Who Is Jesus?

“Who do you say that I am?” – Jesus (Matthew 16:15)

There are many important questions to be asked in this life, but there is one that far outweighs them all. There is one question that cannot be avoided by anybody, and the way in which it is answered has eternal ramifications. That question, as posed by Jesus Himself, is this: Who do you say that Jesus Christ is?

Since the time that Jesus walked the earth, there have been many answers given in regards to the identity of Jesus. Even in the days of Jesus, there were many opinions of who Jesus really was. In the Gospel of Matthew, the disciples of Jesus were familiar with some of those opinions. Jesus asked them, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13) This was their response: “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” (Matthew 16:14) Notice that the people of Jesus’ own day were conflicted over His identity. Well, as the Preacher of Ecclesiastes said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

Virtually everybody agrees...Jesus of Nazareth is a real person who really walked this earth 2,000 years ago.Click To Tweet

Existence of Jesus

The first thing to be said about Jesus is the one thing that virtually everybody agrees with: Jesus of Nazareth is a real person who really walked this earth 2,000 years ago. The historical evidence given by Christian writings, Jewish writings, and Roman writings provide ample, solid support for the existence of Jesus. It’s also worth noting that there was never a debate over the existence of Jesus in the ancient world. Though not everybody believed that Jesus was God incarnate, everybody believed that He actually lived and died by crucifixion.

Deity of Jesus

It’s certainly important to establish the existence of Jesus, but it wasn’t merely His existence that changed the world. The identity of Jesus, along with His accomplishments while on the earth, are the essential components of His importance and significance.

Beginning with His identity, it must be acknowledged that Jesus claimed, and the entire Bible corroborates, that He is God! It is indeed this claim that led to the murder of Jesus on a Roman cross (more on that below). The objection has sometimes been provided that Jesus never said the exact words, “I am God.” It is fair to say that Jesus never used that specific, precise wording, but it would be a horrible misconstrual to say that Jesus never claimed to be God!

Consider the following statements that Jesus made:

“I and the Father are one.” – John 10:30
We need only to read a few verses later to see that the Jews knew perfectly well what Jesus claimed by this statement. They picked up stones to kill Jesus, and uttered these words to Him: “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” – John 10:33

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” – John 8:58
In this verse, Jesus claimed to exist before the patriarch Abraham, who lived 2,000 years prior to Jesus. More importantly, however, is the term that Jesus used when He said, “I am.” The term that Jesus used was the Greek translation of the Hebrew term YAHWEH, which is the covenant name of God! Whenever you see the title LORD in your Bibles with all capital letters, it is the name YAHWEH that is being translated. It was used in Exodus 3:14 when Moses asked God what to say to the Israelites in regards to His name. The Lord answered, “I AM WHO I AM.” It is this very same title that Jesus claimed, and the Jews most certainly knew it. They accused Him of blasphemy because they understood that Jesus was claiming to be the God who spoke to Moses at the burning bush. The Gospel of John provides seven statements that Jesus makes with this “I AM” title. That’s seven statements in which Jesus claimed to be God.

It’s important to consider whether or not the statements that Jesus made are consistent with the rest of the Bible. If Jesus made these statements, but they were not consistent with the Bible’s teaching, then Jesus would have been a heretic and a blasphemer. Jesus himself taught that the entire Old Covenant writings (what we call the Old Testament) were about Him, pointed to Him, and anticipated Him. From Genesis to Malachi, it was all about Him (see John 5:39; Luke 24:25-27).

Whether it be a prophecy of the coming Messiah (which means anointed one) who would rescue His people from the punishment of sin (prophecies such as where He would be born, how He would be born of a virgin, what He would do, and how He would die for sin (Isaiah 53), or a real life scenario that would find its ultimate fulfillment in the Messiah (such as the sacrificial system, deliverance from evil, a love story, and anything else that is found in the Old Testament), it was always about the Lord and His Messiah!

Looking to the New Testament (the writings that were inspired by God and written down after Jesus died and rose from the dead), let’s now take a glance at some of the verses which confirm the deity of Jesus:

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 were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. – John 1:1-3

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. – John 5:18

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” – John 20:28
This is Thomas’ response to Jesus when he first sees Him following His death on the cross. Jesus did not correct Thomas, but instead received the response as worship, something that would be blasphemy if it were not true.

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. – John 17:3-5
Notice that this passage mentions the pre-existence of Jesus. He was with His Father (more on that below) before the world began. Perhaps even more important, however, is Jesus’ willingness to receive glory! According to the Lord, there is nothing and nobody that God gives His glory to (see Isaiah 42:8), because glory is reserved for the One who alone is worthy of it! James 2:1 and 1 Corinthians 2:8 even call Jesus “The Lord of Glory”! So when Jesus discusses receiving glory, especially the glory that He already possessed prior to the creation of the world, then He is certainly claiming to be God!

But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.  – Hebrews 1:8
While the author of Hebrews is stating his case for the supremacy of Christ, he equates God with the Son as he quotes Psalm 45:6-7.

Furthermore, Jesus is revealed as the supreme Creator of all things (Colossians 1:16; John 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:1-3; ); the fullness of God (Colossians 2:9), our God and Savior (Titus 2:13; 1 Peter 1:1); Son of Man (Mark 10:45) [this title is an illusion to Daniel 7, an exalted, heavenly one]; Son of God (Mark 1:1) and God’s only Son (John 1:14).

