Who is Jesus Christ? That’s a great question.
Can He really be who He said He is, or is there some other explanation for this incredible person?
We need to find out what Jesus said about Himself, consider what others have said about Him, and ponder for moment your own response to the Son of God.
I AM…
The simplest answer to the question about who Jesus is, of course, is that He is who He said He is. Nothing about His character, as recorded by both friends and enemies, suggests that He was anything but entirely truthful – yet many still question His claims.
Why? Because He claimed to be the Son of God, and more than this – to be God Himself.
Audacious claims of Christ include the following:
- I am the resurrection and the life
- I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to God except through Me.
- I am the light of the world.
- Before Abraham was, I AM.
- I am the doorway to salvation.
- I am the bread of life.
- He who believes in Me has everlasting life.
And this is just a small selection of claims that Jesus Christ made concerning His identity. Such claims infuriated the religious authorities of His day, and such claims still provoke passionate reaction today.
The famous writer of the Chronicles of Narnia, and passionate Christian, C S Lewis, rightly pointed out that one cannot honestly stand on the fence regarding the Person of Jesus Christ.
This humble Galilean claimed to be God.
Either He was telling the truth, and He is indeed Lord, or He was sincerely deceived (or worse still deliberately deceitful), making Him a liar – a bad man! Our only other option is that He was absolutely crazy, believing Himself to be God when in truth He was nothing more than a man.
Lord, lunatic or liar. There remains no other option. One cannot say He was just a good teacher or an enlightened prophet. In the light of the statements about Himself, He left no room to pass Him off a mere religious teacher or just another prophet. He did not intend to leave room for such notions. His very Person demands a decision – an act of faith.
Christianity is an intensely personal experience. Why? Because it’s very centre is the Person of God Himself – Jesus Christ. It is not a list of regulations, or a philosophy for a moral life. It is an invitation to relationship with the Creator and Lover of our soul.
But who do you say that I am?
In essence however our question, “Who is Jesus Christ?” is not the right question to ask. The real question should be, “Who is Jesus Christ to you?”
This is not to say that what we think changes the reality of who He actually is, it does not, but what we choose to believe about Jesus carries eternal consequence for us.
Many today want to relegate Him to just an enlightened spiritual teacher, and example of heightened humanity – people did this in Jesus day also. Others would place him proudly among the prophets, but deny that He is the Son of the living God. This too was a common opinion when He walked the streets of Jerusalem.
“When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 16:13-17
The Bible even says that certain members of his own family thought he was nuts!
Others, especially the religious authorities, said he was demon possessed.
Clearly, Jesus Christ, provoked great debate about His identity. And His question is as urgent and as personal today as it was when He challenged His disciples.
Perhaps He is saying to you right now, “but who do you say that I am?”
Do you share Peter’s conviction that this man with whom we have to do is indeed the Son of God? Or do you side with Thomas who later challenged his friends and fellow disciples concerning the veracity of Jesus’ claims? Bear in mind however that even Thomas, sometimes referred to as the ‘doubting’ one, did not stay that way.
When He finally faced the reality of the resurrection, recognising the risen Jesus, he exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!”.
Thomas never looking back.
Jesus Christ not only presents a challenge and question to us all, but also an invitation.
He is Almighty God, the Creator of the universe, but He is not distant or removed from His creation.
The incarnation proved this beyond doubt. Jesus humbled Himself, becoming a helpless babe in arms, finally giving Himself over to the abuses of the very ones He came to save. But death could not hold the sinless Son of God. Rising from death three days after his crucifixion in Jerusalem He arose to liberate mankind from the grip of sin, and usher in a new creation – a new life for all who will respond in faith.
Intimately concerned for each and every person, Jesus reaches out today, tenderly calling us by name with the words:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
and;
I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
