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WHO IS JESUS?
A. Introduction: Jesus warned His first followers that His second coming will be preceded by a time of great
religious deception, specifically false Christs and false prophets who preach false gospels. Matt 24:4-5
1. Those days are upon us. If ever there was a time to know for yourself who Jesus is and why He came
into this world, according to the Bible, that time is now.
a. The New Testament portion of the Bible was written by eyewitnesses of Jesus—men who walked
and talked with Him, saw Him die, and then saw Him alive again. They wrote the documents
preserved in the New Testament to tell the world what they witnessed.
b. One of Jesus’ original twelve apostles, John, wrote the New Testament book that bears his name, the
Gospel of John. In it, John states why he wrote his book about Jesus.
1. John 20:30-31—Jesus’ disciples saw him do many other miraculous signs besides the ones
recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah
(the Christ), the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have (eternal) life (NLT).
2. John 20:31—Through believing and cleaving to and trusting in and relying upon Him you may
have life through (in) His name [that is, through what He is] (Amp).
A. John calls Jesus the Word of God because He is God’s clearest revelation of Himself to
humanity (John 1:1; 1:14). The Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, is revealed through
the written Word, the Bible (John 5:39).
B. The Bible is our only fully reliable, completely trustworthy source of information about
Jesus. Every other source of information about Him must be judged according by it.
2. Knowing who Jesus is and believing what He says about Himself is critical to your eternal destiny. Not
long before Jesus was crucified, He told a group of Pharisees (Jewish religious leaders): Unless you
believe that I am who I say I am, you will die in your sins (John 8:24, NLT).
a. Today, we hear all sorts of conflicting statements about who Jesus is and why He came into this
world.
1. Some people say that Jesus was a teacher of morality and ethics who came to bring peace to the
world by teaching us to love each other. They believe Jesus was a good man and appreciate
His teachings, but don’t believe that He was God, performed miracles, or came back to life.
2. Others say that Jesus was an ascended master (a highly evolved individual who is no longer
required to live in the material world in order to achieve spiritual growth). In other words,
Jesus was a human being who realized His deity, as all of us can and should do.
3. Even people who believe that Jesus is God, performed miracles, and died and rose again, are
unclear about who He is, why He came into this world, and what it means for humanity.
b. So, who did Jesus claim to be? And what does it mean that He is the Christ, the Son of God?
Tonight, we begin a series on who Jesus is and why He came—according to the eyewitnesses.
B. In the last series we discussed the fact that the first four New Testament books (the Gospels of Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John) are historical biographies of Jesus, written by eyewitnesses or close associates of
eyewitnesses.
1. Matthew and John were part of the original twelve apostles, the men who spent over three years in close
interaction with Jesus, observing Him and learning from Him.
a. Mark was not an apostle, but his gospel is based on eyewitness testimony from Peter, who was one
of the twelve. Luke was also not an apostle, but he interviewed a number of eyewitnesses,
including Paul the apostle. Luke traveled with Paul on some of his missionary journeys.
b. Paul was not one of the twelve, but he was an eyewitness of Jesus. The resurrected Lord Jesus
appeared to him a couple of years after the resurrection and commissioned him as an apostle. Jesus
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personally taught Paul the message that he preached.
2. Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s books are known as the synoptic gospels. Synoptic means to view at the
same time. These books were all written around the same time (AD 55 to AD 68), and share much
of the same material. (We’ll say more about John’s gospel in a later lesson.)
a. All three gospels record an interaction that took place between Jesus and His apostles, less than a
year before He was crucified. Matt 16:13-16; Mark 8:27-29; Luke 9:18-20
1. Jesus asked His apostles: Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? They answered:
Some say you are John the Baptist risen from the dead. Others say you are Elijah or Jeremiah
or one of the other prophets.
2. Jesus then asked them: Who do you say that I am, to which Peter replied: Thou are the
Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matt 16:16, KJV).
b. In this interaction, three different names (titles) are used to refer to Jesus—the Son of Man, the
Christ, and the Son of God. All of them have great significance and give insight into who Jesus is.
Jesus is God Incarnate, God in human flesh. Before we consider these names, note one point.
1. People today sometimes say that Jesus never claimed to be God. However, when we read the
Gospels, we find that Jesus did in fact claim to be God throughout His entire ministry.
2. We know this because, on a number of occasions, religious leaders picked up rocks, intending
to stone Jesus to death for blasphemy—because of His claims of Deity.
