Who is Jesus?

The man who all of history points to

When Jesus appeared in the 1st century it wasn’t a complete surprise. Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, God promised a saviour who would restore the broken relationship between God and humanity. For centuries, the prophets looked forward to the saviour’s arrival, and wrote about its significance. Mark shows throughout his gospel that Jesus is the promised saviour – the one whose life matched the expectations of the prophets, and whose mission was universal (for all people, in all cultures, from all of history).

The man who has total authority

Jesus wasn’t just some ordinary man; he wasn’t merely a good teacher or moral example. Mark records a number of events and conversations that show Jesus’ extraordinary and unique authority…

• Who else would be able to sleep through a storm that terrified seasoned fishermen and once awakened silence the wind and waves with a simple command? (p. 14)

• Jesus also had authority over illness. 1st Century Palestine had no Queen’s Medical Centre and so even minor illnesses caused suffering and death, but Jesus was able to heal the desperately ill with just a touch (e.g., p, 7). Jesus even had authority over death itself, demonstrating his unique power by raising the dead to life. (e.g., p. 16)
• Jesus also had authority over the spiritual things of this world. When a demon-possessed man encountered Jesus, the spirits inside the man recognised Jesus’ identity and fled at his command (p. 15).

Yet above all these things, Jesus claimed an even more shocking authority: to be able to forgive sins – rebellious attitudes and actions against God. When a paralysed man was brought for healing, Jesus stunned onlookers by forgiving the man’s sins before paying any attention to his physical condition (p. 8). Wasn’t the man’s disability his greatest problem? But Jesus had a different priority. Sin is serious (p. 28); we are all guilty of sin and our biggest need is to be forgiven.

The religious leaders who observed this scene were outraged! Jesus had just claimed to be able to forgive the sins of this man – to forgive offences against God that God alone has the right to forgive. Who is this Jesus? Is he, as Mark claims at the start of his book, the Son of God, the ‘Son of Man’ to whom God has given power and authority? If so, Jesus is surely the most important man who has ever lived.

The man who was born to die

Mark spends the last six chapters of his gospel detailing the final week of Jesus’ life, his brutal crucifixion and his resurrection from the dead. Indeed, Jesus’ death and resurrection appear to be the focus of Mark’s account throughout and he recounts Jesus repeatedly asserting that he must die (e.g. pp. 25, 28, 31 & 35).

Having been sentenced to death though no-one could find any fault in him, Jesus was crucified. And as he hung there on the cross, there was darkness over the whole land - signifying that God’s just anger was being poured out onto Jesus instead of us, separating the Son of God from his Father. As Jesus died, he took the punishment we deserve, breaking down the barrier between people and God that our sin caused. (p. 47)

The man who demands a response

The people who witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion responded in a number of ways to Jesus:

• Pilate, the Roman governor, cared more about pleasing the crowd than upholding truth and justice as he condemned to death a man he was sure was innocent. Peer pressure stopped him from doing with Jesus what he knew was the right thing. (p. 46)
• The soldiers who carried out Jesus’ crucifixion didn’t care about who he was. They were too busy gambling for Jesus’ clothes to pay attention as the most remarkable man in history died right before their eyes. (p. 46)
• Passers-by mocked Jesus as he hung on the cross, not recognising that he could have saved himself from death at any moment, but for some greater reason allowed it all to happen to him. (p. 47)
• The religious leaders also gathered around the cross, unwilling to surrender the self-righteous control of their lives and their position in society and submit to Jesus’ rightful rule. (p. 47)

But Mark does record one witness to Jesus’ death who wasn’t blind to his true identity. A Roman centurion, though hardened by years of service in the army, saw beyond the broken body hanging on the cross and recognised Jesus for who he really was, declaring, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (p. 47)

What about you?

What will your response be to Jesus and to his claims that everyone needs to turn to him for forgiveness of sins and to live with him as top priority in their life? Will you be like Pilate, simply going along with other people’s opinions? Or like the soldiers, too busy to pause and think properly? Or like the passers-by, mocking without seeking to truly understand? Or like the religious leaders, too proud to give everything to Jesus? Or will you, like the centurion, humbly acknowledge Jesus’ true identity and receive the gift of forgiveness, healing and life he freely offers to all who will accept it?

Hear Jesus as he asks, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (p. 25).

Millions of people, from 1st century Jerusalem to 21st century Nottingham, have come to know Jesus as the living Son of God and have been transformed by him. Read the stories of what Jesus has done in their lives.