The Centrality of the Resurrection

The Apostles' Creed is thought to be the earliest formal Christian statement of belief, which the later Nicene Creed (AD 381) expanded. It is unlikely that the twelve apostles actually created and circulated this creed among the churches of God, as its origins are second century, but the Apostles' Creed is an early confirmation of what a majority of professing Christians believed in the first few centuries of the church's existence.

(As an aside, a glaring detail missing from the Apostles' Creed is any claim of Trinitarianism; it reads simply, in Latin, "Credo in Spiritum Sanctum"—"I believe in the Holy Spirit." The later Nicene Creed adds Personhood and the title "the Lord, the giver of life" to the Holy Spirit, as well as equality in worship and glory with the Father and Son. This is an indication that the Trinity doctrine was formulated and accepted by the Catholic Church in the fourth century and is not original to biblical Christianity.)

By far, the bulk of the Apostles' Creed concerns Jesus Christ:

I believe in Jesus Christ, [God the Father's] only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Central to the doctrine of Christianity is the resurrection of Christ from the dead. An even earlier, biblical statement by the apostle Paul attests to this fact:

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. (I Corinthians 15:3-5)

Even earlier, the apostle Peter's first sermon builds to its crescendo of the good news of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and what it means:

[David], foreseeing [that his descendant, Messiah, would sit on his throne], spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption [Psalm 16:10]. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. . . . Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:31-33, 36)

We can go back even further, to Christ's ministry itself. Jesus gave only one sign to verify His Messiahship, and it was His resurrection from the dead. The scribes and Pharisees had demanded a sign from Him to prove His claims. He responded:

An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be give to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:39-40)

In harmonizing the four gospel narratives—of which about a quarter concerns His arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection—it is clear that this sign was fulfilled to the very second. He rose from the dead exactly three days and three nights—seventy-two hours—from His burial "in the heart of the earth." The amazing point about this is that, being dead, He had no power to effect either His burial or His resurrection! Far from being a "mere coincidence," it is proof that God the Father, in His sovereignty, brought this sign to pass in its every detail.

Doctrinally, why is His resurrection so vital to Christian belief? Beyond the fact that it fulfilled the sign, the resurrection of Jesus Christ opened the way to eternal life and glory for those who believe. While the sinless Jesus' crucifixion and death paid for all the past sins of those who accept Christ's blood for their forgiveness, it leaves them redeemed but without a future. A dead Savior leaves salvation incomplete. As the apostle Paul explains in I Corinthians 15:14, 19: "If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. . . . If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable."

Yet, by raising Jesus from the dead, restoring His glorious spirit-body, and exalting Him to His right hand, the Father made possible two crucial realities:

1. Jesus became our Mediator and High Priest before the Father, giving us the opportunity to have a relationship with Him (Hebrews 8:6; 10:12-13, 19-22). Paul tells us, "For through [Christ] we both [Jews and Gentiles] have access by one Spirit to the Father" (Ephesians 2:18). As Jesus Himself says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

2. Jesus became "the Firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29) and "the firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5). By overcoming death through the resurrection from the dead, He became the Archegos—the Forerunner, the Trailblazer—for everyone who faithfully follows Him as a disciple (Hebrews 2:10-16). Paul writes:

But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep [died]. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. (I Corinthians 15:20-23)

In this way, the resurrection from the dead is mankind's God-given "victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" over death, the last enemy (I Corinthians 15:57, 26). It provides us great comfort to know that death is but a step in God's plan to give eternal life to us in His Kingdom (Hebrews 9:27-28). Paul's reassuring words in I Thessalonians 4:14, 17 assert the Christian hope: "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. . . . And thus we shall always be with the Lord."

The Prophet

Nearly fifteen hundred years before Jesus’ birth, Moses prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:15, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear.” God validates the prophecy a few verses later: “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him” (verse 18). Clearly, this is a Messianic prophecy, as most Bible translations and commentaries recognize.

Many first-century Jews also considered it Messianic, for they were expecting the Prophet to arise in their day. They asked John the Baptist: “‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No’” (John 1:21). After explaining that he was the herald of the Messiah, “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” (verse 23), he explains, “It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose” (verse 27). The following day, seeing Jesus approaching, John declares, “This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me’” (verse 30).