3. Because of the claims Jesus made about Himself—according to the eyewitness reports—He
was either a liar or a lunatic. Either way, He’s not someone from whom we can gain spiritual
insight or helpful moral and ethical teaching.
3. Throughout His ministry, Jesus called Himself the Son of Man. This was a familiar term to the people
He interacted with. Remember, Jesus was born into 1st century Israel,
a. Based on numerous prophecies in their Scriptures (the Old Testament), the Jewish people were
expecting a Redeemer from God to come and deliver this world from sin, corruption, and death, and
set up God’s kingdom on the earth (lessons for another day).
1. One of their great prophets, Daniel, used the term Son of Man in his Old Testament book.
Daniel wrote that the Son of Man (a Divine figure) will come at the end of the world to judge
mankind and rule forever (Dan 7:13-14).
2. To 1st century Jews, when Jesus called Himself the Son of Man, He was claiming to be that
Man. That title was a claim of Deity.
b. When Jesus asked His apostles, who do men say that I am, note Peter’s first response: You are the
Christ. Christ is not Jesus’ last name; it is a title. The term Christ comes from the Book of Daniel.
1. Daniel reported that the angel Gabriel appeared to him and spoke about the coming Redeemer,
calling Him the Messiah (Dan 9:24-26). The Hebrew word translated Messiah is mashiyah
which means anointed one. Christ is from a Greek word that means anointed (Christos).
2. Anointed meant set apart to God. For generations in Israel kings, prophets, and priests were
anointed or consecrated (set apart to God). Although they were real people, like many things
in the Old Testament, they foreshadowed Jesus as our King, Prophet, and Priest.
c. Then Peter called Jesus the Son of God. We get confused by this title because in our culture, son
means created by or offspring of, less than, subordinate to. Jesus is not less than God nor was He
created by God. Jesus is God, the Creator. John 1:1-3
1. In the culture that Jesus was born into, the phrase son of sometimes did mean offspring of
(fathered by). But, but it also meant on the order of or one who possesses his father’s qualities
—sons of the prophets (II Kings 2:3-5); sons of light (Eph 5:8).
2. Son of God was also a claim of Deity. As I mentioned above, on several occasions, the Jewish
religious leaders picked up stones, intending put Jesus to death, specifically because He
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referred to God as His father, making Himself God’s Son. John 5:18; John 10:30-31
4. We get insight into who Jesus is and why He came to earth from what Matthew and Luke reported about
Jesus’ conception and birth in their gospels. Luke 1:26-35; Matt 1:18-25
a. Luke stated that the angel Gabriel appeared to a virgin named Mary and told her that she would
conceive in her womb (become pregnant), give birth to a son, and that she was to call Him Jesus,
(which means Savior). Luke 1:31
b. Mary asked how this would happen, since she was a virgin. Gabriel replied that the Holy Ghost
will come upon you and overshadow you, and the baby born of you shall be holy, and will be called
the Son of God. Luke 1:34-35
1. Gabriel also appeared to Joseph, the man to whom Mary was betrothed (engaged). The angel
told Joseph that Mary would become pregnant before they were married, but that the baby
conceived in her was of the Holy Ghost (Matt 1:20)—that which was begotten in her is as to its
source from the Holy Spirit (Wuest); from, out of (Amp).
2. The angel told Joseph that you are to name Him Jesus (Savior) for He will save His people from
their sins. Gabriel further stated that this would be a fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14, a prophecy that
a virgin will bring forth a son and they will call Him Emmanuel—or God with us.
c. The title Son of God is used in two ways in regard to Jesus. It refers to the fact that God is the
Father of Jesus’ humanity (His human nature was formed in the womb of Mary) and to the fact
that Jesus is God Incarnate—God in human flesh, God with us.
C. Before going any farther, we need to make some statement about the Bible and God. The Bible doesn’t
prove that God exists. It presumes His existence and then tells us about Him.
1. The Bible reveals that God is one God (one Being) who simultaneously manifests as three distinct
Persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
a. This teaching is known as the doctrine of the Trinity. The word Trinity is not found in the Bible,
but the teaching (doctrine) is. Trinity is from two Latin words—tri (three) and unis (one).
b. Some reject the idea of three in one because they think that we are saying that there are three Gods.
God is not three Gods—He is one God. God is not one person who sometimes takes the role of the
the Father, sometimes the role of the Son, and sometimes the role of the Holy Spirit.
1. God is one God who simultaneously manifests as three Persons. They are Persons in the sense
that they are self aware and interactive with each other. Person is the best word we can use to
describe the Indescribable.
