Who is Jesus?

"Jesus rejected at Nazareth"by Andre Bida - 1874 
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 4:16-30

TO CHEW ON: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind

To set at liberty those who are oppressed

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord….

Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing

- Luke 4:18-19,21

If you ask people who Jesus is (or was) you will get a variety of answers:
- a great teacher
- just one of many prophets
- a good moral example.

Here we find out what He thought of himself. The things He said He would do by claiming to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1,2 were only things that Israel’s promised Messiah could do. He clearly claimed to be that Messiah.

Of course His hearers, completely familiar with what He had read and savvy as to what His claims implied, were enraged. When He lumped them in with all the prophet-rejecters of the past, their wrath exploded. They dragged Jesus out of the synagogue, took Him to a hilltop, and intended to throw him to His death. But it wasn’t His time and He walked away.

The reaction of these people to Jesus’ claims about Himself show us that they knew exactly what He was saying. They viewed it as blasphemy.

People who refuse to accept Jesus’ claims as God, yet insist He was a noble character must not have read passages like this. For it’s clear that either Jesus was who He clamed to be or something far less honorable – a liar perhaps, or deluded, or mentally ill?

I believe He is who He claims to be (John 8:58). As such, I believe the things He said carry a lot of weight – like:
- how we come to God (John 14:6).
- the fate of those who believe in Him  (John 11:25-26).
- the fate of those who don’t (John 3:16-18).

Who do you think Jesus was? Why do you believe the way you do? Has it made any difference in the way you live?

PRAYER: Dear God, please show me who Jesus is. And may it be more than just an intellectual knowing. Amen.

MORE: Other answers to "Who is Jesus?"

C. S. Lewis’s take on ‘Who is Jesus?’

C. S. Lewis’s statement ‘refuted’ – are you swayed?

Phil Johnson lays out a systematic theology-type answer to ‘Who is Jesus?’

If Jesus is really God...

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Colossians 2:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." Colossians 2:9

There is nothing subtle in the statement Paul makes about Jesus in Colossians 2:9. He says in plain words, He is God.

This probably doesn't sound controversial to us if we're from a Christian heritage, privy as we are to the New Testament as well as the Old, the writings of scholars, theologians and apologists spanning the centuries. But it was controversial to people in the first century who had only the evidence of three years of Jesus' ministry and the word of eye witnesses. And it is a controversial statement to many moderns who lump Jesus in with founders of other religions and think of him as merely one prophet among many.

But, as H.C. Thiessen says in his Lectures in Systematic Theology: 

"The Son is recognized as God. The importance of the doctrine of the deity of Christ can scarcely be overestimated. Jesus Christ does not sustain the same relation to Christianity that other founders of religion sustain to the faiths which they have originated. Buddha (B.C. 563-484), Confucius (551-478), and Mohammed (A.D. 570?-632) are significant primarily for their teaching; but Jesus Christ is significant primarily for His person." p. 138.

There isn't room in one short devotional to list the proofs (with supporting Bible references) that Jesus is God, as theologians like Thiessen have done so ably -- proving that He:
- has the attributes of deity (is eternal, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, immutable)
- fulfills the offices of deity (as creator and sustainer of the created world).
- exercises the prerogatives of deity (forgives sins, raises the dead, will execute judgement). etc.

If you're interested in studying this, there are many great internet resources. For a start, check out John Piper's category the "Deity of Christ" (on the Desiring God site) which contains numerous links.

I, for one, am convinced. But what difference does a belief in Christ's deity make? I can think of three responses:

1. I can have confidence that Jesus IS the way to God -- as He says in John 14:6. I can proclaim this without apology, even though such audacious certainty is not politically correct in our society, which encourages tolerance of any and all opinions on how we get to God.

2. The logical response is to give Him my life. This is exactly the plea Paul makes to the Romans. After exclaiming over the excellence of God's plan and way of working in Romans 11:33-36, he goes on in Romans 12:1 to say: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."

3. I can have peace, knowing that I have the best. As the verse following today's focus verse says "…you are complete in Him…" (Colossians 2:10).

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I acknowledge You as God and Lord of my life. Help me to understand all this means in everyday living. Amen.