We tend not to think of Jesus as a prophet—He was the Christ, the Savior, God in the flesh, far more than a prophet. Indeed, He transcends easy classification; He is all these things and much more. Yet, in His ministry He did fulfill the role of the Great Prophet to Israel, to the church, and to the world. Moses, to whom the Prophet is compared, casts a pale shadow beside Jesus Christ, as Hebrews 3:1-6 attests. Moses was a mere servant, sent to speak on God’s behalf before Pharaoh and Israel, “but Christ as a Son over His own house” (verse 6). If Moses is considered the pinnacle of human prophets, then Jesus is yet a magnitude greater.

The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke contain a well-known scene, the Transfiguration, that illustrates this point. Jesus, accompanied only by Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, hikes up to the summit of a lofty mountain—traditionally, Mount Tabor, but perhaps Mount Hermon—where He is “transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:2). In addition, the disciples envision Moses and Elijah beside Him, holding a conversation with Him (verse 3). Later, in verse 9, Jesus confirms that what they saw was a vision; it was a sign in the form of a tableau designed to instruct them in a vital fact.

Seeing this spectacular sight, Peter exclaims, in paraphrase, “We’re so glad you chose us to see this! We’ll set up three booths: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah!” (verse 4). But before he could even finish his sentence, a voice boomed from heaven, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (verse 5). Peter failed to understand the point of the scene, so God had to step in and make it plain. Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were not equals by any means and should not be treated as such. Jesus Christ is God’s beloved Son; He is the Master, and the other two His servants. What Jesus says sets the standard, so we must give His instruction priority.

The primacy of Jesus applies to prophecy too. Paul in Ephesians 2:20 and Peter in I Peter 2:7 recall the image of the chief cornerstone from the prophecy of Christ in Psalm 118:22. In stone construction, the cornerstone is the most important foundational stone in the building, often the stone laid in the corner upon which most of the building’s weight would rest. It can also be thought of as a keystone, the stone at the apex of an arch that locks the other stones in place. Without the cornerstone or the keystone, the whole structure falls into a pile of rubble. Additionally, Zechariah 4:7 uses the image of a capstone, the final, finishing element that completes the building.

In terms of prophecy, then, what Jesus says is foundational, pivotal, and ultimately refining. Thus, what Jesus prophesies to occur—both in the gospels and in Revelation, in which the glorified Jesus is the Revelator—should be our starting point, our map, and our compass in our search to understand what will come to pass in these last days. The other prophecies lend support and detail, but if a question or seeming contradiction arises between two prophetic statements, if one is from Jesus’ lips, it takes precedence.

His chief prophetic discourse is the Olivet Prophecy, which He gave to His disciples just prior to His crucifixion. Matthew 24-25, Mark 13, and Luke 21 record His words. His prophecy is in large part His answer to the disciples’ questions, “Tell us, when will these things be [when not one stone of the Temple will be left upon another (verse 2)]? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3). He begins by giving six signs—parallel to the first six seals of Revelation 6—of world events leading up to His second coming. He tells of the horrors of the Great Tribulation before describing His glorious return in power to bring order and peace to the earth.

From this point, His prophecy, while still predictive, turns to exhortation and warning. He urges us to be aware of the signs, while cautioning that we will not know exactly when He will return, so we must be ready at all times. He refines what course our preparations are to take: We must be faithfully at work, growing in godly character. To illustrate His points, He presents three parables in Matthew 25: the Parables of the Ten Virgins, the Talents, and the Sheep and the Goats, all of which describe the good and bad characteristics of those waiting for Christ to return. Of course, He wants us to imitate the Wise Virgins, the Good and Faithful Servants, and the caring Sheep.

However, Jesus’ prophecies are not all confined to the Olivet Prophecy. Obviously, He predicted His death at the hands of His enemies, as well as His resurrection after three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. He foretold of Judas’ betrayal, Peter’s denials, the disciples’ scattering, and even Peter’s martyrdom and John’s long life. Yet, there are many more prophecies hidden within parables and sayings throughout the gospels. And, as mentioned earlier, the entire book of Revelation contains scores of detailed prophecies focused on the Day of the Lord and the years leading up to it—not to mention the glorious aftermath, Christ’s millennial reign, the White Throne Judgment, and the New Heavens and the New Earth.

Deuteronomy 18:19 adds a warning from God concerning the Prophet: “And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.” In other words, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” Sounds like excellent advice.

Jesus' Ministry Begins

After Luke relates the story of the twelve-year-old Jesus confounding the teachers in the Temple, eighteen years pass with nothing more said about Him other than, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52). Though many have speculated about His activities during that period, it is impossible to know anything for certain about them. It is most probable that He remained in Nazareth, assisting Joseph in the building trade. Though Nazareth was a small, rural town, it sat not far from a well-populated, cosmopolitan, trading center, and He would have had many opportunities to speak with and interact with people from all over the Roman Empire.

