"Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, 'Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.'" John 7:28-29

� "I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." John 5:36-39

In this passage Jesus was speaking to the Jewish Priests who had questioned Him because He performed a miracle on the Sabbath. They considered this to be a sin according to the laws of Moses, but Jesus pointed out that His father (God) was doing His work even to that day, and so Jesus was doing God's work on that day. Then Jesus explained to them that the very scriptures they referred to in condemning Him, were also the scriptures that testified to who He really was (see "Prophecies Fulfilled"), but they refused to believe this fact, which in itself fulfilled other prophecies ( , ).

The Bible spoke of the Messiah countless times throughout the Old Testament, hundreds of years before Jesus was born, and yet He fulfilled these prophecies, confirming without a doubt that He was who He said He was.

� "The woman said, 'I know that Messiah' (called Christ) 'is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.'
� Then Jesus declared, 'I who speak to you am he.'" John 4:25-26

Jesus made no secret of His identity when He spoke to this Samaritan woman and plainly stated that He was the Messiah, whose coming was foretold centuries before. Interestingly, due to the prejudices of the time, Jesus should not have even been speaking to a Samaritan. Jews and Samaritans simply did not associate with each other in those days, but this minor detail attests to the fact that Jesus' character was completely different than anyone else at the time, or since. He loved and forgave the sins of all people, and He was never swayed by public sentiment. He was in the world, but He was not of the world, and nothing explained the reason for this uniqueness better than when He actually described Himself as the 'Son of God'. But to the Jewish leaders this meant that He was saying He was God's equivalent, and since they did not believe Him they considered this to be blasphemy.

� "Jesus answered them, 'Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods?' If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came--and the Scripture cannot be broken-- what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.' Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp." John 10:34-39

� "The high priest said to him, 'I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.'
� 'Yes, it is as you say,' Jesus replied. 'But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.'" Matthew 26:63b-64

� "They all asked, 'Are you then the Son of God?'
� He replied, 'You are right in saying I am.'" Luke 22:70

The prophecies regarding the Messiah's coming were twofold ( ).

First - He was to be uniquely born without sin, in order to:

• Complete the laws of Moses
• Fulfill the prophecies
• Die as a perfect sacrifice for mankind's salvation from sin
• Rise on the third day to prove His divinity and to conquer death

Second - He is to come again in great glory, to:

• Defeat Satan and remove him from the world
• Claim King David's throne
• Sit as Judge over mankind's judgement
• Rule over the world in peace for 1000 years

The Jewish leaders refused to see, or understand, the duel roles of the Messiah. They were awaiting a Messiah that would arrive as a conqueror, someone who would fulfill all of the prophecies at once, and deliver them from the Roman occupation and oppression of the day. They certainly did not expect a simple carpenter's son, such as Jesus, to be born into a poor family, walk around performing miracles and teaching people how to love their enemies, blaspheming against God, and ultimately being persecuted and crucified. And regardless of all the evidence in Jesus favor, they closed their eyes and ears to the truth. They looked for any possible excuse to explain how He was capable of performing such signs and wonders.

� "The Jews answered him, 'Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?'
� 'I am not possessed by a demon,' said Jesus, 'but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.'
� At this the Jews exclaimed, 'Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?'
� Jesus replied, 'If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.'
� 'You are not yet fifty years old,' the Jews said to him, 'and you have seen Abraham!'
� 'I tell you the truth,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I am!' At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds." John 8:42-59

Jesus answered their question in a strange way when He said, 'I am.' He was either using very poor grammar, or He meant what He was saying in another way, a very profound way.

When God told Moses to go to the Pharaoh of Egypt and free the Israelites from captivity Moses said, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?' And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " This then is the very name of God, and it became the Jews most Holy name for God. It was so Holy in fact that the Jewish people never even wrote the name out completely, they would only write the consonants and not the vowels, 'YHWH' (YAHWEH). Jesus claimed the very name of God for Himself, and to the Jews this was the highest form of blasphemy. But Jesus not only claimed to be God in human form, He also claimed to be the ruler that the Jews were waiting for. He claimed to be their King.

