Christ is great for a number of reasons.
He is Great
1. Because of his impact upon the world:
Dr James Allan Francis © 1926. Said the following about Jesus:
“He was born in an obscure village The child of a peasant woman
He grew up in another obscure village Where he worked in a carpenter's shop -
Until he was thirty when public opinion turned against him
He never wrote a book He never held an office He never went to college
He never visited a big city He never travelled more than two hundred miles from
the place where he was born
He did none of the things usually associated with greatness
He had no credentials but himself
He was only thirty three
His friends 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 dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing The only property he had on earth
When he was dead He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend
Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And the leader of mankind's progress All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life.”
H G Wells, the bard, though an unbeliever, agrees. He says:
I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very centre of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.
Someone else has said:
“Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ's 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity.
Jesus never wrote a book, yet more books have been written about him than any other of the billions who ever lived on this planet.
He never painted a picture or composed poetry or music, but nobody's life and teaching has been the subject of so many songs, plays, poetry, pictures or films.”
Jesus is truly beyond compare:
2. Because of the things some rather significant people said about him.
Before he came into this world, prophets spoke of him:
Isaiah for instance said: for unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulders. And his name shall be called...
When the angel announces Jesus' immanent arrival in Luke 1:32, he says:
"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David."
In Luke 2 when Jesus was taken to the temple to be dedicated as a child to the Lord, Simeon that man of God took him in his arms and praised God saying: Lord now let your servant depart in peace...: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation...a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Even he's predecessor in ministry declared his greatness: in John 1:15 we read:
John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'"
3. Because of his claims about himself
Matthew 12:6 "But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here
Matthew 12:42 "The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
Matthew 12:41 "The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
John 14:1 Jesus said ‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, BELIEVE ALSO IN ME’ ‘
In verse 6-7 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: No Man Cometh Unto The Father, But By Me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him’ .
Jesus declared ‘I and my Father are One’ Jn10:30.
Kindly note: Buddha never claimed to be God. Moses never claimed to be Jehovah. Mohammed never claimed to be Allah. Yet Jesus Christ claimed to be the true and living God.
Buddha simply said, "I am a teacher in search of the truth." Jesus said, "I am the Truth." Confucius said, "I never claimed to be holy." Jesus said, "Who convicts me of sin?" Mohammed said, "Unless God throws his cloak of mercy over me, I have no hope." Jesus said, "Unless you believe in me, you will die in your sins."
Augustine said: I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are very wise and very beautiful; but I never read in either of them: "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden."
Fundamentally, our Lord's message was Himself. He did not come merely to preach a Gospel; He himself is that Gospel.
He did not come merely to give bread; He said, "I am the bread."
He did not come merely to shed light; He said, "I am the light." He did not come merely to show the door; He said, "I am the door."
He did not come merely to name a shepherd; He said, "I am the shepherd."
He did not come merely to point the way; He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." --J. Sidlow Baxter
CS Lewis:
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
4. Because of his involvement in creation... Heb 1:1-3
A. HE IS THE HEIR OF ALL THINGS: Jesus is the unique Son of the living God. He is the sovereign Lord of the universe. The world belongs to Jesus Christ. He is the rightful heir of all things.
B. HE IS THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS: Jesus did not have His beginning at Bethlehem. He was present in the creation of the world.
John wrote ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. ALL THINGS were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.. And THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, and dwelt among us..’ Jn1:1-4,14.
The Greatness of Jesus Christ cannot be fully appreciated without understanding that Jesus Christ is the Creator of everything.
He is THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, the creator of ALL THINGS, and the source of ALL Life.
Colossians 1:16: "For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him and for Him".
Seen in his miracles: Storm...peace. Feeding the five thousand... Raising the dead... Healing the blind... Casting out demons...
C. HE UPHOLDS ALL THINGS: That is, He holds the universe together by the Word of His power. It is in Jesus that we live and move and have our being.
5. Through his salvation for us.
A. HE PURGED OUR SINS: "By Himself" in His own person, by His blood, by the sacrifice of Himself on the cross, He purged our sins. He made possible our salvation, our forgiveness, and our eternal life.
B. HE SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE MAJESTY ON HIGH: "Sat down" speaks of the completeness of His great work on our behalf. The cross need never be repeated. His work was once for all. Following his resurrection and ascension, Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high
6. The ultimate measure of the Greatness of Jesus Christ is HIS GREAT LOVE FOR US,
He said:‘GREATER LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends’ Jn15:13. Jesus Christ, the personification of God’s Love, became OUR SAVIOUR GOD by dying for us.
Jn3:16,17 states ‘For GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved’.
Paul later wrote ‘..to know the LOVE OF CHRIST, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God’ Ep3:19;
and the apostle John, ‘Behold, what manner of LOVE THE FATHER hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the Sons of God..’ 1Jn3:1.
Jesus is beyond compare:
Napoleon:
I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other 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 creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.
Paul said:
wherefore God also hath highly exalted (JESUS), and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in ..and under the Earth; And that every tongue should confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father’ Php2:9-11.
Co2:9 states ‘For in (JESUS) dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily’. There is no higher or more honourable name in all THE UNIVERSE than that of
7. Through the way he deals with us today:
When we falter and fail, he forgives us... To Peter
When we fall he lifts us up... Psalm 3
When we were lost he found us.
When we were sick he healed us. Our healer...
When we have loved ones in need of him, he hears our prayers. He can reach anyone. He can change anyone.
When we are faced with impossibilities, he steps out onto the waters...
When we have needs he meets them. He is our Shepherd.
