Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3, Yet the influence of Christ's 3-year teaching infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all ancient times. As the centuries pass, the evidence is accumulating that, measured by His effect on history; Jesus is the greatest genius and the most influential life ever lived on this planet. No one else holds or has held the place in the heart of the world which Jesus holds. You cannot go outside of A and Z in the realm of literature; so is Christ. Jesus said “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:13)
Well Alpha is the first letter of the Greek Alphabet and Omega is the last letter. This statement signifies the completeness and uniqueness of Christ. That he is indeed the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Start and the Finish. That he is one with God the Father who describes himself in Isaiah 44:6 this way “This is what the LORD says-- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.” He is first in time. "In the beginning was the Word." He is also first in position and rank. None so great as he. And he is the Last also. . Listen to what John, the same John who wrote the Revelation wrote concerning Christ, John 1:1-3 “In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. He was in the beginning with God. He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn’t make”.
The coming of Jesus Christ in to this world was prophesied in minute detail, primarily about His lineage, nature, place of birth, where He would be raised, His vocation, purpose, the specific means and nature of His death, His resurrection, and many other fulfilled prophecies. And all of these prophecies were made hundreds of years before His birth or first advent. He is God’s indescribable and unfathomable gift to the world. He is the most unique Person of the universe. His life is unparalleled in beauty, scope, character, and effect. No one ever spoke like Jesus Christ, did the things He did, or made the claims He made. Christ is absolutely unique among all who ever lived. He is unique in his supernatural nature, in his superlative character, and in his life and teaching. No other world teacher has claimed to be God.
In Christ’s life and ministry, he demonstrated who He was--the God-man, the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. He also declared His purpose—to die for our sin. In His death on the cross, Christ accomplished that purpose. He bore our sin in His sinless body on the tree. He died as our substitute, and took our judgment. By His resurrection, God proved the value of His Son’s death and the sinlessness of His Person. It proved Him to be the unique God-man. Jesus’ deity is why He is the only way of salvation. Jesus’ deity is why He proclaimed, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” In view of Christ’s mighty words and works, and the perfect and sinless person men found Him to be, the claims He made cannot be dismissed. People cannot, in all honesty to the historical evidence. Only the virgin birth can give an adequate answer to the phenomena of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ.
Christ’s birth stands alone in history. By the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, God Himself took up residency in a virgin’s womb in embryonic form so that after a natural nine-month pregnancy, she gave birth to a son who was also God’s Son. Jesus had to be God so that He could pay our debt. Jesus had to be man so He could die. He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His disciples ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for His garments, the only property he had on earth. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Such was His human life—He rises from the dead.
Twenty one extensive centuries have come and gone and today He is the Center figure of the human race and the Leader of the column of progress. Other world renowned leaders have come and gone, risen and fallen, but none have come back from the dead to carry on their work as did Jesus Christ. This too is unique, not only because Jesus Christ stands alone in this respect, but because of the Old Testament predictions and the incontrovertible evidence for the historical fact of the resurrection—the empty tomb, His post-resurrection appearances, and the transformed lives of his disciples, not to mention the continuation of Christianity in the face of the greatest adversity.
All that is best in the civilization of today is the fruit of Christ’s appearance among men. Jesus Christ is the most unique personality of all time, all history, both as Son of God and as Son of Man. Time has no power over the name and deeds and words of Jesus Christ. Everything he ever said or did has value for us today and that is something you can say of no other man, dead or alive. There is no easy middle ground to stroll upon. You either accept Jesus or reject him. Everybody on this planet had to do with him one way or another. The great historian, Kenneth Scott Latourette, said: "As the centuries pass the evidence is accumulating that, measured by His effect of history, Jesus is the most influential life ever lived on this planet. That influence appears to be mounting." "He stands forth upon the highest pinnacle of heavenly glory, proclaimed of GOD, acknowledged by angels, adored by saints, and feared by devils, as the living, personal Christ, our LORD and Saviour.” Jesus Christ: The meeting place of eternity and time, the blending of deity and humanity, the junction of heaven and earth. He is eternal. He existed from eternity past, He exists in the present, and He will exist for all eternity in the future.
