Jesus: Who is He?

Summary

The Gospels describe Jesus teaching thousands about the kingdom of God, healing the sick all over Israel, being crucified, and rising from the dead. Christians believe that Jesus is not just a good man but God, and that everyone is invited into a relationship with him. This session weighs the historical evidence for Jesus, what he taught and did, his claim to be God, and the natural place doubt holds on the way to faith.

Key Points

Who is Jesus?

• "There are no reliable historians or anthropologists who would deny that He lived." — Ben
• Jesus' life marks the dividing point between the two main eras of history (BCE and CE).
• Christians believe Jesus was not just a good man, but that he was and is God. "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God." — Colossians 1:15
• "Christ says, 'I am God Incarnate.' So what you're left with is either Christ was who He said He was, or a complete nutcase… The idea that the entire course of civilization could be turned upside-down by a nutcase — for me, that's far-fetched." — Bono (U2)

What did Jesus do?

• The Gospels are eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus, and textual criticism gives us confidence we have an accurate version of the original texts.
• He taught things we still live by: do to others as you would have them do to you; turn the other cheek; forgive those who wrong you.
• He healed the sick, performed miracles, and claimed to be God: "I and the Father are one."
• In his 33 years he fulfilled over 300 prophecies, 29 of them on the day he died, and the Gospels record that he rose from the grave and appeared to his disciples.

Doubt and faith

• It's natural to doubt the claims and resurrection of Jesus — his disciple Thomas struggled to believe until he saw Jesus alive again.
• "It's by looking at the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that we discover evidence for God's existence." — Jason

Notable Quotes

"He came into the mess of this world and revealed Himself to you and to me." — Ben

"Either the man we're talking about was and is just who He said… or else insane, or worse… however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God." — C.S. Lewis

"Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." — John 20:29