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What does the Bible say?

In Luke 24, we read about the resurrection of Jesus. On the day of his resurrection, the story goes that two of Jesus’ disciples were walking to a village called Emmaus. On the way, Jesus came up and walked beside them, but the disciples didn’t recognize him.

Jesus asked them what they were discussing as they walked. They said they were talking about Jesus and his crucifixion, and that they had hoped that Jesus would be the Messiah. And they said that earlier that morning, it was discovered that Jesus’ body was missing from the tomb.

Jesus responded, “‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

When we read the Old Testament, it is tempting to see the stories about God and Israel as disconnected from the stories about Jesus and the early church.

But, the Old Testament stories are filled with pictures of God’s plan of salvation which was completed in Jesus.

The Old Testament contains over 300 prophecies pointing to the life and ministry of Jesus. These prophecies include details about His birth, earthly ministry, and death.

In a fascinating biography of Jesus, Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola say,

“Jesus is the subject of all Scripture. He is the main character of the story. The plot revolves around him, and the images of Christ are what make the story sing the song of truth. The real and total meaning of Scripture… is found in Jesus Christ–his person, his mission, and his work. He is the fulfillment of the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings.”¹

If someone with no knowledge of the Bible and of Jesus or Christianity were to start reading the Bible at the beginning, in Genesis, and work their way through the entire Old Testament, would they predict that the Messiah would be a person named Jesus from Nazareth, who lived and taught and died as Jesus did?

Most likely, they would not. This is because all of the events recorded in the Old Testament are only brought to clarity when we actually come to know Jesus Christ.

And, at the same time, when we read the Gospels within the context of the Old Testament, we gain clarity on who Jesus is. Augustine wrote that in the Old Testament, the New is concealed; in the New, the Old is revealed. (In Reply to Faustus the Manicean) Luther said that the New Testament is nothing more than a revelation of the Old Testament.

If you can recall anything from Pentateuch and Hebrews sermon series, I hope you will remember that Jesus fulfilled everything that God promised to Israel.

Paul argued that Israel’s festivals and food laws are embodied in Christ. They are shadows that point to the reality. Colossians 2:16–17 “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”

In 1 Corinthians 10:1–4, Paul draws direct parallels between the experiences of Israel and the person of of Jesus. “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.”

In Matthew 16:13–16, Jesus’ followers declared him to be the Messiah and the Son of God. “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.””

In John 1, which is understood as referring to Jesus, it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

In John 5, Jesus says that he is the eternal life that obedience to the Scriptures are unable to give. He says to the Jewish leaders, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”

Philippians 2:5–11 says that Jesus is the humble servant exalted to the highest throne in all of creation.

Colossians 1 says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. In him all things were created; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Hebrews 1 says that in the past God spoke through prophets and in various ways, but now he has spoken through Jesus… The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

The conclusion we can draw from the New Testament is the Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Son of God, and the king of all creation. According to the Bible, Jesus is not only a good teacher, a prophet, or the founder of a religion. Based on what the Bible says, we can only come to one conclusion, which is that Jesus is the eternal, uncreated God, in the flesh.

But, this is not what people have always believed about Jesus, even among Christians.

What does history say?

There is far more to say about what people throughout history believed about Jesus that we have time for, so I’m going to focus on one primary story line, which is that of the church’s response to common heresies, or false beliefs about Jesus.

Among the various heresies, the most prominent was the belief that Jesus was created by God the Father rather than eternally God. Others were related to the belief that the physical realm is corrupt and thus Jesus could not have been an actual human, or that the human Jesus only represented the eternal Son of God but wasn’t actually God in the flesh.

In the year 325, the Roman Emperor Constantine, who had begun to see Christianity as beneficial for uniting the empire, called a special council in Nicaea of church leaders. The goal was to make clear and final statements about the nature of Jesus which could unite all Christians.

It was at the Council of Nicaea that the church became united in the belief that Jesus is fully human and fully God, eternal and uncreated.

The result of the Council is the Nicene Creed, which states the following:

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

This creed was not immediately adopted by all church leaders. It was only 126 years later, in the year 451, that the Nicene Creed was formally ratified and set as the standard for Christian belief.

