Who is Jesus? Today, many people still ponder who Jesus is and today, we must still each decide in our mind who He is. Was Jesus simply a man who lived in ancient days and gained notoriety? Keep in mind that whoever He was….Jesus gained the GREATEST notoriety of anyone in the ancient world! Was Jesus simply a prophet? Keep in mind that even in Islam, Jesus is considered a prophet. Was Jesus simply a great teacher or a good man? keep in mind that His teachings have been taught more than any other single teacher in the world and that more people strive to “be like Jesus” than any other single figure in history. So…..to you…….who is Jesus?
Mark 6:14-17 (TNIV)
14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 Others said, “He is Elijah.” And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.” 16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!” For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married.
Interestingly enough, even in His very own day, people were asking, “Who is Jesus?” Indeed, Herod the ruler over the territories of Galilee and Perea also wondered who Jesus was. Herod had John the Baptist beheaded and in his guilt, thought that maybe Jesus was this great prophet come back to life. In the light of Jesus’ miracles and claims, many thought that Jesus might be one of the other great prophets sent by God that had come back to life.
Who was this man who made such a huge mark on this world that both in His very own day as well as every day in between then and now (over two thousand years ago!)….people still are asking themselves….”who is this man?”.
The Apostle Paul who was at first an enemy of Jesus (a Jewish Pharisee) but was visited by Jesus after the resurrection described Jesus in this way:
Colossians 1:15 (TNIV)
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
John, one of the great apostles described Jesus this way:
John 1:2 (TNIV)
He was with God in the beginning.
Peter, who denied three times that he even knew Him after Jesus was arrested (in order to save his own skin) and who was eventually crucified upside down because he would NOT DENY WHO JESUS WAS said this:
1 Peter 3:15 (TNIV)
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.
Well, who did Jesus say he was?
I would note here that Abraham was the patriarch of the Jews to whom God revealed Himself thousands of years before Jesus was born AND, “I Am” is the way God described Himself when asked who He was.
John 8:58 (TNIV)
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”John 10:30 (TNIV, Jesus speaking)
“I and the Father are one.”
I could go on and on and on but we will certainly run out of space.
Indeed, over the last two thousand years literally millions of people continue to claim that Jesus is indeed God. And, not only do people simply proclaim that Jesus is Go, but literally millions have died and been martyred, suffering terrible deaths (by stoning, by being literally pulled in half, by being crucified, burned alive, decapitation, cut in half, boiled alive, fed to animals, as well as all the normal ways of killing someone) simply because they would not recant their belief that Jesus was indeed God.
Interestingly enough……..Jesus is who he is……no matter what we think. Indeed, what we think doesn’t change who Jesus is at all!
So, still the question must be answered by each of us….”Who is Jesus?” I’ll tell you who Jesus is. Jesus is God, our heavenly father who humbled Himself to become like us, a man, but who retained His holiness every step of the way. Jesus is my Lord and he is my Savior! He is my teacher, my mentor, my friend and is in every fiber of my being. Just as God described Himself as the great “I Am”…I describe Him as “Jesus IS”. I love Him with all of my heart, all of my mind and am forever grateful and thankful for who He is in my life because it was Jesus who brought me from darkness into light!
Now it is your time to ponder and answer….”Who is Jesus?”