Lesson 2.1

Who Is Jesus?

When you complete this lesson, you’ll understand why Jesus is such an important person and be able to show from the Bible the difference between God and Jesus.

Begin Lesson

We’ll consider two main points in this lesson:

Jesus was a prophet and a miracle worker
Jesus is God’s Son

1. Jesus was a prophet and a miracle worker

Because of what he taught and did, Jesus is the most famous man who ever lived. Four books of the Bible are devoted to Jesus’ life and ministry.

This video clip about Jesus’ life on earth shows what made him so outstanding, and it will help you to answer the question that follows.

Sorry, the media player failed to load.Download This Video

Pick the best answer. Why did Jesus do the things he did?

He wanted to be popular and to make people love him
He wanted to reflect God’s qualities
He expected everyone to follow his teachings

Jesus did teach a great deal about love. However, he taught that the greatest command is, “You must love Jehovah your God.” (Matthew 22:37) Jesus always directed attention to Jehovah, never to himself.—John 7:16.

Correct. Jesus reflected God’s qualities so well that he could say: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father also.”—John 14:9.

Many people would agree with that view. Yet, even though Jesus fearlessly taught the truth about Jehovah God, he knew that most people would reject his message. In fact, he said: “The world . . . hates me, because I bear witness about it that its works are wicked.”—John 7:7.

Match the descriptions of Jesus to the correct verses. Click an item from each group to match them. [?]

BIBLE VERSES

“Jesus . . . said: ‘I feel pity for the crowd, because they have already stayed with me for three days and they have had nothing to eat.’”—Matthew 15:32
“Jesus . . . proved to be a prophet powerful in deed and word before God and all the people.”—Luke 24:19
“Which one is greater, the one dining or the one serving? Is it not the one dining? But I [Jesus] am among you as the one serving.”—Luke 22:27
“May you have undeserved kindness and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.”—Titus 1:4

Summary of Section 1

Jesus was a prophet and a miracle worker who taught the truth about God. By his compassion and his miracles, he reflected God’s qualities and displayed the same love for people that God has.

2. Jesus is God’s Son

Jesus often called Jehovah “my Father,” and the Bible calls Jesus “the Son of God.” (Matthew 12:50; Mark 1:1) What do these expressions mean?

To answer that question, we first need to consider a key fact that the Bible teaches about Jesus: Unlike any other human, Jesus lived in heaven before coming to the earth. Jesus said: “I have come down from heaven.”—John 6:38.

The Bible teaches that Jesus was God’s first creation. He was a mighty spirit who lived in heaven. He worked alongside Jehovah to make other spirit persons, called angels, as well as the physical universe and humans. (Colossians 1:15, 16) Jehovah later sent Jesus to be born on earth as a human, where he served as God’s greatest prophet. In a later lesson, we will learn how he became the Savior of the world. (Acts 5:30, 31) Slide the circle to change the picture. [?]

Let’s examine in detail how the Bible shows that Jesus was created by Jehovah God and worked alongside him. Click the highlighted words to see an explanation. [?]

Colossians 1:15, 16

“[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all other things were created in the heavens and on the earth.”

Just as a mirror can reflect brilliant sunlight, Jesus perfectly reflects Jehovah God’s glorious qualities.—Hebrews 1:3.

Jesus was the first person God created, and he is also the only person God created directly, without the involvement of anyone else.

Jesus worked along with Jehovah. Through Jesus all other things were created, including angels, the physical universe, and humans.

The Bible describes the special relationship between Jesus and Jehovah by saying that Jesus is “the only-begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18) What does this mean?

A human son receives life from his father. Likewise, Jesus received his life from Jehovah.
A father is older than his son and has more authority. Jesus said: “The Father is greater than I am.”—John 14:28.
A human son can imitate the fine qualities of his father and apply what he learns from him. Similarly, Jesus always imitated the matchless qualities of his Father, Jehovah, and applied the teachings he learned from him. (John 5:19) Click the picture to see the comparison. [?]

True or False: Jesus is God.

True
False

Although many have been taught that Jesus is God, the Scriptures show that Jesus and Jehovah are separate persons. In fact, Jesus called Jehovah “my God.” (John 20:17) If you’d like to investigate this subject further, check out the links at the end of this lesson.

That’s right. Jesus was created by Jehovah God. The Bible says: “No man has seen God at any time,” but many people did see Jesus.—John 1:18.

