SO, WHO EXACTLY IS JESUS ???

2/27/2019

WHO IS JESUS ? WAS HE A REAL PERSON ? DID HE SAY AND DO ALL THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE HEAR ABOUT? DID HE REALLY DO ALL THE MIRACLES THAT THEY SAY HE DID? WAS HE A TEACHER AND A RABBI? WAS HE A PROPHET? WAS HE A RIGHTEOUS MAN….WAS HE A LIAR AND A LUNATIC….OR IS HE WHAT HE SAID HE IS…..THE SON OF GOD. THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE….

MOST HISTORIANS WILL AGREE THAT JESUS WAS A REAL PERSON. THERE ARE RECORDS THAT SHOW HE LIVED FROM ABOUT 4 BC TO 30 AD. HE WAS BORN TO MARY AND JOSEPH IN BETHLEHEM, AND LIVED IN THE TOWN OF NAZARETH. HE IMMERSED HIMSELF IN THE TORAH AT A YOUNG AGE, AND BECAME A TEACHER, OR RABBI IN TODAYS TERMS, AND HE TRAVELED THROUGHOUT GALILEE. HE WAS BAPTIZED BY JOHN THE BAPTIST, AND AFTER MANY ALTERCATIONS WITH JEWISH AUTHORITIES WAS ARRESTED. HE WAS CRUCIFIED BY ROMAN PREFECT PONTIUS PILATE, DIED, AND WAS BURIED IN A WEALTHY MAN’S TOMB. AND SO THE STORY OF THIS MAN IS PRESENTED TO THE SECULAR WORLD. END OF STORY.

TO CHRISTIANS, THE STORY BECOMES MUCH DIFFERENT. JESUS IS RECOGNIZED AS THE CENTRAL FIGURE OF CHRISTIANITY. IN MOST CHRISTIAN BELIEF SYSTEMS, JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD. HE WAS A TRUE TEACHER OF GOD’S WORD, TRAVELED WITH 12 MEN AROUND GALILEE AND SURROUNDING AREAS, SHARING PARABLES, DOING MIRACLES, AND CASTING OUT DEMONIC SPIRITS. HE WAS ARRESTED BY JEWISH AUTHORITIES, SENTENCED TO DEATH, AND CRUCIFIED. AFTER 3 DAYS HE WAS RESURRECTED, AND A SHORT TIME LATER ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN WHERE HE SITS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER. HE DIED FOR OUR SINS, AND HIS BLOOD CLEANSES ALL CHRISTIANS FROM THOSE SINS AND ONCE THEY ACCEPT HIM AS THEIR SAVIOR, THEY ARE GIVEN THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE. DEATH HAS BEEN DEFEATED.

TO THE JEWISH FAITH, JESUS WAS A TEACHER, ONE OF MANY. HE WAS NOT THE MESSIAH, AND HE DID NOT MEET THE PROPHETIC VISION OF WHO THE MESSIAH WOULD BE. TO EMBRACE HIM TO MANY WOULD IMPLY A CASTING AWAY OF WHO THEY TRULY ARE. IN MANY CIRCUMSTANCES, CHRISTIANITY HAS BEEN A MAJOR CHALLENGE AND DIFFICULTY TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE. BLAMING THEM FOR THE DEATH OF JESUS, WHILE TRYING TO CONVERT THEM TO THE CHRISTIAN BELIEF SYSTEM. SOME PARTS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH EVEN BELIEVING THAT THE JEWS SHOULD BE DONE AWAY WITH. BELIEVING CHRISTIANS HAVE REPLACED THE JEWS AS GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE.

THE FAITH OF ISLAM RECOGNIZES JESUS AS A TEACHER AND A PROPHET. HE WAS A BRINGER OF THE WORD. ISLAM DOES NOT BELIEVE IN ORIGINAL SIN, SO THEIR IS NO NEED FOR A SAVIOR. JESUS WAS NOT CRUCIFIED. HE WAS INSTEAD ASSUMED INTO HEAVEN BEFORE HIS ACTUAL DEATH. MUSLIMS DO BELIEVE THAT JESUS WILL RETURN ON THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT, AND HE WILL DESTROY THE ad-dajjal - ANTI CHRIST OR IMPOSTER. BUT HE IS NOT GOD….

THIS IS ALL SOME REALLY INTERESTING INFORMATION, BUT WHAT IT ALL REALLY COMES DOWN TO IS ONE REALLY SPECIFIC AND CRITICAL QUESTION. “WHO IS JESUS TO YOU”?

