A lot of people don’t really know who Jesus is. Jesus, the Christ of Nazareth is a unique historical figure that changed the course of human history. However, today, many have distorted views of who Jesus is and miss what it is he came to accomplish for us. Some
don’t even associate him with the historical Jesus and have had no exposure to the records about his life. They may even have a neighbor named Jesus that comes to mind first!

Some may assume they know the historical Jesus. But their understanding of him falls short of the Biblical record. Even during the 1 st Century A.D. many speculated as to who Jesus was. His enemies believed he was a deceiver, a false prophet and wanted
him dead. Others said he was a good man, others a great teacher, and still others that he was a prophet of God. Some even thought he was one of the prophets of the ancient world who had come back to life! But Jesus never claimed to be only a good man, a great teacher or a prophet. He certainly did not fit the profile of a deceiver. After he had spent a few years with his disciples, he asked them who people were saying he is. Then he asked them. Those closest to him confessed that he is the Christ, the Son of the living God. (Matthew
16:16) Jesus did not negate that confession but fully affirmed that he is the Christ, (the Messiah, the anointed One from God.)

One of the most powerful indications of Jesus’ identity is the prophecies that were fulfilled in his lifetime on earth. For hundreds of years before Jesus was born, prophets of various backgrounds gave specific indications of who the Christ would be when he came. They described where he would be born, where he would be raised, attempts that would be made on his life, what his character would be like, the specific things he would do, even down to the details of his triumphal entry into Jerusalem was prophesied to the day and manner of his coming. Details of his death were of a type that was not even known during the days of the prophets. Out of the over 40 direct prophecies and dozens of indirect prophecies about the Christ, ALL OF THEM were fulfilled in one historical person, Jesus of Nazareth. Josh McDowell shares in his book, More Than a Carpenter, that if just 10 of those prophecies were randomly fulfilled in any one historical person, the probability would be the same as filling the state of Texas with silver dollars, knee deep, painting one red, mixing them all up, blindfolding one person and letting them wander around and choose one coin and it being that one red silver dollar. To fulfill all of them is unfathomable. One scholar said the probability of Jesus randomly fulfilling less than half of the prophecies would be like a tornado coming through a junk yard and leaving behind a fully assembled and functioning Boeing 747 Aircraft! And Jesus fulfilled them all, 100%!

Jesus’ ultimate purpose was to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins against God, and to win our hearts back to God. He was all about restoring people relationally to their Creator. To that end, he willingly went to the cross (the Roman form of execution that he was subjected to.) He died in our place and then was raised from the dead to confirm that he is in fact the Son of God and the Savior of people who turn and put their trust in him. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Jesus loved you and me enough to die in our place and to confirm that he had the power to restore us to life for forever. This was all motivated by the love that God has for us and demonstrated the extreme he would go to win our hearts back.

Jesus’ Mission:
Jesus’ ultimate purpose was to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins against God, and to win our hearts back to God. He was all about restoring people relationally to their Creator. To that end, he willingly went to the cross (the Roman form of execution that he was subjected to.) He died in our place and then was raised from the dead to confirm that he is in fact the Son of God and the Savior of people who turn and put their trust in him. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Jesus loved you and me enough to die in our place and to confirm that he had the power to restore us to life for forever. This was all motivated by the love that God has for us and demonstrated the extreme he would go to win our hearts back.

One of my mentor’s said that people will only do what makes sense to them. If there is in fact a God, a benevolent Creator who cares about your life and mine, it makes sense that he would come after us in a way that we could understand and that would give us the greatest opportunity to believe and come home in our hearts to him. God stepping into his own creation, becoming a man and living among us makes sense. Any other way would overwhelm us with fear. God doesn’t want a relationship with us based on fear, but one based on faith, trust. He desires that we would love him freely as he has loved us.

The Scriptures teach that even demons believe there is a God, and that Jesus is who he claimed to be. Jesus is not looking for you to mentally acknowledge that he exists and that he is the Son of God. He is waiting for you to turn toward him relationally, to put your trust in him and what he did for you to bring you back from sinful ways. His Spirit brings conviction in our hearts when we believe and open up our hearts to him. He births us into his forever family when we turn to him and put our trust in him. He makes us new and begins the process of transforming our lives. (2 Corinthians 5:17) If you believe in who Jesus really is, then pray in his name that he would forgive you, come into your life and begin leading you in his new and life-giving way. Get connected with a local Church, a network of people seeking to follow Jesus and his message to us in their everyday living. Get into a process with others of reading the Bible, praying, living what he makes clear and growing in your faith and relationship with Jesus. Contact us! We would love to help you in your new relationship restored with God. (Ephesians 2:8-9)