What Manner Of Man Is This?
James L. Reynolds
Matthew 8:14-27) "And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. {15} And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. {16} When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: {17} That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. {18} Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. {19} And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. {20} And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. {21} And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. {22} But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. {23} And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. {24} And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. {25} And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. {26} And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. {27} But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!"
    The last time we stood before you we spoke of the question found in verse 27 of the above Scripture text.
(Matthew 8:27) "But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!"
    We also noted that this account of the disciples marveling and their question is also recorded for us in Mark 14:41 and Luke 8:25.
(Mark 4:41) "And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

(Luke 8:25) "And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him."

    It was likewise our observation at that time that there are at least two points which are obvious to us from the above Scripture, Matthew 8:27. One point is, "What manner of man is this" or what type of man is this? And from that question we also get a second point which was our topic for last month's Bible study. We submitted unto you for consideration in that Bible study that the Scriptures declare that the Lord Jesus is indeed a man, that is, that He has a human nature.
    By the enablement of the blessed Holy Spirit we spoke to you last month on the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
    By the direction and enablement of that same blessed Holy Spirit we will endeavor to speak to you this morning on the question which the disciples asked concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, "What manner of man is this?".
    We desire this morning to contemplate that question as we look into the inspired Word of God and seek an answer to that question.
    Therefore our topic for consideration this morning will be, 'What manner of man, or what type of man is the Lord Jesus Christ?'
    As always it is our fervent desire that our source of enlightenment is the infallible Word of God. Although we may from time to time submit some comment or reference from the pen of a mortal that comment is always to be tested for veracity by the unerring Holy Scriptures.
    Therefore having prefaced what we will present to you we ask the same question which the apostles asked one another, "What manner of man is the Lord Jesus Christ?"
    We are told by the Greek scholar A. H. Strong that the word here translated 'what manner of' is potapos, (pot-ap-os') and that it means of what possible sort. We are likewise informed that it was translated 'what manner of' in that portion of the divinely inspired Scriptures that we are looking into.
    In inspiring the New Testament Scriptures the Holy Spirit directed the use of this word in five other instances. In seeking to get as much understanding as we are able to we would briefly bring those Scriptures to your mind this morning.
(Mark 13:1) "And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"

(Luke 1:29) "And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be."

(Luke 7:39) "Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner."

(2 Peter 3:11) "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,"

(1 John 3:1) "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not."

    If we were to look up the word 'manner' in a thesaurus some of the words which we would get would be: kind, type or sort. So then we are doing no disrespect to the Scriptures nor are we in the least wise attempting to change the meaning of them when we say that we desire this morning to consider what kind of man the Lord Jesus is or what type of man the Lord Jesus is or what sort of man the Lord Jesus is.
    It is somewhat of a synonym to think of character when we contemplate what type or manner a person is. And in the case of our dear Lord and Saviour His character is flawless!
    There are several points we wish to submit unto you for consideration and the order or their submission is not in any way indicative of their significance or importance.
    Certainly in the few minutes that we are enabled to gather together this morning we can formulate but a glimpse of the manner of man the Lord Jesus Christ is. Volumes have been written about Him throughout the ages since He took upon Himself the 'form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men'. And of infinitely greater value than any writings of man are the things concerning Him which are recorded for us by the Holy Spirit in His inspired Word.
    Therefore let us proceed in our brief study on the manner of man the Lord Jesus Christ is.
    1.) The first thing which we wish to put before you for consideration relative to the manner of the Lord Jesus Christ is that He is a compassionate man.
    The 1933 Funk & Wagnalls dictionary defines compassion as 'Pity for suffering with desire to help or to spare, sympathy with pain or sorrow that prompts one to relieve.'
    As He walked upon this earth in His fleshly tabernacle the Lord Jesus Christ had compassion on His undeserving creatures.
    A man out of whom the Lord had cast a legion of demons wanted to follow the Lord. However, he was told to return to those who knew him and tell them of the One who had shown compassion towards him and had freed him from his demonic possession.
(Mark 5:18-19) "And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. {19} Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee."
    After seeing the grief of a mother who had lost her only son the Lord Jesus Christ had compassion on her and restored that son to life.
(Luke 7:12-15) "Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. {13} And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. {14} And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. {15} And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother."
    If you will recall the definition of compassion which we just read to you it stated that one who has compassion has a desire to help or spare, that they are prompted to relieve the sufferings of the one for whom they have compassion.
    Sometimes people mistakenly believe that God can be motivated by actions of His creatures. In the strictest sense that is incorrect. God can only be motivated by His own attributes.
    God's attribute of holiness motivates Him to punish sin, either in the person of the one who has committed that sin or in their substitute.
    God's attribute of mercy motivates Him to show favor and kindness, and that everlastingly so, to those who are perfectly righteous in the Lord Jesus Christ.
    God has compassion on those whom He chose to have compassion on and only those.
(Romans 9:15) "For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
    Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit used the exact expression 'moved with compassion' four times in the New Testament. He graciously gave us those examples of our Lord having compassion and then taking action based on His own great mercy and kindness.
(Matthew 9:36) "But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd."

