JESUS

JESUS

God coming to be with us himself, changed the course of history. We date our letters and documents, our children’s birth and loved one’s death by what happened so many years ago. It has impacted art, literature, political and educational institutions and our understanding about ourselves. While he never wrote a book or a song, libraries of the world could not hold the books written about him. He has inspired more songwriters to write about him than any other theme.

HIS BIRTH

His birth was announced to Mary by a surprise greeting from the angel Gabriel. The wise men who studied the stars and planets to a fine art, knew something important was happening on earth. It was announced to the Shepherds who were visited by an angel and a heavenly host.

The Christmas nativity with the captions of peace, joy, goodwill creates in all of us a sense of hope. At the heart of the Christmas story, he poses such a threat that power hungry leaders will kill a village full of babies. He was homeless with a price on his head before he could walk or talk.

HIS MINISTRY

Everything he did was the opposite to what the religious leaders expected of a coming Messiah and deliverer. John goes around yelling the top of his voice, prepare the way of the Lord, he will baptize you with the Holy Ghost. Through the crowd Jesus comes, stands at the water’s edge and quietly asks John to baptize him!

He choose the wrong kind of board members, hung out with the wrong crowd, accused of being a drunkard and a glutton. It was the poor, the brokenhearted the disenfranchised, he addressed himself too. He came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

HIS DEATH

The shadow of the cross hung over Jesus from the beginning. And by the time they nailed him to the cross his friends and followers were up and running. Those who waved palm branches and hailed him king were part of the mob shouting crucify him. The one they had said was the hope of the world is now hopeless. The light of the world is gone out. The cross a punishment for slaves was considered an outrage by a Roman citizen. His body and faced was marred beyond human semblance. The king of the Jews says his last words; Father forgive them.

HIS RESURRECTION

The Gospels don’t give us any explanation as to how the body of Jesus disappeared from the tomb. Whatever happened and however it happened that first Easter, what convinced the people that he had risen from the dead was not the absence of his corpse but his living presence.

He appeared to them unrecognizable until he blessed the bread, broke it and gave it to them. He appeared at the tomb as a gardener. He showed up in their midst and disappeared into walls. He permitted doubting Thomas to check out his wounds. He told them to breath in his breath, his Holy breath and spirit so they could go out into the world and do his work.

HIS REVOLUTION

The Big Bang of Christianity broke into the world when enthroned upon the cross he called it is finished, marched into the abyss and secured the keys of hell and death.

Jesus not Caesar is Lord. Jesus is raised so he is the Messiah and therefore he is the world’s true Lord. What happened at the Resurrection generated something new. It grew and developed into a movement that continues to have eternal effects to this day. Jesus is raised so God’s new Kingdom has begun and as his followers we are to announce his Lordship to the world.

I recently read an exert from Oscar Wilde’s play Salome. It goes something like this:

When Herod hears reports that Jesus has been raising the dead: “I do not wish him to do that I forbid him to do that, I allow no man to raise the dead. This man must be found and told, I forbid him to raise the dead.”

We hear the same voices today who wants to carve up the world to their advantage. They want to silence the gospel, threaten our freedoms, make harsh demands on us that are contrary to Kingdom principles.

“Where is this man.” Herod demands. “He’s everywhere my Lord,” replies his courtier, “but it is hard to find him.”

He shows up at a loved ones tomb, in prisons, in our schools, hospitals, government buildings. He appears to the worried and stressed, the poor and disenfranchised. Sometimes differently than what we expect. HE’S EVERYWHERE.