Who is Jesus? Have you ever considered that question?
H.G. Wells, who was incidentally not a Christian, called Jesus “the dominant figure in history.” He writes:
The historian…simply cannot portray the progress of humanity honestly, without giving a foremost place to a penniless teacher of Nazareth of Galilee. Though He left no impress on the historical record of his time, more than nineteen hundred years later, a historian like myself who doesn’t even call himself a Christian, finds the picture centering irresistibly around the life and character of this man.
Wells puts Jesus at the top of the list of the world’s greatest characters. And here is why. He says: “The historian’s test of greatness is not, “What did he accumulate?” It is not, “What did he build up to tumble down on his head?” No, Wells says, the test of greatness is found in the answer to this question: “Was the world different because he lived? Did he start men to think along fresh lines with a vigor and vitality that persisted after him?” Wells concludes, “By this test Jesus stands first.” In other words, Wells is saying, you cannot make sense of history without considering Jesus.
How could a man who was born in such lowly circumstances, with such lowly upbringing, who never held a position of power, who died in poverty, and who himself never brushed shoulders with the cultural greats of his day, how has he had so much influence? Who is this man and what are we to make of him?
Huston Smith wrote what is perhaps the most popular book on comparative religion today, now entitled The World Religions. In that book Smith claims that there have been only two people in history whose lives were so incredible that people asked not “Who are you?” but “What are you?” Those two individuals are Buddha and Jesus.
The difference between these two individuals and their messages could not be starker. Whereas Buddha pointed people beyond himself, Jesus pointed people to himself. Whereas Buddha claimed to have the truth that illumines the path, Jesus claimed to be the truth and the goal of the path. He claimed to be God in the flesh.
It is worth noting that most other figures that claimed the things that Jesus claimed were either considered delusional or megalomaniacs, whose influence died off within a generation. Why was Jesus different? The most plausible answer to that question rests in the Christian claim that Jesus actually rose from the dead. If the resurrection did not happen, then Jesus is just another deluded, even if sincere, religious teacher. If he did rise from the dead, then it vindicates all that he claimed about himself.
But why would God become a man, die and rise again?
The story of Jesus tells us that humans are so lost and so broken that we cannot find God or fix ourselves. If we are going to be found, God has to find us. If we are going to be saved, God has to come save us. To do that he became a man, who lived an ordinary human life, distinguished only by the startling fact that he never did anything wrong. He lived the life we were meant to live.
In addition, Jesus went further and willingly took the punishment that was due to us for our imperfect, rebellious lives. Dying on the cross, he forgave those who put him to death. When he rose from the dead, Jesus demonstrated that death had no hold on him, nor on any who entrust their lives to him.
And the Christian claim is that this is good news. It is news—an announcement about something that has been accomplished. It is not advice—information about how you can accomplish something. Religion gives advice. It gives you instructions for improvement. It tells you how you can heal yourself, if you will only put your mind to it. The message about Jesus is not advice. It is news. It news about what God has done to save those who cannot save themselves.
Being made right, therefore, doesn’t depend on our own efforts, strength, intellect, potential, or anything in us. It is God’s work, his gift, given without regard to our worth.
