Jesus asks: “Who do men say that I am?”
The above question may be one of the most important questions we will ever answer in our lives….
There are many that believe Jesus was simply a great prophet but they don’t believe He is the Son of God. Others believe that Jesus was a respected Jewish teacher, but not the promised Messiah. Others believe that Jesus is the Son of God and while He is vital to salvation, that we need to do other things in order to be right with God, things like water baptism, keeping the Sabbath, keeping the Law and all the ceremonial rules, keeping Mass, confession of sins to an earthly priest, reciting “hail Marys” and many other rituals in order for us to make it to heaven. Some believe Jesus was a great philosopher, and while having excellent viewpoints on life, His teachings are more or less a list of suggestions and that following His teachings while beneficial, are simply optional. Others are willing to accept Jesus as their personal Savior, largely so they can get out of the punishment of Hell, but by their lifestyle they reject Him as Lord of their lives, and thus they do not have an absolute devotion to Him.
With so many viewpoints on who Jesus was and is, who is actually right and what is the real truth about Jesus? Does it even matter if we know the truth about Him? Is He really a vital figure in determining whether or not we know God and make it to Heaven? Is He just a very influential teacher as many suppose? Interestingly enough, Jesus Himself answers these questions about Himself. For instance, He claimed that He is the Way the Truth and the Life and that no man can come to the Father but by Him (John 14:6). In this one statement, He clearly and emphatically denounces all religion, belief systems and philosophies both past and present that do not come through Him to the Father, He taught that every person can have a personal relationship with God by faith in Him.
Most knowledgeable people will not argue that Jesus was a real person who lived approx. 2000 years ago. History testifies that Jesus is not some invented make-believe character of history. In fact, even secular (having no religious basis or affiliation with a particular religion) books and literature attest to the fact that Jesus lived and was crucified just as the Bible claims. Even our calendar and the way we divide historical periods confirm His existence, in that B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (After Death), are widely accepted to have to do with the person of Jesus Christ. Since most rational people believe Jesus really existed, most do not dispute the fact that He was anything but a good person. So, with these two apparent and universally accepted truths about Jesus, that He was actually a real person of history and that history tells us that He was, in fact, a good person who went about doing good deeds, we have some apparent common ground in which to dig deeper. Now, if we can logically conclude that He was a good prophet/teacher only, then by the same reasoning we would have to lend at least some credibility to what He said and taught, correct? What would you say, is it possible for Him to be a good teacher while at the same time teach things that were false or make false claims about Himself? Most people would answer no He could not. By definition, these two things are fundamentally opposed to one another are they not? To be clear, there have been and still are false prophets who unfortunately tell lies for financial and or political gain, but we can agree that we would not refer to any of them as good people. Yet most refer to Jesus Christ as good because of how He lived and subsequently sacrificed His life for the world.
LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE STATEMENTS JESUS MADE ABOUT HIMSELF AND SEE WHAT HE CLAIMED TO BE...
John 16:27-29
For the Father, Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.”
Note: this speaks to Jesus’ origin. He was with the Father before His earthly ministry and He returned to the Father after His crucifixion and resurrection. And He is returning again in like manner very soon! John Chapter 1 says it this way…in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God…verse 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…
Matthew 8:2-3
And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Note: there are several key points within this passage 1.) absolutely no one else is approved to receive worship in scriptures but God Himself (Isa 48:11) yet here is Jesus being worshipped without it being sin. If He were not God, this would be considered one of the most serious sins referred to in the Bible called blasphemy. Blasphemy is the act of taking that which is Holy belonging to God and giving it to or attributing it to something or someone else, the Jews took this very seriously as you will see below. Also, Jesus actually heals the leaper, we know that He would not be able to perform this miracle unless it was God approved.
John 10:30-31 I and my Father are One. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
Note: Jesus plainly says that He and the Father are One, revealing His unique relationship with the Father. There is no misinterpreting this as seen by the Jew’s response as mentioned above. They fully understood what Jesus was saying and mistakenly took this as blasphemy.
Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
Note: very powerful statement here as Jesus is giving more insight to His exclusive and unique relationship with the Father, the similarities of interest and character are the same between the two are unmistakable.
