Knowing Jesus: The Good Shepherd

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Jason

In 2021, a sheep named Baarack was found wandering alone in the wilderness of Australia with more than 75 pounds of fleece weighing it down. A property maintenance worker spotted Baarack in the forest that adjoined the property where he was working. He contacted an animal rescue crew and they were able to take care of the animal.

They determined that Baarack once had an owner because it looked as if he had an ear-tag that had been torn out by the thick matted fleece near his face. Sheep need to be sheared at least once a year to keep their coats light enough — but clearly Baarack hadn’t been given a haircut in several years.

After they rescued him, they quickly gave him a shearing and his fleece weighed in at a whopping 78 pounds. The wool around his face had severely impaired his vision and he was also dangerously underweight — probably due to the fact that all of the extra weight limited his mobility. Evidently, the extra weight and the vision problems meant that Baarack was only able to eke out an existence eating small shoots of grass.

Thankfully, the story has a happy ending. After receiving the care he needed, Baarack made a full recovery.

Baarack’s story illustrates something that is true for ALL sheep: sheep need a shepherd — they need someone to care for them.

  • I think back to the things Jim Flowers shared with us in his communion comments a few months ago. Last year, Jim and Kerrie became the owners of three English baby doll ewe lambs named Wynonna, Shania, and Dolly.
  • As Jim mentioned they had to build a fence for the sheep to keep them safe; they built a sheep palace for the sheep so they would have a place to sleep. Jim and Kerrie know this better than most people: sheep need a shepherd.
  • Sheep like to graze, so they need access to plenty of grass to eat. An adult sheep will drink a gallon or two of water each day. They need to be sheared at least once a year, sometimes more often. They also need to have their hooves trimmed regularly.

Sheep are a lot of work. They need someone to care for them.

  • Baarack needed a shepherd to keep him from wandering off into the wilderness.
  • When he was found, he needed someone to care for him, to nurture him and to shear off that fleece. He couldn’t do that for himself — the sheep needed outside help.

Sheep need a shepherd.

We are in the midst of a study right now called Knowing Jesus. We are taking a look at the different names and titles that are used to describe Jesus in the Bible.

  • We’ve talked about the name “Jesus” and the fact that it means “God saves.” His name itself is a signal that Jesus is our Savior. He came to rescue us from our sins.
  • Last week, we talked about the title “Lord.” You can’t have Jesus as your Savior without also making Him the Lord of your life. Yes, He came to rescue, but He also came to rule.
  • And now today, we look at another of these titles, one that Jesus uses Himself. Sheep need a shepherd; that’s why it’s so important when Jesus says, I am the GOOD shepherd.

You find this statement over in John 10.

John 10:11

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

  • The Bible often refers to us as sheep:
    • Psalm 100:3, Know that the Lord, He is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
    • Psalm 119:176, I have gone astray like a lost sheep…
  • Today if you say that a group of people are like sheep, it’s usually meant as an insult. But that’s not what’s going on here. God doesn’t include these verses in the Bible to insult us.
  • Ancient readers of these verses understood that sheep need a shepherd. And if the Bible repeatedly refers to us as “sheep,” then the implicit point is that we, too, need a shepherd.
    • We need someone who will care for us, someone who will watch over us and protect us.
    • We need someone to ease the heavy burden we are carrying — the “fleece” of our sin and our shame and our guilt. Just as Baarack could not shear himself to get rid of this heavy burden, neither can we remove the weight of our sin — not on our own. We need someone else to come along and help with this problem. 
    • That’s why it’s really good news for Jesus to say, “I am the good shepherd.”

One of the most enduring stories Jesus ever told was about a son who was “lost” — a son who had wandered away from the care and protection of his home. And just before telling that story, Jesus talked about a sheep that had also gone astray. I think the connection between those two stories is obvious.

The Bible makes it clear that Jesus wants to be the shepherd of our souls.

There are three points I want to make about Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

  1. The Good Shepherd has compassion for lost sheep.

Matthew 9:36

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus looks out on the crowd and He sees lost sheep. The Jewish people at that time were being led astray by their leaders. The Pharisees were supposed to be shepherds over the people, teaching them God’s Word and helping them to know God in a deep and meaningful way. But these religious leaders neglected their responsibilities. This was anticipated back in the day of Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 34, God says that when those who are called to shepherd the flock neglect their duties, God says I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep (Ezekiel 34:15).

