Articles - Jesus Christ

   The words of Jesus of Nazareth are among the constituent elements in the case that can be made for the deity of Jesus. We are under no obligation to make the case for Christ from a single element. However, there are some individual elements that do stand alone as both necessary and sufficient to prove His deity. We affirm the words of Jesus provide one of these single elements that demand the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God.

   In his book, Nearer, My God: An Autobiography of Faith, the late William F. Buckley, Jr., described what he called “the surrealistic beauty of the words [Jesus] used. ‘Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin; And yet . . . Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. . . .’ Do we dismiss it as sublime poetry, pure and simple? . . . An old, Judaic Shakespeare? . . . A Shakespeare, raised as a carpenter, under the reign of Tiberius Caesar? . . . How much importance do you attach to the ‘uninventability’ of Christ? (It was C. S. Lewis’s contention that the life and in particular the preachings of Christ could not have issued from someone merely human.) (237).

   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).