Who is Jesus?
The question of who Jesus is has been highly debated for centuries. From the time Jesus preached his first sermon and performed his first miracle, people have either doubted who Jesus is or been absolutely certain as to who he was. This debate has only gotten more complex over time. In its beginning, it was quite simple. The followers of Jesus, which included Jews and Gentiles, (A Gentile was anyone who was not Jewish).
Son of God
Jesus is God made manifest in human form. He is the Emmanuel, which literally means, “God with us.” A child has the characteristics of their parents. A child may sound like or look like one of their parents. They may have similar personalities and emotional reactions. When we say that Jesus is the Son of God, it does not mean that Jesus looks and sounds like, but rather has the same characteristics as God. Jesus shares his personality, his emotions, his traits, attributes, and characteristics all with God. They are perfectly in tune with each other.
Most Christians will tell you, as will I, that Jesus was divinely conceived and born of a virgin, Mary. Most of Christianity accepts the belief in the Trinity – Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The divine conception means that Jesus was not conceived by normal human means, but rather that the Holy Spirit placed the seed within Mary.
Jesus has the same nature as God, meaning that the two are one in the same. Having the same nature means that Jesus is God. Look at the words, “make,” “create,” and “beget.” Anybody can make something, because it is a general use. You can make dinner. You can make your bed. You can make a table. Create takes making something into an art. You create a masterpiece. You create a symphony. You create a poem. These share your imprint, but not your nature. Begetting can only be used for one thing. You beget a child, and when you beget a child, that means that the child is going to have the same nature as you. As already mentioned, a child inherits his or her genes from his or her parents. They inherit their nature from the parent. So, when we say that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, we are really saying that Jesus has the same nature as God. And if Jesus has the same nature as God, he is also divine and eternal. And because he is divine and eternal, there was never a time when he was literally begotten. Jesus always was.
But he became subordinate to God for the mission to save the people of the world. As a son or daughter is expected to obey their parents, so too did Jesus obey his Father. God had a plan to save His people and it was a plan that only God could carry out. God charged Jesus, the Son, the second person of the Trinity, to die for the people of the world – past, present, future. To carry out the mission, Jesus had to be obedient and subordinate, he could not waver, he could not stop whenever he wanted, he had to continue, he had to go on.
Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. The Greek word is monogenesis, which means the only generated one. For us to become children of God, we have to be born again, but Jesus does not have to be born again. We become sons or daughters of God, but Jesus is the Son of God because He always was. Jesus is the only begotten because he is not marred or tainted with sin. He is perfect, pure, and clean. Our sin and filth place a separation between us and God, but there is no separation between Jesus and God, meaning that only Jesus (God in the flesh) can tear down the wall and make us sons or daughters.
Lamb of God
In the days of the Old Testament Hebrews, there were many ritual sacrifices required, all for various reasons, but the main reason was to atone for the sins of the people. There were many rules regarding the sacrifice, including that the animal sacrificed had to pure and clean. Often times, a lamb would be used. This goes back to the angel of death that passed over the homes of the Hebrews in Egypt. They had smeared the blood of a lamb over their doors to signify they were to be spared.
God has provided the lamb in Jesus. Jesus was slaughtered. We mark ourselves with the blood of Jesus. signifying that we belong to God, letting death know that it can passover us. Yes we will physically die, but in Jesus we will be resurrected into eternal life.
I AM
Jesus is eternal and transcends time, so he always is. He just is, there is no was or will be, just is. He is the Alpha and Omega (Beginning and End), because he was the first to exist and will be the last in existence, but has no beginning and end, as he has always existed, outside and inside of time.
He is the bread of life. If we partake of him, we will be sustained and spiritually fed. But he also will make sure that our physical needs are met. We won’t go hungry.
As the light of the world, he dispels the darkness that surrounds us and lights the path on which we walk.
As the gate, he is open for us to come into the fold.
As our shepherd, he is leading us on the path, into the fold. He also has a rod and staff to fend off the wolves of the world and to pull us back when we wander off.
Because he is life eternal, when we enter into him, we gain life eternal with him. We may physically die, but we will live because…
He rose from the grave defeating the grave, and through him, we too shall rise. Death does not have the final say.
He points us in the right direction, sharing with us the Truth, which is Jesus, and upon accepting this Truth, we gain Life, the Life that is in Him.
As the vine that we grow off of, his life flows into us allowing us to grow and develop into strong, sturdy branches.