Who is this Jesus?
[Mat 16:15-16 KJV] 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
In this world we live many have heard the name Jesus. Some think that He was just a man, some would call Him a great prophet, and some call Him the Lord of Lords, and King of Kings. As was Peter asked, who do you say that Jesus is? Jesus is referred to as many names throughout the Bible: Jesus, Christ, Son of Man, the Messiah, Savior, and Emanuel just to name a few. We must look into the names to bring clarity to who He is.
The name Jesus is found some 972 times in the New Testament, and the name is defined as "Jehovah is salvation." Joshua of the Old Testament also has the same meaning, of which Joshua led Israel into the promise land of Canaan, Jesus leads us to the promise land of Heaven. In Matthew 1:23 we see the name Emmanuel, or "God is with us." Jesus left the glory of Heaven to take on the form of man in the flesh (John 1:14). Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of man to show how He was the head of the human family, living out the perfect life in the flesh on behalf of all mankind. The name Christ, christos, means the anointed referring to the Messiah. The One that would come and take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). The first Messianic prophecy is recorded in Genesis 3:15 some 4,000 years before the birth of Christ.
During the life of Christ on this earth, many Jews were skeptical of Jesus' claims of being the Messiah. They considered His teachings and claims to be the Son of God as blasphemous. The Jews were often trying to trap Jesus into direct blasphemy, but Jesus never once contradicted the scriptures concerning Him nor did He ever break the Law of Moses. Not being able to catch Him, the chief priests, the scribes, the elders, and the high priest Caiaphas sought to capture Him and have Him killed (Matthew 26:3-5). The remainder of Matthew 26 we see the betrayal by one of His own disciples, His arrest, and the mock trials with lying witnesses. Jesus was mocked, spit upon, and betrayed by His own. Jesus is usured out to go before the Romans for trial. Again, Jesus is beaten, mocked, spit upon and then even denounced by the people to be put to death. The later part of Matthew 27 we see the event of the crucifixion, Jesus hanging there from the sixth hour to the ninth hour of the day. The earth did quake, the veil ripped in half, and the dead did rise, causing many to believe that day that He was the Son of God. In Matthew 28 we see the glorious resurrection from the grave, and how He bare witness unto His own before He ascended into Heaven.
Who do you say that Jesus is? Thomas, being told of Jesus appearing to the others, would not believe until he could physically touch the spots where the nails were and His side where the spear had been thrust. Upon physically seeing Jesus Thomas believed. John 20:28-31 KJV 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed [are] they that have not seen, and [yet] have believed. 30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
Mike Parks
March 2, 2021
Hardin County Church of Christ
