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| Who is Jesus Christ? |
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| Jesus Christ. You've probably heard about him in that famous song, "Jesus Loves Me". But who is this man. Was he a teacher, a prophet, or a hippie rebel? Well, my friends, he was, and is, much, much more. You see, Christ is more than just a man. He is the one and only Son of God. He was born of a virgin in a small village called Bethlehem in ancient Israel. As predicted by the prophets: |
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| "But you, Bethlehem, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from days of eternity." Micah 5:2. |
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| "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel, (Which means 'God with us')." Isaiah 7:14 |
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| As Jesus grew older, he began to spread his message of the coming kingdom of God. He began his ministry in an area called Galilee, in northern Israel. He preached in a place called Zebulun and Naphtali, which fulfilled another prophecy: |
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| "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles- The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." Isaiah 9:1,2 |
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| During His ministry, Jesus did numerous miracles. Such as healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind and raising the dead! |
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| "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people." Matthew 4:23 |
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| "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." John 21:25 |
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| Most historians agree that Jesus' ministry lasted about 3-4 years. In the final days of His ministry, the Jewish government plotted to put Him to death. One of Christ own disciples, Judas Iscariot, would be the one to betray Him for thirty pieces of silver. But later, after Jesus was arrested, Judas felt guilty, and tried to return the thirty pieces of silver to the Chief Priest's. But they wouldn't take it, so he threw it into the temple. Since the money was used to betray innocent blood, the law prohibited it from being put into the temple treasury, so the Chief priest used it to buy a potter's field to bury foreigners in. Amazingly and with complete accuracy, the prophets predicted this event over 500 years before it happened! |
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| "I told them, 'If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.' So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, 'Throw it to the potter'- the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter." Zechariah 11:13 |
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| Jesus was sentenced to death by crucifixion by the Roman government. Crucifixion is the cruel process of a person being hung on a cross by their hands and feet being nailed to the wooden beams. It would sometimes take days for a person to die this way. It only took Christ a few hours to perish. This too was predicted by the ancient prophets: |
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| "All who see me mock me; scorned by men and despised by the people. 'He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him, since he delights in him.' ?I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. My strength is dried up like potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of the earth. Dogs (Gentiles) have surrounded me. A band of evil men has encircled me; they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones, people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." Psalm 22:7-18 |
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| Now compare that passage, which was written hundreds of years before Christ, with the actual account of Christ's death: |
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| "When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots...Those who passed by hurled insults at Him shaking their heads and saying, 'You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!' In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 'He saved others,' they said, 'but He can't save Himself! He's the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if He wants Him, for he said 'I am the Son of God.' '. In the same way the robbers who were crucified with Him also heaped insults in Him." Matthew 27:39-44 |
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| After carefully reading the above passages, read the next passage, which was written hundreds of years before the passage above, and compare the similarities: |
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| "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:3-5 |
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| If none of that convicts you, then you must have a heart of stone. It is just amazing how Jesus Christ fulfilled every single prophecy about the messiah. There is just one more thing about Jesus Christ that is truly amazing: |
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| "On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, 'Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' Then they remembered His words." Luke 24:1-8 |
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"While they were still talking about this, Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself! Touch Me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.' When He had said this, He showed them His hands and feet." Luke 24:36-40 |
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| You see, unlike all the other religious leaders in history, Jesus Christ isn't lying in a grave in the Middle East. Jesus Christ is risen! Right now He stands at the right hand of God, interceding for us. The only way to get to God is through Jesus Christ, the One and Only Son of God! |
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