Tag Archive for: Jesus Christ

Prophets come in all shapes and sizes. If you speak of prophets in Christian circles, they will recall Old Testament folks like Isaiah and Jeremiah. But what about Jesus? Was he just a prophet among the many prophets?

Generally, prophets are known by their claim to speak about secret events or to reveal some divine truth not known by their hearers. And since it is unknown, there could be many so-called prophets who will say interesting things. But who is to know if they are speaking from supernatural, inspired knowledge, or just making stuff up?

When prophets predict some future event that doesn’t come true, it certainly causes us quickly to lose confidence in their claim to have a special ability as a prophet. We ought to listen carefully to those who have never missed once.

That narrows the field of prophets down quite a bit. While in Japan I was touring a Buddhist Temple at Narita. The monks were busy scribbling “holy writings.” I asked a teacher what they were doing, and he said, “They are updating their holy writings in order to make them relevant to today.” If their prophets were supposed to proclaim some divine truth, it would surely be suspect and hardly reliable.

Compare that to the prophets of the Bible. Every one of their prophecies was fulfilled. The Bible hasn’t changed in over 3000 years, and still every prophecy holds true. Quite dependable, wouldn’t you say?

Jesus was called a prophet. Matter of fact, Moses told God’s people to be looking for this prophet (Deuteronomy 18:18). When Jesus lived on earth, he did prophesy about the coming of the kingdom of God and about his purpose to save the world. He often spoke about his own suffering and death. Other prophets spoke of these things too, but what sets Jesus apart from all the other prophets is the fact that all the other prophets directed their attention to the promised Savior—to Jesus.

Jesus fulfilled every prophecy about the promised Savior. He was born from a virgin in Bethlehem; he descended from the Tribe of Judah; after his birth there would be a massacre of babies; he rode a donkey into Jerusalem; he was betrayed by his friend for 30 pieces of silver; he was rejected by his own people; and he was accused and condemned unjustly. Then came the big fulfillments. He suffered on a cross while the soldiers cast lots for his clothes. He died and then had his side pierced without one bone being broken, Jesus was buried with the rich and rose again from the dead – everything just as had been prophesied about him.

No other prophet, either Christian or non-Christian, has come close to fulfilling what Jesus did. No other prophet has come close to proclaiming accurately the secret things of God like Jesus did. No other prophet has come close to fulfilling prophecy like Jesus has.

Jesus is a prophet. But he is much more. He is the Savior of the world. He has freed us from the punishment of sin and hell. Jesus is our Savior. You can count on it!

On September 11, 2001, passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 attempted to gain control of the hijacked airplane that was by most accounts headed for a target in Washington, D.C. The plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. All 44 passengers were killed. The valiant passengers sacrificed their lives so that possibly many more lives were spared. Those passengers were lifesavers in the sense that they substituted their own lives for the lives of others.

Christians refer to Jesus as a lifesaver. Jesus saved our lives and the lives of every single human being. That is quite an astounding assertion. How specifically did Jesus save the human race? The answer hinges on Jesus serving as our substitute.

The Bible clearly states that God is absolutely holy, righteous and just. The problem is that we human beings are not in God’s spiritual league, far from it. The apostle Paul bluntly reminds us that no one is perfect: “There is no one righteous, not even one…All have turned away and have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10,12).

We are sinful; God is not. Left to ourselves, our lack of holiness will prevent us from living eternally in our holy God’s presence. God’s Word says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Instead of going to heaven, our final destiny is eternal death in hell. Jesus said that those who are not righteous will be cast by God into the place of torment (Matthew 13:49,50), the abode of the evil angel Satan. It is an ominous and bleak eternal outlook!

But God intervened. We have a lifesaver. We have a substitute. In unimaginable love, God the Father sent his Son, Jesus, to save us from death and hell. As true God and true man, Jesus lived a holy and sinless life in our place. Jesus substituted his holiness for our lack of holiness, so that because of Jesus God counts us completely holy!

