Jesus Poses the Question by Dave Brown

Before we give the biblical answer to this question of who Jesus is, it is quite enlightening to consider who he was not.  The following brief article, called A Solitary Life, is attributed to James Allen Francis.

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30. Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher.

He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn't go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself.

He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.

Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned--put together--have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one, solitary life.

The fact that Jesus made such an impression upon the history of mankind in only three years adds tremendous credibility to his claims.  Let us start by viewing the challenge that he issued to his disciples …

Matt 16:13-18: “Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that the Son of man is?  And they said, Some (say) John the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.  He saith unto them, But who say ye that I am?  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven.  And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

It is no compliment to Jesus to place him in the category with the many great religious leaders that have lived over the years.  It is no compliment to place Jesus even in the category of the greatest men who have ever lived.  It is no compliment to place him in the same category with John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or the greatest of God’s prophets that have ever lived.  Jesus Christ is so much more than these that putting him in any of these categories is an insult to Him.  There is only one right answer to the question posed by Jesus Himself: “Thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

So, the man who made such an impression over 2000 years ago was the very Son of God.  He was a son in a much different way than Adam and all of mankind can be considered as sons of God .  He alone was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Mt. 1:20), and His divine nature is clearly stated by the apostle Paul.

Colossians 1:13-17  [God] “… who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love; in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins: who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him; and he is before all things, and in him all things consist.”

Philippians 2:5-11: “Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient (even) unto death, yea, the death of the cross.  Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (things) in heaven and (things) on earth and (things) under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Finally, God the Father himself testified that this was his Son and that we are to listen to him in this day and age.

Matthew 3:16-17: “And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him; and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 17:5: “While he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”

We make no apology for owning Jesus Christ as the Son of God, our Lord and our God (Jn. 20:28). 

In our next article on this subject we will discuss the events surrounding a foreign woman that Jesus met when she came to get water at the well where he was waiting for his disciples.