"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written."
Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in an obscure village. He worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty, and then for three years he was an itinerant teacher.
He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never traveled, except in his infancy, more than two hundred miles from the place where he was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompanies greatness. He had no credentials but himself.
While he was still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies. He went through a mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for the only piece of property he had on earth, his seamless robe. When he was dead, he was taken down from the cross and laid in a borrowed grave through the courtesy of a friend.
Twenty wide centuries have come and gone, and today he is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of all human progress. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever were built, all the Parliaments & Congresses that ever sat, and all the kings & presidents that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has this one solitary personality.
- Unknown
The man referenced in the above passage is the God-man, Jesus Christ. He made exalted claims for Himself:
1. He said that "he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9).
2. He claimed equality with God (John 5:17-18).
3. He claimed to be the promised Messiah, "the Son of the Blessed" (Mk. 14:61-64).
4. He claimed that the shedding of His blood would bring remission of sins (Matt. 26:28; 20:28).
The worst charges that could be brought against Him were that He loved sinners, and ate with them (Matt. 9:10-13). But this charge He readily admitted, for His purpose in coming to earth was to "seek and to save that which was lost" (Lk. 19:10).
It was said of Him that "Never man so spake" (John 7:46). Many were astonished at His teachings (Mk. 7:37; Lk. 2:47). His works were equally as astonishing (Lk. 5:26).
There is no one in history like Jesus. As a Preacher, as a Doer of things, as a Philosopher, as a Healer, no man ever, had the sweep and the vision of Jesus. Jesus looked to the soul while other men dwelled on material things. His teachings taught during His earthly sojourn 2000 years ago was true then, has been true in every century since and will be true forever.
The human experience of 2000 years shows that Jesus never made a mistake and never sinned. Jesus never uttered a doctrine that was true at that time and then became obsolete.
Plato was a great thinker and learned in his age, but his teachings will not stand the test of time. The doctrine of Confucius gave a great nation moral and mental dry rot. The teachings of Buddha resulted in mental and moral chaos. Mohammed offered a system of ethics which harsh, severe, rigid, and, in the end, capricious & cruel as the god he worshipped. Thomas Aquinas, Francis of Assissi, Thomas A. Kempis and other profound philosophers have become obsolete, obscure and irrelevant.
Napoleon had the world at his feet for four years, and when he died the world was going on its way as if he had never lived. Alexander the Great lived a very short life whose end was prophesied in the Holy Bible. Other men taught us to develop systems of government because we have trouble with self-government. Only Christ through His Holy Spirit can truly govern men's unbridled passions, lusts and wickedness.
Not all the investigation of chemists, not all the discoveries of explorers, not all the experience of rulers, not all the historical facts that go to make up the sum of human knowledge can match the priceless words uttered by Jesus Christ.
Jesus spoke the truth; He lived the truth; He is the truth (John 1:1; 14:6). And His Truth is eternal.
History has no record of any other man leading a perfect life or doing everything in logical order. Jesus is the only person whose every action and whose every utterance strike a true note in the heart and mind of every man. He never said a foolish thing & never did a foolish act.
No poet - Shakespeare, Dante, Swift, Machado, Cervantes, Chaucer, Wordsworth, Dickinson - loved humanity with the love that Jesus bore toward all men.
Ladies & Gentlemen, Christ is matchless because He is the Son of the Living God. Everything He does for you & me is done out of perfect love. Won't you draw near to Him? Don't you hear Him beckoning to your heart today? Please don't hesitate. He's calling. He's calling you today!
O for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.
Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!
I pray that your name will end up in the book of life (Rev. 20:11-15). The only way is through the Son of God. Jesus Christ is calling you: Come Home!