So Jesus looks out on the crowd and he sees an entire flock of Baaracks. He sees men and women who have been burdened by the man-made traditions and “laws” of the Pharisees. These people are lost — so far from God because their leaders have been derelict in their duties.

The people were harassed and helpless — other translations use words like “confused” and “bewildered.” In their confusion, they have wandered away from the fold, wandered away from God. For some, this might have been a willful decision on their part. For others, it might have been more like a slow drift. Either way, these people are lost.

And Jesus’s response is to have compassion for them. Something stirs within His heart when He sees these lost sheep. He is the Good Shepherd because He wants something better for His sheep.

The parable of the lost son (prodigal son) shows us that even when we go astray, God sees us the same way. He sees us as lost sheep — and He has compassion for us. This seems to be His natural response to us whenever we are lost. He longs for us to repent and turn back to Him. He wants His lost sheep to come home where they will be safe once again.

Simon Peter talks about this in 1 Peter 2:25, For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

If anyone knows about sheep going astray, it’s Simon Peter. That’s his story. But he also knows about returning, being restored, looking to Jesus as the Shepherd of our souls. The Good Shepherd has compassion on His lost sheep.

Some of you who are here today — or some of you who might be listening to this message — you’re like Baarack. You’re carrying around such a heavy burden. You carry the guilt of your mistakes, the shame of your sin. You willfully left the fold and you’re wondering how God feels about you.

  • If you can relate to that, I hope you hear the Word of God today: the Good Shepherd has compassion for all of His lost sheep.
  • In fact, that compassion is what drives Him to do what He does.
  1. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

Jesus explains what it means for Him to be the “good” shepherd. It means that He lays down His life for the sheep. His compassion is what drove Him to His crucifixion.

John 10:11-12

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

The good shepherd is aware that there is a wolf — an enemy — who wants to destroy and scatter His sheep. Jesus says a hired hand just views shepherding as a job. It’s a way to make a living. But the good shepherd is personally concerned with the welfare of the sheep — so much so that He lays down His life for them.

In this same teaching, Jesus talks about being the door or the gate for the sheep.

  • Ancient sheep pens looked like this. Not exactly a sheep palace, but it’s enough to keep them corralled.
  • In this sheep pen, there was a gap for them to get in and out.
  • The shepherd would literally put his own body in the gap. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out.
  • Literally, “over my dead body.”

That’s what makes Jesus the GOOD shepherd. No other shepherd can do this for us. We have an enemy who wants to steal, who wants to kill and destroy; Jesus mentions him in this same teaching (John 10:10). But Jesus lays down His own life to keep the enemy from harming us. He literally puts His body between the sheep and the enemy — that’s a good way for us to think about the cross.

Because Jesus is the GOOD shepherd.

  1. The Good Shepherd gives us everything we need.

I want to close today by looking at Psalm 23. It is one of the most beloved passages in God’s Word. I’ve read this passage at every funeral I’ve ever preached. But make no mistake: this is a passage for the living. It tells us that when we make the Lord our shepherd, He gives us everything we need.

Psalm 23:1-6

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

For you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

This is a picture of total provision. As my shepherd, the Lord supplies my every need.

When the Lord is my shepherd…

  1. I shall not want. I won’t lack for anything — not really. I’ll have everything I need because of His provision. This is what the “green pastures” are all about. For a sheep like Baarak, green pastures would be a sign of abundance. What else do we need besides the things God has provided? 2 Peter 1:3, His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through our knowledge of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
  2. I experience peace. We can draw this from the picture of “still waters” in v2 — not choppy, not turbulent. There’s a peace and calm that comes from submitting your life to God. I can rest when I know that Jesus is the One “standing in the gap.” He is the door to the sheep pen. He protects me from the enemy.
  3. He restores my soul. This is the promise of eternal life for your soul on the other side. Our souls will be restored in a land where there is no more sin.
  4. He leads me. When the Lord is my shepherd, He leads me in paths of righteousness. I don’t have to be in charge all the time — which is exhausting, honestly. It’s exhausting to always ben in charge — because we weren’t made for that. Instead, you can follow the voice of the good shepherd, let him direct you where you need to go.
  5. I need not fear any evil — because He is with me. Even when you walk through the darkest valley, He promises to guide you. He won’t abandon you or forsake you. If the Lord is your shepherd, you never have to be alone — even in death. What a comforting thought!
  6. I am comforted — His rod and staff bring us comfort. These are signs of His presence and His protection. The rod was used to fend off the wild beasts and the staff was used to guide the sheep. These are comforting images. He is the God of all comfort as it says in the Bible.
  7. A table is prepared for me — The Jewish idea of heaven was a great banquet feast, an eternal Thanksgiving meal. They pictured this huge table full of food and there was laughter and rejoicing and God Himself would preside over it. And He has a place waiting for me.
  8. My cup overflows — He gives me the abundant life in Jesus. He is not stingy in doling out His blessings. When the Lord is my shepherd, I receive every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms (Eph. 1:3).
  9. Goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life. While we are here on earth, we feel his goodness and mercy — and we have a responsibility to share that with others.
  10. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever — this is the promise of an eternal home with Him. In His house. Sheep need shelter. And Jesus says that the Father’s house has many rooms. Room for you, room for me.

