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Machine translation can be strange sometimes. However, it should give a general idea of the page.

        In addition to visitors from here in the United States and Canada, this site is accessed by people on every continent. Therefore I try to keep the concepts and language in these articles fairly simple so that those of other backgrounds and languages may understand.
        I hope you will find something here that will help make life a little more meaningful or enjoyable and a gem or two to enrich your life.

Who is Jesus?

Here I will give an overview of the Person Jesus. At the end of this item will be a link that you can click to learn more. That article is for deeper study and will include many of the prophesies concerning Jesus and their fulfillment.         Jesus Christ has made a greater impact on world history than any other human being. Even calendars around the world are based on His birth. B.C. stands for before Christ. A.D. stands for the Latin phrase Anno Domini, which in English is "The Year of Our Lord." Jesus was more than a mere man. He was also the Son of God. As man He was completely man. As God He is completely God. There is one God, expressed in three Persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This God is the eternal God who created the heavens and the earth. There is no other real God.         Angels announced to a young virgin named Mary that God had chosen her to give birth to His Son, who would be the Savior of the world. God the Heavenly Father, through His Holy Spirit caused Mary to be pregnant with His Son. This had been prophesied (predicted) hundreds of years before by God's prophets. These prophesies are in the Bible. Even though Christ has always existed, He now would take on human form. A little later I'll give the reason for His taking on human form and living among us.         Joseph, to whom Mary was engaged, thought of breaking off the engagement because of Mary's pregnancy. However an angel of the Lord also appeared to Joseph and assured him that the baby Mary was carrying was of the Lord. So Joseph took her as his wife. They had no sexual relations until the child was born. So, Joseph was the foster-father of Jesus, not His actual father. Mary was Jesus' mother and God was Jesus' Father.         On the night Jesus was born, angels announced His birth to shepherds who were in the field with their flocks. Here is the account of that event: "An angel of the Lord appeared to them [the shepherds] and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be to all people. Today in the town of David [Bethlehem] a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.'" The shepherds were told how they could find the newborn babe. The Scripture continues, "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests'" (from Luke 2:8-14 in the Bible).         On the eighth day, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the Temple where He was circumcised, according to custom. Later, after the time had elapsed for their purification, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple to offer a sacrifice and consecrate Jesus to the Lord.         At the temple was an elderly righteous man by the name of Simeon. The Holy Spirit of God had revealed to him that He would not die until He had seen the Lord's Christ. The Scripture says, "Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God saying, 'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory of your people Israel'" (Luke 2:27-32).         An 84 year old prophetess, a widow named Anna, was also present at the temple. She came to Mary, Joseph and Jesus and "gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking to the redemption of Jerusalem" (Luke 2:38).         Though born in Bethlehem, as the scripture had predicted, Jesus' childhood was spent in the northern Israel town of Nazareth. His foster-father, Joseph, was a carpenter and Jesus probably worked with him and learned the trade. He was accustomed to hard work in the sweltering sun.         At the age of twelve Jesus, along with His mother Mary and His foster-father Joseph, went to Jerusalem for the Passover, an important religious celebration. Jesus amazed the religious leaders with His insight and knowledge of the Scripture (Old Testament of the Bible). Even then, He referred to the temple as His Father's house.         Jesus chose to leave the glory of heaven and come to earth, taking on the human form, for our benefit. This was in the Father's plan to provide a way for us to establish a relationship with Him. Because of our sin, we had disqualified ourselves from fellowship with God and going to heaven when we die. God loves us and wants that relationship restored.         Jesus said, "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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son" (John 3:16-18).         In coming to earth Jesus voluntarily accepted the limitations that we experience, in order to identify with us. He would get hungry, tired and suffer pain just as you and I do.         God chose a man named John, referred to as John the Baptist, to prepare the way for Christ's public ministry. John was preaching a message of repentance. As people repented of their sins, he baptized them by submersing them in water and raising them up from the water. This was a picture of burying their sins and a commitment to obey God. John told the people, "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (Mark 1:7-8).         One day, when Jesus was about 30 years old, He came to John to be baptized. When John saw Him, he said to the people, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). At first John refused to baptize Jesus, saying, "I'm the one who needs to be baptized by you." Jesus, God's Son, had never committed a sin and He never would. Jesus did not need to be baptized because of sin. As Jesus came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit "came down from heaven as a dove and remained on him." God had previously revealed to John that He would identify His Son in this way. John said, "I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God" (from John 1:32-34). At that time "a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased'" (Matthew 3:17).         Jesus' baptism provided a picture of why He came into the world. He would eventually offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world by being crucified on a cross and would be buried. He then would rise from the grave after being dead for three days.         Sin cannot enter into heaven, for it is a holy place. But we have all sinned. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Many other statements in the Bible express the same truth. Because of our sin, we would not be able to enter heaven when we die. Jesus had no sin. He was faced with the same temptations that confront us, but He never yielded to the temptation to sin.         As God's Son, who was without sin, Jesus was qualified to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. He willingly took our sins on Himself and offered us His righteousness. Romans 5:8 says, "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

