Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. And thank you all for coming to this service. No doubt God has something He wants you to hear.

I believe what God wanted you and me to hear today is the answer to a question. That question is, “Who was Jesus Christ?”
Unless you have been living under a rock all your life you have heard of Jesus Christ. You likely have heard people use the name as a curse word or expletive to emphasize a point. But, taking the name more seriously, you probably know Jesus Christ was the person for whom Christianity was named. Secular history testifies that he was a real person that lived some 2000 years ago and that He was a great religious teacher. But was that the extent of who he was? Let’s see what the people of Jesus’ day thought.
The people who knew Jesus best were His close disciples. Who did they believe He was?

Well, it so happened that in a conversation with His close disciples, Jesus asked them, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” referring to Himself. They answered, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Then Jesus said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” Peter and the other close disciples of Jesus had witnessed Jesus teaching scripture, and preaching the gospel, and saw first-hand the many and varied miracles He had done – the miracles proving to them that Jesus was of God.

In addition to His closest disciples, thousands of others who lived in the regions of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea also heard His teaching, witnessed the miracles, and believed He was the Christ of God. Let’s look at these miracles. Some were witnessed only by Jesus’ closest disciples; others by hundreds or thousands as well:

John 1:48-49 Jesus knew Nathanial had been under the fig tree:
48 Nathanael *said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”
Nathaniel knew only God or one from God could have known what Jesus knew about him.

John 2:10-11 Jesus turned water into wine:
10 and *said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have [d]drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This beginning of His [e]signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.”
John, who was one of the closest disciples, is testifying here that the disciples believed in Jesus because of the miracle of turning the water into wine.

John 3:2 Nicodemus testifying Jesus was of God
2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these [a]signs that You do unless God is with him.”
Nicodemus, an educated religious leader, after considering the evidence of Jesus’ miracles concluded He was of God.

John 4:39 Jesus knew the history of the Samaritan woman even though He had never met her
39 From that city, many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”

John 4:50,53 Jesus healed the son of a Capernaum royal official
50 Jesus *said to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off…53 So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he believed and his whole household.
This miracle showed Jesus had the power to heal from a distance.

John 5:14 Jesus fed the 5000 from 5 loaves and 2 fish
14 Therefore when the people saw the [e]sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
The Prophet was another name or reference in the Old Testament to the promised Messiah.

Luke 8:25 In the storm Jesus rebuked the wind and waves, and they stopped, and it became calm
25 “… They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”
How could they not believe after seeing Jesus do this?

Matthew 14:32-33 Jesus walking on the Sea of Galilee
32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”
Why did Jesus walk on the water? To prove He was of God, the long-awaited Messiah.

John 7:31 Testimony of the Jerusalem multitude
31 But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “When [e]the Christ comes, He will not perform more [f]signs than those which this man has, will He?
The crowd made an excellent point – all of Jesus’ miracles proved He was the Christ.

John 9:32-33, 37-38 32 Jesus healing the man born blind
[d]Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” …37 Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” 38 And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.
The man to whom Jesus had given sight, the moment Jesus revealed to him that He was the one who performed the miracle, worshiped Him – what anyone would do when they realized they were in the presence of God.

John 10:24-25, 37-38 Jesus’ statement to Jewish leaders at the Feast of Dedication
24 The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long [b]will You keep us in suspense? If You are [c]the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me….37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may [f]know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”
Here Jesus Himself is saying they should believe because of His works (miracles).

John 11:14-15, 44-45, 12:10-11 Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead,
“14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.”… 43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” 44 The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him….10 But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.”
Lazarus had been dead four days when Jesus raised him!

John 14:11 Again Jesus told us to believe because of His works,
“11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.”
Jesus had begun to state plainly that He was the Christ, but some did not believe Him. So, here He says they ought to believe because His miracles proved He was of God.

John 20:27-28 Thomas’s testimony having seen and touched the resurrected Christ,
“27 Then He *said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!””
Put yourself in Thomas’s shoes. Wouldn’t you have dropped to your knees and exclaimed, “My Lord and My God” having seen and touched the resurrected Christ?

John 20:31 John stated that he recorded these miracles so that we may believe,
“30 Therefore many other [g]signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is [h]the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”
Why did John write his gospel account? So, that, like the people who saw Jesus perform the miracles, we too could know about the miracles Jesus did and believe He was the Christ and believing have eternal life and peace with God.
As if all this weren’t enough to answer the question, “Who was Jesus?”, there was an occasion when one asked Jesus directly if He were the Messiah. It was John the Baptist. His message of repentance had been preparing the whole country of Israel for the coming of the Messiah. Earlier he had proclaimed of Jesus, “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. John knew who Jesus was, so why did he send his disciples to ask Jesus if he were the Messiah? Because some people then and some throughout history have doubted who Jesus was. John asked it for their sakes – so Jesus Himself could give the proof of who He was.

So, he sent messengers to ask Jesus. His question exactly was, “Are you the Expected One or do we look for someone else?” The Expected One refers to the Messiah. The Greek word for Messiah is Christ. The Messiah or Christ was to be the one sent from God to save people from their sins. So, John the Baptist was asking Jesus – are you that person – are you the Messiah we have been waiting for?

Jesus could have just said yes, but implied in John the Baptist’s question was a quest for evidence. Are you the Messiah, and if so, what proof do you have? Jesus answered by just stating the evidence.
What evidence could there be that proved Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ of God who would be the one to save people from their sins? Let’s look at Jesus’ answer, “And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Matthew 11:2-5
Telling the poor or common man how to be saved was something the Messiah would do, and Jesus was doing that. But the larger body of evidence was the list of miracles Jesus was performing. Jesus is saying that these miracles testify that He is of God.
When you think about it, each miracle or supernatural act Jesus performed proved two important truths. The first truth is that there is an entity that can supersede nature, something that has authority over nature – God. The second truth is that for Jesus to be able to perform all these miracles, He must be of God.
So. Jesus’ answer as to who He was is that He indeed is the Messiah or Christ.
As mentioned a moment ago, in the latter part of His ministry Jesus began plainly stating that He was the Messiah and as such was one with God. Here are some of His statements:
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58
Jesus is referring back to the time when Moses encountered God in the burning bush. Moses asked God what His name was and God replied: “I AM”. Jesus is telling us here that He is God come to earth -. God incarnate(in the flesh)!

“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30 This is as plain as it can get!

“If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” John 10:37-38

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” John 14:6-7
Jesus is saying when you look at Him you are looking at the Father (God).

Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? John 14:9
Even some of Jesus’ closest disciples had not realized until this point that Jesus was God come to earth.

So, there you have it – Jesus Himself affirming what his closest disciples, John the Baptist, and many other followers had come to believe – that He was the promised Messiah, the Christ of God, who came to save mankind from their sins.
How did He do that? It is summed up in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Christ suffered and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins as a gift to mankind. But the gift to each person is not automatic – you have to receive the gift – the gift of forgiveness, eternal life, and peace with God.

How do you receive the gift? You do it by turning from, repenting of your sins, and believing in what Christ did for you on the cross. The moment you believe, you receive forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life.

Have you done that? Would you like to do that right now?