So far in our series entitled, “Christianity for Beginners” we’ve covered the following topics:

• Basic belief in God
• The Christian Religion
• The Bible

Today’s lesson will examine the reason for faith/Christianity/and the Bible and that’s Jesus Christ Himself.

Now there are many theories about Jesus:

• An ancient Jewish rabbi
• A prophet of some kind
• A ghost or spirit
• Some have even said that He is some kind of alien being from another planet – some kind of advanced life form

I’m 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. So this lesson should really be entitled, “What does the Bible say about Jesus?” This is the best way to discover who Jesus is because only the Bible contains eye-witness accounts of His life recorded and preserved for us to read even today.

The Bible’s central theme

In our last session I explained how the Bible was written, how it was organized, and why Christians believe that it comes from God – or in other words – inspired. But I didn’t tell you what the theme of the Bible was, what it was about. Well, the entire Bible is about Jesus. He’s the main point of all the books of the Bible. The different parts explain different things about Him and His interaction with us.

• The O.T. is really the story about the creation of the world and then how God prepared for His coming by the forming of the Jewish nation. All the events setting a human and historical stage for His eventual appearance as a man in this world. The O.T. tells this story through the eyes and words of Jewish prophets, leaders, and kings.

• The 4 Gospels are the eyewitness accounts of His life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension back 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 N.T. written by other Apostles 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.

So 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

But I don’t think we would have time in a single lesson to do this. What we can do however, is to focus in on what the Bible says about who Jesus is. This is actually the most important question about Jesus Christ and we’ll see what three individuals, contained in the Bible, say about Jesus.

Who is Jesus?

Now remember we’re 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 N.T. portion of the Bible, let’s 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 2000 years ago. He began His ministry by claiming that He was the Jewish Messiah/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.

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 N.T. that we can establish a much more comprehensive picture of who Jesus really was.

For the sake of our study we’ll examine three of these men’s writings/descriptions of Jesus.

Witness of the Apostles

1. Peter

The first of these is 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.” ( Mt. 16:16) So even while Jesus was alive, the Bible says that 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. “You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. You killed the author of life, but God raised Him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!” Acts 3:14-15 Now there is much written about Peter in the N.T. and Peter himself writes two of the books/epistles contained in this part of the Bible but just these two passages, just read, summarize well what Peter thought about Jesus based on what he experienced:

• That Jesus was the Christ/Messiah/Savior promised by the O.T. 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
• He is resurrected from the dead

2. Thomas

Another Apostle we know less about was Thomas, he’s 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 the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Unless I shall see the print of the nails in His hands, 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 the disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, Peace to you! Then He said to Thomas, Reach your finger here and behold My hands; and reach your hand here and thrust it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God!" (John 20:24-28).

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 a 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, brothers and fathers! Hear my defense now to you. And hearing that he spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect, they all the more kept silence. And he said, I am truly a man, a Jew born in Tarsus in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the exactness of the Law of the fathers, being a zealous one of God, as you all are today. I persecuted this Way as far as death, binding and delivering both men and women into prisons; as also the high priest bears witness to me, and all the elderhood. And receiving letters from them to the brothers, I traveled into Damascus indeed to lead those being bound to Jerusalem, in order that they might be punished. And it happened to me, traveling and drawing near to Damascus: suddenly, about midday, a great light out of the heaven shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? And I answered, Who are you, lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute. And they who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid. But they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Arise and go into Damascus. And there it shall be told you all things which are appointed for you to do. And I did not see, because of the glory of that light; being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus. And one Ananias, a devout man according to the Law, testified to by all the Jews who lived there, coming to me and standing by, said to me, Brother Saul, look up! And the same hour I looked up on him. And he said, The God of our fathers has chosen you to know His will and to see the Just One, and to hear a voice out of His mouth. For you shall be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now what do you intend? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." (Acts 22:1-16).

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 67AD 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:

"who is the image of the invisible God, the First-born of all creation. For all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is the Head of the body, the church, who is the Beginning, the First-born from the dead, that He may be pre-eminent in all things" (Col. 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 doesn’t share this with any person.
• He leads those who will resurrect – Another way of saying He is eternal by saying He leads in the future – He’s 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. 

The Testimony of Jesus

This leaves us with one last person to examine and that’s Jesus Himself. Our description of Jesus would be incomplete if we didn’t examine at least a few things that Jesus said about His true identity. Here are three things He said about Himself to three individuals:

1. The Samaritan Woman

In a conversation with a woman while travelling Jesus answers her question about who is the true Messiah:

"The woman said to Him, I know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ. When He has come, He will tell us all things. Jesus said to her, I AM, the One speaking to you" ( John 4:25-26).

Jesus describes Himself as the savior spoken of by the Jews.

2. Peter the Apostle

We’ve looked at Peter’s declaration earlier in this lesson but this time let’s focus on Jesus’ response to what Peter says:

"He said to them, But who do you say I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered and said to him, You are blessed, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but My Father in Heaven" (Mt. 16:15-17).

Note that Jesus confirms what Peter says about Him and even goes on to reveal how Peter has come to this realization.

3. To the Apostles

After His resurrection and appearance to over 500 disciples, Jesus gives His Apostles (and future disciples) their mission:

"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority is given to Me in Heaven and in earth. Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world" (Mt. 28:18-20).

Note that in this passage Jesus claims exclusive divine authority over all.

These are only a few of the things that are recorded concerning Jesus but from these we see some of the things the Bible teaches about Him:

• A true historical figure
• The Jewish Messiah
• The Son of God
• The Lord God Himself
• Resurrected from the dead
• An eternal being
• The agent of Creation
• The head of the church
• The supreme authority in heaven and earth

I could go on and on about what the Bible actually says concerning Jesus but I’ll close this lesson with a quote from the gospel of John who faced a similar dilemma – trying to list all the things he actually heard and saw Jesus do. Faced with the mountain of information before him John writes in the 20^th and 21^st chapters of his gospel record:

“The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing in Him you will have life by the power of His name.” John 20:30-31

“Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.” John 21:25

Next lesson – #5 – Salvation