Who is Jesus?

As we have just finished celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I come with a question of challenge — who is Jesus to you?

I believe this is particularly important now because of what we are experiencing in these days. The word Jesus is a Greek form of Joshua and a Hebrew word Yehosua, the meaning of which is salvation.

The title, assimilated in early Christianity to Jesus as a name Christ is from the Greek word Christos which translates Hebrew messiah and signifies anointed. Therefore, the name Jesus Christ means the Messiah, the anointed One who saves.

In his last days, Jesus raised this question to his disciples.

“And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples: ‘Who do people say that I am?’ And they told him, ‘John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.’ And he asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Christ’ (Mark 8:27-29).

Jesus tells the disciples that He is going to be crucified and raised from the dead but the disciples did not understand. Jesus follows each of these predictions of His death with a call to discipleship, to selfdenial and to servant-hood.

He told them to set their minds on the things of God, not on the things of man. Peter would understand, but at this time He and many of the Jewish people were looking for a political messiah who would put a chicken in every pot and a donkey in every stable.

But Jesus was not sent by the Father to make everyone happy so that they could go on living self-centered lives. He came to deal with the fundamental problem of the human race, sin. The essence of sin is pride, our stubborn self-will that says to God, “I’ll run my own life, God. Just help me feel good when I need you.” The cross, where the Lord of Glory took the penalty we deserved, was the only divine solution for our sin problem.

The disciples would have to confront the Roman Empire which did not consider Jesus as a religious leader as long as everyone understood caesar was emperor and lord of all.

Moreover, the disciples stood in opposition to the Jewish religious leaders. The disciples were not formally educated in the Hebrew Scriptures; these men were. The disciples had no public influence — these men were the recognized leaders in Israel. They were the interpreters of Moses, the guardians of the Jewish law.

We, as Christians, have a similar challenge to help people to know who Jesus is. He is more than what we can get out of Him. Rather, it is to help others to join us in putting Him first in our lives and to serve Him and Him only. Together we can change the world. Through all our trials and many challenges, we are better to be more like Him and less of ourselves and the things of this world.

So, begin by knowing Jesus as the Christ, the anointed one of God, the savior. Furthermore, let us go on discovering all that He is as the sovereign lord of the universe. The joy of the Christian life is growing in His amazing grace that one day we will all be with Him in Heaven.