Bible Study
Who Jesus is — and why it changes everything. Fully God and fully man, the one mediator and the question every person must finally answer.
Study this in the app →To grow in Christ we must know Christ. These passages press the question He asked His own disciples: 'Who do you say that I am?'
Jesus made claims that left no neutral ground — taking God's own name, receiving worship, redefining the Messiah through the cross before the crown.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Eternal, personal, fully divine.
“Before Abraham came into existence, I AM.”
Jesus takes up God's covenant name (Exodus 3:14).
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
'Christ' is a title — the Anointed King.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
He leads by laying down His life.
“The Son of Man came... to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
His mission: a ransom.
“...he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant... obedient to death, even the death of the cross.”
Glory displayed through humility.
In John 1:1, what is John claiming about Jesus?
Answer: He was eternally with God and was God
John echoes Genesis 1:1 to present Jesus as eternal and fully divine — 'with' God (a distinct Person) and 'was' God (the same essence). Verse 14: the Word 'became flesh.'
Word study: Greek Logos — God's self-expression and the reason behind creation. John says that Logos is a Person.
Context: John bridges Hebrew thought (Genesis 1; Psalm 33:6) and Greek thought — the eternal Logos in the flesh.
When Jesus says 'Before Abraham was, I AM,' what is He echoing?
Answer: God's covenant name revealed to Moses
Jesus says 'I AM,' taking up the divine name. The crowd understood — they picked up stones (John 8:59). A direct claim to deity.
Word study: Greek ego eimi ('I am') stands for the Hebrew name YHWH (Exodus 3:14), from hayah, 'to be.'
Context: Applying the divine name to oneself was either blasphemy or revelation — no neutral middle.
What does it mean that Jesus is the 'Christ'?
Answer: He is God's anointed King and Deliverer
'Christ' is a title marking Jesus as the Anointed One — Prophet, Priest, and King — fulfilling promises to David (2 Samuel 7). Peter's confession is the hinge of the Gospels.
Word study: Greek Christos = Hebrew Mashiach ('Messiah') — 'Anointed One.'
Context: Many expected a political liberator. Jesus redefined the role through the cross.
How did Jesus most fully display His glory (Philippians 2:6-8)?
Answer: By humbling Himself to serve and die
Jesus didn't cling to His rights; He stepped down to serve and die. He didn't stop being God — He added humanity. This is the pattern for our own humility (verse 5).
Word study: 'Emptied himself' is Greek ekenosen — not subtracting deity but adding servanthood. 'Form' (morphe) = true nature.
Context: Rome prized status; crucifixion was the most shameful death. Paul makes self-giving the measure of greatness.
In Luke 24, how did the risen Jesus explain His death?
Answer: He showed how all Scripture pointed to Him
Jesus is the key to the whole Bible (John 5:39). Their hearts 'burned' as Scripture opened (Luke 24:32). Knowing the Word and knowing Christ grow together.
Word study: 'Explained' is Greek diermeneuo — to thoroughly interpret. The Emmaus road is the first Christian Bible study.
Context: They awaited a different Messiah; Jesus reframes the whole story around His suffering and glory.
What did Jesus mean by calling Himself the 'Good Shepherd' (John 10:11)?
Answer: He lays down His life for His sheep
Unlike a hired hand who flees danger, the true Shepherd dies to save the flock. Jesus knows His sheep by name (John 10:14) and lays down His life willingly — leadership defined by sacrifice, not status.
Word study: 'Good' is Greek kalos — not merely competent but beautiful, noble, model. He is the Shepherd as a shepherd ought to be.
Context: Shepherd imagery runs through the Old Testament (Psalm 23; Ezekiel 34), where God promises to shepherd His people Himself. Jesus claims to be that promise.
According to Mark 10:45, why did the Son of Man come?
Answer: To serve and give His life as a ransom for many
Jesus overturns the world's idea of greatness: the King comes as a servant and gives His life as the price of our freedom. This verse compresses His whole mission into one sentence.
Word study: 'Ransom' is Greek lytron — the price paid to free a slave or captive. Jesus' death is the payment that sets prisoners free.
Context: He says this just after the disciples argue over who is greatest — redefining greatness as self-giving service.
What did Jesus claim in John 8:58 and John 10:30?
Answer: To be eternal and one with the Father — claiming deity
Jesus took for Himself the divine name 'I AM' and claimed oneness with the Father. His hearers understood the claim exactly — they picked up stones, knowing He was claiming to be God (John 10:31-33).
Word study: 'I AM' is Greek ego eimi, echoing God's self-revelation to Moses in Exodus 3:14. To say it of Himself was, to His hearers, unmistakable.
Context: These were not vague spiritual sayings; the violent reaction shows His hearers heard them as direct claims to deity.
Jesus asked, 'Who do you say that I am?' Why is this still the most important question for each person?
Answer: What we conclude about Jesus' identity shapes everything else
Jesus doesn't let us stay neutral. He is either who He claimed — the Christ, the Son of God — or He is not, and there is no comfortable middle ground for a man who said the things He said. How we answer His question reorders our whole life: our hope, our worship, our obedience all hinge on it.
Word study: 'Christ' is Greek Christos, 'Anointed One' — Peter confesses Jesus as the long-promised King and divine Son in a single breath.
Context: Jesus asked this near Caesarea Philippi, a city full of pagan temples and Caesar-worship — a pointed backdrop for confessing the true Lord.
When Jesus said 'I am the way, and no one comes to the Father except through me' (John 14:6), was this arrogant exclusivity or good news?
Answer: Good news — the way to God is open, named, and welcomes all who come
Exclusivity sounds harsh until you see what it actually means: there is a sure way to God, and its door is a Person who invites everyone. Far from shutting people out, Jesus throws the door open — 'come to me, all of you.' The narrowness is in the path (Him alone), the width is in the welcome (all who come).
Word study: 'The way' is Greek hodos; the earliest believers were even called followers of 'the Way' (Acts 9:2) — a road, not a maze.
Context: Jesus said this to comfort anxious disciples the night before He died — the tone is reassurance, not rebuke: He Himself is their road home.