Who Is Jesus?

[Walter and Deborah]

Wednesday 7-13-22 4th. Day Of The Weekly Cycle, Tammuz 13, 5782 23rd. Summer Day

Who Is Jesus?

Read: Mark 8:27–30 | Bible in a Year: Psalms 7–9; Acts 18
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Who do people say I am? Mark 8:27

Who do people believe Jesus is? Some say He was a good teacher, but just a man. Author C. S. Lewis wrote, “Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.

You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher.” These now-famous words from Mere Christianity propound that Jesus would not have been a great prophet if He falsely claimed to be God. That would be the ultimate heresy.

While talking with His disciples as they walked between villages, Jesus asked them, “Who do people say I am?” (Mark 8:27). Their answers included John the Baptist, Elijah, and one of the prophets (v. 28). But Jesus wanted to know what they believed: “Who do you say I am?” Peter got it right. “You are the Messiah” (v. 29), the Savior.

But who do we say Jesus is? Jesus could not have been a good teacher or prophet if what He said about Himself—that He and the Father (God) are “one” (John 10:30)—wasn’t true. His followers and even the demons declared His divinity as the Son of God (Matthew 8:29; 16:16; 1 John 5:20). Today, may we spread the word about who Christ is as He provides what we need.

Who do you say Jesus is? If you believe He’s the Son of God, then how can you share who He is with others?

Dear Jesus, thank You for being the way, the truth, and the life. I’m glad I can cling to You. Help me to share with others the good news of who You are.

INSIGHT

We can observe two things from the disciples’ response to Jesus’ question, “Who do people say I am?” (Mark 8:27). First, the disciples knew what the people were saying about who Jesus was: “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets” (v. 28).

They weren’t simply an isolated and insulated group, oblivious to the culture and people around them. His disciples continued to interact with and understand the people to whom Christ was reaching out. One day soon, they’d be sent to continue His message.

Second, the people’s various answers to who Jesus was illustrated that even people who heard and saw Him had different opinions about Him. But Jesus wasn’t content with general answers to the question of who He was. He asked His disciples this question directly. Peter answered, “You are the Messiah” (v. 29).

Take a class on the New Testament.

By Alyson Kieda|July 13th, 2022

Evangelism Mark 8:27-30

27 And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?

28 And they answered, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.

29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.

30 And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.

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Love, Walter and Debbie

Besides other views:

Who Is Jesus Christ? | Bible.org

Edited July 13, 2022 by Walter and Deborah
More info.

[Fidei Defensor]

Jesus is the Lord (God of Israel), He is God Incarnate, He is The Second Person of the Trinity, He is Son of God, He is Christ/ Messiah, He is Word of God, He is Savior, He is the Bridegroom, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Fidei Defensor

[other one]

Who is Jesus.

According to John, he was with the father  from before the beginning and existed in the form of God.   He through the authority of the Father created the universe  (heavens and earth).    Jesus is the God of Israel that is referred to as Yahweh.

He sat that position aside and was incarnated into a human body made possible by a young virgin by the name of Mary.  He was both man and God for his spirit is not just a human spirit but is the spirit of Yahweh.    He was sacrificed for the remission of our sins and was resurrected and is back at the side of the Father and has been given all power and authority of the universe until all enemies have been overcome and then he will be subject to the Father.

Now, who is he to me?     He is my Lord and my savior. Since I accepted him as Lord and am doing the things he's told me to do I am considered born again spiritually and am his brother.   He is also my friend.  He holds my eternal security and will be my master through out eternity as far as I know and can see.

[missmuffet]

C. S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity writes the following: “I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [Jesus Christ]: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that option open to us. He did not intend to” (Macmillan, 1952, p. 55–56).

