We are in our series, “All About Jesus”. There’s one thing that I want you to learn in this series. Jesus loves you and He is for you. No matter how bad you have messed up as a believer or an unbeliever…you can come to Jesus at any time, and He will not condemn you. He will forgive you and He will set you free.
Not only is Jesus the only one who can give you eternal life, but Jesus is the only one who can give purpose and meaning to your life. He’s the only one who can tell you who you are and what you’re created to be and do. He’s the only one who can give you true joy, peace, and love. As you read the word of God, as you pray, when you attend church, on the job, and as you fellowship with other believers, Jesus will go as far with you as you will allow Him to go.
So let’s look at what Jesus was really like. My prayer for you is that Jesus would walk off the pages of the Bible, and into your heart. One of the ways you can see and know Jesus is to read the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. You will see different aspects of Jesus as you read them repeatedly. Find out for yourself what He was like and what He did. He was pretty radical and didn’t fit in with the religious people. Since then, religion has limited Jesus and caused the world to have a warped and one dimensional view of Him. My goal is that we will see Him as He really is.
John 1:1-10 (NLT) kicks us off with a radical perspective, ”In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.” You could probably express this verse like this, “Jesus was in the church and the church was made by Him, but the church knew Him not.”
Jesus didn’t come into existence the day He was born. He pre-existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit… the Three in One. The Word was spoken as a seed into the womb of Mary, she conceived, and brought forth Jesus. Jesus was a human but was born without sin, without spot, and without blemish and then proceeded to live among us without sin.
The young Jesus had to live like a regular human among regular people all the while knowing that He was different. He experienced all the pressures of growing up and becoming an adult. He was a teenager. He must’ve faced young girls, thinking he was cute. I mean it says in the Bible that Jesus was tempted in all the ways that we are and yet He was without sin. Hebrews 4:15 (NLT) explains, ”This High Priest of ours [Jesus] understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.“
You wonder what other people were thinking about Jesus. He must’ve seemed odd. He didn’t follow in His earthly father‘s footsteps. He didn’t marry. He didn’t hate anyone, even the occupying Romans. Jesus' eternal purpose was greater than just what was happening at the time. God does not see things the way we see them. The day came when Jesus was baptized and then led by the Spirit into the desert for 40 days and nights. When Jesus came out of the wilderness, the power of the Holy Spirit was all over Him to preach and teach and heal and deliver (Luke 4:1-15).
Everywhere Jesus went during his earthly ministry He left a trail of people who were set free and healed, who went away walking and leaping and praising God. We’re told of three people He raised from the dead. What’s more, at the end of the gospel, John said, ”Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written“ (John 21:25 NLT).
Miracles were not the only unusual occurrence in Jesus' ministry. He hung out with the despised, tax collectors and sinners. He didn’t act like them, but He didn’t condemn them or make them feel inferior. That’s why they loved to be around Him, because they felt He accepted them as they were. When He looked at them with eyes of love, and taught them the truth about God, they wanted to get rid of their sin, and get closer to Him. Religion focuses on sin and condemnation, but Jesus focuses on setting you free. His love and His goodness lead you to repent and give you the power to overcome the sin in your life. Religion locks you in the sin, but Jesus is the lover of your soul.
”“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17 NLT). That was his whole mission. There was never a time when Jesus did not keep the divine purpose and plan for His life in mind. He came with one goal, and that was to pay the price at Calvary for your sin and my sin. He was born to die in a remarkable, unparalleled act of love.
When you are released from your guilt and sin by receiving Jesus, you’re free. The power of God is not only working on the inside of you, but works through you. Jesus came to the Earth, and took on human flesh for the purpose of paying the price and becoming the eternal sacrifice for mankind, so that all we have to do is say “I believe”. His body speaks to me of the fact that He is a human being and understands everything that I’m going through. The beatings He endured speaks to me. He bore my sickness and carried my disease by His stripes. His blood shed on the cross speaks to me that He washed away my sin. His resurrection speaks to me that He lives so I can also live an eternal, everlasting life.
We know that Jesus could have walked away at any time. Even on the cross, He could’ve called thousands of angels to help Him. But He gladly laid His life down for us. Heaven’s Court of Justice was waiting to be satisfied by the price for sin that had to be paid, and Jesus did it for you and me. Who is Jesus? He is the God man who paid the price for our sin, so that we could know God, and be set free.
