The biblical record of his life shows that Jesus was born to a virgin, lived a sinless life, taught throughout Palestine for about three years, was crucified and then rose back to life three days after his death. The Bible claims that more than 500 people saw him alive after this miraculous event. How could a mere man have lived such a life? The miracles Jesus performed, his death on the cross, his resurrection, his ascent to heaven–all point to the fact that he was no ordinary leader.

Take this study to learn about how Jesus was and how he relates to our lives today.

1. Part 1: Jesus’ Origin and Purpose
2. Part 2: Jesus the Healer
3. Part 3: Jesus the Teacher
4. Part 4: Jesus, Mediator and Redeemer
5. Part 5: Jesus the Giver

Further reading:
Find out more about Jesus Christ

“All things work together for good, for those who love God and are called by Him to fulfill His purposes.” (Romans 8:28)

Our grandson came over with his parents for dinner. After dinner, his auntie turned on her computer to make a Skype call to her husband, who works on an ocean-going yacht.  Our grandson watched this whole process, and was excited when he saw his uncle on the screen, talking to him.  In jest, his uncle said that he was stuck inside the computer and couldn’t get out!

Our grandson became upset and wanted someone to get his uncle out of the computer, rescuing him from his prison! As adults, we laughed at the absurdity of someone being trapped inside a computer. We reassured our grandson that his uncle was not really in the computer.

It made me wonder, “How many times do I get all upset and worried about something that I do not understand?”  God works in ways that are confusing to me, as well. Like my grandson, I can become even angry because no one is doing anything and I feel helpless.

Trust in a loving God reassures me when seemingly impossible problems face me.  In my limited knowledge, I might also panic about things that I cannot change or fix.  But I can trust God through these times – even when it appears that God is not doing anything about the situation.  I may never understand why God allows certain crises in my life and in the lives of those I love, but I can know that He has a perfect plan.

God’s Word says that “All things work together for good, for those who love God and are called by Him to fulfill His purposes.”  (Romans 8:28) I know I can trust that!

“He tends his flock like a Shepherd; He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young.” (Isaiah 40:11)

My grandson came over last weekend. He was not having a good day! Tears were rolling down his cheeks. I acknowledged how he was feeling by saying, “It does not look like you are having a good day, so come and sit with me.”  He climbed into my lap and sat quietly.  After a few minutes, he got up and went happily on his way.  Comfort  had come in the quiet moments of sitting on my lap.

As I thought about how simply my grandson’s angst was resolved, it made me ask myself, “How and when do I feel comforted?”  Comfort could come from lots of different places, some positive and others negative. Some sources are family, friends and even from material things.  It could also come from a bottle, a pill or some form of physical satisfaction like food or sex. These can takes your mind off the source of your bad day, comfort or deaden a deeper pain. But they are all temporary.

Ultimate and lasting comfort comes only from knowing that you are loved, from a Source that is limitless, eternal and unchanging.  God is the ultimate Source of true comfort. Have you sat on His lap today?

I was backpacking and camping with some friends and my 3 year old grandson joined us. We were setting up camp at a beautiful lake in the mountains. As I was working on putting up the tent, he joined some of our group down at the shore line and yelled up to me, “Papa can I go in the water?” My response was, “Yes, but do not get your clothes wet.” He was wearing shorts, so I thought he’d be okay. I looked over a few minutes later and he was totally naked! He was definitely making sure he was not going to get his clothes wet!

This made me laugh, as well as made me reflect about my life. How careful am I about obedience? Do I think carefully about my actions to be “absolutely sure” I’m being diligent to obey God’s word? Or am I sometimes careless?

God tells us not to do certain things, but does give permission in other areas. He does this for two positive reasons, to protect us and to provide a good future for us. Obedience in how we live occurs within the bounds of God’s love.

Jesus says, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His Love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full”  (John 15:9-11 NASB).

