Is Jesus Christ Who He Says He Is

Earlier this week I was reading Lamentations during my daily Bible readings. Lamentations describe the city of Jerusalem in its last days before their conquest by the Babylonians. The writer looks around and wonders how this could have happened. What was once the envy of the world has become the home of poverty, slavery, famine, and destruction.

In the 80’s C. Everett Koop made the statement that the day was coming when the name of Jesus would not be recognized by the average person; and if it were recognized, not a single historical fact about him would be known.[1] I remember hearing a visiting preacher at my parent’s church give his testimony. In his testimony of being saved while at college, he shared that he had never heard the name of Jesus Christ used except as a curse word. Paul explained the difficulty that the world would have with Jesus when he wrote these words:

Romans 9:33 (NIV) 33As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

There are many reasons that Jesus becomes a stumbling block. In the NT Jesus challenged the hardened hearts of the religious elites. He challenged their ambitions. He challenged their power. He challenged their world order. He challenged their sin. And…He still does. But, for those who embrace Him, He sets free. He heals physically and emotionally. We are born again spiritually. He becomes a friend and your Lord and King.

The Jesus the Believer Holds Dear

The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures declare: His virgin birth, His sinless life, His Miracles, His substitutionary work on the cross, his bodily resurrection from the dead, and his exaltation to the right hand of God.

Learn about Jesus with “HANDS”

The case for the deity of Jesus can be remembered using the HANDS acronym.

Jesus shares the Honors due to God (worship and prayer)

To give someone honor is to acknowledge their rightful status and position. Jesus was given the honors due to God when people worshiped and prayed to him.”

Honor of Worship

There are times in the Bible when people bowed to Jesus, but the context doesn’t necessarily imply it was an act of divine worship—bowing was also a custom of showing humility. However, at other times, the context demonstrates that a person’s response to Jesus was more than mere respect.

In one case, the disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee when they saw Jesus walking toward them on the water. Peter then tried to walk on the water himself, but he began to sink after becoming fearful. Jesus rescued him, and they both got into the boat. The winds stopped, and Matthew 14:33 says:

Matthew 14:32–33 NIV

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Given the context—the disciples had just seen a supernatural display of Jesus’s power—it’s clear that they were worshiping Jesus as deity, not just as an impressive human.

Another revealing moment is when the disciples met Jesus after his resurrection. Matthew 28:17 says,

Matthew 28:17–18 NIV

When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Jesus didn’t refuse their worship. Instead, he confirmed that it was an appropriate response to his resurrection.

Honor of Prayer

Throughout the Old Testament, the only proper object of prayer is God. But just days after Jesus’s ascension to heaven, a major shift took place: the disciples prayed to Jesus for help in choosing a new apostle to replace Judas (Acts 1:24–25). They prayed,

Acts 1:24–25 NIV

Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.”

“Lord” means Jesus here, because Peter had just referred specifically to “the Lord Jesus” before this prayer (v. 21). The fact that monotheistic Jews prayed to Jesus speaks volumes about their understanding of his identity.”

Jesus shares the Attributes of God

The New Testament regularly ascribes attributes to Jesus that only God has. One of the most significant ones is preexistence. Bowman and Komoszewski explain the importance of this:

If Christ existed as a divine person before his human life, then he is the definitive revelation of the nature of God because his nature is, in fact, the nature of God. On the other hand, if Christ did not exist before his human life, then he is a revelation of the nature of God only in the sense that in his words and “actions we see how God wants us to live. . . . Was Jesus a man through whom God was revealing himself, or was he God revealing himself as a man?

This is a crucial question. And the New Testament repeatedly answers that Jesus existed before his human life:

· Jesus prayed,

John 17:5 NIV

And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

· Paul writes,

Colossians 1:16 NIV

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

Hebrews 1:2 NIV

but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.

It should be noted that preexistent doesn’t necessarily mean eternal, but other passages make it clear that Jesus preexisted in an eternal, divine way, equal with God himself. For example, in John 8:58, Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you . . . before Abraham was born, I am!” The wording “I am” echoes the name God revealed for himself in Exodus 3:14. Jesus’s critics understood he was claiming to be the same God—they picked up stones to kill him for blasphemy.

In addition to preexistence, some other key divine attributes ascribed to Jesus include omnipotence (all-powerful—Eph. 1:21), omnipresence (all-present—Mark 7:24–30; Luke 7:1–10), and omniscience (all-knowing—Matt. 9:4; 11:21–24; 12:25; Mark 2:6–8; Luke 6:8)

Jesus shares the Names of God

When the New Testament uses titles for Jesus, it often does so by quoting from or alluding to Old Testament passages about God. For example, the Old Testament speaks of God as the bridegroom and husband of Israel (Isa. 54:5; 62:5). In the New “Testament, Jesus claims to be the bridegroom as well. When people asked why Jesus’s disciples weren’t fasting, he answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them” (Mark 2:19; see also Matt. 22:2; 25:1–13; John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:23–27).

