Who Is Jesus, and Why Is He Significant?

Who is Jesus? Is He a man that just appeared through normal birth like everyone else on the earth over two thousand years ago? Or is there something more to Him than that?

If we take a look at what He claimed, we can get an Idea of who He thinks He is exactly, which will give us a good idea where to start with this question of just who is Jesus.

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (NIV John 14:6). Jesus clearly wasn’t bashful when speaking about where He fits into the lives of the people of the world. No one comes to the Father but through Him. What does that mean? It depends on what manner you are asking it in. No one comes to the Father, meaning, this is our goal, to get to the Father. This also means that there isn’t another way to be with the Father “who is in heaven.” In other words, in an observation of only the beginning of this verse, we cannot go to heaven without having Jesus (see also 1 John 5:11-12).

But this is only the beginning of the explanation that Jesus gives. The phrase “except through me” is that which drives this point home. We see that there is no way to get to heaven with the breakdown of the beginning of this verse, and in the end, we see an exception; through Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is not the only one who says this about Himself though (even though that would be perfectly acceptable). The author of the book of Hebrews agrees with God the Father who also says that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life: “But about the Son he [God the Father] says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness (truth); therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy (way).”He also says, “In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands (life). They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end” (NIV Heb. 1:8-12). It is clear that Jesus existed before the beginning, because He created the beginning.

The fact that God the Father calls Jesus “God” and “Lord” in the above passage shows us the authority and position that Jesus actually has. When considering this passage with John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have ever lasting life,” we can clearly see that God now has found a way for us as sinful humans to be saved, and at the same time, become and remain righteous and holy. Jesus describes an action of God as giving a gift to the world, which is Jesus, because He loves the world. By calling Jesus “God,” the Father is placing the all-authority in Jesus.

Some Roles and Descriptions of Christ

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body” (NIV Eph. 5:25-30; emphasis mine). With this passage of scripture in mind, some of the roles of Christ are revealed. Christ is clearly the head of the church, and loves and also not only cares for her, but provides for her and nurtures her as well. We can also see that Christ encourages His church.

Christ, simply put, is a prophet, a priest, and a king (Enns 238). As a prophet, He revealed to us the Father, which no other prophet has done before. “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (NASB John 1:18). In other words, before Jesus, no one has seen the Father. But now that Jesus ‘explained’ Him, we can have a closer relationship with Him, and have a better understanding of what roles we are supposed to play as His children.

As a priest, “(1) Christ continually represents the believer because He lives forever (Heb. 7:24); (2) Christ completely saves the believer because His intercession never ceases (Heb. 7:25); (3) Christ has no personal sins to impede His work as priest (Heb. 7:27); (4) Christ finished His priestly work by one offering (Heb. 10:12) (Enns 238). Since Christ is sinless, lives forever, and offered Himself up as the final sacrifice, the work has been finished and we can now go straight to God.

As king, “Second Samuel 7:16 indicate[s] Messiah would have a dynasty, a people over whom He would rule, and an eternal throne. In Psalm 2:6 God the Father announced the installation of His Son as King in Jerusalem. Psalm 110 indicates that Messiah would subjugate His enemies and rule over them” (Enns 238). Because Jesus IS the King, Creator, Highest Priest, great Prophet and God, He has the right to rule over all creation, including the individual.

With all this in mind, Jesus is significant to our existence because He alone is the sustainer of our lives, because He alone is the only way we can be saved from our sins, and through Him alone can we have eternal life. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Works Cited

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995).

Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press, 1997, c1989).

The Holy Bible: New International Version, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984).

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