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 Who Is Jesus, and Is He God? Mary, the girl who was to become the mother of Jesus was a virgin when she was visited by an angel who told her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,” the angel answered, “and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:30-35). Soon after this, Mary went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who was the wife of Zechariah the priest, and as an old woman was going to have a miracle baby, whose birth was also announced by the angel. Her greeting, inspired by the Holy Spirit, showed that Jesus would not only be the Son of God, but would also be Lord. “When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’” (Luke 1:41-43). Fulfilled Expectation This was the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy of Isaiah, made more than 700 years before. Matthew the disciple of Jesus quoted this prophecy describing the circumstances of the birth of Jesus. “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel--which means, God with us” (Matthew 1:22). When Jesus grew up, at the age of 30 years, He was baptized by John the Baptist. “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:21-22). During His ministry, Jesus forgave sins, which can only be done by God. Four friends of the paralyzed man carried him to Jesus on a mat. “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ “Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ‘Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ “Immediately Jesus knew in His spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and He said to them ‘Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Get up, take your mat and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . . He said to the paralytic, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’ He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all” (Mark 2:5-12). Immediately after the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, God promised that He would give them a way to be redeemed from the curse. This promise was made when God pronounced His curse on the serpent. Satan through the medium of a serpent caused sin. The serpent all through the Bible became the symbol of Satan. The last book of the Bible identifies Satan as the dragon, the serpent. In the Garden of Eden God said to the serpent, “From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel" (Genesis 3:15) NLT. The coming Redeemer will finally destroy Satan, crush his head, but in the process, Satan would wound the Redeemer. God would later promise King David that it would be through his line of descendants that the Redeemer would come as a king who would reign forever. “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16). The title, Messiah (Anointed), comes from this promise, since kings were anointed. Once as Jesus was traveling from Judea to Galilee, He stopped by Jacob’s well in the country of Samaria. There He began talking with a woman of Samaria. In their conversation He told the woman He was the promised Messiah. “The woman said, ‘I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’ “Then Jesus declared, ‘I who speak to you am he’” (John 4:25-26). The disciples of Jesus knew Him to be the Messiah. They identified Him as “Christ,” which is the Greek name for anointed or Messiah. “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ “’But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Matthew 16:13-16). Jesus testified that He existed before Abraham. “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad,” Jesus once said. “’You are not yet fifty years old,’ the Jews said to him, ‘and you have seen Abraham!’ “’I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’” (John 8:56-58). This made the Jews angry, because they knew He was claiming to be the “I AM,” who had spoken to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples in the upper room. The apostle, Thomas, upon seeing Him and identifying Him by the wounds in His hands and side, said, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Just before He ascended to heaven, Jesus gave His disciples a commission to preach the good news to the world. “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’” (Matthew 28:17-20). By this statement, Jesus identified the Father as God, the Son as God, and the Holy Spirit as God. That is something very hard for us to understand, but the very idea of God is above our understanding. God is one God. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4). How then can He be one and three at the same time? A Mystery Explained Jesus explained how God can be One and also more than One. In John 17:20,21 Jesus in His prayer to His Father spoke about what it means for the Father and Son to be One. He said, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” Many of the great teachers of religion had high ideals for their followers. They taught great principles, but none of them offered a way to be free from the curse of sin. Only Jesus offered us that. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). That is why I am a Christian. ______________________________ By Bob Edwards. © 2009 AnswersForMe.org. Click here for content usage information. Published with permission from the Voice of Prophecy, Simi Valley, CA. |
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