Introduction
No other person has shaped the history of the world, especially Western civilization, more than Jesus of Nazareth. Even though most of His life was lived quietly and out of the spotlight, His influence continues today through the movement that carries His name. At its core, Christianity isn’t just about culture, traditions, or practices. It’s about a person, Jesus Christ.
Christianity Is About a Person
Some people who don’t really understand Christianity think it’s mainly about rules or doctrines. For them, it’s about church creeds like the Apostles’ Creed, or about belonging to a specific denomination. Sometimes they even define Christianity by what Christians don’t believe, like rejecting evolution, abortion, or same-sex marriage.
Others think Christianity is mostly a list of rules about how to behave. That might include not drinking alcohol, not using drugs, not having sex before marriage, or not using God’s name as a curse word. To some, these rules look like ways to take away fun, while others see them as guidelines for a better life.
Still, others think Christianity is just about a certain style of worship. For example, some connect it with traditional, formal services in cathedrals, while others think of contemporary services with music, raised hands, and lively praise. Both groups may truly follow Christ, but these outward practices are not the heart of Christianity—they only scratch the surface.
In places like China today, there are about one hundred million believers in Jesus Christ. Because Christians there often face persecution, many meet secretly in homes or other safe places. Their worship is usually simple, without formal rituals or big worship bands. Their songs may sound different from Western hymns, but their faith is just as strong, maybe even stronger. Why? Because real Christianity is not about style. It’s about Jesus Christ Himself. Without Him, there is no Christianity.
Jesus is the one who gives His followers strength to obey, even when governments tell them to deny their faith. Many are willing to suffer, sacrifice, and even die as martyrs rather than abandon Him. Others risk everything to share the good news of Jesus with unreached tribes, closed-off nations, and faraway villages. Their courage comes from their personal relationship with Him.
Today, the name of Jesus is known all over the world. Some worship Him; others use His name as a curse. His fame is not because of His family or background. He was born in a small, unknown village called Bethlehem in 4 BC, to a poor family in a nation under Roman control. Yet now, one out of every four people on earth honors His name, while many others reject or hate it. His birth is so significant that all of history is divided by it: BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini, “in the year of our Lord”).
When Jesus was born, His people were under the power of the Roman Empire, the strongest empire of its time. Rome ruled through military strength, strict laws, and its own culture and language. By all human standards, Jesus should have been forgotten. But instead, His influence spread quietly through people’s hearts until, centuries later, Rome itself declared Christianity its official religion under Emperor Constantine in AD 313.
At its heart, Christianity is not about rules, rituals, or traditions. It is about one extraordinary Person, Jesus Christ, who continues to change lives and shape history.
Who was Jesus
Jesus was a real man, known in His hometown as “the carpenter” (Mark 6:3). Many Bible scholars believe His earthly father, Joseph, died when Jesus was still young. If that’s true, Jesus likely took on the responsibility of supporting His family by working in the carpentry trade.
As a man, Jesus lived among ordinary people, blending in naturally. But most people didn’t realize who He really was: “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). His ministry lasted only about three and a half years, yet His teachings, miracles, and acts of kindness are still remembered worldwide.
The Bible says Jesus was perfect in every way, though the people around Him often didn’t notice it. His personality was completely balanced. No single trait stood out too much, and no weakness could be found. He never lacked anything in character, and He never had to apologize for what He said or did.
When Jesus spoke, His words always fit the moment. He never stayed silent when truth needed to be spoken, and He never spoke carelessly when silence was wiser. His answers in every situation showed both truth and love, urging people to live better and aim higher. Even when His words challenged or condemned someone, He did it with love, offering forgiveness and acceptance.
Jesus’ strength was steady but never stubborn. He wasn’t “hard-headed,” but neither was He soft or sentimental. His compassion was deep and genuine.
Many great men in the Bible were remembered for one main strength, Moses for meekness, Job for patience, Elijah for boldness. But Jesus was the perfect blend of every quality. Nothing needed to be changed, toned down, or added. He was flawless.
There is no record of Jesus ever apologizing for a mistake, confessing a sin, or asking for forgiveness. He never had to take back a word or adjust what He said.
Jesus often asked people questions, but He never sought advice. He fully knew who He was, why He came, and what His mission was. From the very start, it was clear to those who met Him, Jesus was different.
