Who is Jesus, really?: Understanding the Messiah through the Lens of Scripture

Jesus: Born King of the Jews

At the edge of the Roman Empire, in the far-flung province of Judea, during a census given by Caesar, a young woman gave birth to a child (Luke 2:1, 6–7). A child being born during a Roman census was ordinary. Shepherds receiving an angelic announcement of “good news of great joy” was anything but ordinary (Luke 2:10–13, ESV). And yet, on a hillside near the town of Bethlehem in Judea, angels announced the birth of a small boy, Jesus, and declared that he is “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11, NASB1995). 

To modern readers, Savior, Christ, and Lord may sound like familiar religious titles. To those Jewish shepherds, however, they carried enormous significance. The province of Judea was primarily Jewish, made up of men and women who followed the Law of God (called the Torah) and who were descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (the book of Genesis tells their stories). Jesus came from a member of this group of people (Matthew 1:1–17) and was raised in a faithful Jewish home (e.g., Luke 2:21–38).

At this time, Jews were expecting God to send them a savior. They were currently occupied by Rome, and they expected God to send someone who would set them free. 

The Old Testament is full of references to the fact that a leader was coming to shepherd Israel (Micah 5:2), one who would be just like David (Ezekiel 34:23–24), the great King of Israel to whom all other kings are compared. This leader would be a king who would sit on David’s throne (Isaiah 9:7). 

The Jews believed this leader would also speak the words of God and connected him to Moses’s prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:15—that God would raise up a prophet like Moses. Psalm 110 speaks of how God would make the King of Israel like a priest over his people. 

These three roles—king, prophet, and priest—all were identified by anointing the head of a person with oil (1 Samuel 16:13; 1 Kings 19:16; Exodus 28:41). The Hebrew verb to anoint is mashach (Strong’s #H4886), from which the word Messiah or “the Anointed One” comes. “The Anointed One” is Christ in Greek. 

When the angels say that “Christ” has been born, it is a declaration that the long-expected King, Prophet, and Priest has come. He would be Lord because he would rule on David’s throne. He would be the Savior because he would function as a priest for his people. This is why angels sing his praises and why wise men sought him out to give him homage (Matthew 2:2, 11).

But how can we know that Jesus really was the promised Messiah?

CTA: LM- Gospel According to Scripture

Jesus: Fulfillment of Prophecy

Matthew, an author of one of the Gospels, wanted to prove to his readers that Jesus is the Messiah. He repeatedly introduces events in Jesus’ life with statements like, “This took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet” (e.g., Matthew 1:22, ESV). 

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which is a fulfillment of Micah 5:2 (Matthew 2:1). Matthew points to Jesus’ virgin birth as the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 (Matthew 1:22–23). Jesus could not manufacture the conditions of his birth, and yet, he fulfilled prophecy just by being born. 

His life was also marked by the fulfillment of prophecies. He taught in Galilee (Matthew 4:13–16; Isaiah 9:1–2). He spoke in parables (Matthew 13:34–35; Psalm 78:2). He worked miracles, like healing the sick and driving out demons (Matthew 8:16–17; Isaiah 53:4).

Even the circumstances surrounding his death followed prophecy! He was rejected by the people (Matthew 21:42; Psalm 118:22–23), betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Matthew 27:9–10; Zechariah 11:12–13), and his garments were divided (Matthew 27:35; Psalm 22:18). Matthew presents these events not as coincidences but as evidence that Jesus’ life unfolded according to God’s plan revealed in Scripture.

This is just a sampling of the times Jesus fulfilled prophecy, from one book, often explicitly tied to a fulfillment. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus explicitly and implicitly fulfilled what was required of the Messiah and did God’s will. 

But if it’s so clear that he was the Messiah, why did people not believe him?

Jesus: The Misunderstood Messiah

We have talked about Jesus’ birth and the prophecies he fulfilled, but to know who Jesus really was, we need to look at his ministry. The Jews—who remembered how the Maccabees had thrown off foreign rule—were expecting a savior to come in and drive the Romans out and give them back their homeland. But instead, Jesus taught the people that there is a Kingdom coming, the Kingdom of God (Luke 4:43). 

In this Kingdom, everything will be turned upside down. The greatest are least, and the least are the greatest (Luke 9:48). The first are last, and the last are first (Luke 13:30). Those who desire to rule must become a servant to all (Mark 10:44–45). The Kingdom of God is the good news that God is going to set everything right. 

Jesus’ teaching prepared his followers to live as citizens of God’s coming Kingdom in their everyday life. He also reminded them, and us, that if they follow him, he will welcome them into his coming Kingdom as faithful citizens (Matthew 25:21).

Jesus taught that God cares about the poor and the oppressed and that his message is intended for them because they need his good news (Luke 4:16–21). Jesus came to call “sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32, NIV). God is seeking people to worship him in Spirit and truth (John 4:23), not just the powerful and the rich or the insiders. In fact, Jesus came to draw all people to himself (John 12:32).

Jesus demonstrated his message that God is on the side of the broken, poor, and oppressed by healing the sick (Matthew 12:9–14), casting out demons (Matthew 12:22–24), performing miracles like raising the dead man Lazarus back to life (John 11), and offering forgiveness (Luke 7:48–50). The Bible is clear that Jesus not only taught profound truths but did amazing miracles with the power of God (John 2:11)! Almost every time Jesus did a miracle, the crowds were amazed and praised God (Matthew 9:8)!

However, not everyone was pleased. Jesus called out the religious leaders, Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes, because they did not follow God fully and did not love the people they taught. Throughout his ministry, the religious leaders were upset at his healing, casting out demons, performing miracles, and offering forgiveness. They plotted for Jesus to die. And Jesus, though he had done nothing wrong, died by the horrible process known as crucifixion (Mark 15). 

CTA: LM- Gospel According to Scripture OR Disciple Collective Kingdom Course

Jesus: The Sacrifice for Sin

Death isn’t the end of the story. 

Jesus was not simply the victim of political intrigue, nor did he die as a heroic martyr for a noble cause. Jesus knew, for quite some time, that his ministry would end in his sacrificial death. In fact, Luke 9:51 (ESV) reads, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Jesus knew he was going to die; Jesus chose to die (John 10:17-18). 

We are told that Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience to God without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Therefore, he was like a lamb, “without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:19, NIV) and could be a sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 7:27). 

Sin—or disobedience to God—enslaves us when we live in it (John 8:34). Jesus called his death a ransom (Mark 10:45), as it buys those who trust in him out of slavery to sin (Romans 6:18). Moreover, his death cleanses us from sin (1 John 1:7), and we are able to be right with God. This is all because Jesus took our punishment and gave us his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Who Do You Say That He Is? 

We have seen that Jesus was born to a Jewish family, fulfilling prophecies about the Jewish Messiah. He did amazing teachings and miracles to prove that what he taught was true and that the Kingdom of God is good news—that we will be with God one day. We also recognized that many will deny him, either passively refusing to believe his claims or actively hating the truth of God because it runs counter to their beliefs and ideas. 

The question for you to answer is: What do you make of this Jesus? Is he a fraud and a liar? Is he a good moral teacher, no less but no more?

Or will you say, along with Peter and the church and those who have experienced the life of this risen savior, that Jesus “is the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16, NASB1995)? 

According to the testimony of Scripture, that is exactly who Jesus is, really.