Qualified, Part 1

How do we know that Jesus is qualified? In John 5:31‑39, we see the five proofs of who Jesus is. Number one, Jesus said, ‘I tell you who I am. But you don’t have to listen to me if I’m the only One who says it.’ For instance, if I stood up and made some bold, brash statement, and had no witnesses to agree with me, you probably wouldn’t listen to what I said. Jesus told the people that He was the Messiah, the One who came to pay for their sins.

But there were other proofs besides just Jesus saying it. Second of all, there was John the Baptist. He pointed at Jesus and said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.’ He knew who Jesus was and he pointed Him out to the crowds.

The third proof that Jesus was the Messiah were the works Jesus did, the miracles He performed. How do you explain the miracles that Jesus worked? He made the blind to see. He made the lame to walk. He made the dumb to talk. He made the people who were deaf to hear. Jesus worked miracle after miracle. How could He do it? Because He is God. He is who He claims to be. He is the Messiah who paid for the sin of the world.

The fourth proof came from God the Father. Remember when Jesus was baptised and Jesus came up out of the water? God spoke from Heaven and said, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ Again, when Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John, God spoke out of heaven saying, ‘This is my beloved Son; hear him.’ God the Father recognised who Jesus was and He declared it publicly for all to hear.

The fifth proof that Jesus was indeed the Messiah is the Word of God, the Scriptures. This one is the strongest proof of all. We can literally go through the Bible, from beginning to end, and find hundreds of Scriptures that talk about Jesus Christ, telling who He is and identifying Him as the Messiah. In fact, there are thirty-seven different prophecies about the Messiah in the Bible. These prophecies were fulfilled in the life and ministry of Christ, proving that He is indeed the Messiah.

One of those prophecies is found in Micah 5:2. There we find that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. Do you remember the story of how Jesus was born? Because of the decree of Caesar Augustus, Joseph and Mary had to go over to Bethlehem in order to register for the census. When they were there, Jesus was born. If it hadn’t been for that decree, Jesus would not have been born in that town. God worked it out so Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, just as the Bible had prophesied.