D1 – Jesus Christ, the Promised Saviour
“…but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God…” John 20 vs. 31
Before we go any further, we want you to understand that our purpose in section D of our lessons is to help you understand more about the Lord Jesus Christ. We are going to find out as much as possible who Jesus is and what He has done for us. The lessons will be arranged as follows:
D1: Jesus Christ, the promised Saviour
D2: Jesus Christ, the almighty God
D3: Jesus Christ, the great Teacher
D4: Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God
D5: Jesus Christ, the risen Christ
D6: Jesus Christ, Lord of All
D7: Jesus Christ, our High Priest
D8: Jesus Christ, our coming King
D9: Jesus Christ, All in All
D10: Jesus Christ, our everlasting King
It may come as a surprise to you that the one who created the universe once lived on this planet as a man. This One is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We are going to discover who Jesus is from the four gospel records given to us in the New Testament of the Bible. These are: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The Gospel of John begins with the following statements,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1 vs. 1.
And later in verse 14, we read that,
“The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us.”
These verses teach us that the Lord Jesus Christ who is “the Word” has always existed. Before anything else was created, He was there with God. On top of that, we learn that He is God!
He came down to earth as a baby just as the prophets of God had foretold. Long before the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the prophet Isaiah prophesied that:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7 vs. 14
The name Immanuel means “God with us”. The baby who was going to be born would be God manifest in human form.
Another thing to note is that the baby would be born of a “virgin”. A virgin is a woman who has never had sexual relations with a man. The Holy Spirit would empower this young woman to be able to get pregnant without the contribution of any man whatsoever. The Jewish people had a name for the child that was promised. They called Him “Messiah”. In the Greek language that was used in the New Testament, this name is translated “Christ”. Not only did the prophets predict the name of the baby that was to be born and how he was going to be born, they also predicted where he would be born. The prophet called Micah wrote many years ago:
“But you, Bethlehem…though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel.” Micah 5 vs. 2
For many years people looked forward to the coming of the Messiah or the Christ. One day, after about 700 years from the prophecy of Micah, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, a young virgin introduced to us in the New Testament. The angel said to her:
“…Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.” Luke 1 vs. 30-32
So we see that the Lord Jesus Christ was born in the city of Bethlehem as foretold by the prophet Micah. We remember the shepherds who were watching their sheep one night when an angel told them the good news that Christ is born in Bethlehem:
“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2 vs. 10-11
As a baby, the Lord Jesus was taken to the Jewish temple by His earthly parents Joseph and Mary. There was an old man there who had seen a vision from God that he will not die before he saw the promised Messiah. His name was Simeon. When he saw the baby Jesus he took him in his hands and praised God saying:
“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word. For my eyes have seen Your Salvation” Luke 2 vs. 29-30
What we learn from these verses is that our salvation is in a person. And that person is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Jesus is the Christ
The Lord Jesus began to preach and to teach the Word of God when He was thirty years old. Sadly, when he came to His people, the Jews, they did not believe in Him. They did not accept Him as their Christ or Messiah. The Bible says:
“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” John 1 vs. 11
The question is: Is Jesus really the Christ? Is he the Messiah that was promised in the Old Testament at least 700 years before? Is he the Savior of the world that God promised? Our answer is a resounding YES! But how do we know this for sure?
The Bible is the source of all truth. It tells us plainly that Jesus is the Christ. In John 4, we come across a woman at the well. We are told that she had a conversation with Jesus. One of the things that this woman said was,
“I know that the Messiah is coming (who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things.” John 4 vs. 25
Jesus replied:
“I who speak to you am He.” John 4 vs. 26
The woman did not know at that moment who Jesus was. She had no idea that she had been talking to the promised Messiah the whole time she was there. And Jesus in His reply admitted Himself that He was indeed the Messiah, or the Christ.
Point to Note: The words Messiah and Christ mean the same thing. They mean “the Anointed One”. Messiah is a word from the language called Hebrew which was used to write the Old Testament. The word Christ is taken from the language called Greek, which was used to write the New Testament.