Would you make the Lord your shepherd?

If you have already confessed Jesus as the Good Shepherd, I hope this message is a reminder of the benefits that come from this decision.

If you haven’t made the Lord your shepherd, I wish you would.

Invitation:

In the name of Jesus Christ, the Sovereign Lord who makes all things new, he who has ears let him hear.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Today’s message focuses on Jesus as “the Good Shepherd.” Sheep need the care of a shepherd, someone who can tend to their needs. In your opinion, what qualities make for a good shepherd?
  2. Read John 10:1-15. What stands out to you about this passage? What is the primary point Jesus is making here?
  3. In verse 11, how does Jesus define this idea of being “the good shepherd?”
  4. Jason explained that ancient sheep pens had a gap / opening and the shepherd would often position his body in this gap, even sleeping here in order to keep predators away from the sheep. How does this image explain Jesus’s role as the good shepherd?
  5. Read Matthew 9:36. How does Jesus feel about lost sheep? (For further reading, consult Luke 15.)
  6. Sheep are prone to wander off without proper guidance. Can you think back to a time when you willfully wandered away from God? If you’re comfortable doing so, share your story with the group. How did God / Jesus pursue you when you were a lost sheep? Sharing this part of your story could be extremely helpful to someone else in your group who might be going through something similar. Sharing this story could also be God’s way of preparing you for an evangelism moment with a non-believer, so please don’t be bashful in sharing.
  7. Read Psalm 23:1-6. Of all the benefits of making the Lord your shepherd, which one means the most to you today?
  8. Look at 1 Peter 2:25 where Jesus is referred to as both “shepherd” and “overseer.” How do these two terms compliment one another? How are these terms different? How does this impact our understanding of Jesus?
  9. Close with some prayer time, thanking God for the fact that Jesus is the shepherd of our souls.
Posted in Culture, Faith, God, Jesus, Love of Christ, Psalms, Scripture | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

NFL Divisonal Round Predictions

Posted on January 20, 2024 by Jason

Last week was rough from a prediction standpoint.

Jason: 3-3

Joshua: 3-3

Sunny: 1-5

Here we go with our picks for this week:

Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens

All three of us are picking Baltimore to get the win.

Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers

Joshua and I like the 49ers, whereas Sunny likes Green Bay.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Detroit Lions

We all like Detroit to win this one.

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills

Joshua and I are taking our boy Josh Allen. Sunny is stepping out and taking Mahomes and Co. Hard to argue against her pick, but I really think it’s Buffalo’s time. They’re on such a huge roll right now.

Posted in Family, Football, Kids, Sports, Sunny | Leave a comment

Knowing Jesus: Lord, Part 3

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Jason

Jesus gives a good definition of “lordship” in Luke 6:46.

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and don’t do what I tell you?”

Luke 6:46

To make Jesus your lord is to do what He says. Obedience has seemingly fallen out of favor in modern American Christianity, but this is to our detriment — because the Christian faith has always been predicated on this idea that the lordship of Jesus entails an obedience that leads to life. I mean, Jesus Himself says that His yoke is easy, His burden is light — and yet, there is still yoke and burden as we follow Him. To confess His lordship is to submit oneself over to His authority — good authority, it might be noted, but authority nonetheless.

We come to recognize Jesus as Savior, yes. But we also recognize Him as Lord, as the One who is in charge.

This is a word I believe we need to hear.

Lords don’t do focus groups.

Lords don’t put things to a vote.

Lords wield complete and total authority.

