Who is Jesus?

A family member has memory problems, but she has one thing firm in her mind. We were singing carols and she said, “If a person truly believes, they must realize that Jesus is God.”

Her once-clever mind did not make this up. This is a revealed truth. However, many people, even some who go to church and claim to have faith in Him do not agree. Neither did the Pharisees:

“Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, ‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, ‘“The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’”? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?’ And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.” (Matthew 22:41–46)

The very moment Christ came into my life, I knew He is God. Someone advised me to read the Gospel of John five times, then Romans twice. In reading John, this truth was affirmed repeatedly, beginning with:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1–5)

As today’s devotional writer says, people will acknowledge that he was a prophet, a religious teacher, a good man, who promoted morality and truth and justice. Some say His moral life, self-sacrifice, self-denial and devotion are good examples for us. One of the Pharisees agreed . . .

“Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.’” (John 3:2)

In the conversation that followed, Jesus made it clear that no one could see or enter the kingdom of God unless they were given a new life from God. He is so far from what we are that we cannot grasp His identity or figure out who He is even if another person tells us. We need that revelation from the Spirit of God through reading and hearing the Word of God.

“Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He (Jesus) was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” (1 Timothy 3:16)

He is more than a baby born in a manger, more than a good teacher and a good example. He is the God of gods, Lord of lords . . .

“. . . and from the Jews, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 9:5)

He came to seek and to save the lost, to redeem us from our sin. He was sinless, establishing righteousness as a human being so His righteousness might be imputed to believers by God the Father who sent Him to be our substitute, to satisfy the wrath of God against sin and justify all who believe. He did just that, declaring, “It is finished” as He died for our sin.

After a day of gift-exchanges, too much wonderful food, and never enough fun and laughter with family, I feel sated, totally satisfied and blessed. All of it was good, yet all of what I feel is focused on this God-man, this Savior who took my sin on Himself and gave me life and the capacity to enjoy it.

^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, thank You. Thank You for all Your goodness to Your children, to our lives together and to our ability to love and enjoy each other. Yet I thank You most of all for You. I can see You in Aslan as we watched Chronicles of Narnia movies, and in the faces of all who love You as we sang carols and held candles at church, and even in the abundance of gifts and food and fun — for You are the source of all that we are and have. Thank You for coming here to give us a deeper understanding of what God is like, and most of all, for living and dying and rising again that we can have Your life through Your gift of faith. What a joy You are — thank You!