2. But the word person falls short because, to us, person means an individual who is separate from
other individuals. These three Persons are distinct, but not separate. They co-inhere or share
one Divine nature.
3. You can’t have one without the others. Where the Father is, so is the Son, and so is the Holy
Spirit. The Father is all God. The Son is all God. The Holy Spirit is all God.
A. This is beyond our comprehension, since we are talking about an Infinite (limitless) Being
and we are finite (limited) beings. All efforts to explain the nature of God fall short. We
can only accept what the Bible reveals and rejoice in the wonder of God.
B. The doctrine of the Trinity is not explicitly stated in Scripture in the sense that there is one
verse that spells it out. But it is implied in both the Old and New Testament.
c. The eyewitnesses accepted this—they saw and heard it. When Jesus was baptized by John the
Baptist at the beginning of His ministry, John saw the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus, and the Father
spoke from Heaven (Matt 3:16-17). At the Last Supper, Jesus assured His apostles that once He
returned to Heaven, He and the Father would send the Holy Spirit to them (John 14:16-17; 26; etc.).
2. Two thousand years ago the Second Person of the Trinity (the Son) incarnated or took on a full human
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nature in the womb of Mary and was born into this world.
a. The Second Person of the Trinity took on flesh (or a human nature) so that He could die as a
sacrifice for sin and open the way for men and women to be restored to God. Heb 2:9-15; Heb 10:5
b. In the context of stating why He came into the world, Jesus referred to His dual nature, calling
Himself the Son of Man which is in Heaven. John 3:13
1. As with many things about God, this is beyond our comprehension. Paul referred to the
mystery of godliness: Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness. (God) was
manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world, taken up into glory (I Tim 3:16, ESV).
2. The term godliness is a reference to God’s plan to redeem humanity. God incarnated or took
on flesh so that He could die as a sacrifice for sin so that sinners can be restored to His family.
3. Jesus is God become man without ceasing to be God. He is fully God at the same time He is fully man.
Paul the apostle (an eyewitness) wrote that Jesus was in the form of God, but took on the form of a
servant (slave) and was made in the likeness of men. Phil 2:5-7
a. The Greek word translated form, when used figuratively as it is here, means nature. The word
translated likeness describes more than mere similarity or resemblance. Jesus became truly man.
1. Jesus, in His humanity, differed from the rest of us only in the sense that He was sinless, not
only in behavior, but in nature—like Adam and Eve before they sinned.
2. Because the Holy Spirit formed the human nature in the womb of Mary, Jesus did not partake of
fallen, corrupted human nature. Luke 1:35; Heb 10:5
b. Jesus’ first followers accepted and believed that He was the God-man—one Person, two natures
(human and divine). They knew that Jesus was and is equal to God the Father in essence or nature.
1. Jesus’ first apostles were all good Jews who knew that there is only one God, and that only He is
to be worshipped (Deut 6:4; Ex 20:1-5). Yet, when Jesus calmed a raging storm on the Sea of
Galilee and saved their lives, they worshipped Him as the Son of God. Matt 14:33
2. Consider two passages written by Paul the apostle as to what he believed about Jesus: For in
him the whole fullness of Deity continues to dwell in bodily form, giving complete expression
of the Divine nature (Col 2:9, Amp); He (Jesus, the Son) is the radiance of the glory of God and
the exact imprint of his nature (Heb 1:3, ESV).
D. Conclusion: We have more to say next week. But, perhaps you’re thinking that this isn’t a very helpful
lesson because you’ve got real problems and need help right now. And nothing that I’ve said seems to relate
to your immediate issues. Consider these thoughts as we close.
1. Remember where we started tonight. Jesus said: Unless you believe that I am who I say I am, you will
die in your sins (John 8:24, NLT). Yes, we face real challenges in this life, but it’s all temporary.
What matters most is the life after this life. In this time of great deception you must know the real Jesus.
2. The night before Jesus was crucified, in a prayer to His Father He said: And this is eternal life: [it
means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with and understand) You, the only true and
real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the Christ], the Anointed One, the Messiah, Whom You
have sent (John 17:3, Amp).
3. When Paul was imprisoned, facing possible execution, he wrote several letters to Christians. Note his
perspective: Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord (Phil 3:8, Amp).
a. In this same epistle Paul wrote: I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me—I am
ready for and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength (Phil 4:13, Amp).
b. The more you know the Lord Jesus through His Word, the more you are equipped and prepared to
handle life’s hardships. Get to know the Living Word as He truly is, through the written Word.
