Jesus is real! I’m not sure if you heard or not, but Jesus is real!! Many people say He was a good man, some say He was a prophet, some say He never existed. But I say that Jesus is real!! Jesus is not just some good man, He is the man that came down from heaven, born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, died a sinners death, rose from the grave, and ascended into heaven. That is who my Jesus is! He died to save my soul, and I am thankful for Him! But what I came here to tell you today is that…
JESUS IS REAL!!
But don’t take my word for it. Take it from the man who saw Him with his own two eyes. The man I am referring to is none other than the Apostle John. This is the same apostle John who was a disciple of Christ.
Who Was John?
One of the 12 original apostles who were personally chosen by Jesus.
He was a fisherman of Galilee
Son of Zebedee and Salome
Brother of James
Business partners with Peter and Andrew.
One day while he was mending his nets on the shore, Jesus walked up to him and called John to follow him to become a fisher of men. At that moment, John dropped everything and followed after Jesus.
Although there were 12 disciples who were chosen by Jesus, there were only 3 disciples who were very close to Him: Peter, James, and John. Because of this, John saw things that some of the other disciples never did:
The raising of Jairus’ daughter
The transfiguration
Jesus in Gethsemane
Not only that, but he also referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. I believe what John was trying to get across here is that he knew that Jesus loved him and he never got over it. It was something that he still held onto. Because Jesus meant everything to him. John was also close to Jesus. So close that he reclined at the table next to Him during the Last Supper. That means that He heard every conversation and that he spend intimate time with him as well.
John was at the cross during His final minutes and ultimately when He died. Jesus left John I’m charge to care for His mother. Of all the people, Jesus chose John to look after her. That goes to show the relationship they had and the trust Jesus had in him.
He was also there when Jesus rose from the dead. In fact, John 20:8 says that on the morning Jesus resurrected, John outran Peter to the tomb. He saw the empty tomb with his own two eyes. Not only did he see the empty tomb, but he saw Jesus actually resurrected from the dead as well! John was so convinced of what he saw concerning the risen Jesus that he suffered persecution and was exiled for his faith and testimony of Jesus.
Knowing all of these things about John gives his words tremendous weight. John can talk about a lot of things and it may or mat not matter. But when it comes to the topic of Jesus, it matters. His testimony of Jesus might be more convincing of anybody else in the New Testament.
So with all of that said, what does John have to say about Jesus?
1 John 1:1-4
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
John was saying that Jesus is real. He was saying that Jesus was not a myth, nor was He just a philosophical figure. John is saying that Jesus was a real person that he really knew personally.
Now this is important because he was writing to a group of believers who were battling false teaching in their day called Gnosticism. They claimed to have a special spiritual knowledge that believers in Jesus Christ did not have.
They believed:
Jesus did not really become human (only appeared)
God didn’t become flesh
Salvation comes through a special knowledge
But John attacked all of these misconceptions in just the first 4 verses of 1 John chapter one. And while he wrote these things almost 2000 years ago, they still apply to us today. This is because while we don’t hear the word “Gnosticism” any longer, the ideas are still prominent.
The world believes:
Jesus was a good teacher (but not God)
My truth is enough (I don’t need Jesus)
You don’t need Jesus to be spiritual
It doesn’t matter how you live (as long as I am a good person)
Jesus isn’t the only way
Jesus really is real 1 John 1:1 — “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life”
Jesus really is God — “That which was from the beginning…”
Jesus was a real person — “…which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands…”
We do not believe in a myth, we believe in the way, the truth, and the life
Jesus really did come1 John 1:1 — “the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us”
Manifest = To make visible what was previously unseen; to appear
John saw it for himself — he saw and was convinced that Jesus was God who had always existed and stepped into humanity. He believed that Jesus was God in the flesh.
Jesus is not just a mere man, He is God.
Jesus really does change lives 1 John 1:3 — “That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
John really wanted his readers to know that he knew Jesus, saw Jesus, heard Jesus, walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, dined with Jesus, etc. He wanted them to know this because his desire was that they would get to know Jesus like he did.
John’s life changed when he met Jesus. Peter’s life changed. Paul’s life changed. The early church changed. And people are still being changed by Jesus as they meet Him as well.
Their lives were changed because they had fellowship with Him. The only thing that can change our life is by meeting, encountering, and fellowshipping with Jesus.
Jesus really is enough 1 John 1:4 — “And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”
At the end of the day, you can have everything in the world and it not mean anything. Why? Because Jesus is enough.
If you had nothing else in life but Jesus, that would be enough.
If you never accomplished all of your dreams but you have Jesus, that would be enough.
If you lost everything in a flood and had nothing else but Jesus, that would be enough.Why?
Because Jesus is enough
Jesus + Nothing = Everything
True joy comes from true fellowship with Christ. And because Jesus is real, Jesus really came, Jesus is enough.
Jesus is really coming back. 1 John 3:2 — “Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”
This is the promise that you and I have in Jesus! One day, Jesus is coming back to redeem His people back to Himself.
As the Apostle John says, “when He appears…” Jesus will appear again and we will be made like Him.
TAKEAWAYS
Because Jesus is real, you can trust Him completely
Because Jesus is real, you should Go and share Him boldly
