The Son of God isn't like any other man you may have seen or encountered. Yes, at one point in time, there was a Man who came from the glorious expanse of heaven, who walked the earth, and who dined and made friends with sinners. His name was called Immanuel, but you may know Him as Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is the One Man who changed the course of history for all men throughout time, and forevermore.
Around two-thousand years ago, the Great I AM stepped out of the realm of eternity and into time, emptying Himself into humanity, for the sake of humanity. He was fully God in every sense of the word, but, He was also fully man. The God of the universe became a baby, dependent on His mother's care, He grew and increased in wisdom in the sight of men, He went through all the same stages of adolescence that we would go through, was made strong in Spirit, and was completely perfect. He was Divine. There was nothing impure about Him. He never did anything wrong. There was no sin to be found in this Man that became the world's Savior.
His entire life was one spent about His Father's business. He came as servant, sent for the purpose of death. The cross was His ultimate destiny, and, was His ultimate plan for the salvation of all who would believe in His name and come to Him. The perfect will of the Father was the most painful place for Jesus, but His death on the cross become the cornerstone of our faith and our hope. Without Jesus, redemption for mankind would not have been possible.
Heaven was His origin, earth was just His visitation. Jesus' Kingdom was not of this world - Jesus' Kingdom was one that is far above all powers and principalities, and He, the most High King and One True Potentate, to which we all must one day answer to. He created the universe, the world, and all men, women, and children who inhabit it. It was by His love and mercy that He made us, and gave us life - and it was also His love and mercy that compelled Him to come down from heaven to save us from our sins when we fell. There has never been anyone quite like Him. His mercy is unfathomable.
Heaven and earth are Jesus' jurisdiction. He is in control of all things, and nothing goes unnoticed by Him. He keeps watch on both the evil and the good, and will recompense to all people's according to their ways. He is King and will deal prudently, and accordingly. When we declared war on Him, He sought peace and reconciliation.
Jesus is set apart from all the rest. His claims about His identidy, combined with the miracles that He performed testfied that He wasn't just any man. Many 'saviors' throughout time have come and gone, but none have ever claimed to be the God of heaven, while simultaneously giving very credible evidence to support it. Jesus did just that. No matter where you may look, none have ever left the kind of influential mark on history that Jesus Christ did, and certainly no one ever demonstrated and proved their Messiah-ship by rising from the dead. Except for Jesus.
Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that if anyone wanted to gain access to the Father, they must go through Him. Just in that one claim alone, we're left with a Man who brought division, and who demands a decision. He didn't leave open any doors for different thoughts or interpretation about who He was. He is either the Son of God, or He isn't.
This Man who came out of Nazareth accomplished for us what no one else ever could. He was the eternal God who related to us on a very personal level, by becoming one of us, so He could indentify with us and have compassion for our weaknesses, having experienced them Himself, and provide the means through which we could be reborn and saved. Jesus suffered the horrible torture and humiliation of crucifixion in order to forgive us of our sins, and bring reconciliation to our doorstep. It was the perfect exchange, the perfect transaction. Jesus offered up His pure life for the profane - the perfect for the perverted - the holy for the depraved - the righteous for the unrighteous.
Jesus died in our stead so that we could be saved. His death wasn't the death of a martyr, it was the atoning death of the One True King who willingly laid down His life - and who took it back up again when He was resurrected. He wasn't the victim of a vicious crime or human tragedy, He was fulfilling His Divine mission. It was God Himself putting His perfect plan of salvation into action. Though Pilate, Herod, the Pharisees, among many other did not yet know it, the King was doing this for their benefit, and for the world. Oh how great the mercy of God!
His death on the cross demonstrated to us two things. His sacrificial love for man, and His absolute hatred for sin. If because of our sin the very Son of God endured the brutal beatings, savagery and agony of the cross, our sin must be a repulsive sight for God to behold. The good news is that, Christ's death on the cross purchased for us a gift of pardon - that we could be forgiven, and spend eternity in heaven, in the presence of the living God who loves us with an everlasting love.
If one sees the Son of God, he sees no less than God Himself. In Him we have assurance, and in Him we have a hope that no scheme of hell can take away from us. Jesus is Savior and Lord, come to HIm and be reconciled. He is waiting for you!
"In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2:11-15 nkjv).
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11 nkjv).
"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."" (John 14:6 nkjv).
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