Why Not Jesus?
Psalm 127:3-5 (AMP) Behold, children are a heritage and gift from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. 5 How blessed [happy and fortunate] is the man whose quiver is filled with them…
Matthew 16:13-14 (NKJV) When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Matthew 16:15 (NKJV) He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Matthew 16:16 (NKJV) Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Matthew 16:17 (NKJV) Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon…, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
Who do you say I am?
Mark 6:1-6 (ESV) He went away from there and came to His hometown, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And on the Sabbath He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to Him? How are such mighty works done by His hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. 4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief.
All they could focus on were the reasons why they SHOULDN’T believe — His background, His family, the fact that He was just “one of them.” They never stopped to consider why they SHOULD believe.
The issue of suffering/evil
The perceived lack of tolerance
The hypocrisy in the church
The historical and cultural disconnect
The fear of change
The misunderstanding of Jesus’ character
The issue of intellectualism
Christianity is too boring.
Thinking about Jesus makes me feel guilty.
God isn’t real.
I don’t need Him.
There’s too much to give up.
It must be a trap.
I’m not good enough.
I could never keep it up.
Maybe later.
It’s great for others, but not for me.
John 3:16-17 (NIV) For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
John 14:6 (NIV) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 6:35 (NIV) Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.”
“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 [insane]…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 [insane] or something worse…but let us not come up with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” — C.S. Lewis
“However strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God.” — C.S. Lewis
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” — C.S. Lewis
Mark 10:45 (NIV) For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many.
Galatians 2:20 (NIV) I have been crucified with Christ I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.