Who is This Jesus?

“Jesus?  Jesus who?”

“Hi! My name is Jesus and I came from Galilee.  My trade?  Oh, yes, I am a carpenter.  I inherited a shop from my father Joseph. But, actually, I don’t do much carpentry nowadays.  I’ve been roaming around the countryside, with my small group of friends, talking to people, giving them hope and preaching the good news of God’s salvation.  We don’t have a regular place to stay, so no permanent address. We are usually seen dining with the poor, the outcasts of the society, the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the lowest of the lows and the poorest of the poor.

“From time to time, we heal the sick, cast out demons, bring dead man back to life, feed five thousand men and a lot more that most people would call miracles.  Well, scholars of the law, priests, leaders of the church and of the cities call us enemies of the religion and threat to the existing traditions and customs.  We are not pretty much the kind of preachers and teachers you may have in mind.  Most of my friends and co-workers have no formal schooling, they were fishermen and ordinary men from the lowly part of the country.  All of us, and I mean all of us, are in danger of arrest and persecution, everyday.  One day, we will die in the most painful ways.  But that’s still in the future right?  For now, I, we, just do what my Father in Heaven asks me to do.  If you trust in Me, join us.”

Imagine talking to Jesus right now and He said those lines.  What will you say to Him?  How will you answer?

“Gee, you seems to be doing a great job.  But, you see, I am too occupied right now. I got bills to pay, my parents are aging and I have to take care of them, my kids are still young and they need me most of the time.  You know, I am really busy right now.  Maybe some other time.”

“What have you been smokin’, man?  Bringing back to life a dead man?  Healing the sick, dining with harlots and tax collectors?  You must be insane?  I heard you are in constant argument with the high priest and his cohorts.  Don’t you know that you are endangering your life and that of your friends?  I wouldn’t join you, man.  Not in this life, not even in the next.”

“Jesus?  From Galilee?  Is there something good from that place?  Just talk to someone else and stay away from me.”

“Oh, I see. What you are doing seems pretty interesting.  But, what’s in it for me?”

“Sure, but let me just tell my family about it.  I need to consult my wife first, you know.”

“I have a lot of troubles of my own.  Why should I join you?”

We don’t have to look too far to see that one of these responses may resonate our own. Who is this Jesus that we should be spending our time thinking about Him and what He said or has to say? What’s in it for us?  Is there any available resources or references that we can use to know exactly who He is?  He’s too popular and yet no two individual know Him exactly the same.   

Jesus and His words are more than just fashion and fad that last for a short time and then go away.  He and His words have been with us for more than 2000 years.  And we don’t see it going away.  He’s going to stay for all eternity.  Amen.  Jesus was there even before the beginning of time. 

So who is this Jesus? 

Jesus is both Human and Divine.  Trying to understand Him with our small minds would never be enough to see how big His nature is.  

Just to have a short but clear picture of who Jesus is, let’s take a look at how John introduces Him:

“In the beginning the Word already existed.  He was with God, and He was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  He created everything there is.  Nothing exists that he didn’t make.  Life itself was in him and this life gives light to everyone.  The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it... The One who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was going to come into the world... But although the world was made through Him, the world didn’t recognize Him whe He came... So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us.  He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.  And we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.”

“For the law was given through Moses; God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God.  But His only Son, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart; He has told us about Him.” (John 1:1-5,9-10,14,17-18 (NLT))   

Join us in this journey as as we try to know more about this Man named Jesus.  Let us live our lives, from being good to being godly.