The Incomparable Christ

By John Stallings


FOR IN HIM DWELLS ALL THE FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD BODILY.-COLOSSIANS 2:9

If you saw the movie It’s a wonderful life, you will remember that the plot was about allowing one man to see what a hole would have been left in the world had he not been born. 

This of course would be true of all of us, for just by being here we have changed the world in some way.

BUT-Nobody has changed the world like Jesus, nobody!!

He even split time into two parts; AD and BC. Think what a gaping void would have been left in this world had Jesus never been born.

· He has over a billion followers worldwide.

· His life-story is a best-seller every year.

· He is respected by almost all religions, not just Christianity.

· His birthday is celebrated worldwide each year.

· Without money & arms He conquered more millions than all great leaders combined.

· Without Science He shed more light on all things than all the philosophers combined.

· Without formal training He spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since & produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orators or poets.

· Without writing a single line He set more pens in motion, furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, and learned volumes, works of art & songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient & modern times.

 His words about non-violence inspired Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. & Desmond Tutu. His words of concern for the poor inspire the Salvation Army, World Vision, ADRA & others.

· His words have caused mini-revolutions in every generation by changing people’s lives, inspiring love & generosity & high ideals & bringing out the best & highest in human life.

· Think about it; Jesus said, “My words will never pass away.” And His words have been passed into more languages, more books, talks & songs than anyone else’s-they’ve just never passed away.

· Let’s look at his life, who He was and why He came. Most people will accept He was a great teacher but Jesus said-and He said it often- that He was God! If that’s false then Jesus was either a mad man or a liar.

 Was Jesus mad?

Do you see signs of madness in Him? How much ego is there in someone who called Himself the servant of the people? He said He didn’t come to be served but to serve. He made friends with powerless people-lepers-prostitutes, outcasts, as well as rich, religious & powerful people. He took time to care for children & women in a culture where they were nobodies.

 If you read His life story in the Bible you see an incredible personality & can understand how He has inspired people to be like Him. You’ll notice that He was even-tempered whether the crowd was cheering for Him or picking up stones to kill Him. He can tolerate personal hateful attacks & answer rough questions & even predict His own death with incredible emotional balance.

 Plus, how could a madman be a teacher?

“Who do you think I am?”

With that brief question Jesus Christ confronted His followers with the most important issue they would ever face. They had spent much time with Him and He’d made some bold claims about His identity. Now the time had come for them to either believe or deny His teachings and His personage.

Who do YOU say Jesus is? Your answer to that question will determine your lifestyle, values, and eternal destiny as well. While He lived there was much confusion about who He was. That hasn’t changed. Later we’ll examine his claims.

First let’s look at what other great men have said about Him.

** “I am an Historian, not a believer. I must confess as a Historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”H.G Wells—British Author

** “The name of Jesus isn’t so much written as it ploughed into the history of the world.”
Emerson—Philosopher

** In his famous book Mere Christianity, C.S Lewis makes this statement, “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 the level with a man who says he’s a poached egg- or would be the devil of hell. Either this was who he was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up as fool or fall at his feet and worship him but there’s no patronizing nonsense about calling him a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.”

** Napoleon said,

“I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius”? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His Empire upon love: and at this hour millions of people would die for Him. Everything in Christ astonishes me. His spirit overawes me and His will confounds me…I search in vain to find the similar to Jesus Christ, or anything that can approach the gospel. All other empires fall. The Church remains.”

**Lew Wallace, famous general, literary genius and avowed atheist was going to write a book to embarrass Christians and show the world Jesus Christ was a hoax. Within two years of research about the life of Christ, he suddenly found himself on his knees crying out to Jesus saying, “My Lord and my God.” He then proceeded to write Ben Hur, one of the greatest books ever written concerning the life and times of Christ.

**The late Mother Theresa poured her life into helping the poor and downtrodden and always told people, “My work is only the expression of my love for Jesus Christ.” Thousands of others like her upon meeting Jesus, from that day on disregarded their own needs so that they could consecrate their lives on helping others. Their outlook on life was altered forever.

** Saul of Tarsus was the chief persecutor of early Christians. He dragged people to prison when they didn’t recant their faith. But when he had a dramatic encounter with the risen Christ on his way to Damascus, he was transformed from Saul the enemy of Christianity, to Paul the main propagator of its message. He promptly left his position of prestige in the Jewish society to become a traveling missionary and experienced incredible suffering in order to share the love of Christ throughout the Roman Empire. About the sacrifices he endured he said,

I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ. Philippians 3:8.

JESUS WAS ONE OF FOUR THINGS;

· A LEGEND,
· A LUNITIC,
· A LIAR,OR
· LORD AND GOD

* If He were a liar, would He have died for His claims when He could easily avoid it?

* If He were a lunatic, how did He engage in intelligent debates with His opponents (at twelve years old) or handle the stress of His betrayal and crucifixion, all the while showing deep love for those killing him? Does this sound like a mental case?

* He said He was Lord God and the evidence supports him.

Here are some of the claims of Christ.

1. HE CLAIMED TO BE SINLESS.

John 8:28-29, So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me, he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.
John 8:46-47, Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.

2. HE CLAIMED TO BE THE ONLY WAY TO GOD.
Not one of several ways, but the one and only way. Not to teach the way, but to be the way to God. Nobody has ever made claims like that before and backed them up, but Jesus did through his love, Holy life and miracles.

John 14:6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father but by me.
Matthew 11:27, All things have been committed to me by my father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

3. HE CLAIMED TO SHARE THE GLORY OF GOD IN HEAVEN.

Jesus claimed to have pre-existed the people He spoke with theapostle John, who shared bread with Jesus wrote that Jesus was with God in the very beginning, and all things came into being through Him, and without Him not one thing came into being. (John 1:1-5)

In John 17:5 Jesus said, Father glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
In John 10:30 Jesus said, I and the Father are one.