(Matthew 14:14) "And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick."

(Mark 1:41) "And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean."

(Mark 6:34) "And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things."

    It would appear from the Scriptures that true compassion is not a lifeless and inert sentiment but that it is an active force as it seeks to relieve the suffering of the one who it is directed towards.
    As finite and impotent creatures we are powerless to offer any real and lasting relief for anyone's suffering, be that suffering mental, physical or spiritual. But, we know the One Who has infinite and limitless power to relieve all suffering, both in this life and in the life to come.
    If we would emulate our dear Lord in His compassion we need to pray that the Spirit will lead and direct us to do everything we can, everything He would have us to do, in offering our feeble relief but more importantly in pointing them towards the One Who has everlasting 'healing in his wings'.
    Before we move to our next point we would like to make one very brief comment on the compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
    Sadly there are those who equate compassion with weakness. Our society promotes the malformed concept that strong men are without feelings of compassion or pity. However, like much of the world's beliefs this false one is also in direct opposition to the Word of God. In reality it is the weak man, weak spiritually and weak emotionally, who lacks true compassion.
    Blasphemous pictures which are supposed to be of the Lord have led multitudes to form a mental image of one who is an effeminate looking weakling. Is it any wonder that in their concept of this being he is unable to bring to pass his desires for his own people's well being unless they augment and assist him?
(Matthew 11:29) "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."
    Some who claim to be His own have attempted to twist the Lord's words in the above Scripture and would have us to believe that 'meek and lowly' is synonymous with timid and weak. That is not so in reference to our sovereign and omnipotent Lord and Saviour!
    Beloved, the Lord Jesus, while walking upon this earth was not an effeminate and timid weakling. He drove the money changers and merchants out of the temple. He stood up to the religious and powerful Jews and declared that they were hypocritical sinners and bound for hell. Eight times He addressed the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites.
(Matthew 23:27) "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness."
    The Lord Jesus Christ never sugar coated His words or was He ever intimidated by any man or group of men.
    As the spotless Lamb of God He is the perfect example of a man. He was neither weak nor frail in body, mind, or spirit.
    The Lord Jesus Christ is a compassionate man.
    2.) The second thing which we wish to put before you for consideration relative to the manner of the Lord Jesus Christ is that He is an impartial or unbiased man.
    In this age and society in which we now live true impartiality by those in positions of power and authority is rare indeed. Mankind in general is so concerned with how they can use each other for their own gain that those of a lower economic or social strata are often lightly esteemed and given no consideration of value because they are deemed to be of no worth in assisting that one who is 'climbing to the top'.
    People will often look upon an accomplished sports or entertainment figure as if those temporal and secular achievements make them of more intrinsic value than another human.
    We see this same biased idolization in the political area also. We are commanded to pray "For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." ( I Timothy 2:2) but we must never lose sight of the fact that they are but men, depraved and sinful just like us.
    And in the area of religion and so called Christianity how often do we see people who act as if it is some merit to them to be associated with a famous name religious figure. When the pope died last year I was sickened by the accolades and ill deserved honors which the world poured upon him. The many who addressed him as 'holy father' will one day regret that sin, either in this life or in the life to come.
    Some denominations take unto themselves flowery names and titles in an effort to elevate themselves above the rest of the people. For any man to take to themselves the title 'Reverend' is a sinful attempt to steal a title that belongs only to God. Some have gone beyond that and added 'right reverend' or 'most right reverend'. God only is to be addressed as reverend.
(Psalms 111:9) "He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name."
    Likewise the titles Father and Rabbi are divinely forbidden to be used in reference to any mortal in a religious sense.
    I am thankful for each brother that God has called to the ministry and I pray that each may be found doing what the Lord would have him to do. However I don't care how many letters he has after his name or how many people flock to hear his flowing oratory. If his words are not in alignment with God's holy Word then he is wrong!
    In one of their efforts to find fault with the Lord Jesus the Jews sent people to try and trick Him with their words. They stated a well known fact about His manner and hoped to use that fact to get something against Him.
(Matthew 22:16) "And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men."
    It was apparently a well known fact that the Lord Jesus was not impressed by the status of people, that He regarded 'not the person of men'. As the omniscient God He knew what was in man, a sinful and depraved heart. Therefore they were, in themselves, all the same to Him. That is all the world is guilty before God.
    The Lord Jesus Christ told rich lawyers as well as poor fishermen that unless they repented they would suffer in the flames of hell.
    He told religious Jews that they would weep and gnash their teeth when they saw themselves 'thrust out' of God's kingdom and those whom they deemed unfit for it would be enjoying the splendors of it.
(Matthew 21:31) "Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you."

