Who Is He to You?

Awaken

You've spent a week looking honestly at the claims, the life, the death, and the resurrection of one person. Every other question in this study has had an answer to search for in the text. This last one doesn't work quite the same way — because it's not really a question about Jesus anymore. It's a question about you.

Behold

Passage: John 20:30-31

Read the passage. Why does John say he wrote his account? What two things does he say happen for someone who believes?

Internalize

1. Written so you could decide. John tells us plainly why he wrote his account: "these are written that you may believe... and that by believing you may have life in his name." The Gospels were never meant to be read like a history textbook you finish and set back on the shelf. They were written to put a real decision in front of a real reader — you.

2. Three ways to picture what it means to know Him. Christians have long described a relationship with Jesus using three roles, drawn from an old Old Testament pattern: prophet, priest, and king. As Prophet, He speaks God's truth to you directly, not filtered through anyone else — "God... has spoken to us by his Son" (Hebrews 1:1-2). As Priest, He doesn't just deliver a message and leave; He continues to intercede for you personally, since "he always lives to make intercession" for those who come to God through Him (Hebrews 7:25). As King, He doesn't just advise from a distance; He actually reigns, described plainly as "King of kings and Lord of lords" (1 Timothy 6:15). To know Jesus, in other words, isn't just to admire a historical figure. It's to be spoken to, prayed for, and ruled by the same person, all at once.

3. An honest answer is enough. You don't need a perfect, doubt-free faith to take a real step. One desperate father in the Gospels said something remarkably honest to Jesus: "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24). That's not a weak prayer. It's a real starting point — and it's exactly where many people begin.

Do

Take a few minutes with the questions below — your answers are private.

Today's one small act: Write an honest note or prayer to God about exactly where you stand today — full trust, real doubt, or somewhere in between. There's no wrong answer here, just an honest one.

Entrust

Tell someone in your life, honestly, where you landed after this week: "After looking at the claims, the life, the death, and the resurrection, here's where I actually am right now with Jesus: ___."

Gospel Appeal: It's possible to finish a genuinely honest week of examination and still treat the actual decision as something to keep circling indefinitely — "I need more time to think" as a permanent holding pattern instead of an honest answer for right now. No amount of additional research beyond this week will manufacture more certainty than you already have to work with; the desperate father's prayer from today's lesson — "I believe; help my unbelief" — isn't a placeholder for a better answer later. It's already the answer. Jesus is your great High Priest right now, not waiting for you to arrive with a flawless, doubt-free faith before he'll receive you — this whole week has been building toward exactly the honest, unfinished answer today invites, and he already knows which one you're about to give. If you've been circling the decision instead of actually landing on it, today can be the day you stop circling. And if you've already trusted him, somewhere in this study, let today's honest note to God be the moment you say so plainly, to him and to yourself.

Add John 20:31 to your memorization deck and say it once out loud before you close this lesson.

If it feels honest, you might pray something like this: "Jesus, I've spent this week looking at who You said You are. I don't have every question answered, but I want to keep looking honestly. Meet me where I actually am today, not where I think I'm supposed to be. In your name, amen."

Tomorrow: whatever your honest answer today, the story doesn't end here. If you'd like to keep going, Getting Started with Mark walks through Jesus' whole life in the words of the earliest, fastest-paced Gospel account.