Jesus, the Son of God I. Introduction A. Mark 1:1: Mark's Gospel is about Jesus Christ, the "Son of God" B. John 1:34: John the Baptist testified that Jesus is the Son of God C. Matthew 16:16: Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God D. John 11:27: Mary confesses Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God E. John 20:31: John's Gospel written so that we may believe Jesus is the Son of God F. Acts 8:37: the Ethiopian eunuch confessed Jesus as Christ, the Son of God G. The Bible therefore clearly speaks of Jesus as the Son of God H. But what does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God? 1. What does it mean to be a "son of God"? 2. What is the relationship between Jesus, the Son of God, and God? 3. Why is it that Christians throughout time have emphasized Jesus as the "Son of God" in their confession of Jesus? I. Let us consider how the Bible portrays Jesus as the Son of God II. The Son of God in Israel A. We must always remember that Jesus of Nazareth lived and died as a first century Palestinian Jew, an Israelite, and we must first understand all descriptions of Jesus in light of the Law of Moses and Second Temple Judaism B. "Sons of God" in the Old Testament as spiritual, possibly angelic, beings: Genesis 6:2, 4, Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7; Daniel 3:25? C. But to truly understand what could be meant by "son of God," we must understand how "son" is used in the Old Testament 1. Hebrew naming tended to be patronymic, so men were known as the "son of" their father: e.g. David son of Jesse, Simon bar Jonah; primary meaning, therefore, is that a "son" is the male child of a father 2. But "son" can also be used to emphasize relational connections a. Throughout the Old Testament, "children of Israel" or "nation of Israel" is literally "sons of Israel" b. Hebrew idiom for someone's age is that they are a "son of x years" (e.g. Noah was 500 years old = lit. Noah was a son of 500 years, Genesis 5:32) c. Eli calls Samuel his "son" even though there is no biological connection (1 Samuel 3:6) D. Before Pharaoh YHWH calls Israel his "first-born son" (Exodus 4:22); Hosea speaks of Israel as God's son (Hosea 11:1) E. Yet of all the passages about sonship, none are as important as Psalm 2:7 1. In context, a royal psalm, identifying the king of Israel as the "son of God" 2. The king as having a favored, special relationship with God a common theme in the ancient Near East 3. Sonship not genealogical, but an adoption of sorts: God declares that the king is His son, that He has "begotten" him that day 4. Yet this royal psalm points forward to a Son who would be specially begotten by God, the Messiah 5. Such is the expectation of Jews in the first century and behind them speaking of the "Son of God"; they meant by it the One whom God enthroned and who would rule over the nations as promised in Psalm 2:7 (cf. Matthew 14:33, 26:63, 27:40, John 9:35, 19:7) F. Therefore, we can see how the Old Testament speaks of the "Son of God" as one who would have a close relationship with God and would be the one whom God would give all authority and power III. Jesus, the Son of God A. Throughout most of the New Testament, Jesus is called "Son of God" in some sort of confession or in accusation 1. Matthew 4:3, 6 / Luke 4:3, 9: Satan's trials of Jesus begin with, "If you are the Son of God..." 2. Matthew 8:29, Mark 3:11, Luke 4:41: demons declare Jesus the Son of God 3. John 1:34, 1:49, Matthew 14:33, 16:16, John 11:27, Acts 8:37: John the Baptist, Nathanael, the disciples, Peter, Mary, and the Ethiopian eunuch confess Jesus is the Son of God 4. Matthew 26:63, 27:40, 43: accusation of Jesus by the high priest regarding whether He was the Son of God or not; temptation given to Him at the cross to come down if He were the Son of God, yet in Matthew 27:54, the Gentile Roman centurion confesses Jesus as the Son of God based on events surrounding His crucifixion (cf. Mark 15:39, John 19:7) 5. Luke 1:35: Gabriel assures Mary her Child will be called the Son of God 6. Matthew 3:7 / Mark 1:11 / Luke 3:22, Matthew 17:5 / Mark 9:7 / Luke 9:35: God the Father declares Jesus to be His beloved Son 7. Luke 22:70, John 3:18, 5:25, 9:35-38, 10:36, 11:4, Revelation 2:18: Jesus owns for Himself the description of Son of God 8. John 20:31, 1 John 5:13: point of John's writings is for us to believe Jesus is the Son of God 9. Acts 9:20: after Saul's conversion, his proclamation can be summarized as declaring Jesus is the Son of God 10. Hebrews 4:14: Jesus is the Son of God; we are to hold fast our confession 11. 