The question, “Who is Jesus” has been around since the time Jesus himself walked the earth as a man. Jesus asked his disciples, ”Who do people say I am?” (Matt. 16:13). No less relevant is the question for those of us today who wonder, and really want to know who Jesus truly is.

Jesus has been portrayed in many ways throughout the history of the church, and in pop-culture. Portrayals vary from the super freakish looking midieval Catholic Jesus, which looks like a mini-me version of a child with an adult face, to the pretty eyed, highly feminine, never angry, walking in fields of wild flowers drag-queen Jesus of many of the so called “Jesus movies.” In today’s pop-culture crazed world, Jesus takes on the appeal of a drinking buddy, someone who likes to get just as crazy as the rest of the crowd, but who also (like the Dos Equis man) can still drive everyone else home safely at the end of the night. There is a popular t-shirt on the market which reads, “Jesus is My Homeboy.”

With all of the various ideas about who Jesus really is out there, discerning which characterization is correct can be quite confusing. Sometimes its hard to know if we should bow down and worship him, or bow down to look at his new Prada unisex high-heeled shoes and matching handbag! What are we to make of all this exactly?

I think Jesus can clear up any confusion as to who he is. Jesus said, ”I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62). When Jesus used the term “I AM,” he was clearly (at least in the minds of Jews who immediately tried to kill him for his ‘blasphemy’) identifying himself as Yahweh, the Old Testament God of Israel, who created the world and governs it according to his soveriegn will. Son of Man, as Jesus used the term, was a reference to the Messiah who would one day come in the fiery clouds of heaven to deliver his people and execute judgment on the people of the earth for their sins. Clearly, Jesus was not confused about his own identity. Controversial, but not confused.

So, what does this mean for us today? We must accept Jesus for who he really is (who he said he is), and worship him accordingly. We must love, serve, and worship Jesus in a manner that is acceptable to him, and not according to our own ideas about who his is and how to approach him.

Vintage Worship is committed to exploring all the ways in which we may worship the real Jesus in a manner acceptable and pleasing to him. To him be glory forever. Amen.