Dear Daisy,
I’ve been spending more time studying my Bible and I’m confused about why the Pharisees and Sadducees didn’t recognize their Messiah, Jesus. It seems that Jesus battled their unbelief His entire ministry. He taught them truth and showed them miracles, signs, and wonders that only He could do and they still wouldn’t believe. As religious leaders, didn’t they know God’s Word better than anyone? It seems they would recognize Him on the spot, or at least after a miracle or two based on their knowledge of scripture. How could they still not believe? What were their expectations? Does the Bible tell us what to look for in our Messiah to know it’s really Him? ~Signed, how will we recognize the real Jesus
Dear how will we recognize the real Jesus,
Great questions. God has graciously answered all these for us in His Holy Bible that He breathed for us. Let’s dig deeper.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE:
JESUS WILL
NOT
WALK THIS EARTH
IN THE FLESH
EVER AGAIN!
HE WILL MEET HIS FOLLOWERS
IN THE AIR
1Thessalonians 4:16-18
(Don’t believe the lies that He is walking this earth now!)
Who is Jesus?
If you listen to the world, there is a long list of options for you to choose from in the flesh or man-made form either in created images or now AI versions; all of which lead you away from the one true Jesus, the Son of God, our Creator. The enemy has created these fake versions to confuse you and lead you astray so that you will not know the grace, mercy, love, hope, and peace that the real Jesus offers you. Along with those gifts, the real Jesus offers forgiveness and salvation. The joys of being in a relationship with the real, only, living, Son of God, Jesus, is indescribable and eternal.
If you choose to listen to your Creator, Adonai our God, He breathed an entire Holy Book to teach you about your Heavenly Father, His son Jesus that He sent to die for your sins, and the gift of His Holy Spirit.
So, who is the real Jesus? The Holy Word made flesh, He is grace and truth, The light of the world, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Deliverer, The way, the truth, and the life! He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End! Don’t take my word for it, He is all over scripture; here’s just a few passages for proof:
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.”
John 1:1
(the Word is Jesus!)
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)
full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.“
John 3:16
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying,
I am the light of the world:
he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life.”
John 8:12
“I and my Father are one.”
John 10:30
“Jesus saith unto him,
I am the way,
the truth,
and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father,
but by me.”
John 14:6
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you His truth in these scriptures, to help you recognize Jesus your Savior. All you have to do is ask and He will show you (Jeremiah 33:3).
“Then opened he their understanding,
that they might understand the scriptures”
Luke 24:45
Once you see Him, you can’t unsee Him. And you won’t want to because you will immediately be washed with His love, hope, and peace.
When did God first reveal Jesus to us?
In the beginning, remember?
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:1. Jesus is referencing the beginning, go back to Genesis 1:1 and see. (See the obvious reference? Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1. These are not coincidences, they are intentional treasure maps. His Word and Truth are our treasures He wants us to find.)
God our Father and Jesus are one, as is His Holy Spirit (John 10:30).
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
Genesis 1:1-3
They, all three, are one, and separate beings as well. You see that they were together creating the heavens and the earth. Jesus is the Light! The Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
Let me warn you that learning God’s Holy Truth, is like drinking water from a fire hose! If you are hungry for His truth, it will pour out. Learn how to process His truth; don’t try to stop the flow. Just ask Him to help you process all He shows you. It’s so much fun! The more you learn of His truth directly from Him, you continue to experience His love for you on a growing deeper level. It’s the love that He created you to crave and that you have searched for your whole life; you have finally found the source!!!
Jesus is the source of the Living Water!
The same living water that Jesus offers the Samaritan woman at the well
in John chapter 4.
One thing we were never taught growing up in church is that Jesus was here in the beginning. He did not just show up in the book of Matthew in the Second Testament of the Holy Bible. Once you discover that truth and study through beginning in Genesis 1:1, you will find Him all along the way.
This is how you learn to recognize the real Jesus.
Prophecy of Jesus’ coming
In the First Testament of the Holy Bible, God uses His prophet, Isaiah to tell of the coming of Jesus. God warns us; He wants us to know what is to come, so that we can know what to expect, and to recognize His promises when we see them. There were no excuses not to know the Messiah when He arrived. People chose not to believe.
“14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
15 Butter and honey shall he eat,
that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.”
Isaiah 7:14-15
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6
“1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,
and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD”
Isaiah 11:1-2
“Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts;
I am the first, and I am the last;
and beside me there is no God.”
Isaiah 44:6
“Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
from the time that it was, there am I:
and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.”
