Different religions have varying perspectives on Jesus. These views can range from seeing Him as a revered prophet to acknowledging His existence but denying His divinity. To better understand why it’s important to study about Jesus, His life, His role, and the vital impact on our lives, we will first look briefly at how different religions see Him.

Christians regard Jesus Christ as the central figure of their faith. He is seen as the Son of God, the Messiah, and the Saviour who came to Earth, was crucified for the sins of humanity, and rose from the dead, offering salvation and eternal life.

In Judaism, Jesus is not recognized as the Messiah. While some Jews acknowledge Him as a historical figure, His divinity is not accepted. The differences in beliefs between Judaism and Christianity largely stem from divergent interpretations of messianic prophecies.

In Islam, Jesus (known as ‘Isa’ in Arabic) is considered one of the great prophets, but not divine. Muslims believe in Jesus’ virgin birth and His miracles, and He is highly esteemed as a prophet. However, Islam rejects the Christian concept that He is divine.

The Bahá’í Faith acknowledges Jesus as a manifestation of God, similar to other major religious figures such as Muhammad, Moses, and Buddha. Bahá’ís believe that these manifestations are messengers of God sent to guide humanity at different times.

Hinduism is diverse, and views on Jesus can vary. Some Hindus may see Jesus as a spiritual teacher or an enlightened soul, while others may not incorporate Him into their religious framework. Hinduism generally accepts diverse paths to the divine.

Buddhism, like Hinduism, is diverse. Some Buddhists may see Jesus as a moral teacher or a compassionate figure, but Buddhism, as a philosophy, does not incorporate a belief in a personal God.

Outside of religious contexts, Jesus is often acknowledged as a historical figure and influential ethical teacher. Secular views might focus on His impact on history, philosophy, and the development of western civilization.

As expected, not everyone agrees on all aspects regarding the divine status of our Lord and Saviour. However, what is important for us, is what we believe for ourselves. From the summary of beliefs stated above, we can see that all religions have heard about Jesus, but do not fully understand Him and His importance. This is one reason why there are so many religions, false doctrines and false gods.

Let us dive deeper into why Jesus is so important to Christians, and why without Him we would not get the chance at redemption. Let us begin by first looking into why we have the privilege of having a Vindicator and Saviour.

In the wonderful book The Desire of Ages, we see an interesting description of the state of humanity without the proper understanding of God, and how God in His love addressed the problem: “The earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to God, Satan’s deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God’s government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened. To know God is to love Him; His character must be manifested in contrast to the character of Satan. This work only one Being in all the universe could do. Only He who knew the height and depth of the love of God could make it known. Upon the world’s dark night the Sun of Righteousness must rise, ‘with healing in His wings.’ Malachi 4:2.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 22.

In His love, God put into effect the plan of redemption immediately after Adam and Eve first sinned. The Old Testament pointed to His sacrifice. The lambs slain as payment for sins would not have any value were it not for the sacrifice of the Lamb of God later to take place. Here we see the underlying foundation and reasoning for the offerings: “As [Adam] slew the innocent victim, he trembled at the thought that his sin must shed the blood of the spotless Lamb of God.... And he marveled at the infinite goodness that would give such a ransom to save the guilty. A star of hope illumined the dark and terrible future and relieved it of its utter desolation.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 68.

For two millennia, the planet was dark and gloomy. Humanity, even though it had the prophets and God’s will presented plainly to them, refused to acknowledge its dependence on Him. The context of the tower of Babel repeated itself in the mind and heart of every individual that wanted to go through life alone, believing that a human is powerful enough to sustain itself, and that God is only an afterthought for the masses, for the poor, for the hopeless and helpless. What a pity that this idea has continued to our days!

Satan’s deceit carries on, having the same old tricks, now seemingly more effective than ever. Morality, logic, and common sense seem to have lost their meaning in current society. The world seems to be ruled by people still in kindergarten, going directly against the will of God. The idea of self-governing over one’s opinions, practices and beliefs, basically the concept of freedom in itself, has been cast aside these days. Now “society” wants you to adopt their little laws, their little doctrines, their false gods. Many assume the authority that belongs solely to God. They enforce their will on others, and present their laws as being God’s commands. They strip the freedom that defines God and instead put in its place fear and blind obedience to false commandments. After all, this is what Satan wanted—to present God in a dark light, to deceive people into following Him and His will as being a better alternative. And what a powerful lie that was. The plot is to hide total control under the impression of free will, under the slogan “you are good enough, you can do anything, there is no one that can tell you your limits.” That would be correct, if only we would have Jesus—we are wonderful creatures with true potential, but only with Him and in Him. Without Him, we are lying to ourselves that we are doing fine, when in fact we are blindly following false leaders. We are influenced by the media and by others that pretend to fulfill God’s will, pretend to know Him and lead us to Him, when in fact we are going farther and farther away from His will. By not developing a personal relationship with God, one is following Satan. There are many flocks, but only one has the proper Shepherd—the one that cares for all His sheep and seeks for the lost and cares for them. All other flocks, although they may seem very different—each one apparently having their spiritual and political leaders—will in fact turn out to be the same big flock that will find itself on the wrong side, being told that God does not know them, being under the command of Satan himself.

