I.  Who Is Jesus? In John 1:1-3 we are introduced to Jesus by the apostle John. In John20:30-31 he says, “Many other signs Jesus also performed... which are not written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” John is saying, I want you to SEE what I saw... His gospel begins with who Jesus is.

    A. The Word: "in the beginning was the Word..." - John 1:1

         1. Meaning: "a thought or concept"

         2. Or: "the expression or utterance of that thought"

         3. Communication, expression, and understanding come thru WORDS

              a. Jesus is the exact representation of God AND He is the expression of WHO GOD IS.

              b. In John 1:18 it says Jesus has explained God. The word “explained” means "to bring out, declare thoroughly." When we see Jesus we see God. In Jesus God is explained thoroughly.

    B. The Creator: "all things came into being by Him" - John 1:3

         1. He created all things

         2. He was NOT created. He is eternal God

    C. God: "and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" - John 1:1

         1. Reaction of Those Around:

              a. People like Nicodemus, Thomas, Philip, and Nathanael all came in contact with Jesus and were touched by His life and teachings. How did they respond to Him? What did they say about who He was?

              b. In John 1:6-8 John the baptist was a witness to who Jesus was, that He was the Messiah the Jews were awaiting and of whom the prophets spoke.

              c.  In 1 John 1:1-2 the apostles were witnesses of who Jesus was. They proclaimed His deity to the world.

              d. In John 1:43-50 Nathanael confesses about Jesus, "You are the Son of God!"

              e. In John 5:30-40 Jesus explains to the religious leaders of the day the evidence of who He is and cites the witness of

                   (1)  John the baptist

                   (2)  The miracles and good works He has performed

                   (3)  God Himself in the power demonstrated in Jesus, and

                   (4)  The Scriptures which tell of the coming of Jesus and what would accompany His appearance.

              f.  The general population reacted to Jesus in John 6:14-15 by describing Him as “The Prophet” and wanted to make a king.

         2. Jesus' Claims: Not only did many of the people regard Him as the Son of God but He also claimed to be the anointed One from God and to be equal with God.

              a. In John 4:25-26 Jesus says to the woman at the well that He is the “Messiah” (or the “Christ,” the One the Jews were expecting to be the Savior).

              b. In John 5:16-18 Jesus calls God His Father, making Himself equal with God. Those in opposition to Jesus recognized His claim to equality with God.

              c.  In John 5:21-23 Jesus claims equality with God in giving life and even having a role that the Father does not have in judging the world. He states He deserves the same honor that God deserves.

              d. In John 8:24,28,58-59 they wanted to kill Jesus because He claimed equality with God by describing Himself as “I Am,” the same way God described Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14.

              e. In John 10:30-33 Jesus simply says, “I and the Father are one”

         3. Worship of Jesus: In John 9:35-39 a man that is healed from blindness falls down and worships Jesus. Jesus Himself made the statement that God alone should be worshiped yet accepts worship from this man thus making Himself equal with God.

    D. Conclusion: There is no doubt, Jesus CLAIMED to be God. His enemies recognized His claim and His followers honored Him as God and describe Him as God.

    E. There Are Three Options

         1. Was He a liar? One option is that Jesus pretended to be someone He was not. He lied about His origin, His mission, and who He was and attempted to make everyone believe God had sent Him to change the world. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day accused Him of this in John 8:13.

         2. Was He crazy? Another option is that He was crazy and truly believed He was the Son of God but really was not. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day also accused Him of this in John 8:48.

         3. Was He the Son of God? He claimed to be the Son of God. He claimed to come from God. He claimed to be the Savior of the world. He claimed equality with God. Is it true?

II. Why I Believe Jesus Is the Lord, The Son of God

    A. Prophecies of Jesus

         1. In John 5:39-40 it says the Scriptures are a witness to Him. Certainly we can examine all that the Scriptures say about who the “Messiah” was to be and do, etc. and determine if Jesus fulfills these... He does.

         2. In Micah 5:2 it says the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem of Judah. This is quite amazing since this town had a population of less than 1000 at the time of Christ. In John 7:41-42 it is seen that Jesus is from the town of Bethlehem.

         3. Jesus’ betrayal was prophesied in Zechariah 11:11-13; Psalm 41; and Jeremiah 32:6-15 the exact fulfillment of the betrayal is recorded in Matthew 27:3-10. Was it coincidence? He was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver by His friend, these pieces were cast to the floor of the temple and used to buy the potters field... all precisely according to prophecy.

         4. There are 60 major prophecies (with approximately 300 ramifications) concerning items such as His lineage, His birth, His ministry, His betrayal, and His death. There is no way it was all coincidental. It could not have happened by chance.

         5. Was it planned by Jesus? Certainly He could not have planned where He was born or the events surrounding His death and betrayal which were out of His control. He could not have planned to fulfill all of these prophecies.

    B. The Miracles of Jesus (His works proved who He was):

         1. Jesus turned water into wine (John 2:11) to “manifest His glory.”

         2. In John 2:23 it says many were believing as they were “beholding His signs.”

         3. The multitude saw what Jesus did and asked, “When the Christ shall come, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?” (John 7:31).

         4. The people understood that Jesus’ miracles were from God, not Satan, for they said, “A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?” (John 10:20-21).

         5. Those who saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead believed in Him because of the miracle (John 11:45).

         6. Even His enemies did not deny the fact that He performed miracles: John 9:19 and Matthew 12:22-24.

         7. John himself makes the statement in John 1:14, “We beheld His GLORY...” He saw the miracles and understood who Jesus was because of those miracles... the Son of God (see again John 20:30-31).

         8. These miracles He could not have “faked” or pulled off by some slight of hand. These people were lame from birth, blind, and had withered limbs and were made well instantly. People were raised from the dead, in Lazarus’ case he was dead for days before Jesus raised him. These miracles could not be staged and the people knew it.

    C. “Never Did a Man Speak Like This Man”

         1. On one occasion the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest Jesus and bring Him to them. The officers respond that they could not arrest Him because “never did a man speak like this man” (John 7:46). He had words that changed lives.

         2. Those in Samaria believed that Jesus was the “Savior of the world” based upon His words (John 4:41-42).

         3. The sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7) is a collection of teachings that shows unsurpassed wisdom, authority, grace, and truth.

         4. When Jesus asked the apostles if they wanted to go away from Him they responded, “To whom shall we go, you have the words of life!” (John 6:68).

         5. Jesus’ words are godly words– teaching us about true life that only God can give. Hebrews 1:1-3

              a. Jesus is the "radiance" of God’s glory. This word does not refer to reflection (as the moon is the reflection of the light of the sun) but is an indication that we see God directly through the life of Jesus.

              b. Jesus is the "exact representation" of God’s nature. This word implies imitation. Jesus shows us who God is through His words, His actions, His life, and His death.

III.     Conclusion

    A. Was Jesus a liar? It would have been impossible for Him to fulfill all of the prophecies that pointed to Him, certainly not those regarding His birth, betrayal, and death (which were out of His control). He could not have possibly performed the miracles unless He was from God.

    B. Was Jesus simply crazy? Again, He could not have fulfilled all of the prophecies concerning the Christ unless He was from God. He also could not have performed the miracles He did unless He was from God. If He were merely crazy, how do we account for the wisdom and grace found in His teachings?

    C. Was Jesus the Son of God? I believe there is no other logical choice except to say Jesus is the Son of God. The prophecies point to Him as the One from God. The miracles prove He is who He claimed to be. His teachings prove His authority and display wisdom from God.

    D. What will you do with this? Think again about the words from John: “...these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31).