Lesson 1.20: The King Is God's Son (Part 1)

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LESSON 1.20: THE KING IS GOD'S SON (Part 1)

Jesus, The Son Of God

Loved one, the term "Son of God" is found forty-eight times in the New Testament, forty-three times with reference to Jesus. What does the term mean when it is used to tell us about Jesus?

Does it mean that God had physical relations with Mary and had a baby by her? No. God is Spirit (John 4:24). He is not a sexual being.

What, then, does the term "Son of God" mean? To answer this question, let us listen to the words of the prophets, the Father, Jesus, and His followers...

The Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begins with what the prophet Isaiah said would happen. Isaiah wrote, "There is a person shouting in the desert: 'Prepare the way for the Lord. Make his paths straight'" (Isaiah 40:3). Isaiah was talking about a preacher named John (Read Matthew chapter 3). John baptized people (vs. 1-6).

This is what John the Baptizer preached to the people: "There is a person coming later who is greater than I am. I am not good enough to kneel down and untie his shoes" (v. 11). John was preaching about the coming Christ Jesus.

John Calls Jesus "The Son Of God"

At that time Jesus came from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the place where John was preaching. Jesus asked John to baptize Him, so John baptized (dipped, immersed) Jesus in the Jordan River. While Jesus was coming up out of the water, the sky opened, and He saw God's Spirit coming down on Him like a dove. And a voice spoke from heaven saying, "This is my Son and I love him. I am very pleased with him" (vs. 13-17)

The next day John the Baptizer saw Jesus coming toward him. John said, "Look, the Lamb of God. He takes away the sins of the world! I did not know who the Christ was. But God told me, "You will see the Spirit come down and rest on a man. That man is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'"

John said, "I have seen this happen. I saw the Spirit come down from heaven. The Spirit came down like a dove and sat on him. So this is what I tell people: "He is the Son of God'" (John 1:29-34).

Andrew Calls Jesus "The Messiah"

The next day, two men followed Jesus and talked with Him. One of these two men was named Andrew. Andrew was Simon Peter's brother. The first thing Andrew did was to go find his brother, Simon.

Andrew said to Simon, "We have found the Messiah" (vs. 35-41). The word "Messiah" comes from a Hebrew word which means "the anointed One." This term was used with reference to the coming King.

Nathaniel Calls Jesus "The King"

Later, Jesus saw a man named Nathaniel coming toward Him. Jesus looked at Nathaniel and said, "This man is truly one of God's people. There is nothing false in him."

Nathaniel listened to the amazing things Jesus said. Then, he said to Jesus, "Teacher, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel" (vs. 47-49).

Satan Tests The Son Of God

At the very beginning of Jesus' ministry, Satan tried to separate Jesus from God and to stop Jesus from fulfilling His mission (Read Matthew chapter 4:1-11). Jesus was in the desert for forty days and forty nights without food. While He was there, Satan came to test Him.

Satan tempted Jesus in much the same way he tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden: through the desires of the body, the desire for beautiful things, and the desire to be important.

First, Satan said to Jesus, "If you are the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread." Jesus could have satisfied His hunger by using His power selfishly. But He refused to do so.

Then, Satan showed Jesus all the rich and beautiful kingdoms of the world. Satan said, "I will give it all to you if you will only worship me." But Jesus refused.

Finally, Satan took Jesus to a high place in Jerusalem and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off. God will command his angels to care for you." By jumping off, Jesus could have called attention to Himself as an important person, but He would not.

By resisting Satan's temptations, Jesus won a victory. Jesus was the descendant of Eve who would crush Satan's head (Genesis 3:15).

Peter Calls Jesus "The Son Of The Living God" (Matthew 16:15-19)

At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His followers, "Who do you say that I am?

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus said, "You are blessed, Simon, son of Jonah. No one taught you that. My Father in heaven showed you who I am."

Jesus blessed Peter for calling Him the Son of God. Jesus claimed that His Father had shown Peter who He was.

Martha Calls Jesus "The Son Of God" (John 11:23-27)

Jesus said to Martha, the sister of Lazarus whom Jesus raised from death, "I am the resurrection and the life. Everyone who believes in me will have life, even if they die. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never really die. Martha, do you believe this?"

Martha answered, "Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God."

John, The Apostle, Calls Jesus "The Son Of God"

The apostle John wrote, "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding. So now we can know the one who is true, and we live in that true God. We are in his Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 5:20).

