If you've ever played hangman, you know that it is very difficult to gues the word without some help by guessing some of the letters. For example, what word is
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _? What if I give you the letters J _ _ _ _ C _ _ _ _ _? By the title of this blog, you might guess Jesus Christ, and you would be right.
Mark 8:29 tells us: "But Jesus asked them, 'Who do you say that I am?'" This is an important question, especially as we approach Christmas and so many people try and take Jesus out of Christmas. Who is Jesus?
Books have been written on this question, but if we get a little information from the Bible then we can know who Jesus is; we don't have to guess. For our purpose here, it is important to note that Jesus is the Messiah, God's Son, God in the flesh, come to this world for two very important reasons. The first reason is so that the presence of God could be shown to the world. As we are told in the gospel of John, 1:14- "And the word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." By coming to this world, God made His presence known to us in visible form.
Second, and more important, when the angel Gabriel visited Mary (in Matthew 1:21-23), he told her to name her baby Jesus, because "he will save his people from their sins." This blessed event of God coming into the world, is the event of God wanting to save us from our sins. Jesus is the savior of the world. Jesus is the One who will take our penalty for us. Jesus is God with us.
I hope you receive this with joy, and hope, as you understand God's love for you, and the peace God can bring to your life. Be blessed in this season as you remember who Jesus is. Blessings.
