Online Bible College DJC-001

Discovering Jesus

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Jesus and You
Jesus is the best known name in the world. Of all the names of political leaders,
religious icons, sporting heroes or movie stars, none has been polled as more fa-
mous than Jesus. In the minds of billions of people, both Christian and non-Chris-
tian, Jesus, quite simply, tops the charts.
But familiarity in itself does not guarantee a whole-hearted acceptance of Christ’s
claims. In fact, as Winifred Kirkland pointed out:
“Today the greatest single deterrent to knowledge of Jesus is his familiarity.
Because we think we know him, we pass him by.”1
More study has been conducted on the life of Jesus than on the life of any other
human being. The Gospel evidence has been placed under countless academic
microscopes, as scholars have sought to dissect the received record in order to
determine, in their minds, who Jesus really was. As Grant Jeffrey points out:
“While there are voluminous articles in the Encyclopedia Britannica about
Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Aristotle, and Plato, the amount
of historical material and analysis about the teachings of Jesus far exceeds
the attention given to any other individual in the history of man.”2
The question “Who is Jesus?” is not, however, purely an academic one. For if the
New Testament description of Jesus is correct, then each person’s eternal des-
tiny hangs on how he or she answers this question.
DISCOVERING JESUS COURSE
Copyright © 2001, The Online Bible College.

Read Acts 4:12

In this declaration, made by one of Jesus’ own disciples, we discover a challenge
that is ignored at one’s own peril. Peter proclaims:
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven
given to men by which we must be saved.”
The New Testament epistles (which are the record of the teachings of Jesus’ dis-
ciples), reverberate with the recurring theme of salvation through Jesus alone.
For example, 1 John 5:12 declares:
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 Online Bible College DJC-001

“He who has [Jesus] has life; he who does not have [Jesus] does not have life.”
You cannot get any more black-and-white than that. And if this statement really
is true, then it is important for every person to understand and know exactly who
Jesus is and why our acceptance or rejection of him has eternal consequences.
Read Matthew 16:13-17
At this point in Jesus’ ministry, he was already well known. In fact, his name was
on the lips of almost everyone in Judea and Galilee. The crowds constantly fol-
lowed him, so much so that he could rarely find time alone with his disiciples. But
it was during one of those rare moments of solitude that Jesus asked his disciples
an important question:
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
Their answers reflected the controversy and indecision at the time. Most people
recognized that Jesus was prophet of some kind, possibly even an ancient prophet
returned to life: Elijah or Jeremiah or (more recently) John the Baptist. They
knew that Jesus was unmistakably special; they just didn’t know in what way.
Even today, if Jesus asked us the same question – “Who do people say that I
am?” – the answers would be just as various. Some might say:
 A good teacher
 A moral example
 A rejected prophet
 A misunderstood martyr
But after asking the question – “Who do people say that I am?” – Jesus would
undoubtedly follow it up with a second and more important question:
“But what about you?...Who do you say I am?”
In Matthew 16:16, Peter answered without hesitation. Could you do the same?
And to your answer, would Jesus then reply:
“Blessed are you...for this was not revealed to you by man [or by scholarly
study], but by my Father in heaven.”
No amount of academic study will answer the fundamental question, “Who is
Jesus?” But as we read what the Gospel record has to say about Jesus, God’s
DISCOVERING JESUS COURSE

Spirit can indeed reveal what cannot be revealed by human intellectual endeavor.
Copyright © 2001, The Online Bible College.

Our prayer is that, as you study the 365 lessons of this course, you will indeed
discover for yourself who Jesus really is and what he means for your life.

1
Winifred Kirkland, quoted by Grant R Jeffrey, Jesus: The Great Debate (Toronto, Ontario: Frontier Research Publica-
tions, 1999), p.260.
2
Grant R Jeffrey, Jesus: The Great Debate (Toronto, Ontario: Frontier Research Publications, 1999), p.259.
Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations from the Bible are from the New International Version, copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
The Online Bible College can be accessed at www.online-bible-college.com

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