(Luke 13:28) "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out."

    Some religionists seem to feel that they have the privilege or prerogative of deciding unto who the glorious teachings of God's Word are to be shared with. They act as if they were at liberty to select who will hear those blessed truths and who will be denied that hearing. We see this recorded in Mark 2:16 and we see it amongst some modern day Pharisees.
(Mark 2:16) "And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?"
    These religionists apparently felt that publicans and sinners were not worthy of being associated with.
    If we would follow our dear Lord in His impartiality and unbiasedness we would well to commit to memory the inspired words of the apostle James.
(James 2:1-4) "My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. {2} For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; {3} And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: {4} Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?"
    Because He knew that we were all made from the same lump of clay and that it was He who made some vessels of honor and some vessels of dishonor He regarded not the persons of man.
    Because He knows all about everyone He is not influenced by anyone.
    Because He owns the cattle on a thousand hills as well as the hills He is not impressed with any man's accumulation of wealth.
    The Lord Jesus Christ is an unbiased and impartial man. Therefore His judgments are impartial and unbiased.
    3.) The third thing which we wish to put before you for consideration relative to the manner of the Lord Jesus Christ is that He is a sinless man.
    In our lesson last month we demonstrated by the Holy Scriptures that the Lord Jesus Christ has two natures, one divine and one human, both of which are distinct and in total harmony with the other.
    We also noted that the Lord Jesus has a human nature that is in every aspect like unto our nature with the one marvelous exception being that His human nature was not tainted with sin as ours nature is.
    We will not further review our lesson on the humanity of our Lord and Savior at this time but we will show by the Scriptures that our Lord, in His human nature, is sinless.
    The actions of our Lord were always unselfish and good. When the apostle Peter was telling Cornelius about the Lord Jesus he declared that His actions were good.
(Acts 10:38) "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."
    After being in the wilderness forty days the Lord was thrice tempted by satan. The Lord used the Word of God to defeat that old deceiver and His sinless nature shines radiantly in the divinely inspired narrative of those events.
(Luke 4:13) "And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season."
    Throughout His sojourn upon this earth our Lord was tempted by satan who repeatedly tried to induce our Lord to sin. Though he was persistent in his assaults upon our Lord he was always a failure and our Lord was always victorious.
    In every type of sin that we are tempted to commit, and ashamedly often succumb to, our Lord was also tempted. But, as we repeatedly surrender to those temptations our Lord was continually victorious over each and every one.
    Speaking of those manifold temptations of our Lord the writer of Hebrews makes it abundantly clear that He was triumphant over each and every one.
(Hebrews 4:15) "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
    The religious Jews were frequent in their attempts to find a fault with our Lord. Yet, they were unable to bring one single valid charge of sin against Him. After telling them that they were children of the devil and did his bidding our Lord then asked the Jew who could bring a substantiated charge of sin against Him to speak up. Of course no one spoke up because no one could rightly charge the Lord Jesus Christ with sin.
(John 8:46) "Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?"
    From the first day of His birth to the last day of His life our Lord never committed a sinful action, He never said a sinful word and He never had a sinful thought. He is a sinless man.
    4.) The fourth thing which we wish to put before you for consideration relative to the manner of the Lord Jesus Christ is that He is an obedient man. That is that He is obedient to His heavenly Father.
    In the Old Testament Scriptures it was declared that the Lord Jesus Christ would come unto the earth to fulfill the will of God the Father. In the fullness of time the Lord Jesus took on Himself the form of a man and fulfilled every aspect of the divine law. He declared that His purpose was to do the will of His heavenly Father.
(Hebrews 10:9) "Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second."
    In His incarnation from His youth up, it was the Lord Jesus' desire to be about His Father's business. When Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem they found Him in the temple amidst the religious leaders both hearing them and asking them questions. When His mother told Him that they had sought Him with sorrow, that is with fear that something had happened to Him, He declared His earthly purpose, that He would be a man of obedience.
(Luke 2:49) "And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?"
    After fulfilling the righteous act of being baptized by John the Baptist and when He was transfigured upon the mount the Father declared that He was 'well pleased' with His Son, the Lord Jesus.
(Matthew 3:16-17) "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: {17} And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

