Wasn’t Jesus Just a Good, Moral Teacher?

Wasn’t Jesus Just a Good, Moral Teacher?

“Wasn’t Jesus Just a Good, Moral Teacher?”

(John 8:48-59)

Series: Answers (2 of 5)

Team Preaching: Revs. Todd A. Linn and Rich Stratton

First Baptist Church Henderson, KY

(3-8-09) (AM)

Words in Black–Todd Linn

Words in Red–Rich Stratton

  • Take God’s Word and open to John, chapter 8.

 

This morning we are continuing our series called, “Answers.”  During the five Sundays of March we’re answering popular questions about the Christian faith—answering them both in Sunday school and worship.  Last week we answered the question, “Don’t all religions lead to the same God?”  Brother Rich and I are doing some Team-Preaching this month, together sharing how the Bible answers these questions.

 

Let me take a moment and share with you some good books that we are promoting during this series, several of which we have available for sale in the church office.  As a good, overall study Bible, we’re promoting the relatively new Apologetics Study Bible.  “Apologetics” is about defending the faith.  1 Peter 3:15 says, to always be ready “to give a defense—or an answer—to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you.”  This Study Bible answers questions like those we are studying this month.  I also want to draw attention to these two small paperbacks, Answers to Tough Questions by Josh McDowell and Don Stewart and, especially helpful for today’s question, More Than a Carpenter, by Josh McDowell.  These books are available to checkout from our church library and they are available for sale through the church office.

 

Today’s question is, “Wasn’t Jesus just a good, moral teacher?”  Our text this morning is found in John, chapter 8.  We’re going to be looking at the end of the chapter.  The background is a discussion Jesus is having with religious leaders—the Pharisees among them—about who He is.  Truth is, it was becoming a heated debate.  The Jewish leaders, often simply called “the Jews” in this chapter, did not approve of Jesus.  They did not believe He was who He claimed to be—the very Son of God.  They had even accused Jesus of being demon-possessed.  Jesus had also very pointedly told them that He had come from the Father.  He also said that since they did not acknowledge Him as God’s Son then they had a different father—that their father was the devil!  So the discussion becomes increasingly heated as it leads to the end of the chapter and I want us to look at it beginning in verse 48.

  • Stand in honor of the reading of the Word of God.

 

48 Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.

50 “And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.

51 “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”

52 Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’

53 “Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?”

54 Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.

55 “Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.

56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”

58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

  • Pray.

 

Introduction:

 

Today’s question is, “Wasn’t Jesus just a good, moral teacher?” and the question implies that Jesus was nothing more than a good, moral teacher.  In other words, He wasn’t God.  He was just a man, a good, moral teacher.  This view allows that we can learn much from His teachings—the Sermon on the Mount, His parables, and so forth.  It’s a very popular view.

 

Did you know that Thomas Jefferson had this view?  We rightly respect Jefferson as one of our country’s founders and framers of our constitutional government, but the man had some quirky ideas about the Bible.  While he believed Christianity had the finest ethical teachings, he personally cut out verses from the Bible that referenced the deity of Jesus, including all supernatural references—angels, miracles and, most importantly, the resurrection—all cut out of Jefferson’s Bible—because he believed that Jesus was just a good, moral teacher.

 

There are many folks who believe that way today.  They would say, “Look, Christianity has a lot of great teachings and Jesus said a lot of great things, but He’s not God.  So let’s just teach the things Jesus taught and our society will be better.”  And if you think about it, Jesus does give us a lot of good, moral teachings that generally benefit any society.  He says:

 

“Do not resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”

“If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.”

“Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.”

“Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.”

“Love your enemies; bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

And we all know the “Golden Rule,” don’t we?  Do unto others as you would have them—what?—do unto you.

 

But Jesus says other things that are not so popular, things common moral teachers don’t say, things like:

 

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.”

“Unless you believe that I am He you shall die in your sins.”

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven, but whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except by Me.”

 

What kind of person talks like that who is merely a man?  What kind of man, what kind of moral teacher, speaks as though he is more than a man, saying things like, “I am the way, the truth, and the life?”

 

Well, that’s just the point we’re going to make this morning as we look more closely at our text.  We’re going to go back through these verses and learn the truths that surface from the passage and then we’re going to provide what are our only options in response to the claims Jesus makes.  So let’s just read through these verses again and then will give a few implications at the end.

 

48 Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

 

The Jews doubly assault Jesus.  First, they call Him a “Samaritan.”  That was considered an insult to a full-blooded Jew, because Samaritans were not full-blooded.  It was a racial slur.  Then, they tell Jesus He has “a demon.”  I don’t need to explain that!  They accused Jesus of being demon-possessed.  How does Jesus answer?  Verse 49:

 

49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.

50 “And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.

