Who Is Jesus Christ?
The Facts About Jesus Christ
The Creator of the
galaxies—and the Creator of every single small galaxy within every atomic
particle in the Universe—came to visit his own Creation. He came to Visit our
little earth, with our millions of poor and needy, sweaty and hungry, or proud
and foolish inhabitants. We needed Him, and He came. Jesus chose to Visit us as
a riddle and enigma, the ultimate challenge and the supreme blessing. He came
robed in contradiction and poverty and chose to be born to a virgin in a small
corner of the Middle East. He chose to experience us, for our sakes, and to
first spend 30 years working hard with his hands as a poor laborer, a common
wood-worker.
But, He had
something to Say, and something to Do in those last three years He was here
physically. He had waited and watched, and in just the right time, in just the
right place, in just the right way that would confuse all but the honest
seekers, He was born into an oppressed and occupied impoverished land and time and
race.
And, now, He had
something to Say, and something to Do. In spite of the Miracles He had
performed in plain sight, and the laws of nature and physics He demonstrated He
owned and controlled as no mere human ever has or could, in spite of the perfection
of His life and the radically refreshing wisdom He brought to man—blistering
the hypocritical and ritualistic religions of His day—they killed Him.
But THEY COULD NOT
KEEP HIM IN THE GRAVE!
As He had done for
over three years, He proved HE ALONE had the right to have the Final Word, the
Only Opinion, the absolute Truth that matters. Debate over. NO ONE ELSE walks
on water and commands the storms and heals the lame and blind, and raises the
dead by Command. JESUS ALONE, Y’shua, has the Final Word. But thank GOD for
that! HE ALONE is Relevant, rather than merely relative. Hear ye HIM! Whatever
HE says, goes. Period. No one else can raise the dead but Jesus; no one else’s
thoughts amount to more than a drip in the ocean of conflicting opinions. Hear ye
HIM!
He was murdered out
of rage and jealousy by the religiously powerful and greedy and dark-hearted of
His day. But, how did it come about? How did this penniless man, “if it be
lawful to call him a man” as the non-christian historian Josephus exclaimed,
invade human history, change the Destiny of those who would abandon to Him and
His Truth? Soon He will Crack the Sky and come back for those who are His! Will
you be that man, that woman, that child that is looking and longing for His
Return in the clouds to claim His own? Let’s consider Him for a few minutes....
Jesus’ life on
earth was drawing to a close. For three years He had spent nearly every waking
hour with a handful of men and women. Together they had experienced so
much—breathtaking miracles, penetrating teaching, hateful opposition. But it
was obvious now that Jesus had something weighing on His mind. Leaving behind
the crowds and the critics, He withdrew from the villages of Galilee to the
seacoast city of Caesarea Philippi. He gathered His friends around him, fixed
His eyes on theirs, took a breath, and asked a question: “Who do people say I
am?”
His
friends—probably with a surge of pride that their popular teacher inspired such
interest and a wave of attention—repeated the latest rumors. Jesus was a
“prophet,” perhaps even one of the old prophets of centuries past come back to
life! Or maybe a reincarnation of the recently martyred John the Baptist!
Jesus waited for
the banter to die down and the last chuckle to fade into silence. He held His
disciples in His eyes for a moment longer, then asked them the most important
question they had ever heard. “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I
am?”
He knew how they
ticked, inside and out. And He knew how we would tick. He knew that people like
you and me could see Him without really perceiving who He was, hear Him without
really listening to what He was saying, and hang around Him without really
getting to know Him. So Jesus challenged every assumption, cut through every
“Well, of course…” and asked the key question. Who do you say I am?
This man Jesus from
the Middle East, a man unlike anyone ever born, has been seemingly turned into
anemic fable and emaciated fairytale by Western nonsense, sentiment, love of
the world and things of the world, love of entertainment shows and
superstition, and fake forms of Christianity that do not honor nor obey Him,
nor reflect His Glory or look at all like the Family of Life and Love, His
Church, that He birthed from Heaven.