The Eternal Jesus
Most people know the Christmas story, the account of Jesus’ birth in a stable in Bethlehem. But what many don’t realize is that His birth was not the beginning of His life. One of His disciples, John, began his gospel with these words: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). The Bible says that Jesus, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, created the world (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16). If He had not existed before His birth, He could not have been the Creator.
While on earth, Jesus clearly remembered His life before Bethlehem. He said, “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father” (John 16:28). The night before His death, He prayed for the glory He had with the Father before the world began (John 17:5).
In the Old Testament, there are several stories where God appeared to people in physical form. These are often called theophanies, meaning “appearances of God.” Today, many Bible teachers call them christophanies, appearances of Christ before He was born as a man.
Jesus Himself claimed this eternal existence. When He told the religious leaders that He had seen Abraham, they challenged Him: “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:57–58). By saying this, Jesus was declaring that He is God. The leaders understood this and picked up stones to kill Him, but He escaped unharmed.
The apostle Paul also taught about the eternal nature of Christ: “And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).
The real meaning of Christmas
For many people, the most familiar part of Jesus’ life is His birth. Every Christmas season, we hear about angels, shepherds, and the stable in Bethlehem. People send cards with nativity scenes and pictures of wise men. Churches hold Christmas services where the story is read again. But often, people stop at the surface details and miss the deeper truth of what really happened that first Christmas.
Deep down, people everywhere have a desire to know God, to see Him, to touch Him, to make Him real. Paul explained this to the philosophers in Athens when he said that God made all people and placed them where they live so they would seek Him, “though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26–27). That longing to know God explains why many people through history turned to idols of wood, stone, or clay. As Paul said, idols were what people created after rejecting the truth God had already shown them (Romans 1:21–23).
Because of this universal longing, “the Word [Jesus] became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14). This is what Christians call the incarnation, God becoming human. The incarnation teaches several important truths:
Jesus existed before His birth.
He chose to limit Himself during His time on earth.
He had to be born of a virgin, not through normal reproduction.
He was both fully human and fully divine.
But how could the eternal God take on human flesh? The answer is found in what Paul called kenosis, a Greek word meaning “emptied” (Philippians 2:7). Jesus didn’t stop being God, but He “emptied” Himself by hiding His glory, taking on human limits, and depending on the Holy Spirit to do His Father’s will. John said he saw glimpses of Jesus’ glory during His life (John 1:14), but it was hidden. Later, when John saw Jesus in His resurrected glory, he fell at His feet like a dead man (Revelation 1:17).
Even though Jesus did miracles, He also experienced the normal struggles of human life. He got hungry (Matthew 4:2), thirsty (John 6:1–7), and tired. Yet everything He did, He did in obedience to the Father through the Spirit (John 5:19).
Why would Jesus do this, setting aside His rights as God to become a man?
Love: He loved humanity enough to sacrifice Himself, even when people rejected Him (John 15:13; Romans 5:8).
Revelation: Becoming human was the clearest way to show us what God the Father is like (John 1:14, 18; John 14:7–11).
Salvation: It was the only way to deal with sin and undo the effects of Adam’s fall (Romans 5:12–21; John 3:16).
Example: He humbled Himself to show us how to live (Philippians 2:5).
The virgin birth is also an essential part of this truth. Jesus’ birth was normal, but His conception was miraculous, caused by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin (Matthew 1:25; Luke 1:27). This fulfilled God’s promise in Genesis 3:15 and Isaiah 7:14. Because of the virgin birth, Jesus was both fully human and fully divine, but He did not inherit humanity’s sinful nature. The Bible clearly says He never sinned (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5).
In AD 451, Christian leaders met at the Council of Chalcedon to clarify what believers had always taught: Jesus is one Person with two natures, fully God and fully man, “without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.” This wasn’t when Jesus was “made into God,” as some critics claim. The council simply defended the truth Christians had held since the first century. If they had wanted to invent something new, they would have denied Jesus’ humanity, not affirmed it.
The Bible teaches that Jesus’ human and divine natures are perfectly united, complete, permanent, and unchanging (Hebrews 13:8). Even after His resurrection, Jesus is still both God and man. Today, “the man Christ Jesus” stands as our mediator before the Father (1 Timothy 2:5).
That’s what makes Christmas so important. It’s not just about a baby in a manger, it’s about the eternal Son of God becoming flesh. Through the incarnation, Jesus came to:
Confirm God’s promises (Romans 15:8; Matthew 5:17).