I need to be obedient to God – both because He tells me to be and also because obedience is always to my benefit.  God loves me and commands me out of that love.  If is stay in His commandments, I’ll be in the very best place I can be and ready to do the work God has for me.

Questions: Why does God tell us not to do certain things, but does give permission in other areas? How can we know God’s will for us?

In the last study, we looked at Jesus the healer. But people didn’t come just to be healed by him; they also wanted to listen to him. Large crowds from all over the country would come to hear what he had to say. He talked about: God’s Kingdom, prayer, wise and foolish lifestyles, love and forgiveness, and also himself.

Not everyone liked Jesus’ teaching. He was outspoken against the religious leaders who were hypocrites. He had enemies who tried to trick him with questions, but he always managed to give wise answers. Even when the religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus, they found it hard because the crowds wanted to listen to his teaching, “not wanting to miss a single word” (Luke 19:48). In this study, we will discuss two of the best known parables (stories which teach biblical truth) that Jesus told.

Next: Part 4 – Jesus, mediator and redeemer

Back to Who is Jesus? index

At the trial of Jesus it seemed that both the weak-willed Roman governor, Pilate; and the shouts of the crowd sent Jesus to death. In fact, the Bible tells us that these events amazingly formed part of God’s purpose.

Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “Listen! We are going to Jerusalem where everything the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true. He will be handed over to the Gentiles, who will make fun of Him, insult Him, and spit on Him. They will whip him and kill Him, but on the third day he will rise to life.” The disciples did not understand any of these things. (Luke 18:31-34a)

This study is about Jesus the Redeemer. To redeem means to buy something back, to recover something by payment. Jesus’ death was for the sake of other people, to bring them back to God.

Next: Part 5 – Jesus the giver

Back to Who is Jesus? index

The last chapter of Luke gives a clear account of the fantastic miracle of the resurrection. After Jesus’ crucifixion his disciples were afraid of the Jews. While they continued to meet, they did so in secret. Suddenly, Jesus came to them.

C.S. Lewis, a famous Christian writer, wrote:

“The New Testament writers speak as if Christ’s achievement in rising from the dead was the first event of its kind in the whole history of the universe. He has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought and beaten the king of death.”

A. The Resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the climax of his life’s work. Jesus rose from the dead as he said he would. This historical fact challenges us to believe that the other things he said about himself are also true. The resurrection demands a response from us, one way or another.

B. Responding to Jesus
Luke wrote about one particular woman in Luke 7:36-50. Read this and see how she responded to Jesus. She could be sure that she was at peace with God. Jesus had welcomed, accepted and forgiven her because of his love and mercy. Nothing she had done could have earned his response. But she was now free to live as a new person.

We can be sure in this same way. We can never pay God the debt we owe Him for our sinful behavior. But, if we come to Jesus as this woman did, we can know that he forgives and accepts us completely. In the last session we discussed how this happens through Jesus’ death on our behalf.

C. Becoming a Christian
The sinful woman came to Jesus and recognized her sin. She trusted Jesus to forgive her and, by her actions, thanked him for the new life he offered her.  We must do the same if we want to be at peace with God, both now and eternally.

Each one of us must realize that living a good moral or “religious” life will not make us acceptable to God. 

To begin a relationship with God, you could pray something like this:

Jesus, I realize that I have been running my own life and have rebelled against You. I admit that I have sinned against you and deserve to go to hell.  Thank You for dying for my sins so I can spend eternity with You in Heaven. I open my life to You and ask You to be my Savior and Lord. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. Amen.

D. Growing as a Christian
These five studies have shown us who Jesus is and why he came. Luke 6:46-49 teaches that we must not only hear what Jesus said, but put it into practice.

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷ As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸ They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

A decision to become a Christian is just the beginning of a lifetime of getting to know God better.  As you get to know God by reading His Word (The Bible), you will gain assurance of salvation.