 

What Jesus says here is, “You obviously don’t know who you’re talking to!”  I honor My Father.  I have come to fulfill the will of My heavenly Father.”  Then He says in verse 51:

 

51 “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”

 

This is a bit as Jesus will say later in John 14:6, “I am the way the truth and the life; no one comes unto the Father except by Me.”  That’s what He means: “I am the way to eternal life.  Keep My word.  Follow Me.  Trust in Me and you will never see death.”  Verse 52:

 

52 Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’

 

These Jews are having the same difficulty Nicodemus had back in chapter 3.  Jesus is talking about spiritual life and they think He’s talking about physical life.  They’re like, “Well, it’s pretty clear you’re out of your mind!  Abraham is dead.  The prophets are dead.  And here you are going around saying that if people follow you they will never see death.  Everyone sees death!”  So they ask in verse 53:

 

53 “Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?”

 

And by the way: that is the very question before us this morning, isn’t it?  The Jews asks, “Whom do You make Yourself out to be?”  That is, “Who are You, anyway?!”  Jesus replies in verse 54:

 

54 Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.

55 “Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.

 

Jesus’ whole point here is “Look, the One True God of the Bible is My Heavenly Father and if He were your Father, then you would accept Me.  But you don’t accept Me because He’s not really your Father.”

 

Now it gets interesting as Jesus mentions Abraham.  Abraham is one of the great Jewish patriarchs.  The Jews were proud of their heritage.  To say that one descended from Abraham was a true privilege.  Jesus tells the Jews that Abraham believed in Him—in Jesus.  Verse 56:

 

56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

 

That is, “Abraham believed in Me and yet you don’t!  Abraham rejoiced, he was happy to see My coming as I am here now among you.  He was happy to see this day and when Abraham saw this day, he was glad.”  Verse 57:

 

57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”

 

Now again, the Jews just aren’t getting it.  They’re like, “Who are you to talk about what Abraham saw?!  You’re not even 50 years old and Abraham has been dead for 2,000 years!  Where do you get off talking about what Abraham saw?!”

 

But Jesus had been talking about the fact that Abraham lived by faith and looked forward to the coming Messiah.  That’s what Jesus was talking about.  It’s the same thing the writer of Hebrews has in mind where he writes of the believers in the Old Testament, those like Abraham who lived before the coming of Christ.  He writes in Hebrews 11:13 that “these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them (and) embraced them…”

 

I like to illustrate it this way.  If we allow this stand to represent the cross upon which Jesus died, a point in time 2,000 year ago, then I represent everyone who looked forward to the cross.  I represent the believers of the Old Testament who lived by faith, looking forward to the coming Messiah, the Savior who would come.  And I represent everyone who looks back to the cross.  I represent believers of the New Testament and every believer since the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as we look back to the cross, looking back to the Christ Who has come.

But salvation is always by grace, through faith, in Christ.  Old Testament believers lived by faith, looking forward to the Christ who would come.  And New Testament believers live by faith, looking back to the Christ who has come.

 

So this is what Jesus means in verse 56 where He says to the Jews, “Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”  Abraham lived by faith, looking forward to the Christ who would come.  But the Jews don’t get this and so they say there in verse 57, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”  Now look closely at Jesus’ reply in verse 58:

 

58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

 

Now that is quite a statement!  Jesus says, “I’ve been around a lot longer than Abraham.  Abraham was on earth 2,000 years ago, but I existed long before that.  In fact, not only am I older than Abraham, I have always been.  I am.”

 

This is what the Bible consistently teaches about Jesus.  As the second Person of the Holy Trinity, He is God.  He is.  This is why He can say, “I am,” because “He is!”  That’s how this Gospel of John begins.  Referring to Jesus as “the Word,” John writes in John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God and all things were made through Him.”  And then later in verse 14, John writes, “and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

 

Paul writes of Christ in Colossians 1:16-17, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.  All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”

 

This is all to say that Jesus is not just some man.  He is God.  He is God in the flesh.  And in verse 58 Jesus intentionally uses the very words God spoke to Moses in Exodus, chapter 3.  Remember when God told Moses to go to Pharaoh and to tell Pharaoh to let His people go?  Moses was like, “Well, if people ask me Your name, what shall I say?  Whom shall I say sent me?”  And God replies in Exodus 3:14, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.”  I am!  Jesus has this very idea in mind when He says here in verse 58, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

 

This explains the reaction of the Jews in the last verse of the chapter, verse 59:

 

59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

 

Jesus supernaturally avoids a stoning.  He just goes out of the temple, untouched by anyone.  But you see, the Jews were ready to stone Him.  Why?  Because Jesus said, “I AM.”  He claimed to be God.  And they saw this as blasphemy because they didn’t believe He was God.  Leviticus 24:16 says, “Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death.”  So they’re ready to stone Him because they don’t believe He is God.  And Jesus just walks away because, as is said elsewhere, “His time had not yet come.”

