Lesson 4. Who is Jesus of Nazareth?
Lesson 4 - Introduction
The bible discusses many important figures in its pages. From the very first stories we learn of figures like Noah, who survived the Great Flood, Abraham, whose trust in Yahweh led to a deep friendship, Moses, who led the Israelites into Covenant with God. These are just three of many individuals - both named and unnamed - that bible emphasizes played important roles in championing the way.
Among those listed in bible history includes Yeshua of Nazareth- otherwise known as Jesus Christ. Jesus was a Jewish Rabbi and the beginning of what we now call the Christian faith. His radical (at the time) teachings changed the world; not all at once, but slowly, over centuries. Eventually, the things he taught became their own religion. Jesus is known as The Son of God. What does this phrase mean? How does it apply today?
Knowing who Jesus of Nazareth is and why he matters is one of the most important things you will study in this course. Why? The bible says it can mean the difference between life and death (Read: John 17:3). If we want the gift of everlasting life, we will need to know and follow the example of God’s son. Let’s see what the bible can teach us about this amazing person.
A Promised Messiah
Jesus’s mother, Mary, was a virgin when she gave birth.
Long before Jesus was born into the world, humans cried out to Yahweh for salvation from all the suffering in the world. Yahweh promised a Messiah – or savior – would come and relieve us from pain and death. You might hear some people refer to this Messiah as the Christ, which is the Greek translation of the word Messiah. This Messiah would free us of the sins we inherited from Adam and make us right with God.
We know now that Jesus was that promised Messiah. How do we know? When Yahweh made the promise that He would send a savior, He gave us signs to point to the chosen person. An example is that the Messiah would be born of a virgin. Jesus’s mother was Mary. She was betrothed to Joseph, but not yet married at the time of her pregnancy. She was, in fact, a virgin at the time she gave birth. The bible has as many as 300 prophecies regarding the Messiah, and Jesus fulfills them all. The chances of Jesus fulfilling these prophecies in this way is 1 in 1057; that’s a 1 in 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 chance of Jesus randomly fulfilling these prophecies (Stoner, 2022)! You could have no greater proof of Jesus being the Messiah!
6 Jesus’s disciples knew him to be the Messiah (Matthew 16:16). Jesus also called himself the Messiah (John 4:25-26). Most importantly, Yahweh God Himself declared Jesus to be the Messiah and His son. At his baptism in 30AD, Jesus came out from the water, and the voice of Yahweh declared Jesus to be His Son (Read: Matthew 3:16-17). When God Himself declares something to be true, we know that it is the truth. Jesus was the promised Messiah.
Pre-Existence
Knowing that Jesus is the Messiah is certainly important. However, Jesus was more than just a human promoted into an exalted position. Jesus is the Son of God. The bible teaches that Jesus pre-existed before his earthly life (Read: Micah 5:2). Jesus himself also confirms his heavenly pre-existence repeatedly (John 3:13, 6:38, 17:4-5).
Being the Son of God, Jesus was most precious to Yahweh. The bible says that Jesus is the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15). This exalted position puts Jesus first in line for all the blessings that Yahweh descends upon creation. Moreover, Jesus is the only being whom Yahweh directly made Himself. Jesus was not “created” the way we were. He was “begotten”. The word begotten means to give rise or to bring about. Specifically, to beget something to is to bring about new life through reproduction (Oxford Languages, 2022). Obviously, Yahweh did not reproduce Jesus into existence the way we traditionally think of procreation. We can find the account of Jesus’s beginning in Proverbs (Read: Proverbs 8:22-30).
This scripture is a poem referring to the creation of a personified Wisdom. Yet, being a divine attribute, wisdom wasn’t created; wisdom always was! As long as Yahweh has existed, so has wisdom. We know that Yahweh existed eternally (Psalm 90:2). So, wisdom existed eternally as well. Who, then, is this scripture referring to?
In his bible commentary, scholar Matthew Henry directly addresses this question: “That it is an intelligent and divine person that here speaks seems very plain…and that intelligent and divine person can be no other than the Son of God himself.” (Henry, 2017). This scripture is clearly referring to the beginning of Jesus.
This scripture demonstrates that Yahweh Himself created Jesus before creating anything else. It says that He “possessed” him, “brought [him] forth”, and “set [him] up”. These scriptures give the picture of Yahweh directly creating Jesus by means of His own spirit. Since Yahweh does not reproduce the way humans do, we can see here that this is a type of asexual reproduction, where Yahweh brought forth Jesus as an actual offspring, making Jesus the literal Son of God.