Jesus was lied
about, mocked, slandered, accused, arrested, tortured, and sentenced to death
for daring to take a stand AGAINST the ritualistic weak religions of rote
words, empty promises, selfish isolated lives, and power-hungry medicine-men
clergy.
Just another
“prophet” or Santa Claus or moral Teacher or Mystic or Fairytale?
Who REALLY was and
IS Jesus? How you answer that question from the heart makes ALL the difference
as you look to the Father, or just look to the earth for lifeless religions of
convenience and powerlessness, as mere men may do.
“Who do YOU say
that I Am,” He asks YOU, today! What would your personal response be? In your
own heart, what have you made of Jesus?
Let’s take a few
minutes together to sort through our pile of assumptions. Let’s examine each
assumption in the light of what the people who knew Jesus best had to say about
Him. Many of them were present on that day in Caesarea Philippi and the
testimonies of these people deserve our respect. Many of these men and women
whose convictions are recorded in what we call the New Testament went to their
deaths in the face of violent, hateful opposition, without wavering for a
single moment in what they so confidently declared.
These few pages
can’t possibly do justice to the question of Jesus’ identity and significance.
But let’s do give honest consideration to some of those men and women’s
convictions about Him. As we read, let’s ask ourselves: If what they said is
true, what would the implications be for my life?
Jesus is God
Try to imagine a
Being who defies imagination. A Person without beginning or end, whose
existence stretches dizzyingly on to infinity in both directions. A Being so
vast that were you to break every law of physics and hurtle past countless
galaxies to the edge of our expanding universe, He would already be there,
waiting for you—no matter which direction you tried. A Will so powerful that
not a single decision could be thwarted for an instant, though all creation
opposed it. A Mind so infinite that not even an electron spinning around an
atom in the most obscure corner of the cosmos could escape His notice. That
Person, who we’ve been trying (not too successfully!) to imagine, is God. And
that Person has a name...
Jesus.
Those who had come
to know the teacher from Nazareth proclaimed it shamelessly. They spoke of a
Jesus “who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:6). Somehow, crammed into
this fully human package was the infinite nature of God in all His awesome
attributes. Right before their naked eyes was a sight never seen before: “He is
the image of the invisible God…God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell
in him” (Colossians 1:15,19). This man was precisely like God. He was as
inseparable from God as the light radiating from the sun is inseparable from
its brightness: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact
representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:2).
Jesus’ very closest
friend during those few years in the spotlight summed up his convictions about
Jesus in three short phrases. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Jesus didn’t just teach about God,
or try to show an example of God, or promise to lead someone to God. Jesus was
God. Shocking words! Yet those were the very words used by this man who knew
Jesus so well and who had walked so closely with Him all those years.
And the man from
Galilee? What did He say about Himself? He spoke simply and clearly. “Anyone
who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). No mere human teacher has
ever claimed such a thing—or would ever dare. But Jesus spoke them: “Look at
me, and you can say you have seen God.”
Jesus is Our
Creator
Modern scientists,
straining to hear the echoes and whispers of the universe’s origin, have
discovered a time when nothing existed. Nothing. The universe was less than
empty space. There was no space then to be empty! All that existed was a single
point with no dimensions or size. Suddenly a cosmos sprung into being,
pulsating with energy and mass. Vast forces somehow shaped that meaningless
chaos into beauty, purpose, and order in every direction we look. Somehow a
nothing became a something, and that something became a loved one’s voice and a
baby’s smile.
Jesus’ friends knew
it all didn’t happen by chance (as some scientists would have you believe).
They believed He did it. By Faith, they understood “that the universe was
formed at God’s Command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was
visible” (Hebrews 11:3). They testified that His Holy command brought the
worlds into existence and that His wisdom infused creation with meaning and
direction. They taught that we personally owe our existence to Him.
