In Case You Missed It – Who Is This Man Jesus ?

I know that there are many people who wonder how it is that some supposedly intelligent people and some maybe not so supposedly intelligent people, can place faith and trust in who Jesus is. After all, Jesus lived almost two thousand years ago and there have been a lot of changes that have taken place since Jesus was here. Surely anything that Jesus said then, has to be compared and examined with what we know today.

And when it comes to comparing what Jesus actually said, and what we now know, how many people have actually taken the time to honestly read and consider exactly what it was that Jesus said, and how do we even know if the records of what Jesus said are really His words? And what is it exactly, that makes Jesus different from all other so called world religion leaders? Why should what Jesus said be taken as more important or valid than what other world religion leaders have had to say? These are all valid questions that deserve honest and considered responses, if one is considering looking at the pros and cons.

Then there are those who only believe in what they can see, touch and examine. Anything involved with belief in the supernatural is basically considered as superstition and what you see is basically what you get. We’re here, we live and we die and that is it. Everything just happened by chance, evolved over time as it were and reality is what it is. There is no divine purpose, no divine moral code to weight our actions and thoughts against and as some think, there is no such reality as God.

Of course, there are answers to all of the aforementioned questions and suppositions, that provide credibility, to the pros or cons one may be looking at, but in reality, if one has already closed the door to the possibility of God, there are sufficient spokespersons to validate this line of thinking, but please note that Jesus would not be one of them.

The words that Jesus spoke take exception to the reality that there is no God. Not only did Jesus validate the existence of God, He claimed to be God, which in and of itself, immediately puts what Jesus said in a class all by Himself. Jesus provides factual historical witness to God’s interaction with humanity via the nation of Israel and the Old Testament and identified Himself as the promised Chosen One (Messiah), sent by God His Father, to fulfill the redemption (bringing back) of humanity, back to Himself.

Consequently, much of what Jesus has to say validates the existence of God and expands upon the thoughts and ways of God, His Father, and the manner in which, humanities redemption, for those who believe in Him, will and can be achieved. If you actually take the time to read through the Old Testament and then carefully consider what Jesus has to say in the four Gospels of the New Testament, this reality becomes self evident very quickly.

Jesus consistently speaks with authority. There are no multiple pathway options. He, Jesus, the Son of God, is the way, the truth and the life. Jesus and Jesus alone is the sacrifice that God the Father has determined will be the method whereby humanities separation from God, will be restored. God is Holy. We, in our separated state from God, are not. There is a vast difference between the thoughts and ways of God and humanities separated thoughts and ways.

But you may say, any man could literally say these words (although none but Jesus have), and that is true. But Jesus didn’t just say them, He lived them. His perfect fulfillment of God the Father’s will becomes self evident throughout the Gospels, even to the extent of His own torture and death, as an atonement for our breaking or transgression of God’s divine Holy nature. Yes I know, that is heavy but it is a reality.

OK, so Jesus was a really good man and died for us. Is that it?

Nope. Not even close. Jesus wasn’t just a really good man. That would be broken humanities perspective. Jesus perfectly followed the will of God His Father. That would be God the Father’s Holy perspective. Big difference. That also becomes self evident as one reads through the Gospels in the New Testament.

Is there anything else? Yes there is!

In addition to the teachings of Jesus where He expounded upon spiritual truth and realities, Jesus also was able to heal multitudes of people from numerous ailments. He performed miracles such as changing water into wine, feeding thousands from token amounts of food and commanding the elements of nature by walking on water and calming storms, not to mention, bringing people back to life again, one who had been dead for days.

Far fetched? Evidently the disciples of Jesus, including His 12 chosen disciples, didn’t think so because they write about these miracles in the Gospels and there are further examples documented within the Epistles of the New Testament. We weren’t there but they were. This is their testimony. Read the Gospels and you determine as to whether they knew what they were saying. Either they are lying to us about what they saw or they wrote down what they actually saw. Considering that all of the 12 disciples with the exception of Judas (the betrayer) and the Apostle John (died a natural death) ended up losing their lives for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, one would have a tendency, at a minimum, to believe that they believed their own testimony.

But wait, there’s still more!

Jesus foretold His disciples before it happened, that He would be taken by the authorities and crucified and rise again from the dead after three Jewish days. Yes, you can read about this in the Gospels of the New Testament too. Did this happen? Yes it did. Both hostile secular and Christian historians attest to it.

And then we have the multiple appearances of Jesus to His disciples during a period of 40 days after His resurrection that you can read about in Acts prior to His ascension. Once again, this is their testimony. And don’t forget the conversion of the Apostle Paul and his testimony.

And here is the real kicker.

These are all testimonies of men that lived long ago, recorded in the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament, so that what they saw and believed, we also can believe. But that is then and this is now.

Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God, told us that it was expedient that He go back to the Father because when He did, He would send His Holy Spirit to live within us, who believe, so that we could enjoy communion with God now and know that when we physically die, we also shall rise again, like Jesus did. Jesus tells us that He will always be with us through His Holy Spirit and that one day, maybe soon, we shall be like Him, with new bodies that are no longer subject to death, pain or despair.

The short story is that there are millions of believers today who can attest to the reality of the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit and who now enjoy communion with God. And this Easter, once again, millions of believers all over the world will celebrate and commemorate Jesus rising from the dead. Why do we celebrate? Because we have experienced the truth of what Jesus said and look forward to the hope of eternal life that He promised to all who believe in Him.

What have I left out?

There’s a lot that has been left out of this post, an awful lot. Jesus tells us that having Him as our Lord and Saviour can be easy but most of us can attest to the fact that it seldom is. Not because what Jesus said is untrue but rather because this relationship we enter into with God encompasses much more than we originally think it does. If we want God to be real with us then we do have to be real with Him. Lip service doesn’t work. Mentally asking Jesus to be our Saviour is relatively easy, having Him become our Lord, can be a bit more difficult. Jesus doesn’t just want our mental agreement of who He is and what He has done, He wants our hearts, because that is where the “I” in ourselves actually lives. The relationship He offers is real but Jesus is indeed Lord. There may be exceptions to this statement about the Lordship of Jesus being difficult but I can only speak for myself.

I have deliberately not quoted any scripture verses in this post. There is a reason for this. If you have not ever taken the time to read God’s Word, the Holy Bible, both the Old and the New Testament, you really need to. Communion with God is personal. It’s between God and you and you and God. If your relationship is not personal, I would have a tendency to question the relationship and so should you.

I may have misspoken, I am going to quote one scripture verse.

Revelation 3:20 NASB
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”

Most people know about the holiday tradition that is now called Easter.
Some people are vaguely familiar with why Christians celebrate Easter.
And some people have taken God the Father and Jesus at Their Word and experienced the reality.

If you have never opened the door to Jesus, please don’t leave it closed. Open it and enter into the wonder and beauty of God’s love in your life!

Worthy is the Lamb! Blessings!