This aligns with the whole of scripture. “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,” (Colossians 2:9, ESV). Here the word “deity” comes from θεότης [theotēs] which translates to “the state of being divine” (Russell & Cohn, 2012). Divine is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as meaning “in the form of, or being like, God”. Because he was begotten by God directly, Jesus is a divine entity like his Father. This doesn’t mean that Jesus is God; that distinction falls to the Father alone. “Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” (1 Corinthians 8:6, ESV). Notice that the Father, Yahweh, alone is called the One God. Jesus here is referred to as one Lord, a divine title, but distinct from God.
Some people mistakenly believe that Yahweh and Jesus are one divine entity in two separate people. This does not align with scriptures. Nowhere in the bible is this doctrine clearly established. Instead, what Scripture refers to is a Holy One God, and His divine son. Yahweh and Jesus are distinct individuals (John 10:36). Moreover, they cannot be “co-equal” as some claim, because it is the nature of a son to be under his father’s authority. Human children are commanded to obey their parents (Proverbs 23:22). Likewise, Jesus always submitted to his Father’s authority (John 5:19).
What was Jesus Like?
Jesus is the perfect reflection of his Father, to the degree that he says of himself, “And whoever sees me sees Him who sent me.” (John 12:45). The bible also refers to Jesus as “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), image here meaning “likeness or similarity” (Russell & Cohn, 2012). Perhaps their similarities are best described in Paul’s letter to the Jewish members of the community: “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of His power…” (Hebrews 1:3). Being a divine being himself, Jesus contained all the divine attributes we apply to Yahweh.
The bible reveals Jesus’s nature through detailed accounts of his life and ministry. We know that he was a prolific teacher, to the degree that many referred to him as “Rabbi” or “Teacher” (John 13:13). Jesus was a very caring individual, moved to help people he came across in his travels. In one case, when he came across an individual plagued with leprosy, the man requested that Jesus heal him. The bible says, “And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (Matthew 8:2-3). The phrase I will translates from the Greek θέλω [thelō] which literally translates to I want to. What a beautiful phrase! Jesus did not just heal as an obligation to his ministry, he wanted to help!
Jesus heals a leper.
Jesus was instrumental in creation (1 Corinthians 8:6). In fact, not one thing in the heavens and earth was made without Jesus (John 1:3)! This is not to mean that Jesus is the Creator. Think of a musician on a stage. The music comes from their instrument, but their instrument is not the music-maker, it is the instrument through which music happens. The musician is the music-maker. Likewise, when we think about creation, we can see from the bible that Jesus is the instrument of creation, while Yahweh is the Creator. By witnessing the beauty of the creation of the world, we can know that Jesus directly and fully obeys his Father’s will. How close Jesus must be to his Father, having worked together for so long before his human life!
But Jesus did come to lead a human life. How did this happen? Yahweh made Mary pregnant by means of His holy spirit. This true miracle was an important means for fulfilling Yahweh’s will. Why did Jesus come to earth? Yahweh had a job for Jesus to complete that could be given to no one else. We will discuss that topic more in depth in the next lesson. For now, it is important to understand that Yahweh trusted Jesus very deeply. This tells us that we can trust Jesus as well.
Get to Know Jesus
Because of his divine attributes and devotion to his Father, Jesus serves as the perfect example for Christians today to follow. Jesus’s faith was so deep that he followed his Father’s commands, even unto his death. When his own family thought he was “out of his mind”, Jesus continued in his faith (Mark 3:21). His deep faith allows us, today, to have a close relationship with our Creator. Jesus was deeply rewarded for his obedience to God. What an example for Christians today! When we endure hardships, such as family opposition, financial problems, or physical ailments, we know that complete faith in Yahweh is attainable. Further, by examining Jesus’s rewards, we can be assured that we will be rewarded for our faith.
The bible says to get to know Jesus. How can you do this? You can get to know Jesus by reading about him in the bible. In this way, we can become personal friends with the Son of God (Read: John 15:14-15). When we learn what Jesus taught, he becomes a personal friend of ours. Likewise, when we do what Jesus has commanded of us, we become his personal friends. What better honor than to be friends with the Son of God!
Lesson Four- Review
Question 1: Why is it important that we learn about Jesus?
Question 2 : What is a Messiah?
Question 3 : How does prophecy reveal Jesus to be the Messiah?
Question 4 : Why can we be sure that Jesus is the Messiah?
Question 5 : Did Jesus exist before he was born?
Question 6 : Who created Jesus?
Question 7 : How is Jesus the Son of God?
Question 8 : Is Jesus God?
Question 9 : How do we know Jesus is not "co-equal" to the Father?
Question 10: What is Jesus like?
Question 11: What do we learn about Jesus through his ministry?
Question 12: How did Jesus help in creation?
Question 13: How did Jesus come to earth?
Question 14: What example does Jesus give Christians today?
Question 15: How can we become Jesus' friend?