INTRODUCTION

1. Have you ever tried to make a deal with the Lord?

   1. People pray to God and offer promises in exchange for blessings.  Such a prayer says, "If you do this for me, then I will do that for you."

   2. We are not in a position to negotiate with the Almighty. Let us be reminded that God is not "served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things" (Acts 17:25).

2. Do we dare ask the Lord to prove Himself to us?  Has He not done enough already?

   1. To attempt to make a deal with God is to challenge Him to prove Himself.  It is to say, "If you are God, then prove it."

   2. The Lord Jesus was challenged in this way, and the challenges continue today.  Will we challenge Him, too?

       

PROVE YOURSELF

1. When the devil tempted Jesus, he dared the Lord to prove who He was (Matt. 4:1-13; Luke 4:1-13).

   1. In two of the three temptations brought upon Jesus, the devil offered nothing but a dare.  Satan said, "If You are the Son of God, then..."

   2. The underlying premise of these challenges was that if Jesus did not do what Satan suggested, then He was not truly the Son of God. This was a false premise that Satan had no right to assert.

   3. As it was, Jesus was the Son of God whether He met Satan's conditions or not.  Jesus was not required to prove anything to Satan.  Of course, Satan knew exactly who He was.

2. When the Jews tried Jesus, they dared Him to prove who He was (Matt. 26:63-66: Luke 22:66-68).

   1. Consider part of the account of His trial in Matthew 26:63-66:

      ⁶³But Jesus kept silent.  And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God."  ⁶⁴Jesus said to him, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."  ⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has blasphemed!  What further need do we have of witnesses?  Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; ⁶⁶what do you think?" They answered, "He deserves death!"

   2. Notice a few points.

      1. The high priest invoked the name of God against His own Son, and Jesus affirmed that He is the Christ, the Son of God.

      2. Jesus offered no additional proof at that time, but He did indicate that they would see undeniable proof when they saw Him "coming on the clouds of heaven."  Imagine the Jews' horror when the Lord's prophecy was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (Matt. 24:1-31).

      3. For confessing the truth as the high priest demanded, the Jews condemned the Lord to death.  They were not interested in truth or proof, for the high priest said, "What further need to we have of witnesses?"  They simply wanted Jesus to die.

   3. Jesus had nothing to prove to the Jews.  Sufficient proof was before them, but they would not believe.

3. When the Romans crucified Jesus, the people dared Him to prove who He was (Matt. 27:39-40; Luke 23:35-37).

   1. The abusive challenges to Jesus came from every angle as He hung from the cross.

      1. People passing by wagged the heads and said, "You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself!  If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross" (Matt. 27:39-40).

      2. The rulers sneered at Him and said, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One" (Luke 23:35-36).

      3. The soldiers who crucified Him mocked Him, offered Him sour wine, and said, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!" (Luke 23:37).

   2. All of these dared Jesus to prove Himself by saving Himself, but the Lord proved Himself by saving us instead.  Notice 1Peter 2:23-24:

      ²³And while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; ²⁴and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

4. Do we dare Jesus to prove Himself to us?

   1. How dare we ever say to Him, "If You are the Son of God, then prove it by doing what I want."

   2. If we make such a challenge to the Lord, then we put ourselves in the same category as the devil, the Jews who condemned Him, and those who mocked Him as He was dying on the cross.

   3. We have no right to demand that Christ prove Himself to us. Besides, He has already done so.

       

GOD ALREADY PROVED HIM

1. The evidence for Jesus was abundant while He was in the world.

   1. On one occasion, the Jews gathered around Jesus and said, "How long will You keep us in suspense?  If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."  However, Jesus said, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these testify of Me.  But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep" (John 10:24-26).

   2. The works of Jesus were only one of the many categories of proof in favor of Jesus.

      1. In John 5:31-47, Jesus named His works, John's testimony, the Father's testimony, and the testimony of the Scriptures all as proof for who He is.

      2. All of these proofs were available to the people while Jesus was in the world, and they are still available to us today.

2. The resurrection of Jesus proved who He is with power.

   1. Jesus "was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1:4).

   2. Few men believed that Jesus was Christ while He was in the world, but His resurrection has proved it for all time.  This message was preached in Acts 2:22-36.

      1. Notice verses 22-24:

         ²²"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know -- ²³this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. ²⁴But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power."

      2. The proof of Christ's resurrection led to one conclusion: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus whom you crucified" (v. 36).

3. The witnesses of Jesus proved who He is as they preached His gospel.

   1. The miraculous works of Jesus and all of the other proofs went with the apostles as they bore witness of the Son of God (Acts 1:8).

   2. As they demonstrated power from God, they emphasized that it was the name of Jesus that empowered them, and they preached salvation in His name (Acts 3:6, 16; 4:10, 12, 30).

   3. The apostles' and disciples' power and preaching leave us no doubt concerning who Jesus is.

4. Do we believe that Jesus is proved as the Son of God?

   1. The evidence is abundant, clear, and convincing.  It is more than enough to produce faith in Jesus as the Son of God (Rom. 10:17) and to make that faith reasonable and defensible.

   2. So often, unbelief is not due to a lack of evidence, but rather it is a lack of willingness to belief.

      1. We want our conditions satisfied ("If you will...then I will...") before we will believe.

      2. If this is our approach to faith, then we will never truly believe in the Son of God.

          

CONCLUSION

1. Jesus has nothing left to prove to us.

   1. Jesus owes us nothing.  He already gave His life for us.  What more could we need?

   2. He settled everything when He died and the cross and rose from the dead.

2. The burden of proof is now on us to show ourselves to be faithful.

   1. The Lord sets the conditions of His covenant.  He says, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15).  See also Mark 16:16; Colossians 1:23; Revelation 2:10.

   2. If you are a child of God, then how will you prove it "so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1Pet. 1:7)?