Who is Jesus?

Jesus Christ! What comes to your mind when you hear this name? Perhaps a musical or a religious madman or a good teacher or perhaps even a swear word. Whatever our associations with that name, Jesus has had an influence in the world for the last 2000 years (even our calendar era revolves around him – BC is Before Christ and AD is Anno Domini which is Medieval Latin for ‘in the year of our Lord’). But who is Jesus?

Biblical and historical sources tell us that Jesus was raised in a small village by Jewish parents of modest means in an area considered the back and beyond of the Roman Empire. He had no formal education, never held a political or religious office, never led an army (in fact, he condemned violence) and as an adult never travelled more than 150 km from his hometown. Yet because of the impact of Jesus’ life and teachings, over 1 billion people today identify themselves as Christians.

During his lifetime, Jesus was known for performing miracles. Some people think he was a magician because of his success as a healer and exorcist. Whether you attribute this to a connection with God, or simply to some kind of power beyond our knowledge and understanding, you've got to admit that his healing and miraculous powers are impressive. People who think that Jesus was only a magician have to ask themselves: why has he had such a big impact on the world? There were plenty of "wonder-workers" in the ancient world, so what made Jesus so different?

Even if Jesus never performed a single miracle, his teachings would have secured his place as one of the greatest moral philosophers who ever lived. In fact, Jesus is a moral philosopher in the true sense: He intends that his teachings be not only contemplated but acted upon. The world has seen many moral philosophers since Jesus’ time, but it is hard to deny that Jesus’ teachings have had far more influence and has lasted the centuries. In fact, his message of caring for the downtrodden, extending kindness to strangers and loving one’s enemies is still unrivalled for its profound insight and penetrating simplicity.

Jesus believed that God was present with him in a unique way. So much so that he is seen to be God in human form as seen in his authority to forgive people of their wrongdoing (something only God could do), rewrite God’s law, heal the sick, raise the dead, deal with demons and finally to resurrect from the dead. According to the NT, Jesus is the Messiah (anointed one), the promised deliverer of Israel whose death on the cross and subsequent resurrection brings deliverance from sin and whose eventual return to earth will bring deliverance from oppression by the completion of God’s Kingdom.

During his time, Jesus was seen as a political threat, a blasphemer, a prophet, a rescuer from cruel oppression. Even his followers at first struggled to understand that he was the Messiah sent to rescue them in a completely unexpected way. But Jesus’ actions, teachings, death and resurrection demand a response from us. Either we write him off as an elaborate fabrication or he is God. It is really not good enough to say he was a prophet or a great teacher. That’s nonsense because he didn’t leave you those alternatives, he never intended to. The key question, in Jesus’ own words: “Who do you say that I am?”

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