Who is Jesus?
Who is Jesus? We believe this is the most important question for every person to consider.
It is a question that people have wrestled with for over 2000 years since Jesus walked on the earth.
Jesus Himself saw this as the crucial question. In Matthew 16, He asked Peter, “Who do people say that I am?” Peter gave some of the current answers “People say you are a new prophet or an old one who has come back to life.” Jesus then made it personal; “Peter, who do you say that I am?” Peter’s inspired answer was “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter was correct, but what does that mean? Peter was declaring that Jesus was the long promised deliverer who was sent to save people from their sins and rule the universe. In other words he is Christ Jesus the Lord!
“Christ Jesus the Lord” is the apostolic shorthand for the gospel. When we understand these three terms together, we can be confident we know who Jesus is and that we understand the true good news of the Bible.
CHRIST THE MESSIAH
He is CHRIST, i.e. THE MESSIAH OF ISRAEL: who as PROPHET was sent to reveal God’s character, God’s will and God’s love for mankind; as PRIEST intercedes with God the Father on behalf of all people in order to restore people to relationship with God by making an atonement for the sins of the world; as KING governs the world so that those believe in Him are empowered to live consistent with the character and will of God as they were designed to live.
JESUS THE SAVIOR
He is JESUS, i.e. THE SAVIOR: who as the SON of GOD became a sinless man in order that through His sacrificial death, He might pay for the sins of the world and thereby reconcile us to God and show us how to truly live.
LORD THE SOVEREIGN ONE
He is LORD, i.e. THE SOVEREIGN ONE: who as the CREATOR and SUSTAINER of all things has the intrinsic authority and wisdom to govern everyone and everything; who as the REDEEMER deserves our highest honor and allegiance.
Jesus Christ the Lord
What does this mean to you and me?
In short, it means everything.
It means that, in spite of all our failures, through repentance and faith, forgiveness for our sin has been granted to us through the Cross of Jesus.
It means we can know and be known by God.
It means that we can now be free from the power of sin and empowered to become all God designed us and redeemed us to be.
It means we can enjoy an intimate and forever relationship with Christ Jesus the Lord.
IT MEANS LIFE!
What do we do now? How do we benefit from this good news? The best part of the good news is all you have to do to enter into a relationship with Jesus is to repent and believe.
Repentance means to “change your mind”. Everyone of us has sinned against God and deserve death. Everyone! To repent means you admit that you have sinned and need Jesus’ help. To believe means you choose to accept by faith with all your heart the truth that Jesus died on the Cross to pay for your sins and that He rose from the dead to restore you to a relationship with His Father. If you have not discovered this relationship, we invite you to pray this simple prayer:
Dear God,
I realize that I have sinned, and have a broken relationship with you. I now believe that Your Son Jesus died on the Cross to pay for my sins and rose again to give me life. Please forgive me of my sins. I believe in my heart and openly confess that Christ Jesus the Lord is Lord of my life and that I am a child of God. Thank you for receiving me as your child and giving me Your life.
Amen