JESUS CHRIST<\/p>\n
Unlike the religions of the world, Christianity is founded, not on some system or ideology or code of ethics or a mere man, but on a Person, Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man.\u00a0 Jesus is unique in His birth, His life, His teaching, His works and His death. None of the founders of the world\u2019s religions bears a record like HIS. Indeed, if we were to consider all the greatest, mightiest and wisest men who ever lived, not one<\/strong> has a record even remotely resembling that of Christ\u2019s.<\/p>\n HE STANDS ALONE IN ALL HISTORY UNIQUE, INCOMPARABLE, DIVINE.<\/strong><\/p>\n Jesus Christ is the foundation on which Christianity is built.\u00a0 He is the ROCK without which there would be no superstructure.\u00a0 Let us consider His life and works as recorded in the Bible.<\/p>\n HIS LIFE AND WORKS<\/strong><\/p>\n The uniqueness of His knowledge and spiritual wisdom must be set against the fact that Jesus had grown up in a humble carpenter\u2019s shop. As far as biblical records were concerned, He never attended any school of higher learning. He was omniscient from the very beginning.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst\u201d<\/em> (John\u00a0 6:35).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life\u201d<\/em> (John 8:12).<\/p>\n \u201cI am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep\u201d<\/em> (John 10:11).<\/p>\n \u201cI am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live\u201d<\/em> (John 11:25).<\/p>\n \u201cI am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me\u201d<\/em> (John 14:6).<\/p>\n \u201cI am the vine, ye are the branches\u201d<\/em> (John 15:5).<\/p>\n Men of the world would say of these claims: \u201cThey are amazing! How can they be?\u201d<\/em> Our Lord\u2019s own words give the answer. \u201c\u2026 with men it is impossible, but not with God<\/strong>\u201d<\/em> (Mark 10:27). [Emphasis added]<\/p>\n The above quotations are only a sampling of many other similar statements made by Jesus Christ. They are words which can only be uttered by divine authority, which authority Jesus is, as we shall shortly see.<\/p>\n The sincere seeker of the truth who reads through the Gospels cannot fail to see that JESUS CHRIST is GOD for three main reasons:<\/p>\n A man\u2019s speech gives an insight into his personality and character. The words uttered by Jesus and recorded in the Gospel accounts are of the greatest significance.<\/strong> They reveal to us HIS heart and mind.<\/strong> Read and ponder over these statements:<\/p>\n With these words, Jesus rebuked Satan who tried to tempt Him.<\/p>\n (John 8:58). To the disputing Jews, our Lord\u2019s words asserted His deity and exposed their unbelief. Jesus made it clear that He is the eternal and pre-existent ONE, the God of Abraham.<\/strong><\/p>\n These quotations and many other similar passages make it abundantly clear how we are to regard the MAN JESUS.\u00a0 To know Him is to know God; to see Him is to see God; to believe Him is to believe God.<\/strong><\/p>\n Some may object and argue that these are sweeping statements and wild claims.\u00a0 Such an objection would be valid if JESUS did not substantiate His WORDS by His WORKS.<\/strong>\u00a0 For if He had nothing to prove His deity, then truly these were but only empty words.<\/p>\n Let us now briefly consider His WORKS and how they bear the stamp of deity.<\/p>\n If Jesus was GOD, as He claimed, then His WORKS<\/strong> must be SUPERNATURAL AND SUPERHUMAN.<\/strong> They must belong to another realm, the spiritual and divine, something beyond human means and understanding.<\/p>\n We have already mentioned His teachings. All who heard Him were amazed. His teachings were not of this world: no ordinary mortal possesses such wisdom to say the things He said. GOD alone could have conceived those thoughts and uttered those words.<\/p>\n By His miracles, Jesus demonstrated His power as Lord of life and Master of both the physical and spiritual world.<\/strong> Should it surprise anyone, then, that Jesus changed water into wine<\/strong> (John 2:1-11), fed at least 5,000 men<\/strong> (Matthew 14:17-21) or walked on the Galilean Sea<\/strong> (Matthew 9:27; 20:30), that the lame walked<\/strong> (Matthew 11:5, 15:31; Luke 7:22), lepers were cleansed<\/strong> (Luke 17:12), and the dead came to life<\/strong> (John 11; Mark 5:22-43)?\u00a0 The winds and sea obeyed Him<\/strong> (Luke 8:25) and evil spirits also<\/strong> (Mark 1:27).<\/p>\n Men demand to see \u201csigns\u201d and \u201cwonders\u201d, or they will not believe. But when they see them, they remain in their unbelief, because their hearts are hardened. So our Lord pleads with those who are looking for the Saviour: \u201cBelieve me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works\u2019 sake<\/strong>\u201d<\/em> (John 14:11). [Emphasis added] If a man will not be convinced by the WORKS of Jesus, then nothing else will change his mind.