For Life

Who Is Jesus??

I know that there are some of you, a lot of you, who will be going, who didn't know who they claim Jesus is?! You'd be surprised.
Jesus is a Nazerene man, Son of God and man, born of a virgin, who descended from heaven to take on the nature of a servant.

What was He before this, though? If He came from somewhere, didn't He have to have existence beforehand?!

Yes. Jesus has always existed as part of God. The Bible, in John, says this: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made."
You see, Jesus is not a created being. This passage explains it beautifully. The Word, who is Jesus, has always existed, and He even created everything! And throughout all of time, He had been in glory with God in heaven. He was a King on a throne. But then, He came to us.
Continuing from above, when Jesus got older, He began to travel, teach, befriend people who were shunned by society, heal and perform miracles for many. He had a group of disciples, all everyday people, that went with Him everywhere. There were many people who loved Him, but those who didn't were passionate in their hatred.

But why was He hated?

He was hated by some, mostly the religious leaders at the time, because He said some things that challenged their authority. He called them out on things that they were doing that weren't right.
They went on like this for a few years, until, finally those who hated Him had had enough. They devised a plan to kill Him. With the help of one of Jesus's friends, they arrested Him and put Him on trial, where they sentenced him to death. Even those who loved Him and praised him just days ago we calling for His death.

Why did they praise Him, then decide they wanted Him dead?

I honestly don't know. Maybe they were afraid. Maybe it happened because it had to.

HAD TO??

We'll get to this question later. Okay?
So, they gave Him to the Romans who tortured Him, then hung on the cross to die. And He died.

So... you believe in a dead guy?

No. The story isn't over yet.
So, the days later, two women went to the tomb where they had placed Him. It was covered with a large rock, so that no one could get in, but when the women got there, the stone was moved, and the body was gone. And there was an angel, who told them that He was no longer dead. After that, Jesus appeared to many people many times. After some time had passed, Jesus ascended back to heaven like He was before.
That is the basic story. But it may --

One more question. So what?! What does this have to do with anything?

Let me finish. But it may seem like it's missing something. And it is. The personal side of this story will be in the next chapter...