QUESTIONS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST THE 100 MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST S. MICHAEL HOUDMANN GENERAL EDITOR Copyright © 2013 S. Michael Houdmann, General Editor. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting: WestBow Press A Division of Thomas Nelson 1663 Liberty Drive Bloomington, IN 47403 www.westbowpress.com 1-(866) 928-1240 Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.” (www.Lockman.org) Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them. ISBN: 978-1-4497-9329-6 (sc) ISBN: 978-1-4497-9328-9 (e) Library of Congress Control Number: 2013907749 WestBow Press rev. date: 06/12/2013 CONTENTS Acknowledgements Preface Introduction— The Ultimate Question Chapter 1 Questions About Who Jesus Is Chapter 2 Questions About Jesus’ Deity Chapter 3 Questions About Jesus’ Humanity Chapter 4 Questions About Jesus’ Birth And Life Chapter 5 Questions About Jesus’ Ministry Chapter 6 Questions About Jesus’ Crucifixion Chapter 7 Questions About Jesus’ Resurrection And Ascension Chapter 8 Questions About Jesus In The Old Testament Chapter 9 Miscellaneous Questions About Jesus Appendix— Statement Of Faith Endnotes ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS T HIS BOOK IS dedicated to the more than 500 individuals who have served as volunteer writers for Got Questions Ministries in the past ten years. Their hard work, commitment, and passion are what make this ministry possible. Special thanks goes to Kevin Stone, Rebekah Largent, and Gwen Sellers, who contributed greatly to this volume in writing, editing, organizing, and indexing. All the glory goes to God, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” (Romans 11:36) PREFACE E VERY DAY, MORE and more people turn to the Internet to find answers to their questions about spiritual matters. Topics related to spirituality are the second-most searched subjects online. Sadly, websites that present false teachings far outnumber those that proclaim the truth of God’s Word. In February of 2002, www.gotquestions.org was launched to help fill this gap and meet the needs of millions of spiritually-minded Web surfers. Since our launch, we have personally answered over 340,000 questions that have been submitted to us. Tens of millions of people have found answers to their questions via our Frequently Asked Questions archives, giving us a unique understanding of what questions are truly on people’s minds. This volume is a collection of the most important and/or most frequently asked questions about Jesus Christ. Each question is answered directly from the Bible, if the Bible specifically addresses the particular issue. Where the Bible is silent on an issue, biblical principles are used to lead to a solid and correct understanding. The Lord Jesus Christ is our passion, and declaring His Word is our mission. Mission Statement of Got Questions Ministries Got Questions Ministries seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by providing biblical, applicable, and timely answers to spiritually-related questions. INTRODUCTION — THE ULTIMATE QUESTION Question: What does it mean that Jesus saves? Answer: “Jesus saves” is a popular slogan on bumper stickers, signs at athletic events, and even banners being pulled across the sky by small airplanes. Sadly, few who see the phrase “Jesus saves” truly and fully understand what it means. There is a tremendous amount of truth packed into those two words. Jesus saves, but who is Jesus? Most people understand that Jesus was a man who lived in Israel approximately 2,000 years ago. Virtually every religion in the world views Jesus as a good teacher, a prophet, or a moralist. And while Jesus was most definitely all of those things, the descriptions do not capture the full picture of who Jesus is, nor do they explain how or why Jesus saves. Jesus is God in human form (John 1:1, 14). God became a human being in the person of Jesus in order to save us. That raises the next question: Jesus saves, but why do we need to be saved? The Bible declares that every human being who has ever lived has sinned (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23). To sin is to do something, in thought, word, or deed, that contradicts God’s perfect and holy character. Because of our sin, we all deserve judgment from God (John 3:18, 36). God is perfectly just, so He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. Since God is infinite and eternal, and since all sin is ultimately against God (Psalm 51:4), only an infinite and eternal punishment is sufficient. Eternal death is the only just punishment for sin. That is why we need to be saved. Jesus saves, but how does He save? Because we have sinned against an infinite God, either a finite person (you) must pay for your sin for an infinite amount of time, or an infinite Person (Jesus) must pay for your sin one time. There is no other option. Jesus saves us by dying in our place. In the person of Jesus Christ, God sacrificed Himself on our behalf, paying the infinite and eternal penalty that only He could pay (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 2:2). Jesus took the punishment that we deserve in order to save us from a horrible eternal destiny, the just consequence of our sin. Because of His great love for us, Jesus laid down His life (John 15:13), paying the penalty that we owed but could not pay. Jesus was then resurrected, demonstrating that His death was indeed sufficient to pay the penalty for our sins (1 Corinthians 15). Jesus saves, but whom does He save? Jesus saves all who will receive His gift of salvation. Jesus saves all those who fully trust in Him—in His death and resurrection—as the payment for sin (John 3:16; Acts 16:31). While Jesus’ sacrifice was perfectly sufficient to pay for the sins of all humanity, Jesus only saves those who personally receive, by faith, His most precious gift (John 1:12). If you now understand what it means that Jesus saves, and you want to trust in Him as your personal Savior, make sure you understand and believe the following. Then, as an act of faith, communicate with God: “God, I know that I am a sinner, and I know that because of my sin I deserve to be eternally separated from you. Even though I do not deserve your love, thank you for loving me and providing the sacrifice for my sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus died for my sins and I trust in Him alone to save me. From this point forward, help me to live my life for you instead of for sin. Help me to live the rest of my life in gratitude for the wonderful salvation you have provided. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me!” Have you made a decision to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior because of what you have read here? If so, please send us an email at [email protected]. Chapter 1 QUESTIONS ABOUT WHO JESUS IS Contents Who is Jesus Christ? What is Christology? Did Jesus really exist? Is there any historical evidence of Jesus Christ? Is Jesus a myth? Is Jesus just a copy of the pagan gods of other ancient religions? How is Jesus Christ unique? How is Jesus different from other religious leaders? What are the different names and titles of Jesus Christ? Who was the real, historical Jesus? What does it mean that Jesus Christ is the cornerstone? What does it mean that Jesus is the “firstborn” over creation? What does it mean that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords?