Who is this Jesus?

In Buddhism He is one who was prophesied by Buddha that would come to relieve man of sin.
In Hinduism He is one who has realized the god self inside of him.
In Islam He is a prophet.
In Judaism He is a zealot who claimed to be the Messiah, but was considered a blasphemer.

All of the world's religions are familiar with Jesus; but only Christianity believes that He is Divine, the second person of the Godhead; which is the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

We are going to look at what the Bible has to say about Him, as well as other historical evidence.

When God called forth the light in Hebrew He said, "Yahe", translated as bring forth, yet the call was for Ya, or short for Yaweh, or Yeshua which in English is Jesus. Jesus brought the light to the world and is the light of the world.

John 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

It was also Jesus who walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day as written in Genesis 1:3.
Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus is the express image of God, or when God appeared as a man, it was Jesus.

Jesus is the Word of God and all things were made by Him, John 1. So He also was the creator of Adam.

The Creator in the form of man came into the Garden of Eden looking for Adam and was saddened that Adam had disobeyed and granted the dominion that had been given him by God to Satan.

Yet at this time, Jesus planned to be born as a man and pay the price for man's sin and reconcile man and God. He said that no man could take His life that He gave it and would take it up again, John 10:18.

Enoch was the 6th generation from Adam. Adam loved his grandson and told him of the times when God and he had walked in the Garden. Enoch approached God on his faith and God's goodness and they walked together. Remember, when God appears as a man, it was Jesus.

The old patriarchs lived to be very old, most over 900 years. Now these were lunar years of 360 days. For over 300 years, Enoch walked with God on the earth. When he was 365 he went bodily to Heaven with God, Genesis 5.

There are many places in the Bible where the Angel of the LORD is mentioned. Many of these appear as a man; and again, the image of God in man is always Jesus.

The next appearance of Jesus I want to bring up is found in Genesis 14. Here is where Abraham comes back to his home in Hebron after assembling an army and going after and slaughtering 5 kings that had taken his nephew, Lot captive. He came back with all of the captives and all of the belongings of the 4 kings that were confederate with Sodom. The King of Salem (Jerusalem) was also the High Priest, who's name is Melchizedek. He came out and met Abram and blessed him in the name of the Most High God.

Melchizedek brought Abram bread and wine, which is the first symbol of communion, which is the celebration of the body and blood of Jesus that brought redemption and healing to man; even though this was a rehearsal of a future event that Jesus would preform when he was actually born on the earth. Hebrews 7 tells us that Melchizedek had no father or mother and no beginning or end but presides a Priest forever. He is the King of Peace.

David prophesied about the Messiah who would be a Priest forever: Psalms 110:4 - The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

Next we see Jesus wrestling with Jacob when he was coming home with his family after working for his uncle Laban for 20 years. He had divided his family for safety, because his brother Esau was heading his way with many men, and had threatened to kill him before he left.

Genesis 32:24 ¶  And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

25  And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
26  And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
27  And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
28  And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
29  And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
30  And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

Some think this man was an angel, but the scriptures state that Jacob thought it was God. As I mentioned earlier, if He was the Angel of the LORD, He was still Jesus.


When Moses had received his mission from God and was leaving Midian to go to Egypt to deliver the Hebrews, he had his wife and sons with him. Apparantly, he had circumcised Gershom, his oldest, but not Elizer because of objections from Zipphora.

Exodus 4:24 ¶  And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.
25  Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.
26  So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

God requires obedience for those who have a job to do for Him, and Moses let his wife prevent the 2nd circumcision, but regardless of that, this was Jesus.

When king Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah, Daniel was taken captive to Babylon along with his friends: Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The king renamed Daniel's friends to, Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego.

The king made a 100 foot tall golden statue that he commanded all would bow down to and worship whenever music was played. The Hebrew men refused and were threatened to be thrown into a fiery furnace. 

Daniel 3:16  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

17  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

18  But if not (you decide not to throw us in), be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

The king was furious and commanded to heat the furnace 7 times hotter and bound the three men and had them thrown in. It was so hot the guards that threw them in died.

24  Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.

25  He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Here a pagan king recognized that the Son of God was in the furnace with the three men. He called them out and they were not burned nor did they have any smell of smoke on them. The only thing that was burned off of them was their bonds. The king then made a decree that these men could worship their own God.

28 ¶  Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

29  Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.

Here again is Jesus representing God in man's form. Many times the Angel of the LORD is mentioned in scripture. There most assuredly is a special Angel that represents God the Father. There are 4 Seraphim that are always with Him. But, in most of the instances where the Angel of the LORD is mentioned, it is a man's form representing God. This is Jesus.