As firstborn son, He may have had to take on the mantle of business owner and head of household when Joseph died, as it is assumed, since there is no mention of His stepfather once His ministry begins. Being given these serious responsibilities at a young age would have provided Him valuable experience in leadership, decision-making, and dealing with various people and situations. By the time His ministry commences at the age of thirty (Luke 3:23), He is no novice, but a fully mature, sober-minded, qualified leader.

Half a year earlier, another thirty-year-old man had suddenly appeared out of the wilderness of Judea in the area of the Jordan River, preaching a fiery message of repentance and baptizing “for the remission of sins” (Luke 3:3). This young man is John, son of Zacharias the priest, and Jesus’ cousin through their mothers. He is, he says, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Make straight the way of the Lord'" (John 1:23), fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1. He is the forerunner, the herald, announcing the coming of the Messiah.

Hardened by years in the desert, wearing a rough-spun garment of camel’s hair bound by a leather belt and eating locusts and wild honey (Mark 1:6), John fears nothing, especially the hypocritical religious leaders of the time. As the last of the Old Testament prophets, he thoroughly castigates the Pharisees and Sadducees, calling them a “brood of vipers” and instructing them to begin bearing fruits to demonstrate their repentance (Matthew 3:7-8). He sternly warns them to show their quality right away, for a Mighty One is coming, a great Judge who will separate the wheat from the chaff (verses 11-12).

It is probably in the fall of that year that Jesus journeys from Nazareth to the Jordan to be baptized by John. At first, John argues that He, being sinless, did not need to be baptized—in fact, “I need to be baptized by You” (Matthew 3:14). Jesus, however, tells John to baptize Him “to fulfill all righteousness” (verse 15). Righteousness is doing what is good and proper. Though He did not need to be baptized, it is fitting that Jesus set the example of the proper method of baptism—by immersion—and of the ritual that demonstrates a person’s rejection of his old life and his dedication to his new life and relationship with God. All new converts should go through the same ceremony to begin their Christian lives (see Acts 2:38-39).

As Jesus emerges out of the water, God the Father performs a miraculous, visible sign to show His approval: “[B]ehold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17). Upon witnessing this, John says, “He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God” (John 1:33-34).

The very next day, John sees Jesus again, and he tells two of his disciples, one of whom was Andrew (and the other was probably John son of Zebedee), “Behold the Lamb of God!” (John 1:35-36). It is an obvious reference to His sacrificial redemption of men from their sins (see verse 29). The two disciples leave John and follow Him, and soon Andrew introduces Him to Simon Peter (verse 42). One day later, Jesus calls Phillip and Nathanael to follow Him too (verse 43). Already He has a small group of disciples around Him. The next day, the third after His baptism, He attends a wedding in Cana, accompanied by His handful of disciples (John 2:1-12). John writes that the miracle He did there, turning water into wine, was the “beginning of signs Jesus did,” providing evidence of His glorious identity and work (verse 11).

However, “the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness” (Mark 1:12) soon thereafter, and He spends forty days there, severely tempted and tested by Satan the Devil. Matthew 4 and Luke 4 recount Satan’s attempts to make Jesus sin, to wear Him down to the point He would put His own life and desires ahead of God’s purpose. Yet, Jesus, having fasted for forty days and nights, is spiritually strong and resists even Satan’s offer to give Him full rulership of all the kingdoms of the earth without having to preach, suffer, and die, if He will simply worship him (Matthew 4:8-9; Luke 4:5-7). Christ will not be bought. He rounds on Satan and commands him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’” (Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8). It is no contest. Jesus Christ will not be turned from the work God had given Him to do.

From there, Jesus returns to Galilee with great spiritual power (Luke 4:14), teaching in the synagogues of the various towns and villages of the area. He waits, however, until John the Baptist had been imprisoned by Herod Antipas, the ruler of the regions of Perea and Galilee, to begin preaching more publicly. It appears that He inaugurated His public ministry at Nazareth on a Sabbath day, reading aloud the portion of Isaiah 61:1-2, a well-known Messianic prophecy of His work to Israel. Upon finishing the passage, “He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:20-21).

Jesus Christ had taken the first steps down the road to Calvary—and glory.

