What Manner of Man is This — Norman Crawford

I would rather be asked why I did not get up than why I did. So I think I've been encouraged tremendously by the theme of the worship this morning, by the ministry of our brethren this afternoon, and also what we heard yesterday.

I'm going to read in Matthew 8. It's a question. Matthew 8 and verse 27. Verse 27 of Matthew 8, But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea will obey him?

Because our brother Lavery has just quoted verse 20, let me go back and read it with you. Jesus saith unto them, The foxes have holes, and the broods of the air have nests. And this is the name that the Lord Jesus gave to himself so many, many times throughout the Gospels.

But the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. I've been thinking of seven glorious features of the man Christ Jesus. Now in worship this morning and in the ministry that was given to us after the breaking of the bread, we were told about a perfect man.

I have been thinking for a number of days and even weeks about the perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus. This expression, what manner of man is this, maybe you remember that that's what the Pharisees said about the woman who came in at supper time and knelt down and washed the Savior's feet with her tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

And they said if this man were a prophet, he would know what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, for she is a sinner. What did they mean? She's not one of us. She's totally different. Of course, she was a lot worse in their eyes.

But I think perhaps to really understand what this expression means, we need to go to 1 First John chapter 3. What manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us. It actually means it's not natural. It's beyond anything that earth could produce.

What manner of man is this? What manner of man is this? Now, I'm not going to speak about the storm and how the Lord Jesus stilled it, only to point out that that was the act of the Creator. You understand that, don't you?

The disciples understood that. They marveled greatly. You see, in the eyes of a Jew, God could never become a man. Remember what they said to the Lord Jesus, Thou being a man, make us Thyself God. A man could never be God, and God could never become a man.

But I hope, before I sit down this afternoon, that I will tell you of some amazing scriptures. Yes, Old Testament scriptures. And as you just heard, they describe for us what manner of man this is. I would like to know them better.

I have thought throughout his ministry on earth, he displayed the power of the Creator time and again. I've often wondered about the ear of Malchus. Don't read the Lord Jesus stooped it up and picked it off the ground when Peter cut it off.

How did he get his ear back? The Creator made it. You think of the fish in the sea, that great multitude of fish. Do you know what Peter recognized that day in the boat? He fell down at the knees of the Lord Jesus.

And he did exactly what Isaiah did in Isaiah 6. He saw the glory of God, and he said, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. I know that that's the result of seeing him. It gives me a proper estimation of myself.

So it was actually the act of a Creator that Peter recognized in the multitude of fish. Think of the pigs. Even they obeyed him. Think of the eyes that he opened. Did he really just heal those sightless things in the man's head?

No, I don't think so. I believe he created eyes for the blind man. He's the Creator. He's the mighty Lord of heaven and earth. He's the transcendent One. The wonder of wonders. He became a man. I want to tell you, if I can.

I don't think I can do it very well. But I want to tell you, not about a son that broke his father's heart, as we've heard this afternoon, but about a son who always did those things that pleased his father.

Now, here's the strange thing. Maybe this is something that will stick in your mind as it has in mine. I always had the idea, and I'm afraid it lasted too long, that the Son of Man was a lesser title than Son of God.

I had that idea for many years. And when I read the writings of others, it kind of strengthened that idea in my mind. That somehow or other, Son of Man is not as great a name as the Son of God. Wrong.

Absolutely wrong. You say, don't say that. How could that ever be? You mean, because if we didn't know He was the Son of God, then the Son of Man title would have no meaning. We know He is the eternal Son of God.

How do you know it's eternal, that Sonship? Go to Hebrews 7. As the Son, He had no beginning of days. He's eternal in His Sonship. The Son of God. What about the Son of Man? Why would I ever say that the title Son of Man is equal to the Son of God?

Let me tell you why. Go back to Daniel 7. And the Ancient of Days is sitting, and one is brought near to Him, the Son of Man. And to that Son of Man there is given a kingdom, which is without limit, and will never end.

And it will last forever and forever. What does that all mean? Let me tell you what it means. When God created, He made man the head of creation. I've often been amazed at that. What did the fish of the sea know about Adam?

They knew him. He was the Lord of every creature in the sea. God made him to be Lord over all creation. But he fell. He sinned. He failed. He brought the whole human race down into ruin. Has God changed His plan then?

Has God determined that a man is not fit to rule the universe? No, He has not. God has the man who will rule the universe for Him. Thank God for this sovereign man. One of the greatest evidences that he is truly God is found in the gospel records.

It's that story about the man who was healed, and the Lord told him to rise up and walk. And the Pharisees mocked at him. But this is what the Savior said. My sins are forgiven thee. And then listen. The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.

What do you think of that? What if someone had done you a great injury? Someone had caused you a lot of pain and suffering. And you felt very badly about it. And I took upon myself to go to that person who had wronged you, and I said, I forgive you.

You know, you'd use an expression that I heard from Irish people when I was a boy. That's a pack of nonsense. I couldn't forgive someone who wronged you. It's only the one who is wronged who can forgive.

Only the one who has been sinned against who can forgive. The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. Only God. Who can forgive sins, the Pharisees said, but God only. At least they were right in that.

And this man, this man, a perfect man, is truly God. Brother Thiessen won't mind me quoting him in his worship this morning. He quoted several times a verse from Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 14. The children were partakers of flesh and blood.

