That by believing you may have life in his name
Scripture · as God’s word
John tells us plainly why he wrote his Gospel: so that you would know who Jesus is, and believe in him and have life.
So the question “Who do you say I am?” is not a matter of knowledge but of life. In his prayer Jesus said that eternal life is knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he sent (John 17:3).
Jesus did not call himself one of many ways to life, but the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). The gate that leads to life is narrow (Matthew 7:13–14), but it stands open not to those who can pay the price but to those who receive.
As a first step, read the Gospel of John from the beginning. John wrote it for this very purpose: that you would answer that question.
Read John from chapter 1 21 chapters →Follow the 'Who is he?' thread on the map →Start the New Believers course →
Sources
- Paul Washer, “Who Do You Say Jesus Is?” · Matthew 16:13–16
- Historicity of Jesus · An overview of the scholarly consensus
- Tacitus on Jesus · Annals 15.44
- Josephus on Jesus · Antiquities 18.63, 20.200
- Pliny the Younger on Christians · Letters 10.96
- 1 Corinthians 15 · The early creed
- Rylands Papyrus P52 · The oldest surviving fragment of a New Testament manuscript
- Habermas, “Resurrection Research from 1975 to the Present” (2005) · A survey of resurrection research
- John Dominic Crossan on Jesus’ Death · The historicity of the crucifixion