MORE: "Fairest Lord Jesus" - Ross Parsley



(From the archives)

If Jesus is really God...

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Colossians 2:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." Colossians 2:9

There is nothing subtle in the statement Paul makes about Jesus in Colossians 2:9. He says in plain words, He is God.

This probably doesn't sound controversial to us if we're from a Christian heritage, privy as we are to the New Testament as well as the Old, the writings of scholars, theologians and apologists spanning the centuries. But it was controversial to people in the first century who had only the evidence of three years of Jesus' ministry and the word of eye witnesses. And it is a controversial statement to many moderns who lump Jesus in with founders of other religions and think of him as merely one prophet among many.

But, as H.C. Thiessen says in his Lectures in Systematic Theology: 

"The Son is recognized as God. The importance of the doctrine of the deity of Christ can scarcely be overestimated. Jesus Christ does not sustain the same relation to Christianity that other founders of religion sustain to the faiths which they have originated. Buddha (B.C. 563-484), Confucius (551-478), and Mohammed (A.D. 570?-632) are significant primarily for their teaching; but Jesus Christ is significant primarily for His person." p. 138.

There isn't room in one short devotional to list the proofs (with supporting Bible references) that Jesus is God, as theologians like Thiessen have done so ably -- proving that He:
- has the attributes of deity (is eternal, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, immutable)
- fulfills the offices of deity (as creator and sustainer of the created world).
- exercises the prerogatives of deity (forgives sins, raises the dead, will execute judgement). etc.

If you're interested in studying this, there are many great internet resources. For a start, check out John Piper's category the "Deity of Christ" (on the Desiring God site) which contains numerous links.

I, for one, am convinced. But what difference does a belief in Christ's deity make? I can think of three responses:

1. I can have confidence that Jesus IS the way to God -- as He says in John 14:6. I can proclaim this without apology, even though such audacious certainty is not politically correct in our society, which encourages tolerance of any and all opinions on how we get to God.

2. The logical response is to give Him my life. This is exactly the plea Paul makes to the Romans. After exclaiming over the excellence of God's plan and way of working in Romans 11:33-36, he goes on in Romans 12:1 to say: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."

3. I can have peace, knowing that I have the best. As the verse following today's focus verse says "…you are complete in Him…" (Colossians 2:10).

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I acknowledge You as God and Lord of my life. Help me to understand all this means in everyday living. Amen.

MORE: "Fairest Lord Jesus" - Ross Parsley

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Who is Jesus?

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 4:14-30

TO CHEW ON: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind

To set at liberty those who are oppressed

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord….

Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing

- Luke 4:18-19,21

If you ask people who Jesus is (or was) you will get a variety of answers:
- a great teacher
- just one of many prophets
- a good moral example.

Here we find out what He thought of himself. The things He said He would do by claiming to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1,2 were only things that Israel’s promised Messiah could do. He clearly claimed to be that Messiah.

"Jesus rejected at Nazareth"

by Andre Bida - 1874

Of course His hearers, completely familiar with what He had read and savvy as to what His claims implied, were enraged. When He lumped them in with all the prophet-rejecters of the past, their wrath exploded. They dragged Jesus out of the synagogue, took Him to a hilltop, and intended to throw him to His death. But it wasn’t His time and He walked away.

The reaction of these people to Jesus’ claims about Himself show us that they knew exactly what He was saying. They viewed it as blasphemy.

People who refuse to accept Jesus’ claims as God, yet insist He was a noble character must not have read passages like this. For it’s clear that either Jesus was who He clamed to be or something far less honorable – a liar perhaps, or deluded, or mentally ill?

I believe He is who He claims to be. As such, I believe the things He said carry a lot of weight – like:
- how we come to God.
- the fate of those who believe in Him.
- the fate of those who don’t.

Who do you think Jesus was? Why do you believe the way you do? Has it made any difference in the way you live?

PRAYER: Dear God, please show me who Jesus is. And may it be more than just an intellectual knowing. Amen.

MORE:

C. S. Lewis’s take on ‘Who is Jesus?’

C. S. Lewis’s statement ‘refuted’ – are you swayed?

Phil Johnson lays out a systematic theology-type answer to ‘Who is Jesus?’

Ravi Zacharias: “Who is Jesus?”