Bible Basics: Knowing GodSample

Jesus the Christ

By Lené Jonck

Jesus is the most influential person in the history of the world, and knowledge of Him is the most important pursuit of our lives.

Countless events recorded in the Old Testament point to the coming of Jesus. God’s people were waiting for a promised Messiah from David’s family, who they hoped would free them from Roman oppression through military power. Instead, the Son of God came as a humble servant born in an animal stall.

The opening passage of John’s Gospel gives us a beautiful depiction of how Jesus existed with His Father in eternity past. He created the world we know and then came to inhabit that world, to be with us, the people He’d made too, and to show us what His Father was like. Perhaps we don’t often think of the God of the Old Testament as possessing the exact same character qualities as Jesus, whom we meet in the New Testament, and yet they’re one and the same.

John also paints a vivid picture of how Jesus became flesh. He became like one of us to show us the Father’s heart in a way we could understand. Jesus identified with our weaknesses and suffering, and He showed us what humanity was always supposed to be. Also, because Jesus was fully human, He felt every nail that pierced His flesh on the cross. Of course, He could’ve commanded a thousand angels to deliver Him, but He didn’t, because of His great love for us.

In Genesis, we read the story of God making a covenant with Abraham. Astonishingly, God makes it clear that He will pay the price for Abraham, if Abraham breaks the covenant with God. This event foreshadows what God would ultimately do for us, through Jesus. For centuries, God’s people had to offer animal sacrifices for their sins in order to enter God’s holy presence in the temple and have fellowship with Him, but Jesus changed all that by becoming the ultimate sacrifice for all of humanity, for all time.

Not only is Jesus the sacrifice for our sins, He’s also the King of our lives, on a mission to establish His Kingdom on Earth. He’s calling us to surrender to Him completely, and to partner with Him, the perfect King who rules with justice and love. He is inviting you into His Kingdom-building work, right where He has placed you. Take time to submit every part of your life to Him, the way Jesus submitted to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, saying, ‘Not my will, but Yours be done.’ Be assured that when you encounter Jesus, everything in your life will change. He is the answer to every longing of your heart, and following Him will be the best decision you’ll ever make.