"Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, 'Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen...'" (Acts 13:16)
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Who Is Jesus?

by Stephen R. Bradd

How would you respond if someone asked you today: "Who is Jesus?" Would you tell them of the virgin birth (Matt. 1:23)? Would you speak of all the good things Jesus did, especially the miraculous healings (Acts 10:38)? Would you talk about all the Old Testament prophecies He fulfilled which prove Him to be the Messiah (Luke 24:44)? Would you detail the last day of His life where He was betrayed, tried, and brutally executed on a cross (Matt. 26 & 27)? Would you expound upon His resurrection and explain what it means to the faithful today (Matt. 28 & I Cor. 15)? Certainly all of these points (and others) are worthy of mention when one speaks about Jesus of Nazareth.

But, where would you go if you could only turn to one passage of Scripture to teach about Jesus? Although there is no single passage that encapsulates all of the major ideas we mentioned a moment ago, there is one passage that comes to my mind that seems to declare who Jesus is to a great degree of depth. I'm referring to the first chapter in John's account of the gospel. At this time, let us briefly highlight some of the marvelous descriptions of Jesus found within this wonderful chapter.

According to John's prologue:

  1. Jesus is eternal, having existed with God from the beginning (1:1),
  2. Jesus is deity for He is declared to be God (1:1),
  3. Jesus is the agent by which all things were created--nothing was made without Him (1:3),
  4. Jesus is the means and source of moral life (1:4),
  5. Jesus is the one that John the baptizer bore witness of and prepared the way for (1:7),
  6. Jesus is the true Light for mankind (1:8),
  7. Jesus became flesh and dwelt among men (1:14),
  8. Jesus was characterized by a unique kind of glory--He is truly one-of-a-kind (1:14),
  9. Jesus is the means and source of abundant grace (1:16),
  10. Jesus is the means and source of ultimate truth (1:17),
  11. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God (1:18),
  12. Jesus showed the world who the Father is, even though no one has seen God at any time (1:18),
  13. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (1:29),
  14. Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and would baptize others with the Holy Spirit (1:33),
  15. Jesus is Messiah or Christ (1:41),
  16. Jesus was written about by Moses and the prophets (1:45), and
  17. Jesus is the King of Israel (1:49).

When reading John's introduction to his account of the gospel, it's almost as if someone inquired of the apostle: "Who is Jesus?" And John responds magnificently, via his inspired pen, as if to say: "Here is my announcement of who Jesus Christ is. Here are some of His awesome attributes. Anyone who possesses these attributes has to be divine. In the remainder of this book, I will proceed to prove to you that He did indeed possess these attributes." As one continues reading in the fourth account of the gospel, it is easy to see that John did exactly that. John wrote this amazing book, which included many of Jesus' miracles, in order that those who read it "may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing [they] may have life in his name" (John 20:30,31). Friends, do you genuinely believe in Jesus the Christ? Are you His friend (John 15:14)? Do you love Him (John 14:15)?

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