County Line Church of Christ

And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:10-11)

The answer to the question, "Who is Jesus?" can be either very simple or deeply profound. On the one hand, Jesus is our Savior. On the other hand, He is the Son of God in the flesh who came to earth to set the perfect pattern for man�s behavior and then to give his life to pardon all the guilty of all time. Let�s explore this profound side briefly while realizing there will always be so much more that could be said (John 21:25).

Jesus was with God in the beginning of the heavens and the earth! He was involved in the creation of everything (John 1:1-3, 14; Hebrews 1:1-3). He was part of the Godhead when these words were spoken, "Let us make man in our image" (Genesis 1:26).

The virgin birth of Jesus was foretold about 750 years prior to His coming to earth (Isaiah 7:14). This concept of a virgin birth is difficult for some people to grasp. Except for Adam, who came from the dust of the ground (Genesis 1:27, 2:7) and for Eve, who was taken out of man (Genesis 2:21-23), all humans have been born as a result of the process of procreation which God put into place and instructed (Genesis 1:27-28; 4:1). But why wouldn�t God have a special and miraculous birth for His own Son? Jesus was begotten by God through the Holy Spirit and was born in a special way--through the virgin birth (Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:26-35).

During the approximately three years of His ministry on earth, Jesus did many miracles that greatly benefited His contemporaries. However, He always made it plain that his ultimate interest was in saving their souls (Luke 19:10; Matthew 9:36-38; 26:28; John 8:24, 32; Mark 16:16; John 3:1-5; Matthew 11:28-30).

Jesus often warned His disciples that He would have to die but He also promised them that He would rise from the dead (John 14:1-3, Matthew 16:21-23). The disciples seemed unable to grasp the concept of the resurrection (John 20:24-31) just as some people today still have difficulty believing.

Eventually Jesus was crucified, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion (Matthew 26-28; I Corinthians 15:1-4). After appearing several times over a period of a few weeks, Jesus ascended back into the heavens from which He will eventually return (Acts 1:10-11; I Thessalonians 4:13-17; Revelation 1:7). Until He returns, Jesus is ruling over His Kingdom, the church (Ephesians 1:22-23; Matthew 16:18-19; Colossians 1:13-14; I Corinthians 15:20-28) while making intercession for the righteous (Hebrews 4:15; 7:25; I John 1:7-2:3) and abiding with the church (Matthew 18:20; 28:20).