Who is Jesus to you?

By Heather Hanton

Over the past few weeks at our corps we have been doing a lent series called Lent Awakening. We’ve been looking at Jesus revealed to us, Jesus as our humble servant, and Jesus as our healer and how we can follow His example.

Jesus is so many things. I teach the high school Sunday School class at our corps. They are such a joy! I love them so much! We always take the sermon topic and then I write a lesson based on the scripture and topic that will be discussed during church so it all connects. It allows for pre-discussion and reinforces the topic. Ultimately I hope that, during the sermon the kids will hear something we just discussed in SS and there will be even more application!

When we started the lent series we wrote a list of how Jesus is described in the Bible.

According to John 1:1-14 Jesus is:

The Word
With God
Was God
All things were made by Him
Life
Light of all mankind
Came from the Father
Full of grace and truth.

That’s just from John chapter 1!

We also know from other passages throughout both the Old and New Testaments that Jesus is:

Emmanuel
Son of God
Savior
The Christ
Messiah
Fully Human
Fully God
Wonderful Counselor
Prince of Peace
King of Kings
The Light
The Way
The Truth
The Life
The Bread of Life
The Living Water
The Good Shepherd
Healer
Servant
Rabbi
Savior
Redeemer

This is not an exhaustive list! We filled an entire white board and ran out of room! We could’ve gone on and on.

So the question came up…who is Jesus to you? Who do you need Him to be in your life right now?

I love the story of the healing of the man at the Pool of Bethesda in John 5. This man, paralyzed from birth, had been living at this pool for 38 years hoping to get to the water.  It was said that when the waters were stirred up, the pool had healing properties. But it would only heal those who could get into the water first. This man was all alone. He had no family. No one to help him get to the water before everyone else.

For years he watched as the waters were stirred and tried to get in but others simply stepped over him as if he weren’t even there. He was invisible.

In John 5:6 we read that Jesus saw him and noticed he must have been there for a very long time. He went to him and asked, “Do you want to be healed?” He saw this man who had gone unnoticed, forgotten about, without hope. And then Jesus engages him in conversation, validating him as a person of worth.

And then the miracle – Jesus heals him.

Friends, Jesus sees you. He is asking you the question, do you want to be healed? Do you want a deeper faith? Do you want forgiveness? Do you want peace? Do you want joy?

Jesus is asking. How are you responding?

We celebrate Easter this month. As we reflect on Jesus’ life and ministry remember that Jesus is all of those things we listed above…and more! He is our Savior from sin and the risen King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

So today, listen for His voice. Respond. And then watch His miracle-working power work in your life.

Heather Hanton
Media and Ministries Specialist
The Salvation Army Central Territory
Women’s Ministries Department