The most talked about person in all of human history is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. During the 33 years before his crucifixion, people were fascinated by him and argued among themselves as to his identity. How did he turn water into wine, feed so many people and heal the sick? Was his claim to be the son of God genuine and how could it be tested? People still disagree and ponder these things today. Yet there has been no one who has inspired more poetry, music, art, charities and the willingness to be persecuted, even to death than Jesus. What was it about him that has so deeply affected people? Have you resolved this in your own mind, are you still pondering or have you dismissed it as an impossible question bordering on irrelevant? To do so would be unwise for his claims have the biggest possible implications for your life and confidence in facing death. That’s a lot of questions, so it’s time for some answers.
- ‘A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice’ – CS Lewis
- ‘Jesus was God spelling himself out in language humanity could understand’ – S D Gordon
- ‘Not only do we not know God except through Jesus Christ; We do not even know ourselves except through Jesus Christ’ – Blaise Pascal
- ‘Jesus was God and man in one person, that God and man might be happy together again’ – George Whitefield
The philosophers get us to think about the proofs for existence and issues of identity. Frenchman Rene Descartes gave us his clever insight in 1637: ‘Je pense, donc je suis’. In Latin, this comes neatly as ‘Cogito ergo sum’. In English, ‘I think, therefore I am’! Do you ever doubt your own existence? Antoine Léonard Thomas was a great admirer of Descartes and re-presented the famous statement as: ‘I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am’! Doubt is the flip side of faith so, you could say, ‘I believe, therefore I think, therefore I am’! However, whilst you can prove the existence of the man Jesus Christ in many ways from history, it is harder to prove his claim to be the Son of God. You can work out things about a person if what they say is backed up by what they do. So if someone tells you that they can make you a table, you know that they are a carpenter only if they can then do this as promised. This is also true of a composer, scientist, athlete and so on, including the Son of God.
- ‘The men in the boat were amazed and said, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him”’ – Matthew 8:27
- ‘They (the people) were amazed and said, “Where did this man get this teaching? How did he get such wisdom? Who gave it to him? And where did he get the power to do miracles? Isn’t he just the carpenter we know—Mary’s son, the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And don’t his sisters still live here in town?” So they had a problem accepting him’ – Mark :2-4
- ‘A Roman army officer was standing in front of Jesus. When the officer saw how Jesus died, he said, “This man really was the Son of God’ – Mark 15:39
- ‘Jesus went to the area of Caesarea Philippi. He said to his followers, “Who do people say I am?” They answered, “Some people say you are John the Baptizer. Others say you are Elijah. And some say you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Then Jesus said to his followers, “And who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah. No one taught you that. My Father in heaven showed you who I am”’ – Matthew 16:13-16
You might have found it easier to believe with Simon Peter at that point rather than this long time later. But wait, we have even more evidence to support this claim – the empty tomb, the multiple appearances of the risen Jesus to his disciples, the changes in Paul from being persecutor to becoming follower and in Thomas from doubter to believer. Even Pilate wondered if the claim that Jesus is the Son of God was true – it seems his wife believed and the dying thief alongside also put his faith in Jesus. There was enough for these people to accept Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God – is there enough for you? The alternatives that C S Lewis suggested just don’t add up, so you are left with a step of faith or choosing to reject what multi millions of people have accepted.
George Frideric Handel knew how to write a good tune, his most famous one being about Jesus. He entitled it ‘Messiah’, meaning the ‘anointed or chosen one’. Have a listen to this snippet sung by Voces 8 – if you are a believer already it will inspire you to worship. If you are not yet there, it may help you in coming to a decision.
Worthy is the Lamb –
For more reading: The Whisper of God – Connect4Life