Who is Jesus?

Luke 1:26-56 gives us the beautiful picture of the promise of the Messiah's birth. God sent the angel, Gabriel, to announce this promise to a virgin named Mary. For nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, a descendant of David.

Scripture doesn't tell us too much about Jesus' childhood. It tells us of his birth and when he was 12 years old, his parents, Mary and Joseph, found Jesus in the temple courts sitting among the teachers (Luke 2:41-46). Then we know when Jesus was about 30 years old, he began his ministry (Luke 3:23).

Jesus had four younger brothers - James, Joseph, Simon and Judas. He had more than one sister (Matthew 55-56).

Jesus was fully God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning" (John 1:1-2).

Jesus was fully human. "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth"(John 1:14)

Jesus is the Son of God. How do we know this? Evidence has been clearly presented in the Book of John. John gives testimony: "I have seen and testify that this is the Son of God" (John 1:34) ; "This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true." (John 21:24).

Jesus said "If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid. You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth." (John 5:31-33)

Jesus said "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world." (John 8:23)

Jesus was without sin. Yes, he was tempted by Satan (Luke 4:1-13, Matthew 4:1-11), but Jesus never sinned. Jesus was the perfect man and is the perfect sacrifice so that all that believe in him will be saved.

The prophesy of Jesus dates back to Adam and Eve. God commanded Adam "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die." (Genisis 2:16-17)

Because of Satan, the tempter and liar, Eve was tempted and deliberately disobeyed God's command. She then gave the fruit to Adam, who in turn, disobeyed God's command as well. God cursed Satan (the serpent). "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel" (Genisis 3:14-15). This is where God was revealing his plan to defeat Satan and offer salvation to the world through his son, Jesus Christ.

Have you ever heard of a godly man named Abraham? God tested Abraham and told him to take his only son, Isaac and sacrifice him as a burnt offering (Genesis 22). Abraham loved God, trusted God, and obeyed God. As he was about to slay his son, God said "Abraham! Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. (Genesis 22:9-13) My bible reference puts this very clearly. Notice the parallel between the ram offered on the altar as a substitute for Isaac and Christ offered on the cross as a substitute for us. Whereas God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son, God did not spare his own Son, Jesus from dying on the cross. If Jesus had lived, the rest of humankind would have died. God sent his only Son to die for us so that we can be spared from the eternal death we deserve and instead receive eternal life.

John wrote "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)

Want to know where Jesus came from? Check out the geneology of Jesus in Matthew 1 and Luke 3.

Jesus, Our Light..."The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." (John 1:9-13). All who welcome Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives are reborn spiritually, receiving new life from God. Through faith in Christ, this new birth changes us from the inside out - rearranging our attitudes, desires, and motives.

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.(John 5:19-23)

Jesus said "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness" (John 12:44-46).