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I know that this question might be very vital to someone that they would really need to get an answer to. Well, I am willing to give an insight to it.

Matthew 16:13-15

Jesus asks His disciples, who do people say that I am. And they answer that some say you are Elijah; others say Jeremiah; some say John the Baptist or one of the prophets. Then Jesus asks them who do they say that He is?

This is the outmost important question that Jesus asked His disciples. Jesus was going to send them to go and preach the gospel to the world, so it was very important that they knew who Jesus is. Otherwise they were going to preach about something they are not sure of. They would lead people astray and they would not fulfil the task given to them, to tell people about the son of God.

My question to you today is who is Jesus to you?

I have come across an interesting description of Jesus one day from a friend. And it goes something like this:

In chemistry, He turned water into wine.

In biology, He was born without the normal conception.

In physics, He disapproved the law of gravity when He ascended into heaven.

In economics, He disapproved the law of diminishing return by feeding 5000 men with two fishes and 5 loaves of bread.

In medicine, He cured the sick and the blind without administering a single dose of drugs.

In history, He is the beginning and the end.

In government, He said He shall be called the wonderful Councillor, Prince of Peace.

This is an interesting description indeed about Jesus. I say interesting because it describes Jesus based on certain aspects which will be revealed to you by the end of this message. But I want to take a moment and try to reveal Jesus and answer the question at hand from the book of life itself.

The gospel of John is preferably the first book you read when you doing your bible study. Reason for that is:

(I) this book shows us who Jesus is by the miracles He preformed

(II) It shows us who Jesus is by letting Him speak for Himself.

(III) It shows us who Jesus is by calling the witnesses who testify about Jesus.

John 1:1 "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God."

This takes us back to the book of Genesis when God created earth and everything in it. God existed before the foundations of the earth, and He was at the beginning of everything. Here John tells us that in the beginning was the word, that tells me that the word predates time just as God does. The word is the beginning of the beginning, before there was the beginning, the word existed.

The WORD is translated in ancient Greek as logos of which it meant "the word of God". The Jewish rabbis would refer to God Himself as "The word of God".

John says the word was with God and the word was God. Here we see a being called the word and this being is God because he exceeds time, he was in the beginning. And this being is God because "the word was God", yet this being is not higher than what God is; he is the son of God. "THE WORD WAS WITH GOD".

We see two part of God's trinity here, God the Father and God the son and the son here is known as THE WORD. They are two separate persons yet equally God.

So if the word is the son, than the word is Jesus. If I would make my own translation of this verse, it would be: IN THE BEGINNIG WAS JESUS, AND JESUS WAS WITH GOD, AND JESUS WAS GOD. Jesus is the beginning of the beginning, He also declares Himself as the beginning in the book of Revelation 1:11. He says He is Alpha and omega the BEGINNIG and the end.

So in just this one verse John 1:1, we see Jesus as the word (beginning) and as the son of God and as God.

More confirmation of Jesus as the word is in verse 14 of John 1. “The word became flesh", now we know that it is Jesus that came to be man amongst us. Definitely the word is Jesus. JESUS IS THE WORD.

JESUS THE LIFE AND LIGHT:

Verse 4: "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men".

When you receive Jesus you receive life everlasting. To receive is the same thing as accepting, so you accept and acknowledge Jesus as the Lord and saviour in your life then you receive eternal life.

John 3:16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life". Jesus declares himself as the bread of life in John 6:35 "I am the bread of life". Whatever spiritual needs you have Jesus is the bread of life, take Him and you soul shall never hunger. John 6:47-48 "I say to you, he who believes in me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life". He is making that statement about Himself, what more evidence we need to know that Jesus is the LIFE.

"And the life was light of men". In the book of Matthew 5:14 Jesus says: "you are the light of the world". Since you have received Him as the Lord in to your life, He becomes the bread of life and He brings light into your life. The Jesus that lives in you is seen through you. As He is light, you then become light. As He is life, you also possess life. He declares Himself as the light in John 8:12 "I am the light of the world". If you do not follow Him your life will be lost in Darkness. The other important picture of light in the Bible relates it to God’s Word: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). "Oh, send out your light and your truth! Let them lead me" (Psalm 43:3). Since Jesus is the Word (John 1:1), then it makes perfect sense that He is also the light.

JESUS DECLARES HIMSELF AS TO WHO HE IS:

John 10:9 "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture".

He is the gate of life; whoever enters through Him shall be saved. He is the only door to heaven.

John10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep".

The good shepherd lives and dies for the good of the sheep.

◦The good shepherd sacrifices for the sheep

◦The good shepherd knows his sheep

◦The good shepherd is known by the sheep

That is what Jesus came down and did for us. He sacrificed His life for us, He knows us and yes we know Him. Jesus is the Shepherd.

