Throughout history, there have been few figures as influential, loved or despised as much as Jesus Christ.

But who was Jesus?

In probably the first written biography of Jesus found in the Bible, Mark calls him ‘the Christ, the Son of God’ (1:1). Throughout Mark’s account, Jesus’s followers come to realise what this means. Jesus was God’s ‘beloved Son’ (1:11), who had power over evil (1:21-28; 5:1-20), sickness (1:29-34), nature (4:35-41) even death (5:35-43)! It was clear by his teaching and his actions that he wasn’t just a good teacher, but one with unique authority that gave him power to do what only God could do (2:1-12).

He was compassionate to the needy (1:41) and generous to the broken. He stood up to hypocrites (3:1-6; 7:1-13) and looked out for his mates (6:45-52).

Jesus came to earth ‘not to be served but to serve’ (10:45). He came to suffer, and to be killed for the sake of others (8:31-33). He came to suffer and die in our place – that’s the heart of what we believe.

But Jesus didn’t stay dead (8:31; 16:1-6). He rose in victory and will return once more, ‘with great power and glory’ (13:26-27; 8:32). Will we be ready?

To find out more about Jesus, please visit one of our Sunday services, or explore www.jesus-is.org.au/.