WHO IS JESUS?
Jesus is arguably the most controversial public figure in human history. After all, He claimed to be God on more than one occasion and asserted that He was the sole source of ultimate truth. But the controversy over Jesus wasn’t just about His outrageous verbal claims. His words calmed violent storms and He healed people of blindness, diseases, demon possession, and even death to substantiate that He alone possessed the authority and power to restore God’s kingdom to its former perfection.
Historical records claim that Jesus was fully human and yet never once sinned by disobeying God or rebelling against God’s intended design for His creation. And even though Jesus was a sinless human, He was a friend of prostitutes, thieves and other sinners. As if Jesus’ life wasn’t controversial enough already, His followers claimed that He conquered the power of sin and death by resurrecting from the dead and ascending into Heaven.
The controversy surrounding Jesus’ life can be summed up in His famous statement, “I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
What does this mean?
JESUS IS ‘THE WAY’ BACK TO GOD
If you watch the news, it becomes obvious pretty quickly that something is majorly wrong with our world. The headlines always seem to be dominated by suffering, violence, and oppression. And no sane person thinks that these types of headlines are good things. In fact, deep down you are probably longing and aching for a better world. Well, this universal ache speaks of something more. Just like hunger points to the existence of food and thirst points to water, so our ache for a better world means that a better world either once existed or will one day exist (or both). If a better world once existed, it appears that somewhere along the line creation lost its connection with God and in turn lost its WAY.
DESIGNED FOR GOOD
According to the Christian worldview, God originally created a good, wonderful world. In the beginning, everything was right with everything else. On a cosmic level, creation took care of us and we took care of creation (Genesis 1:29; 2:15). On a relational level, people were designed to take care of each other. They were made to be in true community, with the freedom to love and be loved, to serve and be served, to be themselves without shame in front of each other (Genesis 2:25). Men and woman didn’t fight or hurt each other; they perfectly reflected the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Lastly, on a personal level, we were each designed to be in a healthy relationship with God, a relationship full of love, intimacy, purpose, and harmony. God hung out with us, and we liked being around Him (Genesis 3:8). And so the world and all that was in it was originally designed for good. But what happened to this good world? How did we get to where we are today?
DAMAGED BY EVIL
When God was in charge, we had a wonderful world. But we wanted to be in charge so that the world and everyone in it could be used for our benefit. Life became all about us as we rebelled against God’s intended design and purpose. Under our leadership the world began deteriorating. On a bigger level, we began exploiting and damaging the world so that we could have a comfortable life. Societal issues like racism, sexism, slavery, and injustice began damaging us and our world (Genesis 3:14-19; Ezekiel 16:49; Amos 5:4-15). On a relational level, we damage others and others hurt us—whether we mean to or not. When we live for ourselves, it’s easy for our selfish desires to cause disregard for other people (Genesis 3:12-13; Romans 1:18-32). Finally, on a personal level, our disregard for God has damaged both us (mind, body and soul) and our relationship with God. Because of our self-centeredness we ignore God and work against His designs. And in doing this we hurt ourselves and destroy our relationship with Him (Genesis 3:10; Romans 1:18-32). And so now we—and the world around us—are damaged by evil and alienated from God. But God loves His creation too much to leave it this way.
RESTORED FOR BETTER
God came to the planet as Jesus two thousand years ago to restore His relationship with His creation once and for all. Because God, who is the perfect Judge, can’t simply overlook our rebellion and hurtful self-centeredness (because that wouldn’t be fair to those we’ve hurt, including Himself), Jesus had to take upon Himself the punishment for our rebellion by dying a criminal’s death. Jesus also started a resistance movement against evil. He did this by teaching us a better WAY to live, and He gives us the power to overcome evil in and around us. God’s creation can now be healed back to its original design and purpose. On a bigger level, God restored the potential for the world systems—the environment, corporations, governments, schools—to be used to usher in His values of love, peace, and justice. Oppression, violence, and injustice can now cease (Ephesians 2:11-22; Colossians 1:15-20). On an interpersonal level, damaged relationships can be healed as we now have the capacity to truly love and forgive each other (Matthew 6:12; 18:21-35). Lastly, on a personal level, our relationship with God is restored. Through Jesus’ power at work in us, we die to our old way of living and are able to live in a new way under Jesus’ leadership (2 Corinthians 5:11-21; Colossians 3:1-17). We no longer need to be defeated by the inner compulsion to work against God’s design for our lives. Sin is no longer our boss. And so through the WAY of Jesus, we can receive forgiveness for all of our sins (past, present, and future), reconnect both relationally and spiritually with the God of the universe, and overcome the selfishness and damage within us and our world. Jesus is inviting you to embrace Him as the WAY by identifying yourself with His death and resurrection and accepting His leadership in your life. But before you can embrace Jesus as the WAY, you need to embrace Jesus as the TRUTH.
