Jesus Christ Is Lord of All
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD OF ALL
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) G OD has revealed Himself to the Old Testament fathers in various ways. But, as evangelical Christians, we start with the great central fact of the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole Bible is really about Him. The Old Testament looks forward to Him. It tells us that Someone is coming. The promise seems vague, nebulous,1 and indefinite at some points, clearer and more specific at others. But there it is. God is going to do something, and Someone will come. At last, the Voice will be heard. An Authority is going to speak. The Old Testament attitude is one of waiting on tiptoe, as it were. Then, of course, as soon as we come to the New Testament, we find it is full of Him.
At this point, to make all this practical, I want to emphasize that fact.
When the apostle Paul (our great example in this matter of preaching, teaching, and evangelizing) went to Corinth, he reached a certain decision. Whatever his reason, Paul determined solemnly at Corinth "not to know anything among [them], save Jesus Christ, and him crucified"
(1Co 2:2). This was a deliberate decision, reinforced by strong determination on his part. In other words, Paul decided that…he was not going to start with a preliminary philosophical argument and then gradually lead them on into the truth. No! He begins by proclaiming authoritatively the Lord Jesus Christ. And in Galatians 3:1, he uses an even stronger term: he reminds the Galatians that he "placarded" Christ crucified before them. He was like a billposter,2 a man carrying a placard.3
There also he started with Jesus Christ.
I have an increasing feeling that we must come back to this. I am not sure that apologetics4 has not been the curse of evangelical Christianity for the last twenty to thirty years. I am not saying that apologetics is not necessary. But I am suggesting that, with a kind of worldly wisdom, we have been approaching the world on the grounds of apologetics instead of (with the apostle Paul) determining not to know anything "save
Christ crucified" (see 1Co 2:2). We must become fools for Christ's sake, says Paul. "If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise" (1Co 3:18).
1 nebulous – unclear; ill-defined.
2 billposter – person who is employed to post advertisements to walls, fences, etc.
3 placard – sign bearing a slogan or image, often used in public demonstration.
4 apologetics – branch of theology concerned with the defense of the Christian faith.
Jesus Christ Is Lord of All
We assert Him, we proclaim Him, we start with Him because He is the ultimate and the final Authority. We start with the fact of Jesus Christ because He is really at the center of the whole of our position, and the whole of our case rests upon Him…If we could but stand back and just look at the New Testament and the whole Bible with fresh eyes, I believe we would be rather amazed at the fact that the really big claim that is made in the whole of the New Testament is for the supreme authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. If what they say about Jesus Christ is not true, then they have nothing much at all to offer us.
The Witness of the Gospels: Let me remind you briefly of the case that is presented in the New Testament for this grand assertion of the final and supreme authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is interesting to notice how the New Testament asserts the fact at the very beginning of all its statements. It does so at the very outset of the Gospels. Take Matthew 1:23. This is going to happen, we are told, in order that the statement may be verified that said, "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." There it is, at the start, in the very introduction to the Gospel. In the same way, the angel appearing to Mary and making his announcement to her makes this staggering statement about this "holy thing" (Luk 1:35), the child that was to be born to her: "And of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luk 1:33)— the universal, the everlasting Lord. Then, you remember, the angel speaking to the shepherds said: "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord" (Luk 2:11)…
These Gospels were written with a definite and deliberate objective in view. They were not just written as records or as mere collections of facts…They all present the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lord, as this final
Authority.
The message of John the Baptist was essentially the same. There he stands by himself after preaching and baptizing the people at the Jordan and overhears the murmuring of the crowd. They are talking to one another, and they say, "Surely this must be the Christ. We have never heard preaching like this before. When you looked into his face, did you not sense his authority? This must be the Messiah that we have been expecting." But John turns upon them with scorn and says, "I am not the Christ…I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable" (Joh 1:20;
Free Grace Broadcaster • Issue 263 Luke 3:16-17). You see the assertion! "I am not the Christ; I am not the one with authority. I am the preparation. I am the forerunner, the herald. He is the authority. He is yet to come." The whole point again is to assert the authority of our Lord. How careful these Gospels are to put that claim repeatedly forward!
