Who Is Jesus?

Who is Jesus? – Man of Wisdom 

Have you ever asked yourself, who is Jesus?  Or wondered what it would have been like to have met this man of wisdom when He lived on earth?  Of whom it was said: “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.” ~ John 7:46  Suppose you were living in Israel back then and witnessed the glaring hypocrisy of the religious leaders around you: those scribes and Pharisees who were the rulers and teachers of the Old Testament Mosaic Law.  Do you think their hypocrisy would have caused you to grow indifferent and cold toward God?  Or would it have created a desire within you to seek and to know who God is for yourself?

Who Is Jesus? – Man of Consolation

Now imagine one day you happened to be walking by as Jesus was speaking to a large crowd of people.  Some were searching for Truth, perhaps just like you; others were feeling discouraged and downhearted because they had lost hope.  As you were standing there rather absent-mindedly, you suddenly perked up as you heard Jesus exclaim…

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” ~ Mt.5:3

Ah!  These words were like music to your ears!  It seemed as though Jesus knew your thoughts and was speaking directly to you!  Somehow He knew you were hungry for Divine Truth and were feeling “poor in spirit” because of the religious hypocrisy all around you.  But how could He know that and why would He care?  Yet, here He was proclaiming that those who were poor in spirit were the ones who were blessed!  The Kingdom of Heaven was theirs!  Could it be, that those who sincerely search for God’s Truth are more likely to find it, than those who already have their mind made up?  This seems to be exactly what Jesus promises in the 7th chapter of Matthew’s gospel…

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” ~ Mt. 7:7

Who is Jesus? – Man of Miracles 

Now, what if you personally saw Jesus perform a miracle?

“When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.  And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him and said, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’  Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ ” ~ Mt. 8:1-4

Imagine standing nearby as Jesus reached out His hand and touched the leper!  Wasn’t He afraid of being infected?  Besides that, wasn’t He breaking the Mosaic Law by doing such a thing?  After all, lepers were required to see a priest to determine whether or not they actually had leprosy. ~ Lev. 13:1-3  If they did have it, the person would be pronounced “unclean” and isolated from the rest of the community. ~ Lev. 13:27  But this leprous man took a step of faith and came out of isolation to ask Jesus for healing.  When Jesus touched him, his flesh was restored like new and the leprosy was completely gone!  What if you had witnessed something like this?  Would you have marveled and thought, “If He could help a leper, He could certainly help me too, couldn’t He?”

Who is Jesus? – Man of Sorrows 

Although Jesus was popular for a time in His own country because of His miracles,  He  was also a man of sorrows, familiar with rejection and suffering. ~ Is.53: 3   The Gospel of John records that

“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.” ~ John 1:10

This verse is saying that the very people Jesus created did not recognize Him.  Now, that includes every one of us, for He is our Creator!  In John 1 verses 1-5, we read: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.  In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.  The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

Who Is Jesus? – Man of Glory

Verse 14 of this same chapter goes on to say, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  Obviously, the Word can be none other than Jesus Christ.

Now here’s something else to think about.  Consider Genesis chapter 1 verse 26 where it says:  “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…”  The word “US”  is the plural form of the Hebrew name “Elohim” which indicates the Triune nature of God as Father, Son & Holy Spirit.  Three Persons who share the essence of the One True God.  Before Jesus was born in the flesh, He co-existed and was co-equal with the Father, and the Holy Spirit.  In Genesis we also read, “And God said: Let there be Light; and there was light.” ~ Genesis 1:3  Over in John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “I am the Light of the World.” ~ John: 8:12

Who Is Jesus? – Man of Controversy

Jesus was born just as the prophet Isaiah had predicted. ~ Is. 9:1-7   He was from the tribe of Judah and lived in Israel for approximately thirty-three years.  Around age thirty, He began preaching the Kingdom of God.  At first, many followed Him, some for what they hoped to get, such as healing, food, or deliverance from an oppressive Roman government.  There were others, but not many, who were interested in something much more important, which is Truth.  For Jesus was the only one who ever said, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” ~ John 14:6

But many followers abandoned Jesus when they heard Him proclaiming He is the Son of God.  They were fearful of being associated with Jesus because the religious “Authorities” were seeking to kill Him.  According to them, He was guilty of blasphemy.  But Jesus asked them, “Why do you not understand what I am saying?  It is because you cannot hear My word.”  And “because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.”  ~ John 8:43 and 45  And so, the scripture was fulfilled which says, “He came unto His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.” ~ John 1:10-11

Sadly, this is still the case today.

“But,” it goes on to say… “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” ~ John 1:12

Who is Jesus? – Man of Truth 

I find it interesting that Jesus means “Savior” and it is written that “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” ~ Acts 4:12  Now, I want you to think about that statement for a moment.

“No other name…”

Jesus is the only Way you can know the Truth about God and receive eternal Life.  Many who read these words will automatically put up a wall of resistance.  I know this because that’s exactly what I did!  But you must search your own soul.  You must ask yourself some hard questions.  You must examine yourself and realize, as the Bible says, “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” ~Romans 3:23   That includes you and me and everyone else in the world.   And most importantly, you must believe that God exists, because…

“without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.” ~ Hebrews 11:6  (RSV)

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© Kathy Unruh 2023 and beyond