Why would anyone choose the illusion of free will when they can indeed be free?! We like to think we have power—we want to vote for our leaders, we want to decide our future. But too often we put our hopes in the hands of corrupt people, who once in power raise themselves above God, leading us astray. History repeats itself, even if the context looks different. There is in fact no difference in blindly following Pharaoh, Caesar, Hitler, the Pope, current presidents, or other so-called gurus or opinion-leaders. Even if the people feel the grip of power on their necks or they do not under the illusion of democracy, that same rage for enforcing Satan’s will upon the creation of God was and will always be there, in his puppets.

God’s creation was and will always be free. God has heaven and earth as witness to the choice that all creation has: we can choose life, or we can choose death. (See Deuteronomy 30:19, 20.) It is completely our choice, and of course, the consequences that will follow will depend on our decision. However, God’s advice to us is to choose life—to choose Him, who is the Creator of Life. Many wonder how an all-loving Father would let His children choose something else other than good. Yet, freedom of will is at the foundation of God’s character. Through His tremendous love for us, He does not enforce that love on us. We need to choose His love, and do His will freely, out of our love for Him. Therefore, He offers us a choice. The consequences of that choice will be the manifestation of both His love and justice.

God sent His only Son to our world to redeem us and reconnect us to Him. Jesus came to our dark world so that we would have in Him not only a Vindicator, but also a Saviour.

We, so many generations after Eden, surely have no chance at saving ourselves. For this reason, a Saviour was needed, and through God’s grace, a Saviour was provided to us. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 it is written “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” It was not a simple process. Angels wanted to sacrifice themselves to fulfill the plan of redemption, but that would not be sufficient. To save humanity, its Creator was needed. Creation gets life from the Creator alone.

Jesus said in John 10 verses 17, 18: “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” Christ being life itself, had the power to lay down His own life, and take it back again because the Father commanded Him to do so. Why is this an important clarification for us?

Is it fair for a man on a scooter to set the time record for a marathon lap? Is it fair for a man in a powered boat to set the goal on how fast some swimmers would have to swim uphill in a river? Would it be fair for a bird to mock a fish because it cannot fly? Probably you would find these examples absurd. But it’s amazing to realize that the same power that our merciful Jesus has He is able and willing to provide to us as well. Hebrews 2:14 states that “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;” Moreover, Romans 8:3 says “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” offers the same idea. What is the central point here? Jesus came to earth with the same nature that we as humans have, yet He depended on His Father for strength, as we can, too.

“As one of us [Jesus] was to give an example of obedience. For this He took upon Himself our nature, and passed through our experiences. . . . Jesus was ‘in all points tempted like as we are’ (Hebrews 4:15). He endured every trial to which we are subject. And He exercised in His own behalf no power that is not freely offered to us. As man, He met temptation, and overcame in the strength given Him from God. He says, ‘I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart’ (Psalm 40:8). As He went about doing good, and healing all who were afflicted by Satan, He made plain to men the character of God’s law and the nature of His service. His life testifies that it is possible for us also to obey the law of God.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 24.

Jesus was the Son of God; therefore His greatest temptation was to refrain Himself from using His divine power, because He could have done so any time He wanted. His public work, after His baptism, after fasting for forty days, started with Satan tempting Him to prove Himself with some miracles in front of him. When Jesus was physically and mentally the weakest, or exhausted, He pointed Satan to God. He knew that He was the Son of God, and therefore had no reason to prove Himself to Satan, through some miracles that would help no one. He had made Himself like us. He appealed to the power of the Father, a power that we have access to as well. This means that He acted in a way in which we, too, can act. Therefore, at the same time He was both vindicating the loving and just character of God, while also becoming our Saviour. God’s Law is just, the requirements of the Law are possible to be fulfilled, and He paid the punishment of our breaking of the Law and strengthens us to obey it.

To attain salvation, the requirements are simple: accept Jesus as your Saviour. He gives us strength to resist temptation.

It’s not enough to hear about Jesus and smile at the idea of redemption. What we need to do is to actually meet Jesus, to develop a personal relationship with Him, so that it is not us that can be seen, but His life in us. Only by accepting Him in our hearts does He become the Vindicator and Saviour. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12). It is really that simple.

My wish and prayer for us all is to accept the Son, to accept Jesus. “The light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:5). In the world there are many religions, many churches, many gurus, many leaders, and although all of them are pretending to lead people to God, we sadly understand that the world is still in darkness. Not because there is no light, but because they refuse it. When we accept it, we become God’s mirrors spreading that Light into the lives of others, so that when they are watching us, they do not see us anymore, but our Saviour, and our Vindicator, because He is in us, and we identify with Him. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).