Virtuous Living

”When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.“

Matthew 16:13-20 KJV

A year ago while on my drive home from church i was lost in thought contemplating how Christians can be careless when we come to the house of God. While in thought the LORD spoke and said “your revelation of who God is determines your worship”. While many believers claim the title Christian many do know Christ Jesus. I want to attempt to examine the person of Jesus Christ who is the reason for our faith.

There are many theories about Jesus: some include

– He was an ancient Jewish rabbi.

– He was just a prophet of some kind.

– He was a ghost or spirit.

– Some asked is Jesus a politician

I am sure the speculation will continue and more opinions and theories will eventually be developed. For Christians, however, the only source for information about Jesus, His life, ministry, teachings – is the Bible.

What does the Bible say about Jesus?This is the best way to discover who Jesus is because only the Bible contains eyewitness accounts of His life recorded and preserved for us to read even to this day. The entire Bible is about Jesus

He is the main point of all the books of the Bible. The different parts explain different things about Him and His interaction with us.

The Old Testament is really the story about the creation of the world and how God prepared for His coming by the forming of the Jewish nation. It contains all the events that set a human and historical stage for His eventual appearance as a man in this world. It tells this story through the eyes and words of Jewish prophets, leaders, and kings.

The four gospels are the eyewitness accounts of His life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. Again, the story recorded and preserved by men who were with Him for years and who knew Him intimately.

The rest of the New Testament, written by other Apostles and their disciples, shows how His followers established the Christian church according to His instructions. In addition to this there are teachings to help followers/disciples live their Christian lives in every generation and environment.

We could go anywhere in the Bible to find out about Jesus concerning:

The promise of His coming

The preparation for His appearance

The circumstances of His miraculous birth

The content of His teachings

The details of His death and resurrection

The people who knew Him personally and spread His teachings throughout the world

I do not think we would have the time in a single write up to do all this. What we can do, however, is to focus on what the Bible says about who Jesus is. This is actually the most important question about Jesus Christ and we will see what three individuals, mentioned in the Bible, say about Jesus.

Who is Jesus?

Now remember we are asking the question, “Who is Jesus?” according to the Bible, not just what we think or feel or learned from a book or movie or teacher of some kind.

Since most of the direct and eyewitness accounts about Him are in the New Testament portion of the Bible, let us go there to learn about Him. Thousands of people saw and heard Jesus speak, teach, and even do miracles. There is no doubt of His existence because historians of that era write about Him and His ministry.

Josephus Flavius, who was a Jewish historian, wrote about this period. He was not a follower of Jesus but mentions Him and Christianity in general in his history books. History (not the Bible) writes that Jesus was a Jewish man born into a humble family who lived in Israel approximately 2,000 years ago. He began His ministry by claiming that He was the Jewish Messiah or Savior and was eventually arrested and executed by the Roman government at the insistence of the Jewish leaders who accused Him of causing civil unrest by His teaching. Eventually His followers established the Christian church based on His teachings.

This is what history books teach about the facts of His life.

Witness of the Apostles

There were others, however, who actually followed Jesus as His special disciples and they too recorded their accounts of His life. It is from these writers, whose records form the New Testament, that we can establish a much more comprehensive picture of who Jesus really was. For the sake of our study we will examine three of these men’s writings and descriptions of Jesus.

1. Peter

Peter was a fisherman by trade and along with his brother Andrew, had a family business. He was the first “Apostle” called by Jesus to follow Him on a full time basis. He was to hear all of Jesus’ teachings, witness His miracles, and later on be a leader in establishing the church and finally die as a martyr in Rome claiming to the very end that what he heard and saw was true.

During Jesus’ ministry, Jesus asked the Apostles (including Peter), based on what they saw Him say and do, who did they think He was? And Peter answered without hesitation, “You are the Messiah the son of the Living God.” (Matthew 16:16) So the Bible says that even while Jesus was alive Peter believed and declared Him to be the divine Son of God.

Later on, after Jesus was executed, Peter describes the things that he saw with his own eyes as he rebukes the Jews for their hard hearts and disbelief.