Isaiah 48:16
Now do you see? Jesus was with us from the beginning. He told us in His Word. He is in every story. He used His prophets to teach us about Him. He told of His coming in the flesh; why He was coming, what to look for, and what He would do for us. He breathed it all in His Holy Bible so we would know, be prepared, and recognize our Messiah (2Timothy 3:16-17)!
Don’t read Isaiah 53
Said God NEVER!
God breathed the entire Holy Bible for our teaching and to warn us of what is to come. He did NOT breathe chapters that He doesn’t want us to read! If He didn’t want us to know, He wouldn’t have told us. Jesus said, “if it were not so, I would have told you” (John 14:2).
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
2Timothy 3:16-17
“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth:
it shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:11
“But these things have I told you,
that when the time shall come,
ye may remember that I told you of them.
And these things I said not unto you at the beginning,
because I was with you.”
John 16:4
Did you know that Isaiah chapter 53 has been intentionally avoided by pastors for teaching, and some religions actually tell their congregants not to read it? It’s true. Love a mystery? Go read this chapter and find out why they don’t want you to read it.
This entire chapter foretells about Jesus. It is intended to not only foretell about Him and what to look for, but to prove He is who He says He is, and why God allowed Him to die on the cross. By not studying this passage is why so many didn’t recognize Jesus when He walked on this earth in the flesh. That and the fact that they had ideals of what they wanted their Messiah to be like. The Pharisees wanted Him to be regal and majestic, successful, rich, royal looking, someone beautiful and strong that they could look up to, to command and lead them. Someone like Saul, the Israelites first king.
When God sent His prophet Samuel to anoint the second king for the Israelites, He specifically tells Samuel not to look at the outward appearance, rather to look at the heart (1Samuel 16:7). Scripture teaches how God chooses His servants.
“27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise;
and God hath chosen the weak things of the world
to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world,
and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea,
and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.”
1Corinthians 1:27-29
(See also Psalms 8:2, Zephaniah 3:12, Matthew 11:25)
God intentionally uses the least likely expected people to serve and follow Him, and spread His light so that no one follows the flesh, but instead follows Jesus out of total faith in Him. Plus, by choosing the least likely, God is able to get the glory for all His mighty works.
In Isaiah 53, you will discover why they didn’t want to believe Jesus was the Messiah. He is described here as not being one you would want to look upon; He was not handsome and mighty like Saul, but was quite the opposite. It’s hard to imagine our Savior being anything other than beautiful and perfect. Believe it or not, all of the pictures depicted of Jesus in the flesh are not reality according to God’s Word. While scripture says Jesus is perfect in every way, God also gives great detail of what His fleshly appearance would be like so we would know what to expect when He arrived. The Pharisees chose to not believe God’s description because it didn’t please their fleshly desires. Subsequently they created their own version of what they wanted Him to be like; that is still true in those religions today.
If you are still wondering why God would make Jesus opposite of the beautiful, strong, and mighty King Saul, let’s stop here and think about that a minute. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you the answers; they are all in His Holy Word. Isaiah 53 is a great place to begin. Pause, pray, and study this chapter.
Why did God send Jesus in the flesh? He sent His son for the express purpose of dying for our sins so that we could be saved through grace and faith in Jesus our Savior.
“8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9
So, it was a test of faith that God sent Him without beauty (Isaiah 53:2-3). For someone to willingly choose to follow an unlikely, unattractive, poor, nomad, man who claimed to be the Messiah could only happen through the grace of God and by His Holy Spirit. The followers of Jesus during His ministry while He was on this earth in the flesh were drawn by His spirit to His spirit. They followed Him by faith, not by His looks. Jesus did not need superficial people without faith following Him because He was a beautiful fleshly person. There were many unbelievers that followed Him for a time – solely to be entertained by His miracles, to be fed for free, or to find fault with Him.
The world hated Him in spite of His miracles, signs, wonders, healings, and most importantly, His love for them. They were blinded by their unbelief and could not see the love, joy, peace, and hope He offered.
Jesus remained sinless while He experienced our pain, suffering, grief, and being hated by others. In the flesh, He hurt like we hurt, yet, He remained faithful to His purpose. He is calling His followers to be faithful and do the same. According to scripture, only a remnant will follow Him through faith in the fire.
Points to pause, pray, and ponder:
- The sheep
- Lamb of God – sheep are “dumb” – speaking not a word
- Jesus did not speak as He was lead to the slaughter.
- As sheep, we have all gone astray unable to return to Him on our own, so He leaves the 99 to come find the one lost sheep.
