Who is Jesus? Part 2

A Genealogical Roadmap to Jesus, our Savior-King

In the video associated with this lesson, we glimpsed the roadmap God provided for His people to recognize the promised Messiah of Genesis 3:15 when He came. In this lesson, we celebrate God’s purpose in bringing the Messiah into the world to restore His Kingdom to the earth by redeeming a people to live under His Kingship.

Key Takeaways:

  1. God always does what He says He will do. This is surely true in bringing His promised Messiah into the world.
  2. God’s Promised Messiah is our not only our Savior. He is our good and sovereign King.

Discussion:

Why did God provide such a detailed roadmap to the Christ who was to come?

How does the Old Testament treasure map to the Christ who is revealed in the New Testament affirm the continuity between the Old and New Testaments?

What does this continuity say to those who suggest that the God of the Old Testament is a vengeful judge, while the God of the New Testament is gracious and kind?

God’s immeasurable love and redemptive purpose for His people is reflected in the identity of His Messiah. Let’s take a closer look at who the Messiah is and what He came to do.

Read Isaiah 9:6-7

According to these verses, what, specifically, whould God's Messiah do?

Read Isaiah 53:1-12

According to this passage, what would God’s Messiah-King accomplish for His people? At what cost?

Isaiah makes it clear that through Messiah’s unspeakable suffering, He would save His people from the curse of sin, thereby reestablishing God’s righteous reign (Kingdom) on the earth by redeeming a people to flourish under His Kingship, as citizens of His restored Kingdom.

What emotions stir in you as you consider that the holy God, who had every right to crush you for your rebellion against Him, chose instead to pay an infinite price to make you His?

Read John 1:12; John 3:16

How do we enter the life that Jesus, our Savior-King has purchased for us?

Read John 3:35-36

John uses, “believe” and “obey” synonymously in these verses. The word “obey,” because it has often been misunderstood and/or abused, can stir up negative feelings and reactions within us.

How does the word, “obey,” affect you?

It’s important to understand the difference between, “obedience” and “performance.” Performance happens when we try to gain or keep someone’s approval. The good news of the Gospel is that God never asks us to perform for Him, since Jesus has performed perfectly for us. He does, however, call us to “obey” Him. But, unlike performance, Biblical obedience is a response of gratitude, overflowing from a heart that understands God already loves us deeply, accepts us fully, and delights in us as His children in Christ. Specifically, to obey God is to follow Him into the good life He purchased for us in His Son, that we might increasingly flourish in Him as God intended from the beginning.

Why does truly believing (trusting in) Christ for salvation include obeying Him as Lord (King)?

Read John 10:27

What is true of all Jesus’s sheep?

Where does Jesus lead us?

Jesus says we follow Him into the life He has purchased for us by abiding in Him.

Read John 15:1-11

Jesus says we follow Him into the life He has purchased for us by abiding in Him; that is, by walking in surrendered obedience to Him. The Christian life is one of surrender, since only He produces genuinely new life in us (John 15:4-5). The Christian life is one of obedience (John 15:8-11) because we enjoy the life Jesus purchased for us by actively following Him into that life. We do this by continually practicing his presence, aligning our hearts with His, and obeying Him by faith, in His power, for His glory and our best.

Summarize, in your own words, what it looks like, practically, to walk in surrendered obedience to Christ.

Additional Study

For more on the Genealogy of Jesus:

To think more about the question Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” see, Who do you say that I am?

For more on the continuity between the Old and New Testaments, see, Ancient Promises

To think more about the need to surrender to Christ as Lord to enjoy Him as savior, see:

Karin Aiello