Who Is Jesus?

Who is Jesus?

Who is this man Jesus? Where was he from? What did he do for others and us? A great source of reference to answer this question would be someone who had direct contact with him in everyday life. Someone who saw the daily wonders he created would be the best source for information. Matthew, the apostle, is believed to have written the gospel of Matthew. He was able to experience firsthand all of the amazing miracles that Jesus performed. God inspired his words, and his gospel relates to the other three gospels in overall context. They were written in different formats and styles, but the overall message and story remains constant throughout all four gospels. This creates a strong reliability that gives confidence in Matthew's knowledge of Jesus. If the author of the gospel of Matthew was someone other than Matthew, the writings still tell an excellent story of the life of Jesus regardless of who wrote it. Therefore, the story of Jesus can be told through Matthew and his gospel.

Matthew begins his gospel with a genealogy of Jesus that traces his existence back to Abraham. This direct line of heritage back to Abraham shows the fulfillment of God's promise through Jesus. In Genesis 15:5, God promises Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars. These descendants, who make up the people of Israel, were promised a child to be named Emmanuel ("God with us") in Isaiah 7:14. Matthew's gospel tells how Jesus, the child of God who will be with us forever, fulfills the promise that was given by God many years before.

Matthew tells of the birth of Jesus to conclude the first chapter. Jesus surely is the Son of God because Mary conceived him even though she had no knowledge of man. In Matthew 1:20, God spoke to Joseph in a dream through an angel telling him of his intentions for Jesus and his family. Because Matthew tells of this story, he clarifies Jesus' uniqueness from the beginning. Jesus is the Son of God who fulfills all of God's promises, and he will change the world forever.

Matthew further depicts Jesus as the Savior of the world when he tells of the wise men coming to visit him as a baby in Bethlehem. The wise men were surely blessed because they took notice of the once in a lifetime miracle that took place in Bethlehem.

Matthew 2:6 says, "for from you shall come a ruler who is to Shepard my people Israel." By this point in the gospel, Matthew has made it clear that Jesus is someone truly special. His depiction of Jesus' life that follows proves it.

The details of Jesus' childhood were skipped by Matthew, most likely to show how significant his years of ministry were. The next important moment in the life of Jesus was his baptism. He went to the Jordan River where he met his cousin, John the Baptist, who was a prominent preacher of the time. John knew that Jesus was the Son of God, so he found it difficult to baptize him. He felt that Jesus should be the one baptizing him, but Jesus made it clear that it was his Father's will that it should be done. As Jesus was baptized, the presence of God was felt among Jesus and the crowd. Matthew 3:16 tells of the heavens being opened up and the spirit of God descending upon him in the form of a dove. In Matthew 3:17, God said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." To anyone who is unfamiliar with Jesus, this is strong evidence of his powerful presence in the world to do the work of God.

Matthew next describes Jesus through his passionate and loving ministry. The many stories of his work among the people are evidence of who he was as a person. He was a teacher, preacher, and healer to everyone who knew of God's righteousness. Jesus had strong faith in his Father, and it was important to him that others did as well. Jesus spoke of the proper way to live life in order to be granted eternal life. Some of the first teachings that Matthew mentions in his gospel are of Jesus' thoughts on several issues. Some of the issues Jesus preached about concerned anger, adultery, divorce, oaths, almsgiving, and prayer. In his teachings, Jesus spoke with tremendous wisdom and knowledge. He was filled with the love of God that gave him the ability to speak in such a manner that all people could understand the message he proclaimed. In his teaching on prayer, which Matthew writes about in chapter 6, Jesus gave everyone the perfect prayer of worship and thanksgiving to God. His understanding of God and people around him made people grow in faith and find a stronger hope in the Father.

In Matthew 7:12, the ultimate teaching of Jesus was told. In just one simple sentence, Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments and gave people the perfect outline of how to live their life. He said, "In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets." The perfect worship of God is treating others as you would like to be treated. By following this one simple rule, everyone would be found holy in the eyes of God.

In telling of the life of Jesus, Matthew made sure to write about the many healings that Jesus performed. In his ministry, Jesus found the many faithful people throughout the land, many of which were sick or disabled. In the name of God the Father, Jesus healed those people because of their strong faith in God. Matthew wrote of Jesus' mercy throughout chapter 8. To begin the chapter, Jesus was confronted by a leper. The leper proved his strong faith in Jesus by saying, " Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean." Jesus rewarded the man's complete faith and trust by healing him instantly.

The next healing that Jesus performed was curing a centurion's slave who was paralyzed. The centurion felt that he was not worthy of Jesus' mercy because of his way of living. He was the owner of many servants and slaves, so therefore he was not following God's will and commandments. Jesus saw past the man's faults and recognized how strong his faith was. Because of this, he cured the man's servant within the same