Who is Jesus Christ?
Jesus Christ says:
"I am the way, the truth and the life. Nobody comes to the Father
except through me."
(The Bible: John chapter 14, Verse 6)
Jesus of Nazareth is much more than just a historical Person. Jesus is the Messiah (He-brew "Mashiach") promised in the Holy Scriptures and announced by various pro-phets, also called the Son of God or Christ (ancient Greek "christos") - that means "The Anointed One" - whom God has chosen to bring salvation to mankind.
Because man has sinned against God, he has lost the eternal life for which he was created. As a result of sin that separated man from God, suffering and death came into this world. That is why God sent Jesus whom He has made the key figure in His plan of salvation, to reconcile us to him-self, that is, to restore the broken rela-tionship with our Creator and Father and to give people from all peoples of the earth eternal life through believing in the name of his Son. The name "Jesus" (He-brew "Jaschua" or "Jaho-schua" or Old Greek "Iisous") means >God saves<.
"He was chosen before the creation
of the world, but was revealed in these
last times for your sake."
(The Bible: 1st Peter chapter 1, Verse 20)
God already predestined Jesus before the creation of the world as the redee-mer of mankind and king of his coming kingdom of peace on earth. When the time was fulfilled, Jesus was begotten and brought into the world in a unique and superhuman way by the Holy Spirit of God in the womb of a virgin named Mary, just as the Scriptures prophesied several centuries earlier.
Born in Bethlehem of Judea (Israel) ac-cording to the promise, Jesus grew up surrounded by his family. When he was about 30 years old, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan and anointed with power and authority by the Holy Spirit of God. From there Jesus began the mission to which God called him. So Jesus, accom-panied by his twelve disciples, whom he had previously chosen, went through all of Israel and taught the people the will of God. To this end, God authen-ticated Jesus as the Messiah in many ways.
On the one hand, God had Jesus an-nounced in the TaNaCh (the Jewish Bible or today's "old" or first testament) through more than a hundred prophe-cies over a period of more than two millennia as the redeemer of all people. Every single prophecy (except for those that refer to the return of the Messiah at the end of this age and whose fulfill-ment is still to come) was fulfilled by Jesus to the last. This is a fact un-matched by any other prophet of any religion, and which testifies unequivo-cally to the credibility of both Jesus and the Bible as the true Word of God (See: The Credibility of the Bible).
Second, God bestowed upon His Messiah extraordinary wisdom unmatched by any other. In addition, Jesus received from God the power to perform signs and wonders, which are attested to in detail in the gospels of the New Tes-tament, in that Jesus healed the ailments and diseases of many people in a super-natural way and even brought the dead back to life. These signs were to give ad-ditional attestation that Jesus is the promised Savior who was to come into the world.
"He is the image of
the invisible God (...)."
(The Bible: Colossians chapter 1, Verse 15)
Jesus, the Messiah of God, is far more than just an ordinary man or prophet. Jesus reflected the personality of God in a flawless manner, like no other before him. Although man was origi-nally created in God's image, he has not lived up to his destiny since the day he turned from God and thus lost connec-tion with his Creator.... (See: God and Suffering).
Jesus, on the other hand, exemplified for us humans what real righteousness means before God by doing good and acting in accordance with the will of God in every moment of his life.
Even before that, God revealed his will to people - above all to his chosen peo-ple Israel - by teaching them his rights and commandments. But it is only in Jesus that the will of God is fully ex-pressed; both in his actions and in what Jesus preached. For this reason, Jesus is also referred to as "the Word of God" in the Holy Scriptures. Through Jesus, God's kingdom - in which love, truth and jus-tice reign - became visible to all people. Jesus embodies what God designed man to be. As we look to Jesus, we see what it means to be made in the image of God.
Jesus Christ says:
"For even the Son of Man did not come
to be served, but to serve, and to give
His life a ransom for many."
(The Bible: Mark chapter 10, Verse 45)
Jesus was sent into the world to show us how, through union with Him, we can live a life that pleases God and that will bring peace and true fulfillment to ourselves and to all people on the world (See: Life in freedom and peace).
