Not only did John the Baptist announce that Jesus is God’s Lamb, he also told the world that he is God’s Son, which is another way of saying that he is the Messianic King, the Christ, and the Lord of Lords.
“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.’ 31 “I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” 32 John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.” John 1:30-34 (NASB)
This declaration corresponds to what is perhaps the most important revelation each individual person must receive from God in order to be saved.
Unless we understand by the Spirit that Jesus is Lord, we cannot be born again.
If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. Romans 10:9–10 (NLT)
In the previous article, I showed how John the Baptist introduced Jesus to Israel and the world as the Lamb of God who takes away our sins. Jesus was able to forgive sins because he is the God-man, the eternal Word of God who became a human. This enabled him to be a perfect offering, without the blemish of sin, fulfilling the Old Covenant sacrificial requirements. Not only was it a shocking announcement that Jesus would be a human sacrifice to provide forgiveness of sins, but that also this blessing would be extended to the whole world! Jesus was not simply a Jewish savior, he was and is the savior of the world! (1 John 4:14) Likewise, when the God-man rose from the grave, he did so as the Lord of all creation, not just the Jews!
The Pharisees quickly recognized that Jesus had to be equal to God in order to forgive sins.
“Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?” Mark 2:7 (NASB)
Jesus was put to death for claiming to be God, and thereby Lord, not simply because he forgave. The early disciples were martyred for declaring that Jesus is Lord, not simply that he is Savior.
The world system does not object very much to our believing that Jesus is our “personal savior,” but it will resist any claims that he is lord over all creation.
The Antichrist and those influenced by that spirit of rebellion refuse to bow the knee to Jesus, the King. Our Lord was put to death because the Jewish religious leaders and Roman authorities condemned him for claiming to be the Messiah King of Israel and God’s Son.
The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.” John 19:7 (NASB)
Our witness as followers of Christ is that the crucified Savior is now the risen Lord.
Consider the following verses.
He [Jesus] *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 16:15-17 (NASB) Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” John 1:49 (NASB) Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. 1 John 5:1 (NASB)
Here is where the true gospel radically departs from consumerism. The proclamation that Jesus forgives our sins appeals to our consumer instincts. We get something for nothing. Who can beat that? But what it means to be a Christ follower does not stop here.
The announcement that Jesus is Lord flips consumerism on its head.
Jesus died as God’s Lamb, doing for us what we could never do for ourselves – pay for our sins, but he rose as the Lord of Lords, who deserves and expects our worship and obedience.
and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 1:4 (NLT)
The primary revelation each person must receive in order to be a born-again follower of Christ pertains to our Jesus’ identity as Lord, who he is now. First and foremost, he is the risen Lord, the King of Kings, and the Son of God.
Seeing (believing) who Jesus is by revelation and faith and acknowledging his identity and greatness is what saves us.
...if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:9-10 (NASB)
Jesus asked his disciples to tell him how they understood his identity in order to discern if the Holy Spirit had yet opened their spiritual eyes. Our Lord did not make it easy for people. He did not say, “Repeat after me: you are the Son of God.” He depended on the Spirit to do the inner work in people’s hearts, just as we must. To try to help people “get saved” by some other method, such as asking them to repeat a prayer as their entry point into the new birth, can give people a false sense of security, if the prayer is not accompanied by revelation, repentance, and faith. Praying for Jesus to reveal himself to us as we surrender ourselves to him is perhaps a better way to go about it. God is looking for honesty and reality, not easy-believism. The Holy Spirit is perfectly able and willing to communicate to people what they need to know about Jesus. If we believe this, we will understand that we must never skip over the crucial step of a person’s receiving revelation about Christ from the Spirit. We will encourage our hearers to seek God until they find him.
The essence of the Christian faith is our acknowledgement of and surrender to Jesus the Lord. Anything less is suspect of being false.
Surrendering to Jesus’ lordship leads to repentance and turning away from our deeply ingrained determination to live independently from God.
Repentance, combined with the declaration that Jesus is Lord, is the antidote to the poison of self-centered living.
Prayer
Jesus, I understand now that you require me to abandon my quest to live independently from your lordship. I repent from my sinful determination to do as a please without regard for your will. I ask you to forgive me and set me free to live as your joyful servant. I acknowledge and confess that you are the risen Lord of Lords. Holy Spirit, help me to boldly tell others about Jesus. Amen.
