Jesus Christ

Life Church is made up of people who have decided to follow Jesus Christ. We follow him not only because of who he is, but also because of what he has done - both for us and for others. The complete story would fill several books, so we're not going to tell it here on this web page. Instead we're going to share highlights from key stages in Jesus' life. Hopefully these will will make you curious enough to check him out for yourself. You will probably find it most helpful to read through this web page twice: reading it straight through the first time and then going back to reread it and click on the links the second time.

Who Is Jesus?

Introduction

Let's begin with some history. The primary historical records of Jesus' life are the first four books of the Christian scriptures (i.e. The New Testament): Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Jesus was born sometime between 6 B.C. and 1 A.D. in Bethlehem, a small town in the nation of Israel. Unlike every other human being who has ever lived, Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit without the benefit of a biological father. His mother Mary was a virgin who was enaged, but not yet married to a man named Joseph. The Bible records several miraculous events associated with Jesus' birth and early childhood, as well as an incident that took place when he was 12 years old. After that time the Bible says nothing about Jesus' life until the day when, at the age of about 30, he began his ministry.

You can read the full story of Jesus' birth and early childhood in the following Bible passages:

Jesus Launches His Ministry - Matthew chapter 3

Jesus began his ministry by presenting himself for baptism to a local prophet known as John The Baptist. John's consistent message to the public was: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." Everyone else who came to John did so as an act of public repentance - reversing the direction that their lives had taken up until that point and committing themselves to a life of obedience to God. When Jesus presented himself John was reluctant to baptize him, declaring that it would make more sense for Jesus to baptize him. John only agreed to baptize Jesus because of Jesus' personal reassurance that it was the right thing to do at the time.

Soon thereafter Jesus began to preach the same message as John: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near."

Jesus Continues His Ministry

Over the next three years or so Jesus taught, preached, performed miracles, and trained dedicated followers known as disciples. His relationship with his disciples is especially worth examining. They initially saw Jesus as their rabbi or teacher. As they continued to spend time with him they gradually began to see him as more than a teacher.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
Matthew 16:13-20

Notice that Jesus fully endorsed Peter's declaration that he was the Christ (i.e. the Messiah or "Anointed One"). Jesus understood himself to be the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Jesus not only endorsed such bold statements about himself, he also made several of his own that we'll examine in the next section. He even accurately predicted his own death, burial, and resurrection.

What Did Jesus Say About Himself?

He is the source of eternal life:

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.
John 5:24 - 26 (Read this in its context: John 5:1-29)

“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
John 17:1-3

He is the resurrection and the life:

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
John 11:25-26 (Read this in its context: John 11:1-53)

He is the only way to the Father:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6 (Read this in its context: John 14:1-11)

Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?

It is popular nowadays to lump Jesus in with the founders of other religions as merely a "good teacher", as if all of the world's religions teach basically the same thing. When we read Jesus' actual words however, we see that he doesn't really leave us with that option. Jesus makes claims that are so bold, they set him apart from every other religious teacher. Either these statements are true, or they aren't. If they aren't true, then either Jesus knew they weren't true, or he didn't know they weren't true . If Jesus made false statements that he knew to be false, then he was a liar rather than a good teacher. If Jesus made false statements that he thought were true, then he was deceived. In fact, given the audacious nature of the statements that Jesus made, he would have to have been more than deceived - he would have been a lunatic. You can see this illustrated in the following table:

If Jesus' statements are	and Jesus	then Jesus is
True	knew	Lord
True	didn't know	Incompetent
False	knew	a Liar
False	didn't know	a Lunatic

Jesus' Death, Burial, and Resurrection

Jesus accomplished many things during his earthly ministry, but we're about to discuss his greatest accomplishment - rising from the dead. As we mentioned earlier, Jesus predicted his own death, burial, and resurrection:

Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
Matthew 20:17-19

After his prediction, things happened exactly the way Jesus said they would. You can read about it in Matthew 26:1 - 28:20. Less than 72 hours after being crucified and buried Jesus was seen by as many as five hundred eye witnesses as the resurrected Son of God:

Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
1 Corinthians 15:1-8

In his final appearance to his disciples Jesus told them that they would be responsible for spreading his life story all over the world:

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Acts 1:1-11

God In Human Form

Jesus is so much more than just a good teacher. He is God in accessible human form. Check out the following Bible passages:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
. . .
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
. . .
No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.
John 1:1-4, 14, 18 (Read this in its context: John 1:1-18)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Colossians 1:15-20 (Read this in its context: Colossians 1:1-23)

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
Hebrews 1:1-4 (Read this in its context: Hebrews 1:1-14)

What Do You Think?

You've just read just a portion of the story of Jesus' life. Like all Christians, we at Life Church believe that, because Jesus rose from the dead, his story is not over! We also believe that the information you've just seen deserves a response. If you do nothing you will be ignoring the greatest story ever told. If, on the other hand, this story has touched you in some way we invite you to check out some of the resources we have that can help you learn more about Jesus.

Next Steps - Learning More

The best way to learn more about Jesus is to spend time with some of his followers. You can find followers of Jesus Christ in many different churches all over the world. If you happen to be in the Boston area we invite you to come visit us and get to know some of the followers of Jesus at Life Church.

Whether you visit us or not, it may be that you want to act on what you've just learned about Jesus but you don't know what to do. If so, we've prepared a web page that will explain why the Story of Jesus is good news and what to do about it. Just click here.

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