Who Is Jesus?
Jesus is the most popular man of all time—except in His own time. That might sound a bit strange, so let me explain. Surveys taken today reveal that Jesus is the most respected and revered individual who ever lived. If you look back through the centuries, Jesus was nearly universally applauded. Even in the competing religion of Islam, Jesus is spoken of as a great prophet. For full disclosure, Islam does not accept Jesus as the divine Son of God (which He is) and I am not endorsing Muslim theology. I’m simply saying that both believers and non-believers through the centuries have held Jesus in high regard. However, if you go back to the first century, the time of Jesus, you will find a more polarized view of Jesus.
The first century Roman world was turned upside down by the followers of Jesus (Christians) who maintained that Jesus was the long-awaited Messianic Son of God. In opposition to the fledgling church, there were those who hated Jesus. Most of those who pushed back against Jesus (and those who followed Him) were of Jewish ancestry. While the early church was built on Jews who converted to Christianity, there were many Jews who said “No” to the Christian faith. For many Jews, the assertion that Jesus was the long-prophesied Messiah was too much. They could not accept this. There was such bitter resistance by many in the Jewish community to the claims of the church about Jesus that families were split over the issue. Many Christians were killed by Jewish authorities who felt this new ideology must be eradicated. Jesus himself was crucified by the Jewish authorities. A casual observation of the violent death of Jesus shows that not everyone was enamored with Him.
When we speak of the violent persecution that Christians faced in the first century, we cannot forget what the Roman Empire did to the early Christians. While Christians were first killed by the same Jewish leaders who killed Jesus, it was not long until the church came to the attention of the Roman authorities. The Romans were a very tolerant bunch when it came to variant religions. They did not really care who you worshipped or what you worshipped as long as you were willing to swear allegiance to Caesar. If your religion was willing to say, “Caesar is Lord," you were in good standing. Christians, however, were not willing to say, “Caesar is Lord.” The foundation of the Christian faith is that there can only be one Lord. The Christian faith was and is based on the truth that Jesus claimed to be the King of King and the Lord of Lords. He claimed to be God in the flesh. Jesus said that if you have seen Him, you have seen God. This statement brought much conflict to Jesus and His followers.
This brings my conversation back to today. Today Jesus is nearly universally loved, however many who claim to like Jesus, do not really know who He is. Jesus’ assertion that He is God is a huge claim. If anyone else were to make such a claim we would assume that person was crazy, a liar, or had some hidden agenda. Jesus was not a liar when He claimed to be God in the flesh. He proved this claim with His miracles (chief of which was His resurrection). Jesus was not crazy. His amazing teachings and supernatural power removed any questions regarding Jesus’ sanity. Jesus’ agenda was never a secret. He made it clear that He came to this world to redeem mankind and to call all to His service. Herein lies the basis for conflict and controversy.
Most people today have forgotten (or have ignored) the call of Jesus. Jesus calls all people to follow Him and His ways. In a world that desires to say that mankind is essentially good and virtuous, Jesus says just the opposite. The fact that God had to come and rescue humanity from sin and lawlessness is not a popular topic today. So, I ask, “Who is Jesus?” Your response has eternal implications and consequences. Join me next week as we continue to ponder who Jesus is and what we should do with Him. Keep looking up!