So, who did Jesus claim to be? Who does the Bible say He is? First, He is God in the flesh. Jesus said in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” At first glance, this might not seem to be a claim to be God. However, look at the Jews’ reaction to His statement. They tried to stone Him “for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God” (John 10:33). The Jews understood Jesus’ statement as a claim to be God. In the following verses, Jesus never corrects the Jews or attempts to clarify His statement. He never says, “I did not claim to be God.” When Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), He truly was claiming equality with God.

In John 8:58 Jesus claims pre-existence, an attribute of God: “‘Very truly I tell you,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’” In response to this statement, the Jews again took up stones to stone Jesus (John 8:59). In claiming pre-existence, Jesus applied a name for God to Himself—I AM (see Exodus 3:14). The Jews rejected Jesus’ identity as God Incarnate, but they understood exactly what He was saying.

Other biblical clues that Jesus is God in the flesh include John 1:1, which says, “The Word was God,” coupled with John 1:14, which says, “The Word became flesh.” Thomas the disciple declared to Jesus, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28), Jesus does not correct him. The apostle Paul describes Jesus as “our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). The apostle Peter says the same, calling Jesus “our God and Savior” (2 Peter 1:1).

God the Father bears witness of Jesus’ identity as well: “But about the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.’” (Hebrews 1:8; cf. Psalm 45:6). Old Testament prophecies such as Isaiah 9:6 announce the deity of Christ: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (emphasis added).

Why is the question of Jesus’ identity so important? Why does it matter whether Jesus is God? Several reasons:
 

• As C. S. Lewis pointed out, if Jesus is not God, then Jesus is the worst of liars and untrustworthy in every way.

• If Jesus is not God, then the apostles would likewise have been liars.

• Jesus had to be God because the Messiah was promised to be the “Holy One” (Isaiah 49:7). Since no one on earth is righteous before God (Psalm 53:1; 143:2), God Himself had to enter the world as a human.

• If Jesus is not God, His death would have been insufficient to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). Only God Himself could provide an infinite, eternally valuable sacrifice (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

• God is the only Savior (Hosea 13:4; cf. 1 Timothy 2:3). If Jesus is to be the Savior, then He must be God.
 

Jesus had to be both God and man. As God, Jesus could satisfy God’s wrath. As a man, Jesus had the capability of dying. As the God-man, Jesus is the perfect Mediator between heaven and earth (1 Timothy 2:5). Salvation is available only through faith in Jesus Christ. As He proclaimed, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

https://www.gotquestions.org/who-is-Jesus.html

Edited July 14, 2022 by missmuffet

[Fidei Defensor]

Jesus is also The Son of David:

“concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh  and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 1:3-4)

[JohnD]

Jesus is YHVH God who became a man (to save humanity).

Isaiah 44:24 (AV)
24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

LORD = YHVH (Jehovah / Yahweh)

John 1:3 / Colossians 1:16 clearly state that this is Jesus. Not the Father or the Holy Spirit. Jesus preincarnate.

The Father's only creation is the body (humanity) of Jesus (John 1:14 / Hebrews 1:5 / Hebrews 10:5).

The Holy Spirit's creation is the Bible (2 Peter 1:20-21).

All three were present in the beginning (John 1:1-2 / 1 John 1:1-2 / Genesis 1:1-2).

But the preincarnate Jesus acted alone by himself in creating all things created in the beginning.

Isaiah 44:24 (AV)
24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

It also declared in this verse that he is the redeemer.

The redeemer is the one who buys back. That is Jesus.

The Father is the one to whom the redemption price is paid (Isaiah 53:10). ← best understood as the Holder of the debt was satisfied:

Isaiah 53:10–12 (AV)
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Note also, the LORD (YHVH) refers to the Father as well. 

Think of it as a surname the meaning of which applies to all three.

YHVH = I AM or more fully: 

I WAS, I AM, I WILL BE (BECAUSE) I WAS, I AM, I WILL BE

Exodus 3:13–15 (AV)
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

It is the ultimate statement of eternality in a Hebrew clause that expresses past, present, future. If it were in Greek, it would be in the imperfect tense denoting past present future application. Or put another way:

Revelation 1:8 (AV)
8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Note also the Lord (Kurios in Greek) is the same word used to quote Old Testament scripture for the LORD.

