Session 1: Who Is Jesus?
Who is Jesus?
That is the most important question for Christians. Your answer for this question will determine your Christian life.
You all have images of Jesus.
What are some of the images you have about Jesus?
A person holding sheep in his arms? A person chased out coin changers, turning the table upside down? A person calming the storm? A person arguing with authorities, calling them a white washed tomb, a brood of vipers? A person bleeding on the cross? A person who prays for forgiveness on the cross?
We have various images about Jesus. Consciously or unconsciously, these images affect the way you live your life.
He was not just a nice person, was he? Your images about Jesus need to be more specifically articulated.
So “Who is Jesus?” is a central question for all of us. We know many names that are assigned to Jesus.
Call out the names that are assigned to Jesus.
Jesus is the Lord and the Saviour. Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is the Son of Man. Jesus is the Word Incarnate. Jesus is the Redeemer. Jesus is the Shepherd.
But knowing the titles that are assigned to Jesus is not really knowing Jesus.
You have to personally know what that means to you. I cannot tell you what Jesus is or who Jesus is to you. It is something you have to answer. You have to own that answer.
It is not about what other people say. It is about what YOU believe. It is your belief system.
Eg) Sioux Valley Training
The way they treated the indigenous people came from their understanding of who God was and who Jesus was. A very distorted understanding of God. See how your life can be affected by your belief system.
It is like what you believe about life. Our life, our activities, and our thinking follow what you believe. Why would you spend time and money for what you don’t believe?
I met Christ in a meaningful way when I was in university. What Jesus stood for had a profound impact on me. That’s why I devoted my whole life to living out what Jesus stood for. That’s what I believe and my belief shaped and controlled my life. Of course it always changes – not a formula, organic transformation.
What is important to you about life? Is it good fun? Is it health? Is it good relationships? Is it success? Is it justice? Is it equality? What is important to you about life?
Same thing with being a Christian. What do you believe about Jesus? What aspect of Jesus is important to you? Salvation? Justice? Forgiveness? Eternal life? Morality? Happiness?
I want you to explore this question this weekend. It’s not just the exploration of Jesus. It is the exploration of yourself.
The more you know about Jesus, the more your beliefs will expand. The more abundant your life will become. And I realized that my beliefs have changed as I understood Jesus more deeply.
To help you explore these questions, I will give you some materials to reflect. I hope this helps you.
Honestly and sincerely struggle with your quest for Jesus. You don’t have to have clear answers for all your questions. But the honest struggle is precious.
Belief is not what you arbitrarily make up. Even if you make up what you believe, if it is not ingrained within you, it doesn’t do any good.
Belief is deeper than opinions. Deeper than your feeling. Deeper than your pious actions. Belief is what arises from within you. Belief is something that you are convicted.
In the process of struggles and pursuit, belief becomes a part of you. That’s how belief is formed within you. Once it is formed within you, you will want to live out what you believe.
Why do you want to be good to others? Because you believe it is the right thing to do. Maybe you internalized how Jesus lived his life.
We cannot develop our belief in a vacuum. We have to know how Jesus lived. What Jesus believed. What Jesus taught.
Jesus came to give us the belief.
That’s why John recorded Jesus’ life in his book.
But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)
We are going to examine three gospels. I was gonna do all four gospels but too much. So I will deal with only three that are most similar. These three gospels are called synoptic gospels because they are very similar.
They are the witnesses of what they experienced about Jesus. So I want to introduce the testimonies of these witnesses.
Knowing Jesus is a complex process. Knowing the Bible is also a complex process. There are millions of books that have been written about Jesus.
I am not gonna go through this complex process. I will try to simplify as much as possible so that it is relevant and digestible for you. My agenda is to help you explore your faith in Jesus.
I am thankful that we don’t have just one gospel that depicts the life of Jesus. We have four of them. 4 Witnesses.
They all depict the life of Jesus but differently. Some start from the birth of Jesus. And others start from the adult Jesus. One even starts from the beginning of the universe.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
These are their testimonies of Jesus and so we need to examine their testimonies. Their testimonies were what they believed about Jesus.
These four testimonies – they all talk about the life of Jesus and so very similar but they are also very different. It’s like our Cuba mission report. Three people shared about what they experienced. They all went together and saw the same thing. Their testimonies were similar but also very different. What they took from what they experienced was very different. They saw the same thing but what they processed from what they saw was different.
Four gospel writers wrote about Jesus from their own unique perspective. What do they say about Jesus?
The first Gospel that was written was Mark. Today, I am not gonna talk about what he said about Jesus. I am going to talk about an important question he raised as the first person who wrote the gospel.
Mark was fascinated by this person, Jesus. To him, Jesus was a mysterious person. Jesus was not just an ordinary person. He has never seen a man like Jesus.
So the key question to Mark was:
Who is this man?
That question comes out explicitly in this story.
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’ (Mark 4:35-41)
Who is this man? Who is this man that even the wind and the sea obey? He also dared to say that he forgave sins. Only God can forgive our sins. Who is this man who says he forgives sins? This man also said he is the Lord of the Sabbath?
He looked normal and yet he said these strange things.
I told you before. This man: shouting “I am sent by God to save the world.” And the man beside him: “When did I send you?”
Either Jesus was a lunatic or some mysterious person he never met in his life.
That was what was going on in the minds of people who met Jesus. Disciples too. They never met a person like Jesus who talked like him. So, they constantly wondered who this man really was.
Right at the climax of the book, this question also comes out. The climax of the Gospel Mark comes right at the centre of the book. Mark – 16 chapters. Mark is divided sharply into two.
Right at the centre, Ch. 8, this comes out.
Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ And they answered him, ‘John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’ (Mark 8:27-29)
Jesus asked this question. Who do you say that I am? So Mark was very interested in who Jesus was.
Peter answered Jesus’ question correctly. But did he really know who Jesus was? He said it right but did he understand the meaning of his answer? Then why did Jesus say such harsh words to Peter soon after Peter’s confession?
Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things. (Mark 8:33)
So, this question is what we want to explore this weekend.
First 8 chapters, Mark describes how popular Jesus was. The summary of it comes out right in the beginning – the first chapter.
Let’s read Mark 1:21-34. Even though it is a little long, let us read it. Feel the Scripture. Imagine what they experienced about Jesus.
They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. (Mark 1:21-34)
He was popular because he had the power. Supernatural power. He healed people from their sickness. He cast out demons. Evil power was subdued by his supernatural power. His teaching was powerful.
Jesus’ presence was like rain on a parched land. Jesus’ presence was like a stream to a thirsty deer. It gave deep satisfaction to the soul of people. It gave them hope for a new life.
They lived under Roman rule. Their life was very hard. Like people in Gaza or in Ukraine. Or in Cuba. When they met Jesus and saw what Jesus did, they saw something bigger, grander, and futuristic. A new hope was stirred up within them. In Jesus, they saw the Messiah that they were waiting for.
People were crazy about Jesus. Jesus mania. Like Beatles mania.
Jesus was very popular but was that the message Mark wanted to deliver? Or something more or something different?
I will explore that tomorrow.
Discussion Questions:
- How important are your beliefs? What do your beliefs do in your life? How are your beliefs formed? Do beliefs change and how?
- There are four gospels and they all depict Jesus’ life and yet they are different. What does this tell you about your observations, experiences, and understanding?
- Who is Jesus to you?
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