When you think of your closest relationships, who are the people that come to mind? Likely it would be your parents, siblings, family members, and friends.

Your parents have known and taken care of you since birth. As the first people in your life, you have bonded with them—you know them well. You know they love you, care for you, and will always be there for you. They have helped transform you into who you are today by teaching and training you.

Siblings and other family members such as cousins, aunts and uncles have probably also been with you for a good portion of your life. They have been by your side through thick and thin, and you have fond memories of time spent together. They may have seen you at your worst, yet they love you and are always ready to help.

On the other hand, friends come from all different places. They can be classmates, peers with whom you attend Church services, or someone you met at AYC. You like to have fun together. You spend time with each other and stay in touch by email or telephone. You have things in common. You share experiences, hopes, dreams and aspirations.

Because relationships with family and friends have developed over time, you know each other well. You are so close that you can probably guess what they are thinking and not be too far off base. You have seen each other laugh and cry. You know you can trust and confide in them just as they can in you.

When you are in trouble or need assistance, you do not contact someone with whom you do not have a relationship. Instead, you reach out to family or friends. You know they will be there for you in time of need.

Relationships take effort to cultivate and maintain. It is no different when it comes to having a relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father, who both desire for us to be as close to them as we would family members. Consider Christ’s words: “For whosoever shall do the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother” (Matt. 12:50). Yet He also desires to be our friend: “You are My friends, if you do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:14).

To know Jesus better, He said we should “search the scriptures” (John 5:39). Since Christ is the Word and inspired the Bible (John 1:1), the more we study it, the more our relationship with Him will grow.

What follows is a Bible study designed to help you better get to know Jesus Christ—and ultimately the Father. To make the most of it, be sure to have a Bible, pen and notebook handy. You should look up every scripture and take notes on what you learn. Writing down each scripture is also a powerful way to get the most from it. Another idea is to use a 3x5 index card to identify important scriptures. You can later insert this into your Bible and keep it on hand for easy future reference.

(1) Is Jesus Christ the Word of God? John 1:1, 14.

Jesus Christ is the Word of God. The written form of God’s Word is the Bible (Eph. 6:17). You can get to know Jesus by studying Scripture. He left a description of Himself in His Word.

(2) Does knowing who Jesus is lead to knowing who God the Father is? John 14:6-9.

The only way you can know God the Father is through knowing Jesus Christ. Jesus told His disciples that to see and understand His character was to see and understand the Father’s character.

(3) Was Jesus Christ a human being? Matthew 8:20, 9:6, 11:19.

In several places, the Bible describes Jesus as the “Son of Man,” meaning he was an actual human being born of a woman. Jesus had all the physical attributes of a man.

(4) Was Jesus Christ a Jew? Luke 3:23-38.

The genealogy in Luke shows that Jesus was of Jewish descent. Other than this, there is not much focus on His physical appearance. This no doubt was done in part to prevent people from wrongly emphasizing how He looked.

(5) Did Christ have any outstanding physical attributes that made Him easily identifiable in a crowd? Isaiah 53:2; Luke 4:30; John 8:59, 10:39; Matthew 26:47-50.

These verses show that Jesus did not have any distinguishable features, which made it difficult to pick Him out among a group of fellow Jews. Many times He was able to walk through a crowd and not be identified. Judas had to identify Jesus to the Pharisees by kissing Him.

(6) Did Jesus have long hair? I Corinthians 11:14.

Many pictures and paintings depict Jesus as having long hair. But He said through Paul that it was a shame for a man to have long hair. As a perfect human being, Jesus would not have violated this principle. Many confuse the fact that He grew up in Nazareth with him being under a Nazarite vow, which forbade the cutting of one’s hair. Christ was not under this vow.

(7) Was Jesus strong and masculine? Mark 6:3; Matthew 4:1-2, 21:12, 27:26, 29-30; John 2:13-15.

Throughout the Bible, numerous descriptions of events in Jesus’ life clearly show He was a powerful man. He was the son of a carpenter before the invention of today’s electric tools, which have now made construction jobs much easier. He also had to be quite strong physically to endure 40 days and nights of fasting. In addition, He overturned tables in the temple and endured intense torture from the Romans prior to His crucifixion. The world’s view of Jesus as soft and effeminate is simply not true!

(8) Did Jesus demonstrate a willingness to learn God’s Way and the importance of building character at an early age? Luke 2:46-47.

