"And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." John 20:30-31.
In our previous article, we discussed who Jesus Christ is to you. I think we will be staying on this subject for a little while. It is important to know Jesus not just intellectually but also personally.
Maybe you have heard about Him from the perspective of religious people, or maybe from those who think He is just a myth. It is however of utter importance that you will know Him from those who saw Him, touched Him, and spent years with Him when He was here on earth.
As the beloved Apostle John wrote, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us; That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full." 1 John 1:1–4.
I find it very important to study this subject because knowing who Jesus is, as the Scriptures reveal, will secure the foundation of our faith which brings us to our salvation.
The Apostle Paul told Timothy about that, "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 3:15.
Going back to John 20:30-31, we understand that the purpose of the Apostle John in writing his book is to introduce to us the Lord Jesus Christ.
He said that there are many things He did in the presence of His disciples which are not written in his book, but what he has written is more than enough for us to know who Jesus is and if we believe in Him we will have eternal life.
That is why I encourage you to read the Book of John so that you will find out for yourself what the Scripture says about who Jesus Christ really is.
In John chapter 5, the Jews were questioning our Lord Jesus Christ when He healed a man who was sick for 38 years. They were seeking to kill Him because they said that He broke the Sabbath and was claiming to be equal with God.
Here’s what He said, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." John 5:39-40 (ISV).
It is sad that these religious Jews were searching and studying the Scriptures and trying to obey what it said, but they did not understand that the Scriptures were talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah.
Isn’t it true that even today, people are reading the Bible and studying it but have never trusted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord?
If you commit to reading the Book of John with the goal of knowing Jesus Christ, you will certainly know Him and find salvation in Him. If you start with John chapter one, the Apostle John introduced the Lord Jesus Christ as the Word — He was with God and the Word was God. Then John said in verse 14 that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us as the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John was saying that Jesus became a man, "the Word became flesh." This means that Jesus pre-existed before He was born to become a man. He was the Word and was with God and He Himself is God before He became a man.
The Apostle Paul also testified, "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." 1 Timothy 3:16. The Lord Jesus also said to the Jews, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am." John 8:58.
John 1:3, "He created all things, and without Him was anything made that was made." John said that Jesus Christ is Creator and not just a creation of God. He is life, as he claimed in John 14:6 that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the Light of the world as he claimed in John 8:12 that He is and those who follow Him will not walk in darkness.
The sad thing is, "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not." John 1:10-11. He was rejected by the world and even by the people He has chosen, the Jews, who are supposed to carry His name to all the world.
The prophet Isaiah prophesied this, "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:3-6.
But the good news is, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:12-13.
Friends, I encourage you to read and study the Book of John, as we are informed by the Apostle John that he wrote his book in order for us to know who Jesus Christ is. And if you know Him personally as you search the Scriptures, not just because I told you so or because you heard it from others about what they think about Jesus Christ, and you truly believe in your heart that He is the only Savior, you will surely have eternal life.
If you read the book of John and come across chapter 4 about the woman at the well, you will read what the people of Samaria said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world." John 4:42.
Who is Jesus Christ to you? You will have the right answer if you read and study the Scriptures, particularly, the book of John. God bless you.
Pastor Pedro Etabag is the regional director of Lifeword-Asia Pacific and senior pastor of Tangub Missionary Baptist Church in Bacolod City.