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Knowing God

2012-2014 (transcript only)

The Gospel Preached to Abraham

April 29, 2014 • Don Willeman

The gospel is really nothing new. According to the apostle Paul in Galatians 3:8 the gospel was “preached” as far back as the patriarch Abraham. Listen for yourself: “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying ‘All the nations shall be blessed in you.’” To Paul the promise that God had given to Abraham was the promise of the gospel. We know from Genesis 22:18 that the promise would be fulfilled in Abraham’s seed. “And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” Again Paul picks up that same theme later in Galatians 3:16. “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as referring to many, but rather to one, ‘And to your seed,’ that is Christ.” From the New Testament perspective the promise made to Abraham is fulfilled in its fullest sense not in the millions of Abraham’s descendants but rather in Abraham’s one unique descendant, Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ the blessing of Abraham comes to all the nations, to all those who will believe as Abraham did in the promised Seed. The gospel is not merely a New Testament phenomenon. Although with the arrival of Christ, it has been brought into full daylight, the gospel was proclaimed in the Old Testament through the promises that were made to Abraham. Something to think about from the “Kingdom Perspective.”

The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Jesus

April 24, 2014 • Don Willeman

In many circles today, it is considered okay to believe that Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah, that He never consciously thought of Himself as the long-awaited deliverer of God’s people. However, to hold such a view one has to toss out massive amounts of the historical accounts that we have of Christ. For example, according to Luke, by the way one who is very concerned with historical accuracy (reference the prologue of his gospel), Jesus, at the start of His public ministry, went to his home town of Nazareth and entering the synagogue was asked to read aloud from the prophet Isaiah. Here was His text: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind to set free those who are down trodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” Now just in case you didn’t notice, the passage He was asked to read was a blatant reference to the promised Jewish Messiah. No big deal though except for the fact of what was to follow. Luke records that Jesus “closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the synagogue were fixed upon Him. And [Jesus] began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” Whoa! Jesus did not merely read the prophecy, but He also claimed to be the fulfillment of it. Did Jesus think of Himself as the Messiah? The only way to answer “no” is to ignore or reject massive amounts of the New Testament records. Something to think about from “The Kingdom Perspective.”

Jesus’ Trial Before Caiaphas

April 22, 2014 • Don Willeman

Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas, the high priest, demonstrates that He is the divine Son of God. First, those who were trying to prove him guilty could not find any reason for which to condemn Him. This was to fulfill what had been prophesied of the Messiah in Isaiah 53:9, namely that “He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.” Second, when bogus charges were finally brought against Jesus, He did not defend Himself. Listen to Matthew 26 starting in verse 62: “And the high priest stood up and said to Him, ‘Do you make no answer?’…But Jesus kept silent.” Again, according the prophet Isaiah this marked Him as the Messiah, because “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth.” Finally, the High priest said to Him once more, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” And Jesus responded, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless, I tell you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” At this response Caiaphas had had enough, exclaiming, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold we have now heard the blasphemy…” Why the strong reaction? What was the blasphemy? Well, Jesus made it clear. By applying the term Son of Man to Himself in the way that He did, Caiaphas understood that He was claiming to be the Messiah who possessed the authority of Almighty God. Caiaphas called it blasphemy. What do you call it? Something to think about from “The Kingdom Perspective.”

The Exact Representation of His Nature

April 17, 2014 • Don Willeman

The testimony of the New Testament is consistent in answering the question: Who is Jesus of Nazareth? The gospels make it clear that the apostles understood that Jesus claimed to be God. In the words recorded by the apostle John, Jesus says, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” What could possibly be clearer! Jesus understood Himself to be God and John wanted us to know that. So too, it is throughout the letters of Paul. For example, in Colossians 2:9 Paul writes, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” Again, what could be clearer! Jesus is all of what God is in a human body. Finally, consider Hebrews 1:3, the writer says of Christ: “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature.” In the verse earlier he explains that Jesus is the creator of all things, that “…He made the world.” And later He explains how Jesus is the sustainer of all things: Christ “upholds all things by the word of His power.” Finally, the writer explains how Jesus is the redeemer, that “he…made purification of sins.” Obviously, the activities of creating and sustaining universe and redeeming God’s people are activities that that rest of the Bible attributes to God alone. So what’s the bottom line? Well, Jesus is God—the Creator God, the sustainer God and the Redeemer God. In other words, if you want the clearest picture of God that we have available to us simply look at the person of Christ. He is the radiance of divine glory and the exact representation of the divine nature. Something to think about from “The Kingdom Perspective.”