� "So Pilate asked Jesus, 'Are you the king of the Jews?'
� 'Yes, it is as you say,' Jesus replied." Luke 23:3

� "Jesus said, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.'
� 'You are a king, then!' said Pilate.
� Jesus answered, 'You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.'" John 18:36-37

When Jesus gave this reply Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man." Being a threat to the Jews was not necessarily a threat to the Romans, and it was certainly not a crime. But the Jews would not be satisfied until Jesus was condemned, but in order to achieve His condemnation they would have to find a way to judge Him falsely.

� "Jesus answered, 'Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.'" John 8:14-18

The Jewish priests and people eventually had their way, and Jesus was ultimately killed, even though He had committed no crime. His own people chose not to believe in who He said He was, or where He said He came from.

� "But he continued, 'You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.'
� 'Who are you?' they asked.
� 'Just what I have been claiming all along,' Jesus replied. 'I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.'
� They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. So Jesus said, 'When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.' Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him." John 8:23-30

Jesus made it very clear that He was the promised King of the Jews, the Messiah that had been prophesied to come, and the very Son of God, but He also referred to Himself in some other interesting ways...

� "Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.'" John 6:35-40

After the Pharaoh released the Israelites from captivity in Egypt they roamed the desert for forty years before their descendants were allowed to enter the Promised Land. During that time food was scarce in the desert and the people grumbled to God that they would starve. So God sent manna down from Heaven to feed them, and manna was like bread, but even though the Israelites had the bread from Heaven they still ultimately died. Jesus called Himself the 'bread of life' for He too was sent down from Heaven to feed the starving, but then He said, "here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die." He said that this bread is His flesh, which He gave for the life of the world. He spoke this way knowing that the Jewish people would understand the correlation between the manna (the bread that would only sustain life) and Himself (the bread that would provide everlasting life). But it fell upon deaf ears.

� "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" John 8:12

� "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'
� 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.'" John 9:1-5

The term 'light' is used frequently throughout the Bible, many times to illustrate a particular point. Criminals work under cover of darkness; rodents and other pests scurry around and do their work in the darkness. Flip on a light switch when cockroaches are in a room and you will see them quickly scurry back into dark shadows. Criminals and pests do not want to be seen; they do not want their true identity to be shown. But light uncovers things that are hidden, and it makes all that it touches visible. It is difficult to hide the truth in the light; flaws and filth can be clearly seen and recognized for what they truly are. Jesus was the light of the world. He had nothing to hide, and in Him there was only truth. His truth is made plainly visible for all to see, and when you know Jesus, you know that He surely is the 'light of the world.'

Jesus, though, was not the first person to refer to Himself in this way. The prophet Isaiah began his ministry around 740 BC. During this time, roughly 800 years before the birth of Jesus, God inspired him to write:

• "The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way," (Isaiah 51:4b-5a)
• "I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6)
• "I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness." (Isaiah 42:7)

Could Isaiah have been prophesying about Jesus, almost 800 years before He was born? I don't know of any other way to explain these verses. They seem to speak of the same 'light of the world' that Jesus referred to when He spoke of Himself.

And what of the 'light of life' that Jesus said His followers would have? Well, Isaiah also wrote, "After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:11-12) This passage says that after His suffering the Messiah would see the 'light of life,' and the messiah in turn said that His followers would see the same 'light of life,' or eternal life with Him.

� "Therefore Jesus said again, 'I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:7-10

Jesus is the doorway, the 'gate' for the sheep. Salvation can only be achieved by passing through this gate... by passing through Jesus. Now this is fine for the sheep, but what about us? How can we achieve salvation? Or could the sheep also be some type of metaphor?

