Profile of a Savior

Gregory Koukl

Jesus was a man, but not an ordinary man; He was God Himself.

A.  A man
      1.  Seed of woman
            Gal 4:4  "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the
             law."[1]
      2.  A descendant of Abraham (a Jew)
            a.  Gal 3:14  "In Jesus the Messiah the blessing of Abraham might come to the gentiles so that we might
                  receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."[2]
            b.  Matthew 1:1-2,16
      3.  A  descendant of David
            (Matt 1:1  "Jesus the Messiah, the son of David...."[3]
      4.  Born of a virgin
            Matt 1:18,24,25  "She was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.  And Joseph...kept her a virgin until she
            gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus."[4] [5]
      5.  Born in Bethlehem
            Matt 2:1  "Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea."
      6.  483 years after the rebuilding of the Jerusalem
            Lk 19:41,42,44  "If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace!  But now they
            have been hidden from your eyes...because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."
      7.  Brutally executed by crucifixion
            a.  Matt 27:33-56
            b.  Lk 23:33-49
            c.  Jn 19:16-30
      8.  A servant who would suffer for the sins of Israel, and ultimately for mankind
            Matt 20:28  "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for
            many."
      9.  Rejected by His people
            Jn 1:11  "He came to His own and those who were His own did not receive Him."
      10.  Be raised from the dead
            a.  Acts 1:3  "To these [apostles] He presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing
                 proofs, appearing to them over a period of 40 days..."[6]
            b.  (Acts 2:3132)  "[David] looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ....This Jesus God raised
                 up again, to which we all are witnesses."

B.  But not an ordinary man
      1.  Not a regular descendant of Adam
            a.  Jesus was born, or begotten, of God.
                   1)  Ps 2:7. cf Heb 1:5, 5:5  "He said to me, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you.'"
                   2)  Acts 13:32-33  "We preach to you the good news of the promise made to our fathers, that God has
                        fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second
                        Psalm, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you.'"
                   3)  Begotten:  bringing forth from one's self.  Jesus is God's one and only bringing forth of Himself. 
                         a)  Just as a human can only "beget" a human, God can only "beget" God.
                         b)  Jesus' claim to be the Son of God was actually a claim to deity, and the Jews knew it
                              (see Jn 5:18). 
            b.  Jesus was sinless.  Even His enemies could find no sin in Him.
      2.  God is coming.
            a.  Luke 3:4-6 John the Baptist identifies himself as the voice of Isaiah 40:3-5.
            b.  John the Baptist came to bear witness to Jesus.
                   1)  Jn 1:30  "This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who has a higher rank than I,
                        for He existed before me."
                   2)  Jn 1:34  "I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."
      3.  Jesus was God Himself.
            a.  Specific Scriptures
                   1)  Jn 1:1  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God."
                   2)  Col 1:15, 19  "And He is the image of the invisible God....For it was the Father's good pleasure for
                         all the fullness to dwell in Him."
                   3)  Heb 1:3  "And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and
                         upholds all things by the word of His power."
                   4)  Rom 9:5   "...from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever."
            b.  Old Testament texts referring to Yahweh God and applied to Jesus in the New Testament:
                   1) Every knee shall bow
                         a)  Is 45:23  "I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness and
                              will not turn back, that to Me ['I am God' v. 22] every knee will bow, every tongue will swear
                              allegiance."
                         b)  Phil 2:10  "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and
                              on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
                              to the glory of God the Father."
                   2)  No other savior
                         a)  Is 43:11  "I, even I, am the Lord; and there is no savior besides Me."
                         b)  2 Pet 1:1  "...by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ."
                   3)  Only one rock
                         a)  Is 44:8  "Is there any God besides me, or is there any other Rock?  I know of none."
                         b)  1 Cor 10:4  "All ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were
                              drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ."
                   4)  In Heb 1:10-11 the writer quotes from Ps 102:25, which applied to Yahweh, and then applies it to
                        Christ:
                          "Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth....Thou art the same, and Thy
                          years will not come to an end."

(Adapted from “The Bible:  Fast Forward” by Greg Koukl)

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