WHO IS JESUS?  

Does the Lord Jesus have a resume?  A valid resume will state one’s capabilities, his qualifications, his experience, and it will document one’s competence and fitness for a task or a position.   Exactly who is  Jesus? 

Scripture first refers to Him by His original title, which is “The Word”.  John 1:1, 2 “In the beginning was The Word; and The Word was with God; and The Word was God.”   He was with God,  He was God,  from the beginning of time.   He was, back then – and He is today –  God!   Now, watch this …

John 1:14 “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”  There’s no mistaking that this is a clear reference to Jesus!  “The Word”    is Jesus!

He was incarnate.   He “became flesh and blood”!  Hebrews 10:5 “When Christ came into the world, He said, ‘a body hast Thou prepared for Me.’ ”  

He “put on” humanity!  Jesus’ Incarnation was prophesied perhaps 600 years beforehand, in the Old Testament, in Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”  KJV   (Immanuel / Emmanuel)

This is confirmed nearly verbatim by Matthew 1:23 in the New Testament: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

“God with us”, or more literally, “God in us”. The Apostle Paul speaks of this “Mystery of God, Christ in us”. Jesus was robed in our flesh-and-blood humanity at birth; and ultimately,  by His indwelling Spirit,  thru the process of sanctification,  He will abide in us – The Mystery of God, is Christ in us!

Colossians 1:19-20: “For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,”  RSV   God was abiding in Christ.  Like Father, like Son!

John 10:30 Jesus testified to the church leaders who refused to believe He was sent from the Heavenly Father: “I and My Father  are one.”  He is God!

And this is further reinforced by the Apostle John in His first letter to the churches: I John 5:7 “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit;   and these three   are one.”  NKJV

Jesus is our Creator – Speaking of Jesus, John 1:3  says,“All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made   that was made.” 

Colossians 1:16  “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him:” KJV  All things!  Might that include you and me?  Absolutely!

John 1:10  “He (speaking of Jesus) was in the world, and the world was made by Him,    and the world   knew Him not.” KJV

Who is Jesus?  He is our sustainer – Acts 17:28  “In Him we live and move and have our being.”  The beating of our hearts; the functioning of our organs; the very breath in our lungs are provided by our Creator, our Supplier, and Sustainer, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Listen to the wisdom of Kind David in acknowledging his LORD:  Psalms 3:5 “I lie down and sleep;  I wake again,  for the LORD   sustains me.”  RSV 

Hebrews 1:3  Speaking of Jesus, “Who being the brightness of His (God’s) glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power,”

Colossians 1:17 “And He (Jesus) is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”  KJV   In the RSV it says, “… and in Him all things hold together.”

Jesus is a Prophet – A prophet is a heavenly messenger. Hebrews 1:1-2: “God, Who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,  has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, Whom He has appointed heir of all things, through Whom also He made the worlds;”  NKJV

Hebrews 1: 3, 4 “God’s Son shines out with God’s glory, and all that God’s Son is and does  marks Him as God.  He regulates the universe by the mighty power of His command.  He is the one Who died to cleanse us and clear our record of all sin, and then sat down in highest honor beside the great God of heaven.   Thus He became far greater than the angels, as proved by the fact that His name “Son of God,” which was passed on to Him from His Father, is far greater than the names and titles of the angels.”  TLB

Jesus is “The Son of God” – John 3:16  testifies that Jesus is the “only Begotten of the Father”.  John 1:18  “No one has ever seen God.  The only Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known.”  RSV

The Son, Jeshua, Jesus, is the express image of the Father; the exact representation of His being.  Jesus, the Word, came to this earth to reveal to us the character and true nature of our Heavenly Father.

And yet,  He is called “The Son of Man” – Jesus so thoroughly identifies with humanity that He is referred to in Scripture as “The Son of Man” 86 times – 83 times in His own words, and 3 more times by eyewitnesses!

John 8:58  tells us that Jesus is the great “I AM” of the Old Testament,  and  I Corinthians 10:3,4  reveals Him as “The Rock” that followed the Israelites in the wilderness, which supplied them with pure water for 40 years!  That “Rock” was The Word, Jesus!  Listen:  “… and (they) did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and  that Rock was Christ.”

