Welcome

Hi there! Welcome to the curriculum: What You Need to Know to Know Jesus Better

You were led to this curriculum because you are interested in knowing more about Jesus Christ. You have a desire to know more about your faith and why you believe what you believe in. The purpose of this curriculum is to help you better understand the person and the work of Christ so you can stand firm in your decision to be a disciple of Christ. Understanding the person (humanity) of Jesus and the work (supernatural power) of Jesus helps you understand and interact with your faith.

My prayer is that you will discover foundational truths about Christ so you can better understand your faith, which will lead you to stand firm in your faith. Regardless of the trials, tribulations, and hardships that people, life, and circumstances throw your way, my desire is for you to stand strong in the person and the work of Jesus Christ because how you see Jesus reveals what you believe about Him.

Questions:

How do you see Jesus?

What do you believe about Jesus Christ?

Introduction

Who Is Jesus?

+ Son of Man

+ Substitute

+ Son of God

Above are three titles of Jesus that will help guide you through these next few weeks. Every week we will break down one of the titles so you can better understand the character of Jesus Christ.

What You Need to Know to Know Jesus Better is a three-week journey that will guide you in understanding the person and the work of Jesus Christ. Although this is a three-week guide, I highly encourage you to go at your own pace. Knowing and understanding Jesus is a lifelong journey, and even when you complete this guide, there will still be truths that you discover about Jesus throughout your life.

With this being said, take off the pressure. You are not turning this in for a grade or getting a gold star for completion; rather, let this be a fun adventure of you getting to know your savior, Jesus. Just think about it: when you embark on a new relationship or desire to know someone better, it takes time. It takes time to know their character, their personality, their voice, and their mannerisms. The same can be said about getting to know Jesus. This adventure of knowing the person and the work of Jesus will take time.

I hope that you can commit to this guide for three weeks, but whatever you commit to, be faithful, take your time, and get to truly know and understand the one who saved your soul: Jesus Christ.

Week One

This week, we will focus on Jesus being the Son of Man. The purpose of this guide is to reveal the person and the work of Jesus Christ. This week, we will focus on the person of Jesus. The person of Jesus equates to His role and title as the Son of Man.

The Main Thing

Luke 19:10 ESV

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

Hebrews 2:17-18 ESV

Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation (make amends, reconcile) for the sins of the people. For because he has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus’s title, the Son of Man, is a theological way of saying that Jesus is 100% human. Jesus’s title, the Son of Man, equates to Jesus identifying as a human. Jesus walked, talked, and had the physical and physiological makeup of a human. [1] Luke 19:10 reveals that Jesus identified himself as the Son of Man, aka a human. A human who came to “seek and save the lost.” Hebrews 2:17-18 reveals why Jesus came as a human. Jesus came as a human to meet humanity down on our level to save us. [2] Jesus had to be 100% human to relate to our sins and our humanity. [3] Luke 19:10 reveals that Jesus was tempted, suffered, and made as a human like us to relate to us.

The Why?

The main thing from this week was to understand that Jesus is 100% human, and He came to relate to humanity. But you may be asking yourself, why would Jesus, the one who died on the cross for my sins, come as a human? Your question is valid, and the truth is that God could have sent His Son, Jesus, in any way that He wanted. But God chose to send Jesus in a human form to be like us so He could relate to our sufferings, temptations, and trials. The beautiful thing about being a follower of Jesus is that we do not serve or follow a God who did not face the same temptations or fleshly pain that we do. We follow a God who sent His Son to be the Son of Man so He could relate to our humanity.

I have more questions

The why explains the purpose and reasoning that Jesus came as the Son of Man. But you are probably still thinking to yourself, why was it so important for Jesus to relate to us? Again, this is a valid question. Jesus did not have to relate to us at all, but God sent Him on this earth to relate to our humanity and not only relate to us but to be us. Jesus came to earth as the Son of Man to take our place on the cross. [4] Jesus came to earth as the Son of Man to represent you and me on the cross.

Questions

How does it make you feel that Jesus came as the Son of Man?

How do you see Jesus now that you know He came to relate to your humanity?

Bibliography

“The I AM Changes Who I Am.” Liberty University, 2015. https://canvas.liberty.edu/courses/689133/pages/watch-the-i-am-changes-who-i-am?module_item_id=77212365. 

Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013.

Fox, Gary A. Understanding Atonement: Maybe It’s Time to Rethink Atonement without Giving Up Jesus. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2019.

Johnson, Adam. “Jesus as Substitute.” In St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology, edited by Brendan N. Wolfe et al. University of St Andrews, 2022–. Article published July 27, 2023. https://www.saet.ac.uk/Christianity/JesusasSubstitute.

Mason, Eric. Urban Apologetics: Cults and Cultural Ideologies: Biblical and Theological Challenges Facing Christians. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2023.

---

[1] Eric Mason, Urban Apologetics: Cults and Cultural Ideologies: Biblical and Theological Challenges Facing Christians, (Grand Rapids: MI: Zondervan, 2023).

[2] The I AM Changes Who I Am.” Liberty University, 2015. https://canvas.liberty.edu/courses/689133/pages/watch-the-i-am-changes-who-i-am?module_item_id=77212365. 

[3] Ibid.

[4] Gary A. Fox, Understanding Atonement : Maybe It’s Time to Rethink Atonement without Giving Up Jesus, (Eugene, OR:Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2019).