As another example, the Old Testament almost always uses the title Savior to refer to God—the only exception being a few references to the judges of Israel (Judg. 3:9, 15; Neh. 9:27; translated as “deliverer”). When Savior is applied to Jesus in the New Testament, however, the context shows that something much greater than a human savior is in mind. Jesus is specifically referred to as the Savior of the world,

John 4:42 NIV

They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

a Savior from heaven

Philippians 3:20 NIV

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

and a Savior who brings deliverance from sin and death (Acts 5:31; Titus 2:13–14).

Acts 5:31 NIV

God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.

Other Old Testament names and/or titles Jesus shares with God include King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 17:14), name above every name (Phil. 2:9–11), I am (see the prior section), and the first and the last (Rev. 2:8).

Jesus shares the Deeds that God does

Jesus Created All and Sustains All

The Jewish people believed that the God of Israel was the sole Creator and Ruler of all things, yet the New Testament clearly teaches that creation owes its existence to Jesus. In addition to the verses pointing to Jesus’s preexistence, the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8:6,

1 Corinthians 8:6 NIV

yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Similarly, Paul says that God “himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. . . . ‘For in him we live and move and have our being’” (Acts 17:25, 28). The implication is clear: Jesus shares in the work of creating and sustaining because he shares in the identity of God.

Jesus Acts with God’s Authority and Power

A core part of Jesus’s ministry was his miracle working—signs used to confirm that he acted directly with God’s authority and power. This is such an important subject to understand that we’ll devote the following chapter to it.

Jesus Will Judge All

The Old Testament teaches that God is the sole Judge of humankind (Gen. 18:25; Pss. 7:11; 50:6; 75:7). But Jesus teaches that he is that judge:

John 5:22 NIV

Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,

Paul says that Jesus will carry out that judgment from “the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:10). This brings us to the final letter of the HANDS acronym—the significance of the judgment seat.”

Jesus shares the Seat of God’s throne (exercises rule over all and is exalted over all)”

In various ways, the New Testament says that Jesus’s judgment seat is God’s throne. Bowman and Komoszewski explain, “Someone sitting on God’s throne and exercising God’s ultimate prerogatives is, in at least a very practical sense, God. He occupies God’s position and in doing so has the rightful expectation that we respond to him as to God himself.” The Bible expresses this in several ways:

· Jesus is pictured as sitting on God’s throne (Rev. 22:1, 3).

Revelation 22:1–3 NIV

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

· Jesus is said to exercise universal rule over all things—language characteristically used in Judaism to communicate God’s unique sovereignty from his throne (John 3:35; 13:3; 16:15; Acts 10:36; 1 Cor. 15:27–28).

1 Corinthians 15:27–28 NIV

For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

· Jesus is said to be exalted above all of God’s heavenly “court,” such as angels and other supernatural powers (Eph. 1:21; Phil. 2:10; 1 Pet. 3:22).”

Ephesians 1:21 NIV

far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

1 Peter 3:21–22 NIV

and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Do You Know Him?

I think that you’d agree that when you know the HANDS of Jesus, you get a glimpse of who He is. He often said that since the disciples saw Him, they have seen the Father. Learning what we have today makes this even more obvious. Amazingly, Jesus is a personal Savior. Just as He touched the lives of his disciples and others in stress, He wants to touch you!

“Why Jesus? He is the Lord who makes reality beautiful and helps us to find him, even in the darkest corners of the world; not because of what we know or who we are or what we have accomplished, but because of who he is.”[3]

Let’s Celebrate Jesus Christ!

As we close, I want to share a poem of an unknown author.

Christ for sickness, Christ for health, Christ for poverty, Christ for wealth, Christ for joy, Christ for sorrow, Christ today and Christ tomorrow; Christ my Life, and Christ my Light, Christ for morning, noon and night, Christ when all around gives way Christ my everlasting Stay; Christ my Rest, and Christ my Food Christ above my highest good, Christ my Well-beloved Friend Christ my Pleasure without end; Christ my Savior, Christ my Lord Christ my Portion, Christ my God, Christ my Shepherd, I His sheep Christ Himself my soul to keep; Christ my Leader, Christ my Peace Christ hath wrought my soul's release, Christ my Righteousness divine Christ for me, for He is mine; Christ my Wisdom, Christ my Meat, Christ restores my wandering feet, Christ my Advocate and Priest Christ who ne'er forgets the least; Christ my Teacher, Christ my Guide, Christ my Rock, in Christ I hide, Christ the Ever-living Bread, Christ His precious Blood hath shed; Christ hath brought me nigh to God, Christ the everlasting Word Christ my Master, Christ my Head, Christ who for my sins hath bled; Christ my Glory, Christ my Crown, Christ the Plant of great renown, Christ my Comforter on high, Christ my Hope, draws ever nigh.

Source Unknown.

[1] Zacharias, Ravi. “Why Jesus?” page 198.

[2] Natasha Crain. “Talking with Your Kids about Jesus.” Apple Book. https://books.apple.com/us/book/talking-with-your-kids-about-jesus/id1478034566

[3] Excerpt From: Ravi Zacharias. “Why Jesus?.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/why-jesus/id424941937

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