Who Is Jesus Christ?

Jesus ( c. 4 BC – c. AD 30 / 33), also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus Christ, was
a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity. Most
Christians believe he is the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited Messiah (the Christ)
prophesied in the Old Testament.
Background

Jesus has been acclaimed as the greatest religious leader who ever lived, as being the most influential
person to have lived on our planet, and as being unique to the degree that no one can be compared to
Him.

But considering Jesus Christ merely on the basis of an exemplary life and His superior moral teaching will
not remove the stumbling blocks to Christianity raised by an unbelieving world. The real test of what
one thinks of Him must revolve around who He claimed to be and what He accomplished during His
brief mission to our planet. Our conclusion must be that there is no Christianity without Christ; all
centers in Him.

The predominant theme of the Scriptures is the Person and the work of Jesus Christ. He is God. He
became a human being, died by crucifixion, and was buried. He rose again from the dead. He is the only,
all-sufficient Savior of the world. He will come again to this earth. Removing this from the Scriptures
robs them of all coherent meaning and continuity.

(Biblical)

Jesus Christ is God: (Biblical)

Deity is the only explanation for all that He was and all that He did.

(1) He was pre-existent with the Father. “The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made
by him; and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:2, 3, KJV). (Also see John 17:5
and Colossians 1:17.)

(2) He is the Son of God.

His enemies admitted: “He...said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God” (John
5:18, KJV).

Peter confessed: “And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John
6:69, KJV).

Jesus affirmed: “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30, NIV).

(3) He was sinless, as only God can be.

Jesus challenged His enemies: “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” (John 8:46, KJV).

Peter testified: “...Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps: who
did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:21, 22, KJV).
Paul stated: “For he...made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, KJV).

(4) He forgives sin, as only God can

The Scribes said: “Who can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark 2:7, KJV).

Jesus said: “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins...” (Matthew
9:6, KJV). (Also see John 8:11.)

Peter wrote: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins,
should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24, KJV).

(5) He performed miraculous works.

He healed the sick: Matthew 8:9-13; Luke 4:31-44; 5:12-15; John 4:43 to 5:16; and other references.

He fed the hungry: John 6; Mark 8, etc.

He raised the dead: Luke 7:11-18; John 11:1-46.

Jesus Christ Became Man:

“And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us...full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, KJV). (See also
Philippians 2:7, 8.)

(1) His miraculous birth was prophesied 800 years before His coming: “Behold a virgin shall conceive,
and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7:14, KJV).

(2) The prophecy was fulfilled to the letter. “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And,
behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus” (Luke
1:30, 31, KJV).

(3) Jesus demonstrated human characteristics: He became tired (John 4:6). He thirsted (John 19:28), He
ate food (Luke 24:40-43), He showed feelings (Mark 6:34), He wept (John 11:35), He knew temptation
(Hebrews 4:15), and He died (John 19:30).

Jesus Christ Accomplished the Works of His Father:

(1) He died on the Cross. This is the fundamental theme of the Gospel.
The fact of His death—One-fourth of the Gospels are dedicated to His Passion and Resurrection. (a) For
this purpose He came into the world (John 12:27). (b) His death was prophesied hundreds of years
before He came (Isaiah 53:3-8).

The meaning of His death. (a) It was a ransom for sin (Matthew 20:28; Romans 3:24; 1 Peter 1:18). (b) It
was to pay the penalty for sin (Romans 3:24; 1 John 2:2; 4:10). Man is the object of God’s wrath because
of rebellion and sin, but God took the initiative in satisfying His wrath by sending His own Son to Calvary.
(c) It is a reconciliation. The enmity between us and God has ended (Romans 5:10), and we are restored
to God (2 Corinthians 5:18, 19). (d) It is a substitution: He died in our place (1 Peter 3:18; 2 Corinthians
5:21). (e) In summary, the matter of sin has been completely dealt with (1 Peter 2:24; Hebrews 9:26;
Hebrews 10:12).

