Who is Jesus?
Jesus is fully God and fully man - unlike any other being. He has always existed, just as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit have always existed.
Jesus took on a human body in this way: God the Holy Spirit miraculously caused a virgin Jewish woman named Mary to conceive without a sexual union. Jesus grew up like any other Jewish boy. But the one thing that Jesus never did as a boy was sin. As the perfect God-Man, He could not sin because He has no sin nature. It was for this reason that Jesus would be the only One qualified to give His life as an atonement for the sin of humankind and to reconcile them back to their God.
At the age of 30, Jesus began His public ministry of teaching and compassion. He began traveling among the cities and villages of Israel. Jesus chose 12 other young men to be His disciples. Jesus described His ministry with these words: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Gospel of Luke 4:18-19).
Jesus healed the sick and injured. He cast demons out of those who were possessed. He taught the people what God expected of them and He called people to repentance. Jesus was kind to the repentant and brokenhearted but angry with the self-righteous who condemned others. He treated women with respect. He talked about loving your neighbor as yourself .
However, Jesus was more than a just good example for humans. Jesus' mission on earth was to be the atoning sacrifice to free humans from sin and shame. It was said of Jesus: "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (Gospel of John 1:29). The Bible says that the separation between God and humans is the result of sin. That separation can only be removed if the debt is paid.
Jesus became that once-for-all atonement for all humankind by dying on the cross for the sins of all humankind, being buried and rising from the dead three days later thus proving Himself to be God.