Jesus Christ is the central figure of the Christian faith. Belief in his life, death, and resurrection unifies Christianity across all its major divisions (Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant), denominations, and traditions. That Jesus lived at a particular time is a historical fact. That his message and teachings influenced the shape of world history is undeniable. Today, his name continues to inspire devotion or ignite controversy as it has for over two millennia.

While many have heard of Jesus, recognition of Jesus’ historical and religious significance varies. Many think of him as a teacher, a prophet, a healer, and a very good person. Indeed, he was all of these in his ministry on earth, but he is so much more: Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of the world.

Besides the Bible, a vast number of books have been written about Jesus—sometimes in multiple volumes—but his story begins with one astounding fact:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Jesus is the Son of God

Most people know that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus to a virgin named Mary. Nine months earlier, an angel told Mary something that must have astonished her: “‘You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High’” (Luke 1:31-32). Being a virgin, Mary naturally had a question: “‘How will this be?’” (Luke 1:34). The angel responded, “‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God’” (Luke 1:35). Later, when Jesus was a grown man and about to begin his ministry, he was baptized by John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove, and a voice from heaven said, “‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’” (Matthew 3:16-17).

Given birth by Mary, Jesus is fully human. But having been conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus is also fully God. In a mystery theologians refer to as the Trinity, our one God has revealed himself in three persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. Before he was born as a human, Jesus existed in eternal fellowship with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He participated in creation. The apostle John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:1-3). The apostle Paul describes the Son of God this way:

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy (Colossians 1:15-18).

That Jesus is both fully human and fully God is vitally important to his work as Savior, the One who would bring humanity back into fellowship with God.

Jesus is the Savior of the world

What does it mean that Jesus is “our Savior”? In the book of Genesis, when God finished the work of creation, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). The first two human beings, Adam and Eve, were completely innocent, but when tempted by God’s enemy, Satan, they chose to break the one rule God had given them. This choice meant their sin (disobedience) permanently damaged their relationship with their Creator. Sadly, their sin not only set them apart from God, but it made all the people who would come after them sinful as well. God’s very good creation was now tainted. But God didn’t let it end there. God promised to send a Savior to redeem the people he loved and restore them to a relationship with him (Genesis 3:1-15).

God’s plan of salvation for his people is the main story that unfolds throughout the Bible, and its great protagonist is Jesus, God the Son, the promised Savior. Jesus shared this good news, or gospel, as he traveled around teaching, healing people who were sick or had disabilities, and even raising some people from the dead. Jesus obeyed God in everything, living a perfectly sinless life. When Jesus approached John to be baptized, John exclaimed, “‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29).

Jesus was crucified for the sins of the world

What does it mean that Jesus is the Lamb of God? In ancient Judaism, during the Passover, an unblemished lamb was sacrificed as a substitute for God’s punishment for the sins of the people. As a human being, Jesus did what Adam and Eve had not done: he completely obeyed God, did everything God commanded him to do, and resisted the temptation of Satan to sin. He became the unblemished Lamb, giving up his own life for the sins of others, so that all of us can be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:21). “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:14).  

On the cross, Jesus died for our sins so we wouldn’t have to: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). He did it because of God’s love for us: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Jesus rose from the dead

On the third day after his crucifixion, Jesus rose from the dead. He had told his disciples this before it happened: “Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Matthew 16:21). Through his resurrection, God testifies to the world that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God. His resurrection broke the power of sin and death. It is the guarantee of our own resurrection and eternal life with him (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). Jesus stepped out of the tomb fully alive, fully God and fully human. His resurrected body gives us a preview of what our bodies will be like following his return and the resurrection of the dead.

Jesus is coming again

Before he was crucified, Jesus predicted that he would ascend to heaven and return to earth:

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God [the Father]; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am (John 14:1-3, emphasis added).

Following his resurrection, Jesus’ disciples met him on many occasions over a 40-day period. Then, “he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight” (Acts 1:9). And as his disciples stared up after him, a pair of angels confirmed what Jesus had promised: “‘This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:11). Jesus taught that not even he knew the day and the hour of his second coming; only the Father knows when Jesus will return (Matthew 24:36). He commanded his followers to be watchful and ready, because his coming will be sudden (Matthew 24:42-44).

In the last chapter of the Bible, in the book of Revelation, Jesus promises that God will not delay his second coming: “‘Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End’” (Revelation 22:12-13).

“Many other things”

In his famous sermon, “That’s My King,” S.M. Lockridge pauses about three-quarters of the way through his rolling litany on the character, roles, and qualities of Jesus to exclaim, “I wish I could describe him to you.” There’s so much more to say. At the very end of his gospel, the apostle John wrote: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written” (John 21:25). The few hundred words of this blog post merely scratch the surface of who Jesus is.

Would you like to learn more about Jesus? Check out these 30-day devotional series from Today. Each helps answer questions so we can better understand Jesus.

Jesus, Lord of All, by Hernandes Dias Lopes, ReFrame Ministries’ Portuguese language ministry leader and publisher of Today’s sister devotional Cada Dia.

Names and Titles of Jesus, by Kurt Selles, Executive Editor of Today.

Following Jesus: Lessons from Luke, by Reggie Smith.       
 
Discovering Jesus, by Douglas MacLoed.

Jesus, Lamb of God, by Hernandes Dias Lopes.

Basic Bible Truths, by George Koopmans. This series includes a devotion titled, "Who is Jesus?"