Who was Jesus?

Answering the question ‘Who was Jesus’ is a very important question that will decide your trajectory in eternity. Was he merely a good man with a lot of wisdom? Could he have been a prophet, or could he have even been God incarnate? If he was God in the flesh, then was he also human? How does that work together? This week we are going to dig deeper into these questions and look at who Jesus was.[1] How we answer this question will affect how we answer other important questions within theology.

            When looking to prove Jesus’ deity, an obvious place to start is the names he was called. Many times, in the New Testament, he is called the Son of God. The phrase “son of” was used in the Jewish culture to indicate a common nature and character that that person portrayed or was. We see that Barnabas was called the “Son of Encouragement.” This was because he was known for being encouraging. We also see those who were called “Sons of the Prophets” were prophets. In the same way, When Jesus was called “Son of God,” it indicates that he was God. We also see in John eight that Jesus uses the “I Am” name in reference to himself. This would have been very clear to the Jews that he was claiming deity. Jesus was also called Christ. This was a word to indicate messiahship. We see in the prophecies about the coming Messiah that he would be more than a mere man. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). During Jesus’ ministry on earth, he liked to refer to himself as the “Son of Man.” This name would’ve reminded the Jews of Daniel’s vision of the coming Messiah. “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

            We see Jesus do things during his earthly ministry that only God has the authority to do. We see that he forgives sin (Mark 2:1-12), and he gives life to whomever he wishes (John 5:21). We also see him heal the sick. He displays his power over the weather by calming a storm (Mark 4:35-41). There are many other proofs that Jesus was God that we simply don’t have the space to look at this week.

            When proving Jesus’ humanity, we must look at his physical aspects and see if he experienced things that a human would. We see that he had a human body. First, we see that he grew up in both stature and knowledge. “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). He also was able to be touched and had flesh and bones. “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” (Luke 24:39). Not only did he have a physical body, but he also had a soul. “Then [Jesus] said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me’” (Matthew 26:38). We also see him experience the limitations of being a human being. We see that he experienced hunger (Matt 4:2), thirst (Jn 11:35), fatigue (Jn 19:28), anger (Mk 3:5), ignorance (Mk 5:40), sorrow over death (Jn 11:35), and temptations (Heb 4:15). We can see in the scriptures that Jesus fully experienced the human mind, emotions, and will. We see that he fully experiences the human mind because he had to earn things, memorize scripture, and develop mentally. We see that he experienced the full range of human emotions, but sinlessly. Finally, he experienced the human will because he had to bring his will into conformity with God’s will for him.

            While it is hard to understand, we must maintain this tension of Jesus being 100% God and 100% man. This reality has caused a lot of division and discussion within the early church. However, like the Trinity, we must maintain it. If we deny Jesus’ full deity or manhood, we can no longer say that his death was salvific. Jesus’ ministry would then have been for nothing. Looking at the evidence, it is clear that Jesus was God incarnate. He came and lived a perfect life and then died in our place, taking on our punishment. Three days later, he rose again and is now sitting at the right hand of God, and he is coming back soon!

[1] Because all reputable historians, both Christian and not, admit the historicity of the person of Jesus, I am not going to take time to prove his existence. We are going to assume the reality of Jesus being a historical person. The purpose of this blog post and the ones to follow will focus on the theology that comes from this reality.