Who is this man?
Jesus himself asked his disciples the question of identity that we want to face here: "Who say the people that the Son of Man is?" She remains up-to-date for us today: who is this man? What authority does he have? Why should we trust in him? Jesus Christ is at the center of the Christian faith. We have to understand what kind of person he is.
Very human - and more
Jesus was born in the normal way, grew up normally, got hungry and thirsty and tired, ate and drank and slept. He looked normal, spoke everyday language, walked normally. He had feelings: compassion, anger, astonishment, grief, fear (Matth. 9,36Luke 7:9 Joh. 11,38; Matth. 26,37). He prayed to God as humans should. He called himself a man and was addressed as a man. He was human.
But he was such an extraordinary person that after his ascension to heaven, some denied his humanity. (2. Joh. 7)They considered Jesus so holy that they couldn't believe he had anything to do with flesh, with its dirt, sweat, digestive functions, and imperfections. Perhaps he had only "appeared" as a human being, as angels sometimes appear as humans without actually becoming human.
In contrast, the New Testament makes it clear: Jesus was human in the full sense of the word. John confirms: "And the Word became flesh..." (Joh. 1,14)He did not merely “appear” as flesh, nor did he merely “clothe” himself in flesh. He became flesh. Jesus Christ “came in the flesh.” (1. Joh. 4,2)“We know it,” says John, “because we have seen him and because we have touched him.” (1. Joh. 1,1-2).
According to Paul, Jesus had become “in the likeness of men”. (Phil. 2,7), “subject to the law” (Gal. 4,4)“in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3). He who came to redeem mankind had to become essentially human, argues the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews: “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too was born in the same way… Therefore he had to be made in the likeness of his brothers” (2:14-17).
Our salvation depends entirely on whether Jesus was—and is—truly human. His role as our advocate, our high priest, depends entirely on whether he truly experienced humanity. (Hebr. 4,15)Even after his resurrection, Jesus had flesh and bones (Joh. 20,27(Luke 24:39). Even in heavenly glory, he remained human. (1. Tim. 2,5).
Act like God
“Who is he?” the Pharisees asked when they witnessed Jesus forgiving sins. “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:21). Sin is an offense against God; how could a human being speak for God and say, “Your sins are forgiven, erased”? That is blasphemy, they said. Jesus knew how they felt about this, and yet he still forgave sins. He even suggested that he himself was sinless. (Joh. 8,46).
Jesus said he would sit at the right hand of God in heaven – another claim that was considered blasphemous by the Jewish priests. (Matth. 26,63-65)He claimed to be the son of God – this too was considered blasphemy, because in that culture it practically meant elevating oneself to the status of God (Joh. 5,18; 19:7). Jesus claimed to be in such perfect agreement with God that he only did what God wanted. (Joh. 5,19)He claimed to be one with the Father (10:30), which the Jewish priests also considered blasphemous (10:33). He claimed to be so like God that anyone who saw him saw the Father (14:9; 1:18). He claimed to be able to send out God's Spirit (16:7). He claimed to be able to send out angels. (Matth. 13,41).
He knew that God was the judge of the world, and at the same time claimed that God had handed judgment over to him. (Joh. 5,22)He claimed to be able to raise the dead, including himself (Joh. 5,21; 6:40; 10:18). He said that everyone's eternal life depended on their relationship with him, Jesus. (Matth. 7,22-23)He considered the words of Moses to need supplementation. (Matth. 5,21-48)He called himself lord over the Sabbath – over a divinely given law!Matth. 12,8.) If he were “only human”, that would be presumptuous, sinful teaching.
But Jesus backed up his words with amazing works. “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or if not, believe me on account of the works themselves.” (Joh.14,11)Miracles cannot force anyone to believe, but they can be strong "circumstantial evidence." To show that he had the authority to forgive sins, Jesus healed a paralytic (Luke 5:17-26). His miracles prove that what he said about himself was true. He has more power than human power because he is more than a human being. The claims about himself—blasphemy in anyone else's case—were based on truth in Jesus' case. He could speak like God and act like God because he was God in the flesh.
His self-image
Jesus was fully aware of his identity. Even at the age of twelve, he had a special relationship with the Father in heaven (Luke 2:49). At his baptism, he heard a voice from heaven say, "You are my beloved Son" (Luke 3:22). He knew that he had a mission to fulfill (Luke 4:43; 9:22; 13:33; 22:37).
