Understands Who Jesus Really Is

Understands Who Jesus Really Is

A HERO’S TALE

John the Baptist —with his camel-hair-and-leather outfits, insect-heavy diet, and bold preaching —was quite a sight to behold. Huge crowds flocked to the Jordan River to hear him speak, be baptized, and gaze in wonder at this powerful, quirky man.

Yes, John was a little unusual, but he wasn’t a carnival act. He had a specific purpose, given to him by the Lord. Before John’s birth, the angel Gabriel declared that John would “prepare the people for the coming of the Lord” (Luke 1:17). His mission was to reveal God’s long-awaited Messiah.

One day as John was baptizing, he looked up and saw Jesus approaching. John’s heart raced with excitement. He turned to the crowd, pointed toward Jesus, and shouted, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). A few minutes later, John told the multitude, “I testify that he is the Chosen One of God” (1:34).

John clearly understood who Jesus was.

DECODING THE MESSAGE

Lots of people today have different ideas about Jesus.

Some people believe Jesus was simply a good teacher or a great prophet, but not divine. Others believe that Jesus was a god, but not equal with God the Father. Still others believe that the life of Jesus (and the Bible in general) is like an Aesop’s fable —nothing more than a nice story with good morals. There are also those who don’t even believe Jesus existed, and plenty of others don’t really care about Jesus one way or the other.

But these opinions of Jesus are all wrong.

We must be very careful to understand who Jesus really is. Nothing is more important in life because it’s only by faith in Jesus that we can be made right with God (see John 14:6).

Jesus is the eternal Son of God, fully God and fully man, one with the Father and Holy Spirit, never created and completely sinless. He died as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, resurrected on the third day, and now sits at the Father’s right hand in heaven, where one day he will bring all true believers to live with him forever.

But that will happen only for those who, through faith, understand who Jesus really is.

BATTLE PLAN

There’s no better way to learn about Jesus than to read the New Testament Gospels —Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each is a factual, God-inspired account of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry. Plan to read all four this year. There are 89 chapters in all four Gospels combined. If you read one chapter a day starting with Matthew, you’ll be done in less than three months. If you read three chapters a day, you’ll finish in less than a month!