Articles - Jesus Christ

   Jesus was born with the shadow of the cross upon Him. His birth was announced by the angel who said, “There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). As significant as His birth was, it was in His death that the power to procure our salvation (i.e., His blood) was operative. Paul wrote, “. . . While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved . . .” (Romans 5:8-9). In the shadow of the cross, he learned to walk; He learned to talk; and He learned to work.

We call it Memorial Day. When I was a kid we knew it as “Decoration Day.” It was a day when Mom and Dad would put us in the car, and off we would go to visit the cemeteries where grandparents and others were buried. We would visit these graves, place flowers on the graves in memory of those loved ones, and pause to remember their lives. I especially remember all the flags, and the red, white, and blue flowers, as tribute to those who served our country, many of whom lost their lives while in service to our nation.

   It has been called “the world’s darkest assumption.” What is it? It is the following hypothetical—“IF Christ is not risen” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ, summarized the case for the bodily resurrection of Jesus when he (Paul) wrote about it not more than 25 years after the event had happened. Heaven had revealed it prophetically through the Scriptures that prophesied it (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Eyewitnesses had verified it (1 Corinthians 15:5-8). The apostles had preached it, and the Corinthians believed it (1 Corinthians 15:11). Yet, some among them, in spite of the sufficient evidence that proved it, were denying the reality of it (1 Corinthians 15:12-13). With flawless logic, Paul addresses it, explicating the implications of darkness and doom that reside in the proposition: “Christ is not risen” (1 Corinthians 15:14-19).

The observations of an anonymous writer grabbed my attention. I read and reread the words several times. The substance, source, and seemliness of these words impacted me. A portion of the words is as follows:

   “The general moral corruption of society, sin rampant in official and family life, will bring the state to ruin. The foundations are rotting, being eaten away; the canker-worm of sinful practices are growing at the heart and the whole structure will fall apart. . . . It is the truth . . . for the nations of every age. There are fundamental moral laws underlying the structure and woven into the very fabric of human society. When they are ignored and violated disintegration sets in and the structure is sure to collapse. For the confirmation . . . it is only necessary to scan the page of history. . . .

Phillip Keller, in his book of essays titled Outdoor Moments with God, writes the following under the word “Renewal”:

According to the calendar spring is here. But outdoors in the harsh world . . . there are few signs of any seasonal change. . . . But yesterday all that changed. . . . It seemed so impossible! New life, new blooms, new leaves bursting from the earth. In spite of every adversity there was astonishing renewal. This was akin to resurrection from death and despair.

Here was hope!

I was in awe. (99)

“In awe,” in some sense, ought to describe every thoughtful person as he considers the seasons and the changing thereof. Early preachers of the Christian faith declared to their audience, “We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you in order that you should turn . . . to a living God, who made the Heaven and the Earth and the Sea, and all that is in them. . . . He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from [H]eaven and fruitful seasons . . .” (Acts 14:15, 17, NASV; cf. Romans 1:18-20).

Christianity is the religion of the person Jesus Christ. Christian faith is Christocentric. Its center is Christ. It certainly is the case that numerous constituent elements compose the pathway to Christian faith. However, is there not great value in giving serious thought to what one initially, primarily, and ultimately thinks of when he considers his religious faith? And, when it comes to Christian faith, should we not, in some sense, first and foremost, think of Jesus Christ? Who is He? What has He done? What is He doing now? What is He yet to do? It would seem that, in one sense, a surface reading of the New Testament would convince one of the truth of the point we are making here.

Fifty years ago (1970) Newsweek magazine asked a group of academics “What ails the American spirit?” One professor of history answered: “When a growing portion of the nation’s youth loudly proclaims its defection from everything; when even the most traditional and conservative campuses seethe with perpetual turmoil; . . . when the country is racked with fear, foreboding, and hopelessness—then we had better declare a state of spiritual crisis. . . .” (“The Spirit of ’70. . . ,” Newsweek, 6 July 1970, p. 25).

Facing coming betrayal, judgment, and death, in just a matter of hours, Jesus of Nazareth, meeting with His apostles, in a large furnished upper room (cf. Luke 22:12) said, “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19, NKJV, emp. added).

One of those who saw and heard Jesus in that upper room was the apostle John. Sixty-five years later, while banished to the island of Patmos off the southwest coast of Asia Minor, John saw and heard Jesus again. John describes a part of what he saw and heard in the following: “. . . [W]hen I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (Revelation 1:17-18).