To Peter's words, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!" Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven." (Matth. 16, 16-17)Jesus was the Son of God. He was the Christ, the Messiah – the one anointed by God for a very special mission.
When he called twelve disciples, one for each tribe of Israel, he did not count himself among the twelve. He stood over them because he stood over all Israel. He was the creator and builder of the new Israel. At the Lord's Supper he revealed himself as the foundation of the new covenant, a new relationship with God. He saw himself as the focal point of what God did in the world.
Jesus boldly polemicized against traditions, against laws, against the temple, against religious authorities. He demanded of his disciples to leave everything and follow him, to put him first in their lives, to keep absolute loyalty to him. He spoke with the authority of God - and spoke at the same time with his own authority.
Jesus believed that Old Testament prophecies were being fulfilled in him. He was the suffering servant who was to die in order to redeem people from their sins.Jes. 53,4-5 & 12; Matth. 26,24(Mark 9:12; Luke 22:37; 24:46). He was the Prince of Peace who was to enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey. (Sach. 9,9-10; Matth. 21,1-9)He was the Son of Man, to whom all power and authority were to be given. (Dan. 7,13-14; Matth. 26,64).
His life before
Jesus claimed to have lived before Abraham and expressed this “timelessness” in a classic formulation: “Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” (Joh. 8,58)Again the Jewish priests believed that Jesus was claiming divine status and wanted to stone him (verse 59). The phrase "am I" suggests 2. Mose 3,14...where God reveals his name to Moses: “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Elberfelder translation). Jesus adopts this name for himself here. Jesus confirms that he already shared glory with the Father “before the world existed.” (Joh. 17,5)John tells us that he existed at the beginning of time: when the Word (Joh. 1,1).
And it is also written in John that “all things” were made through the Word. (Joh. 1,3)The Father was the planner, the Word the creator, who carried out the planned. Everything is created by him and for him. (Kol. 1,16; 1. Kor. 8,6)Hebrews 1:2 says that God “made the world” through his Son.
In Hebrews as in Colossians it says that the Son “bears” the universe, that it “exists” in him. (Hebr. 1,3; Kol. 1,17)Both tell us he is "the image of the invisible God". (Kol. 1,15), “the image of his being” (Hebr. 1,3).
Who is Jesus? He is a divine being who became flesh. He is the creator of all things, the Prince of Life. (Apg. 3,15)He looks exactly like God, has glory like God, and possesses a power that only God has. No wonder the disciples concluded that he was divine, God in the flesh.
Worth the worship
Jesus' conception took place in a supernatural way (Matth. 1,20(Luke 1:35). He lived without ever sinning. (Hebr. 4,15)He was without fault, without blemish (Hebr. 7,26; 9:14). He has committed no sin (1. Petr. 2,22); in him there was no sin (1. Joh. 3,5)He knew nothing of any sin. (2. Kor. 5,21)No matter how strong the temptation, Jesus always had the stronger desire to obey God. His mission was to do God's will. (Hebr.10,7).
On several occasions, people worshipped Jesus (Matth. 14,33; 28,9 and 17; Joh. 9,38Angels do not allow themselves to be worshipped (Revelation 19:10), yet Jesus permitted it. Yes, even angels worship the Son of God. (Hebr. 1,6)Some prayers were addressed directly to Jesus (Apg.7,59-60; 2. Kor. 12,8; Rev. 22:20).
The New Testament praises Jesus Christ extraordinarily high, with formulas normally reserved for God: “To him be glory for ever and ever! Amen "(2. Tim. 4,18; 2. Petr. 3,18(Revelation 1:6). He bears the highest title of ruler that can be bestowed. (Eph. 1,20-21)Calling him God is not an exaggeration.
In Revelation, God and the Lamb are praised equally, indicating their equality: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13). The Son must be honored just as much as the Father. (Joh. 5,23)God and Jesus are both called Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of all things (Revelation 1:8 and 17; 21:6; 22:13).
Old Testament passages about God are often taken up in the New Testament and applied to Jesus Christ.
One of the most notable is this passage about worship:
“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2,9-11; it contains a quote from Jes. 45,23 contain). Jesus is given the honor and respect that Isaiah says should be given to God.
