Jesus: More Than A Teacher

Photo by Roman Mager on Unsplash
When we think about Christmas, it is so easy to be distracted by all the wonderful things that happen in this time of year. We are reminded by literally all the Christmas movies that Christmas isn’t about the gifts, the lights, the trees, but when asked what Christmas is actually about  usually the answer is “the people that you are with.” Of course, as wonderful as family and friends are, that isn’t what Christmas is about.  
This might be the moment at which Charlie Brown’s Linus might be feeling a little smug in that he quotes from Luke 2 when asked what Christmas is about. And Linus is right! It is about the birth of Jesus! But what does that mean? We are so familiar with this passage that we can zip right by what that incredible sentence is saying in verse 11 of Luke 2. 
Who is Jesus, and how is He able to be that Savior and Lord? 
That is the question I would like for us to dwell on during this advent season. Jesus is more than a manger. What happens here in the Christmas story is something that has kept historians and theologians busy for the last 2000 years. More has been written and thought about concerning Jesus than any other figure, and this Christmas, we are going to meditate on why. 
I’m calling this series “A Portrait of Jesus” but if I could give a subtitle, I would steal it from an online author I follow, Bethel McGrew, and call it “Jesus: Meek and Wild.” 
I fear that we think we serve a domesticated Jesus. A Jesus who fits comfortably within our homes and doesn’t take up much space. He comes out of storage every year about this time and is represented as a cute, harmless baby (a reason I’m often uncomfortable with nativity scenes). Yes, we do need to wrestle with the miracle of God becoming human (which we will next time), but first we have to remember the part about Jesus we often functionally, if not completely, forget: Jesus is God Himself. 
Even if we don’t forget that, there are many people out there for whom this season is a great time to talk about the gospel. If you believe that Jesus is God but don’t know quite where you would go in the Bible to show that claim, then this sermon will help you do that! 
Today we are going to focus on Jesus as Deity as we examine John 1:1-14. 
Jesus is God
We begin with the beginning. As one scholar points out: “The opening words of this gospel bear a striking parallel with the opening words of Genesis,” and this is of course intentional (Guthrie). John wants to take us back to the very beginning because that is as far back as Jesus goes. Jesus is eternal, no beginning or end, completely outside of time.
Now, Jesus isn’t explicitly named here yet (that won’t come up until verse 14), but He is given a very significant title here “the Word” which we need to think about for a moment. The word that John uses here is “logos.” In many places in the New Testament “logos is used to express the idea of divine revelation…The Gospel shows that Jesus is this logos, and is, therefore, the ultimate divine revelation.” (Robertson) 
In other words, there was no one and nothing that told the world who God was as well as Jesus did, because He is God! He came to save and to reveal Himself and what He is like. As one scholar put it, “John intends us to see in the ministry of Jesus an expression of God’s grace and a revelation of his truth.” (Guthrie)
Have you ever seen those “Day in the Life” sort of shows? The idea is that these cameras will come in to show you how some famous celebrity or political figure lives. The idea ostensibly is that you will get the “real” person by being around them. How do they order their coffee? How do they interact with their kids? We don’t just hear their words, we see their actions, their expressions, their tone of voice to give us a full picture. 
This is what Jesus does for God. We can read what He said and know that this is exactly what God thinks and feels. 
But how do we know that Jesus is God? How do we know that we are getting the real story of God and aren’t just getting things said through a spokesperson? Let’s see how John reports this. As we will see, John takes tremendous pains here to show that Jesus is definitely God.
We are told that the Word was with God and was God. At first this may seem a little confusing. I wouldn’t say that I was with myself! So how is the Word able to be WITH God AND God Himself at the same time?
John, in an amazingly short amount of time, gives us a preview into the doctrine of the Trinity. The Word is obviously a distinct person, but the way the language is structured, it is unmistakable that the Word is fully divine. Jesus isn’t part of God or a step down from God. He is just as fully God as the Father. After all, this Word created all things (v 3). He is the source of life and light (v 4). And He will ultimately be the one to make it possible for people to be in a relationship with God (v 14). 
But this isn’t just John’s assessment of Jesus. There are many other places that we could go in the gospel of John where Jesus claims this position for Himself: 
• “I am the bread of life” (6:35, 48; see also 6:41, 51);
• “I am the light of the world” (8:12; 9:5);
• “I am the door” (10:7, 9);
• “I am the good shepherd” (10:11, 14);
• “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25);
• “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (14:6);
• “I am the true vine” (15:1; see also 15:5). (Miller).
With Jesus saying these things, He isn’t just claiming metaphors for Himself. By introducing each of these things with the phrase “I Am” He is using the same title as God uses for Himself in Exodus “the I am Who I Am” in Exodus 3. 
However, probably one of the most stark statements of claiming to be God (and helps us understand the first few verses of our chapter) comes from Jesus’ own mouth in John 10:30-33 
John 10:30–33 ESV
I and the Father are one.”

