Explained simply, for anyone
Who Is Jesus? (In Plain Language)
Jesus is the center of Christianity: a real man who lived two thousand years ago in what is now Israel, and whom Christians believe to be God the Son become human, fully God and fully man at once. He was born in poverty, taught with startling authority, healed the sick, welcomed the outcast, claimed to forgive sins and to be one with God, was crucified by the authorities of his day, and, Christians believe, rose bodily from the dead three days later. He said of himself, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and he called himself the bread of life, meaning that he is what the deepest hunger of the human heart was made for. To ask who Jesus is is the most important question a person can ask.
“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
“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
“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”John 6:35
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”Colossians 1:16
In plain words
Start with what is not seriously disputed by historians: Jesus of Nazareth really lived, gathered followers, taught, and was executed by crucifixion under the Roman governor Pilate. Then comes the extraordinary part, the claims Jesus made about himself. He did not merely teach about God; he spoke and acted as if he were God: forgiving sins, accepting worship, saying that he existed before Abraham, and calling people to follow him above everything else. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, is how the Bible describes it: the eternal God taking on a human life, being born, growing tired and hungry, laughing and weeping, and finally dying. Christians believe he did all this on purpose, to reach us where we are and to rescue us from the inside, as one of us.
A little deeper
Here is the pressure Jesus puts on everyone who meets him honestly. He said things that, if false, would make him either a liar or a madman, and if true, make him Lord of everything. He claimed to be able to forgive sins committed against other people, which only God could do. He accepted worship rather than refusing it. He staked it all on rising from the dead, and his followers, who had every reason to stay hidden after his execution, instead went out proclaiming they had seen him alive, and most of them died rather than deny it. That is why you cannot file Jesus away as merely a good teacher. Good teachers do not claim to be God. Either he was deluded, or dishonest, or he was telling the truth. The resurrection is his answer to the question, and the reason Christians say he is exactly who he claimed to be.
Where this points: Jesus, the Living Bread
And this is the wonder at the heart of it all: the God who made the stars came close enough to hold children, to touch lepers, to wash feet, and to die for the very people who rejected him. Jesus is not a distant deity demanding you climb to him; he is God come down to carry you home. He said, come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Whatever you have done, whatever you carry, that invitation includes you.
Questions people ask
Was Jesus a real historical person?
Yes. That Jesus of Nazareth lived, taught, gathered followers, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate is accepted by the overwhelming majority of historians, Christian or not, based on early sources both inside and outside the Bible. The real debate is not whether he lived, but who he was and whether he rose.
Was Jesus just a good moral teacher?
He was a profound teacher, but he refused to leave that door open. He claimed to forgive sins, to be one with God, and to be the judge of the world. A merely good teacher does not say such things. Jesus forces a sharper choice: either those claims are false, or he really is the Son of God.
Why do Christians say Jesus is God?
Because of what he said and did, and above all because he rose from the dead. He accepted worship, forgave sins, and claimed oneness with the Father, and the resurrection was God's public confirmation of those claims. Christians did not invent his divinity; they concluded it from the risen Jesus they encountered.