Mark 2:9-11 (NKJV)
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
Note: we know from the scriptures that only God has the authority to forgive people of their sins. For example, if I put my son on punishment for not cleaning his room no one else has the right to remove that judgment unless I grant them permission to do so. Jesus needed no such permission, His authority to do this was also confirmed by the miracle of the of the paralytic being completely and immediately healed! For He says in another place, “If you do not believe my words, then at least believe the miracles that I perform.”
John 5:23
…so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
Note: Jesus here is equating the Father’s honor with His own and vise-versa. Many want to honor God but not Jesus to the same exact degree, He is saying this is not possible as they are one and the same.
John 6:38
For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.
Note: This is very telling in that Jesus claims that He, in fact, came down from heaven, He wasn’t simply brought into existence like ourselves and the rest of God’s creation. We have a finite point in History where we became a conscious being, this demonstrates our mortality. We have a specific starting point while the Jesus the Son of God does was there in the beginning with the Father and is the Father. This truth is in line with what we know about the virgin birth which also speaks to Christ’s uniqueness and divinity.
John 14:9
Jesus near the end of His ministry on earth, speaking to Philip one of His disciples responds to his request of “show us the Father” by saying “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father…”
Note: also see John Chapter 1:10…He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not…
John 14:7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know him and have seen Him”.
John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.”
NOW LET’S LOOK AT WHAT OTHER SCRIPTURES SAY ABOUT THE TRUE IDENTITY OF JESUS CHRIST AS THE MESSIAH…
1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
Titus 2:13
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;
1 John 5:7
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
Note: this speaks to the unity of the three persons of God, also known as the Trinity.
1 John 5:20
And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
For the love of Christ constrains us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
2 Corinthians 5:16-19
Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Remember that during Jesus ministry He was referred to as the Son of God and the Son of man, He was in fact both at the same time. I am not claiming to fully understand that, but it is in the Word of God so I receive it as truth whether I fully understand it or not, this is by faith, without which no man can please God. I do know that according to the scripture, that as God, Jesus was the only one who qualified to die in our place and as a man, He qualified to represent all of mankind being one of us before the Father. He perfectly kept the law and the commandments of God so that He could offer us His righteousness by faith as He willingly and knowingly took on Himself our sin and as a consequence of which He also took the punishment for our sin and rebellion against God.
The scriptures say that Jesus is the beginning and end, He is the creator of all things and in Him, all things are held together. In Isaiah chapter 9:6 as the prophet saw ahead to the promised Messiah and referred to Him as…Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Notice the vast range of names and titles given to the Holy One born of a virgin. He is referred to as both Father, Prince and Counselor, all of these names express the previously mentioned Trinity, which is to say the triune of God, One God expressed or manifested in three persons yet all three being One at the same time.
In writing this, I am aware that you and I cannot truly know the significance of Jesus without God revealing it to us. Jesus said to one of His closest disciples regarding His true identity in Matt 16:17 …And Jesus answered and said unto him (Peter), Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
I know I cannot make anyone believe, I am more or less laying out the “road map” for one to start the journey, a journey that will change your life for all eternity. God wants us to know Him, He wants a relationship with His creation, that includes you and I personally, He has already invested a great deal (His very own innocent blood) to make this a real and tangible possibility for whosoever would believe on Him, yet we are also called to search for Him as one would a great treasure. Seek and we will find Him. He works in us to will and to do His good pleasure, He gives us a desire to know Him more and grants that to those who sincerely and diligently take Him at His Word. His plan is awesome, it is mind-blowing to think of the lengths that the Lord has gone to secure an eternal reward for each and every one of us. Unfortunately, the Bible says many times that most will not avail themselves of it, most will hold to their unbelief rather than trust in their Creator. God has given every man, woman, and child the opportunity to know Him, to know His love for them and it starts with Jesus Christ the Messiah.
If you don’t know Him today, you can. Remember we can’t make ourselves good enough, He already loves each and every one of us, yet He calls each us to repent (to turn away from; forsake) of all our sins and ask Him to come into our heart, as we relinquish control of lives we allow Jesus to become Lord and Savior and He will change us. This is the first step of the journey with God, we allow Him to take away our sins and He declares us righteous in Christ Jesus. Jesus said, if any man comes after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me. Will you receive this great gift from the Lord?
My prayer is that you will not delay, if you haven’t already, I strongly urge you to make Jesus the Lord of your life today. If you have been born again then let us continue to get to know Him through the Word of God. Remember that tomorrow is not promised to any of us and that Jesus is coming soon…very soon!