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Who Is Jesus Christ?...
Posted : 2 May, 2010 08:36 PM
Discovering Jesus Christ
The Messiah... The Prince of Peace� The Word made man� Savior and Lord� The King of Kings� The Lion of Judah� The Lamb of God
When Christians answer the question "Who is Jesus Christ?" they build their answer on the Bible - on things He said about Himself, on prophecies from the Old Testament that foretold His coming, and the doctrines laid out about Jesus Christ and His Church through the rest of the New Testament.
There is little doubt historically that Jesus existed, but people do often wonder about His divine nature, His miracles, and God's offer of eternal salvation by grace through Christ "first to the Jew and also to the Gentile" (Romans 1:16)� in other words, to all mankind who would believe.
Because the love that Jesus offers comes in the form of a "personal relationship" with Him, many believers have particular definitions about who He is to them. We want to give you the Biblical basics about this amazing, paradoxical Savior who purports to be simultaneously the Son of God and Son of Man.
The gospel of Jesus is literally "good news," so we hope you enjoy exploring the miracle and wonder of what the God of all creation did for you through His Son.
Let's begin our study on the identity of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16, where the Lord put the very question to His own disciples:
When they came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his followers, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They answered, "Some say you are John the Baptist. Others say you are Elijah, and still others say you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets." Then Jesus asked them, "And who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered, "You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because no person taught you that. My Father in heaven showed you who I am." (vs. 13-17)
The same questions are being asked to this day: Who does everyone else say He is, but then, who do you say He is? It is the most important question to settle during your lifetime, for reasons we'll examine shortly.
The New Testament book of Hebrews is another source that attempted to answer the same question for an uncertain group of people. As the Ryrie Study Bible states, "The theme of the book is the superiority of Jesus Christ and thus of Christianity." But superior to what? Among other things: prophets, angels, Moses/The Law, priests, and other powers. In other words, He is supreme among any thing that has issued from God, or any person that is beloved of God. "For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it," says Hebrews 2:1 about the nature of the Messiah's identity. This is why even Christians continually study these precepts; it is not merely skeptics, seekers, and unbelievers who benefit from asking the question, "Who is Jesus Christ?"
The Apostle Paul, before his conversion, was known as Saul, a legalistic Jew who persecuted Christians� until he was confronted with the answer to our question in a most dramatic way that changed his life and the course of history (read about it in Acts Chapter 9). After that, Paul would often refer to himself as a "bond-servant of Christ Jesus," someone little more than a voluntary slave, but one sharing in the same servitude. How did Paul answer our question? In Philippians 1:21 he would express his secure devotion to the Lord when he wrote: "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
You see, finding the answer can be jarring and life-altering. It can also fill what has seemed to be missing inside you, since the Father sent His Son to reconcile you to your original purpose - communion with a wonderful, holy Creator. So as you pursue knowledge of the Savior, consider yourself joyfully warned.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, equal with God, and with authority from the Father
�Then they all said, �Are You then the Son of God?� So He said to them, �You rightly say that I am�� (Luke 22:70).
�For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother" (Matthew 12:50).
�Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, �All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth�� (Matthew 28:18).
�Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God� (John 5:17-22).
Bear in mind that while a man claiming to be God is a radical thought, Jesus is the only leader of a world religion to have made the claim � not to mention backed it up. How? Keep reading�
Jesus Christ lived a sinless life
�Can any one of you convict me of a single misleading word, a single sinful act? But if I'm telling the truth, why don't you believe me?� (John 8:46, The Message).
Jesus had the ability to sin; if He weren�t able to sin, He could not have been tempted genuinely and would be unable to be our sympathetic High Priest (Hebrews 4:15). When He was tempted, He always rebuked the thought with scripture (Luke 4:1-13).
Because He didn�t sin, God was able to accept His sacrifice. 1 Peter 3:18 says, �Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.�
Jesus Christ said He is the one and only way to God
�I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me� (John 14:6).
It�s also interesting to note that Jesus did not call himself the destination, but the way, indicating that while salvation is immediate for the confessed and forgiven sinner, our Christian walk is a journey.
Jesus Christ had the power to forgive sins and provide everlasting life
�Jesus said to her, �I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die� (John 11:25).
�When Jesus saw their faith, He said, �Friend, your sins are forgiven.� The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, �Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?�� (Luke 5:20-21).
"For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:40).
�I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.� (John 6:47).
Jesus Christ predicted his own death and resurrection
�Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, �We are going up into Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again�� (Luke 18:31-33).
Jesus Christ said He would come back
Matthew 24:27-30 "So as the lightening comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man... At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory."
Mark 14:61-62 "Again the high priest asked him, 'Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?' 'I am,' said Jesus. 'And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.'"
Jesus clearly knew He was the Lamb of God, the Messiah spoken of in the Old Testament. He knew He had to live a life without sin, no matter what. When He returns, He will judge the sins of the world� except for those who have already acknowledged conviction, entered a plea of guilty, and sought His mercy by believing on Christ.
It was one of Jesus Christ's favorite ways to refer to Himself. He�s quoted 85 times in the King James Bible Version of the New Testament calling Himself the �Son of Man.� Here are some of Jesus' human characteristics:
Jesus was a Jew who grew up in Nazareth, learned carpentry from his earthly father, �grew in wisdom & stature, and in favor with God and man,� (Luke 2:52) and began a ministry throughout Israel at age 30.
