4. The Lord Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ taught healed and performed miracles in Israel for just over three years, from age 30 to 33, working closely with twelve men. But, his life made the greatest change to the destiny of mankind. Why? Because he was God dwelling in human form who came to die for our sins. Here we will look at the person of the Lord Jesus Christ who was fully human and fully divine.
Jesus is Human
Jesus of Nazareth was fully human. Born into a poor family who lived in poor neighbourhoods. Growing up as a child under the care of his parents. He experienced tiredness, hunger, thirst, emotional distress, and loneliness. His family fled to another country to avoid Herod so his family became refugees (Matthew 2:13). His parents lost him (Luke 2:43-46). Jesus trained in Joseph’s trade as a carpenter which in those days meant he was a builder (Mark 6:3). He would have been strong and would have had splinters and injuries like any workman.
Jesus as the oldest son became the provider for the family when Joseph died. It is touching that while Jesus was dying on the cross in unspeakable pain he asked his closest follower, John, to care for his mother Mary (John 19:26-27).
At the start of Jesus’s ministry an amazing event occurred, at his baptism by John the Baptist:
6 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17)
God the Father spoke from heaven to his Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove. This was one of the first indications, at the beginning of his ministry, that Jesus Christ was divine.
Jesus is Divine
At the time of Jesus birth, shepherds saw angels who said: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11). So, right at the start of the biblical record of the life of Jesus angels state Jesus is the Saviour, the Christ, the expected Jewish Messiah sent from God.
When Jesus was traveling with his disciples in the north of Israel he asked them an important question:
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Peter calls Jesus “the Christ, the Son of the Living God”. This is an important passage because it points to three titles of Jesus that all indicate he is God.
- The Son of Man
- The Christ
- The Son of the Living God
Just as God the Father has many names so also does the Son of God, The Lord Jesus Christ. We have not got space to explore them here but this website describes 50 names and titles of Jesus. These names reveal Jesus Christ as divine, who is one with God the Father (John 10:30).
Jesus Christ did many unexpected things. He turned water into wine (John 2:7-11); healed the sick (John 4:50); fed five thousand people (John 6;10-11); walked on water (John 6:19); healed people of leprosy (Matthew 8:2); healed a man born blind (John 9:1-7); raised people from the dead (John 11) and most amazingly of all Jesus himself was resurrected from the dead (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24 & John 20). Ordinary people around Jesus recognised he was the Messiah, the Son of God (Mark 15:39). The religious rulers hated him because Jesus said God was his Father, which made him equal to God (John 5:18).
Jesus Came to Earth to Bring Forgiveness for Sins.
Although Jesus taught, healed and performed wondrous signs, his sacrificial death on the cross changed everything. He came to do the work his heavenly Father had for him (John 14:10). He gave His life as a sacrifice and His blood was poured out for us. “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). God the Father sent his Son because he loved the world so that anyone who believed on Jesus would receive everlasting life (John 3:16). Jesus obeyed his Father’s will and humbled himself to face dying on the cross (Philippians 2:8). Tthrough the work Jesus finished on the cross (John 19:30) God “delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14). God then poured out the Holy Spirit on the disciples at Pentecost (John 16:7-8: Acts 2:1-4). The next post will introduce the Holy Spirit.
This introduction to the Lord Jesus Christ is woefully inadequate to explain who He is. That will take an eternity to understand! But try every day to allow the Holy Spirit to teach you more of him, who he was, who he is and who he will be and how much he loves you.