Jesus’ Life And Work
About two thousand years ago, in a province of the Roman Empire called Judea (now Israel), a baby was born. He grew up in a lowly family in a seedy little town. As a child, he amazed religious teacher with his understanding of God and his word.
At thirty, he went about proclaiming the coming of the kingdom of God and teaching what man must do to be with God and enjoy a life of happiness.
He healed the sick, liberated the demon-possessed, opened the eye of the blind, made the lame to walk, and raised the dead. He uplifted the poor and the despised, comforted the depressed, and fed the hungry masses.
He had no money or material possession, and yet for all the good that he had done, he asked for none.
He exposed the hypocrisy of the politicians and religious leaders, and their corruption of God’s law. They wanted him dead.
Jesus’ Teachings
You may have heard of these high ideals: “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.” “Love your enemies.” “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.” “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” “The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.” “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Well, they are just a sampling of the great teachings that originated from Jesus. So effective are the teachings of Jesus that many know about, live or aspire to live by them although they may not believe in or even know about him.
Through the centuries, the teachings of Jesus have transformed lives for the better, mended broken families, and inspired thousands to open schools to educate the poor; to build hospitals, to provide homes for the orphans and destitute in slums and remote villages around the world, to risk their lives to care for the injured in war zones.
Jesus’ Love
Jesus cares for you and gives you everything you need when you turn to him.
When you are burdened and stressed out, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
When you are troubled and paralysed by fear, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
When you are sick and in need, Jesus says, “Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.”
When you are lonely in this cold cruel world, Jesus says, “I am with you always.”
When your life is empty, Jesus says, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
When you are depressed, Jesus says, “I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”
Today, those who turn to Jesus experience the reality of his promises.
Jesus’ Revelation
He revealed that God loves man, that he is God, and that he came as a man to suffer and die to draw man back to God. He foretold that he would rise from the dead, and would come back and judge the world. He promised that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus’ Death And Resurrection
Under cover of darkness, the religious leaders led a detachment of soldiers and police to arrest him. Throughout the night, they interrogated him; looking for something to charge him with. In between, they mocked him, spat at him, slapped him and beat him.
At first light, they hurried him to trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. They charged him with two counts of subversion – forbidding Jews to pay taxes to the emperor and setting himself up as a king. After hearing the case, Pilate declared, “I find no basis for an accusation against this man.” But they were insistent. Quickly, they framed a new charge against him – insurrection – stirring up the people throughout Judea starting from Galilee. When Pilate learned that he was from Galilee, and therefore under the jurisdiction Herod Antipas, the Jewish king of Galilee and Perea, he sent him off to Herod.
Herod too didn’t find him guilty of any of the charges, and sent him back to Pilate. Pilate then announced that as he was innocent and would release him. But the mob clamoured for his death. Fearing a riot, Pilate gave the verdict they demanded.
The soldiers scourged him. They pressed a crown of thorns on his head, spat on him, mocked him and struck him. They laid a cross on him to carry up a hill where he was to be crucified. He carried the cross until he came out of the city. Then he stumbled under its weight. The soldiers compelled a bystander to take over.
Upon reaching the hill, they hammered nails through his hands and feet to affix him onto the cross, and raised it up to hang him on it by the nails. As if the physical torture was not enough, the religious leaders taunted him. Yet, in the midst of all these sufferings, he pleaded, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
Before the sun set, he gave a loud cry and died. A solder came forward and pierced his side with a spear. Blood and water came out.
His disciples took him down and buried him.
Just as he had foretold, after three days, he rose from the dead, and appeared to many. Forty days later, he ascended to heaven in the presence of many witnesses.
His resurrection is a historical fact.
First, his disciples who had witnessed it preached and wrote about it. Their writings survive and appear as the New Testament of the Bible. Preaching or writing about his resurrection was not something glamorous; rather it was something suicidal. It was outlawed by the authorities. The disciples were beaten, imprisoned and killed for doing it. None will suffer and die for a lie. If he had not risen from the dead, the disciples would not have suffered and died to preach or write about it.
Second, his resurrection was not only documented by his disciples; it was also independently reported by contemporary historians who were not Christians. One of them was Flavius Josephus. Despite his despise for Christians, around 93 A.D. this famous historian recorded this in his work “Antiquities of the Jews”:
About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing among us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not cease. On the third day he appeared to them restored to life. For the prophets of God had prophesied these and myriads of other marvellous things about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still up to now, not disappeared.
Conclusion
Jesus revealed that he is God. When someone says he is God, logically, there are three possibilities. First, he is lying. Some charlatans claim to be divine to swindle the vulnerable and amass a fortune. Second, he is mad. Some patients in mental institutions claim to be divine. Third, he is truly God. The life and work of Jesus prove that he was not a liar. The judge who sentenced Jesus to death could find no fault in him. Even non-Christians acknowledge that Jesus was good. The teachings of Jesus prove that he was not a lunatic. Therefore, Jesus must be truly God.
Another proof that the Jesus is God is his resurrection. Other than Jesus, nobody has ever risen from the dead. Only God the creator of life can overcome death.
Who is good? Who has performed miracles? Who has originated great teachings that work? Who cares for you and gives you everything you need? Who has revealed that he is God? Who has suffered and died for you? Who has risen from the dead?
Now, in the whole of history, who is good and has performed miracles and has originated great teachings that work and who cares for you and gives you everything you need and has revealed that he is God and has suffered and died for you and has risen from the dead?
None, except Jesus.
If you do not believe in Jesus, who can you believe in?
To believe in Jesus is to believe that he is God, to entrust your life to him, and to obey him. When you do that, Jesus is your Lord. Your life is no longer your own. You no longer live for yourself. You live for Jesus.