The primary debate about the historical Jesus usually lies in his eternal nature. All respectable historians would never dispute that there was a man named Jesus who came from Nazareth and that the Gospels are fairly accurate in their descriptions of Jesus’ life and teachings.

But, some historians who deny the divinity of Jesus believe that his followers fabricated some of the things Jesus said about himself that point to his divinity.

I have two books on my shelf, one titled How Jesus Became God written by a non-Christian historian, and the other, which is a response to that book, titled How God Became Jesus written by several Christian theologians and historians.

A primary argument in How Jesus Became God is that the Gospel of John, which contains the strongest statements about the divinity of Jesus, is not a reliable historical source. The author makes some good points and he is a good historian. The theologians and historians who responded to that book also make good points and show how we can rely on the Gospel of John as a true testimony of the life of Jesus.

Ultimately, we all need to make a decision based on what makes the most sense when we read the Bible, look at history, and our own lives. Because of such strong arguments on either side of the debate, it is very difficult and often unfruitful for most people to try and rationalize or argue about it. It must come down to a holistic consideration, not a purely intellectual one.

Before we get to the personal response to who Jesus is, let’s look briefly at what we as a church say about it.

What do we say?

Our church is a part of a denomination called the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada, or EMCC. Our statement of faith is as follows:

We believe in Jesus Christ in whom the divine and human natures are inseparably united. He is truly God and truly man, the eternal Son of God in the flesh, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin, Mary. He came to reveal the Father, announce the arrival of God’s Kingdom with word, miracles and deeds, and to offer Himself up as a sinless atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. He was physically raised from the dead and then exalted to the right hand of the Father.

In fulfilling the earthly mission of His first coming, Jesus demonstrated a life of victory on our behalf over Satan and sin, provided the only way for people to be rescued from sin, and opened the way to live a holy life as participants in the Kingdom of God. He continues now as the only Mediator between God and humanity. Jesus will, at the Father’s appointed time, come again in power and glory.

Perhaps you picked up on the language of this statement compared to the Nicene Creed. These statements are the most widely accepted beliefs about Jesus.

What we believe about Jesus is that he has done what no other human is able to do because he is also God. He has brought reconciliation between God and humanity. He did this because God loves us and wants us to enjoy what was originally intended for creation.

What do you say?

All that is left is for you to answer the question. Who is Jesus? What do you say?

This question is for all of us, regardless of where we are in our journey of faith.

Your answer can really be only one of a few options and each option has a profound consequence.

First, you could say that Jesus is a historical figure who, because of his wise and convincing teaching, founded the largest religion in the world. He was killed by the Romans upon the demand of the Jewish leaders for blasphemy and supposed insurrection, as he claimed to be the king of the Jews. His death inspired his followers to carry forward his teaching and way of life and make him into God in order to cement their authority as religious leaders. In this case, he has no affect on your eternal destiny or on reconciling God and humanity. Many who hold this position would consider themselves to be atheists and believe that Christianity is dangerous and oppressive.

Second, you could say that Jesus was a prophet of God and a Jewish teacher who proclaimed a new way to salvation. If you follow his teachings and way of life, you will be accepted into the kingdom of heaven and live eternal life. If this is the case, his death was meaningless other than to show how to die well. Our salvation is dependent upon our performance and our motivation is fear of judgment and death. Although most Christians would not say they believe this, it is often how we live because we have a hard time disconnecting our behaviour from what we deserve or do not deserve.

Third, you could say that the Gospels are reliable testimonies of Jesus, that what is written tells us the truth about what he did and said. He is eternally the Son of God who came to earth as a human, his death and resurrection are the only way into the kingdom of God, and he will return to rule the earth for eternity. If this is the case, you live with gratitude for the gift of salvation and with hope of eternal life with God. Your life’s foundation is Jesus and your motivation to obey his teaching is from a posture of gratitude and a desire to show people what the kingdom of God looks like.

So, ask yourself, who is Jesus? It is the most important question you will ever ask.

1. Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, Jesus: A Theography (Thomas Nelson, 2012), xxii. ↩︎