(Matthew 17:1-5) "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, {2} And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. {3} And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. {4} Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. {5} While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."

    As the second person in the Godhead the Lord Jesus is just as divine as God the Father or God the Holy Spirit. And it was His will as well as the Father's that He fulfilled. There has eternally been perfect accord in the Holy Trinity for the three personalities are one God.
    Thinking of the coming time when He would tread the winepress alone the Lord Jesus' soul became exceeding sorrowful, even to death.
(Matthew 26:38-39) "Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. {39} And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."
    Note that our dear Lord declared that it was to be according to the will of the Father.
    John Gill comments on the two wills of the Lord Jesus.
    "That there are two wills in Christ, human and divine, is certain; his human will, though in some instances, as in this, may have been different from the divine will, yet not contrary to it; and his divine will is always the same with his Father's."
    As was noted the Father was 'well pleased' with His Son the Lord Jesus. He was pleased with His perfect and complete obedience to fulfill every jot and tittle of the law and magnify it. He was pleased with all that the Lord Jesus did, because all that He did was pleasing to the Father.
(John 8:28-29) "Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. {29} And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him."
    John Gill comments on the Lord doing those things that please the Father.
    "By submitting to Gospel ordinances, as to baptism, at which the Father declared his well pleasedness in him; and by complying with the ordinances of the ceremonial law, which were typical of him; and by perfectly obeying the precepts of the moral law, and bearing the penalty of it; or by suffering and dying in the room and stead of his people; all which were the will of God, and well pleasing to Him."
    The Lord Jesus, in His humanity was in perfect obedience unto His heavenly Father.
    And for the everlasting well being of His people He learned obedience to death, that is He experienced obedience to death.
(Hebrews 5:8) "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;"
    Through His sufferings on the behalf of His people He experienced death, and that voluntarily so in the room and stead of His people.
(Philippians 2:5-11) "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: {6} Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: {7} But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: {8} And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. {9} Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: {10} That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; {11} And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
    If we would be like our Lord and Saviour then we need to pray that the Holy Spirit would give us hearts of compassion, strip us of all partiality, grant us a hatred for sin, especially in our own lives and teach us to be obedient unto our Heavenly Father.
    Then by His unmerited grace may we one day hear, " We done thou good and faithful servant."

(08-21-05)

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