1 John 4:15: those confessing Jesus as the Son of God abide in God, God in them B. Why is there such an emphasis on the accusation / confession aspect on Jesus as the "Son of God"? To speak of Jesus as the Son of God is to speak directly toward His relationship with Israel and with God C. Jesus, Israel's Son of God 1. As seen above, Israel expected there to be a Messiah, the One rightly called the "Son of God" who would reign in the Kingdom of God 2. This is the accusation the Israelites make against Jesus; to them, it is another way of speaking of the "Son of David" or "King of the Jews" 3. Yet, as seen in John 10:33, the Israelites perceived that claims about Jesus as the Son of God were not just about royalty, but actual divinity 4. In rejecting Jesus as their Messiah, and killing the Son of God, they bring God's judgment upon them, viscerally displayed in the Parable of the Vineyard in Matthew 21:33-46 / Mark 12:1-11 / Luke 20:9-19 D. Jesus, Son of God the Father 1. Early Christians did not speak of Jesus as the Son of God just in terms of reigning over the Kingdom of God by YHWH's appointment; they further understood Jesus as actually God, the only-begotten of God 2. They understood Psalm 2:7 as heralding the Incarnation: God in the flesh, as seen in Matthew 1:18-25, John 1:1-18 3. Jesus was an actual Son of God: the Holy Spirit came upon Mary His mother and she conceived and bore a Son (Matthew 1:18, Luke 1:28-37)! 4. Thus 1 Corinthians 8:5-6, Colossians 2:9, 1 Peter 1:1-2, Hebrews 1:3: Jesus as God in the flesh, the divine image in bodily form 5. A prominent theme in John: John 1:1-18, 8:58, 10:30, 1 John 4:1-4, 2 John 1:3, Revelation 1:8-20 6. Such is why the confession aspect is so important: to declare Jesus is the Son of God is to declare not only that He is King, and therefore Lord, but to declare His divinity and His exclusive relationship with God the Father 7. To understand Jesus as the Son of God is to understand the Father as such a. so 2 John 1:2, and defining so many of Jesus' discussions in John (cf. John 6:26-58, 8:12-58, 10:1-42, 17:1-26) b. God as Father not a predominant image in Old Testament; in evidence in Exodus 4:22, Psalm 2:7, Hosea 11:1, but predominant image in Old Testament is YHWH as husband, Israel as wife c. Yet on account of Jesus' declaration of Himself as the Son of God, of His Father, the New Testament speaks primarily of God as a Father, expresses role as Father well in Luke 15:11-32, Romans 8:11-15, 1 John 3:1-2, etc. d. Through Jesus we can become adopted sons of the Father as well, and share in the love of our Father! 8. But how can it be that Jesus is the Son of the Father, but still God? a. Romans 1:4: Paul says Jesus is declared the Son of God with power in His resurrection from the dead, and will emphasize Jesus as the firstborn of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20, Colossians 1:18) b. monogenes as "only begotten" (so John 3:16): can refer to actual birth but also in terms of prominence: "unique" or "[one and] only" c. Creedal understanding: the Son as "begotten not made": what one begets is different from what one creates, i.e. humans beget other humans but create other objects, so God would beget God but create the universe, humanity, etc. d. Whether the terminology reflects actual relationship or primacy in relationship, the Scripture makes clear that the Son is co-eternal with the Father, not created (John 1:1-18, Romans 1:25) 9. Jesus as Son of God therefore helps us understand who God is as Father, how God became flesh and dwelt among us as Jesus E. Understanding Jesus as the Son of God 1. It is for good reason that when we confess Jesus, we confess Him to be the Son of the living God! 2. By confessing Jesus is the Son of God, we confess that He is the hope of Israel, the Messiah (Christ) prophesied by Moses, David, and the prophets, the King of Psalm 2:7, reigning in the Kingdom of God, given all authority until the final enemy, death, has been defeated, and all ought to believe in Him and confess His name (Romans 1:4, 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, Philippians 2:8-11) 3. By confessing Jesus is the Son of God, we confess His Incarnation, a stumbling-block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, that God became flesh and dwelt among us (Matthew 1:18-25, John 1:1-18, 1 John 4:1-4, 2 John 1:7-9) a. To this day the idea that God could become embodied and dwell among mankind is anathema in Judaism and one of their reasons for rejecting Jesus as their Messiah b. The Greeks had ideas of gods taking on the form of flesh to fight or seduce humans, but their philosophers had little use for the physical realm and the flesh, and found the idea of God humiliating Himself to the point of taking on flesh to be ludicrous c. Yet in such an environment early Christians powerfully attested to Jesus' Incarnation as God in the flesh, raised in power to live and reign forever (Acts 17:30-32, 1 Corinthians 