JESUS
John 14:6 NIV Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
The Symbol of a fish was used by the first Christian communities for identification.
ICHTHUS is the Greek word for a fish
ICTHUS = Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour.
Iota (i) is the first letter of Iesous (Greek for Jesus)
Chi (kh) is the first letter of Christos (Greek for Christ)
Theta (th) is the first letter of Theou (Greek for God)
Upsilon (u) is the first letter of Huios (Greek for Son)
Sigma (s) is the first letter of Soter (Greek for Saviour)
Truth is beautiful, life-enhancing, freedom-giving. Pilate challenged Jesus about truth as though it did not exist. He was looking at and speaking with the incarnate truth and still could not acknowledge the truth! The apostle John walked and talked with Jesus, watched Him carefully. A few decades later, John wrote about Jesus and included His words, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” This is what John believed and shared with the world without compromise. He had first-hand experience of Jesus. Modern ‘thinkers’ doubt that Jesus could be any more than a good teacher. “He could not be the embodiment of the truth. There is no absolute truth, and Jesus probably did not exist as a real person!” Such attitudes are dismissing John as a liar and a fraud. John did not merely write a morality play. He makes it very clear that he had written about a real Person who turned his life around.
John 20:30-31 NIV Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. (31) But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
1 John 1:1 NIV That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
I understand the difficulty people can have with the Bible. However, to suggest that the apostle John (and the other Bible writers) deliberately lied, that they were fraudsters, means that you have shelved the one Book that offers you the Truth – and nothing but the Truth.
The Bible does not occupy itself with definitions of the truth it focuses on the Man Jesus and claims, ‘He is the Truth!’ They declare that He is the Son of God.
John 1:14 NIV The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Hebrews 1:2-3 NIV but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. (3) The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Dr. S.M. Lockridge was the Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, San Diego CA from 1953 – 1993. He entered heaven in 2000. He is well-known for a passage out of his sermon titled “He’s My King”:
“He’s enduringly strong, He’s entirely sincere, He’s eternally steadfast. He’s immortally graceful. He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful. He’s God’s Son. He’s a sinner’s saviour. He’s the centrepiece of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He’s unparalleled. He’s unprecedented. He’s supreme. He’s preeminent. He’s the loftiest idea in literature. He’s the highest idea in philosophy. He’s the fundamental truth in theology. He’s the miracle of the age. He’s the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He guards and He guides. He heals the sick, He cleans the lepers. He forgives sinners, He discharges debtors, He delivers captives, He defends the feeble, He blesses the young, He serves the unfortunate, He regards the aged, He rewards the diligent, He beautifies the meek. Do you know Him?”
You can read the rest of this transcription at
tonycooke.org/articles-by-others/indescribable-christ/
The four Gospels describe a Man Who displays truth and love perfectly at the same time. He is righteous and holy yet is gentle and merciful too. The accounts show how Jesus is the One that the Old Testament points to. He is the Messiah, the King, the deliverer of His people. He is the fulfilment of all the sacrifices and ceremony of the Law, He is the Great High Priest , He is the Great Prophet promised by Moses, He is the Great King foreshadowed by king David.
It is not difficult to see how the Life of Jesus completes Old Testament promises and prophecies. Psalm 23, Psalm 69 and Isaiah chapter 53 are well known examples of this. There are many more. The four Gospels provide an all-round biography of Christ’s life. We read of a Man who was compassionate yet uncompromising, truthful yet peaceful, holy yet able to sit with sinners. Psalm 85 sums Him up beautifully:
Psalms 85:10 NIV Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Modern biographies occupy hundreds of pages. Surely Jesus merits more than that. Well, apart from the fact that the whole Bible is about Him in one way or another, we need to see that God inspired His Word through different people with the purpose that we might believe and be saved. The apostle John wrote about his purpose in producing his Gospel:
John 20:30-31 NIV Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
A few verses at the beginning of the letter to the Hebrews gives a clear overview of God’s purpose in Jesus Christ:
Hebrews 1:1-3 NIV In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
The New Testament writings detail how and why Jesus Christ fulfils all these prophecies and promises. He came into the world at just the right time. He lived His life perfectly, without sinning. He taught everyone how to please God. He brought healing and restoration for the people demonstrating by this that He was their Messiah. He brought them the Truth that could set them free. He offered new abundant life. It is astonishing (to me) that the religious leaders and Judas wanted to kill this Man. We know from the New Testament that their enmity brought about God’s purpose. Jesus was crucified and buried. This amazing, love-filled sacrifice dealt with the problem of sin once and for all. It ended in resurrection. Death’s power was broken, and Jesus took control of Death and Hades.
Hebrews 12:2 NIV Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus Christ lived again, after He had died. Not like a person who has a death experience while undergoing surgery but still dies at a later date. Jesus died and rose from the dead, never to die again. Death could not hold on to Him because He had not sinned. Sin is the reason we die! Jesus suffered for sins in our place and entered into death willingly. As a result, the power of death is broken, and sinners can receive the gift of eternal life.
He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. (Romans 4:25 NIV)
Jesus Christ is the focus and centre of this book. He is the Truth. However, the Bible is more than adequate to reveal all you need to know about Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of the world. God has preserved His Word over millennia against all manner of opposition. This Word is God’s Sword in the battle against ‘the enemy’.