 

Now this passage illustrates that when it comes to Jesus’ identity we really only have about four options.  We want to give these to you for your further reflection and study.  As we read the Bible about Jesus we are left with drawing one of four conclusions.  You’ll find these options presented in most popular evangelical books and articles.  Option number one is:

 

I.  He’s a Legend

 

That is to say, Jesus never existed.  The Bible is a bunch of fairy tales and Jesus never existed.  He’s just a legendary figure.  Now we’ll treat this issue more fully next week when we answer the question, “How did we get the Bible and why can we trust it?”  But we know that even the most ardent skeptics believe that Jesus was a real person who really existed.  Most skeptics will at least acknowledge that Jesus was a Jewish rabbi or a prophet of some kind.  The only ones who will try to claim that Jesus never existed are those who claim to be atheists and who have actually discovered that if Jesus existed their system of non-belief falls apart.

 

So we’re being more than disingenuous if we try to say that Jesus is a good moral teacher when we don’t even believe Him to be a real person.  In fact Yale historian Jaroslav Pelikan declared, “Regardless of what anyone may personally think or believe about him, Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western culture for almost twenty centuries…It is from his birth that most of the human race dates its calendars, it is by his name that millions curse and in his name that millions pray.”

 

But even so some people consider this an option when we consider who Jesus is.  They claim that we may conclude that Jesus is a legend.  Option number two:

 

II.  He’s a Lunatic

 

He’s crazy.  Now this is an option and we really need to think about it.  After all, Jesus made some very strong claims to deity.  He accepted the worship of people.  He forgave sins—not like when I forgive someone who sins against me, but Jesus forgave sins where one person had sinned against another!  Repeatedly, Jesus made strong claims to deity.

 

He said, “I and the Father are One.”

He said, “You call me…Lord and rightly so for that is what I am.”

He said, “I am the way the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except by Me.”

And in this passage, John 8:58, Jesus says, “I am” and the Jews knew exactly what He meant!  They tried to stone Him and they would try again later (10:31) because He placed Himself on equal footing with God.

 

Not the point is: Who makes statements like these?  What if your friend came up to you and said, “I am Lord” or, “I am the way to the Father?”  You’d think there was something seriously wrong with that person!

 

Let me read how Josh McDowell illustrates this in his book, Answers to Tough Questions.  He writes:

 

Suppose this very night the president of the United States appeared on all the major networks and proclaimed that “I am God Almighty.  I have the power to forgive sin.  I have the authority to raise my life back from the dead.”  He would be quickly and quietly shut off the air, led away, and replaced by the vice-president.  Anybody who would dare to make such claims would have to be either out of his mind or a liar, unless he was God (73-74).

 

See, we can’t just claim that Jesus was a good, moral teacher because He claimed to be more than a good, moral teacher.  He claimed to be God Himself.  So He’s either a lunatic, or He really is God.  Now option three was also mentioned by McDowell in that citation from the book.  Option three is:

 

III.  He’s a Liar

 

See, you could say that Jesus lied about His being God.  You could say that.   But when you think it through, there are some problems here, too.  It’s very similar to the previous option.  What kind of man who is supposed to be a great moral teacher goes around lying about his own identity?

 

I mean, if you’re not God and you go around claiming that you are God, you’ve got quite a problem.  You’re a liar.  You’re deceitful.  Furthermore, you give people false hope by acting like you can forgive their sins and grant them eternal life in heaven.  You’re an egomaniac for allowing people to worship you and to follow you and treat you as Lord, as King, and as God.

 

How can someone do those things and at the same time be a good moral teacher?  They can’t, because there’s nothing at all moral about living an immoral life; about living a lie and misleading everyone to whom you speak.

 

So option number three doesn’t look too reasonable, either.  So what option is left?  Well, we can either conclude that Jesus is legend, a lunatic, a liar, or:

 

IV.  He is LORD!

 

That is, we believe that Jesus is who He claims to be, the very Son of God, the very Person of God, God in the flesh.  He is Lord.

 

So when you come back to the question, “Wasn’t Jesus just a good, moral teacher?” you are left seeing the difficulty of that position.  If we believe the Bible to be true, we cannot say He is merely a good moral teacher because He claims to be more than that.  So if He’s not a legend, He is a lunatic, or a liar, or He is Lord.

 

All other religions are man-made.  Some man founded the religion.  Some man wrote up a bunch of ethical teachings.  And if you take those founders out of the religions they started, nothing really changes.  The belief system really isn’t changed.  But Christianity is fundamentally different from other religions in that its founder actually claimed to be God.  If you take Jesus Christ out of Christianity you are left with nothing because Christianity is all about God’s coming to us in the Person of Jesus Christ.

 

The Bible says in 1 Timothy 1:12 that “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.”  He came to take care of our sin problem.  The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death.”  We deserve death for our sins.  So God comes to us in the person of Christ to die the death we deserve.  He dies in our place, taking our punishment upon Himself that His goodness might be credited to our account.  The only way to be forgiven is through the Lord, Jesus Christ.  And it’s not automatic—we must receive Him into our lives—not as merely a good, moral teacher, but as Lord.

 

  • Stand for prayer

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