Many people see Christianity as just another option of the many world religions.
However, one of the main things that sets Christianity apart is the person of Jesus
Christ. Who is He? What did He do? Why does it matter to you?
Many people see Jesus Christ as nothing more than a historical person who lived 2000 years
ago. But is this true, or have too many people turned their back on the most important person in human
history? Who is this man, the figure that even divides time by his birth? Was he a
lunatic, someone to be compared with the man who says he is a poached egg? Could someone who has affected the lives of so many people and brought soundness and peace through his life and teachings have been mad
himself? I would answer with a resounding no.
Many people have said that Jesus Christ was just a good man.
However, this image shatters if what he said was not true. For if what he said was not true then he is a liar and not a good man at all. So, was he really a
liar, someone who decieved the masses into believing that he was greater than he really
was? Could someone whose teachings contained such high moral standards have been a
fraud? Would he have hung on a cross suffering such an agonizing death for teachings that he really did not believe in or adhere to
himself? Once again, the possibility is non-existent.
This only leaves us with one
possibility; he was what he said. And, if he was what he said, then his words affect the lives of every person who has ever
lived.
So what did he do? What could this one man have done to affect the lives of every person that has ever
lived? Was it what he taught? While his teachings are the most important in human history and hold the loftiest standards of moral
excellence, this is still not the most important aspect of what this man did. The biggest impact of this life of 33 years is what happened in his death and what
followed. Jesus Christ did not simply die a martyr's death, for he said himself "No one can take my life from
me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up
again. This command I received from my father." (John 10:18)
So if he had the power to lay down his life and take it up
again, why did he die on a cross reserved for the worst of society? Surely he was not there beyond his control or without
reason. So why was he there? The answer is that he was there for you and for
me. You see, the Bible states in Romans 3:23 that every person has fallen short of God's standard. You might say that you are a more integrous person than most, but compared to God's original intention for mankind we have all missed the mark. Jesus Christ gave his life as a substitution for humanity's
sins, to redeem God's most treasured creation, and to place mankind into the state He originally
intended. Colossians 1:20 states that God, through Jesus, reconciled all things to himself and made peace through Jesus' blood which was shed on the cross. The
perfect, sinless Son of God took our sins upon Himself so that we could avoid the consequence of spiritual death that our sins had brought upon all of
us. But it did not stop there. Three days later he was raised from the dead proving that the sacrifice for our sins was sufficient and that man could
now, through Jesus Christ, become all that God intended for us to be. His death on the cross and resurrection from death are the most important aspects of
Christianity.
Why should this matter to you? If this man, Jesus
Christ, died on a cross and rose from the dead to bring wholeness and eternal life to every man,
woman, boy, and girl, then that affects us all. What one does with this person, Jesus
Christ, will affect his or her eternal destiny. Jesus came to offer life to you through his
life, death, and resurrection, but the decision ultimately falls into your hands. Jesus once asked a question to a group of people that he is now asking
you, "Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15)