Who do you say Jesus is?

Betrayed by his friend, Jesus is ambushed in the garden of Gethsemane by Judas, the religious leaders, and a group of Roman soldiers. When he asks who they’re looking for, they answer, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

JESUS OF NAZARETH

The son of Mary and Joseph;
the carpenter boy;
the rebel;
the teacher, prophet, miracle-worker.

There’s an underlying mockery that has gone throughout the story, can anything good come from Nazareth?

They ask for Jesus of Nazareth and when he responds “I am he” the whole group is pushed back and thrown to the ground. Because this Jesus of Nazareth is the one who commands authority, who willingly gives up his life, and whose words are fulfilled. He shows us who he is; he is the one who writes the script.

KNOWING

We’re told that, “knowing what was going to happen” (John 18:4), he didn’t run or try to stop it. As we read chapter 18 and 19 we see that:
Knowing, he entered the garden, he asked the question, he heard the accusation.
Knowing, he drank the cup, took the beating, wore the thorns, bore our cross.
Even though he knew all this, he bled and died.
Knowing what was going to happen, he still went to the cross, for you.

Don’t you need to hear that today?
He knows what will happen.
He has triumphed over sin, evil and even the grave!

For more on the Easter story, listen to the sermon entitled, “Jesus Of Nazareth”.