The Uniqueness of Jesus Christ
Psalm 86:7-12
When we compare the religions of the world, we quickly see that biblical Christianity is an unique faith because Christianity stems from the uniqueness and superiority of its founder Jesus Christ, the greatest man who ever lived. The psalmist declared “Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; nor are there any works like Your works.” In every aspect Jesus Christ stands far above man’s religions and their founders. Three of the most noted founders of the world’s religions are Confucius, Buddha, and Muhammad. This morning we shall see in comparing these men with Jesus Christ the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in His birth, His teachings, His life, death, and resurrection. When we are through I hope that you will clearly see that there is a wide chasm between man’s religion and our wonderful savior Jesus Christ.
I. The Uniqueness of His Birth
A. Buddha was born in India in 563 B.C. Siddhartha Gautama the son of an aristocratic Hindu chieftain.
B. Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was born around 570 A.D. in the city of Mecca, the son of Abdullah, who died weeks before Mohammed’s birth
C. Jesus Christ the virgin born Son of God was born around 3-4 BCE, the Son of Mary.
D. Luke 1:26-32 “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. ‘He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest’.”
E. It’s interesting to note that in the Koran, in Surah 19:16-22, the virgin birth of Christ is acknowledged.
F. C. S. Lewis says, "When you beget, you beget something of the same kind as yourself. A man begets human babies, a beaver begets little beavers, and a bird begets eggs which turn into little birds" (Beyond Personality, 1948, p. 5).
G. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
II. The Uniqueness of His Teaching
A. Human relationships
1. "Buddha said, ‘If someone is suffering, that is his karma.’ You are not to interfere with another person’s karma because he is purging himself through suffering and reincarnation! Buddha said, ‘You are to be an island unto yourself.” – Dr. Ron Carlson
2. Mohammed –
a. “slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war” Sureh 9:5
b. “O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: they are but friends and protectors to each other. And he among you that turns to them for friendship is of them.” 5:51
3. Christ
a. Matthew. 22:37-40 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like unto it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and all the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
b. Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”
c. Luke 23:34 “"Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."
B. The Role of Women
1. Buddha – The Buddhist view of women is one which puts them on a lower level than men. Women are looked down upon especially by monks who view them as merely dangerous objects that provoke sexual interest in men. Buddha advised his disciples not to look at them or talk to them.
2. Muhammad commanded his male followers to beat their disobedient wives. He gave men the right to beat their wives who persistently disobeyed them. Sureh 4:34 “As those you fear may be rebellious admonish, banish them to their couches, and beat them."
3. Christ's teachings show that women and men are equal in God's sight.
a. Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
C. Salvation
1. Buddha - Buddhists have no concept of salvation and atonement for wrong doings. Buddha accepted the power of the Hindu gods, but denied their efficacy in bringing humans salvation.
a. "Nirvana is the ultimate goal of spiritual practice in Buddhism. It is the total, absolute and permanent cessation of suffering. It is the merging of the individual into being one with the universe." Nirvana means "never having to be reborn."
b. A true Buddhist does not depend on external powers for his salvation. Nor does he expect to get rid of miseries through the intervention of some unknown power. He must try to eradicate all his mental impurities to find eternal Happiness.
2. Mohammed – salvation must be earned
a. Those who believe (in the Qur’an), and those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians, and who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve” (Surah 2:62).
b. "Every man's actions have we hung around his neck, and on the last day shall be laid before him a wide-open book." (Sureh17:13)
3. Christ –
a. Salvation is by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ. And even that faith to believe God is a gift from God.
b. John 6:40 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
c. John 6:47 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.”
d. John 14:6 - "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me"
e. Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other [than Jesus]: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
III. The Uniqueness of His Life – His sinlessness
A. Muhammad, the Muslim prophet states in the Koran, "Surely I am no more than a human apostle." Again in the Koran, Muhammad is told of his sinfulness: "So know, O Muhammad, that there is no God save Allah, and ask forgiveness for thy sin and for believing men and believing women". - Surah 47:19
B. Confucius said, "As to being a Divine Sage or even a Good Man, far be it for me to make any such claim. - Arthur Waley, The Analects of Confucius (NY: Vintage, 1938), p. 130.
C. Lao-tze the founder of Taoism said, "I alone appear empty. Ignorant am I, O so ignorant! I am dull… I alone am confused, so confused!" - Tao-Teh-King, 20:3, 20:5-7 cited in Hume, p. 136
D. Concerning Buddha, Houston Smith in The Religions of Man wrote “He made no attempt to conceal his temptations and weaknesses, how difficult it had been to attain enlightenment, how narrow the margin by which he had won through, how fallible he still remained.” - Houston Smith, The Religions of Man (NY: Harper & Row, 1965), p. 99.
E. Concerning Jesus Christ the Scriptures plainly teach His sinlessness
1. 1 Peter 2:22 “He committed no sin, no guile was found on his lips. “
2. 2 Corinthians 5. 21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
3. Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points] tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
4. John 19:4 “Pilate then went out again, and said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him."
IV. The Uniqueness of His Death
A. Confucius died of old age in the state of Lu and is buried in a grave in the city of Ch'uFu, Shandong, China.
B. Buddha died from eating a poisoned mushroom and was cremated. His ashes were buried in eight mounds or stuphas in India
C. Muhammad died in 632 A.D. as a result of being poisoned following his attack upon and conquest of the Jewish settlement of Khaibar. He is buried under a Mosque that was his own house in Medina.
D. Jesus Christ’s death was unique
1. Because of the method of His death - That He would be crucified was prophesied in Psalm 22 long before death by crucifixion was known in Palestine.
a. vs. 16 “They pierced My hands and My feet”
2. Because of the manner in which he died, displaying his sinless and holy character.
a. 1 Peter 2:23 “who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed [Himself] to Him who judges righteously”
b. Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.”
3. Because of the miracles surrounding his death—the darkness, the rending of the veil, the earthquake, and the opening of the graves.
a. Matthew 27:45 “Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.”
b. Matthew 27:50-54 “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
4. Because of the Motive of His death
a. His death is unique. His death is different from all other deaths. Under the Romans, many people were crucified. But they died for their own sins. We remember even one of the robbers that was crucified with Christ, he confessed that we deserve this for our sins. But this man who is sinless, brothers and sisters, throughout the Christian centuries, especially in the early centuries, many believers were crucified for believing in the Lord Jesus. They died a martyr’s death. But brothers and sisters, our Lord’s death is not a martyr’s death. His death is different. His death is unique. There is only one death that is of this nature. His death is the atoning death. He died that we may live. –Stephen Kaung, His Death
b. John 10:15 "As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
c. Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
V. The Uniqueness of His Resurrection
A. Confucius is DEAD and buried in a grave in the city of Ch'uFu, Shandong, China.
B. Buddha is DEAD and his ashes are buried throughout India
C. Muhammad is DEAD and buried in Medina
D. Mark 16:6 “But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.”
E. Jesus Christ DIED, was BURIED, but on the third day AROSE from the dead and there is only an EMPTY GRAVE left because HE LIVES!!
F. Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
G. I am told that the originator of a new religion came to the great French diplomat-statesman Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord and complained that he could not make any converts. "What would you suggest I do?" he asked. "I should recommend," said Talleyrand, "that you get yourself crucified, and then die, but be sure to rise again the third day." Christianity stands on the resurrection. - copied