More Tolerable for Sodom

April 15, 2014 • Don Willeman

No one seems to like the notion of a god that judges. However, in the Old and New Testament, this is exactly the kind of god we have presented to us. In the Old Testament for example, God judged the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their gross disdain for God and His design in creation, especially as it related to the proper sexual roles of men and women. Throughout the rest of the Bible, Sodom and Gomorrah are held up as the chief example of a sinful people that was judged by God. This is all the more frightening when you consider Jesus’ reference to Sodom and Gomorrah in Matthew 10:14-15. The context is that He is giving His disciples instructions for going and proclaiming the arrival of the kingdom of God, just as he as commanded modern day disciples to do the same. “And,” He says, “whoever does not receive you, or heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgement, than for that city.” Certainly, with the advent of Christ, God’s final word, we have a way to escape the impending judgement we all deserve. That’s the good news. However, if that final word from God is rejected, it only leaves people more accountable before God, and therefore more liable to His judgement. If having heard of Christ and the forgiveness that He offers, you reject His pardon, then according to Jesus, it will be more tolerable for a resident of Sodom and Gomorrah than for you at the judgment seat of Almighty God. Something to think about from “The Kingdom Perspective.”

Out of the Mouth of Babes

April 10, 2014 • Don Willeman

Was Jesus of Nazareth God? Well, what did claim of Himself? Upon entering Jerusalem for the final week of His life, Jesus was the cause of some serious consternation on the part of the religious leaders of that day. In particular, Matthew 21 records that the chief priest and the scribes became indignant because there were large numbers of children who were crying out to Jesus saying “Hosanna to the Son of David.” Since the term “Son of David” was reserved for the Messiah alone, the troubled religious leaders confronted Jesus. They said, “Do You hear what they’re saying?” Jesus response is quite informative as to what He thought of Himself. He answered, “Yes; have you never read, “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes Thou hast prepared praise for Thyself?” It would be very easy to unthinkingly gloss over the significance of this statement. Jesus equated the praise that He was receiving from the children with praise…for God. In other words, as the children were praising Jesus with “Hosanna to the Son of David”, Jesus said that they were actually praising God Himself. Wow! No wonder the religious leaders sought to do away with Him. For if Jesus were not truly God then He was committing the highest form of blasphemy, usurping the very praise of God for Himself. Something to think about from the “Kingdom Perspective.”

Larry King Meets Jesus

April 8, 2014 • Don Willeman

Larry King is arguably the greatest interviewer of our time. What celebrity or political leader has not been on His show? Therefore, I found it a bit intriguing when I heard the story about the roles being reversed and the great interviewer became the interviewee. One day Larry King was asked, if he could interview anyone, who would it be? His response may surprise you. He said Jesus Christ. In an obvious follow up question, King’s interviewer responded, “What question would you ask Him?” King said, “I would like to ask Him if He was indeed virgin born, because the answer to that question would define history.” How perceptive! Larry King is right. If Jesus is indeed someone special, the virgin-born, long-awaited Messiah, the very Son of God, then this changes everything. Listen to the Scriptures, Matthew 1:23: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which translated means ‘God with us.’” If Jesus is the virgin born Messiah, it means that God has penetrated our planet in human form. God has visited us and made Himself known to us in the clearest manner possible. In Jesus we have “God with us”. This forces a whole new perspective on history—on life. It changes everything. So I ask, has it changed you? Perhaps you need to reconsider the cataclysmic nature of the claims of Jesus Christ. Something to think about from “The Kingdom Perspective.”