Born to Rule

Every year as winter begins, millions of sincere Christians eagerly celebrate the birth of Jesus with good will and Christmas cheer, scrumptious dinners and endless parties, eggnog and Yule logs, loads of gifts and lot of carols. On Christmas Eve, as on Easter Sunday, the churches are full, and all seems right with the world. For many, the Christmas season is their favorite time of the year.

However, with all the commercialism infusing this particular holiday, the birth of Jesus has slipped far enough from its place of primacy that many concerned Christians make a point of urging their friends and neighbors to return the worship of Jesus to Christmas. “He’s the Reason for the season!” they argue. “Put Christ back in Christmas!”

A fine sentiment, undoubtedly expressed in all fervency, but it is entirely misguided.

Such a statement is probably shocking to many, but it is true nonetheless because Jesus Christ was never in Christmas. The holiday is an entirely manmade celebration, instituted by Catholic Church fathers—Pope Julius officially sanctioned December 25 as the birthday of Christ in AD 350—to encourage the conversion of pagans to Christianity. It is no coincidence that Christmas coincides with the Roman Saturnalia, the Empire’s winter solstice celebration, because Christmas was instituted to replace the Saturnalia’s pagan rites with more wholesome, Christian ones. This covering-over or blending of non-Christian practices with Christian ones (called “syncretism”) accounts for the many pagan elements that have become indelibly fused with Christmas observance.

The Bible itself is silent on the Christian celebration of Jesus’ birth. One would think that if God the Father wanted His Beloved Son’s birth to be honored, He would have taken special care to ensure that the Good Book contained a directive to do so. But what do we find? Instead, Jesus Himself instructs us to remember—not His birth—but His death (Luke 22:14-20; I Corinthians 11:23-26)! The coming of the Savior into the world is certainly important, but at that point, Jesus was a helpless baby who had as yet done nothing. It was what He did with His life over the next thirty-three years that makes all the difference!

The Bible contains the true account of Jesus’ begettal and birth in the early chapters of Matthew and Luke. These authors’ aims were 1) to give an accurate account of the circumstances, and 2) to reveal certain elements of spiritual significance to their readers. Matthew, a Jew writing mainly to other Jews, weaves his story around specific Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled in these events. He is trying to show that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah and heir of David, and thus the true King of Israel. For this reason, his account is interspersed with quotations from the prophets.

Luke, however, was a Gentile writing primarily to other Gentiles, so he is not as interested in fulfillments of prophecy or Jesus’ Jewish roots. He wants his readers to know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all men and women of every age and condition. In other words, he is intent on revealing Jesus as the universal Christ and Second Adam, through whom came life (see I Corinthians 15:20-22). These two perspectives and objectives go a long way in explaining the differences in their narratives. They are not contradictory but complementary.

This distinction is perhaps best seen in their different genealogies of Jesus. Matthew begins his book with Jesus’ family tree (Matthew 1:1-17) because a person’s heritage was of primary importance to Jews. It is clear that Mattew's list of Jesus’ forefathers is, in fact, His stepfather Joseph’s line of descent, meaning that Matthew is most interested in establishing Jesus’ legal status as “the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (verse 1). In other words, He has a valid, legal claim to the throne of Israel; He meets the qualifications.

Luke has a very different list (Luke 3:23-38). It is evidently Mary’s genealogy, and thus Jesus’ natural genealogy. In addition, Luke takes the record all the way back to Adam and then to God Himself (verse 38), showing that, not only is Jesus the Son of Man, but He is also the Son of God. Jesus, then, has both a natural and a supernatural right to be mankind’s Savior and Sovereign.

The story of Jesus’ birth we all know well. The angel Gabriel appears to Mary, announcing that God had chosen her to bear His Son (Luke 1:26-38). At some point soon thereafter, she conceives through a miracle from God. When she is found to be pregnant, her betrothed husband Joseph decides to divorce her quietly, but an angel informs him in a dream that what had happened was from God (Matthew 1:18-20). The Child is to be named Jesus, and He would “save His people from their sins” (verse 21).

About the time that the Baby is due, Joseph and Mary travel down to Bethlehem to comply with a Roman census, and there Jesus was born, most likely in the early autumn (Luke 2:1-7; Matthew 2:1). To shepherds in the fields, an angel in great glory announces “good tidings of great joy which will be to all people,” and the shepherds, after seeing Him for themselves (Luke 2:8-16), spread the good news far and wide (verses 17-18). In accordance with the law, Jesus is circumcised on the eighth day (verse 21) and after forty days presented at the Temple along with an offering (verses 22-24). At that time, Simeon and Anna witness to His being the promised Redeemer (verses 25-38).

