So who is Jesus?
This is a very important question and one that we want to address on our website. When anyone asks this question the common answer is "He is the son of God". This can be seen in the bible as well 'And they all said, 'Are You the Son of God, then?' And He said to them, 'Yes, I am.'' (Luke 22:70).
However we should not take this in the literal sense that He is the offspring of God. As Mike Licona says from the website bethinking.org
"Our view of Jesus is important if He was who He claimed to be. Who did He think He was? The Son of God. When He used this designation of Himself, He used it in a divine sense. As Son of God, Jesus is above all men, prophets, and divine angels. He is more than the prophets who spoke the truth. He is more than kings who uphold the truth. Jesus Himself is the truth. Prophets and kings asked others to believe them. Jesus asked others to believe in Him. Jesus claimed that as a result of God's intense love for the world, He gave His 'only begotten Son.' 'Only' sets Jesus above and apart from others of whom sonship is claimed. 'Begotten' is not here used in the sense of a birth or beginning, but as 'unique.' He follows this by claiming that anyone who puts their faith in Him will be granted eternal life, something neither priests, prophets, nor kings could deliver on." (bethinking.org)
The article below from the same website makes us think of who we really believe He is and that we have to make that decision ourselves.
"Who is Jesus" By Nick Cuthbert.
"If you look at Jesus Christ with any integrity at all you have to ask the question: who was He? And as you ask that question you must take into account the words that come from his own lips. When we read the biblical accounts of his life, we find Jesus making the most extraordinary claims for himself.
It didn't leave his hearers indifferent to him, nor should it us. Although rarely in direct terms, as this would have prematurely ended his life, he clearly claimed to be God in human form. He made it clear to those who had any understanding at all that he believed that he was God. As soon as somebody does that they force you to make a decision about them!
If someone comes to us and says, 'I want to tell you some good news, I'm actually God!' We wouldn't just be rolling on the floor laughing at them, we would probably call a psychologist for them, wouldn't we! We would say that they had totally lost it! We wouldn't be likely to react the opposite way and say, 'Ok, you must be, you seem like a nice enough person, we believe you!' The point is that we would be unable to remain indifferent about it; we would either be forced to label the person crazy or truly God. We would have to make a decision because of the implications of what the person is saying.
You cannot be indifferent to Jesus Christ, He made extraordinary claims and therefore demands a response from all of us. It is really not good enough to say He was a prophet or a great teacher. That's nonsense because He didn't leave you those alternatives, He never intended to.
He came saying, 'I'm God.' What do you do with someone who makes that kind of claim, I'll tell you what you do. You either believe them or you kill them. You either call them crazy and do away with them, bury them in obscure pot shots or you take them utterly and completely seriously.
If we have any integrity at all, and if we consider ourselves thinking people we MUST come to a conclusion about Jesus. Either He was God or He was mad. Which? You have to decide. You must make up your mind. There is no sitting on the fence here. You have to decide."
