Who Is Jesus?

Who is Jesus
Mark 9:1-13
“This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!”


Who is Jesus? This is perhaps the most fundamental question of all religions and life itself. In many religions, Jesus is considered to be a great spiritual teacher, even a prophet. One who is from God and instructs us about God. In Islam, Jesus is regarded as one of the great prophets of God, but he is not God himself who comes in the flesh. The Bahai regard Jesus to be one of the many individuals who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world. Other religions, such as Buddhism, reject the idea that Jesus is God. Even among those identifying themselves as Christian, there are those who see Jesus only as one who comes as a role model who is to be imitated.

As the disciples walked with Jesus, listened to his teaching, and saw his miracles, they also wrestled with the question. They knew he was the Messiah, the appointed one of God, but they struggled to comprehend who he was fully. In the previous verses, Jesus asked them, "Who do the people say that I am?” They answered by stating there were a variety of opinions, “John the Baptist; Elijah, one of the prophets” (8:28). Then Jesus asked them directly, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter, ever the one who would speak first, answered, “You are the Christ.” Although Peter answers the question rightly, in the next verses, he reveals that he failed to fully understand the implications and meaning of his statement (31-33).

So we are likewise confronted with the question of “Who is Jesus?” Was he a prophet, a spokesman for God who came to reveal God’s word? Certainly. Was he the promised Messiah who was coming to fulfill the prophecies of a final Davidic King who would establish his kingdom? Undoubtedly. Was he a wise teacher who came to give us the wisdom of God like the sages of old? Definitely. However, in the transfiguration, we find a final, definitive answer regarding who Jesus genuinely was. But the answer comes from a surprising source, for the answer comes from God himself. Jesus took three of the disciples with him up to a high mountain. There, they witnessed something that was genuinely surreal and profound. The simple teacher that they were following was transformed before them so that even his clothing was brilliantly white. Then, suddenly, two of the greatest figures of Israel’s history, Elijah, the great prophet, and Moses, the giver of God’s divine law, were standing with Jesus. It was a remarkable and truly terrifying event, for they saw Jesus as they had never seen him before; they saw him in all his glory. Again, we see them struggling to try and understand. Again, they were confronted with the question that is simple, “Who is Jesus?”

We find the answer coming from the only one who knew: God Himself. At that moment, God himself affirmed who Jesus is: “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!” The answer is not just a mere statement but a profound and transforming truth. Jesus is God’s son. He is not an angel, a message from God. He is not just a prophet who came to communicate God’s message. He was not just a divinely appointed king to lead the nation of Israel. He is the Son of God. He is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of God’s nature, and he upholds all things by the word of His power who came and made purification of sins and then sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3). To say that he is God’s son is to affirm that he is God himself. He was prophesied about in the Old Testament but affirmed by God himself.

In light of who he is, the Son of God who possesses all the attributes and character of God, what is the only response we can give? God again answers the question, “Listen to him!” This is not a mere suggestion but a command that carries the weight of eternity. The only appropriate response is to fully and uncompromisingly respond in obedience to his word and to make him the focus of our life and the source of our salvation. He becomes the sole priority of life, and to be “found in Him” is the only goal worth pursuing (Phil.3:9-10). The ultimate question we must ask is not “Who is Jesus?” It is “How do I respond to him?”