Jesus; the One from Nazareth in Galilee, claimed much for Himself. He never intended for you to think of Him as merely a philosopher; or even a great philosopher. He did not intend to be thought of as merely a founder of one of the great world religions… a great teacher. Some want to say some nice things about Jesus but still view Him as a lesser light than what He claimed to be. He claimed to:

Have pre-existed His conception and birth
Be eternal
Be Deity
Be the only way to God
Light of the World
Have the power to forgive sins
Judge of the whole world
Have all authority in heaven and on earth
That the angels are subject to Him
To be the resurrection and the life
Will one day raise the dead

Why believe all these things? I wouldn't normally believe them, so why do I believe Jesus? There are many excellent reasons… but I am going to give you what is perhaps the best one of all. It was yet another claim He made that is as convincing as you could possibly get.

“For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” (Mark 9:31).

Everything I know points to the truthfulness of this claim. Witnesses; good and honest; sacrificing all; told why they changed so abruptly from being filled with sorrow and terror after His death to boldness and confidence as they preached the gospel of the Christ resurrected from the dead in the very same city where He had died. That is where I want to put my hope; in the one of whom the angel said; “Why do you seek the living One among the dead. He is not here. He is risen!”

Yes, there are many reasons to believe in Jesus, but even if there were only one reason, and if this was it, it would be enough all by itself. It is just that powerful.

 

 

 

By Jon W. Quinn
The Final Page
From Expository Files 18.10; October 2011