Jesus is more than a good teacher or a prophet. The Bible says he is God the Son, the Lord of all, who lived a perfect life, died on the cross, rose from the dead, will judge everyone one day and offers forgiveness to anyone who believes. Who is Jesus, really? He is God’s solution to our sin problem, and knowing him changes everything.
Jesus Is Lord of All
In Acts 10, the apostle Peter explained the gospel to a Roman officer named Cornelius and his family. In just a few sentences, Peter covered everything they needed to know about Jesus. He started with who Jesus is:
Acts 10:36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
“Lord” is a big word. The Bible teaches that Jesus is fully God. John’s Gospel says he was there at creation, and Jesus even called himself by God’s own name, “I am” (John 8:58). That matters, because a merely human Jesus couldn’t save anyone. And “Lord of all” means he came for everyone, not just one group or one kind of person.
Jesus Is Perfectly Good
Peter went on to describe how Jesus lived:
Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, welcomed outsiders and even raised the dead. But maybe his greatest miracle was his sinless life. He never lied, never acted selfishly and never went his own way instead of God’s. Because he had no sin of his own to pay for, he was the only one qualified to pay for ours.
Jesus Died and Rose Again
Jesus’ death wasn’t an accident or a tragic ending. It was God’s plan, predicted hundreds of years earlier in Isaiah 53. Peter told Cornelius what happened next:
Acts 10:39-40 We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.
The resurrection is the center of Christianity. Paul said that if Christ has not been raised, our faith is useless (1 Corinthians 15:14). But Jesus did rise, and his scared, hiding disciples were transformed into bold witnesses willing to die for what they saw. The resurrection proves Jesus has power over sin and death.
Jesus Is the Judge Who Forgives
Peter also said that Jesus is the one God appointed as judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42). Every person will one day give an account to him. That’s sobering, because the Bible says all of us have sinned. But Peter didn’t end with judgment. He ended with an invitation:
Acts 10:43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.
At the cross, God’s justice and God’s love met. Jesus took the penalty we deserved so we could be forgiven. You can’t earn that forgiveness with good behavior; you receive it by trusting Jesus. If you’d like to learn more about putting your faith in Jesus, check out How can I become a Christian?
The Takeaway
Who is Jesus, really? He is the Lord of all, perfectly good, crucified and risen, the judge of everyone and the one who forgives everyone who believes. He isn’t just someone to admire. He is someone to trust.
