Ask a hundred people today, who Jesus is, and you’ll probably get a hundred different answers. It was a similar scene to the one described in the Bible when Jesus asked His disciples who people thought He was.
Matthew 16:13–16 (ESV) — 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Peter is correct. Jesus is the Christ, or the Messiah and He declared and proved that He is the Son of God. His purpose in coming to earth was to bring salvation. Consider what the angel of the Lord said to Joseph regarding Mary being with child.
Matthew 1:21 (ESV) — 21 She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Consider the words of Jesus as to His purpose in life.
John 6:38–39 (ESV) — 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
Peter gave account at Pentecost of His life, death, and resurrection and Paul accounted for the fact of the three essentials of the Gospel concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 2:22–24 (ESV) — 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (ESV) — 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
All the accounts of Jesus boil down to the fact that we can’t just ignore what the Bible says, nor the multitude of witnesses who spoke of responding to the Son of God and the testimony concerning Him.
Acts 4:12 (ESV) — 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Romans 10:8–13 (ESV) — 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Since the Bible is the Word of God, whenever the Word is read or preached, then it’s Jesus who speaks, calling His sheep to Himself because He is the only way to God, the Father.
John 10:27–29 (ESV) — 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
John 14:6 (ESV) — 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
The writer of Hebrews spent the entire book talking about the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 1:3 (ESV) — 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Hebrews 4:14–16 (ESV) — 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 7:25 (ESV) — 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Paul reminds us that the same Jesus that came to this world, lived a perfect life, died a vicarious death, rose from the dead, and ascended to Heaven will come again at the resurrection.
1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 (ESV) — 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:23–26 (ESV) — 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
The story of Jesus begins in prophecy, types, and shadows through the Old Testament and the account of His life and ministry as well as the further account of the advancing of His kingdom are found in the New Testament. The bottom line to knowing who Jesus is summed up in the words that He spoke:
John 5:39 (ESV) — 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,
Godspeed,
Bob Brubaker, Pastor
Christ Community Presbyterian Church
Clearwater, FL