Jesus Claims To Be The Son Of God

In His meeting with Nicodemus, Jesus said, "God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world. He did not send him to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. People who believe in God's Son are not judged guilty. But people who do not believe are already judged, because they have not believed in God's only Son" (John 3:16-18).

Jesus went to Jerusalem for a special Jewish festival (Read John 5:1-18). There, at the Pool of Bethesda, Jesus healed a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus did this on the Sabbath day (Saturday). The Sabbath day was a day of rest for the Jews.

When the Jewish leaders saw that Jesus had healed this man on the Sabbath day, they began to do bad things to Him. But Jesus said to them, "My Father never stops working. And so I work too."

When Jesus said this, the Jewish leaders try to kill Him. They said, "First Jesus was breaking the law about the Sabbath day. Then he said that God is his Father. He is making himself equal with God."

In verses 19-27, Jesus said to them, "I assure you that the Son can do nothing alone. He does only what he sees his Father doing. The Son does the same things that the Father does. The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does. This man was healed, but the Father will show the Son greater things than this to do. Then you will be amazed."

"The Father raises the dead and gives them life. In the same way, the Son gives life to those he wants to. Also the Father judges no one. He has given the Son power to do all the judging. God did this so that all people will respect the Son the same as they respect the Father. He is the one who sent the Son. ... Believe me, an important time is coming. That time is already here. People who are dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. Life comes from the Father himself. So the Father has also allowed the Son to give life. And the Father has given him the power to judge all people."

Jesus refers to Himself as God's Son and claims He came into the world to give people eternal life. Nine times in these two paragraphs, Jesus refers to God as "the Father," and nine times He refers to Himself as "the Son" or "the Son of God." At least forty-three times in the original Greek New Testament, Jesus is called "the Son of God." He is called "my Son," "the Son," or "his Son" about sixty-five times.

God, The Father, Calls Jesus "My Son"

At Jesus' baptism, God said, "This is my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with him" (Matthew 3:17).

Later, when Jesus was with Peter, James, and John on a high mountain in Galilee, a bright cloud appeared and surrounded them. A voice came from the cloud saying, "This is my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with him. Obey him" (Matthew 17:1-5).

Still later, the apostle John wrote, "We believe people when they say something is true. But what God says is more important. And this is what God told us: He told us the truth about his own Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the truth that God told us. Whoever does not believe God makes God a liar, because they do not believe what God told us about his Son. This is what God told us: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:9-12).

Jesus Calls God "My Father"

Jesus said to His followers, "If you stand before others and are willing to say you believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you belong to me. But if you stand before others and say you do not believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you do not belong to me" (Matthew 10:32-33).

Jesus had a Father/Son relationship with God. As any good father loves his son, so God loved Jesus. And as a good son respects and obeys his father, so Jesus always obeyed God. Jesus used earthly relationships to explain the nature of heavenly relationships.

Jesus Claims To Be God's Anointed One

Jesus went back to Nazareth, the town where He grew up. On the Sabbath day He went to the synagogue, a place of worship where people had gathered to read and study the Scriptures. Jesus stood up to read.

The book of Isaiah was given to Him. Jesus opened the book and found the place where it is written: 'The Spirit of the Lord is in me. God anointed me to tell good news to people who have nothing. God sent me to tell people who are prisoners [of sin] that they are free, and to tell the blind that they can see again. God sent me to deliver weak people from their suffering, and to announce the year of the Lord.'"

Jesus closed the book, gave it back to the keeper, and sat down. Every person in the synagogue watched Him closely. Jesus began to speak to them. He said, "While you heard me reading these words just now, the words were coming true."

Thus, Jesus announced that He was God's anointed servant mentioned by Isaiah.

When Jesus left the synagogue that day, He ministered to people who needed help. He told good news to poor people. He forced evil spirits to leave those who were prisoners of Satan. He made blind people see again, and lame people walk again. He healed sick people of their diseases. Jesus had not come to be served. He had come to serve and to give His life for others (Mark 10:45).

The Son and the Father are one in nature, in purpose, and in character. Jesus came to show us the glory of His Father and to draw us into a loving relationship with Him. Once we are united with Jesus, nothing can separate us from the love of God or pluck us from His hand (Romans 8:35-39).

Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give my sheep eternal life. They will never die, and no one can take them out of my hand. My Father is the one who gave them to me, and he is greater than all. No one can steal my sheep out of his hand. My Father and I are one" (John 10:27-30).

We have heard the testimony of Jesus about Himself. We have heard the testimony of others and the testimony of God. What is your response? To be continued in Part 2...

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