Jesus (also Jesus Christ): the central figure of the Christian religion. He was a Jew living in Palestine at the beginning of the 1st century AD, who in about AD 28-30 conducted a mission of preaching and healing (with reported miracles), which is described in the New Testament. He was arrested and put to death by crucifixion. Belief in his resurrection from the dead spread among his followers who saw in this proof that he was the Christ or Messiah, the fulfilment of the hopes of Israel, and indeed of all mankind. Further beliefs arose--about his virgin birth, and that he is the living Son of God, who has the power to grant eternal life to all who believe in him.
--The Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary

Who is Jesus?

by John Wiens

For ten years, I worked with a Christian organization on the campuses of four different universities in western Canada. I talked with hundreds of young men and women. Often the question would come up, "Well, who is Jesus anyway?" As we talked, it became apparent that some were asking a sincere question; they didn't know and wanted to know. Others, perhaps, were motivated more by an intellectual curiosity. Still others had a caustic edge to their voice in asking; they wanted to argue against Christianity. Who is Jesus? An amazingly simple question with different answers. How can that be? How can you answer this question for yourself? Let me suggest something which can help you.

The question is not a new one. When we read the documents which today are known as the New Testament of the Bible, it quickly becomes apparent that the question was being asked in the first century too.

Take, for instance, the Gospel of John, chapters 5, 6 and 7. In those few paragraphs, we notice several different responses to the question of Jesus' identity. Some thought Jesus was unjustifiably claiming to be God. In their understanding, that was blasphemy and good reason to enact the death penalty. Some, observing the miracles He did, said Jesus was a good man. Others said He was a con man, out to deceive the people. Still others believed He was a great prophet. Yet others thought He was demon-possessed. And some believed He actually was the Son of God as He claimed. How is it possible for people to see the same things, hear the same things and come to radically different conclusions?

For starters, let's all agree we make choices about what we believe. You walk through the supermarket check-out stand and you see some outrageous headlines on one of the tabloids. You say to yourself, "As if!" or "I don't believe that!" and you don't even consider buying the tabloid. You've made a decision to not believe what you just saw even though it was in print. Or you are listening to one of your less favourite politicians and you say to a family member or friend, "I don't believe a word of it! It must be getting close to an election!" What did you do? You made a choice to not believe the statements you just heard.

So choosing what we believe is part of the issue. Another issue is faith. Some quickly say, "I have no faith," thinking that faith is some mystical reality totally foreign to them. They say they are rational, thinking human beings and there is no room in their lives for faith. Only things which are scientifically proven to them are acceptable beliefs.

When I encounter such people, I have some fun with them. I suggest that they give evidence of faith every day of their lives. If they drive a car, I suggest that when they come to a stop light, they put great faith in the brakes. They believe the brakes will stop the car. Why do they believe that? Because the brakes have worked well before; they are in good mechanical condition. Do they think about the fact that sometimes, even though a small fraction of the time, brakes do fail? No. If they did, they would approach the traffic light much more slowly and with great caution.

Consider some other examples of faith. When going out to eat, you place faith in those preparing the food. You trust them to not poison your food.

Do you always lift up a chair and look to see if it is sturdy enough to hold your weight? Probably not. You sit on the chair because it has a history of being strong enough. Others have used it, and it has not broken. So you just sit on chairs when you see them.

What about trusting airplanes? Although you might have some apprehension about flying, you get in the plane, sit down and entrust your life to the plane and the crew. In essence, you are placing faith in the pilots, the mechanics, the design engineers and the manufacturer. For the most part, you sit back and enjoy the flight.

You say, "What's the point?" The point is that you used some evaluation before making your decision to fly. You may be aware of the safety record of airlines. Airline X has a better safety record, so you always fly Airline X. Or, just in general, you trust the mechanics who service aircraft.

