Who Is Jesus Christ

Our digital age is overflowing with information. Experts estimate 163 zettabytes of data are created per year worldwide—roughly 450 exabytes or 450 million terabytes every day.

Lies, opinions, and facts stand side by side. There is still one fundamental question that stands above all other inquiries and considerations:

Who do you say that I am? (Matt. 16:15)

Who is Jesus Christ? Have you ever been asked this question? Jesus asks you. Most likely, you’ve heard of him, but he wants you to know him.

When he asked that question originally, Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). This is a perennial starting point to answer the question: who is Jesus Christ?

Jesus is the Christ: God’s Promised Savior

“Christ” isn’t Jesus’s last name. From the Greek, christos, it’s the translation of “Messiah” (from the Hebrew, mashiach). This identifies him as the “anointed one” or Messiah promised throughout the Old Testament whom God would send to save his people once for all.

From as far back as the first book of the Bible—Genesis—and the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, God made a promise to send a son of Eve to conquer sin (Gen. 3:15). Throughout all the stories of Noah and the Flood, Abraham and the patriarchs of Israel, Moses and Israel in Egypt and the wilderness, and Israel in the Promised Land under leaders like Joshua and King David, the big picture of God’s promises was to send a final Savior for his people Israel as well as the whole world. All these stories of men and women hundreds and even thousands of years before the birth of Jesus show that we are covenant breakers, but God is the Covenant Keeper.

Jesus was not merely a messenger of good morality—he is the message; the mediator between God and humanity, and the king of the universe.

Jesus is the Son of the Living God: True God, True Man

Not only is it astonishing to read how Old Testament prophecies came true in the life of Jesus, but as Peter said, he was also “the Son of the living God.” Is Jesus God? Yes. He is truly human like you—and he is truly God.

Not to go too far afield: if the Old Testament teaches there is only one God (Deut. 6:4), and yet Peter—a Jew—called Jesus “the Son,” then this means there’s something about that one God that is multifaceted and mysterious. He is the Son of the Father and as other Scriptures teach, there is also a Holy Spirit. In other words, the one God exists as three: Father, Son (who became the man Jesus), and Holy Spirit.

Why You Need Jesus: The Problem is Not Merely “Out There”—It’s In Here

Before we ask, “What did Jesus do?” we must ask, “Why do I need Jesus?”

You and I were made for fellowship with God, yet we all sin—by nature and by choice. We break God’s law in our thoughts, words, and deeds. We fail to love God with our whole heart and our neighbors as ourselves. And sin does not remain a private mistake; it brings guilt and condemnation, and it separates us from God.

All this means your biggest need is not just advice to improve your life—you need rescue; you need a Savior. That’s what the “gospel” is. What is the gospel? God loved the world he made— and that rebelled against him—by sending his eternal Son to become human, to live, to die, and to be raised. And all who turn to him will be saved (John 3:16). Let me explain more.

What Did Jesus Do?

The New Testament and especially the Gospels give us the trustworthy record of God’s love for the world in giving his Son, Jesus. This raises the question: “Can I trust the Bible?” The short answer is yes, you can trust the Bible on the whole. You can trust the Gospels. You can trust the Gospels’ historical reliability even down to the names in the Gospels being historically accurate.

Here is what it says Jesus did to bring salvation to sinners like you and me.

Spotless birth

The Bible prophesied hundreds of years in advance that Israel’s Savior would be born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14). This happened as the prophet spoke (Matt. 1:18–23). When God came to this world in Jesus, we call this the incarnation.

The importance of the virgin conception and birth was to protect the Savior from being born sinful like you.

It’s also because we need a human Savior since we’re the ones who sinned—not some animals or angels. Only one who is truly God and truly man can bring sinners back to God.

Obedient life

The Bible says Jesus lived a sinless life in his thoughts, words, and deeds, loving God and his neighbor as God requires in his law. He taught that he was the Savior and his miracles confirmed this teaching.

This is good news for law-breaking sinners like you and me.

Substitutionary sacrifice

Yet, despite being perfect, he was crucified on a Roman cross. The Bible prophesied a Savior who would be sacrificed on behalf of sinners (Ps. 22; Isa. 52:13–53:12).

Why? It was not for his own sins or crimes, but he willingly allowed himself to be crucified on behalf of sinners like us.

You see, sin deserves the condemnation of death unless it is satisfied. Jesus satisfied the demands of death for you.

The cross is not Jesus losing—it is Jesus saving.

Powerful resurrection

Did Jesus rise? The Bible prophesied the resurrection (Ps. 22:21b–31). As one who is both a sinless human and God, death could not hold him down, so he was raised to life to demonstrate that his sacrifice was acceptable to God.

The reliability and historicity of the resurrection are the capstone in the arch of Christianity (1 Cor. 15). There are minimal facts on the resurrection that even skeptics accept, leading Christians to assert the resurrection of the Son of God.

Glorious ascension

The Bible also prophesied that the divine-human Savior would ascend back to heaven—meaning, the presence of God (Ps. 47). He ascended back to heaven where he ever lives to make intercession for sinners like us (Heb. 7:25). On a day only God knows, he will return (Matt. 24) to make all things new (Rev. 21–22).

Who Do You Say That I Am?

“Who do you say that I am?” Who is Jesus? Jesus is true God and true man in one. He is the eternal Son of God. He is the promised Savior of the world. He saves sinners like you by his birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, intercession, and soon coming again.

If Jesus is truly the Savior, he is not a partial Savior. He saves completely—and those who receive him by faith have all they need for salvation.

Who Does Jesus Say You Are?

Jesus once told a parable (illustration) to some people “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt” (Luke 18:9). Here’s what he said to them. Consider which one you are:

Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men…’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified…For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 18:10–14)

The only person Jesus cannot save is the person who insists he does not need saving.

How Should You Respond to Jesus?

Humble yourself as a sinner before Jesus and cry out to him to receive him and his salvation:

Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! (Luke 18:38)

When you do this, God in his grace forgives your sin and declares that he views you as righteous. How? Because all that Jesus did is credited as if it were yours. Receive him by faith today!

You are not saved by the strength of your faith, but by the Savior you trust.

If you are ready to respond, you may pray in your own words. Here is a model simple prayer of response:

Father, I admit I am a sinner and I need mercy. I turn from my sin and I ask your forgiveness. I believe Jesus is your Son, that he died for my sins, and that you raised him from the dead. I receive Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Lead me by your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Next Steps at OURC

If you prayed that, we encourage you to take the next step to become a Christian.

• If you’re local to Oceanside or Carlsbad here in North County, reach out to meet with the pastor for a conversation and encouragement. Share how you’ve come to faith and get your questions answered.

• Check out our sermons for teachings. Let me suggest starting here:

  • “What is the Gospel?” (audio/video)

  • “God’s Love Gifts the World With Eternal Life” (audio/video)

  • “Jesus’ Resurrection Is All Or Nothing” (audio/video)

• Plan a visit to Oceanside United Reformed Church (Sunday schedule / What to expect / Directions).

• Join the next “Welcome to a Reformed Church” class

Comfort in Life and Death