Who is Jesus?

Living in the Middle East, we often hear a lot of differing opinions about who Jesus was. People of an Islamic origin believe that Jesus was a prophet, born of a virgin (Mariam), who ascended into heaven. They tend to believe that it was Judas who died on the cross, not Jesus. The common belief is that Jesus did not die, but will be the One to come back and judge the world at end times – but, He is just a man.

There are some cultures that believe Jesus was a Buddhist, and in His early twenties Ge travelled into Asia and learnt Buddhism. On His return back to Israel He tried to bring the religion He learnt there and then He was killed for it.

Others believe He was a character made up by the churches in order to control the population and people.

And, lastly, to most of the western world, they kind of have no real idea who Jesus was.

So, who actually was Jesus?

In order to understand who He was, and is, you need to understand a little bit about the history of mankind and the three major religions (Judaism, Christianity & Islam). Once you know a little bit about the histories you will be in a well informed position to decide who do you believe Jesus is.

Judaism is the oldest monotheistic (a belief in one God) religion and it is the religion which the nation of Israel is founded on. In Judaism, they believe they are a selected people, specially chosen to be God’s cherished possession and if they follow in His ways they will be protected and blessed in all that they do.

The Hebrew (a Biblical term for people descending from Jacob (or Israel)) people have been given promises by God to be given the fullness of the area of Israel, Palestine, as well as parts of Jordan and Saudi.

God has also promised that a day will come where He dwells amongst His people and there will no longer be illness or depression, but that everyone will be at peace and have the joy of the Lord. As part of this promise, God said there will be one person, a Messiah, who will lead the Hebrew people into the fullness of that promise. The Messiah will sit at the right hand of God the Father and all of the nations will be given to Him.

The Jewish people are currently waiting for their Messiah to come and redeem Israel to the full glory God has promised them.

Islam is the newest of the monotheistic religions and they believe that all of the Holy books are the word of God and should be studied, but they equally believe the books are corrupted. They believe that God did visit people and try to teach them the way of holiness, but each time it was then corrupted by man.

So they agree that God taught Judaism (the Pentateuch or Torah) but it was then corrupted by man. They then believe that Christianity was taught, but it was also corrupted by men holding the names of Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. So God in His finality visited Mohammed where he was taught Islam, which is the final religion after such there will be no more changes or amendments.

Mohammed considered himself the messiah which the Jewish people were waiting for (he was rejected because he was not from the line of David (as prophesied in the Tanakh)). Islam is considered the final way to God where if God wills, you will be allowed into heaven. The deeds and offerings you do in your life on Earth may sway His opinion of you, but fundamentally it is entirely up to God’s ‘mood’ if you will go to heaven. Until that point of judgement you must follow Islam because it is the only way as everything else is corrupted but still good for study.

We understand that Jesus is called the Son of God because He was born of a virgin, as prophesied in the scriptures (Isaiah chapter 7) and that this child would be known as God being with us (Emmanuel). Jesus Himself was fully man but also fully God (Philippians 2:6-8) and it is through Jesus alone that we can be in fellowship with God. It is through Him that we can be forgiven for our sins.

The Messiah that the Jewish people are waiting for is described as one who will suffer heavily to redeem us (Isaiah 52-53), but He is God’s chosen instrument to restore people back to Him, for it is through His wounds that we are healed (restored back to fellowship with God). Jesus is not only is the Son of God but He is also the redemptive sacrifice which is needed in order to atone for fallen humanity (all religions require sacrifice to their “gods” in one way shape or from, because it is a foreshadow of the reality of the true God).

When He was crucified and nailed to the cross the punishment due to us for our disobedience to God’s ways was paid, in full, and we are now able to approach God and have a personal relationship with Him. Jess’ suffering and crucifixion was pre-destined before He came into physical existence (read Psalm 22) and because of this we can understand God’s redemptive love for His creation.

If you study the Tanakh (the Old Testament) you will see throughout that it all points towards God Himself redeeming all of creation through a chosen individual or a promised seed (the promise given to Abraham). We believe that Jesus and His self-sacrificial death on the cross is our promised Messiah who restores us back to God. We believe that because Jesus was the perfect man who walked without sin or fault, in perfect submission to God, He is able to be the acceptable sin sacrifice for all mankind.

Christians and Muslims alike believe Jesus was the only man to ever walked who did not sin. Christians and Muslims believe Jesus will be the One who brings God’s final judgement. All three religions believe in a final Messiah, we believe Jesus is the Messiah as attested by the miracles He did which showed the Kingdom of God was with Him. Muslims believe it was Mohammed because of an encounter in a cave. Israel are still waiting for their Messiah.

The question now is, who do you think Jesus is?

If you are unsure why don’t you try crying out loud to God and asking Him to show you the truth of Jesus?