Suppose, though, as you were about to board the aircraft, you looked outside and saw a big hole in the wing, one mostly flat tire and a big pool of oil under one of the engines. Would you calmly get into the plane? Not on your life. You would protest loudly for a refund or a transfer to another, more reliable plane.

The point is simply this: We all make decisions based on evidence. If the evidence points to something being reliable, we put our trust in it. If something appears unreliable from evidence we see or hear, we don't put our faith in it.

We even put our faith in things we can't see, such as electricity. We don't touch live electrical wires even though we can't see the electrical current flowing through the wires. Instead, we plug appliances into electrical receptacles and expect the appliances to work.

So what about Jesus? What evidence is there for the validity of His claims to be God? First, there were those alive in His day who became believers through what they heard and saw. The written records are that their lives were changed. Some even went so far as to die for what they believed to be true.

Second, there are the changed lives of people today who believe in Jesus Christ as God. You can go to most countries in the world, even those where Christianity is forbidden, and you can find believers in Jesus Christ. Their lives have been changed. Christianity is predictable for any who truly believe in Jesus. Believers talk about forgiveness of sins and guilt. They say their fear of death is gone. They have a new power to live as more loving people. They have a settled conviction concerning life and its purpose; cynicism is replaced with a contagious kind of hope, the expectation of life after death in the presence of Jesus.

Third, the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is good enough to stand up in a court of law. That's what experts say. (For further study, I refer you to the book Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell, available in most Christian bookstores.) Early Christians staked their lives on the reality of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who rose from death on the third day after His crucifixion. Christians today also have a daily experience with a living Jesus. They will tell you they talk to Him. He is not some remote idea. He is not a leader who gave a lot of instructions on how to live and then left the earth. The testimony of believers is that Jesus lives within them in the person of His Spirit.

But let's get back to the written record which we know as the Bible. When Jesus was teaching those around Him, He created great controversy. Many were asking the question, "Is this the Messiah?" The Jewish people expected God to send a "Messiah" (translated into Greek as "Christ"), a unique individual who would be their deliverer. So they asked the question, "Is Jesus the Messiah?" Some were convinced. Some of the leaders, knowing what the prophets had predicted concerning His birthplace, weren't so sure. Of course, if they had had more inclination to be good reporter-researchers, they would have found out that His birthplace was Bethlehem as the prophet Micah had predicted hundreds of years earlier.

So as people asked the question concerning Jesus, they were really asking whether they should put their trust in Him. Some said yes. Some said no. Those who didn't put their trust in Him may have already made up their minds about Jesus. They did not want to follow Him. They had made a choice to not believe in Him. They may not have wanted to follow Him because they knew His claim to be God had very serious implications. Jesus taught very clearly that a belief in Him required total allegiance. That is one reason Jesus didn't satisfy curiosity concerning His identity. Believing in Jesus Christ is not only an intellectual faith, an intellectual agreement. Jesus intends it to be a whole-person commitment to love and obey Him. If He truly is God as the New Testament writers affirm, then He has the right to command our whole commitment.

What about you? You have a choice. The way you answer the question will change your life forever. If you choose to believe in Jesus Christ, your life will take on new dimensions. You will be changed. Your life after death will be very different, and peaceful, too. The choice is yours.

I'm glad I chose Jesus Christ. I believe in Him with all my heart. I believe Him when He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through Me" (John 14:6, the Bible). You can make a choice.

John Wiens is a pastor at Willingdon Church in Burnaby, B.C. "This is the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God." (Mark 1:1, from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible.)

"Jesus went all over Galilee, teaching in the Jewish meeting places and preaching the good news about God's kingdom. He also healed every kind of disease and sickness." (Matthew 4:23, from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible.)

"For forty days after Jesus had suffered and died, He proved in many ways that He had been raised from death." (Acts 1:3, from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible.)

"Jesus said: What I teach comes from the One who sent me. If you really want to obey God, you will know if what I teach comes from God." (John 7:16-17, from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible.)

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