This question is puzzling to Christians that read and study the Bible because the truth about Jesus is clearly described in scripture. But this question conjures up strange, nonsensical notions in non-Christians and compromised "Christians." Sometimes these absurd notions come from ignorance. In other words, they have not read or studied scripture, so they have little or no idea what it says. Other times these nonsensical notions come from disbelief in portions of scripture. Other times these notions come from compromised pastors or teachers. So, who is the Jesus of the Bible?
1 Corinthians 15:1-10 KJV
"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."
Who is the Jesus of the Bible?
Jesus is the Christ that Paul and the other apostles wrote about and spoke about. Paul reminded them not to listen to any other teaching that was not the Gospel. He goes on to say that if what they believe to be true is not true, their faith is in vain. The Sadducees declared there was no resurrection from the dead, so Christ could not have risen. Paul reminds them and the readers of his epistle that the scriptures testified to resurrections and predicted Jesus' resurrection. Elijah resurrected a child as revealed in 1 Kings 17:22. Elisha resurrected a child as shown in 2 Kings 4:32-35. In 2 Kings 13:20-21, a man was being buried, but a band of men interrupted the burial, and the body was tossed into Elisha's sepulture. When the man's body touched Elisha's bones, he came back to life. Ezekial 37:12-13 also speaks of resurrection. Jesus is our resurrected Savior and Lord.
Jesus' Resurrection
The Lord's resurrection was predicted in Hosea 13:14 and Isaiah 26:19. So, Christ Jesus was physically buried and physically rose again from the grave as predicted by the prophets. Jesus was seen, touched, and had meals with people for 40 days after his resurrection. Over 500 witnesses were eyewitnesses, including the apostles and those that traveled with them. So, Jesus did live, die, and rise from the dead. Today, most people will agree that he lived and died, but they often will not believe that he rose from the dead and is alive and well today. They also do not believe that He is the only way to heaven.
Per Scripture – Who is the Jesus of the Bible?
· He is God.
· He is the Creator of everything that ever existed and upholds His creation through His sustaining power. (John 1:1–3; Hebrews 1:3)
· He is the only begotten Son of God, born of a virgin, who took on human flesh to be fully man and God incarnate. (Luke 24:39; John 1:14, 1:18, 8:58; Colossians 1:16; Acts 2:22; 1 Corinthians 15:47; Philippians 2:5–8; Hebrews 1:1–3)
· He died on the cross, making a complete and satisfactory atonement for man's sin. (Matthew 1:16–23; Luke 1:30–31; John 19:30; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Hebrews 9:11–12, 10:12–14; 1 Peter 1:17–19; 1 John 2:2).
· He is our resurrected Savior and Lord. (John 3:16)
· He is alive and at the right hand of God, making intercession for us. (Romans 8:34)
· He will return in person (bodily and visibly) to earth as judge of the living and the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:3–5; Acts 17:31; Ephesians 1:17–23; 2 Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 7:25).
If you cannot believe each of these statements, you must rethink your beliefs. Jesus cannot just be a good man, prophet, and teacher. If He claims to be God and is not God, then He is not a good man. If He claims to be a prophet and prophesies lies, He's not a good prophet. If what He teaches is not true, then He is not a good teacher. C.S. Lewis said Jesus is either a Liar, Lunatic, or Lord.
Jesus lived a sinless life, so He could not be a liar. Everything He said and did was good, honest, and much of it was prophesied hundreds of years before the prediction came true. So, logically, Jesus was not a lunatic. The only logical alternative is that Jesus is our Savior and Lord. He made it possible for all born-again believers, filled with the Holy Spirit, to be redeemed, justified, and sanctified. If you believe in any other Jesus, you must rethink your beliefs. Only the authentic Jesus – The Jesus of the Bible has the power to save you from sin and an eternity in hell.