“But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.”

Acts 3:14-15

Now there is much written about Peter in the New Testament and Peter himself writes two of the books or epistles contained in this part of the Bible, but just these two passages summarize well what Peter thought about Jesus based on what he experienced:

That Jesus was the Christ/Messiah/Savior promised in the Old Testament. In other words, Jesus was the one sent by God to save mankind. Peter also concluded that Jesus was divine, based on what he heard Jesus say and saw Him do.

Finally, Peter saw Jesus executed by Roman soldiers and then saw Him after God raised Him from the dead. As I said before, Peter never changed or denied this witness, even when he was threatened, imprisoned, and finally sent to his death for saying these things. So when we want to know who Jesus is, the Bible through Peter’s words says that He is the Son of God, the Savior, and He is resurrected from the dead.

2. Thomas

Another Apostle we know less about was Thomas, he is the one often referred to as “doubting Thomas” because he wanted proof of Jesus’ resurrection before he would believe. What he says about Jesus is interesting because of this very fact: he demanded proof before he would continue to believe.

He knew Jesus and, like the other Apostles, had lived and worked with Jesus for 3 years. He saw the miracles, heard the teachings and witnessed Jesus die on the cross. He was convinced Jesus was dead, so brutal and final was His execution at the hands of the Roman soldiers.

When the other Apostles reported that they had seen Jesus resurrected and alive again, Thomas was skeptical and refused to believe. In the gospel of John we read about Jesus’ confrontation with Thomas to believe.

”But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.“

John 20:24-28 KJV

Note what this exchange teaches us about Jesus:

Thomas believes that Jesus is actually risen from the dead. Thomas acknowledges that Jesus is God, not just a prophet or teacher or holy man. The Apostle demonstrates that Jesus is worthy of not only belief, but worship as well.

Thomas, in calling Jesus Lord, indicates that Jesus has authority over him.

Once again, a short passage, but one where the Bible sets forth important facts about who Jesus is: divine, object of belief and worship, Lord over us. People are free to choose whether they believe this or not but the fact remains that this is what the Bible teaches about Jesus.

3. Paul

Perhaps no one, other than Jesus Himself, articulates in more detail the character or person of Jesus Christ than Paul the Apostle. Paul was a Jew and an early persecutor of the Christian church. As a Pharisee he was part of the ruling class in the Jewish society of Jesus’ day. He was a religious zealot for Judaism who had obtained a mandate from the ruling council of Jewish leaders to wage a campaign of persecution against Christians in order to discourage their growth. In recounting his own experience Paul describes the meeting with Jesus Christ that changed his life.

”Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you. (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,) I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished. And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.“

Acts 22:1-16 KJV

And thus began the conversion and mission of one of the most prolific of Jesus’ Apostles. We know both from history and the Bible that Paul went on to preach and establish the Christian religion throughout the Roman Empire. He was eventually imprisoned by the Emperor Nero and executed in Rome in 67 AD on account of his role as a Christian leader.

Paul, the adversary of the church, the one who initially denied who Jesus was, ended up giving his life for his faith in Christ. In his writings we have a very dynamic description of Jesus and His exalted position.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”

Colossians 1:15-18

Note what Paul specifically says about who Jesus is:

Visible image of God – When you see Jesus you’re looking at God.

Existed before Creation – He exists before time, like God.

Supreme over Creation – He has the authority of God.

He is the agent of Creation – Everything in the material and spiritual world was created by and for Him.

He is Eternal – Another quality of God.

He is the head of the church – Jesus is the only leader of the church in heaven and on earth. He does not share this with any other person.

He leads those who will resurrect – Another way of saying He is eternal by saying He leads in the future – He is already there.

These things are not the only things Paul says about Jesus, but we can see from these that Paul was proclaiming Jesus as the divine Son of God based on his own experiences and knowledge of Christ and His teachings. So, we have reviewed three of the eyewitnesses who described and explained in the Bible who they believed Jesus to be. We will explore the testimony of Jesus in the sequel to this.

Shalom, Rev. Ron