Allen Imsong
“Who is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” his disciples asked one another in fear and amazement when Jesus calmed the storm at Galilee. “Are you the Christ?” the high priest asked Jesus as he appeared before the Sanhedrin for trial.
From the time he lived and till today, the world is curious and amazed at this man called ‘Jesus of Nazareth’. The authenticity of His claim to be the Saviour, the Messiah or the God himself is being challenged and has become a subject of debate for centuries. In fact it was for this very reason - his identity, the religious teachers put him to death. I wonder as to why, despite having full knowledge of the ‘Messianic prophecies’ (prophecies concerning Christ) and the scriptures being fulfilled through different events in Jesus’ life and even after he had done all those miraculous signs in their presence, they (religious leaders) refused to accept him as the ‘Messiah’.
Ironically their rejection had also greatly affected the common men’s faith. Except some faithful few, majority of them were confused lot. Many a time they were divided on the issue of Jesus’ legitimacy. While some accepted him as the ‘Messiah’, who was to come, others considered him a ‘deceiver’. Maybe it was the Father’s will that everything would remain a mystery until after his (Jesus) death so that His divine plan for providing forgiveness would be fulfilled. I wonder how we would have reacted if you and I were there! Anyhow, the disbelief and controversy still exist. Today, while hundreds profess Jesus, skeptics are also at work and many good Christians are held victim by their atheistic propagandas. For instance, movies have been made and books written in recent times challenging the legitimacy of Jesus wherein antagonists have tried to twist history by distorting the facts leading to confusion even among some sections of believers as well.
Nonetheless their works have attracted severe attacks and outright rejection from the Church, and their efforts have become futile.
Then, who really is Jesus?
For 2000 years or so, much of the world has seen Jesus of Nazareth as the founder of one of the world’s major religions. Many have also seen and regarded him as a great teacher and a good moral example. But He was more than a ‘man’. Very briefly, let us look at the following testimonies:
According to the Bible, JESUS is the Christ, the eternal Son of God, who became truly man without ceasing to be truly God having been supernaturally conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. And though a living person, he was sinless and perfect, and after having lived a life of unparalleled wisdom and character, he died an awful death to pay the price for the sins of mankind. But on the third day he rose from the death and now he is in heaven with his Father. He will return again at God’s own appointed time with great power and glory to judge the world; to reward the righteous and punish the wicked.
Jesus about himself
During one of the debates with the religious leaders Jesus said, “I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:28) According to the Scripture, that was the name God gave Himself when he commanded to Moses that he was the self-existent One: “I AM who I AM… Say to the people of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14) As such, the name of God in Hebrew is YHWH or I AM. JESUS also described himself as: ‘the Son of God’ (John 5:25); ‘the Son of Man’ (John 8:28); ‘the Bread of Life’ (John 6:35); ‘the Light of the world’ (John 8:2); ‘the Good Shepherd’ (John 10:14); ‘the Gate for the sheep’ (John 10:7); ‘the True Vine’ (John 15:1); ‘the Resurrection and the Life’ (John 11:35); ‘the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End’ (Rev. 22:13); and perhaps the best and the most beautiful of all: ‘I am the way, the truth and the life.’ (John 14:6). When the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the living God?” he replied, “Yes.”
What others say
On the night he was born, the angel said to the shepherds: “Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) WHEN John baptized him in the Jordan, a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” John the Baptist called him ‘the Son of God’ ‘the Lamb of God’. Nathaniel, whom Jesus called a true Israelite, called him ‘the Son of God; the King of Israel.’ The Bible also says that the evil spirits knew who Jesus was. Whenever they saw Jesus, they were terrified and would say ‘Holy One of God’ ‘You are the Son of God’ ‘the Son of the Most High God’. Simon Peter, his beloved disciple, called him ‘the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ The Centurion, who was in front of Jesus when he died, and seeing all that had happened said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Thomas Schultz wrote: “Christ is the only religious leader who has ever claimed to be the deity, and the only individual ever who has convinced a great portion of the world that He is God.” BESIDES, according to hundreds of eyewitnesses, Jesus did die, and 3 days later He left the tomb alive. The biblical record tells that more than 500 people saw Jesus alive after his death. Secular historians also acknowledge that Jesus was a real living person who gained renown in first-century Israel as a healer and a teacher, and that he died at the hands of the religious teachers. W.H. Thomas wrote: “There never has been a more real or genuine man than Jesus of Nazareth.” Even some of his great antagonists have also accepted his divinity. For instance, Goethe wrote: “If ever the Divine appeared on earth, it was in the Person of Christ.” Even Rousseau admitted: “Yes, the life and death of Socrates are those of a philosopher; the life and death of Jesus Christ are those of a God.” Interestingly in the Koran, the book of Islam, Yeshua (Jesus) is referred to as “the greatest above all in this world and in the world to come.”
What do you say?
Most probably you have heard all these and much more. Maybe you have even read books and books and have done intensive research on Jesus’ life and He being a deity. Not only the believers but the unbelievers as well have testified and accepted that Jesus is the Son of God; that He is the Christ. However, it is not what the world says or what you know. What matters is, “Who is this Jesus of Nazareth to you? Do you believe that he is the Son of God and that he died for you? Be it in the first century AD or today, one of the main reasons for reluctance to accept Jesus as the ‘Christ’ or God Himself is ‘lack of faith’.
Hence, whenever he taught, Jesus said, “Believe me.” In fact, people who had received ‘grace’ were those who believed, even today. Yes, only faith can make the difference. And as for the believers, there are moments even when the most faithful falters too. Like Peter, for different reason though, we often deny Him when we want to have our own ways and that is when we ‘fail’ as true Christians. THEREFORE, no matter how much a person knows or talks about Jesus, unless he acknowledges Him as his Lord and personal Savior, keeps and obeys his commandments at all times, HE DOES NOT REALLY KNOW HIM! And so, if you have not invited Jesus into your life or not being really faithful all these time, let this Christmas be an opportune time to know Him better!
