Incarnational Evangelism: Jesus, with skin on
In this message, we look at Jesus coming in flesh, and its implications in telling others about Him. Click here for the recording of this 11/30 Service, and you can fast-forward to 16:43 to get to the start of the sermon.
Our text comes from the Matthew 1:23-24
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
What is the “all this” that Matthew wrote about?
The engagement of Mary to Joseph
Her conception of Jesus via the Holy Spirit
Joseph’s desire to divorce her quietly, because he could not make sense of her pregnancy
The intervention of the angel
The angel’s naming of Jesus, and his rightful prediction that Jesus would save His people from their sins
Questions…
Was this, is this, a quaint story for our recitation at Christmastime every year?
Yes, and so much more
Do you believe in the historicity of Jesus, or is He a myth created by followers to help people feel good?
The Jewish historian Josephus, on Jesus
3. Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, 9 those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; 10 as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day. (antiquities, 18.3.3)
There is no historical evidence that Josephus ever became a Christ follower
Thus, he would have had no motive to write favorably of Christ other than the fact that Jesus was in fact a historical figure
CS Lewis on Jesus- “the trilemma”: He’s either lord, liar or lunatic
Thus, Jesus came, and lived a life among those in ancient Palestine, for about 33.5 yrs, from about 3BC to about 30AD
He came in the flesh, lived among people, and related to them
He spent 3.5 yrs with the Twelve
He related to others- Zacchaeus, Mary, Martha and Lazarus, and others
Why? So we will do the same, in His name
And so…
Do you believe that Jesus is who He says He is?
Do you believe that scripture teaches heaven and hell as literal?
Do you believe in the eternality of the soul?
Is the acceptance of Jesus the only way to Heaven?
If you believe the above, do you have a biblical obligation to act on them via a verbal witness of the gospel?
When is the last time you had a spiritually meaningful conversation with an unbeliever?
If you do not have those conversations, what will you say to Jesus on judgment day?
Is guilt/coercion a proper motivator for evangelism?
If you could tell only one person about Jesus, who would that be?