Napoleon Bonaprte expressed the following thoughts about Jesus Christ “I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for him.”
Philip Schaff said “ Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, He shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, He spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, He set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise, than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.” “More than nineteen hundred years ago there was a Man born contrary to the laws of life. This Man lived in poverty and was reared in obscurity. He did not travel extensively. Only once did He cross the boundary of the country in which He lived; that was during His exile in childhood.” “He possessed neither wealth nor influence. His relatives were inconspicuous and had neither training nor formal education. In infancy He startled a king; in childhood He puzzled doctors; in manhood He ruled the course of nature, walked upon the billows as if pavements, and hushed the sea to sleep. He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His service.” “He never wrote a book, and yet all the libraries of the country could not hold the books that have been written about Him. He never wrote a song, and yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all the song writers combined.” “He never founded a college, but all the schools put together cannot boast of having as many students. He never marshaled an army, nor drafted a soldier, nor fired a gun; and yet no leader ever had more volunteers who have, under His orders, made more rebels stack arms and surrender without a shot fired.” “He never practiced psychiatry, and yet He healed more broken hearts than all the doctors far and near. Once each week the wheels of commerce cease their turning and multitudes wend their way to worshipping assemblies to pay homage and respect to Him.”
“The names of the past proud statesmen of Greece and Rome have come and gone. The names of the past scientists, philosophers, and theologians have come and gone; but the name of this Man abounds more and more. Though time has spread nineteen hundred years between the people of this generation and the scene of His crucifixion, yet He still lives. Herod could not destroy Him, and the grave could not hold Him.” “He stands forth upon the highest pinnacle of heavenly glory, proclaimed of God, acknowledged by angels, adored by saints, and feared by devils, as the living, personal Christ, our Lord and Savior.” There is no other person in history who can claim that his coming was the fulfillment of numerous prophecies written hundreds and even thousands of years before His appearance. Jesus stands alone. Only completely spiritual man to walk this earth was our Lord Jesus Christ. He was God’s perfect man. If we are to understand the traits of the spiritual man, we need to examine those that were manifested by Christ during His ministry. This is why Apostle Paul could say, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”(1 Corinthians 11:1)
After reading the life of Christ as presented in the Bible Mahatma Gandhi admired the Sermon on the Mount (which shaped his whole philosophy of life) Mahatma Gandhi‘s quote about Jesus Christ reveal that he said “A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.” Jesus said “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:13) -The expressions “the first and the last” and “the Alpha and the Omega” also suggest the uniqueness of Christ. -You cannot go outside of A and Z in the realm of literature; likewise Christ Jesus is First and Last of God's new creation, and all that is in between; you cannot get outside of that St Paul said it well “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:15-20)
The purpose of Jesus is here, to put God back into the center of His world and relate everything in our life and in the lives of others to him and not to us. This is what the gospel message is all about. Have you crowned Jesus Christ Lord of his empire, where he belongs, and invited him with gladness to sit upon the throne of your heart and rule there? The most profound reality for every believer is a relationship with Jesus Christ. He is our Savior, our teacher, and our friend. But the Bible teaches that at the most basic level Jesus is our Lord, our God, which means we are His people. God loves His people with a first love! 1 John 4:19 "We love Him because He first loved us." By nature we were without God, and afar off from God; we were strangers to God, and enemies to God! Therefore if God had not loved us first—we would have been everlastingly undone! God loves His people with an everlasting love! Jer. 31:3, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, with loving-kindness have I drawn you." That is, "I love you with the love of perpetuity, or with the love of eternity. My love and My affections to you shall continue forever!" God loves His people with the greatest love, with a matchless love! John 3:16, "God so loved." This signifies . . . the greatness of God's love, the vehemence of His love, and the admirableness of His love. What an unspeakable comfort must this be to God's people—to have the presence of a loving God, to have the presence of such a loving God with us in all our troubles and deep distresses! If the presence of a loving friend, a loving relation in our troubles and distresses, is such a Comport—oh, what then is the presence of a loving God.