After Jesus died on earth, God raised him back to life in heaven as a spirit person. (John 17:4, 5) The Bible gives many details about Jesus’ resurrection. Match the details about Jesus’ resurrection to the correct Bible verses. [?]

RESURRECTION DETAILS

Jehovah resurrected Jesus
An angel reported it
Hundreds saw Jesus after his resurrection
People saw Jesus ascend to heaven

BIBLE VERSES

“The angel said to the women: ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was executed on the stake.  He is not here, for he was raised up.’”—Matthew 28:5, 6
“As [Jesus] was blessing them, he was parted from them and taken up to heaven.”—Luke 24:51
“God resurrected this Jesus, and of this we are all witnesses.”—Acts 2:32
“[Jesus] was raised up on the third day according to the Scriptures; and . . . he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time.”—1 Corinthians 15:4-6

Summary of Section 2

Jesus is the Son of God. Before coming to earth, he was a spirit person who worked alongside Jehovah to make all other things. Jesus was God’s greatest prophet and the Savior of the world. After Jesus died, Jehovah raised him back to life in heaven as a spirit person.

Review

Now let’s review some key points to help you remember what you’ve learned.

Review 1 of 3

Jesus was the most famous man who ever lived because . . .

He became rich
His teachings and powerful works were matchless
He toppled the Roman Empire
He lived longer than anyone else

No doubt, Jesus could have become rich if he had wanted to. Yet he had no permanent residence during his ministry, and he died owning nothing but his clothing.—Luke 9:58; John 19:23, 24.

That’s right. The Historians’ History of the World says: “The historical result of [Jesus’] activities was more momentous, even from a strictly secular standpoint, than the deeds of any other character of history.” Likewise, English historian H. G. Wells stated: “Jesus of Nazareth . . . is easily the dominant figure in history.”

Jesus lived during the time of the Roman Empire, which continued in power for hundreds of years after he died. Jesus posed no threat to the governments of his day. Instead, he remained completely neutral in political affairs.—John 18:36.

Jesus’ life as a human was actually quite short. He was executed when he was 33 years old, and his teaching and miracles took place during only the last three and a half years of his life.

Review 2 of 3

Pick the best answer. Which expression from Colossians 1:15, 16 shows that Jesus was the first person created by God?

“Image of the invisible God”
“Firstborn of all creation”
“By means of him all other things were created”

This expression shows that Jesus perfectly reflected Jehovah’s qualities. We cannot see God, who is invisible, but we can learn much about God from what Jesus said and did.—Matthew 11:27.

Good. Jesus was the first person God created. The Bible says of Jesus: “He is before all other things.”—Colossians 1:17.

This expression shows that Jesus worked alongside Jehovah to make all other things, including angels, the physical universe, and humans.—John 1:3.

Review 3 of 3

Which choice describes what the Bible teaches about Jesus?

Jesus is God’s Father
Jesus is equal to God
Jesus is God’s Son

Jesus always referred to God as his Father. In fact, the term “Father of God” does not appear in the Bible. This is because God has no father, or life-giver; he has always existed.—Psalm 90:1, 2.

This is a very common belief. Yet, Jesus said: “The Father is greater than I am.” (John 14:28) For more on this subject, check out the links at the end of this lesson.

Correct. Jesus is unique as “the Son of God” because he was the first person God created and the one through whom Jehovah created angels and humans.—John 11:27; Colossians 1:15, 16.

Dig Deeper

Which choice describes the person who would be able to teach others the most about God? One who . . .

Received messages from God through an angel
Spent many hours in prayer and meditation
Explained ancient holy writings
Spent billions of years with God in heaven

God sometimes sent messages through angels. (Luke 1:26, 27) Yet, Jesus learned from God directly, without needing an angelic messenger.

Like other faithful servants of God, Jesus prayed and meditated often. (Daniel 6:10; Luke 6:12) However, Jesus has unique personal experience that enables him to teach about God.

Many of God’s servants have explained God’s Word, the Bible. (Nehemiah 8:8) Jesus was outstanding in doing this, but something else makes him even more qualified to teach about God.—Luke 24:45.

Very good. Jesus has known Jehovah longer than anyone else has, so he is more qualified than anyone else to teach others about Him. (John 1:18) When Jesus was on earth, God himself stated from heaven: “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved. Listen to him.”—Matthew 17:5.

Lesson Summary

Jesus was a prophet and a miracle worker, and he showed the same love for people that God shows
Jesus is the Son of God. He lived in heaven before he came to earth