Who is Jesus

(Luke 9:18-22)

Who is Jesus? Many of the people of the world think of him as just a good man that lived about 2,000 years ago. Christians recognise him as the Son of God and the Christ, but what else do we know about Jesus identity?

First, in this scripture it is not possible to know who Jesus really is unless you are shown by God. The revelation of who Jesus Christ is comes from God and without His insight, we too might think he as the world does. Jesus said to Peter in another version of this discussion, “15 He (Jesus) said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” (Luke 9:15-17)

But Jesus had other identities as well. He was also known as the Christ or the Messiah. The word “Christ” is a Greek word meaning “anointed” and Jesus was the one anointed by God to do the work he did. He was anointed to deliver the message of salvation to mankind and to become the sacrifice on our behalf so that we could have life. The Hebrew word Messiah essentially is the same as Christ.

But Jesus was also known as the “Word.” In John chapter 1 we see him referred to in this way.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)

What this is saying is that the Word was instrumental in the creation of all things, stars, sun, moon, earth, people, plants and animals and anything else you can think of. Jesus was the Creator and it seems evident that he was in the beginning of creation from what is written in Genesis 1. All of the things that were created began with a “word.” God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light and so on. Nothing was created until the word went forth, and it is my belief that Jesus was the Word and the one who spoke the word that set the whole of Creation into motion.

Jesus is also the Lamb of God, indicating that he would be or was sacrificed so that we could live. He was the only one found holy and righteous enough to be the perfect offering for the sins of all mankind so that man could enter life and be atoned and set right with God.

There are many other aspects of the nature and identities of Jesus Christ that I have not covered here. But these are enough to gain some understanding into who this being is and how much he loves us to step down from the magnificence he had to come to man and help him overcome sin.

He is worthy of all praise and all honour and all glory for what he sacrificed on our behalf. Praise be to God for this gift with which there is no comparison.