Jesus the Savior Introductory Theology, Volume 2 By Grace Communion International With articles written by Joseph Tkach, Michael D. Morrison, John Halford, Paul Kroll, J. Michael Feazell, and others Second edition, November 2016 Minor edits June 2018 Copyright © 2016 Grace Communion International All rights reserved. Cover image: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Bloch- SermonOnTheMount.jpg ISBN-13: 978-1512392043 ISBN-10: 1512392049 All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ CONTENTS Introduction .....................................................................................................vii Part 1: The Incarnation Who Was Jesus Before His Human Birth? ................................................... 1 And the Word Was God .................................................................................. 9 The Question of Christ’s Prayers ................................................................. 12 Who Jesus Really Was .................................................................................... 14 The Incarnation: A Bible Study .................................................................... 16 The Incarnation: The Greatest Miracle ....................................................... 21 The Real Miracle Story of Jesus’ Birth ........................................................ 23 What Jesus’ Incarnation Shows Us About Being Human ....................... 28 He Gave Himself ............................................................................................ 31 God in the Flesh ............................................................................................. 33 Who Is Jesus? .................................................................................................. 36 Who Is This Man? .......................................................................................... 40 He Pitched His Tent ...................................................................................... 48 He Gave Himself ............................................................................................ 50 Part 2: The Birth of Jesus The Birth of Jesus: A Story of Shame ......................................................... 52 Why Jesus Gives Us Hope ............................................................................ 56 The Miracle of Jesus’ Birth ........................................................................... 61 The Greatest Birth Story ............................................................................... 67 Emmanuel, Our Redeemer ........................................................................... 69 Magnificent Joy ............................................................................................... 72 iii GRACE COMMUNION INTERNATIONAL Genealogies of Jesus ....................................................................................... 74 The Prince of Peace ........................................................................................ 76 Part 3: Celebrating the Birth of Jesus Is Christmas a Sin? .......................................................................................... 78 Does God Hate Christmas? ........................................................................... 81 When Was Jesus Born? ................................................................................... 85 The Date of Jesus’ Birth ................................................................................. 88 Does It Matter When Jesus Was Born? ....................................................... 91 A Call for Tolerance........................................................................................ 94 The First Church Christmas .......................................................................... 96 Christmas Past and Present in the Church .................................................. 98 Paganism — Where Should Christians Draw the Line? ........................ 103 What Does Deuteronomy 12:30-31 Forbid? ........................................... 107 Once Pagan, Always Pagan? ....................................................................... 110 Jeremiah 10 and Christmas Trees .............................................................. 114 Paganism, Pagans and Pagan Customs ..................................................... 116 Standing in the Light .................................................................................... 121 Merry Christmas ........................................................................................... 132 Jesus: Merely a Myth? .................................................................................. 135 The Meaning of Christmas ......................................................................... 137 Jesus the Double Agent ............................................................................... 142 The Light of Lights ...................................................................................... 142 Christmas Light............................................................................................. 144 I’m Dreaming of a Quantum Christmas ................................................... 147 Truce on Earth, Good Will Toward Men ................................................ 151 Using Christmas to Teach Children About Jesus.................................... 155 The Second-Best Christmas Gift ............................................................... 158 What Does Jesus Want for Christmas? ..................................................... 160 Discovering Handel’s Messiah ................................................................... 168 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing ................................................................... 172 Oh Come, All Ye Wasteful ......................................................................... 173 HolidayGreetings.com ................................................................................. 175 The Tree ......................................................................................................... 177 Part 4: The Life of Jesus The Message of Jesus: A Bible Study ........................................................ 179 iv JESUS THE SAVIOR Playing Jesus— a Discussion with Bruce Marchiano ............................. 184 Jesus and Women ......................................................................................... 188 Jesus: The Unexpected Messiah ................................................................. 195 The Messianic Secret .................................................................................... 198 Part 5: The Death of Jesus Good Friday and Easter Sunday ................................................................ 205 Jesus— The Complete Salvation Package ................................................ 208 The Thief’s Story .......................................................................................... 212 Would You Have Chosen Barabbas? ........................................................ 219 Where Was Golgotha? ................................................................................. 221 Born to Die .................................................................................................... 226 Why Did Jesus Die? ..................................................................................... 231 Why Did Jesus Have to Die? ...................................................................... 241 Appreciating Christ’s Sacrifice .................................................................... 247 Why the Messiah Had to Die ..................................................................... 251 Two Truths We Learn From Jesus’ Death ............................................... 253 A Death in Jerusalem ................................................................................... 255 Jesus Is Our Atonement .............................................................................. 270 Christ Our Atonement ................................................................................ 263 A Closer Look at the Crucifixion ............................................................... 269 It Isn’t Just About How He Died .............................................................. 273 Don’t Cry for Jesus ...................................................................................... 275 The Day Christ Died .................................................................................... 280 Jesus Christ’s Last Sermon .......................................................................... 282 Did God Forsake Jesus on the Cross? ...................................................... 286 Jesus Was Not Alone ................................................................................... 294 Did You Kill Jesus Christ? .......................................................................... 296 Three Aspects, One Great Event .............................................................. 298 Our Strange Dead God ............................................................................... 301 Commemorating the Crucifixion ..............................................................