Who is Jesus?

Who is Jesus?  Who did Jesus claim to be? Who are the Apostles saying Jesus is?  What are some of the religions saying who Jesus is? Who does the Bible say Jesus is? Why is it important to know who Jesus is? Why all the confusion? These will be some of the topics of today’s Bible study.

Let’s start with the question who did Jesus claim to be? To get an accurate answer of this question we need to start at the beginning when God first introduced Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14; And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

Now let’s take a look at what Jesus has to say about Himself. In John 8:58 we read;
“Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” Again we can see this in John 18:6 when Jesus said “I Am” the power of the name of God knocked everybody to the ground. “Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.”

In John 1:3 we read that Jesus is the creator of the universe, the earth and everything that was made. This verse also says all things were made through Him. The word “through” implies to me that Jesus was using the power of the Father channeling through Jesus to create everything. Look at this verse carefully and see what you think. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” This verse could have said all things were made by Him but instead it says through Him. In John 14:10 we see Jesus saying the same thing. “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.”
We need to look at the relationship between Jesus and the Father more carefully. In Luke 10:22 we read; “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

I believe that the oneness spoken of by Jesus in heavenly terms is a much closer oneness than we could ever hope to learn or understand here on earth. When we say the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are separate and at the same time are one, the line that separates the oneness of all three is so blurred it’s almost impossible to separate them. We can see the closeness between The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in 1 John 5:7 “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” We see this also in John 10:30 “I and My Father are one.”

As hard as this is to understand I just want to mention that when we join Jesus in the millennium the Trinity will change to the “Father, Son, Holy Spirit and the Saints or maybe the children of God, or the Sons of Light, or the Bride of Christ or Jesus and the saints could all be considered “Sons.” Look at Jesus’ prayer to the Father just before He was taken to be crucified. The prayer is found in John 17:20-23. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will^[a] believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: ²³ I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”

It looks to me that as Kings and Priests in Jesus’ Kingdom we will also be part of the Godhead. We also see this in the prophecy found in John 14:20, “At that day you will know that I am in My Father and you in Me, and I in you.” I believe these verses answer the question found in Psalm 8:4, “What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?”
I just thought this was worth mentioning now back to our study.

Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man and also the Son of God. Both are correct since He was half man and half God.  There are many references confirming this truth here are two. In Mark 10:45 we read  “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” In Luke 22:70 we read “Then they all said, “Are You then the Son of God?” So He said to them, “You rightly say that I am.”

After Jesus was resurrected the Apostle Thomas said he would not believe until he could touch the nail prints in His hands and reach his hand into Jesus’ side. After doing so we can see what Thomas’s response is: In John 25-28 we read,  “So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
²⁶ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” ²⁷ Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”⁸ And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

When Jesus asked the Apostle Peter who do you say I am? In Matthew 16:16 we read Peter’s response, “Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
What are some of the religions saying who Jesus is? The Mormons are claiming that Jesus and Satan are brothers. The Jehovah Witnesses are claiming that Jesus is an archangel like Michael. The Catholics claim you have to pray to Jesus’ Mother or to one of the other saints. The Islam religion says that Jesus is a prophet and the Hindu’s and the Buddhists believe that Jesus is an “enlighten individual.”

First of all I would stay away from any church that claims to be the “only one true church”. They are using pride to suck you in so you can feel confident in knowing that you are smarter, better and more righteous than everybody else. Remember the sin of pride. In Luke 14:11 it states, “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” These people forget that in the book of Revelation Jesus is writing to His seven churches. Jesus was not writing to His one true church.

What does the Bible say about Jesus? The Bible says that after the Great Tribulation which will last seven years, Jesus will rule the earth for the next one thousand years. When Jesus comes to the earth to claim His rightful place as King of the earth check out what His clothing says in Revelation 19:16; “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
In Isaiah 9:7 we see that the government of Jesus will last forever here on the earth. “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

The reason I bring this up is because during the reign of Christ the book of Isaiah gives us a prophecy of the names that the people of the earth will call Jesus. It is found in Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
So all this confusion about who Jesus is.  I believe this argument is settled in the above verse. This is what Jesus will be called during the millennium because this is what Jesus really is. I have heard it said concerning the above verse that the reference to Mighty God shows that Jesus is not really Almighty God. 

I believe the next two verses found in Revelation put to rest that vicious rumor. These verses are found in Revelation 11:17 saying: “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.”And in Revelation 15:3. We read “They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!”
Why is it important to know who Jesus is? Not only is it very important to know who Jesus is it is also necessary for salvation. If you are praying to the wrong Jesus you will not be saved. An Archangel can’t save you from your sins.  Satan’s brother can’t save you from your sins. Jesus’ Mother can’t save you from your sins. No enlighten individual can save you from your sins and no prophet dead or alive can save you from your sins.

There is only one Jesus as Almighty God and Savior so you have to be very careful and not let anybody fool you into believing in the wrong Jesus. We read in the book of Acts 4:12; “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Why all the confusion? The goal of Satan and his demons is to keep you from the salvation of Jesus by any means necessary. If they can confuse you and have you believe in the wrong Christ then they win and you lose. We need to heed the warning in 1 John 2:18, “ [ Deceptions of the Last Hour ] Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.”

I always believed that God was capable of protecting His word. If we don’t have the accurate word of God here on earth then God couldn’t possibly hold any human beings responsible for their actions. That means that people like Hitler and Stalin can’t be punished for their crimes.

The reason I say this is because that is exactly what’s happening to many religious seekers. As a religion if I have you read a verse like “Jesus said to the thief on the cross today you will be with me in paradise.” Then I would tell you that a group of biblical scholars got together and found out that the verse had been translated wrong and the verse really should read “Jesus said to the thief on the cross today will you be with Me in paradise?

All I need you to do is to just believe that what I said is true. Once you believe that the verse is translated wrong now I become the authority and I can now show you all the other wrong translations in the Bible to get you to believe whatever I want you to believe.
Don’t let anybody tell you the Bible is full of errors. People have been trying to disprove the Bible since about 750 BC. If the so called scholars could have disproved the Bible it would not be around today. Don’t forget that it was the religious leaders and the scribes of Jesus’ day that had Jesus crucified because they were envious of His fame.

The Dead Sea Scrolls found in 1948 have already proven the accuracy of the Bible. You don’t need me or anybody else translating them for you. The only correct formula that is required for understanding God and the Bible is to get a Bible that you understand, read it every day and pray every day, God will do the rest.