“In the past God
spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various
ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son, whom he appointed
heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe” (Hebrews 1:1). The
Person whom we know as Jesus is our Creator. “Through him all things were made;
without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3).
Why do I exist?
Those who knew Jesus best would answer: because He made you for himself! “For by
him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were
created by him and for him” (Colossians 1:16). He made you FOR HIM! Those who
lived with Him declared: He is our Creator.
Jesus Holds the
Universe Together
Some have imagined
an impersonal, distant Creator who set the universe spinning like a top, then
withdrew to a distant vantage point, waiting for it to wind down, wobble, and
topple over. Those who really knew Jesus KNEW differently!
Their conviction?
Yes, Jesus is God. He did speak the cosmos into being. But He is still very
much involved. In fact, the continuing existence of our universe depends on
Jesus sustaining it! “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact
representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word”
(Hebrews 1:2). Without Jesus, everything would fall apart: “He is before all
things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).
No matter how self-sufficient
we act or self-reliant we feel, our next breath and heartbeat depend on Him.
Jesus Has the
Supremacy
Due to His friends’
testimony, the “visible” side of Jesus’ career has become well known. He lived,
loved, taught, and healed for three years. Jealous, ambitious religious leaders
played on the paranoia of the civil authorities to get Jesus killed. They
executed Him as a common criminal with a cruel torture. On the third day,
however, His companions discovered an empty tomb. Over a period of six weeks,
Jesus began to visit them individually and in groups—around 500 people saw Him,
ate with Him, and talked with Him first hand during that period.
So far, we are in
the realm of the familiar. Hollywood blockbusters and Easter TV specials have
repeated “the greatest story ever told” often enough that most people in the
western world know those basic facts.
But there’s much
more! Jesus’ companions also proclaim to us what happened to Him after the
resurrection. “He humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a
cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name
that is above every name” (Philippians 2:9). According to their testimony,
Jesus at this very moment occupies the highest place in the created or uncreated
realms. His name carries greater weight, honor, and authority than any other.
No thinker or teacher or leader on earth, no angel or demon or force in the
spirit world, can challenge the Supremacy of Jesus Christ—now and forever.
God had to exert
great power to raise Jesus from the dead. But that power did not stop working
when Jesus came back to Life! It kept on raising Him, higher and higher, until
He reached that place of unchallenged authority. “That power is like the
working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him
from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far
above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be
given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians
1:19-21).
Jesus’ elevation to
the highest place may not be nearly as well known in our day as is His death on
the cross or resurrection from the tomb, but those early eyewitnesses were
adamant about it. “After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at
the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:3). “He is the beginning
and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the
supremacy” (Colossians 1:18).
These men and women
confront us with a proclamation with stunning implications. What will we do
with this Jesus?
Every Knee Will Bow
to Jesus
To sum up the
Glorious proclamation of the eyewitnesses:
• Jesus was God! He
is God! And will always be God!
• He created the
heavens, the earth, principalities, powers—everything in all creation. And to
this day, He continually sustains it and every creature in it—including you and
me.
• He gave up every
position and privilege and right of equality with God. He intentionally did
this for a time so that He could become one of us. His Father rewarded His
obedience and sacrifice by elevating Him to the Supreme Position in the
universe—with the Name that is above every other name.
So what is Jesus
doing now?
He is Reigning!
“In Christ all will
be made alive…Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the
Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must
reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet” (1 Corinthians
15:22-25). For the remainder of history, Jesus’ authority over all
creation—angels and demons, forces and powers, and you and me—will increase.
Eventually every force, including death, will submit to His authority. He will
then resurrect all who willingly embrace Him and He will hand this Kingdom of
people (of friends) over to His Father.
Then everyone will
be resurrected. In the face of Jesus’ unchallenged supremacy, all will be
humbled! The most powerful dictators and proudest rulers on earth will meekly
drop to their knees and admit that Jesus is Lord. A staunch enemy turned
devoted friend of Jesus put it this way: “God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians
2:9-11).