From early in His childhood, Jesus showed that He was focused on building character and growing in knowledge and understanding.

(9) What were some character traits Jesus Christ exhibited during His lifetime? Write down five of them based on the following verses. Mark 3:14-17, 6:34; Philippians 2:5-11; John 1:17; Matthew 4:1-10, 23-25, 5:7-16, 27:27-30.

Jesus had an outgoing personality, a sense of humor (He amusingly called two of His disciples “sons of thunder”) and the ability to interact with people from all walks of life. He was known for His compassion, great mercy, and willingness to help. He was also an enigmatic speaker. Multitudes of people often surrounded Him as they wanted to glean knowledge and wisdom from Him.

In the account where Jesus was tempted, He demonstrated an incredible amount of self-control and emotional maturity. He did not give in to temptation and instead rebuked the devil for his actions.

Many more examples of Christ’s character traits can be found throughout other stories recorded during His time on Earth. Many of these are found in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Read through these New Testament books to see what other ones you can find! Learning about His character traits will help you know Him better.

(10) Did Jesus keep only the letter of the Law? Matthew 5:17-48.

Christ not only kept the letter of God’s Law (Matt. 5:17), but also its spiritual intent (Matt. 5:22, 28, 34, 39).

(11) Did Christ show emotions like any other human being? Matthew 9:36, 15:32, 21:12-13; John 11:35, 15:11. What was one emotion He never exhibited as a human being? (Romans 12:19).

Jesus expressed emotions, but in the right way and for appropriate reasons. He was balanced.

Revenge was an emotion never associated with Jesus. Consider how He reacted to those who crucified Him. No wonder He tells us that vengeance belongs to God.

(12) Was Jesus Christ the God of the Old Testament? John 1:1-5, 10-14.

Yes, Christ was with the Father from the beginning. He was the “Word,” which means Spokesman—a person who speaks for someone else. He spoke on behalf of the Father. He created all things with the Father at the time of Creation—hence it states “Let Us” in Genesis 1:26. Paul leaves no doubt as to whom it was that led the Israelites in the wilderness (I Cor. 10:1-4).

(13) Jesus Christ became our High Priest after paying the penalty for our sins. Hebrews 4:14-15, 9:11-12. As High Priest, what is He currently doing? Hebrews 8:6, 9:15, 12:24.

Jesus currently acts as our mediator. He provides us direct access to God the Father (I Tim. 2:5) through interceding on our behalf and reconciling us to Him (Heb. 7:25). He is also the Head of the Church and, through the ministry, guides, builds and protects it (Eph. 5:23; I Cor. 12:18-28) preparing those in it for God’s kingdom (John 14:2-4). Today, He is actively working with you for this purpose!

(14) Christ lived on Earth and then departed from it almost 2,000 years ago. Will He return again? Acts 1:11; Matthew 24:30-31; Revelation 1:7; I John 3:2; Hebrews 9:28. What will be the reason for His return? Isaiah 9:6-7; Daniel 2:44.

Jesus Christ will return to Earth. He will establish God’s government with Jerusalem as its headquarters (Zech. 8:3). His kingdom will bring much-needed peace, prosperity and abundance (Mic. 4:1-4). Earth will be filled with God’s knowledge (Isa. 11:9) and all people will know Him and walk in His ways (Jer. 31:33-34; Ezek. 11:19).

Read the following verses and list other changes Christ’s return will bring to Earth: Isaiah 11:6-9, 35:3-6, 51:3; Hosea 2:18; Ezekiel 34:25, 47:1-12; Jeremiah 33:10-14.

(15) Will Jesus return as a King? Luke 1:31-33; John 18:37. What part will the resurrected saints play? Revelation 5:9-10; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Jude 1:14-15; Daniel 7:18, 27. Jesus will return as “King of Kings” (Rev. 19:16). The resurrected saints will rule with Him as kings under Him, which is why He is called the “King of Kings.” This will be an incredible time when God’s sons will be born into the God Family. Together with Christ, they will transform Earth and bring about 1,000 years of universal peace, security and abundance.

Developing a close relationship with the true Jesus Christ is vitally important. Knowing His character, likes and dislikes, and thoughts toward people will help you become more like Him (I Pet. 2:21) and ultimately result in you staying committed to God’s way of life.

For an in-depth understanding of the true Jesus, read our book The True Jesus Christ – Unknown to Christianity.