Over the centuries, in every land under the sun, humankind has come up with many ideas about gods and spiritual powers and religions and how things came to exist.  Some say there are many gods, some say there is no god at all.  Some believe that human beings can become some kind of a god, and others say that the one True God cannot even touch our world, to influence human events or intervene into our lives.  There are almost endless variations on religious ideas, speculation and theory.

There is nothing new or very original about any religious (or anti-religious) thinking or theology. 

Even the people of Israel, all descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (who was later given the name Israel) had lots of ideas about who and what and how to worship.  Not all of these people, in every generation, believed in the Lord God Almighty (whose Name is roughly rendered as YHWH in the original language of the Old Testament Scriptures).  Like people anywhere, the people of Israel liked the idea of choosing their own way and their own religion.

But God is not silent.  Nor is He passive in His love or concern for human beings.  The true and living God often sent prophets in to speak to the people.  He also caused things to happen in order to get people's attention.  And like most people everywhere, different people would interpret the messages of the prophets in different ways.  And they would see different meanings in the events and circumstances of life.  But from time to time, the Lord would bring things to a head, and so get everyone's attention.  Then there would be a mass returning to God by the whole nation.

The people of Israel would remain faithful to God for a while, and then they would begin to slip back into their old ways.  So it went for centuries.  Even after the nation went into captivity, Israel experienced a hardening of their hearts, although in ways that were different than before. 

But then the Lord did something truly extraordinary.  He had been promising for generations to send a very special Leader, a Rescuer and Shepherd for His people, a King and Teacher for all time.  In what we now call the first century C.E., the Lord sent His own beloved Son into the world as a newborn baby.  It was a miracle of untold and unimagined proportions. 

Not only did the Lord God cause a young virgin girl to conceive and give birth to a male child, but the entire essence of the living God was inside that human infant, to live and grow up as a human being.  One of us.  The true and living God literally became a human being.

Jesus the Christ of God was not just a guy who was "really blessed" in some special way by God.  He was and is the very God and Creator of all that exists, as the New Testament Scriptures plainly teach (All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing has ever come into being... John 1:3).  This man was the eternal Son of God, who had always been God, and had always been with God, forever in eternity past.  And one day He entered our world as a human infant.  That baby was the eternal Word of God who became flesh. 

You can read about these things in the New Testament Gospel of John, chapter one.  Other New Testament scriptures, such as Paul's letter to the Colossians and the epistle to the Hebrews, also give insights into the nature of Jesus Christ as both God and man.  (Along these lines, please be sure to read 1 Corinthians, chapters 1 and 2, as well, because you will need God's help to grasp the truth of God about Jesus Christ.)  He was God's perfect Servant, a Savior for all humankind who would pay for our sins in His own body.

Jesus lived among us, eating our food, breathing our air, drinking our water.  He spoke the truth of God, and began a public ministry that included teaching the Scriptures and clarifying God's message, as well as performing signs to show that He was truly sent  from God.  After about 3 years of ministry, Our Lord was arrested, falsely accused and convicted of blasphemy, and sentenced to death by religious leaders who wanted to silence Him forever.  This was necessary, as He had foretold.

Jesus went to His death on a Roman cross, where He suffered not only physically, which was brutal enough, but also the spiritual agony of separation from God the Father — a separation caused by the sins of all humankind.  He was, as John the Baptist had said, the Lamb of God (unblemished and perfect) who took away the very sins of the world.  He became sin for us, Scripture says, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

But Jesus did not stay dead.  He went to a borrowed grave, then entered into hell, where He preached to the souls and spirits imprisoned there, and then He conquered death and hell, by returning to His dead body, bringing it to life again, and walking out of the grave — not as some kind of Hollywood zombie or walking dead, but as the living Lord of life.

In a nutshell, this is the Jesus of the Bible, the Jesus actually sent to planet earth by the true and living God.  This is the Jesus who has the power to remove our sins when we place our hope in Him and call on God for mercy and forgiveness.  The Jesus Christ of the Bible, of the apostles and prophets of God Almighty, is the one and only Jesus capable of saving lost human beings.

This Jesus of Nazareth is my Savior (you can read my story here), and I hope He is yours, as well.  If not, you can always call on Him, right here and now.  No matter who you are, where you have been, what you have done, Jesus is able to save you and bring you into God's eternal spiritual family.  And He will do it.  If you need help, you can find it here.

This is the Jesus preached by the apostles, such as John, James, Paul and others.  I urge you to read not only the Gospels, but all of the New Testament Scriptures.  And don't stop there.  Be sure to read and even study the whole Bible.  In the pages of Holy Scripture, you'll soon discover the living God as He is revealed to us in the Messiah, the Anointed of God — the Christ.

God's best to you as you continue to learn more about Him.

©2007 GospelGifs