On another day, the Lord Jesus was talking to His disciples. The conversation went something like this: “Who do you say that I am?” asked Jesus. Peter replied: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered and said to him,
“Blessed are you, Simon Bar–Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 16 vs. 15-17
Clearly, the Lord Jesus is the Christ. He is the Messiah. There is enough evidence in the Bible to prove that indeed He was the Christ. We are going to study the prophecies about Him which were written hundreds of years before He was born in Bethlehem and we will see how they fit only his personality. No other man on earth has ever fulfilled all the requirements of prophecies concerning the Messiah or the Christ except the Lord Jesus. We will look at each prophecy and its fulfilment in the Lord Jesus Christ:
| Prediction of Prophecy as given | Realisation of the Prophechy |
| BORN IN BETHLEHEM “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” Micah 5 vs. 2 | “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem…” Matthew 2 vs. 1 |
| BORN BY A VIRGIN “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7 vs. 14 | “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1 vs. 18 |
| PIERCED HANDS AND FEET “They pierced My hands and My feet” Psalm 22 vs. 16 | “And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him…” Luke 23 vs. 33 |
| DIED FOR OUR SINS “…And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53 vs. 6 | “The burden of our sins He Himself carried in His own body to the Cross and bore it there…” 1 Peter 2 vs. 24 |
| FORSAKEN BY GOD “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Psalms 22 vs. 1 | “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew 27 vs. 46 |
| HIS CLOTHES WERE DIVIDED AMONGST SOLDIERS “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” Psalms 22 vs. 18 | “And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.” Mark 15 vs. 24 |
| HIS BONES WERE NOT BROKEN “He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.” Psalms 34 vs. 20 | “But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.” John 19 vs. 33 |
| HE WAS REJECTED BY JEWS “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows…” Isaiah 53 vs.3 | “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” John 1 vs. 11 |
| HE WAS BETRAYED BY HIS FRIEND “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.” Psalm 41 vs. 9 | “Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them.” Mark 14 vs. 10 |
| HE WAS SOLD FOR 30 PIECES OF SILVER “…So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.” Zechariah 11 vs. 12 | “Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and………they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.” Matthew 26 vs. 14 |
| HE WAS CRUCIFIED WITH THIEVES “And He was numbered with the transgressors; And He bore the sin of many…” Isaiah 53 vs. 12 | “Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.” Matthew 27 vs. 38 |
| HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD “For You will not leave My soul in hell; You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” Psalm 16 vs. 10 | “…I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified… He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Matthew 28 vs. 5 |
Please note that there are so many other prophecies concerning Christ which were clearly noticeable in Jesus to show that He truly was the Messiah and the Christ. Other prophecies not included here will take place in the future. We read in John 20 vs. 30-31 that the Lord Jesus performed so many miracles so that we must believe that He is the Son of God.
What is the meaning of His name?
It would appear that the Lord Jesus Christ has three names and He is called by all these names most often at the same time in the Bible. Why three names? What do these names mean and is it significant to use them all to refer to one person?
LORD: the name Lord is actually a title of honour. It is the title that indicates His Kingship to all that is in heaven and earth. He has authority in the entire universe, in heaven and on earth. This title means “master”. He is our Master.
JESUS: the name Jesus means “Jehovah is Savior”. Jesus is our Savior in that He came to die for our sins to save us from the punishment of sin. He took our punishment upon Himself and died for me and you. He rose again on the third day. Therefore He has power over the devil and power over death. All who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ receive as a gift the life of Christ, eternal life.
CHRIST: this is also a title of His position. We have already noted that the name “Christ” means the “Anointed One”. In the past, when God wanted to use someone on a mission, He anointed him with special anointing oil. The oil was Holy. Kings of Israel and Judah were anointed with oil, so were God’s special messengers to indicate that they were sent by God.
Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?
The Bible says,
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” John 1 vs. 12.
We need to turn away from our sins and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour. No one can be saved if they refuse to give up their sinful ways. If you are troubled by the things you did, remember that it is the work of the Holy Spirit trying to show you that you need to be saved. Do not ignore the Holy Spirit working in you. Instead, listen and repent of your sins. Do not delay. Invite the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart through prayer and ask God to forgive your sins.
The most important decision you can ever make is to invite the Lord Jesus into your heart. When you do so, many wonderful things will happen to you. The Lord Jesus Christ will come into your heart (Galatians 2 vs. 20). Secondly your sins are forgiven, (Ephesians 1 vs. 7). You will also become a child of God (John 1 vs. 12) and become a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5 vs. 17). Lastly, the Holy Spirit will make a home in your heart (1 Corinthian 6 vs. 19).
Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ? Can you honestly say that you know that your sins are forgiven? If you are not sure, why don’t you go to a quiet place and confess your sins to God today? If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and receive Him as your Saviour, you have eternal life. The Bible says,
“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5 vs. 11-12.