Why Jesus?
What makes so Jesus unique? Why choose him over other claimants to our allegiance: philosophers, prophets, preachers, teachers, and wonder-workers? For me the answer is both personal and public.
Jesus is the only one who can forgive me my sins. He alone has the authority to get into my life and start cleaning house. One may object by saying that my conscience and personal judgment provides a sufficient guide to what is right or wrong, but my comeback is that my own judgment itself is untrustworthy and often misplaced. As I read his words in the Gospels, I'm reminded of where I need to admit my own failings, to acknowledge my sin (as the new Testament puts it), and turn to Jesus for forgiveness and renewal. This, no one else can do for me.
Jesus comes in to reorder my priorities. Jesus not only comes to clean house, but he also gives me a makeover. There is a line in the book of the prophet Ezekiel where God says to his people, "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (36: 26). God promises to remove the stubborn, self-centered heart with a heart that is sensitive, open to God's direction, a heart of flesh rather than a heart of stone. Jesus employs another metaphor when he tells a man named Nicodemus that he must be "born again" or, as other translations have it, "born from above." Either way, the birth renewal must come from outside the person. Something new must happen as radical as a rebirth or a heart transplant. Jesus gives me a new standing before God. He removes my failings and replaces them with his goodness. None of this happens in an instant. The forgiveness is immediate and permanent, but the transformation of my life is a lifetime project in which Jesus through the Holy Spirit is the Project Manager.
Now all of this cannot happen unless Jesus is raised from the dead. His resurrection is a very public matter since it involves a very public claim beyond all subjective wishful thinking. Christians for two thousand years have staked their lives on this claim. Jesus' miracles point to something very future and very universal: the renewal of humanity and the cosmos, but his resurrection from the dead vindicates his claim to be the Messiah, the Son of God who came to save the world. This is the canvas of Christian hope on which followers of Christ paint their lives. For me, the resurrection forms the boundary between hope and despair, between a mere theological concept and a living Person who meets my deepest needs and assuages my deepest fears. A Risen Savior can only be a flesh and blood Savior. Anything less would be a fond memory, a set of nice teachings incapable of empowering us to accomplish the better world we yearn for.
If the resurrection of Jesus did not occur in space and time and history, then he at best was no better than any other good person who came along and taught us some good things. At worst, he would be an imposter or a deluded individual who imagined himself to be God only to die an ignominious death on a Roman cross. In either scenario, Jesus couldn't possibly forgive sin much less promise eternal life to anyone. The Apostle Paul put it very succinctly when he wrote, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied" (1Corinthians 15: 17-19). In other words, Christianity and, I would add, my future and the future of the world hangs on the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If he rose, then there is real hope. If not, then life is what one of my college professors used to say, "one damned thing after another and then we die."
But I know that I have been forgiven. That Jesus guides me through his Word and Spirit. That I am encouraged in this faith by others who have experienced the same intimacy with the living Christ. Thousands willingly died for this faith, endured persecution, and alienation from family and friends because they were convinced that Jesus is alive and a very present help in times of trouble. This same living Savior is my constant companion and friend; and because he lives I can live here and now with hope. No other teacher, preacher, guru, master, expert, scholar or rational argument, no other philanthropist, hero or leader--past, present, or future--can do this for me or for the world like Jesus. No other program, course of study, intentional community or group, no family, or friend can do this for me or for the world like Jesus. As Paul wrote to the Colossians, "When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory" (Col. 3:4).
Jesus is the only one who can forgive me my sins. He alone has the authority to get into my life and start cleaning house. One may object by saying that my conscience and personal judgment provides a sufficient guide to what is right or wrong, but my comeback is that my own judgment itself is untrustworthy and often misplaced. As I read his words in the Gospels, I'm reminded of where I need to admit my own failings, to acknowledge my sin (as the new Testament puts it), and turn to Jesus for forgiveness and renewal. This, no one else can do for me.
Jesus comes in to reorder my priorities. Jesus not only comes to clean house, but he also gives me a makeover. There is a line in the book of the prophet Ezekiel where God says to his people, "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (36: 26). God promises to remove the stubborn, self-centered heart with a heart that is sensitive, open to God's direction, a heart of flesh rather than a heart of stone. Jesus employs another metaphor when he tells a man named Nicodemus that he must be "born again" or, as other translations have it, "born from above." Either way, the birth renewal must come from outside the person. Something new must happen as radical as a rebirth or a heart transplant. Jesus gives me a new standing before God. He removes my failings and replaces them with his goodness. None of this happens in an instant. The forgiveness is immediate and permanent, but the transformation of my life is a lifetime project in which Jesus through the Holy Spirit is the Project Manager.
Now all of this cannot happen unless Jesus is raised from the dead. His resurrection is a very public matter since it involves a very public claim beyond all subjective wishful thinking. Christians for two thousand years have staked their lives on this claim. Jesus' miracles point to something very future and very universal: the renewal of humanity and the cosmos, but his resurrection from the dead vindicates his claim to be the Messiah, the Son of God who came to save the world. This is the canvas of Christian hope on which followers of Christ paint their lives. For me, the resurrection forms the boundary between hope and despair, between a mere theological concept and a living Person who meets my deepest needs and assuages my deepest fears. A Risen Savior can only be a flesh and blood Savior. Anything less would be a fond memory, a set of nice teachings incapable of empowering us to accomplish the better world we yearn for.
If the resurrection of Jesus did not occur in space and time and history, then he at best was no better than any other good person who came along and taught us some good things. At worst, he would be an imposter or a deluded individual who imagined himself to be God only to die an ignominious death on a Roman cross. In either scenario, Jesus couldn't possibly forgive sin much less promise eternal life to anyone. The Apostle Paul put it very succinctly when he wrote, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied" (1Corinthians 15: 17-19). In other words, Christianity and, I would add, my future and the future of the world hangs on the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If he rose, then there is real hope. If not, then life is what one of my college professors used to say, "one damned thing after another and then we die."
But I know that I have been forgiven. That Jesus guides me through his Word and Spirit. That I am encouraged in this faith by others who have experienced the same intimacy with the living Christ. Thousands willingly died for this faith, endured persecution, and alienation from family and friends because they were convinced that Jesus is alive and a very present help in times of trouble. This same living Savior is my constant companion and friend; and because he lives I can live here and now with hope. No other teacher, preacher, guru, master, expert, scholar or rational argument, no other philanthropist, hero or leader--past, present, or future--can do this for me or for the world like Jesus. No other program, course of study, intentional community or group, no family, or friend can do this for me or for the world like Jesus. As Paul wrote to the Colossians, "When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory" (Col. 3:4).
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