Trinity

To further understand that Jesus is the Son of God and God’s only Son, it is imperative that we understand the Bible’s teaching on who God is. The Bible is very clear on the following: There is one God, and the following three persons are revealed as God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is a unity of three, or a tri-unity (also known as Trinity). This may be difficult (or even impossible) for the human mind to fully comprehend, but we can indeed apprehend it in a rational, non-contradictory manner.

Perhaps you’ve heard of the law of non contradiction. Classical logic states this: contradictory statements cannot both be true in the same sense at the same time. So for our purposes here, it would be a contradiction to say that there is one God, and there are three Gods. We are speaking of God in the same sense, and at the same time; therefore, this is a contradiction. However, the biblical teaching on the Tri-unity of God does not make that kind of statement.

Instead, the biblical revelation states that there is one God who exists in three persons. Each of the three persons are fully God, but due to their eternal, perfect union with one another, they are not three separate Gods, but one. When this distinction is made (which the Bible certainly makes), the accusation of contradiction rightly diminishes.

Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. The Father nor the Holy Spirit came into the world as God-incarnate. It was the Son, and that Son has a name: Jesus!

Humanity of Jesus

Now that it has been established that both Jesus and the entirety of the Bible makes the claim of divinity, we cannot forget a second crucial aspect of His identity: Jesus added a human nature to Himself!

This is exactly what is celebrated at Christmas, the birth of the Savior! Since the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve and all of their posterity have been awaiting the arrival of the Messiah, the coming Rescuer. The Son of God came into this world through the means of a virgin birth. Matthew 1:21-23 explains this:

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Notice that this Son, who is born of a woman (hence a human nature) is also “God with us.” Because of the virgin birth, Jesus was conceived in Mary “from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20-21). The Son of God, who is fully divine, added a human nature to His person 2,000 years ago. The Son of God, at the moment of His conception, could be said to truly have a divine nature and a human nature; one person, two natures.

If you desire to learn a thing or two about humility, consider the humiliation of Christ, who left His rightful throne in Heaven to come in to the very world that He created, as a human being. The Creator humbled Himself, and became like His own creation (Philippians 2:5-11).

So why did Jesus need to become a man? Could He have parachuted down from Heaven and gone straight to the cross? Why did He need to be born as a baby and live 30 years before giving Himself as the sacrifice for our sins? Well, the answer to this question is really at the heart of God’s rescue mission for hell-bound sinners. For sinners to be forgiven, a substitute needed to meet the two conditions which humanity could not possibly meet: First, He had to live a perfect, sinless life, and second, He had to be able to receive and endure the wrath of God on behalf of sinners.

Jesus became a man in order to live the life that all of us were created to live. We were created to love, worship, and enjoy our Creator God! Unfortunately, we’ve all failed miserably in fulfilling that grand purpose. The result: God’s rightful, righteous, and holy judgment. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Jesus lived a perfect life for us. He lived a sinless life, never breaking the law of God. He perfectly loved His Father, and He perfectly loved His neighbor, the two commands which sum up the entirety of God’s law. Where we failed miserably, He succeeded entirely!

Furthermore, He fulfilled His rescue mission by being lifted up on the cross! This was the reason for His coming (Mark 10:45)! He came to die in our place, so that He could take our punishment and judgment! Following His atoning death on behalf of sinners, He was buried in a rich man’s tomb. On the third day, He rose from the dead (Luke 24:6-7)! This is exceptionally important, because if Jesus had not been risen from the dead, then Jesus would be found to be a liar and a hoax. Instead, Jesus predicted both His death and resurrection, and His fulfillment of these events prove that His claims were true (namely, that He is God, and that He came to save sinners).

The Bible itself explains that our faith is in vain if indeed Jesus did not rise from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:14), and that we are still in our sins and not actually forgiven (1 Corinthians 15:17-19). But thanks be to God, the overwhelming evidence is that Jesus did rise from the dead (see 1 Corinthians 15:3-8), defeating sin, Satan, and death in order to bring us back to God!

Jesus lived the life that we were created to live (but didn’t), and He died the death that we deserve to die (but won’t)!Click To Tweet

Jesus lived the life that we were created to live (but didn’t), and He died the death that we deserve to die (but won’t)! For all those who have repented of their sin and rested all their hope and trust in Him, they will experience forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with the Lord! Jesus takes all their sins and deals with them on the cross, and He provides them with all of His perfect righteousness. The great Martin Luther termed this “The Great Exchange,” and it’s based on 2 Corinthians 5:21.

The Lord Jesus was the ultimate prophet, priest, and king for His people. He has made visible the invisible God. He has offered up the perfect sacrifice, once and for all, for sinful humanity. He now rules as the King of the Kingdom of Heaven, the very kingdom that we can now be citizens of through faith in Him!

Perhaps instead of writing this article, it would have been sufficient to simply quote the Westminster Confession of Faith, which beautifully says this:

The Son of God, the second person in the Trinity, being very and eternal God, of one substance and equal with the Father, did, when the fulness of time was come, take upon Him man’s nature, with all the essential properties, and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the virgin Mary, of her substance. So that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the Godhead and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion. Which person is very God, and very man, yet one Christ, the only Mediator between God and man.

Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter 8.2)

Yes, that’s what I meant to say!