Who is Jesus Anyway?

So why do I have a whole page devoted to answering the question of who Jesus is? It is because who Jesus is defines what a Christian should be. So, to answer your question of what is Chrisitanity all about, all you really have to do is ask what Jesus was all about.

It is scientifically supported that Jesus once roamed this earth. As to what Jesus did while he was here is the more heavily disputed subject for debate. Some say he was a lunatic. Others say he was a really great guy with profound insight and genuinely good ideals. Others say he is a prophet sent from God.

What, or who more specifically, do I believe Jesus is? I agree with Bible, which says that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus was born into this world to die for us, and he lived his life in constant communication with God.

Many people think that Christianity is a religion... this is what Christianity has become in the hands of man, but it was not intended that way in the hands of God. Looking back to Adam and Eve, there was no so-called "religion". There were no rituals or sacrements or rights of passage. There was man, and there was God, in perfect communion with each other. It was our fault that this perfect relationship had to cease. People blame everything on Adam and Eve, but what we don't always realize is that every time we do something that counters God's will for our lives (which is always in our own best interests), we drive up yet another barrier of communication between ourselves and Him. With God being so pure and un-fathomably Holy, we no longer could enjoy the privilege of a "direct-line" to Him.

This is why Jesus had to come. You see, the whole reason God created us was so that He could love us as His very own family. Upon the fall of man, we could no longer share this intimate family relationship with Him. In efforts to re-establish the direct link between Himself and his children, He sent his own Son, to take upon the ugliness of our sins, so that should we choose to simply accept this self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ as ransom for our own imperfections, we may once again through Jesus be reconnected with God. That's how much God loves us.

Have you ever thought what it must have been like for Jesus to go through with what He did? First there was the physical attrocities that he had to endure. For example, being whipped until barely alive, and then being forced to drag a heavy cross through the sweltering streets, being jeered and spit at, only to have nails driven in your hands and thorns into your head when you reach your goal. But far worse than that... let me present you this:

Consider Jesus, who was always in constant, direct communication with God, consulting Him in every decision, never stepping off the path. Lots of people would speculate that perhaps he didn't feel the same pain we would feel... after all, he is God, right? The Bible tells us that when He decided to come down to the flesh and walk the earth as Jesus, He left His "all-knowing, all-seeingness" behind. He had to learn how to do everything just like you and me! He did not come out of the womb and know that he was to be the saviour of our world. God revealed his purpose to him through the study of scripture (mainly Isaiah and Daniel). He went through the same temptations that we face every day... temptations of greed, power, pride, and even sexual temptation. The Bible says that when the devil tempted him for forty days straight in the desert, he went through every possible temptation on earth. And the amazing thing is that not once did he give in. How? He relied on God for strength to resist Satan. How do we know that Jesus felt pain? The Bible says that as he waited to be taken away to his trial, he begged God that if it could fit into this plan, that he would be spared. He even sweat blood from his face! Now I'm intensely afraid of many things, but not once have I ever sweat drops of blood.

So with this new perspective on Jesus as a person, with our complete set of human emotions, imagine now how it would feel to be nailed up on a cross, and even though he led a 100% blameless life. Not only that, but because he was carrying the sin of all the world on his shoulders, God turned his face away from him. God turned his face away from him! Can you possibly imagine what that would feel like? Jesus was so close to God every moment of his life, and then God had to withdraw his presence from him, because he was full of sin... which was not even his own. It was ours! And then, as if that was not unbearable enough, Jesus suffered three days in Hades, being tormented and punished by Satan himself, for something he never even did. And why did he do this? Because God loves us that deeply, that intensely, that passionately, that intimately. God went to all lengths so that we could spend all eternity sharing in his peace and his glory, so that we would not have to feel any more pain or sadness. So no more tears would ever be shed. He did not just die in our place. He suffered the consequences awaiting us as well.

If you want a list of character traits of Jesus, all you have to do is to look at the "Love" chapter written by Paul in 1 Corinthians Chapter 13. In this chapter, Paul writes that love is kind, patient, does not envy, does not boast, it is not proud, nor rude, nor selfish or easily angered. It doesn't keep a history of who did what and when. It doesn't hide in the darkness, but lives in light. It always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. Since Jesus modeled perfect love, he consequently also modeled all of these attributes. Can you imagine what the world would be like if we all could be like Him?

Luckily, God knows that we goof up. He has first hand experience of all the struggles and temptations we face. He knows all about fear, and all about being rejected and put down. And he doesn't ask us to be perfect. All He asks is that we will take His free gift so that we can be reconnected with Him. I'm sure you're all familiar with John 3:16:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever should believeth in him [and why he came], should not perish, but have everlasting life."

It's a gift, free for the taking. All God asks is that we accept His son. Why should we? Because we are flawed human beings, and when we realize that and ask Jesus to forgive us and help us start over, he makes all our sin disappear. He wipes the records clean. Only Jesus can reconnect our direct line with God, and that's a connection that is made to last forever, because we were made to last forever.

This is just the first step in the Christian walk... but it's free! This is salvation, a gift that can't be taken back. When you receive salvation, God sends his spirit to work inside you, help you along the way, aiding you to make the right choices, and helping you not to be tricked by Satan's plot (Satan works very hard to sway people away). When you start living for God and not for superficial things in life, he sends you gifts, called "fruits of the spirit", so that you may be equipped to do what you are designed to do during the time you spend here on earth, as you prepare your heart for spending an eternity of love and joy with Him. Remember this if anything else:

"You are not saved by service, you are saved for service." (Purpose Driven Life)

This means that there is nothing you can do to earn this tremendous gift that God wants so bad to give you. It's by his grace that he gives it, not by deeds or works. If you ask him with a true heart, He will give it to you, no matter what you have done before or what you will do later. How do we know? Because He promised He would. Once you receive his gift, you may then begin to live life with a new, and ultimately more meaningful purpose... a purpose that trancends time and will have eternal significance.

You ask me "Who is Jesus?" I say that he is the Son of God, saviour of my soul and that He came so that we all may have life, and so that we may "have it to the full" -John 10:10