<\/p>\n Of all the recorded miracles and signs in the Gospels,\u00a0 the resurrection of Jesus is the greatest. Never before nor after has there been any event like it. For a man to claim that he would lay down his life for others is not easy, and yet, it happens, though rarely. But to lay down His life for His enemies is unheard of! Yet that was what Jesus Christ did! But that is not all. He claimed and also announced that he would rise again<\/strong> from the dead! This elevates Christ to the unique height which He, as the God-Man, alone belong.<\/strong><\/p>\n Of His sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus said\u00a0 \u201cI lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again\u201d<\/em> (John 10:17,18).<\/p>\n The resurrection of Jesus, then, sets Him apart as the unique SON OF GOD, GOD in the FLESH, come to earth as SON of MAN to redeem fallen man back to GOD.<\/p>\n IF CHRIST IS GOD, must not all men acknowledge HIM and WORSHIP HIM?<\/strong><\/p>\n HIS DEATH<\/strong><\/p>\n No treatment of the life and work of CHRIST is complete without an account of HIS DEATH. The one purpose of His coming to earth was to save fallen Man and redeem the lost Creation. \u201cFor even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many\u201d<\/em> (Mark 10:45).<\/p>\n So as the hour of His death drew near, His soul went through deep travail. \u201cNow is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour\u201d<\/em> (John 12:27).<\/p>\n The death of Jesus is central to the Gospel message. It is the heart of GOD\u2019S <\/strong><\/p>\n PLAN OF SALVATION for FALLEN MAN.<\/strong><\/p>\n GOD\u2019S PLAN OF SALVATION<\/strong><\/p>\n In our chapter on SIN, we noted that with the fall of Adam, the entire human race fell under the curse of death. \u201cWherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned\u201d<\/em> (Romans 5:12).<\/p>\n With Adam\u2019s sin, a deep gulf and barrier came between man and God. Man\u2019s original fellowship with God was broken forever. He became estranged, separated, at enmity with God, doomed and lost. But man is God\u2019s best creation, made in His image and after His likeness, and God could not allow Satan to rob mankind from Him. The Holy Scriptures reveal that God foreknew all things including Adam\u2019s disobedience and was in sovereign control at all times. God is never caught unawares:\u00a0 with Him there are no surprises.<\/strong><\/p>\n So GOD has a PLAN OF SALVATION even before the Creation.<\/strong> It was all carefully thought out, how Satan\u2019s evil plot could be nullified, by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God,<\/strong> \u201cwithout blemish and without spot:\u00a0 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world \u2026\u201d<\/em> (1 Peter 1:19, 20).<\/p>\n This PLAN was announced soon after the fall,<\/strong> even while Adam and Eve were still in the Garden.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel\u201d<\/em> (Genesis 3:15). Christ, the coming \u201cseed of woman\u201d would bruise Satan\u2019s head: He would crush and vanquish the enemy of our souls.<\/strong><\/p>\n That GOD\u2019S\u00a0 PLAN required JESUS to give up His life<\/strong> as the price for sin was clear.\u00a0 Throughout the Old Testament<\/strong>\u00a0 we see this one theme expressed over and over again in the Levitical system of animal sacrifice for sin<\/strong> required by God. The sin-offering and burnt offering are just two examples of offerings that every Jew must offer when they sin. The sacrifice of the Passover Lamb<\/strong> at the beginning of the Exodus when God saved His people out of slavery in Egypt was a beautiful portrayal of the sacrifice of Jesus, our Passover,<\/strong> to save mankind from the deadly enslavement of sin.<\/p>\n The Old Testament Prophets<\/strong> looked forward to God\u2019s salvation. The best account of this is found in Isaiah 53<\/strong> which speaks of Jesus\u2019 coming as a suffering servant and God\u2019s sacrificial Lamb, \u201cstricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: \u2026 it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin\u201d<\/em> (vv 4, 5, 10).<\/p>\n GOD\u2019S PLAN IN ACTION<\/strong><\/p>\n When Jesus began His ministry, John the Baptist<\/strong> announced His appearance thus: \u201cBehold the Lamb of God,<\/strong> which taketh away the sin of the world\u201d<\/em> (John 1:29). [Emphasis added]<\/p>\n Our Lord Himself<\/strong> was never in any doubt about His mission on earth as God\u2019s sacrificial Lamb.<\/strong> Time and again He reminded His disciples of His coming death \u201chow that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 16:21).<\/p>\n As the day of His offering approached, \u201cHe steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem\u201d (Luke 9:51). No one compels Him to give up His life. \u201cNo man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father<\/strong>\u201d<\/em> (John 10:18).