"'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.'
'I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.'" John 10:11-18

All throughout the Bible the analogy of the shepherd is used (see "The Shepherd's Assurance"), because it is the perfect analogy for God. Jesus, as the good shepherd, not only guides and watches over His sheep, but because He owns them He does not run away when trouble strikes. He defends His sheep against any adversity, and He went as far as to die for His sheep. Jesus' sheep are His followers, He knows them and they know Him, and because He laid down His life for us, we can live forever with Him.

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.'" John 14:6-7

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?'" John 11:25-26

Because Jesus was God in human form, we are able to know God more intimately by knowing Jesus. God became one of us in order to show us the way He expects us to live, and to offer us a way to re-establish the connection with Him that was lost when Adam and Eve sinned (see "What is Sin?"). Jesus became the sacrifice for us when He died on the cross and took all of the sins of humanity upon Himself. He, who was least deserving of death, died in our place. He died for those that persecuted Him, denied Him, abandoned Him, and ultimately crucified Him. To all of them, as to all of us, His gift of salvation is offered, but as a gift it can never be purchased or gained in any other way, it must be freely received. Jesus told us that He is the way (to God), the truth (of all that is and will be), and the way (to eternal life). He is the resurrection and the life, because His resurrection from death (see "His life and death and life") proved He was God and defeated spiritual death for us all, and the fact that He lives now provides a way for us to join Him in everlasting life.

"'I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.'

'I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.'" John 15:1-8

Jesus is the vine and those of us who are saved are the branches (see "Growing as a Christian"). A branch separated from a vine withers and dies, as we will wither and die when separated from Jesus. When we accept God's gift of salvation and repent of our sins, we will have a life altering change of heart, and we will begin to grow in our faith with Him. As we grow we will become fruitful, which simply means that we will become shining examples of what it means to be a child of God, and by this become a witness of Christianity to others. When God created Adam and Eve He told them to, 'Be fruitful and increase in number.' So to be fruitful in the vine of Christ means to increase the number of His followers, and sharing His gospel with the lost sheep does this.

"When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. 'Do you understand what I have done for you?' he asked them. 'You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.'" John 13:12-17

Jesus is considered to be the greatest teacher who ever lived. Even today, almost 20 centuries since He lived, His life and teachings remain unsurpassed in their ability to guide cultures, tribes, and peoples out of moral confusion. And He only taught for three short years. We have had great scholars throughout history who have spent their entire lives teaching, and yet non of them come anywhere close to having the kind of cultural impact that Jesus has had.

When you accept Jesus into your life as your personal Savior, He becomes not only your Savior but also your Lord. Which means that you are giving Him total control over your life, and once you can release control of your life to Him, you can finally experience true inner peace. Nothing can harm you when you allow your perfect Lord to guide your life. And when you follow His will for your life, you begin to develop a character that is more like His, and when you begin to imitate Him you will be abundantly blessed and bear much fruit.

"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'" Matthew 28:16-20

Jesus said that He would be with us even to the very end of the age. Is it just a coincidence that He said these words nearly 2000 years ago, and yet they are still true today? Had He only been a simple carpenter's son, albeit an extremely intelligent one, I hardly think that His life could have had such an impact on history, and any knowledge of Him would have died out long ago. There was truly something remarkable about this man named Jesus, something extraordinary. Could it be that He actually was who He said He was? Is it possible that He really was the Son of God? Surely His love has stood the test of time, and I believe there is no doubt that He was who He said He was, and because of His love, He is my Savior and my Lord.

If you're still not sure, I encourage you to continue exploring. On the other pages in this section you will find evidence regarding His fulfillment of prophecy, the credibility of the Bible, His life and resurrection, the testimony of eyewitnesses, and historical evidence. There is much more evidence to support Jesus' claim than there is to dispute it, and I think that if you approach this evidence with an open mind, you will agree.

If you are convinced that Jesus is who He said He is, and you believe that He died to save you from your sins, then I encourage you to click on the 5 Steps to Salvation, and learn how you can begin a lasting, personal relationship with Him.