If you grew up in the church like I did, you were probably told who Jesus is — Savior, Lord, Son of God.
But what if that version is more about religion than reality?
After spending the last year deconstructing my faith, what I’ve discovered about Jesus has changed everything… not just how I see him, but how I live out my faith and relationship with the Divine.
Let’s dive right in and answer the question of who Jesus really was.
Why This Question Matters
No matter what you believe about him, Jesus is one of the most influential people in human history.
As New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman puts it in his book Jesus Before the Gospels, “The historical Jesus did not make history. The remembered Jesus did.”
That line stuck with me, because it captures something essential: even if we can’t know every detail of his life, the impact of his presence still shapes humanity.
Recently, someone who isn’t religious asked me, “Why should I care about this Jesus guy?”
That question opened the door for me to explain why I still follow him… not out of fear or dogma, but out of love and alignment.
The Historical Jesus
So, who was this man we call Jesus?
In Hebrew, his name was Yeshua ben Yosef, which means Joshua, son of Joseph. He was a first-century Jewish teacher from Galilee — a peasant, not part of the religious elite or nobility (there was no longer a Davidic king on the throne after the Babylonian exile).
He was baptized by John the Baptizer, taught primarily in the region of Galilee, and delivered a message centered on the Kingdom of God. We also know he was crucified under Pontius Pilate.
Beyond these points, much of what we believe about Jesus is built on interpretation and tradition. Still, these are the key historical anchors that most scholars agree on.
What Jesus Taught
As we see in the gospel of Mark, Jesus began his ministry proclaiming, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” It was an apocalyptic message, announcing that God’s reign was about to break into the world — a restoration of creation to its original harmony.
But his teachings quickly took on an ethical and spiritual focus. He showed people how to live in love, forgiveness, and compassion.
When the rich young ruler asked Him what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus replied:
“Keep the commandments… then sell everything you have and follow Me.”
That wasn’t a call to poverty or minimalism. Jesus was extending an invitation into communal, self-giving love.
He also taught forgiveness as a way of life: “If you want to be forgiven by God, forgive others.”
He summed up everything with two commands:
“Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
That’s the essence of his message — to live divine love.
What Went Wrong Afterward
After his death, the understanding of who Jesus was began to change.
Belief in his resurrection became the centerpiece of faith, and over time, layers of doctrine were built on top of his message.
The Apostle Paul introduced the idea of Jesus’ death as a substitutionary sacrifice for sin.
Then, decades later, the Gospels were written — Matthew, Mark, and Luke around 70–80 AD, and John closer to 90–100 AD — shaping Jesus into a divine figure within theological frameworks. Mark’s gospel viewed Jesus’ divinity as coming through divine adoption (God making him divine). Whereas the other gospels viewed it through the lens of divine incarnation (God becoming man).
As Christianity grew, councils and creeds (like the Council of Nicaea) codified doctrines: virgin birth, resurrection, ascension, substitutionary atonement. The simple message of love and forgiveness became wrapped in dogma and fear. If you didn’t place your faith in Jesus and his substitutionary atonement, then your soul was damned to hell.
If you’re curious about this historical development, I highly recommend Bart Ehrman’s book How Jesus Became God — it traces how the memory of Jesus was shaped throughout the course of history.
Who Jesus Is to Me Now
This past year, I’ve wrestled deeply with who Jesus is… beyond what I was taught.
I no longer view him strictly as the only begotten Son of God in the institutional sense. I see him as a fully human being who awakened to his divine nature, showing us what’s possible for all of us when we align with love.
I believe he was an enlightened soul — a teacher and healer who lived in perfect alignment with the Divine. I also believe he performed miracles because he was deeply attuned to spiritual laws we barely understand.
And while I don’t take every Gospel quote as a verbatim transcript, I do believe the essence of his teachings survived: to love God, to love others, and to forgive freely.
To me, Jesus is divine in the same way we all are — expressions of God, sons and daughters of the Source. He embodied that truth more fully than anyone before or since.
Living the Jesus Way
I follow the Jesus Way — as Aaron Abke puts it — because it’s a path of love, forgiveness, and inner transformation. It’s not about worshiping him as some distant deity; it’s about embodying what he embodied.
Some may call that heresy. That’s fine. I’ll wear the label if it means living in alignment with love.
Because when you strip away the dogma, what remains is a man who lived in perfect union with Divine Love and invited us to do the same.
Whether you call it God, Source, or the Universe, that love heals, transforms, and unites us all.
That’s who Jesus is to me.
And ultimately, that’s who I’m learning to become.
What About You?
Who is Jesus to you? Is he the Son of God in the traditional sense? A teacher of love? Something else entirely?
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments or in your own reflections.
Because the question isn’t just Who was Jesus?
It’s also Who are we becoming when we follow His way of love?