Back to Who is Jesus? index

In this study we will see:

> How Luke’s Gospel fits into history
> That Jesus is “the Son of God.”
> What Jesus said he came to do

The New Testament is made up of several short books and letters. Our English Bibles are translations of what the early Christians actually wrote. The experts tell us that we can be sure that the text on which these translations are based is exceptionally accurate and that seeming contradictions are readily explained.

How can we be sure about the Bible accounts?
In the days of the first Christians, there were many writings about the life of Jesus. But some had special quality–they had been written by Jesus’ followers or their close friends. These gospels and letters were carefully copied by hand. Over the years, archaeologists have found thousands of manuscripts of bits of the New Testament and even some complete copies. By comparing these, we can get very close to what the New Testament writers originally wrote. Some of these copies are dated less than 100 years after the original gospel or letter was written.

For an idea of how good this evidence is, compare the New Testament with other writings that are about as old as the New Testament. For example, Julius Caesar wrote a book called The Gallic War about 50 years before Christ was born. We obviously do not have the original copy. Yet, we do have nine or ten copies, and the earliest of these was made about 900 years after the original. This is a typical gap for ancient writings.

When, however, we examine the historical evidence relating to the Bible, one learns that there are thousands of manuscripts of the New Testament books. Therefore, we have good reason to believe that we know almost exactly what Luke, Paul and the others wrote.

Who wrote the gospel of Luke?
The author of this gospel, Luke, also wrote another book in the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles. He was the only New Testament writer who was not Jewish, and he was a doctor. Independent evidence confirms that he was a very careful and accurate historian.

Where did Jesus come from?
Luke gives details of the unique origin of Jesus and he explains how Jesus’ birth was foretold. (Luke 1:26-38)

Jesus explains his purpose
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the south of Palestine. He grew up in a very ordinary town, named Nazareth, located in Galilee which was in the north of Palestine. Jesus was a carpenter, but at the age of 30, he became a religious teacher, moving from town to town.

In Luke 4:14-22, we read what happened when Jesus began teaching. He went to the synagogue, which was the local place of worship. Although he probably had no more religious education than the average Jewish man, people wanted to hear him. He was asked to speak at the synagogue in Nazareth.

Next: Part 2 – Jesus the healer

Back to Who is Jesus? index

In the first study, we saw that Jesus was not just an unusual person; he was God’s Son. He came into the world in order to meet the deepest needs of all men and women.

In this study, we will look at how Jesus met the needs of two particular people. Everywhere Jesus went, he came across needy people. Often, the people he met had incurable diseases. He was able to change their physical lives by healing them. More importantly, he changed their spiritual lives through forgiveness of their sins.

He healed Simon’s mother-in-law, a Roman officer’s servant, a man with a paralyzed hand, a crippled woman, a paralyzed man, people suffering from spiritual and mental disorders or skin diseases, blind people, and he even raised the dead. “All who had friends who were sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus; he placed his hands on every one of them and healed them all” (Luke 4:40).

Next: Part 3 – Jesus the teacher

Back to Who is Jesus? index

Are you struggling with obedience? Take this study.

This made me laugh, as well as made me reflect about my life. How careful am I about obedience? Do I think carefully about my actions to be “absolutely sure” I’m being diligent to obey God’s word? Or am I sometimes careless?

God tells us not to do certain things, but does give permission in other areas. He does this for two positive reasons, to protect us and to provide a good future for us. Obedience in how we live occurs within the bounds of God’s love.

Jesus says, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His Love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full”  (John 15:9-11 NASB).

I need to be obedient to God – both because He tells me to be and also because obedience is always to my benefit.  God loves me and commands me out of that love.  If is stay in His commandments, I’ll be in the very best place I can be and ready to do the work God has for me.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP: Obedience: Who’s story is this anyway?

Questions: Why does God tell us not to do certain things, but does give permission in other areas? How can we know God’s will for us?

About the Author Mike Woodard