We’re glad you asked about Jesus because He asks a similar question of all who
want to follow Him, He asked His first followers, “Who do you say I am?”‘ And the
answer that Peter gave was correct: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”‘
(Mat 16:16)
The term ‘Christ” literally means someone who is anointed for a specific task.
Jesus was anointed by God the Father to be the Savior of the world, the one who came to
rescue all mankind from sin and death. In order to carry out this task, Jesus had to be
God.
And God He was! Many times in the Bible Jesus stated very clearly that He was
God. When He was on trial before the Jewish high court, the high priest said to Him,
“‘Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” And Jesus answered, “Yes, it is as you
say.”‘ (Mat 26:63-64) Jesus is true God.
But God’s Word also presents Jesus as true man! The writer of Hebrews states,
‘Since the children have flesh and blood, he (Jesus) too shared in their humanity…” (2:14)
Scripture also attributes to Jesus the characteristics common to all people: birth and
growth; the need for sleep, food and drink; the human emotions of love, compassion, and
even anger. Thus, Scripture teaches that Jesus is both God and man, not half and half, but
fully God and fully human. We don’t understand this union, but simply believe what God
says about Himself.
Jesus was also very clear about His mission as the God-man. “‘The Son of Man
has to suffer much. He has to be rejected by the elders, the ruling priests and the scribes,
be killed, and then rise after three days.'” (Mark 8:31) Jesus came into the world not to
overthrow governments, or set Himself up in a fine palace, but “to suffer.” Many think
Jesus only suffered on the cross. Yet Scripture teaches that Jesus suffered throughout His
life. He suffered rejection at the hands of the very people He came to save. That
rejection finally reached its peak in the agony of the cross. All of this meets with Jesus’
description of Himself in Matthew 20:28: ‘The Son of Man did not come to be served but to
serve and give His life as a ransom for many.”
However, we cannot truly understand who Jesus is without an understanding of
sin. Sin is not a mere mistake, but actual unlawfulness against the God of all creation.
And sin shows itself in our lives in many ways: lust, sexual sins, stealing, murder,
adulteries, greed, cheating, jealousy, slander, gossip and pride.
These sins reside within our hearts and are the reason God’s anger burns against
us. But these sins are also the reason God became man with the purpose of dying on the
cross. As Jesus gently expressed it, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn
the world, but that the world would be saved through Him.” (Joh 3:17)
We’re glad you asked about Jesus. He is God! He became a man to live a perfect
life in your place, and suffer the death of the cross to take away the punishment of your
sins. He calls you to believe this: to repent of your sins and trust in Him for eternal
salvation. When you do, you will also rise from the dead as Jesus did. (Joh 14:19)
That’s the promise Jesus makes to you.
(All Scripture references are from the New Evangelical Translation)