Who Is Jesus

Jesus appears to two believers after His resurrection then He appears to all of His disciples in Jerusalem.  Did you ever think of this; Jesus appeared to the very ones that forsook Him at the cross, the very ones that said that they would die with Him?  In the second half of Hebrews 13:5 it says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  This was actually written to Jews at the time but even when His followers left Him, Jesus revealed himself to them after He was resurrected and He didn’t leave them comfortless.  He sent the Holy Spirit to empower them and to teach them and to comfort them and to help them and we have this same Spirit dwelling in us also, if we are born-again believers.  So, unless we reject Him and depart from the faith completely, He will not leave us or forsake us either!!

Think about these two believers who were walking to Emmaus, they have seen the horrific things that took place when Jesus was crucified and as they were walking and talking about this, Jesus joins in with them and they have no idea who He is or why He hasn’t heard what has happened to their beloved Jesus.  By the way this story is found in Luke 24:13-35!  Maybe they were so preoccupied with themselves and their problems that they didn’t recognize that this was Jesus himself that had joined himself to them as they were walking along.

I wonder if we would be so preoccupied with business or programs or other distractions that if Jesus walked into our homes or our churches whether we would recognize Him.  These followers must have seen His miracles and heard His teachings and saw His compassion and experienced His love and even His righteous anger and how patient He was with so many people, but these guys didn’t know Him.  These followers didn’t seem to know the real Jesus that they thought they knew, they thought that He was going to set them free of their bondage to the Roman government, but Jesus came to set the captive free from the sin and bondage that their sin put them in, whatever form that was.  Jesus didn’t come to throw His weight around and be a militant Savior, no, He came to serve and to give His life a ransom for our sins; He was the innocent for the guilty, praise God!!

I wonder how many people in our churches today really know the real Jesus with so many voices clamoring for their attention.  Many say that He was just a good man or just a Rabbi or just a prophet or maybe just a healer and all of these things are true.  But Jesus was so much more than what these people thought that He was.  Read what John says about Jesus in John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Now read John 1:14-18, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

Now read what it says about Him in Philippians 2:5-11, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The footnotes in my K.J.V. study Bible says this:  These verses were probably from a hymn sung by the early church.  The passage holds many parallels to the prophesy of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53.  As a hymn it was not meant to be a complete statement about the nature and work of Christ.  Several key characteristics of Jesus Christ however are praised in the passage.  1. He has always existed with God; 2. He is equal with God because He is God, John 1:1, Colossians 1:15-19; 3. Though He is God He became a man in order to fulfill God’s plan for salvation for all people; 4. He did not just pretend to have a man’s body; He actually became a man to identify with man’s sins; 5. He voluntarily laid aside His divine rights and privileges out of love for His Father; 6. He died on the cross for our sins so we wouldn’t have to face eternal death; 7. God glorified Him because of His obedience; 8. God raised Him to His original position at the Father’s right hand where he will reign forever as our Lord and judge.  Jesus Christ was humble, ready to give up His rights and willing to obey God and serve people.  Like Christ we must serve out of love for God and for others not out of guilt or fear.

Getting back to the story, read Luke 24:30-32, “And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”  Finally they recognized that it was Jesus the Messiah.  

Question: who do you think Jesus is?  Do you know Him as your Lord and Savior?  If not, you could.  God sent Jesus into the world because He loves us all.  Read what it says in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

There is only one way to get to heaven or to God and that is through Jesus.  Read John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

If you feel the Lord’s call on you today don’t resist and don’t put it off, repent of your sins which means a conscience decision to turn from your sins and tell the Lord you are sorry and ask Him to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you of all unrighteousness and to be your Lord and Savior.  Don’t be in a big hurry; let Him fill you with His perfect peace, love and joy.  God is seeking the humble and contrite heart, that He will not despise because He resists the proud and draws to the humble.   

I have given you something to think about and I hope you will and that this Tidbit has been an encouragement to you!!  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you all have a super nice day!!