Back in college, I found myself in between a heated debate about Jesus. Some of my roomies did not believe in Him and suggested that He was an imaginary person that never existed. Others said He was a fake Messiah. And of course there were those that believed Jesus is the Son of God. Then to my surprise, I was asked to share my views … To be honest, I really had no clue. I never thought of these things before but I felt, then, that I need to resolve this question. If Jesus was really divine, then I have to do something about my relationship with Him. If Jesus was not, then I will settle this question in my mind forever and never let it bother me again.
I set to search for the answers, and here’s what I found:
History states that a Rabbi existed around 2,000 years ago who lived a spotless life and possessed great wisdom. He shook the whole nation of Israel. Not only that but this leader had great powers to perform miracles such as healing the sick and raising the dead. Even His enemies testified to that. But what is even more shocking is that details of His birth, life, baptism, and death were given in prophecy thousands of years before He was even born. More than 125 prophecies were fulfilled in the life of Jesus? Now, what is the probability of having only 10 of these prophecies to be fulfilled in one person’s life?
No other “religious leader” even compares to Jesus Christ. Every other religious leader is either alive or dead. Jesus Christ is the only person among other religious leaders who was dead and is now alive. Also, Jesus Christ claimed to be the “Son of God” and equal with the Father (John 10:29-33). To Him, are ascribed all the attributes of Deity. Yet He was also a man, born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-56).
Having lived a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15), He was crucified in order to pay for the sins of all men (Matthew 27:35). Then, He was resurrected from the dead three days later (Acts 1:22). Jesus confirmed His words by His supernatural deeds saying, “Believe me … or else believe me for the very works’ sake.” (John 14:11).
I am skeptical by nature but these were undeniable facts to consider. So, what will we do with Jesus? We cannot simply dismiss Him. We cannot ignore Him. He is a central figure in the human history.
To me, Jesus introduced the most infinite loving model of a God- a God who loved His creatures to the point of sacrifice (John 3:16; John 15:13). There is no other religious system or leader that portrays such love.
I don’t know about you but I want to be part of this loving family. In fact, I think those that become part of the Heavenly family are the luckiest people on Earth.
