Understanding Jesus
Sep 30, 2021 2561
Understanding Jesus Means Understanding God!
Understanding Jesus is essential for all humans. What is your understanding of Jesus? Do you think He was just a good teacher? Do you believe He was a prophet? Do you view Him as just a historical figure?
Jesus asked his disciples who they understood him to be. The apostle Peter answered that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:13-18.) Jesus confirmed that Peter demonstrated that he was understanding Jesus and who He was!
The famous Christian theologian C. S. Lewis wrote about understanding Jesus. He posed 3 questions about Jesus in his book Mere Christianity Lewis purposed that you had to answer whether you believed Jesus to be Lord, a liar, or a lunatic. (Lewis, C. S., Mere Christianity, London: Collins, 1952, pp. 54–56.)
Jesus could not have been a liar. According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary one definition of a liar is someone who “has a reputation as a liar.”
Jesus did not have the reputation of a liar. Jesus told the truth to powerful religious leaders, even though He knew it would cause him to get tortured and crucified. Jesus proved what he said about God loving us by sacrificing himself to forgive our sins. Jesus had many followers who witnessed him healing the sick and performing miracles. Jesus chose to live a life of service, suffering, and poverty. Liars do not tend to serve or help others.
What Else Do We Need To Know To Understand Jesus?
Understanding Jesus requires the realization that Jesus is unlike anyone else who ever lived. He was fully God and fully man. This is hard to understand from a human perspective. Because he was fully God and fully man, he identified fully with us in our humanity, and yet he lived a perfect life. The reason why Jesus was so unique was because He came into the world to save sinners.
Jesus had existed from the beginning. As the eternal Son of God, he had no beginning and has no end. Yet he was born as a little baby in the unimportant town of Bethlehem around two thousand years ago. He lived as an ordinary person among us for 30 years and then began his teaching and healing ministry for approximately three years.
Jesus announced the arrival of the kingdom of God in his own person and work, and that the kingdom was based on the principles of selfless love and kindness to others, not based on what they deserved, but because God himself loved them. Jesus came to earth to show us what God is like, in a way that we could understand, as a human being like you and me. He could do this perfectly because he was God himself.
Jesus voluntarily offered himself as a sacrifice for the sin of the entire world, accepting the penalty for sin himself on behalf of all sinners. Then he rose from the dead, proving that God had accepted his great work of salvation for the world, and also proving that he had conquered death for all.
Today, everyone who trusts in Jesus and accepts him as their Saviour and Lord will be accepted by God. His perfect life will be credited to their account and they will be saved.
After his resurrection, Jesus returned to heaven, promising that one day he would return to do away with sin, suffering and death forever.
Before Jesus returned to heaven, he promised that he would always be with his followers. He would do this through the Holy Spirit, who works among us today, reminding us of the teachings of Jesus, and drawing us to him, loving him more and empowering us to serve him.
Meanwhile, his followers wait for the return of Jesus, when we will be together with him forever.
Understanding Jesus means understanding that he is the loving Saviour of the world who gives us eternal life!
Laura Burns
Nov 2, 2021
Dear Gwapit manga, Thank you for your encouraging comment. I am thankful to God that you found this devotional helpful. You said you would like more of these articles to be emailed to you. If you scroll up this page, on the right hand side you can sign up to receive free devotionals by email. If you would like to do this please fill out the form with your name and email. We would love to continue to encourage you! If there are any other Good News Unlimited resources you would like to know more about, please let us know. May God bless you on your spiritual journey, Laura Burns
Gwapit manga
Oct 31, 2021
Thanks for the encouragement message and I need more of these to be emailed on my email
Gwapit manga
Nov 23, 2021
I need more of these encouragement messages to bring time near to Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour.