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Jesus is the most significant figure in all history. And if the claims made about him are true, it will have a massive impact on our lives today…and for eternity.
The evidence for the existence of Jesus is very compelling and accepted by almost all ancient historian scholars.
The New Testament is a part of the Bible which covers the life of Jesus and the writings and letters of some of his first followers in various books. These books were written from around 40-100AD. The earliest copy that we have of a section of these books is from 130AD and the earliest full manuscript is from 350AD. Currently we have over 5,000 Greek, 10,000 Latin, and 9,300 copies of sections from the New Testament.
His claims were staggering. Although He was a man revered for his self-sacrificing humility, He called Himself ‘the bread of life’ and said that He gives ‘the water of life’. He also claimed that He is the judge of the living and the dead and that His death is the key to our life, not just now but for all eternity! As dramatic as they are, these claims received incredible support when Jesus rose from the dead.
Can all this be true? The evidence is compelling. And knowing Jesus is life-changing!
A great way to get to know Jesus is by reading about him! See below for an article about the life of Jesus. The book of Mark in the Bible can be a great way to see who Jesus is and what he is like. If you don't have a Bible, you can read it online. A good translation to start with is the NIV (New International Version).
If you want to read it with someone else, fill out the form below and we would love to be able to help you.
Imagine the following situations: “It’s a swear word, isn’t it?” said the young primary school child when the Scripture teacher wrote “Jesus” on the board. Or: “I think he is in one of the songs they sing at Christmas along with Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and Santa,” said the teen-age shop assistant. Or: “He is never in the papers or on telly, so he can’t be anyone important,” said the young mother when asked if she knew who Jesus is. These days many people in our society do not know anything about Jesus.
Yet, despite such general ignorance about Jesus, millions of Christians honour and worship him as the Son of God; they trust him as their Saviour and Lord. Why do they make so much of a man who died some two thousand years ago? One reason is they are convinced that he rose from the dead and is alive today.
So, who IS Jesus? The best records we have (there are others) are the four Gospels in the New Testament, the last part of the Bible. All four books tell us that the birth of Jesus fulfilled promises and prophecies from God recorded in the Old Testament, the first part of the Bible. Jesus was born about 4 BC in the Jewish town of Bethlehem in the Roman Provence of Judea. His mother, Mary, was a virgin but was told by a heavenly messenger that her pregnancy was brought about by God’s Holy Spirit. Later, Christians came to understand that Jesus was both fully God and fully human.
We know very little about the childhood of Jesus. The four Gospels are more interested in the way he began his ministry. When a man known as John the Baptist called people to turn away from their sins and be baptized, Jesus went out and was baptized by John. The Spirit of God appeared in the form of a dove and descended on Jesus and the voice of God declared him to be God’s Son. Then, while he was alone in the desert, the Devil, Satan, tempted him to give up his God-given mission and to worship him and not God. Jesus resisted Satan and did not sin.
Jesus began his ministry by calling some quite ordinary Jewish people to follow him. He taught them about God’s kingdom and the way into it. He gave many signs, including miracles of healing, to show that he was the one who would bring in the eternal healing of salvation from sin and death. The four Gospels indicate that Jesus continued for about three years to draw people to himself, to teach them about God, and about their need to turn from a life of rebellion against God. If they repented and believed in Jesus as the one sent by God to save them, they would inherit eternal life in God’s kingdom which is yet to be fully revealed.
The time came when Jesus told his followers that he must go to Jerusalem, to suffer much, be put to death, and on the third day rise from the dead. And so it happened as he had said. When he got to Jerusalem he said much and did many things to show he was the one promised in the old Jewish Scriptures who would save a people for God from every nation. The Jewish religious authorities rejected Jesus’ claims which, they said, insulted God. They brought Jesus before their council and condemned him as deserving of death. He was given over to the Romans who crucified him. His followers were devastated by this apparent tragedy. they seemed to have forgotten that Jesus had declared that he had come to give his life as a ransom for many; that he must die for them. So it was, Jesus was killed and buried.
But, Jesus also had told his followers, that his death would not be the end. He was crucified on a Friday. On the following Sunday, some of his friends went to the tomb to put spices on his body but found the tomb was open and his body gone. Jesus then appeared alive to several of them and told them many things about his death and resurrection. One day he was taken from them into heaven. A heavenly messenger announced that Jesus would return to them.
So how did the Jesus-religion, Christianity, begin? It happened like this. Jesus, now back from being dead, told his friends to wait in Jerusalem until his Spirit came upon them. When this happened they would tell people in all the world of his life, death, and resurrection. Then Jesus was taken up into heaven. And so it was. The Holy Spirit came upon them and filled them with power and authority to tell the full gospel news that Jesus lived, died, and rose again so that whoever believes in him is forgiven of all their sins and has eternal life; a life forever with God.
Christians look forward to the time when Jesus will return to this world to judge the living and the dead. Meanwhile, they are concerned that everyone should hear the good news that all who trust Jesus and what he did for us will have their sins forgiven and become children of God forever.
The meaning of this for us today can be simply put as what we must do to have eternal life:
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