4. HE CLAIMED TO BE ABLE TO FORGIVE SINS.

One of the reasons the Jewish leaders were so angry with Jesus was His continual practice of forgiving sins. The religious leaders understood clearly that since sins were a rebellion against God Himself, only God could forgive sins.

Luke 5:20-21 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend your sins are forgiven.’ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, ‘Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?

Luke 7:48-49. Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ The other guests began to say among themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’

5. HE CLAIMED TO BE A HEAVENLY KING.

Luke 22:69, But from now on the Son of man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.

Luke 23:1-3, Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ a King. ‘So Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Are you the King of the Jews? ‘Yes, it is as you say’ Jesus replied.
John 18:36-37 Jesus said, ‘My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.’ ‘You are a king then, said Pilate. Jesus answered, ‘you are right in saying I’m a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this came I into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.

6. HE CLAIMED TO BE ABLE TO GIVE EVERLASTING LIFE.

He didn’t just tell people how they could find everlasting life, or deepen their own life experience. He actually claimed to give life Himself.

John 6:40, For my Fathers will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:47, I tell you the truth, he who believes, has everlasting life.
John 19:28-30 I give [my followers] eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my hand. I and the Father are one.
John 11:25 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die.

7. HE CLAIMED HE WOULD DIE AND COME BACK TO LIFE.

John 12:32-33. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.’ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.John 16:16, In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.
Luke 18:31-33, Jesus took the twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock, insult him, spit on him. On the third day he will rise again. 

8. HE CLAIMED HE WOULD RETURN AGAIN TO JUDGE THE WORLD.

Matthew 24:27-30, So as the lightening comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. At that time the sign will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.Matt.25:31-32, When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate the people one from another as a Shepard separates the sheep and the goats.
Mark 14:61-62, And the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One? I am, said Jesus, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.
So again, we are faced with two choices; either we believe Jesus is who He said He was or we don’t. Some people think there are many paths to God, but remember what Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.

*CONCLUSION--JESUS IS THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE OBJECT OF SAVING FAITH.

The Bible says Jesus is God, the Holy One, the Savior, the only valid object of saving faith, the Sovereign Lord and the Righteous Judge. He is the theme of every book in the Bible. In the Word of God He’s,

· Promised in Genesis,
· Revealed in the law
· Prefigured in History
· Praised in it’s Poetry
· Proclaimed in its Prophecy
· Provided in the Gospels
· Proved in the Acts
· Preeminent in the Epistles and
· Prevailing in Revelation

Who do you say He is? That’s the inescapable question.

 If He was a fake His first problem would be to be born in the right year, the right town & tribe, but let’s say He fluked that. Somehow He could fake the prediction of the type of work He would do & the year He would start His ministry. For the sake of argument He could tell His friends to betray Him-although it would be hard to know he’d get exactly 30 pieces of silver.

But what about the prediction of the exact date He would die? Maybe He could just misbehave & get the Romans to kill Him but could He have said, “Can you make that Friday?” Right! And would they let you chose crucifixion instead of a death by sword?

The thought of faking it is too hard. What would you gain? Could He have just gotten lucky? One mathematician said the chance of Jesus fulfilling only eight of the prophecies about Him would be one in 100,000,000,000,000,000.

 For 48 prophecies it be would one in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
. Some scholars cite 332 prophecies but I don’t have the energy to type all those zeros.

Look at a few predictions about Jesus,

1.He’d arrive before the last of the Jewish Kings lost power. Gen.49:10-Written 1,500 BC. Roman power finally took over in AD70.

2.He’d start His work 483 years after Jerusalem started being rebuilt-Written by Daniel—(9:35)-600 years earlier. Rebuilding started in 475 BC.

3.He’d be killed by piercing his hands & feet, wrote David in c. 100BC even though crucifixion wasn’t know in Israel until 165BC. Psalm 22:16

4 He’d be born in Bethlehem & belong to the tribe of Judah.-Micah 5:2.Gen.49:10

5. Too much else to write—see “Evidence that demands a verdict”-- by Josh McDowell-Thomas Nelson 1979.

· Bottom line: can you see why a billion people believe He’s God?

Was Jesus a con? Why might He do a con job?

FOR MONEY? - When we read His life we see He lived very simply.

FOR POWER? -No, He didn’t let the people make Him King when they wanted to. He chose to die rather than start a war of revolution.

POPULARITY? No, Jesus’ enemies out-numbered His friends because He told the truth when He knew it would bring his death.

GOD WHAT A MAN!--MAN WHAT A GOD!-- WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH HIM??

ONE SOLITARY LIFE

He was born in an obscure village
The son of a peasant woman.
He grew up in another obscure village,
Where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty.

He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never went to college.
He never visited a big city.
He never traveled more than two hundred miles
From the place where He was born.
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness.
He had no credentials but himself.

He was only thirty three when
His friends ran away.
One of them denied Him.
He was turned over to his enemies,
And went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
While dying, His executioners gambled for his clothing,
The only property He had on earth.

When He was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend.

Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And the leader of mankind’s progress.
All the armies that have ever marched,
and all the navies that have ever sailed,
All the parliaments that have ever sat,
All the kings that ever reigned put together,
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
as powerfully as,THIS ONE SOLITARY LIFE.

WHEREFORE GOD HATH HIGHLY EXALTED HIM AND GIVEN HIM A NAME WHICH IS ABOVE EVERY NAME;THAT AT THE NAME OF JESUS EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, OF THINGS IN HEAVEN,AND THINGS IN EARTH, AND THINGS UNDER THE EARTH;AND THAT EVERY TONGUE SHOULD CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER. Philippians 2:9-11


Blessings,


John