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Jesus is the Messiah.

This isn’t a subject of discussion, or debate. It is not a suggestion, or a possibility. It is not a theory or a dream. It is the truth. Whether you believe or not, does not take away the fact that it is true. Whether you accept it or not, does not change its reality.

If I believe that 1+1=3, it does not make it correct. If i think that somehow sitting in this chair, I am the ruler of England, it does not make it true. No matter how much I believe I am correct, I am still wrong. Truth is the Truth.

But interestingly enough, it often takes some convincing to get someone to believe in the truth. Because this world constantly feeds us lies, or twists things to suit their own agendas, it is easy to be confused about what is true. And so the question gets asked, is Jesus the Messiah?

But that is what Jesus wants. He wants us to ask whether he is the Messiah. Because by asking, we will seek the truth. We will desire to know if what He says is true. But the problem is, we do not ask. We simply say, he cannot be. He must only be a good man. He must be a prophet. He might just be a giant conspiracy. The seeking of truth does not begin with an exploration of theories about it – the search for truth begins with a direct engagement with the statement itself. Jesus is the Messiah. He is the Saviour of the World.

We see in John 4, this discussion between Jesus and this woman. And by the end of the conversation, the woman is seeking the truth. For Jesus seems to know the truth about her. What then, is the truth about him?

The woman said to him, “I know that messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.”

Jesus’ reply? “I who speak to you am he.”
In other words, “You’re lookin at him.”

And so the woman runs off, and tells everyone in the town. This guy, sitting by the well, may very well be the messiah. The truth is out there! In fact, the truth is in our town, sitting by Jacob’s well! And so the townsfolk come out. And by the end of their conversations, they’re convinced. Jesus is the Messiah. They say, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world.”

The truth is for everyone. Jesus is for everyone. In the same way you don’t want your friends to be living a lie, it’s time to bring them truth. Only a fool thinks the truth is optional.

And for those of us that know the truth, it’s time to live knowing that Jesus is the saviour of the world.


Along the same lines of thought, I came across this conversation between Bono and Michka Assays at this blog and thought it was reposting here.

Assayas – Christ has his rank among the world’s great thinkers. But Son of God, isn’t that far-fetched?

Bono – No, it’s not far-fetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: He was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn’t allow you that. He doesn’t let you off that hook. Christ says, No. I’m not saying I’m a prophet. I’m saying: ”I’m the Messiah.” I’m saying: “I am God incarnate.” And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet we can take. You’re a bit eccentric. We’ve had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don’t mention the “M” word! Because, you know, we’re gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no, I know you’re expecting me to come back with an army and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he’s gonna keep saying this. So what you’re left with is either Christ was who he said he was – the Messiah – or a complete nutcase. I mean, we’re talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson…I’m not joking here. The idea that the enitre course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me that’s far fetched…” (The Reason for God, 239-240)

This then led me to Timothy Keller’s* latest book The Reason for God, and the website talking about it. Definitely worth checking out.


These were some thoughts from our current series The Remarkable Life of Jesus and our Strong and Courageous Life in Him. The message from John 4 is available here, and all our previous messages are available on the Sunday messages page.

Posted in 2011 Love Beyond and tagged , .