Then there is something else that they emphasize, something that is of the very essence of this whole matter of authority. It is their report of what happened at the baptism of our Lord. There He submits to baptism by John. He seems to be a man like everybody else, a sinner after all; for He needs to be baptized even as others. But there He is, just coming out of the water, when the Holy Spirit descends upon Him as a dove. Still more important is that Voice, a voice of authentication that came from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Mat 3:17). There is the important emphasis on His authority again. At the Mount of Transfiguration similar language is used, but there is a most significant and important addition. Again the Voice came from the excellent glory, and it said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him" (Mat 17:5). In other words, "This is the one to listen to. You are waiting for a word. You are waiting for an answer to your questions. You are seeking a solution to your problems.
You have been consulting the philosophers; you have been listening; and you have been asking, 'Where can we have final authority?' Here is the answer from heaven, from God: 'Hear Him.'" Again, you see, marking Him out, holding Him before us as the last Word, the ultimate Authority, the One to Whom we are to submit, to Whom we are to listen.
Now, I have chosen these incidents because they are some of the most crucial events that are recorded in the Gospels. We must not regard them merely as happenings in the earthly life of our blessed Lord. They are that. But they are recorded in such a form so that this particular point should emerge—His unique, final authority. Everything in the Gospels seems to be isolating Him and focusing attention upon Him, including even the Voice from heaven itself.
Our Lord's own claims: Coming still more directly to the Lord Himself, you will find certain other important features. Take, for instance,
His teaching. How careful He was always to speak of "my Father, and your Father" (Joh 20:17). He does not say, "Our Father." He says, "My
Father." He teaches His disciples to pray, "Our Father," but He never includes Himself with them. He always takes pains to emphasize this difference, that He is the Son of man. He is man, and yet He is not only man. In Matthew 11:27 too, we have that great statement that is so definite and specific: "No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither
Jesus Christ Is Lord of All
knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." That is a most exclusive claim and a very important one for us always to bear in mind. Again, He says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (Joh
14:6). "I am the light of the world" (Joh 8:12)…Then notice, particularly in the Sermon on the Mount, the way in which He deliberately sets Himself up as the authoritative Teacher. "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time...But I say unto you" (Mat 5:21-22). Here is one who has not been to the schools. He was not a Pharisee. People said, "How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?" (Joh 7:15). He does not hesitate. He stands up and He declares, "I," with authority.
We need to remember that it is this characteristic personal emphasis that brings Him into contrast with the prophets. Those Old Testament prophets were mighty men. They were great personalities entirely apart from their being used by God and anointed by the Holy Spirit. But there is not one of them who ever used this "I." They all say, "Thus saith the Lord." But the Lord Jesus Christ does not put it like that. He says, "I say unto you" (Mat 5:20). At once He is differentiating between Himself and all others. "Now is the time for final authority," He seems to be saying. He emphasizes this fact constantly in the Sermon on the Mount.
He does not contrast His teaching only with the traditions of the fathers, the expert teachings of the Pharisees and the doctors of the Law. He does not hesitate even to interpret God's Law, given through Moses to the children of Israel, in an authoritative manner. He even goes beyond that. No longer is it "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" (Mat
5:38), as had been ordained at that point. It is now, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you" (Mat 5:44). When He concludes that great sermon, He does so by uttering one of the most staggering and astounding things that He ever said. "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock...Every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand" (Mat 7:24, 26). There, you see, His whole emphasis is upon "these sayings of mine." Here is His claim to final authority. And if it is possible to add to such a statement, He did so when
He said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Mat 24:35). There is nothing beyond that.
Our Lord's actions and direct assertions: Further, let us look at His works. Examine the miracles. What were they meant to accomplish?
They were, of course, acts of kindness, but that was not their primary object. John constantly emphasizes in his Gospel that they were signs.
They were deliberate signs that He gave to assert and to attest His own
Free Grace Broadcaster • Issue 263 Person and His own authority. They were intended to authenticate the fact that He was the promised Messiah. Since there is such a lot of loose sentimental teaching about this matter at the present time, let us never forget that the primary object of the miracles was simply to attest the Person of our Lord—to assert His authority and to establish that He was indeed the Son of God. He Himself claims that in many instances.
