Who is Jesus? Is he God? Or is he just a mere man, like you and I?
By Colin Stewart
Believe it or not, this article almost gave me a faith crisis. I looked at the usual passages that are used to prove that Jesus is God, and found that they don't. So, I was left thinking that Jesus isn't God. But, wait.... As I write this, Christmas has recently come and gone. The familiar carols have been sung, and the familiar story told. The familiar story, in which the angel tells Joseph that the baby will be called Immanuel, which means God with us. So there we have it. Jesus is God. The general, and accepted understanding is that Word, in this passage, refers to Jesus. So this passage tells us that Jesus is God, and is with God. You will want to note, here, that Jesus existed in the beginning. In other words, Jesus didn't begin when Mary became pregnant. So, here, we find that while Jesus was human, he was so much more than that. To confirm that Jesus is the Word of God, see Revelation 19:13-16. This verse is during Jesus' baptism. Jesus had just come up out of the water, when the voice spoke. In this verse we find a declaration of who Jesus is. We see, here, that Jesus is the son of God. He's not just God, he's the Son of God. Have you seen this verse, before? It's amazing. Peter has just walked on the water. And Jesus has just calmed the storm. The disciples saw this, and they knew. Nobody had to tell them twice who Jesus was. They just saw Him do something that only God can do! Peter. Peter said this. Some time after Peter had walked on the water, Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was. Note Peter's answer. He knew. But then again, he was part of Jesus' inner circle. He was one of the few who were close to Jesus. The others were James and John. John, it is thought, wrote one of the four gospels, and Revelation. James was thought to be a brother of Jesus.

Peter had also seen Jesus perform many miracles. He saw Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb. He saw Jesus feed 4,000 people, and then, another time, 5,000 people. He saw Jesus heal the sick. He saw Jesus calm the storm.

This verse is incredible. Do you see it? Those who were charged with Jesus crucifixion have discovered who he is. They know what they saw. I wonder what was going through their minds when the dead were raised, and the earthquake happened. We know they were terrified. We know they came to believe in who Jesus is. And we know that they proclaimed who he is. But, the scripture doesn't record any conversation between them. All we know, is that earthquake convinced them, and they became believers. But I still wonder what they were thinking. That was Martha. You may not remember her, but she had a sister, Mary. I think Lazarus was their brother. Lazarus had died. Mary and Martha had sent word to Jesus to come, but he chose to wait. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead, and in the tomb, for four days. I can see why Martha and Mary were upset. They must have felt that Jesus had let them down.

Yet Jesus had a higher purpose. Not long after Martha confessed that Jesus is the Christ, He rose Lazarus from the dead. That's why he waited four days. To test Martha's faith, and to show His power. Power that Only God has. Only God could raise somebody from the dead. And that's exactly what Jesus did. Wow!

Paul. He wrote most of the New Testament. He persecuted the church, before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. He persecuted the church because he didn't believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Nor did he believe that Jesus was God. The Bible doesn't directly say so, but when Paul met Jesus on the road that day, he became a believer. Perhaps I'll come back to this passage in a later unit, because Paul's life was drastically changed.

So here we have it. Jesus is God. He is the Messiah. He is the Word. He is not a mere man like you and I, although he was fully human. He is God in the flesh. God came down to earth, and dwelt among us as one of us. But don't take my word for it. All I can do, and wish to do, is show you the evidence. It is up to you to search the scriptures. Am I telling you the truth? Or am I full of hot air? You must make that decision, and then do something about it.