We interrupt the regularly-scheduled programming on this blog for a special announcement.
At a devotional I led Sunday evening, February 1, 2009, I asked the 75-80 folks gathered at my church to write on an index card their personal answer to the question, “Who Is This Jesus?” Without any apparent care in their heads or hearts about the first two quarters of the skirmish between the football teams from Arizona and Pittsburgh, they wrote these answers, and I read them at the end of our worship together:
- This Jesus is God in the flesh, Immanuel, God with us. He is God’s only begotten Son. Through Him all things were made, and it was good. But when man sinned, that was changed. Death entered this world, and man was separated from God. This Jesus put on flesh and lived and walked on this earth and died and lived again – to RESTORE that relationship between man and God. He is a Mediator between man and God, the Lord and King, Savior and Friend to all who would believe in Him.
- He rescues me from my stupidity, helps me stand tall, makes my cry when I hear Him say He loves me. More than that, he’s the one Lord of my life, or at least, should be. There is no other who saves me, my screw-ups or my relationships. This index card can’t describe Him. He means that I don’t have to bow to the god of guilt. I bow to the One who took it away. He gives a true and lasting, international unity. How much longer I could go! He’s everything to me. He lived with brutal passion and a deep heart. he led – He did not just use "superpowers." He never demanded anything He did not already do Himself!
- Jesus is … the divine gift above all gifts.
- Perfect – My Lord and Savior; my Savior and Lord –
- Our Savior!
- Who is This Jesus? – He is our salvation – He paid it all – and He means all to me. He supplies all my needs. He is my refuge when I’m afraid. He’s my hope, when all seems dark, and I owe all to Him.
- Who is Jesus? Jesus to me is the savior of my soul. Jesus is the Son of God the Creator of Heaven and Earth.
- He is the word of the living God. He is perfect.
- The Son of God. My Savior.
- My Savior. My Best Friend. My Help. My Comforter. The Son of God. The One I can depend on.
- Jesus is Lord and God, who was born as human to save us. Those who are helping, to the least among us, become Jesus in the real life. "Jesus is God’s greatest gift" to us on earth.
- JESUS – the most influential figure in all of history.
- Jesus is God. Jesus is Man. Creator and created. Incomprehensible love and compassion. Because Jesus is, we have hope to one day be.
- Jesus is God, the Creator of the universe, become human; and He willingly became human knowing the suffering that awaited Him. The greatest testimony to the value of human life is that He loved us enough to do that.
- Jesus is the only answer to any of man’s needs.
- Jesus is my Savior, best friend, and a good leader. He’s the only man to lead a perfect life and example for Christians.
- God incarnate.
- My eternal Best Friend.
- Jesus – is the son of God – the living word.
- Jesus is the Son of God, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, my light, my salvation and the stronghold of my life. Without Him I am nothing and can do nothing. Jesus is the image of God’s glory and the exact representation of God Himself, sinless, a perfect scrifice for our sins, who reigns at the right hand of God, interceding for me.
- JESUS CHRIST is a peaceful and patient man, a man who was born to show The Way. HE is "The Way" and "The Light" that we are to learn of so that we do not live a lost life. HE is the "The Light" and "The Way" to give us direction.
- God – and he’s with us … Creator, Provider, Sustainer
- Who is Jesus? He is my friend, my comforter, my hope, and my savior. My only hope!
- Jesus is the hope of mankind; He gave himself for us. He set for us the example of service.
- God’s Son – My savior, Lord and Master. The Light of my life. Creator / Humble foot-washing Servant. The Word who became flesh. The One who was tempted but did not surrender. The One who tells us the truth about our selves and grieves over our situation.
- He is the one who is there with me:
- when I lose a loved one
- when I am alone and have all the decisions to make
- when I am hurt and broken-hearted
- when I am so happy and want someone to share my joy
- Jesus is my Savior and my Lord, my perfect model for growing close to God.
- Who is This Jesus?
- Savior
- Redeemer
- Living Word
- Intercessor between man and God
- Deliverer
- Shepherd
- Son of God
- Son of David
- Son of Man
- Anointed/Chosen One
- Teacher
- Healer
- Jesus, who is He? He is the Son of God. He showed us how to live. Because God loved us, He died for us. But most of all, He overcame death so that we will not die eternally. And to think He is our Ambassador to God, the Father. He is our all in all.
- The one I love and follow
- Jesus is the Son of the Almighty God – He’s the Light of the world – He’s the Bread of Life, He’s the Word – But, most important – He’s my Savior.
