Who Is Jesus?
Throughout history people have tried to answer this question. Our best source for finding an answer to this
question is the Bible. Anyone who seriously studies Scripture to learn more about Jesus must answer two
probing questions: What do you think of Jesus Christ? and Who is he? Writer C. S. Lewis made this observation
in his book Mere Christianity (chapter 3): "You must make your choice. Either this man was and is the Son of God,
or else he is a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a
demon, or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense
about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." Jesus was not just
a good man. He was—and is—the God-man.
Jesus Is Divine
COLOSSIANS 1:15-23
"Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all
creation. 16Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we
can see and the things we can't see—kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through
him and for him. 17He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.
"Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead, so he is first in
everything. ''For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, "and by him God reconciled everything
to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. 2This
includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts
and actions, ""yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his
own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as
you stand before him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly. Don't
drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all
over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed by God to proclaim it
INSIGHTS FOR LIFE
The most crucial truth of the Christian faith is that Jesus Christ, though he came to earth as a man, was in fact God.
Several statements in this passage point to the divinity of Jesus. He is eternal, existing even before the creation of
the world. Jesus himself created this world and all things in it. Since creating the world, Jesus continues to sustain it
and hold all things together. In the world, believers are led by Christ, the head of the church. Christ is also our
leader regarding the resurrection, for he defeated death and paved the way for us to one day rise from the dead.
Finally, Jesus, as both man and God, brought peace between his broken and sinful creation and our holy God.
Jesus Is Human
PHILlPPIANS 2:3-11
'Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on
others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.
4Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing.
'Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had.. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his
rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form.
"And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross. 9Because
of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name,
10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, "and every tongue
will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
INSIGHTS FOR LIFE
Jesus became our supreme example as God in human form. He took the identity of a slave, refusing to cling to his
privileges as God. Jesus—God in human form—experienced hunger. He endured sorrow. He grew tired. He felt the
sting of loneliness. He felt the pressure of temptation. For these reasons, we can be assured that God understands
what we are going through in life. But we can be thankful that Jesus was not just a man. He was able to rise above
human circumstances to reconcile sinful people to a holy God. At the end of time, every knee will bow and every
tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Christ's divine nature, which he veiled at times during his earthly life,
will then be clearly visible for all to see.
Jesus Made the Ultimate Sacrifice
ISAIAH 53:1-12
"Who has believed our message. To whom will the LORD reveal his saving power? 'My servant grew up in the
LORD'S presence like a tender green shoot, sprouting from a root in dry and sterile ground. There was nothing
beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. 3He was despised and rejected—a man of
sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by.
He was despised, and we did not care.
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles
were a punishment from God for his own sins! 'But he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that
we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! 6All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left
God's paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the guilt and sins of us all.
'He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a
sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. From prison and trial they led him away to his death.
But who among the people realized that he was dying for their sins—that he was suffering their punishment' 'He had
done no wrong, and he never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man's grave.
10But it was the LORD'S good plan to crush him and fill him with grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have a multitude of children, many heirs. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD'S plan will prosper in his
hands. 11When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of what he has
experienced, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their
sins. 12I will give him the honors of one who is mighty and great, because he exposed himself to death. He was
counted among those who were sinners. He bore the sins of many and interceded for sinners.
INSIGHTS FOR LIFE
Death on the cross was not a rude interruption of the otherwise wonderful ministry of a great teacher. Jesus chose
to take the punishment for our sins because he knew that there was no other way for us to approach a holy God.
The fact that Jesus knew what awaited him at the cross makes his journey to earth even more amazing. Christ's
terrible death on the cross reveals the depth of our sin—it was a punishment that we deserved. It also demonstrates
God's overwhelming love for us; our sin drove in the nails, but his love for us kept him on the cross. If there had
been any other way for us to be forgiven, Jesus surely would have found it. But Jesus was willing to suffer this
agonizing death for our salvation.
Jesus Defeated Satan for Us
1 JOHN 3:4-9
We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us.
And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ
We are writing these things so that our joy will be complete.
'This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all.
"So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the
truth. 7But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other,
and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.
8If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. 9But if we confess our sins
to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.
INSIGHTS FOR LIFE
Though many people do not realize it, they are the target of a sinister plot. This plot is being carried out by
Satan ("the Devil"), an angel who rebelled against God and who seeks to pervert and destroy God's good creation.
The apostle Peter warns us, "Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around
like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour." But Jesus came to defeat Satan and 10his schemes. Because
of Jesus' death and resurrection, Satan's ultimate power over us is broken. We no longer need to sin because
Christ gives us the power to live for him. We may still allow Satan to lead us astray from time to time, but ultimately
we are not bound to follow him, for Christ is our new master.