1:17-31, Philippians 2:1-11, Colossians 2:1-10) d. In the face of docetic and gnosticizing influences, John exhorted Christians to remain firm in their confession of Jesus as the Son of God having come in the flesh; those who accepted this believed in Christ and abide in Him, but those who rejected this truth are as unbelievers and antichrists (1 John 2:18-5:21, 2 John 1:5-11) 4. By confessing Jesus is the Son of God, we declare how God's unity is not in person but in relationship; there is Jesus, the Son of God, and there is God the Father, allowing us to identify with God in familial relational ways, as adopted sons of the Father in Christ, as brothers and sisters of Jesus and thus with one another (John 17:20-23, Romans 8:11-15, 1 Timothy 3:15) 5. By confessing Jesus is the Son of God, we declare Jesus as co-eternal with God, active in creation: all things were created in Him, through Him, and unto Him, and all things continue to exist in Him and through His sustaining power (Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:3) 6. By confessing Jesus is the Son of God, we declare that Jesus has been active throughout the history of the universe, not just in creation but also in Israel (1 Corinthians 10:1-12, Jude 1:5) 7. By confessing Jesus is the Son of God, we declare Jesus as the embodiment of God, expressing all divine characteristics, by whom we can understand the nature of the Father: if we want to be godly, we must be as Jesus, who was and is God (John 1:18, 14:6-13, Colossians 1:15, 2:9, Hebrews 1:3) F. If we truly wish to understand who Jesus is, we must understand how Jesus is truly the Son of God! V. Conclusion A. There are many ways Jesus is portrayed in the Scriptures and throughout history B. We do well to understand Jesus as the Son of God 1. As the Son of God, He is the Messiah, the Christ, the King of Israel 2. In His Incarnation, He is human, yes, but He is also God in the flesh, the God-man 3. Jesus has a prophetic word for Israel, but He is no mere prophet! 4. Jesus, the Son of God, God in the flesh, co-eternal with the Father, the Creator, the Risen Lord, worthy of all honor and glory! C. Revelation 1:12-18 1. So many of us have had our mind's eye view of Jesus shaped by images prevalent in culture, and so many images of Jesus portray Him not only as human but as a soft, gentle, unassuming, harmless human 2. Jesus, in pictures, has no sharp features: they are all smooth, He is smooth, and He is frequently holding lambs or small children 3. While there are certainly tender aspects to Jesus, we must also keep in mind pictures like Revelation 1:12-18 in which Jesus is portrayed as the Risen Lord, a hybridized Ancient of Days / son of man, the visage of which causes John great fear and trepidation! 4. Jesus is the Son of God, with a voice as the roar of mighty waters, with a sharp two-edged sword proceeding from His mouth, and His eyes as a flame of fire: He is God, He is Lord, and worthy of all reverence, glory, and honor! D. Let us confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, to the glory and honor of God for all eternity! E. Invitation/songbook Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: I will tell of the decree: YHWH said unto me, "Thou art my son; This day have I begotten thee" (Psalm 2:7). Israel expected the Messiah to be the Son of God, raised to rule Israel as king and to defeat all her enemies. This is the standard by which Jesus is judged and the basis of the accusations made against Him. God declared Jesus to be the Son of God through His death and resurrection, and thus He now serves as Lord. Let us serve the Lord Jesus, the Son of God! 2: And the tempter came and said unto him, "If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread" (Matthew 4:3). Satan challenges Jesus as the Son of God; the demons confess Him as the Son of God when cast out. Jesus' prominence as the Son of God is known in the spiritual realm; let us declare it and affirm it in the physical realm! 3: Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18). Jesus is not just the Son of God by declaration; He is the Incarnate Son of God. God took on flesh and dwelt among us: a stumbling block to the religious, folly to the philosophers, but the sustaining truth of all those who trust in God! Let us affirm that Jesus is God in the flesh and uphold the apostolic Gospel (1 John 4:2, 2 John 1:7)! 4: And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). Throughout the New Testament, Jesus is confessed and declared to be the Son of God. Jesus as the Son of God is the unifying theme of Jesus' identity, describing His relationship to God the Father, to Israel, to the creation, from before the beginning until after the end. Let us share in that confession and declare Jesus to be the Son of God!