Although Jesus was destined to be Messiah and King, he did not act as ruler, nor did Jesus ever use his power for his own bene-fit. Instead of egoism and pride, Jesus' life was characterized by humility and self-less love. Jesus humbled himself to serve God and people in love. Instead of seeking honor and recognition for himself, Jesus gave glory to God his Father in every-thing; knowing full well that God is always with him and cares for him. At no time did Jesus act independently of his fa-ther.
Jesus' impeccable way of life and his inti-mate relationship with the heavenly Fa-ther in perfect unity serves as a model for us humans in every respect. His total trust in God and total devotion to hu-manity demonstrate what faith and true worship means.
"But you know that he appeared
so that he might take away our sins.
And in him is no sin."
(The Bible: 1st John chapter 3, Verse 5)
Unlike all other people, Jesus was with-out sin. This fact makes Jesus unique among all prophets and godly persons. Although he never did anything wrong before God and man, out of love Jesus was willing to endure without resis-tance everything that people did to him because they did not want to accept him and his saving message, and finally even to die on the cross extremely painful and shameful....
Because Jesus himself never sinned, but fulfilled the will of God in every res-pect, he was able to atone for the sins of all people through his own death (that is, bring about reconciliation between us and God). by his righteousness Jesus not only overcame death but also crea-ted the way out of death for all other people, who turn back to God (See: Why redemption?).
That is why God raised Jesus from the dead. At the same time, God confirmed that Jesus is the only way to salvation. The crucifixion of Jesus and his resur-rection to immortal life are the most significant events in world history. They stand for victory over darkness and death and open the way to eternity for mankind. After the resurrected Jesus appeared to his disciples and testified to them that he is alive, he ascended to heaven to see God the Father. There he will remain until the time appointed by God to come again to judge mankind and to redeem all who have heeded God's call to repentance.
Now God offers all people the forgive-ness of their sins through faith in Jesus and thus the chance to participate in the immortal life in the world to come, where there will be no more suffering or death. Anyone who accepts Jesus as his Lord and Savior and follows him is accepted by God. On the other hand, anyone who rejects Jesus and the mes-sage of the gospel rejects God and thus his only chance of being saved.
"All power is given unto me
in heaven and in earth."
(The Bible: Matthew chapter 28, Verse 18)
Since Jesus was faithful to God in all things and freely gave his life for man-kind, God exalted him above all else and gave Jesus all power and authority in heaven and on earth; also the judgment of all peoples at the end of this age. This means that Jesus is the most powerful per-son in the entire universe since that point in time and that he can influence events on this earth in any way he likes.
Moreover, it means that every human being will one day stand before Jesus; either to receive eternal life or to be condemned.
At the same time, Jesus intercedes for all people who believe in him, to help them, to bring their prayers to God or to give them direction for their lives. Just as a shepherd cares for his sheep and guides them on a safe path, so Jesus shows those who entrust themselves to him as their shepherd and follow him the way to true life.
Jesus Christ says:
"I am the light of the world.
He who follows Me shall not
walk in darkness, but have
the light of life."
(The Bible: John chapter 8, Verse 12)
Jesus gives light and hope to lost people. God brought the greatest proof of love for mankind when he gave his Son to free us, humans, from our sins and to show us the way to life. Those who are connected to Jesus have the light of life that every person needs (see: Words of life of Jesus).
Jesus lives and testifies to countless people (also to many Muslims) - inclu-ding through dreams and visions - as the risen Messiah and Son of God.
More over all the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures confirm that Jesus is God's promised Savior and that in him alone lies the salvation of mankind. Jesus is the way to God and to Eternal Life. By believing in Jesus, we humans have a future beyond this age (see: The step to life).
The first apostles, who personally wit-nessed the life and ministry of Jesus, his resurrection from the dead and his ascension to God, and through whom the good news of God spread around the world, also testify:
"Nor is there salvation in any other,
for there is no other name under
heaven given among men by
which we must be saved."
(The Bible: Acts chapter 4, Verse 12)