Who is Jesus?

Learn about Jesus through the Testimony of Others in the Bible

Who is Jesus? C. S. Lewis attempted to answer this question when he popularized a trilemma (a dilemma with 50 percent more content) about Jesus.

He argued that Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. If you’ve read many of my posts, you know that I pick the third option.

Jesus is Lord. Jesus is my Lord.

Of course others deride Jesus, calling him a charlatan or a crazy man. And other people have other characterizations of Jesus too. But let’s set all these perspectives aside and look at what the Bible provides as an answer to the question, “Who is Jesus?”

We’ll start and end with what father God says about his only Son, but we’ll also consider many other biblical voices as well. This list isn’t extensive, but it is what I could quickly come up with.

Interestingly, I found the most input from my outspoken namesake, the disciple Peter. (These are all taken from the NIV.)

Who Is Jesus?

• “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” -God, Luke 3:22
• “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” -Peter, Luke 9:19
• “the Son of God” -religious leaders (incredulously), Luke 22:70
• “the King of the Jews” -Pilate (questioningly), Luke 23:3
• “a righteous man” -the Centurion (confidently), Luke 23:47
• “God’s Messiah,” -Peter, Luke 9:20
• A man who has “done nothing wrong” –the criminal on the cross, Luke 23:41
• “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” -Peter, Matthew 16:16
• Jesus is “a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people,” -the pair on the road to Emmaus, Luke 24:19
• “My Lord and my God!” -Thomas, John 20:28
• “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher) -Mary Magdalene, John 20:16
• “Rabbi” -Peter, Mark 11:21, along with many others, including Judas who eventually betrays him
• “the Son of God; you are the king of Israel” -Nathanael, John 1:47
• “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” -God, Matthew 17:5

So Then, Who is Jesus?

Putting these together gives us a composite understanding of who Jesus is and how we can relate to him. Most importantly, we can focus on God’s own testimony: Jesus is the Son of God and we should listen to him.

May we do exactly that.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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