<\/p>\n [Emphasis added]<\/p>\n At the Last Supper,<\/strong> our Lord instituted that Sacrament<\/strong> of the broken body and the shed blood, \u201cFor this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins<\/strong>\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 26:28). [Emphasis added] Jesus yielded Himself in submission to the Father\u2019s will and drank the bitter cup of the death of the cross.<\/strong><\/p>\n GOD\u2019S LOVE MANIFEST IN THE CROSS<\/strong><\/p>\n While it was CHRIST who suffered<\/strong> on the cross as our sin bearer, nevertheless GOD the Father was no less involved<\/strong> in this great redemptive act. How it can be is very much a mystery, but Scripture says that GOD was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself<\/strong> (2 Corinthians 5:19). Further, \u201cGOD commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us\u201d<\/em> (Romans 5:8).<\/p>\n On the cross, then, we see GOD\u2019S justice and mercy and love met in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.<\/strong><\/p>\n THE VICTORY OF THE CROSS<\/strong><\/p>\n Christ\u2019s death<\/strong> on the cross is the very heart<\/strong> of the Gospel. There the spotless <\/strong><\/p>\n Lamb of God gave His life a ransom for many<\/strong> (Mark 10:45). There Christ<\/p>\n \u201csuffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God\u201d<\/em> (1 Peter 3:18). \u201cFor He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him\u201d<\/em> (2 Corinthians 5:21).\u00a0 \u201cWho His own self bear our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed\u201d<\/em> (1 Peter 2:24).<\/p>\n Christ\u2019s obedience to the Father\u2019s will won Him a mighty victory over sin and death for us.<\/strong> \u201cAnd being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross\u201d<\/em> (Philippians 2:8).\u00a0 \u201cFor as by one man\u2019s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous<\/strong>\u201d<\/em> (Romans 5:19). [Emphasis added]<\/p>\n By His death on the cross, Christ removed the barrier separating man from God.<\/p>\n At that moment He cried \u201cIt is finished!\u201d<\/strong> and \u201cinto Thy hands I commend My Spirit\u201d<\/strong> and the veil of the Temple was rent into two from top to bottom, opening the way into God\u2019s holy Presence for all who turn to Him through Jesus Christ only.\u00a0 Christ has opened the way to Heaven to all sinners who would accept Him as Lord and Savior.<\/strong><\/p>\n THE BLESSINGS OF THE CROSS<\/strong><\/p>\n To all who believe, there is \u201clife for a look\u201d.\u00a0 A look of faith at the Crucified One gives life<\/strong> (John 3:14-15).<\/p>\n We are justified<\/strong> by His blood and saved from wrath (Romans 5:9).<\/p>\n We are reconciled<\/strong> to God by His death (Romans 5:10).<\/p>\n Once we were aliens, strangers, far from God. Now, by the blood of Christ we are made nigh,<\/strong> and become citizens<\/strong> and members<\/strong> of the household of God (Ephesians 2:12-19).<\/p>\n Once we were enemies,<\/strong> now we are reconciled, friends and children of the Holy God<\/strong> (Colossians 1:21).<\/p>\n THE POWER OF THE CROSS<\/strong><\/p>\n When Jesus ascended to heaven, He left behind the Apostles to continue the work, to teach all nations and to make more disciples. The message which they were to bear unto the uttermost parts of the earth was \u201cJesus Christ and Him crucified\u201d (1 Corinthians 2:2). The preaching of the cross and Christ crucified is \u201cthe power of God, and the wisdom of God\u201d (1 Corinthians 1:24).<\/p>\n Alas, and did my Saviour bleed?<\/p>\n And did my Sovereign die?<\/p>\n Would He devote that sacred head For such a worm as I?<\/p>\n Was it for crimes that I have done, He groaned upon the tree?<\/p>\n Amazing pity!\u00a0 Grace unknown! And love beyond degree!<\/p>\n ~ Isaac Watts ~<\/p>\n BIBLE KNOWLEDGE QUIZ 5:<\/strong><\/p>\n JESUS CHRIST: HIS LIFE & DEATH<\/strong><\/p>\n Fill in the blanks:<\/p>\n Underline the correct answer:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Text:<\/p>\n 1 Corinthians 15:12-22; John 2:19-21<\/p>\n The RESURRECTION<\/strong> of Jesus Christ makes Christianity unique, for only JESUS<\/strong> among all religious leaders who ever lived and died rose again from the dead. The RESURRECTION of JESUS CHRIST confirms all the other doctrines of the Christian faith. On the other hand, if the RESURRECTION can be disproved, then all the doctrines of the Christian faith lose their credibility, our faith is useless, our preaching false, and we are still in our sins.<\/p>\n CHRIST FORETOLD HIS OWN RESURRECTION<\/strong><\/p>\n In our last lesson, we saw that our Lord’s mission in coming to earth was to offer His life as a sacrifice for sin. Whenever He spoke of His death, He also foretold His resurrection<\/strong> on the third day. He did this at the very beginning of His ministry (John 2:19-21). Once He compared His death and resurrection with Jonah’s three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish (Matthew 12:40). After Peter’s \u201cGreat Confession\u201d, our Lord spoke in detail of His death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22). Similarly, He referred to these events at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:9,23; Mark 9:9,10,31). As He approached Jerusalem, our Lord again predicted His resurrection (Matthew 20:19).