Jesus was the cousin of John the Baptist, who proclaimed the coming of the Messiah.
Jesus was baptized by John at the beginning of His ministry, at which point a voice from the heavens proclaimed, �Thou art My beloved Son; in Thee I am well-pleased.� (Luke 3:22, NAS)
Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness for 40 days, at which time He fasted and prayed, and resisted temptation by quoting scripture.
Jesus was misunderstood by His family and those of His hometown.
Jesus was the half-brother of James, who authored the Book of James, and was a leader of the early church.
After ministering, healing, and teaching for three years, Jesus Christ was crucified outside Jerusalem during the feast of Passover by the Romans at the demand of Jewish religious leaders.
Jesus had human needs to eat, drink, and sleep.
Jesus showed human emotions of love, happiness, sadness, and anger� but not fear, hatred, or pride.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem into a poor family where the mother, Mary, was a virgin. Both she and Joseph the �step-father� were of the line of David and the tribe of Judah, fulfilling prophecies from: Micah 5:2, Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 7:14, Genesis 49:10, Psalm 132:11, Jeremiah 23:5, and Isaiah 11:10.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CHRIST'S HUMANITY
Living on earth for 33 years, Christ experienced every temptation you and I face, which is why �the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation� (2 Peter 2:9). He also showed us how to model our behavior. 1 Peter 2:21 says, �Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.�
So, Jesus knows what we go through. A god-savior could forgive sins, but would not be able to relate to the sinners. A man-savior would be able to relate to humanity, but would not have the authority or power to forgive sins or return from the dead. It was necessary that Jesus be both.
In doing so, he became �the New Adam.�
�For as in Adam [the first man, through whom sin entered the world] all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. So also it is written, �The first man, Adam, became a living soul.� The last Adam became a life-giving spirit� (1 Corinthians 15:22, 45).
WHO KILLED JESUS?
With the release of the film The Passion of the Christ, this question again became something of an issue. Was Pilate responsible? Was it Rome? Was it the Sanhedrin, or the entire Hebrew Nation? Or did you and I kill Jesus Christ?
Yes. And no. First, He�s not dead. Upon Jesus' death He descended into Hell, where He took the keys and ministered to the dead. After three days, Jesus came back to life, and not as a spirit, but with flesh and bones. When, after 40 days, Christ left His followers again, He ascended into Heaven, where He sits at the right hand of the Father until the time comes when Christ will return.
Second, Jesus Christ offered Himself up as a sacrifice, which is why we are to daily offer up ourselves as �living sacrifices� (Romans 12:1). With armies of angels and the power of the heavens at His command, would it have been possible to hang the Son of God on a cross without His permission? What�s more, how awful would it be for us now had nobody �killed� Jesus? We required His perfect blood to wash our sins away. �Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness� (Hebrews 9:22).
Therefore, to blame any individual or group for �murdering� Jesus is incorrect, and a dishonor to His sacrifice.
THE PROBLEM: Holy God and sinful man.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
"The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
The word �sin� is used in a lot of ways, but the essential meaning and result of sin is separation from God, since it involves pride -- man thinking more highly of his own ways than God�s. Without Jesus Christ, His sacrifice and resurrection, connecting to God is not possible because of sin. We all have sinned, the results of which are death and an eternity separated from God. Since God is Holy, there can be no imperfection in His presence.
But death was not God�s plan for us. Abundant and eternal life (John 10:10) is what Jesus Christ came to bring.
Why? Because even though man was broken and earth given over to evil, God never stopped loving us. Romans 5:8 says, "But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."
THE RE-CONNECTION TO GOD
Nothing but Jesus could have permanently fixed the problem � it was a gap that could not be bridged. Your best work just can�t get you to Heaven. Even if you could somehow achieve a score of 99 out of 100 in life, you�d still need a sacrificial savior to make up the difference and pay off your debt. That�s the difference between Grace and the Law. James 2:10 says, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all."
However, �God saved you by His special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.� (Ephesians 2:8-9). You can�t earn a gift � it's an unmerited favor. You do, however, have to make the choice to accept it.
So, we all, as sinners, have to turn to God for forgiveness of sin, and trust that Jesus died to give us new life that we may be born again through salvation(John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:23).
Faith is the key. It�s the cause and effect of our hope for salvation. If there is truly �no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved� (Acts 4:12), then your acceptance of God�s gift, your admission that you are a sinner, your repentance (changing of your mind), and your faith in the real-but-unseen Lord is all that can bring eternal and abundant life and eternal salvation.
If knowing about Jesus has stirred your heart to hear even more, receive forgiveness for your sins, renew your Christian walk, or get involved in ministry, you may pray the following prayer, and/or follow the links below to any of our excellent ministry partners:
"Lord God, thank you for loving me enough to send your one and only Son to die for me. I know I am a sinner, and that Jesus was crucified and raised to life to pay a debt I was unable to pay, in order that I may live with You forever. I want to turn from my way of life and follow Jesus. I invite Jesus into my heart as the Lord of my life. Thank you, Father, for giving me new life in the name of Jesus. Amen!"
What�s the next step? Connect with other Christians, learn more, find a church� these ministries can help you with those concerns!
www.crosswalk.com
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Hope this helps someone who doesn't know who Jesus is.
ella:applause:_
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