Title: Jesus is the Son of God
Jesus is the Son of God
Matthew 3:13-17, First Sunday after Epiphany, January 9, 2011
The events of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist are all recorded in the synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It must have been a historical fact. The report of Matthew is slightly different from the report of the other two gospels. While the Gospels of Mark and Luke only report that Jesus was baptized by John, the Gospel of Matthew supplemented the other story. This is the scene where Jesus had a conversation with John before he was baptized. John first says: “I must be baptized by you, and will you come to me?” (verse 14). Meaning. It's a natural story. John the Baptist's preaching and baptism focus primarily on moral sin. The fact that Jesus, who had no original sin, let alone moral sin, was baptized by John is controversial. The writer of Matthew tried to explain this problem through a conversation with John.
To say that Jesus is the Son of God means that Jesus is God. We believe in Jesus as God, not just as a saint, as a moral teacher, as a life counselor, or as a magician. More precisely: Jesus is the Son of God and God at the same time. If it is a son, it is a son, if it is God, it is God. Of course, the “personas” of Jesus and Heavenly Father are different. God is a being with transcendent power, but Jesus is limited. Jesus recognized the Father as the object and even prayed. But 'usia', i.e. essentially the same. This is the Christian answer to the identity of Jesus Christ and to the existence of God. Our final question is: On what basis did the early Christians believe that Jesus was the Son of God, and why did the 4th century Church Fathers think that Jesus was distinct from God in case but identical in essence (usia)? Whether you believe it or not, you have to have a reason to do it, right?
These days we are celebrating the feast of Epiphany. This year will continue for 9 weeks until Sunday, March 6th. After Epiphany, Lent lasts for six weeks, followed by Easter. Just before Epiphany was Christmas. Before that was Advent. The church year, in turn, contains the central content of the Christian faith. Epiphany is the feast that celebrates the revelation of divinity to Jesus Christ. According to the tradition of the church, it is based on the worship of the infant Jesus by the Magi, or it is based on the baptism event in the text of today's sermon. The point of the Epiphany is that Jesus lived with the same physical limitations as we do, but He is essentially a God who transcends all things. I repeat the question just above again. Why is Jesus the Son of God? Can I just believe it? What are the reasons to believe it? Is there any evidence?
Don't you understand this? Can't you believe it? Is it difficult to agree? Need more clear evidence? The unavoidable conclusive evidence will be given in the end times. Now you need to make a choice. I affirm the spiritual insight and belief of the early Christians that God was completely one in the words, actions, and destiny of Jesus. We live by the same faith as them. Today's sermon ends by telling you how the Gospel of John, another Gospel, explains this as it is. Jesus answered Philip when he asked to see God. “Philip, I have been with you for so long, and do you not know me? He who has seen me has seen the Father; why do you say, ‘Show me the Father’?” (John 14:9) Yes. Jesus is the Son of God. He who has seen him, and whoever knows him, has seen God. Amen.