According to this
testimony of Jesus’ first followers, my knee will eventually bow to Jesus and
my tongue will confess His authority. And, so will yours! Sooner or later we
will all recognize Jesus for who He REALLY is. The decision on whether to
embrace Him lovingly now, or to wait until it is too late, is of ultimate
importance!
Why was He so
exclusive?
We’ve focused on
what Jesus’ friends and followers said about Him. And all evidence then and now
shows that His own view was and is entirely consistent with theirs. Listen to
some of His radical statements. If you’ve heard them before, pretend you
haven’t. Let their full impact hit you.
“I am the way and the
truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Wow. Jesus actually claimed He was the only way to God! And He didn’t misspeak
because He kept on saying it: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the
sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did
not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved”
(John 10:7-9).
Is Jesus really
saying that no other person, religious leader or otherwise, has the ability to
reveal God? “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows
the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those
to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matthew 11:27).
Perhaps these
claims sound offensive. But let’s put them in the context of the testimony
we’ve just heard. Since Jesus really is the exact image of God, He could make
God known like no one else could. Since all of God’s fullness lives inside of
Jesus, His words would have to contain that fullness, too. And since Jesus
really has been exalted to the highest place, with a Name above all other
names, no one else’s opinions or guesses or philosophies really matter all that
much.
Jesus didn’t just
claim to speak truth. He proclaimed He is Truth. He didn’t promise to show the
way. He said He is the Way. And for God, those assertions are neither arrogant
nor insane. They’re simply true!
Aren’t all
religions basically the same, anyway?
I know this is an
area that is confusing for some, but this is VERY important! The human mind and
adrenal glands are quite powerful, and you MUST keep this in mind as you assess
things. The fact that someone feels rosy-cheeked and warm all over as they sway
to the music or ritual or group dynamics, and their depression is lifted by a dopamine
and endorphin secretion—isn’t the REAL measurement of whether GOD is in it or
not. You must surely acknowledge, if you are being unbiased and honest, that
transcendental meditation, communing with spirit-guides while listening to
crickets and waterfall music, a good massage or chiropractor’s session, a
hypnotist’s silver watch swaying back and forth, the euphoria of “runner’s
high,” or $30 worth of Ecstasy ... ALL have the same reported effects as a lot
of “religions.”
Historically,
“overcoming depression” is accomplished by men in many ways. Religion, “the
opiate of the people,” has long been used in every culture to salve the
conscience and psyche. Human emotion and sentimentalism are NOT to be confused
with BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY. Let’s be realistic! All world religions have
“something to offer”—or there would not be so many millions of adherents to
those religions, from Hare Krishna, to Voodoo, to Catholicism, to Islam, to
Moonies, to New Age, to Buddhism or Taoist thought! It is a very common fallacy
that all religions are really the same—all teaching the same moral principles
and all talking about the same God. According to this view, you can choose your
religion like a person in a cafeteria line chooses lunch—just based on personal
preference or cultural comfort zone. But according to Jesus’ own words, this
cannot be so. Jesus won’t consent to being an entrée choice. In Reality, He is
to be the whole banquet!
All religions
really aren’t the same. Eastern religions are quite diverse, but generally they
teach that God is a Force, with no name or personality, existing in all things.
The goal is to give up your identity and melt into this mindless thing. Tribal
religions, in contrast, tend to believe in personal gods—usually a whole bunch
of them. The most important gods are often a person’s own ancestors, whom he or
she must appease with the proper rituals and gifts. Western religions
(including some under the name of Christianity) mainly emphasize doing good
deeds to earn eternal rewards from a reluctant God. Westerners tend to be very
individualistic and goal oriented, even in our religions.
But you know what?
The Creator God decided to become one of us. He wanted to provide us a way to
know Him by becoming the way. He is reigning now, His authority increasing each
moment. All those who have known Him encourage you to bow your knee to Him now.