Sometime after Jesus’ birth, an unknown number of wise men from the East come and worship Him, presenting Him with rich gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:1-12). These are typically gifts given to royalty, which He was, and signify—among other interpretations—His righteous life, complete sacrifice, and efficacious death. After the wise men leave, His parents are divinely warned to flee to Egypt, which they do (verses 13-15). While they are gone, Herod massacres the children of Bethlehem under two years of age in an attempt to stamp out his rival to the throne (verses 16-18). Returning to Judea after Herod’s death soon thereafter, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus live in Nazareth until He begins His ministry about thirty years later (verses 19-23; Luke 2:39-40; 3:23).

The constant theme that emerges from both accounts of Jesus’ birth is that He was born into this world to save humanity from sin and rule as King of kings. His birth was the inauguration of a life dedicated to the service of God and all mankind.

The Pre-Incarnate Christ

Where did Jesus come from? A person reading the Bible for the first time could easily finish the last verses of Malachi and begin to read Matthew only to feel somewhat blindsided by the sudden announcement and birth of Jesus, called Immanuel, "God with us." From one page to the next, the Messiah appears out of the blue, as it were, the divine abruptly breaking into human affairs.

Of course, this is only a perception by some, not reality. In fact, many Jews of that day, watching the signs of the times, were expecting the Messiah at any time. First-century ad Judea was awash in Messianic expectation and fervor. Every few years, a new Messianic candidate would arise, gather a following, revolt against the Romans, and be executed (see, for instance, Acts 5:36-37; 21:38). Between the death of Herod the Great in 4 bc and the suppression of the Bar Kochba Revolt in ad 135, as many as eighteen men, including Jesus of Nazareth, were acclaimed Messiah in the region of Roman Judea.

In the midst of this period, the apostle Paul writes in Galatians 3:24, "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ," a principle suggesting that the Old Testament is a guide in preparation for Messiah. In this context, it implies that the Old Testament is full of references, allusions, prophecies, and instructions concerning the true Christ. In other words, far from being mostly silent about Jesus, the Old Testament is a vital source of revelation about Him! Jesus verifies this Himself in Luke 24:44, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me" (see also Acts 18:28; 28:23).

Most people realize that the Old Testament contains many prophecies of Christ, and in fact, Jesus fulfilled about 300 individual prophetic details. More broadly, however, the Old Testament chronicles, not just prophecies of His coming, but also the historical activities of the One who became Jesus Christ. Unlike other humans, Jesus was not a created Being but God the Word who "became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:1, 14). In short, He pre-existed as God—with all that entails—before His physical life and ministry.

In the famous passage in Philippians 2:5-8, Paul declares:

. . . Jesus Christ, . . . being in the form of God, did not consider it [a thing to be grasped] to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Clearly, Paul believes that Jesus had existed as a divine Being before His birth, and that He volunteered to divest Himself of much of His glory, power, and prerogatives to become a lowly human being and to die to redeem humanity from its sins. Moreover, the apostle asserts in other places that the pre-incarnate Christ was Creator of all things (I Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2), that He led Israel through the wilderness (I Corinthians 10:1-4), and that, as "Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, . . . [He] met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him" (Hebrews 7:1-3).

Did Jesus makes similar claims about Himself—that He had existed as God before His birth to Mary? Yes, many times! The Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—contain many claims of divinity and pre-existence, though few of them are explicit. In Matthew 12:8, He proclaims, "For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath," equating Himself with the Creator, who "rested on the seventh day" and hallowed it (Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:11). When Jesus drove out the moneychangers, He claims the Temple to be "My house" (Matthew 21:13). In lamenting over Jerusalem, He grieves over how He wanted to comfort and protect the people "often" throughout history, but they resisted (Matthew 23:37). After the scribes argue, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Jesus specifically says, ". . . the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins," a not-so-subtle declaration of His divinity, which He backs up with an astounding miracle of healing (Mark 2:7, 10-12). In Luke 10:18, He tells His disciples, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven," referring to an event that occurred before man was created (see Isaiah 14:12; Ezekiel 28:12-16). Later, under arrest and facing the Sanhedrin, He answers the question, "Are You then the Son of God?" with a firm, "You rightly say that I am" (Luke 22:70).