JESUS IS ‘THE TRUTH’ FROM GOD
Many people believe that Jesus lived, was a good teacher and a very spiritual man, but they deny that He is God. A diluted Jesus is not the real Jesus. We must be careful to believe in the Jesus that He himself declared He was, "not be[ing] led astray from [our] sincere and pure devotion to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:3)
Here are seven declarations and actions of Jesus that show us who He believed He was and is:
1. JESUS SAID HE WAS GOD2. JESUS SAID HE CAME FROM HEAVEN, God's eternal dwelling placeMatthew 26:63-65 "But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, 'I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.' 'Yes, it is as you say,' Jesus replied. 'But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.' Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, 'He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.'"
John 8:58-59 " 'I tell you the truth,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I am!' At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds."
John 10:30-33 " 'I and the Father are one.' Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, 'I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?' 'We are not stoning you for any of these,' replied the Jews, 'but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.' "
John 14:8-9 "Philip said, 'Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.' Jesus answered: 'Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?' "
3. JESUS SAID HE WAS SINLESS, as God alone is without sinJohn 6:38 "For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me."
John 16:28 "I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."
4. JESUS FORGAVE SINJohn 8:46 "Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me?"
5. JESUS SAID HE WAS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVENMark 2:5 "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.'"
Luke 7:48, 49 "Then Jesus said to her, 'Your sins are forgiven.' The other guests began to say among themselves, 'Who is this who even forgives sins?' "
6. JESUS ACCEPTED WORSHIP AS GODJohn 14:6 "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"
John 11:25 "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.'"
7. JESUS PERFORMED MIRACLES including raising others and himself from the deadMatthew 14:33 "Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
John 9:38 "Then the man said, 'Lord Jesus, I believe,' and he worshiped him."
Matthew 4:23 "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people."
Matthew 17:18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.
Luke 8:49-50, 52-55 "While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. 'Your daughter is dead,' he said. 'Don't bother the teacher any more.' Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, 'Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.' …Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. 'Stop wailing,' Jesus said. 'She is not dead but asleep.' They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and said, 'My child, get up!' Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat."
Luke 7:12-15 "As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, 'Don't cry.' Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, 'Young man, I say to you, get up!' The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother."
John 11:43, 44 "When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!' The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, 'Take off the grave clothes and let him go.' "
Luke 24:5-8 "In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, 'Why do you look for the living among the dead? He [Jesus] is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' Then they remembered his words."
The spiritual transformation that we experience by embracing Jesus as the WAY and the TRUTH, enables us and compels us to join Jesus’ revolution to restore this world and everything in it for better!
JESUS IS ‘THE LIFE’ THAT GOD INTENDED
Many professing Christians have embraced Jesus as the WAY and the TRUTH but are not LIVING as healing agents in the world. But Jesus commissions His followers to live out their true design by going into the world and impacting it for good (Matthew 28:18-20).
Jesus’ most repeated command (in one form or another) was, “Follow me.” This is because Jesus wants us to join His resistance movement against evil, to see lives transformed and help heal the world (Luke 19:10). Through God’s power at work in us we are able to do this. On a personal level, we’re called to surrender to Jesus’ leadership and become more like Him. We need to become the kind of good that we want to see in the world. So we need to continually admit our contributions to the evil in the world, let Jesus take charge of our lives, and put our trust in Him (Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:1-17; 1 John 1:9). On an interpersonal level, we need to become healing agents in our relationships with others by exhibiting forgiveness, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control toward others (Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21). On a bigger level, we need to help bring restoration to our society by resisting injustice, violence, hate, and greed. Jesus invites you to join Him and His band of followers in bringing good back to His creation.
Adapted and borrowed from the book True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In by James Choung (pages 205-218).
