The Greatest Intellect And The Most Influential Life Ever Lived Series

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.