One thing that is important about the shepherd is that in ancient time was that they would lead the herd of his sheep, the sheep would follow him. Jesus is our protector, because He laid down His life for us. Indeed He is the good shepherd. In other words we must walk in His footsteps; we must obey what he says. The shepherd will lead his herd only to the green pastures; Jesus is leading to heaven where we will rejoice forever. Where we will not thirst nor slumber.

John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth no one comes to the father besides me".

He is the way to God. Jesus is the only way we can get access to God, He hang on the cross just to pave that way for us. So He is the way.

He is the truth because He did not contest the lies we can believe He is the truth; because He was willing to die He becomes the channel of resurrection - the life to us.

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:36 so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. The truth will set you free, and when the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed. Jesus is the truth and He will set you free from all the bondages of speaking lies and gossiping.

John 10:30 "I and my Father are one." Jesus makes an important statement, that. He and God are two separate persons yet one God, this clearly states that He is the son of God that forms part of the trinity of God. (John 10:36) "Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'?" Jesus is the son of God.

John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches."

Jesus is the vine, and as we are the branches we need to bear fruits. The fruits that we must bear should represent the nature of the vine. If the vine is the tree of life, then branches will produce life. We need to bring life and light to the world and produce the fruits of this vine that is Jesus that we are attached into. Jesus is the vine.

These are the statements that Jesus makes about Himself that identify Him to us.

WITNESSES ABOUT WHO JESUS IS:

We have four witnesses that testify about Jesus. The first one is John himself.

1: John gives his testimony in (John 1:29) "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!" Firstly, here Jesus is being greeted by His destiny that He is to take away the sins of the world. He is been reminded of the pain that He is yet to suffer in the end at the cross. There is a resemblance to what John is saying here and to what Jesus said in John 10:11. The shepherd and the Lamb of God has one thing in common, they both sacrifice their lives to save that of the sheep and the world respectively. For the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world, it must lay its life. So in other words as Jesus spoke of Himself as the shepherd, He was also identifying himself to the Lamb of God.

Testimony is based on what you have seen and on what you have experienced. John tells us how he knows who this Jesus is.

John 1:32-34 "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." John’s testimony is simply based on that.

2: Then Andrew testifies about Jesus John 1:41 "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). Andrew tells his brother about Jesus because he himself has heard what John said and he has spent time with Jesus (verse 40), so he has experienced something about Jesus. Jesus declares Himself as the Messiah to the Samaritan woman in John 4:26 "I am the Messiah".

3: Then Philip testifies about Jesus to Nathanael. John 1:45 "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Again, Philip’s testimony is based on his experience with Jesus (verse 42). It is impossible that you can have an encounter with Jesus and you remain the same.

4: Nathanael gives his testimony about Jesus. John 1:49 Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel." And again Nathanael gives his testimony based from the experience he had with Jesus (verse 47-48).

How much testimony does one need to truly get to know who Jesus is? I say this is enough testimony about Him. Your testimony about Jesus will be based on what He has done into your life; it will be determined by what happened to your life just after you received Him. How He has changed your life. These men’s testimonies are only based on that.

JESUS SHOWS HIMSELF THROUGH MIRACLES:

In John 2, He turns water into wine. This was His first miracle, and it made His disciples believe in Him. They were already convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, but this time their belief in Him was deepened.

The wine represents Joy in this miracle; there was no longer happiness at the wedding. But because they invited Jesus, he turned that dull situation into joy. He didn't do anything to turn water into wine, but he gave instruction and as they followed instruction water turned into wine. When you obey God's commands, you shall have joy peace and happiness in your life. Jesus brings Joy; Peace and Happiness.

The second miracle He performs was in John 4:50 where He heals the son of the King's officer. He just spoke the word and order him to go, his son will live. Again Jesus don't do anything, he doesn't touch him but give an order. Jesus is the healer.

John 6:11. Jesus feeds five Thousand people. The first thing about this miracle that transpires to me is that Jesus teaches us to share. He never had bread and fish with Him, but He took it from a young man who had come along with the many people that were there. Here Jesus demonstrated the giving character of God, the same character that we should have within us. Jesus is the provider, He will provide in time of hunger; when there is no food on your table, He will multiply your crop, but the little that you have you must share with those less privileged.

John 11. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. He revealed Himself as the resurrection; life. Just like he said in (John 11:25) “I am the resurrection and the life"

Oh how privileged are you that you got to know about this Jesus today, now it is up to you whether you receive and accept Him into your life today. Do not reject him, like they did in John 1:11. The reason the y did that was because they did not know Him. But you now know Him, so what is it going to be? But to those who received Him, the bible say in John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God".

Take Jesus today, and let Him be the Lord and saviour in your life. Let Him be the bread of life; let him be the Lamb that takes away your sins. Let Him raise you up from that death bed. Let Him calm the storms in your life, for even the wind listen to Him (Matthew 8:23-25). Nothing is impossible with Him!