- He is looking for His lost sheep
- When He finds you in your pit, He pulls you up and carries you home and protects you, celebrating that He has found you.
- He made Himself sin
- Sin is ugly
- We are sinful
- He lowered Himself to our ugly sinful level even though He never sinned.
- The poor and needy look to Him
- The rich and prideful think they don’t need Him
- Barrabas or Jesus?
- They released the thief and murderer and crucified the one they called a sabbath breaker, evil, drunkard, and friend to sinners
- He prayed for His Father to forgive those who were crucifying Him anyway
- He prayed for mercy over them instead of vengeance
- Our sins were laid on Him, like they were laid on the scape goat
- Jesus died like a sinner on a cross
- Jesus was placed in a tomb like a rich person
How to recognize the real Jesus today?
So how are you to know which one is the real Jesus in a world filled with fake ones? While it is currently still possible to find Him, it might surprise you to learn that you can’t do it in your own power.
Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord! (Zechariah 4:6)
God has given each of us the freedom to choose whether we want to follow Jesus. The ones who choose Jesus are then led by the Holy Spirit as He teaches all that you need to know. At any time you can change your mind and choose to go your own way. But it’s a fact, that if you can choose to walk away from your relationship with Jesus, then you never really had one in the first place. You were just testing the waters to see if you were interested in what He had to offer. Only those who wholeheartedly go “all in” with Him, taste His living water and His bread of life will truly follow Him in all ways; even through the pruning, refining, and testing in the fire. Those ones will experience the only true peace, love, hope and joy that He offers His committed followers.
When you are hungry for more of Jesus and truly want a relationship with Him, the Holy Spirit will give you wisdom and discernment to know the truth. When you go “all in” with Jesus, the enemy will no longer be able to deceive you into believing his lies. Scripture tells you exactly what to do to follow the real Jesus and recognize the countless imposters that the enemy creates to lead others astray.
Beware of the false prophets & fake messiahs
We are clearly warned about believing the lies of false prophets and those who come pretending to be Jesus. Only trust Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in all ways. When in doubt, pray.
“Then the LORD said unto me,
The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not,
neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them:
they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination,
and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.”
Jeremiah 14:14
“I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran:
I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.”
Jeremiah 23:21
“I have heard what the prophets said,
that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.”
Jeremiah 23:25
“For many shall come in my name, saying,
I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”
Matthew 24:5
“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.”
Matthew 24:11
“23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,
and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that,
if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you,
Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth:
behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.”
Matthew 24:23-26
Jesus calls them out for preferring the lies over the truth.
“I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not:
if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.”
John 5:43
When you are wholeheartedly following Jesus and in a relationship with Him, you will not be fooled by the imposters; in fact, you will be repulsed by them as the Holy Spirit gives you discernment to recognize them. Scripture says that the evil ones who call themselves Christ or one of His prophets have the ability to posses evil sorcery powers. These powers are magic, fake, limited powers meant to deceive you into believing. Know your Savior, Jesus the Messiah, and allow the Holy Spirit to show you what is real.
Heart check time
Our true Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus, came in the flesh and died for our sins, travailed in excruciating pain for us, but did not give up because He knew His calling and His reward for perseverance. He expects the same from us. Hang in there; cling to Him. We are saved by grace through faith. In that faith, we follow Jesus in all ways. Including God’s commands that Jesus upholds and that are written on our heart (Jeremiah 31:33).
Remember, don’t look for Jesus to walk this earth again ; it’s not in scripture. Next time Jesus appears, His followers will meet Him “in the air.”
“16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:
and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
1Thessalonians 4:16-18
Look up, your Redeemer is coming soon!
Make sure you are ready:
Do the ABC’s and repent today.
- A: Admit that you are a sinner. (Romans 3:23, Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 2:8-9)
- B: Believe in your heart that Jesus is the son of God and that He died for your sins and rose from the dead for you. (John 3:16-18, 1Corinthians 15:1-4)
- C: Call on Jesus and repent of your sins and turn back to Him and ask Jesus to show you the way. (Romans 10:9-13, John 14:6)
In closing,
Always ask Jesus what you should do in every situation. The Holy Spirit will lead you and guide you. If it’s not okay with Him, He will check your spirit and you will have an uneasy feeling and doubt about going forward. Always follow Jesus; NOT your heart; our hearts are fickle and can’t be trusted. Listen to the Holy Spirit; He is trying to protect you. You have a choice to obey or ignore. Choose to obey and stay under His protection.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
Jeremiah 17:9
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.“
Proverbs 3:5
“When you know you grow!”