- Jesus is THE redeemer, MY redeemer. Jesus is the only Savior of the world’s human population. Through Jesus I am saved.
- Who IS This Jesus? He is the one who took all my sin upon himself, the sin-eater. He is the one who then showed me how to treat others. He is the one to whom I owe my life.
- He is the one to whom we owe everything. Our life, our destiny and the glory of all we enjoy today. He is our pattern for today and our hope for tomorrow. He is our Savior. He is our God.
- Savior
- Redeemer
- King
- Father
- Teacher
- Healer
- Giver of all good things
- Creator
- My Savior who died for me, so I may go to Heaven. What a Savior!
- My only way to eternal peace!!
- Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Our Savior and Our Lord. Our Redeemer. Our Way to salvation. Our High Priest. Our spokesman between man and God. He is the Way, Truth and Light.
- I love Jesus because He purchased my sins and the church with His blood, and He is coming back to take the church back to the Father in Heaven – He is the only Savior.
- Who is this Jesus? Son of God, Savior, Sacrifice, Sustainer, Comforter, Friend, Sanctifier, Prophet, Teacher
- Who Is This Jesus? Jesus, the Lamb of God, who is all the world to me. Jesus, the Savior of the world, who gave His life for you and me.
- one who was from the beginning
- one who dwelt among us
- one who was tempted in the same way we are
- one who disliked hypocrisy
- Who is This Jesus – LIFE – The Word! – Mine – Overcomer
- He is The ONE who provides my comfort, my peace, my happiness, and my hope of a life with Him forever.
I told them they preached the sermon Sunday night – far more eloquently than anything I could have written or said.
We now return you to our regularly-scheduled programming.
Blog In My Own Eye 
Keith,good to get the congregation involved. The one answer that is conspicuous is made so by it’s absence, four times out of forty. Not saying what one thinks, makes it so. I think you might be surprised if you ask a similar question about the trinity.
Laymond, you’d be proud of me. I didn’t say anything about trinity in my devotional thoughts!I’m learning to let folks draw their own conclusions.It’s part of what makes the fellowship of believers interesting and vibrant.
Good answers, and very nice idea for a devotional with a good-sized group.
Wow, that’s wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
Jesus is my life.He is everything.I strive everyday to know him more.Deepen the relationship.I stressed to the congregations I ministered and those congregations that I have preached and believers that I have taught that what Christianity is about knowing, really knowing Jesus. Scripture says that you can do all these things for Jesus and still not know Him. Jesus then says, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” So, I want to know Christ more than anything else and to stress to other believers and non-believers the important and difference between knowing about and knowing Jesus. When you get to know Jesus your entire life changes. Thank you Keith for this important post. I hope you have a great week! 🙂
Keith, I am proud of you, for posting your findings.“I’m learning to let folks draw their own conclusions.”Keith I believe that is best especially on controversial subjects, unless we can definitively prove through the scriptures what we are saying.May God bless
Great Idea! I think I will steal it and use it this Sunday night in our small group. If I do, I promise to give you the credit for the idea.Thanks for blessing us bro!DU
Okay, Keith…so, I know I’ve probably read your answer to this question in hundreds of different ways on your blog over the past several years. But that’s on a blog…where you could write for pages if you wanted……HOWEVER…I can’t help but wonder what you would come up with if you were in a similar situation? If you had to fit your answer on 3×5 index card??? Work on sharing that with us…Oh yeah…try to only spend about 30 minutes or so formulating your answer……And it would help if you were doing something else at the same time, multi-tasking, perhaps trying to listen to someone else talk to you?Okay…seriously…what is your answer? Who is this Jesus?
I think your folks gave great answers.What if you asked, “What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God?” Or, “Why is it important that Jesus was/is God’s son?”Royce
Jesus Christ … Messiah … Son of the living God … God in the flesh … Regent of heaven and earth … Savior … Friend … Intercessor … Wonderful Counselor … Mighty God … Everlasting Father … Prince of Peace … Perfect Example … The Last Sacrifice … Lamb of God … Lion of the tribe of Judah … The exact representation of God’s glory … The One through whom all was made and all are sustained … The Rider on the White Horse … The Word Made Flesh.That’s only about five minutes’ worth from my iPhone, Lacey!I could go on and on and on ….
Ahhh…but therein lies the challenge, my brother! Of all the wonderful and magnificent things that He is, you have just a few minutes to decide which are most worthy of going on a 3×5 index card!Because I could go on and on and on as well…just not on that little card.Maybe next time you should hand out posterboard…