Who is Jesus? by Caleb Olayiwola - HTML preview

1. Introduction

We have all heard the story of a young man that came to earth many centuries ago. He was not like every other men as his birth and his death were full of mysteries that has never been seen in the history of mankind.

As recorded, he was born into one of the tribe of Israel called Judah, to a family of a man named Joseph. Scripture told us that he had a wife called Mary, who, according to the story, was a virgin.

One glorious day, an angel of God appeared unto this virgin woman and told her that she’ll give birth to a male child, that she should name him JESUS. We all know the story.

It’s an unusual story we’ve all grown up to hear either in our schools or in our churches. A virgin giving birth to a boy. But this was just a tip of an iceberg when we take a deep look into the life of the boy whom the angel announced his arrival before he was born.

He was not the first man that an angel will proclaim his arrival in the scripture - we have Isaac, Samson, and John [The Baptist], who also had their births announced by angels before they were born.

However, these men weren’t begotten by virgin women. As a matter of fact, the mother of Isaac, Samson, and John were barren before they were able to conceive. These women gave birth in their old age, but that cannot be said about Mary.

The angel that delivered the good news was even mentioned, he was not an anonymous, but was the same Angel Gabriel that announced the birth of John [The Baptist]. Was that a coincidence?

John and Jesus were born in the same year, and their birth were announced by the same Angel. But these happened in different cities, one in Nazareth of Galilee and the other in Bethlehem of Judea.

It was not until Jesus grew up that he was able to meet John [The Baptist] and his disciples, according to the scripture. But the ministry of John differs from the ministry of Jesus; one was to prepare the way for the arrival of the other.

These happened in the two most populous cities in Israel, Galilee and Judea. Not until it was time for Jesus to fulfil the scripture and be who God wants him to be did he met John [The Baptist]. But John only appeared few times in the whole story when we look at the life of Jesus.

During his time when he was on earth, Jesus was a man like every other man, but his works and the prophecy spoken concerning him proved him to be much more than just an ordinary man.

Although he wore cloths, eat, walk, sweat, poop like all men does, his testimonies, his wisdom, and his revelation were beyond that of ordinary men.

His mother was aware of course, because it was revealed unto her what sort of child she would conceived and what the child would grow up to be.

However, apart from his father and mother who received the information from Angel Gabriel, other men (near and far) were unaware of who Jesus was. Mary kept this information as a secret in her heart… she does not reveal it to anyone, not even to any of her relatives (Luke 2 vs 51 - 52).

Of course, who would believe her story? It was a strange and an unusual thing, something that has never happened since God created the heaven and the earth.

If such event repeat itself, would you believe if you are told?

I couldn’t but wonder what gave the family (Mary and Joseph) the strength to raise a child like that to the age of maturity. They were normal people handpicked by God to raise an extraordinary child; that in itself was a task that many were not qualified for.

God choose only those who are qualified for his tasks and I believe God will never make a mistake when it comes to choosing the right people for his assignment.

There were other kids in Judea that Jesus grew up with, but the scripture didn’t reveal any of that. The scripture is indeed focused on JESUS - he is the main character of the entire new testament, others were merely contributors, partakers, and narrators to his story and to his history.

Our main focus as believers should be JESUS CHRIST. Nothing else matters.

A lot have been said about him even before his arrival. He was not just a man that suddenly appeared (popped) out of nowhere. God has passed the information about him to his prophets thousands of years before he was born.

The whole Israel had been waiting for him before he was given birth to, although not the way they expected.

The Pharisees doubted his identity. The Sadducees doubted his theory. The chief priests and high priest became his mortal enemy. The scribes questioned his words. In a world full of envy, bitterness, and disbelief, he remained consistent with his word and does not deviate from his purpose.

He was not loved by all and was rejected by many, simply because he did not reveal how mighty he his as a God in the flesh. Simply because he did not reveal his prowess as the son. Jesus had everything he needed to reveal himself as the son in a simpler way, but that was not the path that was chosen for him.

He revealed himself as a prophet, but not as a king. There are lots to learn about this man (God), which I will dive into in the next part of this book.