Reveal the Father (John 1:18).
Become our High Priest (Hebrews 5:1; 7:25).
Take away sin (Genesis 22:8; John 1:29).
Defeat Satan (1 John 3:8).
Set an example for us to follow (1 John 2:6; 1 Peter 2:21).
Christmas is the celebration of that moment in history when “the Word became flesh.
The Growth and Testing of Jesus
If there was ever a perfect baby, it was Jesus. But like every child, He had to grow and develop. The Bible says, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52). This shows four areas of growth in His life:
Wisdom – Jesus had to learn words, form thoughts, and gain understanding as He grew.
Stature – He ate, exercised, and built physical strength and stamina like any other boy.
Favor with God – He developed spiritually, deepening His relationship with His Father.
Favor with men – He grew socially, building healthy relationships with others.
When Jesus was about thirty years old (Luke 3:23), He was baptized by John the Baptist. John hesitated, but Jesus told him, “It must be done, because we must do everything that is right” (Matthew 3:15). By being baptized, Jesus identified Himself with those who chose to follow Him.
Right after this, at the very start of His ministry, Satan tried to tempt Him three different times (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus had just fasted for forty days and was very hungry, which made Him vulnerable. But He refused every temptation:
He would not turn stones into bread to feed Himself.
He would not worship Satan in exchange for power over the kingdoms of the world.
He would not throw Himself from the temple roof to test God’s protection.
Jesus faced temptation in every part of His humanity, just like we do, but He never sinned.
Jesus Declared He Was God
Jesus started His ministry quietly, walking dusty roads in the land of Israel. But over time, He became one of the most well-known people in history—and His influence continues today. If Jesus were not truly God, Christianity could never have become the powerful global force it is. The English poet Lord Byron once said, “If ever a man was God, or God was man, Jesus was both.”
Throughout His ministry, Jesus openly claimed to be God. If that wasn’t true, then He wasn’t just “a good man”—He would have been a blasphemer, or worse, a fraud. Yet critics often try to reduce Him to nothing more than a kind teacher who did good deeds. But Jesus Himself said: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9), and “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
Perhaps His strongest claims were when He used God’s sacred name for Himself—the name “I AM.” In the Old Testament, God revealed Himself as Jehovah (or Yahweh), which comes from the phrase “I AM.” Jesus repeatedly applied this divine name to Himself:
“I am the bread of life” (John 6:35).
“I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).
“I am the door” (John 10:9).
“I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11).
“I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
“I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
The Jewish leaders understood exactly what He was saying. They thought His claims were blasphemy, and again and again they tried to kill Him.
The names and titles of Jesus also point to His divinity. He was called Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 7:14). The angel told Mary to name Him Jesus, meaning “Jehovah saves.” The Bible gives Him hundreds of other titles—Redeemer, Savior, Son of God, King, Cornerstone, Alpha and Omega, the Almighty. Over 800 names, titles, and symbols describe Him. Why so many? Because no single name can capture the fullness of who He is and what He does for humanity.
His miracles also proved His deity. Who but God could heal the blind, cleanse lepers, raise the dead, and feed thousands with a handful of food? A blind man declared, “I was blind, but now I see” (John 9:25). A healed leper praised God and fell at Jesus’ feet in gratitude (Luke 17:13–16). Lazarus, dead for four days, walked out of his tomb alive (John 11:1–44). And more than 5,000 people ate their fill from just five loaves and two fish (John 6:1–14).
Finally, Jesus accepted something no ordinary man would ever accept: worship. A leper bowed before Him (Matthew 8:2). A man freed from demons worshiped Him (Mark 5:6). After Jesus walked on water and calmed a storm, His disciples worshiped Him (Matthew 14:33). Who but God is worthy to receive worship?
Conclusion
If God became human, wouldn’t He make it clear that He was God? Yes! Jesus did exactly that. He called Himself “the light of the world,” meaning He came to shine truth and reveal who He really is. All throughout His ministry, Jesus told people who He was and why He came. He is the Creator of the world, the second Person of the Trinity, and the Savior of humanity. He is the Lord Jesus Christ, the very center of Christianity. Without Him, there is no Christianity.
The term “Christianity” is derived from the word “Christ,” one of several descriptive titles describing Jesus. From the very beginning, Jesus Christ has been the heart and core of Christianity. Without Jesus, there is no Christianity.