December 11, 2014 | No Other One

“After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:9-11 ESV)

 
My old friend Cecil Price wrote the following in his recent book about the Jesus:

He is no ordinary man. The New Testament presents Christ as a figure who challenged the traditions of the Jewish religious leadership and performed miracles while consistently claiming and demonstrating Himself to be uniquely different from anyone who ever walked this earth. – Cecil Price, The Unique One, xi

Moved by Cecil’s observations, I am teaching through four unique truths about Jesus this advent season. We are examining what it means that He is eternal, was conceived of a virgin, and is both Messiah and Savior. My prayer is that this study will guide me and others to lift our eyes – to hear and see and worship the matchless Jesus.

Deafened by what we think we know

The universal appeal of Christmas opens this wonderful opportunity for three groups of people:

  1. At Christmas, the curious engage in conversations about Jesus and even come to church to investigate Him.
  2. Those who already believe in Jesus are often grateful for Christmas-time as a reminder of what they know about Jesus’ word, person, and work.
  3. The committed followers of Jesus are of course also present in the holiday conversation; however, in what seems at first blush to be an odd reaction, these committed Christians are least likely to take advantage of the opportunity to study Jesus at Christmas. Our lives are busy, our heads are down, and our hearts seem full of what we think we already completely grasp.

The reality is that each of us needs this study, whether we think we’ve heard everything about Christology, are really considering Jesus for the first time, or are somewhere in between.

For further study

I recommend: Andersen, The Lord from Heaven; Barclay, The Mind of Christ; Beitzel, Moody Atlas; Bloom, Jesus and Yahweh;Braudrick, Gospel of John notes; Bruce, Jesus: Lord and Savior; Della Valle, “The Ontology of Jesus Christ”; Erickson, Christian Theology; Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of the Messiah; Gangel, “The Bodies of Our Lord”; Lee and Hindson, No Greater Savior;Lightner, Sin, the Savior, and Salvation; Lucado, No Wonder They Call Him Savior; Lutzer, Seven Convincing Miracles; McDowell, More Than a Carpenter; Pentecost, Words and Works of Jesus Christ, Things to Come; Pelikan, Jesus Through the Centuries; Price, The Unique One; Stott, The Cross of Christ; Swindoll, Behold, the Man and Jesus our Lord; Thomas, The Jesus Conspiracy; Yancy, The Jesus I Never Knew.
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