Come to love Him, and get to know Him. His reign will soon be complete. So
center your lives around a loving devotion to this person, and you don’t have
to play the religion game at all. And if Jesus spoke the truth, there’s no way
to win that game anyway!
It is Scripture—the
Life and Teachings and WAYS of the Master, Jesus, that define our lives and
teachings and ways. “LITURGY” IS NOT CHRISTIAN!! “Liturgy” (pre-programmed,
pre-planned speeches, music, services, chants, sequence of events) contradicts
and disobeys the teachings of Jesus and the recorded ways of how he lived with
His followers then, and therefore NOW!!! (He is RISEN, and the SAME! He is NOT now
changing how He relates to His Followers. Do you really believe He chanted with
them, burnt incense, did “responsive readings,” sang hymns pre-selected,
practiced, and posted, or wore special clothing for a “weekly service”?? Did HE
ever practice “sermons” in a mirror, from notecards? Come on now!! : )) No
matter how “good” it feels to our emotions and hurts, “liturgy,” hierarchy,
traditions of men, and all... are a placebo—NOT the Real Place Jesus has
invited us into! What’s it worth to learn to FLY??!! “Joy inexpressible, full
of GLORY”—“the Power of an Indestructible Life”—“Rivers of Alive Water gushing
from within”??!! God’s ways are best. No doubt in my mind!
What will you do
with Jesus?
Let’s return to
that seacoast town where Jesus had gathered His friends. The challenge of His
question—“What about you? Who do you say I am?”—is ringing in their ears. One
man speaks up with conviction: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
Now each person in that group must wrestle through that question. As we have
seen, they unanimously come to the same conclusions. Jesus is the Christ—a word
simply meaning the anointed king or ruler. And He is the Son of the Living
God—meaning that He is God himself.
Jesus was thrilled
with that answer! “You are blessed, because this was not revealed to you by
flesh and blood, but by my Father in Heaven.” The lives of the people in that
circle who embraced the answer were never the same again.
And now, across the
miles and the centuries, Jesus turns His face from that little group of friends
and looks us in the eyes. He searches us silently for a moment, then asks us
that same life-changing question: Who do you say I am?
What is your
answer?
Will you act on
your answer? If you want to be your own King, then you’ll need to save your own
soul from the eternal inferno that Jesus spoke of often. Not much chance you’ll
pull that off. None, in fact. So, you’ll have to live and die with your
decision, and accept the consequences of your known rebellion before God.
If, on the other
hand, you answer by saying, “Jesus is King! He is Master! He is Creator and
worthy to be praised and obeyed as my all-in-all”—then will you live like you
believe this? You can go on from here forgiven of everything that you have ever
done in your whole life with an expectation of the wedding feast of the Lamb,
when we walk up into the arms of God and share in all of His Glory. The choice
that you are making as you are sitting there is whether you are going to go on
with your heart as a harlot, or go on with your heart as a virgin. With your
life as dead in your transgressions…or alive to Christ Jesus. Enslaved to satan
and a child of wrath…or a child of God and co-heir with Christ of all the
riches of God. That’s as practical as I can give it to you. I don’t think you
will have another chance that will be any more simple or straightforward. God
doesn’t strike us with lightning bolts. He allows us to make a simple decision.
Bend your knee to
Him right now. It doesn’t matter who is watching. They are just mere mortals, a
few pounds of carbon and water in a bag of skin. Don’t worry about their
opinions. They can do nothing to save your soul, or to harm you. But if Jesus
Christ, Lord of heaven and earth, is calling you…then bow your knee!
Build on the rock of
putting into practice His Word. If you ever hear anything that Jesus is saying,
do something about it today. Take action today to change for Jesus. Don’t just
think about it. Act on it. Jesus said this action is “building on the rock.”
Now, find others
that are not mere attendees of Sunday religious facilities, rather, find those
churches and people that are really living it, everyday, no compromise. It’s
worth everything. Do it!