Philippians 2:6-8

April 1, 2014 • Don Willeman

Is Jesus really and truly God in human flesh? This is a critical question for if He is it changes everything. Listen to how Jesus is described in Philippians 2:6-8. “Who, being in the very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness… he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.” In the context Paul is using Jesus’ humility as a reason for us to humble ourselves. The thing that makes Jesus such a great illustration of humility is the great gulf that exists between what He deserves by right of who He is versus what He in humility accepted for Himself. He deserved the exaltation of a crown, but accepted execution on a cross. Such a death in the First Century would have been, and for many was, humiliating enough. But for Jesus the extent of the humility was all the more acute, because as Paul said he was “in the very nature God.” So what’s the point? To understand Jesus as the epitome of humility we must assume this: In the crucifixion of Jesus, we don’t just have an innocent human being dying on the cross, but almighty God dying on the cross. Although Jesus had the right, because He is God, not to become a human being and not to suffer crucifixion, yet for our sakes He did not invoke that right, thereby leaving us an example. In Jesus we see God as a suffering servant, and this forces us to change our understanding of God and ourselves. Indeed, it changes everything. Something to think about from “The Kingdom Perspective.”

Jesus, The Final Word

March 27, 2014 • Don Willeman

There’s something very significant about final words. This is especially true at a person’s death; it is then that a person feels most compelled to speak of the basic issues of existence. Likewise, in the case of a good speech, the final words sum up all that had been previously said and many times with a great climax of emotion. Final words are the best attempt to say it all, to hit the nailed on the head with one final stroke. Have you ever considered what was God’s final word to the human race? Well, listen the words of Scripture from Hebrews chapter one. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son….” From the writer’s perspective we are in the last days and in these last days God has given us His bottom line. In former times God communicated through the prophets, but in these final days He has communicated to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. As the rest of Hebrews unfolds we see that Jesus is not only the final messenger but also the final message. In Jesus God said it all. And with one final stroke He hit the nail of our redemption on the head, guaranteeing its completion and securing its benefits. Jesus is it. There’s really no more to say, no more to do. In Jesus’ own final words on the cross, “It is finished.” Enough said. Something to think about from “The Kingdom Perspective.”

Pascal on Human Greatness and Wretchedness

March 25, 2014 • Don Willeman

It was the Genevan reformer John Calvin who pointed out the close link between the knowledge of God and the knowledge of man. One cannot truly know God without truly knowing oneself and one cannot truly know oneself without first knowing God. The great French mathematician Blaise Pascal argued along similar lines when he said that unless one is in touch with the knowledge of God and the knowledge of one’s sin, it was impossible to really makes sense out of the human experience. Listen to Pascal for yourself: “Knowing God without knowing our own wretchedness makes for pride. Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair. Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance because he shows us both God and our own wretchedness.” Pascal is eloquent in showing that the key to making sense out of human existence is Christ. In Christ we have both the epitome of human greatness, namely that Christ as a human being is the very image of God, and the reality of God’s judgement against human sin, namely the cross of Christ. Something to think about from “The Kingdom Perspective”.

Something Greater Than Solomon

March 20, 2014 • Don Willeman

King Solomon represents the glory days of the Old Testament nation of Israel. At no other time was the kingdom of Israel as prosperous as it was at the time of King Solomon. Indeed, even non-Jewish leaders such as the Queen of Sheba journeyed to Solomon to see his great wealth and wisdom. In Matthew 12 Jesus says, “The Queen of the South [that is, the Queen of Sheba] shall rise up with this generation at the judgment and shall condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.” Here again we have the oft-repeated formula “something greater than….”. By using this phrase, Jesus is saying that even the height of the Kingdom of Israel was not as significant as Christ Himself. Believe it or not, there is a greater kingdom present with the presence of Christ– a kingdom greater than all the kings of Israel put together. Those kings were merely the opening act for the feature presentation of the King of kings, the truly anointed One, the Messiah. We may escape judgement if we don’t listen to the great King Solomon, but we can never escape it if we don’t listen to the great King Jesus. Something to think about from “The Kingdom Perspective.”