<\/p>\n If these prophesies had not come true and Christ had died and remained buried in the grave, then all His teachings would have perished with Him.<\/p>\n THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST: FACT or FICTION?<\/strong><\/p>\n So crucial is this question of Christ’s resurrection that the whole Christian Church stands or falls with it.<\/strong> The reason is that without the resurrection of Jesus Christ we would still be in our sins. Our sins would not have been forgiven still. Death would still have its power over every sinner. We would be heading<\/p>\n 61<\/p>\n for Hell, everyone of us without exception. Let us therefore examine the biblical facts, and be quite clear in our minds that the resurrection is based on \u201cmany infallible proofs\u201d<\/strong> (Acts 1:3).<\/p>\n The fact of the resurrection may be decisively established by seven documented and sequential events.<\/p>\n It seems almost unnecessary to have to make out a case for our Lord’s physical demise. Nevertheless, to dispel the \u201cswoon theory\u201d and any such foolish talk, let us establish clearly the fact of His death.<\/p>\n The eye witness record leaves no room for doubt. The soldiers, whose business it was to ensure that crucified persons had actually expired before allowing their bodies to be taken down, found that Jesus was already dead, so there was no need to break His legs. But one of the soldiers confirms the death of Christ by piercing His side with a spear, and immediately came forth blood and water from the side of Christ (John 19:33, 34). This affirms that Christ was definitely dead!<\/p>\n Next, the burial of our Lord by two secret disciples, Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus. They took the body and wound it in linen clothes with about one hundred pound weight of myrrh and aloes after the Jewish tradition.<\/p>\n Then they laid Him in a new sepulchre in a nearby garden (John 19:38-42). This was Good Friday evening.<\/p>\n On Saturday, the day after the burial, the chief priests and Pharisees came to Pilate the Governor, requesting that the tomb of Jesus \u201cbe made sure until the third day, lest His disciples came by night, and steal Him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead …\u201d<\/em> (Matthew\u00a0 27:64).<\/p>\n The necessary permission having been granted, they went and sealed the entrance with a stone and set a watch to guard outside the sepulchre (Matthew 27:66). A \u201cwatch\u201d would mean to set as many guards as were needed to ensure the tomb of Christ was secured safely. It was humanly impossible for anyone to break into the tomb for these guards were there with the punishment of death hanging over their heads if they failed.<\/p>\n So while our Lord’s embalmed body lay in linen bands inside the tomb, armed guards watched on the outside. This was Saturday.<\/p>\n In the Gospels, we have four independent accounts of the happenings on<\/p>\n Sunday morning \u201cthe third day\u201d (Cf. Matthew 28:1ff; Mark 16:1ff; Luke 24:1ff; John 20:1ff). When certain women arrived at the break of dawn at the tomb with sweet spices intending to anoint our Lord\u2019s body, they were taken aback to find the great stone rolled away and the body gone! The linen wrapping of the body and napkin of the head were lying undisturbed on the stone slab where the body had been. Certain of the disciples who came later were witnesses to the same things.<\/p>\n John 20:1-9 , \u201cThe first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.<\/strong> Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.\u201d<\/em> [Emphasis added]<\/p>\n The guards stationed by the priests and Pharisees, at the command of Pilate, to keep watch over the tomb were as dead men. Matthew 28:1-4, \u201cIn the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Inside the tomb were two angels who announced the fact that Jesus had risen from the dead with the words: \u201cWhy seek ye the living among the dead? <\/strong>He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again\u201d<\/em> (Luke 24:5, 6, 7). [Emphasis added]<\/p>\n The Gospels record ten separate appearances<\/strong> of our risen Lord to the disciples and other \u201cchosen witnesses\u201d<\/strong> (namely to Mary Magdalene, to the women returning from the sepulchre, to Peter, to two disciples on the Emmaus road, to the ten in the upper room on the first Easter evening, to the eleven at the same place a week later, to more than 500 brethren at one time, to James, to several disciples by the Sea of Galilee, and to the assembled believers on the Mount of Olives at the Ascension, and finally to the apostle Paul.)<\/p>\n 1 Corinthians 15:4-8, \u201cAnd that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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