That’s what it means to make Jesus my Lord. He came to rescue but He also came to rule.

If I don’t submit myself to His authority in every area of my life, then I haven’t made Jesus my Lord.

This means that I submit myself to His teachings about the importance of loving God and loving others. I don’t get to pick and choose. I don’t get to say that I love God while also harboring hatred for any of my neighbors. That’s not the way it works. If Jesus is my Lord, then He is Lord across the board.

If Jesus is my Lord, then He is the authoritative voice in ALL matters of ethics and morality. He calls the shots on my anger, on giving to those in need, on my relationship to my wealth and my possessions. He calls the shots on lust and sexuality, on marriage and divorce, on seeking revenge — I’m just going down the line looking at all the things He mentions in the Sermon on the Mount. If I accept some of His teachings but ignore other things He says — the things I don’t want to hear — then He’s not really the lord of my life. When I do that, I’m still playing Satan’s game because I’m trying to be the lord of my life in this one area. And that’s not the way it works.

Either Jesus is the Lord of all of my life or He’s the lord of none of my life. There is no in between. Lords don’t do focus groups and lords don’t put it to a vote. Lords wield supreme authority. And that’s what it means to make Jesus the lord of my life.

How do you do that? To make Jesus your Lord is to join your story to His story.

It requires that we humble ourselves, that we stop making ourselves the lord of our lives.

We acknowledge the power of His death, that He died for our sins.

And we look forward in hope to the day when it all ends in glory, when all His promises to us are fulfilled.

Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Posted in Church, Culture, Faith, God, Gospel, Hard Sayings, Jesus, Obedience, Scripture, Sermon on the Mount | Leave a comment

Knowing Jesus: Lord, Part 2

Posted on January 16, 2024 by Jason

Here’s something I’ve noticed: we would rather have a Savior than a Lord.

Here’s what I mean by that.

Everyone wants a Savior to come along and rescue them. These are sometimes referred to as “foxhole prayers.” You know the kind. It’s the “Please get me out of here, Lord, and I promise I’ll read my Bible every day for the rest of my life and never miss a day of church,” prayer. We pray those prayers when we want God to intervene and fix our problems. We want a Savior to take away our guilt and our shame. Most everybody wants that.

But a Lord? Well, that’s a little different. We’re usually not interested in having someone who would rule over us, someone who would presume to tell us what to do. We’re not keen on someone else being in charge. We like to be in control. I want to be the one calling the shots when it comes to my life.

So everybody wants a Savior but nobody really wants a Lord. We want to be the lord of our own lives, thank you very much.

But what we often fail to realize is that we’re not really doing a great job at running our lives on our own. Trying to be the lord of my own life is exhausting. What’s more, that’s what gets me in trouble in the first place. The irony is that I need a savior precisely because of my hard-headed desire to be the lord of my own life!

It’s funny how those two are connected: Lord and Savior.

When it comes to Jesus, the Scriptures paint a clear picture: He is both Lord AND Savior. It’s a package deal. You can’t pick and choose. You can’t have Jesus as your Savior without having Him as your Lord. He came to rescue but He also came to rule.

The Bible is clear that you and I were never supposed to be the lords of our own lives. We are created beings and our lives are meant to be lived in submission to the Creator. But Satan comes along and fills our ears with all of these lies. He says, You can call the shots. You’re in control. He convinces us that we are actually capable of charting our own course. He tells us that true freedom is found in breaking away from God and being the captain of our own ship. He says, You do you. Don’t let anybody tell you what you can and can’t do. Don’t let anybody tell you who you are and how you ought to live.

And we like the sound of all of this, so we believe these lies. And by doing so, we cultivate an obsession with freedom and being in control — an obsession that has led us into willful rebellion against God.

And we will cling to this false idea of “freedom” to our own detriment — all the way to hell itself. Because when we believe this lie — hell’s idea of “freedom” — we’re actually becoming enslaved to sin.

This is how Satan ensnares us. It’s a trap and we fall right into it time and time again.

God’s Word lets you in on the secret, though: you’re not as autonomous as you think you are. Everyone has a lord, whether they want to admit it or not. By getting us to believe that we’re capable of being in charge, Satan has actually duped us into slavery. When we believe this lie, he becomes our lord, our master.