By accepting His offer we can stand before God as righteous, not our righteousness but His. We immediately receive eternal life and we will go to heaven when we die. That is why Jesus left the glories of heaven, took on human form and lived among us.         Jesus resisted all temptations to do wrong. The many miracles Jesus performed and His resurrection from the grave gave proof of His Sonship to God. This validated His messages and the multitude of prophecies concerning Him. He healed the sick and fed the hungry. He even fed a crowd of 5,000 from a child's small sack lunch. He caused the lame to walk, the blind to see and raised the dead. Then after His crucifixion, He rose in victory over the grave, showing that we also can have that victory through Him.         Even though Jesus had done nothing wrong, He was mistreated and suffered greatly, enduring severe lacerations, in connection with His sacrificial death. This was a part of God's plan. It was because of our sin. Jesus shed His blood to purchase our salvation. Even in the midst of it all, Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of those who were torturing and crucifying Him. He also prayed for you, for all who would come after Him and believe. He died for you.         In His earthly life, Jesus taught us about God the Father; He taught us how to live, gave proof that He is God's Son, and paid the penalty for our sins. God's word in Romans 6:23 says "The wages of sin is death, [that is eternal death in hell - the lake of fire] but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."         The prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of Christ and His sacrifice for our sins. This was hundreds of years before Jesus came in the flesh. In Isaiah 53:4-6 he said, "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."         God's gift of life is not earned by doing good works. It is a free gift to those who believe in His Son Jesus Christ and commit their lives to Him. When you turn your life over to Jesus Christ, you are "saved" and the Holy Spirit comes to live within you. He will guide you in the right direction and help you to understand God's ways. He will work in your conscience to help you to know right from wrong. He will discourage you from committing sin and encourage you to do what is right. We are saved to do good works but we are not saved because of good works.         Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."         Jesus was burried in a tomb near Jerusalem. A huge rock was rolled over the entrance. The official Roman seal was imprinted in wax where the rock and tomb come together. This was to assure that there would be no tampering with it. Roman soldiers were stationed in front of the tomb to make sure no one would steal the body. On the third day Jesus rose from the grave. He was alive and angels announced the resurrection to Jesus' followers who came to visit the grave. After Jesus rose from the grave, He remained on earth for forty days and continued to teach His disciples. On one occasion over 500 people were with Him. He then ascended into heaven as the people watched. Jesus announced that one day He will come again.         When you die, your life will continue. You will be through with your physical body, so it doesn't matter if it is lost at sea and eaten by sharks or preserved as a complete body. You immediately go to one of two places. If you do not know Jesus Christ, God's Son, as your personal Savior, you will be in hell. That is a terrible place of agony and it will never end. There is no way out. If you have trusted Jesus as your Savior, you will go to heaven. You will spend eternity with God and His blessed Son, Jesus Christ. It is described in the Bible as a place where there is no pain, no crying - a beautiful, enjoyable place.         When Jesus returns, all of us who know Him will receive our new resurrected, perfect bodies. This may be a time of officially affirming the spiritual bodies we receive when we die. Those whose names are not in the Book of Life will be cast into hell. "If anyone's name was not found in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:14).         But what about small children? They are safe and will go to heaven if they should die. Luke 18:16 (in the Bible) says, "Jesus called the children to Him and said 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.'" We call those children's condition as "safe." But when they reach an age at which they realize that when they do something wrong it is a sin against God, and they are able to understand that Jesus died for them and is willing to forgive them if they will live for Him, they have reached the age of accountability. When they reach the age of accountability (which is different for each child) and accept Jesus Christ as Savior, they become "saved."         I urge you to make the greatest decision of your life. It will last for all eternity. You can do that right now. Why not stop and pray a prayer such as this one:         "Dear God, the creator of the universe, thank you for loving me so much that you sent your only Son to offer Himself as a sacrifice for my sin. I know that I have sinned. I wish to enjoy your fellowship and to live with you forever. I now trust Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and will live for Him. Please take control of my life and forgive my sins. Give me a new heart and mind and a new direction in life. I ask this in the name of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Amen."         If you prayed this prayer and really mean that from now on you are letting Christ Jesus direct your life, you are now saved. The Bible says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).         This would be a good time to thank God for saving you. You might talk to God with words such as these:         "Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for saving me and giving me eternal life. Thank you that even in your greatness, you cared enough to establish a relationship with me. Thank you that I can experience your constant presence through your Holy Spirit who now lives within me. Thank you for your precious Son, Jesus. Please give me courage to live a life that pleases you and to share your love with others. Thank you that I can talk with you each day. Please give me understanding as I read the Bible, your word. I pray in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen."         In case you do not have a Bible, let me know. Also, I will place a link to a Bible online. Just click the link to access it. Of course one in your hands will be much easier to explore.         You should look for a church that teaches salvation by grace, through faith, as the Bible teaches. It should be one that baptizes like Jesus was baptized, that is, by immersion (submerging into the water and raising up from it). That is a picture that Jesus left for us to continue. He commands us to be baptized, not to receive salvation but as an act of obedience. It pictures Jesus' burial and resurrection. It also pictures our death to the old sinful life and resurrection to walk in the new life He has given. In addition, it can picture our eventual death, burial and our resurrection to be with the Lord forever. It is also a public testimony of the commitment you have made.         Be sure to let me know if you are committing your life to Jesus or if you are considering doing so. If you need some additional guidance, let me know. Just go to the contact us page and write me from there. May God bless you and may you bless Him.     -- Don         To return to the menu of this section, click here.