How Does Jesus’ Life and Death Affect You?
Who Is Jesus Christ?
LEARN FROM GOD’S WORD
Who is Jesus Christ?
John 8:23; John 1:1-3, 14; read Proverbs 8:22, 23, 30; Colossians
1:15,16.
Why do we need a ransom?
Genesis 2:16, 17; 5:5; Romans 5:12; 6:23.
Why did Jesus die?
Psalm 49:7-9; John 3:16; Romans
5:18,19.
What is Jesus doing now?
Luke 18:35-42; John 5:28, 29; 1 Peter
3:18; Hebrews 10:12, 13; Daniel 7:13,14;Matthew 24:14;
Psalm 37:9-11.
For more information, see chapter 4 of “WHAT DOES
THE BIBLE Really TEACH?”, published by Jehovah’s Witnesses
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ MARCH 1, 2011
Photo Credit: Inmagine-dp0756789
Jesus Christ, Our Questions Answered
“Who are the crowds saying that I am?”— LUKE 9:18.
JESUS asked his disciples that question because he knew that people had varying opinions about him.
Jesus was not a recluse, operating behind a cloak of secrecy. Rather, he openly mingled with people in their villages and cities. So why that confusion, may some ask.
Jesus preached and taught publicly because he wanted people to know the truth about him. (Luke 8:1) The truth about him can be discerned in his words and actions, which are recorded in the four Biblical Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. That inspired record is the basis for answering our questions about Jesus.—John 17:17.
QUESTION:
Whas Jesus really a historical person?
ANSWER: Yes, Secular historians, inclusing Josephus and Tacitus of the first century, mention Jesus as a historical figure. More important, the Gospels convincingly show that Jesus was a real person. For example, Gospel writer Luke mentions seven ruling officials—whose names have been corroborated by secular historians—in order to establish the year Jesus began his ministry.—(Luke 3:1, 2, 23).
QUESTION:
Is Jesus actually God?
ANSWER: No. Jesus never considered himself equal to God. On the contrary, Jesus repeatedly showed that he was subordinate to Jehovah, the personal name of God in the Bible.
For example, Jesus referred to Jehovah as “my God” and “the only true God.” (Matthew 27:46; John 17:3) Only a subordinate would use such expressions in referring to another.
Jesus also showed that he was seperate from God. Jesus said to his opposers: “In your own Law it is written, ‘The witness of two men is true’. I am one that bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” (John 8:17, 18) Jesus and Jehovah are viewed as two witnesses, two separate persons.
QUESTION:
Was Jesus just a good man?
ANSWER: No. He was far more than that. Jesus filled a number of important roles in carrying out God’s will:
“Only-begotten Son of God”. (John 3:18) Jesus’ life began long before his birth on earth. (John 6:38) Jesus was God’s first creation of all other things. As the only one directly created by God, Jesus could rightly be called ”the only-begotten Son of God.”—John 1:3, 14; Colossians 1:15, 16.
“Son of man.” (Matthew 8:20) Jesus many times referred to himself as ”the Son of man”, using an expression that occurs about 80 times in the Gospels. This expression indicates that he was fully human and not God incarnate. (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35; John 8:46).
“Teacher.” (John 13:13) Jesus made it clear that his God-given work was “teaching . . . and preaching the good news” about God’s Kingdom. (Matthew 4:23; Luke 4:43)
“The Word.” (John 1:1) Jesus served as God’s Spokesman—the means by which God conveyed information and instruction to others. Jehovah used Jesus to deliver His message to humans on earth.—John 7:16, 17.
QUESTION:
Was Jesus the promised Messiah?
ANSWER: Yes. Bible prophecies foretold the coming of the Messiah, or Christ, meaning “Anointed One.” This Promised One would play a key role in fulfilling Jehovah’s purpose. On one occasion, a certain Samaritan woman told Jesus: “I know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ.” Jesus then told her plainly: “I who am speaking to you am he.”—John 4:25, 26.
His lineage. The Bible foretold that the Messiah would descend from Abraham through the family line of David. (Genesis 22:18; Psalm 132:11, 12) Jesus was a descendant of both.—Matthew 1:1-16; Luke 3:23-38.
Fulfilled prophecies. The Hebrew Scriptures contain dozens of prophecies about the Messiah’s life on earth, including details about his birth and death. (Micah 5:2; Luke 2:4-11; Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:15; Psalm 34:20; John 19:33, 36) There is simply no way that Jesus could have maneuvered his life to fit the factors needed to fulfill all the Messianic prophecies.
God’s own testimony. (Luke 2:10-14) On several occasions during Jesus’ ministry, God himself spoke from heaven, expressing his approval of Jesus. (Matthew 3:16, 17; 17:1-5) Jehovah enabled Jesus to perform powerful miracles, providing further proof that Jesus was the Messiah.—Acts 10:38.
QUESTION:
Why did Jesus have to suffer and die?
ANSWER: As a sinless man, Jesus did not deserve to suffer. Neither did he deserve to be nailed to a stake as a common criminal and be left there to die a shameful death. Still, Jesus expected such mistreatment and willingly submitted to it.—Matthew 20:17-19; 1Peter 2:21-23.
Messianic prophecies foretold that the Messiah would have to suffer and die to cover the sin of others. (Isaiah 53:5; Daniel 9:24, 26) Jesus himself said that he came “to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.” (Matthew 20:28) Those putting faith in Jesus’ sacrificial death have the prospect of being rescued from sin and death and living forever in Paradise on earth.—John 3:16; 1John 4:9, 10.
QUESTION:
Can we really believe that Jesus was resurrected from dead?