But there is a direct correlation between truth and freedom. You’ll never experience true freedom when your life is built upon a lie. This is so important it bears repeating: you will never experience freedom when your life is full of lies. Because there is an essential relationship between truth and freedom. Lies enslave — that’s why Satan spins these lies. He manipulates the truth in order to manipulate us. He does not seek our well being; he seeks our destruction. His intent is malicious. He seeks to sow chaos and pain — so he lies to us about freedom. And this obsession with freedom and being in charge is the very thing that Satan uses to enslave us.

That’s why Jesus says the truth will set you free.

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:31-32 (NLT)

The truth that sets us free is the truth that we were never meant to be the lord of our own lives.

The truth that sets us free is acknowledging that our foolish pursuit of Satan’s idea of “freedom” is actually the very thing that is wrecking our lives.

The truth that sets us free is repenting of all of this and living as we were always supposed to live: with Jesus as our Lord!

Posted in Culture, Faith, God, Gospel, Jesus, Obedience, Scripture, Theology | Leave a comment

Knowing Jesus: Lord, Part 1

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Jason

There are quite a few royal titles given to Jesus in the Scriptures. He is called the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace. There are a lot of royal meanings associated with the word “Messiah,” which comes to us in English as “Christ.” You find several different authoritative titles for Jesus in the Bible.

But one title summarizes them all: Lord.

The heart of Christianity is summed up in this one statement: Jesus is Lord. This has been the core confession of the church from the very beginning. In the church’s history, there have been vigorous debates about the relationship between faith and works; councils met to determine which books would be in the New Testament. But from day one, the church has been boldly declaring that Jesus is Lord.

We see this perhaps most clearly in Philippians 2. As best we can tell, this passage is one of the earliest Christian hymns. It tells the story of Jesus in such a powerful way.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11

Looking back, I think I have preached this passage more than any other over the years. It’s one of the most important scriptures in the New Testament because it explains one of the most important teachings in the New Testament. And as a way of remembering what these verses are all about, I like to use this simple diagram:

Philippians 2 tells the “master story” — the story of all stories concerning the name that is above all names. And you can summarize the entire story with two arrows and a cross.

The upper left corner is where we begin. Prior to the Incarnation, the Son of God existed in eternally divine communion with God the Father and God the Spirit. As the Philippians passage affirms, Jesus is “in very nature God.” He is not a lesser “god” but He is every bit as divine as God the Father. As John says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).

But the divine Son humbles Himself, leaving heaven to come to earth. In a totally selfless act, He becomes our servant. This reveals His true heart for us, this once-and-for-all transaction of becoming human. He does this in order to serve us. All of this is indicated in the movement of the first arrow.

And the cross is the ultimate act of this service (Mark 10:45). Jesus is obedient to the will of God, to the point that He willingly endures death on our behalf. The punishment that was rightfully ours fell to Him (Isaiah 53). He does this in order to save us from our sins (see last week’s posts) and this is why we call Him “Savior.”

But His story does not end at the cross. As indicated by the second arrow, God raised Him from the dead and exalted Him to the highest place. This includes being given the name above all names, the name that saves (Acts 4).

And now He is hailed as Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Around the globe, a moment doesn’t pass when He is not acknowledged as Lord and Messiah. And some day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess this eternal truth.

This is the heart of the Gospel — it’s what it’s all about. This passage clearly points to Jesus as both our Savior and our Lord.

  • A savior rescues. As we have been saying for the last week, Jesus delivers us from our sins. He overcomes Satan, who wants to enslave us and destroy us. So as our Savior, Jesus sets us free.
  • But a lord is one who rules. Remember, this is one of those royal titles. A lord refers to someone with authority — true authority. So Jesus is “Lord” because He holds this position of supreme authority over our lives.
Posted in Devotional, Faith, God, Gospel, Jesus, Missiology, Scripture, Theology | Leave a comment

NFL Wild Card Round Predictions

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Jason

Every year, Sunny and Joshua and I have a friendly competition picking the playoff game winners in the NFL. Here are our predictions for the Wild Card Round:

Cleveland Browns vs. Houston Texans

All three of us are taking the Browns to win on the road. This just doesn’t even seem like a playoff game to me.

Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Joshua and I like the Chiefs at home. Sunny is taking Miami in a road upset.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Buffalo Bills

All three of us like the Bills in this matchup. Josh Allen is the most exciting player in the league, in my opinion.

Green Bay Packers vs. Dallas Cowboys

All three of us are going with the Cowboys at home.

