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Following Jesus – The One Who Is LORD! (Sermon Audio)

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This is the audio from the March 30, 2025 sermon, “Following Jesus: The One Who Is LORD!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Matthew 12

 

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Acts 2:36 (NIV)

As one called by Jesus to “Come, follow me”, Matthew gives us great teaching on what it looks like to live a life which follows Jesus.  As Matthew continues to unveil the life of Jesus through his gospel, we find Jesus as the One who is . . .

  • Law:  Matthew 12:1-14

    • We live life surrounded by rules, regulations, and laws of many kinds and from many sources.  The religious leaders in the days of Jesus were experts in their interpretation of God’s laws, but they often failed in their understanding of God’s purpose for the law.  As the One who was the Word in the beginning, who was with God, and who was God, Jesus declares Himself to be Lord of law.  While the religious leaders had made the law of God very complicated, Jesus reveals that all of the law can be summed up in loving God and loving your neighbor.  When Jesus is Lord of your life, He is the law of your life. 

  • Obeyed:  Matthew 12:22-37

    • The very nature of someone being lord is that they are in charge, and thus obeyed.  When questioned about the authority by which He casts out demons, Jesus makes it clear that they submit not because He is one of them, but because He is Lord of all things.  The Bible asks the question of all of us, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I say?”.  Knowing Jesus as Lord is revealed not by your words, but by your eagerness to obey..

  • Resurrected:  Matthew 12:38-45

    • While the people wanted a miraculous sign from Jesus (never mind that He had already performed many miracles), Jesus declares that His resurrection will be the crowning sign that He is indeed both Lord and God.  Not only does Jesus declare His Lordship through His resurrection from the dead, He is declared Lord every time a person is resurrected from the death of sin by choosing to be united with Christ.  Knowing Jesus as Lord reveals in us the power of His resurrection which lifts us from the grave of sin.

  • Deity:  Matthew 12:46-50

    • When the people pressed Jesus with the presence of His family, He made it clear that His family wasn’t limited by the physical constraints of the flesh.  We have the joy of being in God’s family, not by the privilege of being born in the flesh but by the power of being born of the Spirit.  As Lord, Jesus has the fullness of the deity of God and uses that deity to declare all who do the will of His Father to be His family.  Knowing Jesus as Lord requires that we see Him as more than a good person, great teacher, or any other platitude we may bestow upon Him — we must embrace His deity as the One who is God.  

Today, how will you respond to the One who is LORD?