Who Is Jesus?

You might have a specific idea of who Jesus is.

Maybe you grew up with a version of Christianity that felt a list of rules. Maybe you walked away from the Church. Maybe you’ve never had much use for organized religion, but you’ve found that productivity, therapy, success, money, or pleasure haven’t been the answers to your questions.

Wherever you find yourself, welcome. Keep scrolling for a look at who Jesus really is.

Have you ever asked one of these questions?

  • Why am I here?
  • What’s worth living for?
  • What do I do with the pain of suffering and loss?
  • How can I raise a child in such a chaotic and uncertain world?
  • What’s the point of life?

We’ve all tried to answer those questions with answers like sex, money, power, relationships, career, parenting, or countless other options. None of these things are bad in and of themselves, but none can ultimately fulfill the purpose for which we were made.

During His ministry, Jesus says something that’s either the most important or the craziest statement ever made: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). His followers pressed into that claim because they’d tried everything else and were left emptier than before. Millions of Christians over thousands of years from all ethnicities and socioeconomic statuses have come to find that Jesus is the Truth.

Many of us know what religion looks like at its worst. If that’s the version of Christianity you experienced, we understand why you left it behind. We encourage you to take a look at the real Jesus, not the institution that sometimes misrepresents Him:

  • He walked with the marginalized. (Luke 5:12-13, Luke 19:1-10)
  • He sat with those who grieved and doubted. (John 11:35, John 20:27)
  • He told powerful people uncomfortable truths. (Matthew 23:27-28, Mark 10:21)
  • He told broken people that they were fiercely loved. (John 8:10-11, Luke 15:20)
  • Ultimately, he died for his enemies. (Romans 5:8, Luke 23:34)

No one else in history has done these things consistently. In our divided and polarized time, our factions tend toward fundamentalism and mercilessness. Do our political and social parties love those we disagree with or view them as less than human? Do our leaders, pundits, and social feeds tell uncomfortable truths to everyone in power, or only to those they disagree with?

Jesus described Himself this way: “I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). He proved it through His life, death, and resurrection. The Church has failed people, but Jesus never has.

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” – C.S. Lewis

Encountering Jesus brings the whole world into focus. The order you sense in creation, the morel intuition that stirs when you witness injustice, and the ache for beauty that a piece of music or a mountain range produces in you—these are not accidents. They are echoes.

The universe is not silent. It is structured by a Creator, and that Creator has a face. The Westminster Confession reminds us that our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. This means that every joyful experience in friendship, vocation, and the created world is an echo of the God in whom all truth, goodness, and beauty are found.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” – John 1:14

We All Worship Something

David Foster Wallace, an agnostic, made this point in his well-known commencement address: 

“Here’s something…that’s weird but true: in the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.  

And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or gods to worship—be it JC or Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles—is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive.  

If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will…never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure, and you always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you.” 

Jesus is What You’re Looking For

In Jesus, truth, goodness, and beauty aren’t just a list of ideals. They’re a person. In the Gospel of John, a man born blind was asked to explain his encounter with Jesus. He couldn’t answer every theological question that the religious leaders threw at him, but he did say this: “One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).

That’s the testimony of everyone who genuinely encountered Jesus. They don’t suddenly have all the answers, but their lives are changed. What was once dark becomes light. Wherever you find yourself as you read this, Jesus is what you’re looking for.

Your Doubts Are Welcome Here

Woodside exists as one church across 14 campuses in Southeast Michigan, and we want to help you see Jesus. You don’t have to have all the answers before you walk through our doors. Our pastors preach directly from Scripture, and we welcome your doubts, questions, and everything in between.  

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Learn more about who Jesus is: John 14:6 · Matthew 11:29 · John 1:14 · John 9:25 · Acts 17:26–27 · John 3:16 · Romans 3:21–26 · John 10:10 · Matthew 9:36 · Hebrews 4:15