1033. Jesus: "Who Do You Say That I Am?"

"So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you'" (John 6:53).

This was one small piece of a passage that had people trying to figure out just exactly what Jesus was saying. This not only included those opposed to Jesus but also those who had been following Him. In fact, many of the disciples left at that point.

Jesus asked the twelve who were left if they also wanted to depart. There are things Jesus said that contained words of truth where the understanding with the mind was unfruitful ... but something within their hearts that had been revealed about Jesus caused them to realize that He was their only hope for eternal life.

The same is true today with people who lack understanding about spiritual things, statements from Jesus, and Bible writings. But this will not prevent God from revealing truth to us when it comes to Jesus. Believing doesn't require intellectual comprehension.



   
Get the book

902. False Assumptions: The Sermon on the Mount Was a New Christian Teaching?

It's easy to get confused between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant if we're under the assumption that when Jesus was speaking to His disciples, it means He was also speaking directly to us today.

Jesus was born under the law for the purpose of redeeming the Jewish people from that law, which was incapable of providing them with life and righteousness. The New Covenant did not begin in Matthew 1:1 or at the birth of Jesus ... but would be ratified after His death (Hebrews 9). The "sermon" in Matthew 5-7 was Jesus attempting to methodically show His disciples that if they were to continue to make attempts at attaining righteousness through that law of works, they would fall short of the perfection it demanded ... because it would mean keeping every jot and title of the 613 commandments and statutes. They would need a greater righteousness.

Therefore, what Jesus spoke with His words in these passages is of critical importance ... but it was not a new Christian teaching for all future believers in Christ with a new set of rules that would be even more difficult to follow than the impossible law. They would need a better way to get to God—and Jesus would be that way.



   
Get the book

536. Religious Talking Points: Followers and Disciples of Jesus?

As Christians, we often like to describe ourselves as followers and disciples of Jesus. But is this really how we are identified in Him? Did Jesus really encourage people to follow him as a disciple or was He attempting to show that nobody could successfully accomplish this? Jesus carefully described the list of rigid requirements needed to be like Him in order to be His disciple. He cautioned those people under the law to carefully count the cost in order to help them realize they would not be able to pay the price that would be needed. Thankfully, our faithfulness to God is not what is on display, but it was God's love and dedication towards us that would be the centerpiece of the gospel.



   

413. The "Grace" Commission

Much has been taught and said about something that is referred to as The Great Commission... Referring to when Jesus commissioned His disciples to go into all the world to proclaim the gospel. Some of what Jesus spoke was specifically for the 11 disciples.

Unfortunately, at times believers have been made to feel obligated to share the good news in specific ways that can cause guilt and condemnation when they feel they are not living up to the standard or expectations they think God has for them. We can all be involved in spreading the good news but as different parts of the body we may have very unique functions regarding our participation.

---

Download The "Grace" Commission
(Click to Play or Right-Click to Download.)

"Watch" this episode on YouTube.

---

This week's GIG Bite - A bite-sized chunk of this week's program!

---