He also himself took part of the same. You know, there was a man by the name of Richard D. Hahn. I'm not trying to demean him, but he was from Grand Rapids, Michigan. And he actually produced a book and he taught that the Lord Jesus could not have had the same body we have or the same blood we have, that his body and blood were different than ordinary humans.

You know, the dear man thought he was giving special honor to Christ. He was not. What is the difference in his humanity? It is sinless. And when I say sinless, I'm afraid we use the word impeccable for many years until Mr. Gustafson informed us that impeccable doesn't mean that a person could not sin.

And I checked him on it and he was right. Impeccable does not mean a person cannot sin. It means they have not sinned. But here's one who not only has not sinned, he is absolutely without sin. Perfectly holy.

Absolutely righteous. In fact, the law of God was in his heart. I know the law of God was on Mount Sinai. I know it was on the tables of stone. I know that it was a fearful thing to the people to whom it was given.

But, oh, there was one person and that law was in his heart. In the place of his deepest affection, there was perfect righteousness. Perfect holiness. The man who is truly God. I've got seven things and if I don't say them quickly, I'm going to be robbing someone else.

I said he was a sovereign man. He is God, manifest in flesh. I'm telling you that he was a sinless man. And our brother told us this morning from Psalm 1 that that's a perfect man. It truly is. The language of Psalm 1 really is the man who never walked in the counsel of the ungodly.

Who never walked in the way of sinners. Who never sat in the seat of the scornful. He was perfect. Absolutely holy. Absolutely righteous. So he's the sovereign man and he's the sinless man. There's a verse in the Old Testament that has been much in my heart in recent days.

And this is the reason for my subject. Actually, several of these verses are the reason for my subject. You see, a Jew said that a man could not be God and God could not be a man. Then how did they understand Isaiah 32 in verse 1?

And a man, a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind. What an amazing prophecy. That a man would be the rock of ages. That he would be smitten so that he could be a shelter for a sinner like me. So he's a sovereign man.

He's a sinless man. He's a sheltering man. A man shall be as a hiding place from the wind. I think perhaps we've already been acquainted today very much and in our hearts and minds for many years with Isaiah 53 and 3.

A man of sorrows. There never was sorrow like the Savior endured. In fact, it says in Mark's Gospel chapter 14 about Gethsemane that the sorrow that he felt that day was greater than any sorrow that had ever been known.

I hear about men of medicine and men of science, men of, but here's the only one, whoever truly earned the title, the man of sorrows. He took my sins and my sorrows. He made them his very own. He bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone.

I was thinking of the suffering man and this is a verse that thrills my heart. It is Zechariah chapter 13 and is verse 7. I think this is one of the greatest prophetic utterances in all the Bible. Will you forgive me for that?

I think it is. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd. Now listen. Against the man who is my fellow, Seth, the Lord of hosts. What does that mean, my fellow? You know what it means? My equal. There was a man in this world and God, the Lord of hosts, says he's my equal.

How is it that all these cults deny who he is when the Bible is so clear and plain? You know, I believe the Scriptures. But we need to have the Word of God to believe in. You see, faith is never alone.

Faith never stands by itself. It is faith in what God has revealed. And I think that in Jewish Scriptures, forgive me for that expression, in the Scriptures that Israel recognized as the Word of God, it should actually say that a man is equal with God.

It says that. So, he was a suffering man upon the cross. Thank God he's a saving man. I've been thinking of Old Testament verses, but let me give you one in the New Testament. For there is one God and one mediator between God and man.

Now listen. Himself man. And Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all. Himself. A man. Now, what does this mean practically? I mean, it's wonderful to hear about the perfect man, the sinless man, the suffering man, the sheltering man, the sovereign man.

What does it mean to me? Because I have a living reality to learn from. See, our brother read yesterday in that familiar passage in Matthew 11 and 28. Verse 29. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. The preposition of.

Is that right? No, it really isn't. Sorry, I don't like to find fault with the King James Version. But actually, the word that is used there is normally translated in the New Testament. Learn from me.

Oh, that's why we need to learn from him. He's our pattern. He's our example. He has gone before. He knows the sorrows of the way. Dear Sidney Maxwell said to me when he lost his daughter. He said, The greatest comfort I got was from a young widow.

She had just lost her husband. And she said, The greatest comfort I have is to know that there's a heart that feels with me every sorrow that I have felt. Yes, there is one who knows every sorrow, every trial, every burden, every bump on the road, every turn, every twist, every difficulty, every problem.

He knows. He loves. He cares. Nothing this truth can dim. Thank God if we know him. It's impossible. Can I say this to young Christians today? It's impossible to know him and not long to be like him. And finally, he's the supreme man.

Being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, Philippians 2 says, and became obedient up to death, even the death of the cross. God has highly exalted him. And this is amazing to me. At the name of Jesus, the lowly man of Calvary, the blessed man who walked here for God, in the name of Jesus, every knee should bow.

I spoke on this the other morning here in Jackson. I've been here for a couple of years. Actually, about 58. But I spoke on the fact that actually the suffering of death of the Lord Jesus makes it necessary that every one of us, now please get the right thought here, that everyone should confess.

Should. In a coming day when he's proclaimed in all his majesty and glory and comes in great power, then we proclaim that he is Lord of all? No. Right now. I should at this very moment confess in every act, in every word, in my home, in my job, in my life, in the assembly, I should be confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.