The key to the understanding of the Bible and of God is the person of Jesus Christ. No other person in history has affected mankind as much as Jesus Christ has. No person has been as much honored and worshipped as Jesus Christ has, and yet at the same time no person has remained as much a mystery to the human mind as He has. Many historians have considered Him a great leader, and many social reformers have considered Him a great teacher of mankind. Napoleon ranked himself equal with Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Charlemagne, but acknowledged that Jesus was above all of them and belonged to a different class. The early Marxists denied that He is God, and Engels even denied that Jesus ever existed. But later Marxists admitted that attempts to erase Jesus from European history and culture were fruitless and ridiculous, and that Jesus is “an example of the most sacred human values.”
However, is Jesus of Nazareth merely a great leader, a great teacher, and a model of the most sacred human values? Who is Jesus? This is one of the great questions among men since the birth of Jesus nearly two thousand years ago. The Jews of His day who opposed Him said that He was a mere carpenter from Nazareth, the son of Joseph; they said that He was only a man. Others among the Jews said that He was John the Baptist, or Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. The Gentiles of the past generations have said that He was a religious revolutionary, a great philosopher, a noble moralist, or a sacrificial servant.
One day Jesus earnestly desired to reveal Himself to His disciples, so He took them to a place called Caesarea Philippi, far away from Jerusalem, where the atmosphere of the old Jewish religion filled every man’s thought. At Caesarea Philippi He asked His disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of Man is? And they said, Some, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Matt. 16:13-14).
Then Jesus proceeded to ask them a most pointed question, a question which we all must answer: “But you, who do you say that I am?” (v. 15). Only one of Jesus’ disciples, Peter, answered by saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). By saying that Jesus was the Son of the living God, Peter was saying that Christ was God Himself (John 10:30, 33; 5:18; 1:1; 20:28; 1 John 5:20; Phil. 2:6; Heb. 1:8). The Lord responded to Peter by saying, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in the heavens” (v. 17). We need heavenly revelation to receive the blessing of seeing who Christ really is.
The Gospel of John tells the story of a disciple named Thomas who refused to believe the other disciples when they told him that they had seen Jesus after His resurrection. Thomas said, “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails and put my finger into the mark of the nails and put my hand into His side, I will by no means believe” (20:25). Eight days later Jesus appeared to the disciples again, and this time Thomas was with them. “Then He said to Thomas, Bring your finger here and see My hands, and bring your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing. Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God! Jesus said to him, Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (vv. 27-29). Thomas’s declaration of belief was that Jesus was his Lord and his God. Jesus’ response was that all who believe as Thomas did are blessed.
One of the most important foundations of the Christian faith is the confession that Christ is God. Christ is not just a great man; He is the very God Himself. When one of Christ’s disciples, Peter, acknowledged that Christ was the Son of the living God, he was proclaiming one of the greatest mysteries of the universe. The Christian church is founded upon this revelation of the divine person of Christ. Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, said, “Take hold of Jesus as a man, and you will discover that He is God.”
If you want to know who a man is, you must ask him. Throughout history no philosopher, religious leader, or sage has dared to claim to be God. Only Jesus said that He is God.
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