Who is Jesus Christ and Why It Matters

There has been much confusion over the question: “Who is Jesus Christ?”.

It all began in Jesus’ day. Jesus deemed the answer to be vitally important. In fact it was so important that Jesus had the following exchange with His inner circle of disciples (the twelve)...

Luke 9:18-20

Luke 9:18–20 NLT

18 One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone. Only his disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 19 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.” 20 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah sent from God!”

1. Jesus is God

A- The prophets foretold of his divinity.

1. To deny that Jesus is God is a denial of the trustworthiness of Scripture.

Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25

Isaiah 9:6–7 NLT

6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

Isaiah 7:14 NLT

14 All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

Matthew 1:18–25 NLT

18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. 20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ ” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

a. The word for Mighty God is the Hebrew “El-Gibbor” can only refer to God himself and is never used of a lesser being.

b. The term “everlasting Father” speaks of His eternal existence. This precludes any idea that Jesus could have been a “created” being. Everlasting means exactly that…without beginning or end, eternal.

c. In Isaiah 7:14, the prophet stated that the Messiah would be called “Immanuel.” The translation is given...”God with us.”

Matthew records the fulfillment in Matthew 1:18-25.