Maybe you believe in Who Is Jesus. Maybe you don’t. Oh sure, almost all sane and educated people believe that Jesus was a real person, a religious teacher, who lived some 2000 years ago. Even the Koran mentions Jesus 25 times. Though the Islamic scripture does not portray Jesus as did His Apostles, it does not question His existence. Too much evidence exists for anyone wanting any credibility to deny Jesus’ existence.
Indeed, Jesus’ existence is rationally undeniable. What is routinely questioned, however, are facts related to His identity. Who was Jesus? Who is Jesus? His Apostles provided the answers to these questions in their preaching. And, thankfully, the message they preached has been faithfully preserved in their writings. They unashamedly, and at great personal cost, called people to believe in Jesus.
To believe in Jesus, as His Apostles believed and encouraged others to believe, certainly means more than to merely believe in His existence. Clearly, before Jesus was crucified, His existence was never in question. His identity was the issue then and it remains the core issue to this day. Thus, the Apostles faithfully presented Jesus to the world as He had presented Himself. They were eye witnesses to the things Jesus said and did. What they saw and heard convinced them to believe in Jesus.
Give the New Testament scriptures a fair reading, and you will find that before the Apostles believed in Jesus, Jesus believed in Jesus. That is, Jesus believed in His glorious identity. Before they believed He was the Son of God, He believed He was the Son of God. Before they believed He was the Christ (Israel’s Messiah), He believed He was the Christ. Before they believed He was the Savior, the Lord of Life, Lord of lords and King of kings, He believed all these things.