune Creator-Covenant Lord made man and God required of all men and women covenantal obedience.

Sadly, however, man disobeyed the Covenant Lord who created mankind. The Creator God is also a holy and righteous God, a God who cannot tolerate sin. But if God is holy and cannot tolerate sin, then how do we have any hope of ever being forgiven or back in a right relationship with God?

3 Ibid, p. 36.

of 26

We need to understand that all brokenness in this world – whether we are talking about the paralytic’s condition in Mark chapter 2 – or whether we are talking about your broken marriage or my covetousness or any of our guilt over any of the violations of the 10 Commandments (that Pastor Tom has just spent weeks covering); all this stems from the same human problem – SIN.

Most of us are aware that we are lost and in need of deliverance, but we also know that a Holy God can’t deny himself and just pretend like our rebellion against him doesn’t matter.

The problem really comes down to the very nature of God. This is what Isaiah 45:21 says about God.

of 26

Isaiah 45:21–22 (ESV)

21Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told

this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. 22“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

But that’s the problem! How can God be righteous – true to His own holiness to hate sin – if He is also going to be the One who saves and forgives us?

The Bible explains that it was from eternity that the Triune God designed a plan:

The payment for sin would be fully satisfied and thus, God would still be declared just. (cf. Romans 3:26)

And this payment would have to be borne by a man to satisfy God’s just wrath.

Yet no man is pure and without fault.

of 26

So God, the Son, had to become a man himself. As John puts it in chapter one of his gospel account:

John 1:1–4 (ESV) 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

John 1:14 (ESV)

14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

of 26

Jesus understood who He was. He was as fully man as any of us are. But He was also God, the Son. Over and over again, in the Scriptures, Jesus addressed God using the Aramaic term “Abba”. (cf. Matt 6:9; 11:25-26; 26:39, 42; Mark 14:36; Luke 10:21; 11:2; 22:42; 23:34, 46.)

But as NT scholar, Joachim Jeremias has shown in his study of contemporary Jewish literature:

“there is NO ANALOGY AT ALL in the whole of Jewish prayer for God being addressed as Abba.”4

Yet Jesus did so repeatedly. But there was one time that He didn’t do so. Do you know when that was? It wasn’t even in the Garden of Gethsemane when he was contemplating what would happen the next day. There he prayed…

4 Ibid, p. 67

of 26

Mark 14:36 (ESV) 36And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

No, it occurred when he was hanging on a cross – accursed on a tree – as the Jews would describe it. At that moment in Jesus Christ, sin was being judged and condemned in the flesh (cf. Rom 8:3), and the Triune God was being affected, which is evident in the most blood-curdling cry that has ever been uttered:

Mark 15:34 (ESV)

34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus speaks from the cross a number of times and even addresses God as Father. For example…

of 26

Luke 23:34 (ESV) 34And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Professor Stephen Wellum asks: “How do we explain the cross and the cry?” And he answers:

“No trite answer will do. Jesus, God the Son incarnate, the sovereign King, the universe’s creator and continual sustainer (John 1:1-3; Col 1:15-17; Heb 1:3), hangs on a cross. Jesus, the Son, who from eternity knew indescribable and glorious face-to-face communion with his Father (John 1:1, 18; 17:3) and the Spirit, and who shared with them the divine nature, cries as the one who is now forsaken. We cannot conclude that Jesus is a victim of his circumstances; Jesus is sovereign and even more, he knows that it is the Father who has delivered him up (Rom 8:32). It is the Father’s wrath that is being poured out; he is now bearing the cup he pled to be removed in Gethsemane, and it is this

of 26

fact alone that explains his cry. In the words of Scripture, he bore in his body our sin and condemned it in his flesh (1 Peter 2:24; Rom 8:3).

So with this understanding that Jesus was none other than God, the Son, Himself, yet also fully man, fully human, so that it was possible for Him to die and bear the punishment for human sin -- let’s return our attention to the story in Mark 2.

What was the amazing declaration that Jesus made to the paralytic who had just been lowered in front of him? Vs. 5 tells us…

Mark 2:5 (ESV)

5And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Forgiveness! He granted him forgiveness! Friend, have you reflected lately on just how deep your need, my need, is for forgiveness? It is the greatest

of 26

need any of us have and Jesus just bestowed it upon this poor crippled man.

Why was the granting of such a precious gift so offensive to the scribes who were gathered there? We pick up the story in vs. 6…

Mark 2:6–9 (ESV)

6Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,

7“Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

8And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?

9Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?

of 26

The scribes were right about the fact that no one can forgive sins except God alone, but they were wrong about their assumption that Jesus wasn’t God.

But think about Jesus question: 9Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?

Which is easier? To help us appreciate this question I need to tell you a story from my childhood.

I became a Christian during my junior and senior high school days. And at that time, I was part of what was sometimes referred to as the charismatic movement. I’ve since outgrown that charismatic theology, finding it to be less than the whole counsel of God as revealed in Scripture. But nevertheless, back in those days I was exposed to a great deal of talk about divine healing. Now there was this paralyzed man who used to sell pencils

of 26

outside of a department store in my hometown in West Virginia. I knew this fellow reasonably well as I would often stop to talk to him, buy a pencil, and witness to him about Christ. One day, I became convinced that God wanted me to heal this fellow. I paced up and down the sidewalk trying to get up enough nerve to go over to him, grab his hand and scream: “In the name of Jesus, pick up your wheelchair and walk!”

But you know, I never actually did it. I am sure the reason was fear. I suppose I just wasn’t sure it would work. I could just envision myself having to explain it all to my parents after they came down to the jail where I would have been put for pulling this poor fellow out of his wheelchair and onto his face.

Jesus, however, actually made his man walk. It’s the difference between having authority and simply having good

of 26

intentions. Jesus has the authority to forgive because He paid the penalty which we owed. Jesus had the authority to heal because He was the Creator who formed this man’s body in his mother’s womb. The healing which Jesus performed that day demonstrated both who he is and what he does.

It brings us back to that all-important lesson I reminded you of a moment ago:

Who Christ is determines what he does; what he does reveals who he is.

Everyone who witnessed the miracle of the paralytic’s healing was amazed. They were filled with awe (Mark 2:12), they were filled with fear (Matthew 9:8), and through all their emotions they glorified God. They had never witnessed anything like this before. They knew it was extraordinary. They were baffled that God would give such authority to men.

of 26

And yet what Jesus was pointing them toward is the same thing He is pointing us toward:

Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man.

Jesus Christ existed before the world was created because he made it, along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

And yet Jesus Christ came to earth to die a death he didn’t deserve, but a death that was absolutely necessary if a helpless man in the first century or a helpless man in the 21st century is to be saved.

So I ask you, who do you believe this Jesus is? What do you believe he has done? In other words, do you believe the words of Scripture…

of 26

John 3:16–18 (ESV)

16“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Let us pray.

of 26

Benediction:

Romans 16:25–27 (ESV)

25Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages

26but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—

27to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

of 26

christ alone: the uniqueness of jesus as saviorhighlandspca.com/sermons/2017/20170625 christ alone,...

Documents