From the first verses of Genesis and the promise of the "seed of the woman" in Genesis 3:15 to the Alpha and Omega in Revelation 22, Jesus is the center of what the Bible is about. The redemption of man and the removal of the barrier between God and man is the basic premise of Holy writ. 

The prophets wrote that God would come to earth and be born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, and would be called Emanuel (God with us). That He would suffer for the sins of man and would usher in deliverance and God's kingdom. He would be a King descended from David.
All of these things literally came to pass. Right now the kingdom is within the hearts of men, but an actual physical kingdom is coming where Jesus will rule the earth.

Coming to earth in the form of man is not the same as becoming a man. For this there had to be a miraculous birth from a virgin, Mary, the most special woman ever. Humble surroundings for the Creator of all, he was born in a stable and laid in a manger.

God picked the very best to be the parents of His son. Joseph was a loving father and he was descended from the royal line of King David, Matthew 1.

Mary was also from the line of David, but from Nathan which was not the royal line. Yet this fulfills scripture, for the Messiah would be born of a virgin and descended from David.

Joseph taught Jesus about the scriptures and helped him to understand who he was.

Mary was a wonderful mother and taught Jesus many things as well, even to pray.

Yes He was the image of God, but He was all human and had to learn everything. He was taught well and by the time he was 12, He got separated from His family on a trip to Jerusalem for a feast of the Lord. By the time he was found 3 days had passed. He was well and in the Temple conversing with the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees and totally astonishing them all with His knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, Luke 2.

When Jesus was a young man He was invited to a wedding in Cana. While there his Mother approached Him and told Him they were out of wine. Even though He told her His time was not yet, He honored her and turned 250 gallons of water into good wine for the feast, John 2.

The governor of the feast was told that most serve the good wine first until the people have well drunk, then bring out the inferior wine; but now the best wine was saved for last. This was the first recorded miracle of Jesus in the scriptures.

Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, who was His 2nd cousin from His great-aunt Elizabeth. John was born to Elizabeth when she was past age...another family miracle.

When he came up from the water, John saw the Holy Spirit come upon Him in the form of a dove, John 1.

After this His ministry took off. He picked 12 disciples and went around doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, Acts 10:38.

He healed the blind.

He raised the dead.

He fed thousands of people with a boy's lunch.

He walked on water.

He loved children and said such are the kingdom of Heaven.

He healed all kinds of diseases.

When there was a raging storm on the Sea of Galilee....

He spoke to the storm and there was a clam and peace.

He affected the earth more than any man in history. After a short ministry and at the age of 33, he was arrested and crucified by the Romans.

His own religion of Judaism did not recognize Him for who He was and pushed for His death.

But He told his disciples that He would rise from the dead. After 3 days in the tomb, He did just that.

There is several eye witnesses in scripture that saw Jesus alive after being dead. One account is 500 people at once.

After this he ascended into Heaven, and Angels promised that he would return the same way. He promised that He would return for those who believe in Him.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me."John 14

The Bible teaches that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior, and God's only means of salvation.

So now I have covered the basics about Jesus in the Bible. So lets look at some other historical evidence that Jesus of Nazareth is real and did live in Israel 2000 years ago.

Roman historian  Senator Tacitus 116AD in Annals – wrote about the crucifixion and Jesus sentenced by Pontius Pilate.

Jewish historian Flavius Josephus 37-100AD  – wrote about Jesus and the Resurrection.

Roman orator during 1^st century (Nero) Julius Africanus – wrote about the darkness after the crucifixion.

Pliny the Younger lawyer and author (61-113AD) – wrote about Christian worship of Jesus as God.

Babylonian Talmud – tells of Jesus’ crucifixion on the eve of Passover. He was accused of sorcery and Jewish apostasy.

Most of the Gnostic Gospels and other apocryphal books talk of Jesus, even though they do not think He was God.

Gnostic = knowledge in Greek.

Gnostics believe that the spirit world is perfect and the physical world is not.

They believe that by revelation you can free the soul from the physical to the spiritual.

Gnostics believe that Jesus was a revelator, but not God. He was imperfect as He was human, or he only “appeared” to be human.