Then in remarkable humble love for all of us, Jesus suffered and died. On the cross, Jesus suffered the agony of eternal separation from God the Father’s love. We deserved that eternal punishment for our sin, but God put Jesus under the sentence of death as our substitute.

Then victoriously Jesus rose from the dead to prove that he fully accomplished our salvation. He is the Savior who rescued the world from the guilt of sin, the hold of death, and the power of hell by his perfect life and his death for us.

Trust Jesus who is your “substitute” Savior, and all these eternal blessings are yours!

“Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.”  The Bible, in Luke 3:23, gives us that life-marker for Jesus.  The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) then go on to describe a three year ministry of Jesus.  So we know Jesus died, rose and ascended into heaven at about age 33.  What was Jesus doing all those years before he celebrated his 30th birthday?

Aside from the account of Jesus’ birth and infancy, there is only one account in the Bible about his boyhood.  That’s the time when the 12 year old Jesus was in the temple courts of Jerusalem amazing his teachers with his knowledge of the Scriptures.  You can read about it in Luke 2:41-52.  The account ends in an interesting way.  God tells us that the boy Jesus did not remain in Jerusalem in the temple.  Instead he was obedient to his earthly parents and went back with them to his hometown of Nazareth.  There in Nazareth, from age 12 to 30, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

That’s it.  That’s all we’ve got in the Bible about what Jesus was doing for all those years.  We might wish we had more.  That’s when it’s good to remember that the Bible wasn’t given to us so that we could know every detail of Jesus’ life on this earth.  It was given to us that we might be, as Paul once wrote to Timothy, “wise unto salvation.”  That’s a shorthand way of saying the Bible tells us exactly what we need to know about Jesus in order to believe in him and be saved.

Speaking of “saved,” consider that one little statement that summarizes 18 years of Jesus’ life and what it says about being saved.  “Jesus grew in favor with God and men.”  This means Jesus was loving God perfectly and loving his neighbor as himself perfectly for all those years.  He was keeping every single command of God’s holy will.  The Bible says that he was just like you and me except that he did not sin.  Jesus, true God from eternity, came to earth and became a perfect human being.

So what does that have to do with being saved?  It means you have a perfect Substitute.  Jesus places his perfection over your sin so that you may stand before God as not guilty.  Jesus himself affirmed this at his baptism when he told John that he had come “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).  And the apostle Paul underscored this truth when he said that Jesus “was born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  Hebrews 13:8

As one year ends and another begins, columnists and commentators look back at the previous year. What changed? What stayed the same? Whose passing did we mourn? Whose new arrival did we celebrate?

At the same time, we make predictions about the coming year. What will the new year hold? What will change? What will stay the same?

As fun and exciting as it may be to reminisce about the past and dream about the future, it can also be a little sad and scary. Things will likely never be what they used to be. Loved ones who have passed away don’t come back. Jobs that are lost seldom reappear quickly. Even when broken dreams and broken relationships are repaired, they rarely return to their former glory. Many times our experiences in an ever-changing world are difficult.

Yet we sometimes look at our lives and see a need for change. Many of us make New Year’s resolutions: “I’m going to exercise more and eat less.” “I’m going to save more and spend less.” “I’m going to love more and hate less.” But too often, our good intentions disappear, and only poor excuses remain.

No matter what (or who) changes from one year to the next, there is one who never changes—Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He always exists, from before time, throughout the course of time, and at the end of time for eternity. Jesus loved you before you were born. He loves you today, and he will always love you.

Jesus loved you so much that he wanted you to experience his unchanging love forever. So he came into the world to live up to God’s perfect demands in your place. He took the punishment for your imperfection and gave you the reward for his perfection. That reward is an eternity far away from this world’s sorrows and disappointments—the unchanging peace and joy of a place called heaven.

Jesus—the same yesterday, today, and forever—promises to be with us, to love us, to care for us, and to give perfect peace with God to all who trust in him. Only Jesus offers unchanging hope to an ever-changing world.