(2) He was resurrected from the dead: This is unique and fundamental to Christianity.

The reality of the Resurrection (John 20:1-10; 1 Corinthians 15:4).

The credibility of the Resurrection: (a) Jesus predicted it: Matthew 13:39-41; Luke 24:1-7. (b) The tomb
was empty: John 20:11-13. (c) Many witnesses saw Him alive: the women (Luke 23:55, 56); Mary
Magdalene (John 20:1, 2, 11-18); Peter and the other disciples (John 20:3-9, 19, 20, 24-31; 21:1-14).

The Results of His Work:

(1) He ascended to His Father (Luke 24:49-53; Acts 1:6-11).

(2) He is our eternal Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 8:6; 1 John 2:1.

(3) He is our Savior: “Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins”
(Matthew 1:21, KJV). “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give
repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31, KJV).

He is the only Savior. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given
to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, NIV).

He is a complete Savior. “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25, KJV).

He is a personal Savior. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness: and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9, 10,
KJV).

The Consummation of His Work:

(1) He shall return again to this earth (Acts 1:11; Hebrews 10:37; John 14:3).

(2) Believers in Christ shall be bodily resurrected to begin a new, undying life (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18; 1
Corinthians 15:51-58).

(3) He will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords over His new creation (2 Peter 3:10-13; Revelation
22:3-5).
The Billy Graham Christian Worker’s Handbook (Minneapolis: World Wide Publications, 1984), pp. 152-
154

Who was responsible for Jesus crucifiction?

According to the canonical gospels, Jesus was arrested and tried by the Sanhedrin,
and then sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally crucified by the
Romans. Jesus was stripped of his clothing and offered wine mixed with myrrh or gall
to drink after saying I am thirsty.

Historical

The Historical Jesus

At the beginning of the third millennium, a special interest in Jesus of Nazareth
seems to have awakened in the world. Books written about him in recent years,
although not always positive, have emphasized the timeliness and transcendence
of the Son of God made man, and the attractiveness of his life. For in his
communion with the Father, Jesus is present to us today. And what does Jesus
bring, what does he give to the world? The answer is simple: God. [1]
“Stir up the fire of your faith. Christ is not a figure of the past. He is not a memory
lost in history. He lives! As St. Paul says: Iesus Christus heri et hodie: ipse et in
saecula! Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today—yes, and forever!" [2]
The preaching of the early Church always presented Jesus as the Son of God and
the only Savior. The proclamation of the Paschal Mystery brought with it a
paradoxical announcement of humiliation and exaltation, of shame and
triumph: We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to
Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of
God and the wisdom of God . [3]

It was not easy for the first Christians to overcome the scandal of the Cross, the
reality of the crucifixion and death of the Son of God himself. The Docetists and
the Gnostics tried to deny that Jesus had a real body that could suffer, while
Nestorius, two centuries later, claimed that there were two persons in Jesus, one
human and the other divine.

But the historical reality of Jesus of Nazareth does not escape any serious
student. Although we do not have a large amount of extra-biblical accounts of
him and his mission, these are sufficient to state without any doubt that he lived
on earth. The testimony of Flavius Josephus, for example, is substantially
accepted. In one of his books, this first-century Jewish historian refers to Jesus as
“a wise man, if one can refer to him as a man; he carried out extraordinary deeds,
being a teacher of men who accept the truth." [4] Later, during the reign of
Emperor Trajan, Pliny the Younger and Tacitus wrote about Jesus; and
afterwards Suetonius, Hadrian's secretary, did the same.
However, besides these references, the Gospels are “our principal source for the
life and teaching of the Incarnate Word, our Savior." [5] They provide us with a
detailed picture of his personality. The Church's tradition, under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, has recognized in these writings an authentic and sure
representation of the historical figure of our Lord, a figure who possesses a divine
character.