  

    Some Gnostic Gospels:

·        Thomas                       2^nd AD

·        Truth                            2^nd  AD

·        Judas                           2^nd  AD

·        Peter                            2^nd AD

·        Mary                            2^nd AD

·        Philip                           2-3^rd AD

·        Egyptians                    2-3^rd AD

 

    Some other Gnostic Texts:

·        Sophra of Jesus Christ                         2^nd AD

·        Apocalypse of Peter                            2-3^rd AD

·        Apocryphon of John                             2-3^rd AD

·        Second Treatise of the Great Seth      3^rd AD

·        Hypostasis of the Archans                  3^rd AD

·        Tipartite Tractate                                3-4^th  AD

    

     Gnostic gospels were rejected by Church fathers because they were heretical. They were all written 200 or more years after Jesus. The only gospels that were written by eye witnesses of Jesus are the 4 that we have in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They were all written in the 1st century and are trustworthy and truly inspired by God.

      I pray that you have an understanding of who Jesus is after reading all of this. He said that He was one with the Father. Also that if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father. He truly is the savior. He stands at the door of your heart and knocks. It is up to you to let Him inside. This can only happen as a gift from God to you; you can do nothing to earn it. It is only by the Grace of God which is personified in Jesus.

   

   All scriptures are from KJV.
   Art from the Internet.
         
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The Brass Serpent

This is the time of history when the children of Israel were nearing the end of their 40 year wilderness journey. Moses and Aaron had been their Levite leader and Priest since they had been miraculously delivered from slavery in Egypt. Aaron had died on Mount Hor and his son, Eleazar was now High Priest.
Miriam, Moses' sister and a prophetess had also died along the way here.

Aaron's tomb on top of Mt Hor (Jordan)

Understand that the people here were the children of the original Hebrews that were delivered through the Red Sea from Egypt. Because of their parents unbelief and rebellion against God, they were all condemned to die in the wilderness in a 40 year period. The only survivors of that generation were now: Moses, Joshua, and Caleb. Moses was nearing 120 years of age and Joshua and Caleb were in their 60's.

Moses was still the leader and was grooming Joshua to take his place.

Joshua was the general of the army and was one of the original 12 spies that had kept faithful to God and His promises. He was from the tribe of Ephraim.

Caleb was Moses' brother-in-law who had married Miriam, Moses' sister. He was also one of the original 12 spies that had always remained faithful to God. He was from the tribe of Judah.

The people had just finished a battle with king Arad of the Canaanites that had attacked them, but God gave them the victory.

God had fed the people with manna, a bread that came from heaven, for 40 years. All they had to do was gather it in the morning.

This manna could be eaten raw and tasted like a honey wafer. It could be baked, fried, or boiled and had a taste similar to what one desired.

There was a bowl of manna put into the Ark of the Covenant for a perpetual memory of God supernaturally feeding the people. Also in the ark were the tablets of the law and Aaron's rod that budded.

God had also given them meat to eat. There clothes had not worn out, their shoes had not worn out. God had delivered them from their enemies, gave them water to drink when there was not any, and in general provided all their needs.

Now as they passed Northward (modern Jordan) toward the promised land, they were discouraged. They were not looking at the provision or protection of God. They had heard their parents complain and chide against Moses about leaving Egypt. These people had never seen Egypt.

Numbers 21:4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
5  And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

So, God lifted His hand of protection from the people.
6  And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

Now, these serpents were there in the wilderness the whole time, but the people were protected from them.

The Hebrew language does not have a causative sense here, but a permissive sense. Irregardless of all that, the people were being bit and dying and needed delivered for there was a lot of snakes.

7  Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

8  And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

9  And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

It was difficult for the people to take their eyes off of the snakes and their bites and look at the brass serpent on the pole. But, when they did, they were healed.

When Jesus was talking with Nickodemus in John Chapter 3, He explained how the brazen serpent on the pole represented Him on the cross.

14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

You might say, how could Jesus the second person of the Godhead be a serpent on a pole? Well He became sin who knew no sin that we might be the righteousness of God, in Him, 2 Corinthians 5:21.

For us today, we need to look to Jesus for our healing. With the same expectation that he bore all our sickness and all our disease in His own body on the cross so we could be healed. 

Isaiah 53: 4 ¶  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

The serpent on a pole is a symbol of healing and has been since ancient times. We see it in our medical field.

In Greek mythology there is also a serpent on a pole called the Rod of Asclepius. But, even this was probably taken from the story of Moses and the brazen serpent on a pole.

Today's picture that are on ambulances or paramedic patches looks like this.

In Jesus all of our needs can be met, even as it was for the Israelites; even better. They did not have the ability to have the Spirit of Jesus Christ in them to give them a rebirth of their spirit. But we Christians do. And if Jesus' Spirit dwells in you, you can ask and God will give you the Holy Spirit as well. 

Moses died on Mt. Nebo in modern Jordan and Michael the Archangel buried his body. Today there is still the symbol of the serpent on the pole there.

All quotes from KJV. Pictures and art from Internet.

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