“Who do you say that I am?” ~ Jesus, The Gospel of Matthew 16:15

Perhaps the single most important question in life is: “Who is this Jesus of Nazareth?”

Everyone has some kind of an opinion about Jesus, but which is right?

Certainly the man made a monumental impact on our world, so much so that whole nations and continents have been shaped by this Jesus of Nazareth—a man who is not merely remembered for an ideology or a teaching, but even though absent physically from earth millions on every continent and practically every nation attest to the living reality and enduring presence of this Man.

Jesus was no ordinary human being. That much is sure. But what do you believe about him?

Do you choose to believe that he was:

• Merely an important historical figure, as the secularists do.
• A deceiver, as the Jews do.
• A prophet, as the Muslims do.
• An enlightened man, as the Buddhists do.
• An avatar of the gods, as the Hindus do.
• A man who died horribly and poisoned the world with his teachings, as the Marxists do.

OR

• The Son of God, God in flesh (in human form), as the Christians do.

What should be readily apparent is that while we can love and honor one another from other religions, the religions of the world do not agree on specifically one thing—Jesus of Nazareth. While Muslims and Jews reject the New Testament as either outright lies or manipulated to say something that the original never intended, the historical evidence shows very clearly that the New Testament has been very carefully preserved and is attested to by the first disciples of Jesus with successive church leaders in the 1st and 2nd centuries deriving their understanding of God and of Jesus, His Son, from the text of the New Testament that we still have today. Are there variations in rendering the Bible? Yes, but they are small and inconsequential to the whole of Scripture. Every Bible, unless purposely rewritten to fit their own interpretation, such as in the Jehovah’s Witnesses Bible, can give you an accurate understanding of who Jesus Christ is!

Sometimes fear prevents us from reading the Bible because of the abuses of religion. Yes, the cults and religions which operate off of lies thrive off of manipulation and control and you do well to be wary of them. But do not let false religion prevent you from finding true relationship with God.

Jesus once asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

The Bible will help you to answer that question…unless you have a hindrance to reading it. For those who do have objections to reading the Bible, why is it that if you wanted to read about any other historical figure, you would go to the historical documents that they either wrote or were written about them. Yet when it comes to Jesus of Nazareth, there are doubts as to the validity of those records preserved for us in the Bible? Why not put the doubts to the side and come to the Gospels with an open mind and heart?

True God, our Creator, thank You for life and the opportunity You give us to come to know You. Help those with hindrances between them and You to overcome and to press past the doubts that assail their minds and hearts concerning You, Your Son Jesus, and Your Word—the Bible. Give them eyes to see You as You truly are and not with the discolored lenses that have been given to them by life and experience. Reveal truth to us, O God, and banish every lie. In the Name of the one who loved us, JESUS, I pray. Amen.