John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
So far we have explored two parts of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit and God the Father. Today we take a look at the most publicized portion of the Trinity, Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
It is important to make a distinction here that is similar to a distinction made when we examined the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not come into being when he was born and entered the scene here on earth. Jesus is an everlasting, eternal being that exsisted before time. His birth in human form only marked his arrival as Son of Man, not his "creation".
How do we know that Jesus was around in the times before his birth? Let us take a look at a vital pieve of scripture that teaches us this truth:
John 1
The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
Although the name of Jesus is never directly referenced in this excerpt, a quick referenc of the remainng story about John the Baptist (or Baptiser)reveals that when verse 7 says he came as a witness to testify concerning the light. When we study the teachings of John the Baptist, it becomes clear that the light was Jesus Christ. John was sent by God as a preperation for Isreal. His job was to draw attention to the need for people to repent and to make them ready to receive the teachings of Emanuel--which means God with us.
Notice how John refers to Jesus in the opening of this chapter. In the beginning was the Word, the Word here refers to Jesus Christ. The Word was with God, so at the beginning of time who was with the Godhead? Jesus. Then notice the next part of John's statement, and the Word was God. Here is a powerful statement proclaiming the existance of the Trinity and of Jesus Christ as deity.
Jesus, the Word, was with God which proclaims already that the Godhead and Jesus are two seperate persons, but in the same breath John acknowledges the power, authority and deity of Christ by saying that the Word was God. We will discuss this idea of Three persons forming one God more indepth tomorrow in our final day of studying the Trinity.
Once the deity of Christ is established, we must then look at the roles Christ plays. During Jesus' time on earth he acted as a teacher, he exhibited great compassion, he was prayful, and in the end he was a sacrifice for you and me. Let us not forget though that the story does not end with the cross and the grave, if it did then Jesus would only ne a prophet, it was his deity, his power, his resurection that made him the bringer of our salvation.
Let us focus on this sacrificial spirit of Jesus, because the cross was not the only demonstration of this nature. When long hours passed by and Jesus was tired as he certainly must have been, he still taught, he still healed, he still loved. When it would have been easier to turn a blind eye, Jesus gave of himself, not most of the time, not some of the time, all of the time!
Make no mistake either, Jesus was fully human. There is never a more clear example of this that in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus prays to God a very human prayer with a very Godly twist. He says to the Father, if it is possible, let this cup (dying on the cross) pass from me. How human of Jesus, I don't want to die is what he was saying, I don't want to go through the pain, please Dad, give me another way.
Then the God in him shines through, but not my will but your (God's)will be done. If there is no other way to save them though Father, if it takes my blood to save those that have broken your law. If it saves those that will not appreciate the pain of the whip, if it will spare those that drive the nails into my hands and feet, if it gives hope to those that spat in my face and beat me, then I will let them nail me to the tree, I will let them push entwined thorns upon my head, I will die a criminals death even though the devil himself could not tempt me in the desert, even though I have never done a single thing wrong, never cussed, never had an evil thought.
Jesus is compassion, Jesus is love! Jesus never gives up on us, even when we nailed him to the cross!
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