The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
Cleary the Jews got the message. If someone claims to be God who isn’t, they are blaspheming and deserve to die under the Law. They obviously didn’t believe Him, yet clearly understood what He was saying. 
Of course, it is one thing to claim something, and quite another to prove it. He gives copious amounts of proof in miracles which include ruling over nature (Matthew 8:23-27), feeding thousands of people (John 6), and most importantly, rising from the dead (the end of every Gospel)! 
It is very clear that the New Testament sees Jesus as exactly who He claimed to be. But there is more here in these verses than just winning the theological battle against the worlds nicest Biker Gang, the Mormons (they don’t believe that Jesus is God, you see). 
I bring all of these things up because we have to keep in mind who we are dealing with here. When Jesus calmed the storm, for instance, Mark 4 records that AFTER the storm, the disciples were afraid. This was because they wanted to know what sort of person can control the weather. There should be a layer of awe in our own minds as we approach this Jesus. 
He is unlike any other
In a world where there are pictures of Jesus everywhere, we spend more time thinking about how Jesus is so much like us. And again, there are elements where that is true. But we have to realize how unlike us He is with His divinity. 
Even when you aren’t dealing with Mormons who deny that Jesus is God, you will find plenty of Americans with a passing knowledge of Jesus who will add Him to the  halls of “Great Teachers.” There will even be some well meaning, artsy type Christians who will introduce Jesus as “Rabbi Jesus” or “The Teacher.” This is an effort to make Jesus seem approachable and help the world take a second look at Him without all the “churchy” words. 
The problem is we aren’t introducing them to a Teacher only. We are introducing a world to their God. Jesus wasn’t making suggestions for a better life when He was preaching the Sermon on the Mount. You can’t sum up Jesus with the Golden Rule. Jesus is someone to whom you must submit. 
Jesus is the way, not a pointer to the way. In this, Jesus separates Himself from every other major religion. Mohammed wasn’t the way to heaven. He just claimed to point the way to Allah. Buddha wasn’t the path to enlightenment; he just claimed to teach the way to enlightenment. When Jesus came into the world, He proclaimed Himself. 
Do you believe Him? Do you submit to Him? Do we take Him seriously at a time when we are buying everything when He rhetorically asks, what does it profit a man if He gains the whole world and loses His soul (Mark 8:36)? At a time in which families are nursing old grudges around the holiday table, do we believe Him when He says that we are to forgive seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22)? At a time in which the gospel is the easiest to share, do we take seriously the great commission that Jesus gave to us? Jesus is no mere baby, He is the Son of God. 
And what is amazing is, unlike all those other false gods out there, He came to save you. God could have stayed in heaven where things were blissful. He could have remained in a place without any limitation, yet, as we will explore next time, God became a human being to live with us. Verse 14 recalls the first time God dwelt with His people post Garden. The word “dwell” is literally “Tabernacled” with us. God coming down to live in a tent amongst His people. He did so in the desert, and He did so again right here as a human being. All this to not only proclaim Who He is in Words, but showed Who He is in action by dying on a cross to deliver us from sin. What a God! 




Donald Guthrie, “John,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1025.”
Jeffrey E. Miller, “I Am Sayings,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
Michael Scott Robertson, “Divine Revelation,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).