Jesus is Our Shepherd:  John 10:11, 12  “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”    And He did just that!

Psalm 23 – “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want (lack) …”   (More?)

Psalm 100:3  “We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture”

Our Shepherd says:  “I know My own and My own know Me”  John 10:14  

John 10:4-5  Jesus, telling of a good shepherd, says, “… the sheep follow Him; for they know His voice.  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”  KJV  Jesus is our Good Shepherd, but Scripture also reveals that …

Jesus   is the Lamb of God (as represented by the Passover Lamb) John 1:29  John the Baptist introduced Jesus to the people this way: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”  KJV

Jesus is our Redeemer   Galatians 4:4, 5  “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem  them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”  KJV   We are redeemed, restored to Grace, in Christ.

Colossians 1:19, 20 “For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,  and through Him (Jesus) to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.”  RSV

He is Our Strong Refuge / Our Hiding Place   Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ.”  In the Refuge.

He is Our High Priest, Our Advocate, and Intercessor  Hebrews 4:14-15  “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest Who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest Who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”  NKJV

Hebrews 2:18 “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able  (to intercede)  to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”  NAS   He can come to the aid of those who are tried, tested.

He is Our Judge!  Whaaat?   It says, “He is our Judge!” John 5:22  “For the Father  judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” 

John 5:27 says (God) “has given Him authority to execute judgment”  NKJV 

Jesus possesses the authority to forgive sins  Matt 9:6 “… that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins …”  NAS

He is able to give you power to stand in the Judgment!  Revelation 6:17 warns: “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”  The response is found in Romans 14:4  “To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”  Will you stand in the Day of Reckoning?  Who is your Master?  Is it Jesus?

All authority belongs to Jesus: Matthew 28:18 “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.’ ” NIV

Jesus testifies it is He Who is the Head of the church.  “And He is the Head of the body, the church, Who is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the pre-eminence.”  Colossians 1:18 

Ephesians 1:19-23  “…  according to the working of His (God’s) mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places,”   (now follow this!) “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come;  And hath put all things under His feet  (in submission to Him), and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church,   which is His body.”  KJV

Jesus will soon come again!  He has solemnly promised to return for all of His faithful ones (could that be you?  Would you like Him to come back for you?)  He said, “I go to prepare a place for you,”  so that we may   be with Him in His Eternal Kingdom  thru  endless ages to come …    

John 14:2-5  “… if it were not so,  would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am, you may be also.”  RSV  

In Biblical times, a man would customarily court a woman over a significant period of time, before presenting his proposal of marriage.  If her response was affirmative, he would then return to his home, where he would begin to prepare a place for her to live.  Do you see where this is going?

When all was ready, and the time was right, he would then return for his bride, to take her with him, back to his domain and the home that he had carefully prepared for her.

Our Lord has been courting us since the Fall in Eden. Scripture depicts Him as the Bridegroom, while the Church is His bride.  His marriage proposal is the Gospel invitation, to share eternal life in His Kingdom.  Have you accepted His proposal?   The good news is that this doesn’t involve scrubbing dishes, or washing windows, or running the vacuum cleaner;  but it does require the yielding of your heart and the surrender of your affections, and your loyalty …

… because He has gone to prepare a place for you, and He has promised to return for you, that you may be with Him in His Kingdom through the ages, forevermore.

I believe that time is fast approaching!  His return is so near, now.  Seek His face, His presence and His companionship.  Seek that personal relationship with the One Who has made you and has redeemed you; Who sustains you; Who has promised to guide and protect you, and Who wants to be with you forever!

Our kind and loving Heavenly Father – We thank You and praise You for the gift of Your dear Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ.  And we thank You for Your gift of understanding, whereby we may begin to more completely grasp all that He is to us; and all You have done thru Him at the Cross; and all that He is presently doing in our behalf, before the Throne of Grace.  And we thank you for the promise of His soon return in glory, that we may abide with the Saints in Your heavenly Kingdom thru the countless ages of eternity.  We pray in the power of the worthy, holy name of Jesus Christ, Amen