by Jacob Ninan
The question is, "Who is Jesus? Why do you claim He is unique?"What the Christians claim is:
* Jesus is the Son of God.
* Jesus came to this earth as a Man, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life for 33 1/2 years.
* Jesus was crucified by the Romans at the instigation of Jewish religious leaders, buried in a tomb, and then He came back to life after 3 days.
* In His death Jesus took the punishment for our sins, and therefore if we repent from our sins and believe in Him, God will forgive our sins. He will make us His children, transform our character to become like Him, and after our life on earth we will be with Him in heaven.
* There is no other way our sins can be forgiven, and there is no other way by which we can go to heaven. There is no one else who can change our lives like He does.
Question: What do you mean by "Son of God"?
Answer: God has revealed Himself to man like this. There is only one God, but He works as three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Obviously it is impossible for us created human beings to comprehend this, because we are not God. If we could analyse and understand God fully we would be greater than God. But as it is we can only accept what God tells us about Himself. For us, what this essentially means is that Jesus is Himself God, the One who created us and all the things on earth and in the sky and beyond.
Question: Then what do you say about Jesus as a Man?
Answer: For a period of time Jesus came down to earth taking the form of a man. He was fully Man at that time, growing up from being a baby to an adult man with the limitations of man, facing temptations and situations like we all do. The difference was that He did not sin even once, but always did the right thing according to the Father's will, giving thereby an example of how we should live. He did not live as God, because there were things He did not know as a Man, but lived as Man in subjection to God with all the help which is available to man from God.
Question: Was Jesus God when He was a Man on earth?
Answer: He did not cease being God, because that was what He was essentially. But He chose to live as a man, without using His power, authority or knowledge as God. When people bowed down and worshipped Him, He received that worship. Only God can receive worship. If Jesus was only a godly man and not God, He would have humbly refused to receive worship, acknowledging that he was only a man.
Question: There have been several people who have claimed to be God. How do you distinguish Jesus from all those? What is so unique about Him?
Answer: There are many things which distinguish Jesus from all others. Here are some:
* Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, many prophecies written down by different authors in what is now known as the Old Testament gave details of His life and death. They identified Jesus as being born in the tribe of Judah, in the family line of King David, in the city of Bethlehem. They said how how He would be born of a virgin, suffer and be killed and how He would come back to life. This is exactly what happened. This is very unique.* When we put the Old Testament and the life and teachings of Jesus together we get a wholesome revelation of God, His ways and His dealings with man which is not there in any other religion or philosophy.
* Jesus was to be born to a virgin. When Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph, an angel came to her and told her that God was going to give her a Son. God created a baby in her womb supernaturally and that was how Jesus was born as a Man. Jesus is the only Man in history who was born like this. This made sure that He was not an ordinary man with a human father, but a Man who was the Son of God.
* When Jesus was baptised in the River Jordan at the age of 30, there was a voice from heaven which said, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Later on when He was on top of a mountain along with three of His disciples, there was another voice that said, "This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him."
* Jesus is the only Man who ever lived, who did no sin at all. Not even His enemies could find anything wrong with Him, even though they tried their best to accuse Him.
* Jesus did many supernatural things. He commanded the wind to stop and the sea storm to calm down, He walked on the sea, turned water into wine, fed more than 5000 people with just five loaves of bread and two fish, healed all types of sicknesses including people born blind and lame, raised people from the dead, cast out evil spirits from people, etc. God has given some people gifts to do some of these things. But no one has even manifested such total power and authority as Jesus. Jesus manifested God's sovereign power and control over everything.
* Even though Jesus had no formal religious education, His messages astounded His opponents. He no only enhanced the revelation of God as seen in the Old Testament to its pinnacle, but also spoke with authority so that people were convicted of their sins. Yet sinners found Him so merciful and understanding that they did not fear to go to Him in their need.
* Jesus Himself said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me." Although He did not generally reveal His identity to the people around Him, He did acknowledge it to some individuals privately.