Los Angeles Rams vs. Detroit Lions

Sunny is going with the Rams while Joshua and I like the Lions in their first playoff home game in 30 years.

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Tampa Bay Bucs

We’re all picking Philly, even though this team seems like they’re in a free fall right now.

Update:

Well, after a couple of wild upsets (Green Bay! Tampa!) here are the standings:

Joshua: 3-3

Sunny: 1-5

Jason: 3-3

Posted in Family, Football, Kids, Sunny | Leave a comment

Knowing Jesus: The Story Behind the Name, Part 3

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Jason

As we go through this Knowing Jesus series, we are interviewing some people at our church and we are asking them a simple question: How did you come to know Jesus? I’m excited that these videos are an opportunity for some of us to talk about our faith in an autobiographical way. I’m hoping that these short videos will inspire you to think about how you would answer the question: How did you come to know Jesus?

This is a young lady named Anna Farris, who grew up in our church:

Anna knows Jesus because He has delivered her. He has won victory in her life.

As she says, He delivered her once and for all when she went down into the waters of baptism and she received the promised gifts of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit. And Jesus continues to deliver Anna, particularly as she was in the throes of depression and anxiety as she battled a chronic illness.

The name “Jesus” is a personal name — and as you can tell, it is very personal for Anna. By my count, she says the name of Jesus eight times in a little over a minute. I love that!

Anna says it herself: she came to know Jesus at a young age. She grew up in a home where Jesus was lifted up and praised. Her parents are some of the most servant-hearted people I know. John has been one of our Children’s Ministry deacons for many years and Nancy works on our ministry staff in the church office. Anna’s grandmother was Miss Mary Ann Mercer. For 40 years, Miss Mary Ann taught the Sunday morning baby class in our church. There are literally hundreds of sons and daughters of this church whose first introduction to Sunday school was in Miss Mary Ann’s Bible class. I’m willing to bet that nobody in history has led more children in “pat the Bible” than Miss Mary Ann!

So no doubt Anna came to know Jesus through the loving witness of her family. But I hear Anna saying that Jesus really became personal to her through suffering. Through chronic illness. Jesus became personal to her when she cried out for deliverance. So when we asked her the question, How did you come to know Jesus?, she can’t help but mention the people who taught her about Jesus but also her own personal encounter with Jesus as the One who delivered her, the One who fought her battles for her.

Anna’s story reveals the power of this personal name — the name of Jesus.

What about you? Do you know the name of Jesus in a personal way? Has He saved you, delivered you, fought your battles for you?

My wish for you is that you would come to know Jesus in the same deeply personal way that Anna knows Him.

Posted in Church, Disappointment, Faith, God, Gospel, Jesus, Video | Leave a comment

Knowing Jesus: The Story Behind the Name, Part 2

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Jason

The angel of the Lord told Joseph and Mary to name their son after the great Old Testament military leader, Joshua — the one who led the Israelites to the promised land. I think that’s also a big part of the story behind the name of Jesus.

The author Robert Morgan makes an interesting comparison between the Old Testament Joshua and the New Testament Jesus:

The two men shared a similar task. Joshua followed Moses the Lawgiver and led the people into the future God had planned for them. After the death of Moses, Joshua rose up to do what Moses could not do: lead the Israelites across the Jordan River into victory. The New Testament Joshua came to do what the Law itself could not do and to lead us into eternal life.

Robert Morgan, “He Shall Be Called: 150 Names of Jesus and What They Mean to You”

Morgan goes on to quote these powerful lines from Romans:

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8:3-4

God chose the name “Jesus” as a way of pointing us to the spiritual victory He will win through His Son.

We just wrapped up the Christmas season when many people in the world have been thinking about the birth of Jesus. That’s undoubtedly a good thing. But so many of those nativity scenes only tell part of the story. The “silent night / all is calm / all is bright” picture of the birth of Jesus isn’t the full story.

The Old Testament Joshua was a warrior. He led God’s people in battle, led them to victory. And by naming His Son Joshua / Jesus, God is telling us that He is waging war on OUR enemies: the powers of Sin and Death and the devil himself. God is taking a shot at these enemies who have enslaved us.

The name of Jesus is Good News because it declares that God has made a way for us to live in the promised land. He has delivered us from the true enemy of our souls.

Our God is mighty to save.

This, too, is part of the story behind the name.