Isaiah says there is only one savior – God (Jes. 43, 11; 45:21). Paul clearly states that God is Savior, but also that Jesus is Savior (Tit. 1,3(2:10 and 13). Is there one Savior or two? Early Christians concluded from this: The Father is God and Jesus is God, but there is only one God and therefore only one Savior. Father and Son are essentially one (God), but are distinct persons.
Several other New Testament passages also refer to Jesus as God. Johannes 1,1“The Word was God.” Verse 18: “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is God and is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.” Jesus is the divine person who allows us to know the Father. After the resurrection, Thomas recognized Jesus as God: “Thomas answered and said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”Joh. 20,28.)
Paul says the patriarchs were great because from them “Christ, according to the flesh, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 9:5). In the Epistle to the Hebrews, God himself refers to the Son as “God” in the quotation: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…” (Hebr. 1,8).
“For in him [Christ],” said Paul, “the whole fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily.” (Kol.2,9)Jesus Christ is fully God and still has a physical presence today. He is the exact image of God – God incarnate. If Jesus were merely human, it would be wrong to place our trust in him. But because he is divine, we are commanded to trust him. He is unconditionally trustworthy because he is God.
However, it can be misleading to say, "Jesus is God," as if the two terms are simply interchangeable or synonymous. For one thing, Jesus was a human being, and secondly, Jesus is not the "whole" God. "God = Jesus", this equation is flawed.
In most cases, "God" means "the Father," and that's why the Bible rarely calls Jesus God. But the term can rightly be applied to Jesus, because Jesus is divine. As a son of God, he is a person in the triune deity. Jesus is the God person through whom the connection God-mankind is made.
For us, the divinity of Jesus is of crucial importance, because only if he is divine can he accurately reveal God to us.Joh. 1,18(14:9). Only a divine person can forgive our sins, redeem us, and reconcile us with God. Only a divine person can become the object of our faith, the Lord to whom we offer unconditional loyalty, the Savior whom we worship in song and prayer.
All human, all God
As can be seen from the cited references, the "image of Jesus" of the Bible is distributed in mosaic stones throughout the New Testament. The picture is consistent, but is not collected in one place. The original church had to be composed of the existing building blocks. From biblical revelation she drew the following conclusions:
• Jesus is essentially God.
• Jesus is essentially human.
• There is only one God.
• Jesus is a person in this God.
The Council of Nicaea (325) established the divinity of Jesus, the Son of God, and his identity with the Father (Nicene Creed).
The Council of Chalcedon (451) added that he was also a man:
"Our Lord Jesus Christ is one and the same Son; the same perfect in the Divine, and the same in perfect humanity, wholly God and all mankind ... received from the Father ages ago concerning His Divinity, and ... received by the Virgin Mary as far as his humanity is concerned; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, indigenous, made acquainted in two natures ... whereby unification in no way levels the difference between natures, but preserves the qualities of each nature and fuses them in one person. "
The last part was added because some people claimed that the nature of God pushed Jesus' human nature into the background in such a way that Jesus was no longer really human. Others claimed that the two natures had joined to a third nature, so that Jesus was neither divine nor human. No, the biblical evidence shows that Jesus was fully human and totally God. And that's what the church has to teach.
Our salvation depends on the fact that Jesus was and is both, man and God. But how can the holy Son of God become man, take on the form of the sinful flesh?
The question arises mainly because the human, as we see it now, is corrupted. But that's not how God created it. Jesus shows us how the human can and should be in truth. First, he shows us a person who is completely dependent on the father. So should it be with humanity.
Further, he shows us what God is capable of. He is capable of becoming part of his creation. He can bridge the gap between the uncreated and the created, between the sacred and the sinful. We may think it impossible; it is possible for God.
And finally, Jesus shows us what humanity will be like in the new creation. When he returns and we are resurrected, we will look like him. (1. Joh. 3,2)We will have a body like his glorified body (1. Kor. 15,42-49).
Jesus is our pioneer, he shows us that the way to God leads over Jesus. Because he is human, he feels with our weakness; because he is God, he can speak effectively to God's right for us. With Jesus as our Savior, we can have confidence that our salvation is safe.
by Michael Morrison