Then take another rather remarkable incident. Jesus is walking along one day, and He sees a man called Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom. He does not hesitate to confront that man in the middle of transacting his business and say, "Follow me" (Mat 9:9). And Matthew rose, left everything, and went after Jesus. He goes to the children of Zebedee and says the same thing. They too leave their boats, fishing nets, father, and everything else. Here is One Who does not hesitate to speak in a kind of totalitarian manner when He commands them, "Follow me."
And they went, and they followed Him. That is the gospel in action.
That is evangelism. That is how the church comes into being. That is the way in which the work of God is carried on.
But He went even beyond that! He does not hesitate to claim that He has power to forgive sin. And He got into much trouble for claiming it.
"Who can forgive sins, but God alone?" said the people (Luk 5:21). But He does forgive sins. He asserts that He possesses the authority and power, and He is going to prove it. So, He tells the man, "Take up thy bed, and walk," as a sign that He has power to forgive sins also (Joh 5:8).
All this is purely a matter of authority. So often when we ministers preach through the Gospels, we take these things and turn them into parables, accompanied by nice, soothing little messages. But we are really missing the point. We should be preaching the Lord Jesus Christ and asserting His authority… I have selected these instances to show you that the whole of the New
Testament is clearly designed to convince us of the authority of Jesus Christ. If He is not who He claims to be, there is no need to listen to Him. If He is, then we are bound to listen to Him and to do whatever
He may tell us to do. My own happiness is not the criterion. If He allows me to go on being ill or in trouble—whatever He says, I will answer, "Yes,
Lord." I will do so because He is the Lord. He is the Authority.
Indeed, even His enemies recognized it clearly. They saw that He claimed to be God. See, for example, John 10:33. All seemed to recognize it, and His stumbling, fumbling disciples themselves eventually confessed it. Peter made the great statement at Caesarea Philippi: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mat 16:16). On another occasion our Lord, upon seeing people leaving the congregation, turned to
Jesus Christ Is Lord of All
the disciples and said, "Will ye also go away?" Peter answered, again perhaps not knowing fully what he said: "To whom shall we go?" Where else is there an authority? "Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God"
(Joh 6:66-69). In other words, the apostles recognized, "There is no one else. You are the last, the final Authority."
His death, resurrection, and ascension: Despite all this, He was crucified in apparent weakness, He died and was buried in a grave. It is at this point that His authority shines forth most gloriously and boldly. He has conquered even death, and His rising from the grave is the ultimate proof of His authority. And so, we have the vital and important incident concerning Thomas. Doubting Thomas is told that He has risen, but he cannot believe it. It seems incredible, yet when he sees Him and is challenged to put his hand and his finger into the wounds, Thomas falls at His feet and says, "My Lord and my God" (Joh 20:24-28).
We must, however, go on even beyond the resurrection because we are told that these disciples, after they had listened to Him, saw Him ascend into heaven. We read, "And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy" (Luk 24:52). There is a tendency on the part of Evangelicals to undervalue the ascension. But it is in the Scriptures, and it is emphasized not only in the Gospels, but also in the Acts of the Apostles. The ascension is a vital part of the testimony to Christ's authority.
"Christianity is Christ." It is not a philosophy, indeed not even a religion. It is the good news that "God…hath visited and redeemed his people" (Luk 1:68), and that He has done so by sending His only begotten Son into this world to live and die and rise again. Our Lord Jesus
Christ is the "Alpha and Omega, the first and the last" (Rev 1:11). In other words, He is the one Authority.
From Authority (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1984), 11-29; used by permission; www.banneroftruth.org.
_______________________ David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981): Welsh expository preacher and author; born in Cardiff, Wales, UK.
The sum is, that our Lord Jesus Christ, by virtue of His divine nature and His voluntary undertaking in our flesh to fulfil all righteousness for us, both as to obedience and satisfaction, is exalted in that nature wherein He suffered to be the sovereign Judge and Lord of all.—John Newton