In contrast, the gospel of John proclaims the divine nature of Christ from its opening salvo: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). John shows Jesus doing little to obscure His divinity. Before the first chapter ends, He is acknowledged as "the Son of God" and "the King of Israel" (verse 49), and He Himself declares, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man" (verse 51). When in John 5:17 Jesus asserts, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working," the Jewish authorities "sought all the more to kill Him, because He . . . said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God" (verse 18). In John 5:26, He claims to have "life in Himself," that is, inherent life as ever-living God. He informs the Jews that He knew Abraham, who "rejoiced to see My day" (John 8:56), and when they protest that He was far too young, He announces, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM" (verse 58), taking upon Himself the divine name of the Eternal God. Later, He tells His disciples, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9), meaning that Jesus is "the express image" of the Father (Hebrews 1:3). In His final prayer with the disciples, He asks, "And now, O Father, glorify Me . . . with the glory which I had with You before the world was" (John 17:5).

These few examples only scratch the surface of the Bible's claims to the divinity and pre-existence of Jesus. Our salvation, in fact, depends on it, for if He were merely human, His death would be insufficient to pay for others' sins, even though He never sinned. However, if He were more than human—say, the Creator of all things—His sinless death would be priceless, more than enough to atone for the sins of all humanity for all time. Only the sacrificial death of the blameless Creator God makes redemption possible, and only His resurrection to life makes salvation and eternal life available to the called and chosen (Romans 3:21-26; 5:6-11). For this, we can truly be thankful.

Who Is Jesus?

Listen (RealAudio)

At the heart of Christianity is a central question, "Just who is Jesus Christ?" It may be astounding to some that such a question is still relevant after nearly two millennia of Christian activity, but as strange as it may seem, even Christians do not agree about the nature of the founder of their religion. This fact says a great deal about those who profess to be "Christian," which at its most basic means "follower of Christ." If Christians display such profound disagreement about Jesus Christ Himself, can they all really be following the same Person?

This subject becomes all the more important since, in its most common form, Christianity is proclaimed as a message about Jesus. What a person believes about Jesus, then, informs his understanding of the religion itself. We can see the result of this process in the thousands of Christian denominations in all parts of the world. While they all proclaim to be Christian, the individual sects emphasize different aspects of Jesus in their teaching. For instance:

• Baptists name themselves after Jesus' practice of baptizing converts, and they traditionally stress conformity to certain behavioral rules: no drinking, no card playing, no dancing. Jesus, to them, is a great moral Teacher.
• Pentecostals, on the other hand, call themselves after Jesus' promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit, which was fulfilled on the Feast of Pentecost after Jesus' death and resurrection. They are known for their great desire to express the gifts of the Spirit, particularly being able to speak in tongues. In other words, their Jesus is a Miracle Worker.
• Seventh-day Adventists take their name from the seventh-day Sabbath, which Jesus is plainly shown to have kept, as well as from His promise to come again. They promote Jesus as the bringer of the soon-coming rest of God.
• Methodists are so called because John Wesley emphasized a structured, methodical approach to Bible study and Christian living, teaching that believers must exercise their free will to come to Christ (as opposed to being absolutely predestined to salvation). Thus, they highlight Jesus' many commands for the individual to be actively involved in his own salvation and Christian growth.
• The Reformed Churches, descendants of the teaching of John Calvin, underscore the necessity of grace through faith in Christ, a reaction to abuses of the medieval Catholic Church's doctrine of works. In this way, they see Jesus as a gracious Redeemer.

Most denominations can be characterized—some would say caricatured—by identifying their concepts of Jesus Himself. He is Christianity's central figure, so how one views Christ determines what one believes and the religion he follows.

This confusion about Him actually began during His own life—even among those who had known Him all His life:

When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?" So they were offended at Him. (Matthew 13:54-57)

It seems that there was general disagreement in Judea over just who He was:

• When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." (Matthew 16:13-14)
• And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?" So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee." (Matthew 21:10-11)
• Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill? But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from." (John 7:25-27)

Of course, His enemies had questions about Him to

• And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (Luke 5:21)
• And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" (Luke 7:49)
• Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them. (John 9:16)

However, Matthew 16:15-17 provides us with the best starting point, confirmed by Christ Himself, in answering the question, "Who is Jesus?"

He said to [His disciples], "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."

The God-revealed answer is that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the literal Son of the Supreme Being of all the universe. Of course, He is a great deal more than this, but these two facts are the most foundational to our spiritual understanding of this wonderful Being. They give us the basis of His relationship to us and our future, as well as His relationship to Deity, fixing Him as the bridge between man and God. From this foundation, we can begin a deeper consideration of the biblical Jesus.