TO ME, JESUS IS MY SAVIOR, MY LORD, AND MY KING.

WHEN I THINK OF JESUS, THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME. THE FIRST THING IS JUST HOW MUCH HE LOVES ME. IT TRULY OVERWHELMS ME. WHEN I THINK OF THE SUFFERING HE WENT THROUGH AS HE WAS TRIED, BEATEN, ABANDONED BY HIS DISCIPLES. MADE TO CARRY A CROSS OVER A DIFFICULT PATH AND DISTANCE TO FACE CRUCIFIXION ! LAID ON WOOD, WITH NAILS DRIVEN THROUGH HIS HANDS AND FEET, AND RAISED UP TO HANG IN AGONY WHILE HE SLOWLY DIED. AND HE DID IT FOR ME. AND FOR YOU. THAT LOVE IS HARD TO COMPREHEND….AND OFTEN I FIND MYSELF THINKING ABOUT HIM, AND COMING TO TEARS. TEARS FOR HIS SUFFERING, TEARS FOR HIS FATHER’S SUFFERING, AND TEARS FOR ABSOLUTE GRATITUDE AND LOVE FOR HIM….AND WHAT HE DID FOR ME, THAT I COULD HAVE A PLACE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

THE SECOND THING I THINK ABOUT IS JUST HOW INCREDIBLE IT IS TO HAVE MY RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. RIGHT FROM THE START, HE WANTED TO KNOW ME. ALL OF ME. MY CHILDISH WAYS, MY REBELLIOUS THOUGHTS AND BEHAVIOR. HE WANTED TO SHAPE ME INTO SOMETHING DIFFERENT….CHANGE MY HEART INTO SEEKING HIM, AND TO UNDERSTAND HIS FATHER AND HIS KINGDOM. TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE IN THE TRUTH AND BEAUTY OF THE COMMANDMENTS OF HIS KINGDOM. HOW TO KNOW HIM WELL ENOUGH TO WANT TO BRING OTHERS TO MEET HIM AND FEEL THE JOY AND PEACE AND CONFIDENCE TO WALK THROUGH LIFE KNOWING YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN ALONE…. AS I GET OLDER, I AM AMAZED HOW MORE CLEAR THINGS HAVE BECOME FOR ME. WHEN YOU ARE YOUNG, YOU ARE BUILDING YOUR LIFE, MAKING FRIENDS, LOOKING FOR A CAREER, MAYBE A SPOUSE AND KIDS….JESUS, CAN YOU SPARE ME A MINUTE AND HELP ME WITH THIS, AND THIS, AND THIS. I NEED, I WANT, …..BUT MY TIME IS SO LIMITED ! I AM SO BUSY AND IF YOU CAN JUST WAIT, I’LL BE THERE TO TALK SOON… AND, HE WAS, AND IS, SO PATIENT. BUT I’VE CHANGED. I WANT HIM ALL THE TIME. HE HAS BLESSED ME WITH KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDING, AND WISDOM. HE HAS BLESSED ME WITH TIME. HE HAS BLESSED ME WITH HIS PRESENCE IN MY LIFE AND HEART. AND ALL I DO IS FIND A WAY TO GET STILL, AND LISTEN, AND DESIRE TO HEAR HIM. AND I HEAR HIS VOICE…..JIM….

JESUS TOLD HIM, “I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME. John 14:6

JESUS REPLIED, TRULY I TELL YOU, UNLESS SOMEONE IS BORN AGAIN, HE CANNOT SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD John 3:3

TRULY, TRULY, I SAY UNTO YOU, WHOEVER HEARS MY WORD AND BELIEVES IN HIM WHO SENT ME HAS ETERNAL LIFE.HE DOES NOT COME INTO JUDGEMENT, BUT HAS PASSED FROM DEATH TO LIFE. John 5:24-25

DO NOT FEAR FOR I AM WITH YOU; DO NOT BE AFRAID, FOR I AM YOUR GOD. I WILL STRENGTHEN YOU; I WILL HELP YOU; I WILL HOLD ONTO YOU WITH MY RIGHTEOUS RIGHT HAND. Isaiah 41:10

BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD Psalm 46:10

SO, WHO EXACTLY IS JESUS ? HE IS YOURS. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ASK HIM :) PEACE, JA