Reflections On Jesus

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                          "REFLECTIONS"

                             On Jesus

INTRODUCTION

1. We continue...
   a. Our series entitled "Reflections"...
   b. Devoted to simple meditations on various themes

2. Again, the scriptural justification for such reflections is Php
   4:8...
   a. In which Paul concludes by saying "...meditate on these things"
      (NKJV)
   b. The NLT says "Think about things that are excellent and worthy of
      praise"

[We began with reflections on the Bible and its Author, God.  Now we
turn our attention to the main Subject of the Bible, Jesus...]

I. REFLECTIONS ON JESUS

   A. "THE BREAD OF LIFE"... - Jn 6:35
      1. The first of seven "I am" statements in John's gospel
      2. As the bread of life He gives us what we need to sustain
         spiritual life

   B. "THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD"... - Jn 8:12
      1. In a world of moral darkness, He illuminates our lives
      2. So none need stumble through the darkness

   C. "THE DOOR OF THE SHEEP"... - Jn 10:7,9
      1. He is the way to salvation
      2. He is the way to "pasture", i.e., abundant life - cf. Jn 10:10

   D. "THE GOOD SHEPHERD"... - Jn 10:11,14
      1. He is willing to give His life for his sheep
      2. He is willing to know them intimately

   E. "THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE"... - Jn 11:25
      1. He is the one who makes resurrection from the dead possible
      2. He is the one makes eternal life possible

   F. "THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE"... - Jn 14:6
      1. He is the true and living way to the Father
      2. Indeed, none can come to the Father except through Him

   G. "THE TRUE VINE"... - Jn 15:1,5
      1. The source of true spiritual life
      2. But only for those connected to Him and who produce fruit

[Perhaps the most shocking statement by Jesus was when He said
"...before Abraham was, I AM." (Jn 8:58), thereby declaring His Deity
(cf. Exo 3:14).  Now let us consider...]

II. WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID ABOUT JESUS

   A. NAPOLEON BONAPARTE...
      1. French general (1769-1821)
      2. "Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires;
         but what foundation did we rest the creations of our genius?
         Upon force. Jesus Christ founded an empire upon love; and at
         this hour millions of men would die for Him."

   B. H.G. WELLS...
      1. Historian, well-known science fiction writer (1866-1946)
      2. "I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as
         a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is
         irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily
         the most dominant figure in all history."

   C. C.S. LEWIS...
      1. Author of "The Chronicles Of Narnia", and former atheist
         (1898-1963)
      2. "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus
         said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a
         lunatic - on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg
         - or else he would be the Devil of Hell."
      3. "You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the
         Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut
         Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon;
         or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God."
      4. "But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His
         being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.
         He did not intend to."

CONCLUSION

1. Finally, consider this reflection by James A. Francis...

                         "One Solitary Life"

   "He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew
   up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he
   was 30. Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher.

   He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family
   or owned a home. He didn't go to college. He never lived in a big
   city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born.
   He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no
   credentials but himself.

   He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him.
   His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to
   his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed
   to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners
   gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he
   was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a
   friend.

   Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central
   figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that
   all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed,
   all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned
   --put together--have not affected the life of man on this earth as
   much as that one, solitary life."

2. How could One Man have such an impact on the world, unless He truly
   is...
   a. The bread of life
   b. The light of the world
   c. The door of the sheep
   d. The good shepherd
   e. The resurrection and the life
   f. The way, the truth, and the life
   g. The true vine
   h. The great "I AM"!

May these simple reflections on Jesus encourage you to seek Him and
learn His will for you...!

   "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will
   give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I
   am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your
   souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
                                                    - Mt 11:28-30
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