The point of all of this is the LORD Jesus Christ is not some after thought in the Old Testament or a secret weapon in God's arsenal waiting on the sidelines until Matthew 1. He is the God of the Old Testament.

John 5:39–40 (AV)
39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

Luke 24:27 (AV)
27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

The Father is the mystery of the Old Testament.

John 8:54–55 (AV)
54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

The Holy Spirit is present all through the Old Testament but not as specifically revealed as:

Acts 5:3–4 (AV)
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

[JohnD]

Not to taunt Jehovah's Witnesses, but the question occurs how can one be a Jehovah's Witness and not know

that Jesus IS Jehovah?

The thing is, not many believers (Christians) are sure of this either...

Or it isn't very clear... usually due to accepting the face value of their evangelism (being evangelized to).

Oh, Jesus saves... good enough for me...

I believe in A Jesus who Pastor Friendly says saves me.

And it goes no further.

This is not to say they cannot be saved by the genuine Jesus, but it runs the risk that they might not believe in

the genuine Jesus at all. Pastor Friendly might not believe in the genuine Jesus either, and those evangelized by him

(people like him) take his word for it and proceed on to:

Matthew 7:21–23 (AV)
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

1 Corinthians 8:5 (AV)
5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)

It could just as aptly read:

For though there be that are called Jesus, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be Jesus' many, and Christs many,)

Matthew 24:4–5 (AV)
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

It can be interpreted to mean many will claim to be the Christ. But it can also mean they can claim Jesus is Christ but lead them into deception. Cults like Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses are the most notable examples. But this can also take place in the bounds of "Orthodox" Christianity. What distinguishes a cult (generally) from "Orthodox" Christianity is their reinvention of who and what Jesus Christ is.

• LDS teaches that Jesus is the spirit child of Elohim by physical sexual relations with the virgin Mary And that Lucifer is Jesus' spirit brother
• The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society teaches that Jesus is not God and he was created by God as Michael the archangel (which he returned to after execution on a torture stake)
• Oneness Pentecostals / Apostolic teach that Jesus is the Father Jesus is the Son Jesus is the Holy Spirit in different modes.

None of which are true or biblical.

Do not be unaware of the fact that there are many frauds and impostors! 

2 Corinthians 11:3–4 (AV)
3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

The Apostle's last point is rabbinic ire over the gullibility of the Corinthians.

1 John 4:1 (AV)
1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Matthew 24:11 (AV)
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

Matthew 24:23–27 (AV)
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

This last passage convinced my half brother to leave the Kingdom Hall. For that cult was founded on the prediction of Jesus' return in 1914 then later to 1920 and later to 1926 and then to claim Jesus returned [to Brooklyn, New York] invisibly. 

Edited July 15, 2022 by JohnD

[Fidei Defensor]

Jesus is God, “while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13$ 

[JohnD]

There is no doubt that the "Orthodox" Church is over run with the traditions of man (therefore Satan) ← Mark 7:13 / Mark 7:7 / Matthew 16:23 / John 8:43-44

This is what has divided the Church and stymied its outreach.

but those who pointed this out throughout history either added to the traditions of man or led people astray into cults or worse because they simply substituted

the traditions of man that were in place with their own traditions or opinions / beliefs...

rather than pointing all to the Holy Spirit

for leadership, guidance, interpretation of the Word of God which he wrote:

2 Peter 1:20–21 (AV)
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

John 16:13 (AV)
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

1 John 4:1 (AV)
1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Acts 17:11 (AV)
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 (AV)
21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

Take no one else's word for it!!!

Do not take my word for it!!!!

Test even what you think is the Holy Spirit to prove it is Him by the scriptures.