Who was Jesus?
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” 1 Peter 3:18NIV
If I was only allowed to share one verse, this would be a good choice. The classic one might be John 3:16 or some other more well-known set of verses. There are many verses we could call out, all of which relate/point to the same theme over and over again. We could even say point to the same person in Christ. Take it a step further, and claim the entire Bible was written by Him and about Him. Quite a statement, let’s break it down:
by Him: How could that be? They started writing the Bible a few thousand years before Christ showed up. Consider the Gospel of John, Ch 1:
“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”
The “Word” being Christ: Uncreated, in that He always was. Co-Creator of everything that has been created. One in the same yet separate from God the Father. He therefore inspired Bible writers to do their thing. He effectively authored scripture.
about Him: Go way back to Genesis, and see the first prophecies concerning Christ. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob….. the nation of Israel used as a vehicle in bringing Jesus physically into the world. The sacrificial system put in place as a model for Christ’s own sacrifice: that of an unblemished and perfect lamb, the Lamb of God. Then we have His actual ministry on earth, followed by the church age and prophecy concerning what is yet to come. In eternity, the focus will still be on Christ; His final authority, judgment and rule.
The message is one that offers up a solution. We have a problem which we cannot fix. God is willing to fix it for us. He wants us to give Him the go-ahead; does not wish to force it on us, but is ready to step in and apply the remedy at any time. The work is permanent and guaranteed, even if we forego proper maintenance. By design, it is robust enough to work on its own, requiring no input from its beneficiary aside from permission to be put in place.
