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Baby Jesus from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Today I want to talk about “Who is Jesus?” I feel that we take it for granted that people actually know that much about Him. In the world we see Jesus as a baby in a manger, then crucified on a cross. The life of Jesus seems to span about three months. There was so much more to His life than that. Jesus is a divine Being and had “always” been. He was not created like the angels, or like us. John chapter 1 tells us this:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:1–3 NKJV

Paul wrote in Colossians: For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. Colossians 1:16–17 NKJV.

That means that Jesus was already here when the Earth was created. Genesis 1:1 reads: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 NKJV).  The word God there is “Elohim”, the plural version of God. Jesus is first seen in the Old Testament as the person who appeared as the “Angel of the Lord” in his sudden confrontation with Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar in Genesis 16:7.

After this, Jesus continually appears throughout scripture. They are real occurrences, always initiated by God, that give us glimpses of who Jesus is as a person. He appeared on Earth many times in the form of a human, long before He was born in Bethlehem. Hagar gave Him the name: You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees-Me” (Genesis 16:13). I love that, the God who sees little ol’ me. See, that is a glimpse of the character of Jesus. Hagar said: “I have now seen the One who sees me’” (Genesis 16:13). Up close and personal.

The Angel of the Lord is one of many titles given to Jesus which I will not go into at the moment. The word angel basically means “messenger” or “one who was sent.” It appears about 214 times in the Bible and around one third of them refer to Jesus.

Anytime that you see the “Angel of the Lord” with a capital “A” in your bible, that is a reference to Jesus. It is called by theologians as a “Christophany” which means a temporary appearance by Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. I find it mysterious and fascinating. I’ll be reading the Bible and suddenly “There You are.” Not all modern translations have the word capitalized; the New King James is one that does.

In Genesis 22:11, the voice that called to Abraham from heaven to stop him from sacrificing Isaac was Jesus. It was the “Angel of the Lord” who called to Abraham. In Exodus 3:2, when Moses heard a voice calling to him from the burning bush, that was Jesus. I love reading that conversation, let’s take a brief look:

Jesus asked Moses (Exodus 4:1): “What is that in your hand?” Moses said, “A rod.” Jesus said, “Cast it on the ground.” So Moses cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it.” Can you picture that in your mind?

In Judges 13:2, Jesus appeared to the parents of Samson. The mother was barren and could not have children, but He told her that she would have one that was special. During this, Jesus ascended to heaven in the flame going up from the altar.

Isaiah wrote this about Jesus: “In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the Angel of His Presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He redeemed them.” (Isaiah 63:9 NKJV). Even then, Jesus was called the Redeemer of His people.

In Numbers chapter 22, it was Jesus that stood in the road before Balaam and caused his donkey to start speaking. The Lord “opened the mouth” of the donkey. In Judges chapter 2 verse 1, Jesus appeared to the Israelites. It reads: “Then the Angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers.” (Judges 2:1 NKJV). So we find that it was Jesus that led them out of Egypt.

In Judges 6:13, it was Jesus that appeared to Gideon and called him a “mighty warrior” and told him to go in the “might you have.” That “Go and I will go with you” has been a long theme through my life. When The Lord began to push me into my own computer business, He would intentionally put me in hopeless situations, much like Gideon. When I prayed I would only hear: “Go and I will go with you.” Every single time, I was successful. Also, I had no idea at the time that it was preparing me for what we are doing here today.

There are so many other places where Jesus appeared, He appeared to Abraham and told him that he would have a son named Isaac. He appeared to Joshua as the Lord of Armies (Hosts). Each appearance is unique and tells us something wonderful about Jesus. I just love these things, but because of time, I will only look at one more.

 In the book of Zechariah, there is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus. Zechariah records his vision as this:  “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by. (Zechariah 3:1-5 NKJV).

The high priest Joshua was standing there with satan accusing him, and Jesus defending him. Jesus took away his filthy clothes and clothed him in rich robes and stood beside him to be sure that it was done. How beautiful is that? He is the Friend that sticks closer than a brother.

I have to stop, but Jesus continues on all through scripture. After His ascension to heaven, Jesus appeared to Paul in prison in Acts 23:11. He appeared to John when he was living in exile on the Isle of Patmos in Revelation 1:9, and He still appears today. What I want to say is that if you are thinking of Jesus as a baby in a manger or hanging on the cross, YOU ARE THINKING TOO SMALL.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help me see the big picture, the world through Your eyes. Help me to cultivate love in my life and see the treasure that You buried in people, no matter how deep. Make me more like You, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.