Something Greater Than Jonah

March 18, 2014 • Don Willeman

Jonah, one of the most colorful Old Testament prophets, was commissioned by God to go to the Ninevites. He was to command them to repent. However, because Ninevites were Israel’s enemy Jonah was, well, let’s say reluctant, to go. Nonetheless, when he finally went, the Ninevites did repent. Amazingly, when we come to Matthew 12, we find Jesus correcting the religious people of His day saying, “The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment, and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.” In other words, although the pagan people of Nineveh had the sense to repent at the preaching of the prophet Jonah, the religious leaders at the time of Christ were unwilling to repent at the preaching of the greater prophet Christ. By saying this Jesus parallels himself with the Old Testament office of prophet. However, more than that, He says that He is greater than the Old Testament prophets. Why? Because He is the fulfillment of all that they prophesied. So how about you? What will you do at the preaching of Jesus? Something to think about from the “Kingdom Perspective”.

Something Greater Than the Temple

March 13, 2014 • Don Willeman

One day Jesus got into a tiff with His chief opponents, the Pharisees, about the propriety of picking and eating grain on the Sabbath. The Pharisees who were strict legalists, taking everything by the letter of the law, jumped on Jesus and his disciples for picking and eating grain as they walked through a field. The interesting thing for our discussion is what Jesus says in his defense. Pointing to the example of the priests in the temple, he says that they “work” on the Sabbath but are not considered Sabbath-breakers. And then in the understatement of all understatements Jesus says: “But I say to you, that something greater than the temple is here.” This is a most incredible comment. In one sense Jesus parallels himself with the priests of the Old Testament. However, in a more profound sense he says that the whole temple system, with all its priests, sacrifices, rules, etc. is nothing compared to Him. Indeed He has come to fulfill the whole system and thereby do away with it. You could perhaps afford to miss the point of the temple, but you can’t afford to miss the Christ of whom the temple speaks. Something to think about from the Kingdom Perspective.

Something Greater Than the Old Testament

March 11, 2014 • Don Willeman

Matthew 12 provides for us some unique insight into how Jesus understood the Old Testament. Three times Jesus repeats the formula “something greater than (blank) is here.” In each case Jesus claims to be greater than some aspect of the Old Testament. First, in 12:6 He claims to be greater than the temple, with all its priests. Second, in 12:41 He claims to be greater than the prophet Jonah. And third, in 12:42 He claims to be greater than King Solomon. From an Old Testament perspective this three-fold comparison is monumental. There were essentially three divinely appointed offices in the Old Testament: prophet, priest and King. Jonah is a reference to the office of prophet, the temple is a reference to the office of priest and Solomon is a reference to the office of king. Similarly, the Old Testament itself has a three-fold structure. The first part of the Old Testament is focused on the development of the Temple. The middle part of the Old Testament is popularly referred to as “wisdom literature,” within which King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, is preeminent. And finally in the last part of the Old Testament we find the prophets. So what’s Jesus’ point? Well, any way you slice it, He was claiming to be the fulfillment of all the Old Testament. He is greater than the temple, greater than the prophets, and greater than wisest of all mankind. Therefore, He deserves greater attention. Something to think about from “The Kingdom Perspective.”

The Greatest Born of Women

March 6, 2014 • Don Willeman

In Matthew 11:11, Jesus says of John the Baptist, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist….” Then in verse 13 Jesus substantiates the claim by saying, “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John.” So what is Jesus’ point? Why is John the greatest person up to that point in history? Well prior to the coming of Jesus all the prophets of the Old Testament foretold of one who was yet to come. However, with John the Baptist we come to the final prophet of the old era. He does not merely predict Christ’s coming but rather announces his arrival. Think about this. Remember what happened while John was baptizing? The day after predicting the Messiah was yet to come, John looks up and sees Jesus approaching. Then pointing at Jesus he utters arguably the most pivotal words of all the Scriptures. “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” So why did Jesus think John was the greatest person up until that point in history? Simple, because John had the unbelievable privilege of introducing the centerpiece of all history, Jesus Christ. Something to think about from the Kingdom Perspective.

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