* When the time came for Him to be crucified, He did not resist it, even though He could have, because that was the only way He could atone for the sins of the world. The Bible says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believed in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
* Even though He was crucified and buried, He came back to life after three days, the only One to do so. Others have been raised from the dead, only to die again. But Jesus did not die. He ascended bodily to heaven. All the men who have claimed to be God have died, never to be see again.
* Jesus is the only One who has loved us so much as to give His life for us. He did not just propose new theories, but lived and demonstrated the ideal life. He did not just die. God verified Jesus' credentials by raising Him from the dead, thus testifying that whatever Jesus taught was also true and reliable.
* The greatest miracle that Jesus does is to change people's lives. Down and out sinners who go to Him experience the miracle of washing of their sins by His blood and a transformation through the working of the Holy Spirit.
* Jesus is alive today. All who go to Him truly experience His presence in their lives. No amount of persecution has been able to wipe out true Christianity, because Jesus is real.
Arguments:
1. I agree Jesus was a great religious leader. But to claim that He is God and especially that He is the only way is going a bit too much.
Answer: You can't look at all the facts given above and still think that He was "only" a great leader. Has any religious leader given his life for you? If Jesus was not God, then He was lying when He said He was, and then you can't explain all the millions of lives Jesus has changed in the last 2000 years. Which other way is "alive" and real, giving new life - righteousness, peace and joy, in fellowship with Jesus - to those who walk in it? Which other way causes its followers to love their leader so much that they are willing to give their lives for him? Jesus Himself said He was the only way, and all His disciples have found that out in experience themselves.
2. All religions talk great things about their founders. Christianity is no different.
Answer: Tell me which other religion has this reality that Jesus gives. All religions talk about doing something or the other in order to attain to a high level of experience or life. Who are the people who make progress in these religions? The rich, the strong, the capable, the self- willed. But Jesus Christ came to save sinners. Every one of us is a sinner. Jesus came offering us salvation as a gift because He knows we can never atone by ourselves for our past sins or change our lives by our own efforts in a lasting way. Now all people can be saved, if only they would be honest enough to acknowledge their sins and humble enough to come to Jesus.
3. Christians also fight and quarrel and get into all sorts of sins. What is so great about them?
Answer: There are two things here. The first one is that all people who are known as Christians have not known Jesus personally. Many of them were just born with that name, or they have adopted Christianity as a religion. Jesus talks of being "born again", which is what happens when someone repents from his sins and places his trust in Jesus. The second thing is that when a person becomes a child of God he or she is not automatically made perfect like Jesus. They have to grow up from being a spiritual baby to maturity, and it happens that many such people make mistakes, sometimes very serious ones. But if they are true Christians, they repent when they fall, and go back to Jesus.
4. How do you know all these things written about Jesus really happened?
Answer: We have the writings of His disciples who have been with Him all through the time Jesus was preaching, and who experienced His death, resurrection, and all that happened afterwards. We also have writings of two of His brothers who grew up with Him from childhood and later became His disciples. We also have authentic reports from secular history about Jesus and His followers. But the bottom line is, if these stories are false how do you explain the transformation of millions of lives in the past and now?
The final question:
Here is God reaching out to you, even though He has seen every sin you have committed, to save you from your sins, to change your life by filling it with peace and joy, and finally to take you to be with Him in heaven forever. He did this by letting Jesus die in your place and take your blame. Will you now respond to Him by thankfully accepting this gift of salvation?
Your prayer:
If you now believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you, pray this prayer to God.
"Oh God. I have been wandering around all this time, doing whatever I wanted. I have done a lot of wrong things, which You have seen. For example, I ...... (confess the sins that come up to your mind now.) Please forgive me, Oh God. I am so glad to know that You love me in spite of what I have been. Thank You for sending Jesus to die in my place. I believe that Jesus has suffered for my sins, and so now I am not going to be punished for my sins. Thank You, Jesus. I want You to be my Saviour, Leader and God. Take control of my life. Set me free from the sinful things I am tied to. Make me like You. I want to live for You from now onwards."
I would be happy to know if you have made this choice today. Do also write to me if you have any comments or questions.
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