ANSWER: Yes. Jesus fully expected to be raised from the dead. (Matthew 16:21) The Bible says: “God resurrected him by loosing the pangs of death.”(Acts 2:24) If we accept that there is a God and that he is the Creator of all things, then we have every reason to believe that he could raise his Son from the dead.—Hebrews 3:4.
Eyewitness testimony. About 22 years after Jesus died, the apostle Paul wrote that there had been upwards of 500 eyewitnesses who saw the resurrected Jesus and that most of them were still alive when Paul was writing. (1Corinthians 15:6) One or two witnesses might be easy to dismiss, but who could refute the testimony of 500 eyewitnesses?
Credible witnesses. Jesus’ early disciples—who were in a unique position to know what really happened—boldly proclaimed that Jesus was resurrected. (Acts 2:29-32; 3:13-15)What is more, they viewed belief in his resurreciton as essential to the Christian faith. (1Corinthians 15:12-19) For this reason they were willing to die rather than renounce their faith in Jesus. (Acts 7:51-60; 12:1, 2;) Is there anyone who would knowingly and willingly die for a lie?
THE WATCHTOWER, APRIL 1, 2012 4
Photo Credit: Sermon-On-The-Mount, Carl Heinrich Bloch 19th.
Did Jesus Really Die on a Cross?
A 17th century drawing of an execution on a stauros, from Lipsius, ‘De Cruce’.
—Wiki Commons.
MANY would point to the Bible for the answer. For example,
according to the King James Version, at the time of Jesus’
execution, onlookers made fun of Jesus and challenged him
to “come down from the cross.” (Matthew 27:40, 42) Many
other Bible translations read similarly. Today’s English Version
says of Simon from Cyrene: “The soldiers forced him to carry
Jesus’ cross.” (Mark 15:21) In these verses, the word “cross” is
translated from the Greek word stauros’. Is there a solid basis
for such a translation? What is the meaning of that original
word?
We note that the King James Version reads
at Acts 5:30: “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom
ye slew and hanged on a tree [xy'lon].” Other versions,
though rendering stauros’ as “cross,” also translate xy’lon as
“tree.” At Acts 13:29, The Jerusalem Bible says of Jesus: “When
they had carried out everything that scripture foretells about
him they took him down from the tree [xy'lon] and buried
him.”
For more information on this topic, please contact the Jehovah’s Witnesses in your area. Thank you.
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ MARCH 1, 2011 18
Photo Credit: Lipsius
IS GOD’S KINGDOM a Condition of the Heart?
Jesus in his Kingdom as King and Judge—Artist rendering of Jesus in his Kingdom.
FOR Jesus, the Kingdom was indeed something
close to his heart. The Kingdom was
“the axis of Jesus’ preaching,” acknowledges
Pope Benedict. During most of his relatively
short ministry, Jesus traveled throughout the
land, “preaching the good news of the kingdom.”
(Matthew 4:23) By his teaching and by
the miracles he performed, Jesus made clear
that the Kingdom is more than a person’s acceptance
of God and obedience to him. It involves
rulership, judgment, and everlasting
blessings.
Matthew 20:21; Luke 22:30; Matthew 21:9; Luke 1:32; Zechariah 9:9.
Everlasting Blessings Luke 23:42, 43; John 5:28, 29. ;Matthew 6:9, 10; Matthew 5:3
Why not accept the invitationto study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses,
Then you will come to have hope, not in a personal transformation alone, but in a right and just
rulership—a Kingdom that will bring peace and security to all.
THE WATCHTOWER ˙ MARCH 1, 2011 10
Photo Credit: ideacreamanuela, NASA-JPLCaltech-UCLA21
Did Three Wise Men Really Visit Baby Jesus?-PDF Article
Were there really three kings, or wise men, who came to worship Jesus while he was in the manger?
Pdf article Did Three Wise Men Really Visit Baby Jesus
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WHO REALLY IS Jesus Christ?
Jerusalem, Stephen’s (Lions’) Gate
“Now when he entered into Jerusalem, the whole city was set in commotion, saying: ‘Who is this?’ The crowds kept telling: ‘This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee!’ ” —MATTHEW 21:10, 11
WHY did the arrival of Jesus Christ**(see footnote) in Jerusalem on that spring day in 33 C.E. cause such commotion? Many in the city had heard about Jesus* and the extraordinary things he had done. They kept telling others about him. (John 12:17-19) Yet, little did the crowds know that in their midst was a man whose influence would spread around the world and span the centuries down to our day! Consider a few examples of the far-reaching influence that Jesus has had on human history.
- The calendar commonly used in many parts of
the world is based on the year when Jesus is
thought to have been born. - Some two billion people—about a third of the
world’s population—call themselves Christians.
Islam, with more than a billion members worldwide,
teaches that Jesus is “a greater prophet
than Abraham, Noah, and Moses.” - Many of Jesus’ wise sayings have, in various
forms, entered everyday speech. Matthew 5:39; Matthew 5:41; Matthew 6:24; Matthew 7:6; Matthew 7:12; Luke 14:28.
Jesus’ influence is beyond question. Yet, people hold widely different ideas and beliefs about him. Hence, you may wonder, ‘Who really is Jesus Christ?’ The Bible alone tells us where Jesus came from, how he lived, and why he died. Knowing those truths about him can have a profound effect on your life—now and in the future.
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* “Jesus”, the personal name of this prophet from Nazareth, means “Jehovah Is Salvation.”
**The word “Christ” is a title that means “Anointed One,” signifying that Jesus was anointed, or appointed by God to a special position.
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Do you need more information or have Bible questions? Please, contact the Jehovah’s Witnesses for a visit. Thank you.
THE WATCHTOWER APRIL 1, 2011
Photo Credits:hoyasmeg, Just chaos, nerissa’s ring
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