Posted in Books, Christmas, Devotional, Faith, God, Gospel, Jesus, Missiology, Quotes, Scripture, Theology | Leave a comment

Knowing Jesus: The Story Behind the Name, Part 1

Posted on January 8, 2024 by Jason

There’s a story behind every name.

I bet there’s a story behind your name. Maybe you’re named after someone or your parents selected that name for you because of it’s meaning. Maybe you took your spouse’s last name on the day you were married. But there’s probably a story behind the name.

My parents went back and forth on a few different names before I was born. I’m told that, for a while at least, my Dad really wanted to name me “Wesley Xavier Bybee.” No offense to any Wesley Xaviers who might be reading this, but I’m really thankful my Mom vetoed that idea. In the end, they settled on “Jason” as a first name and for my middle name, they chose “Al.” Sometimes when people see my middle name, they are a little surprised. They’ll say, “Is that short for something? Alan? Alexander?” And I’ll have to say, “No, it’s just Al.” My Dad was named James Alton but he went by his middle name — or “Al” for short. So I’m named after him. And that’s the story behind my name.

I read a story years ago about a couple in Pennsylvania who named their daughter “Atheist Evolution.” They said this was their answer to other parents who chose biblical names for their children. “Atheist Evolution” is much more than a name, isn’t it? It’s a statement of conviction. Obviously, there’s a story behind that name.

It should come as no surprise, then, to learn that there is a story behind the name of Jesus.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:18-21

Joseph and Mary were betrothed — we might say engaged. In Jewish culture, that meant they were kind of married — but also not fully married. Dowry money might have been exchanged, but the marriage hadn’t been physically consummated. And that’s when God does something extraordinary. The angel Gabriel appears to Mary to announce that she will give birth to the son of God. (You can read about that story in Luke’s Gospel.) And an angel also appears to Joseph to tell him the same thing. And in both of these accounts, the angels specify that the child is to be named “Jesus.”

That’s really fascinating. When the time came for God to send His Son into the world, the naming of the child wasn’t left up to anyone else. All the way back in the Garden of Eden, God gave naming privileges over to man, but not when it comes to the naming of this child. God intentionally selected the name “Jesus” for His Son. He chose a name that would perfectly express His mission to save us. There’s certainly a story behind this name.

In one way, there was nothing unusual about the name “Jesus.” It was a really common Hebrew name in the ancient world. It was actually pronounced “Yeshua” in Hebrew; our English version is “Joshua.” The word “Jesus” is the English transliteration of the Greek translation of that word. At any rate, this was a very common name for Hebrew boys. The name has been found on numerous grave markers and tombs in and around Jerusalem.

But in another way, the name “Jesus” points to something extraordinary, the unique work God will accomplish through this child. The angel tells Joseph, you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. The name “Jesus” means “God saves” or “God delivers.”

Now we can see why God chose this name for His Son. The name is a statement, a resolute conviction. There is certainly a story behind this name.

From the first pages of our Bibles, God is very clear that sin is a problem, THE PROBLEM. If you want to know what’s wrong with the world, the Bible says it’s sin. God made a world that was good — exceedingly good, actually — but that goodness has been corrupted by human pride and rebellion. And the Bible reiterates this point over and over: sin was not just the problem of our ancestors, a problem confined to the ancient past that we have somehow evolved beyond. No, every person shares in sin. We are all culpable. No matter when or where we live, we’re all sinners.

But in Jesus, God is doing something holy and redemptive. He is addressing the problem, making right all that has been wrong for so long. Jesus has come to save us from our sins.

And this name — the name of Jesus — is the name that is above all names (according to the Scriptures, Philippians 2:9) because it is the name that saves. Acts 4:12, And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Jesus. Yeshua. This is the same name in different languages. But it always means the same thing: God saves. This name points to God’s mission: to save us from our sins. And there is no other name like His name. It may have been a common name but we should not treat it commonly. The name of Jesus is to be revered, for it is the name above all names.

That is the story behind His name.

Posted in Dad, Devotional, Faith, Family, God, Gospel, Jesus, Missiology, Mom, Scripture, Theology | Leave a comment

Knowing Jesus

Posted on January 5, 2024 by Jason

New sermon series for 2024: Knowing Jesus, an in-depth look at the names and titles given to Jesus in the Scriptures. Hope you’ll join us at 9am on Sunday mornings at Mayfair Church of Christ or online at mayfair.org. Happy new year!

Posted in Faith, Jesus, Preaching, Scripture | Leave a comment