THE MOST ASTOUNDING
CLAIMS EVER MADE
BY A HUMAN BEING
Jesus
Either He
was the world's greatest liar--a very bad man, or
He is the
Lord of Heaven and Earth--as He claimed.
You
Must Decide. He
claims your eternal destiny depends upon Him!
Consider a few of the claims
of Jesus
"I
am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father but by
Me." John 14:6
In this
one statement Jesus claims
|
|
to be the only Way to God |
|
|
to be the Truth, asserting that all
others are wrong whose teachings disagree or contradict with His |
|
|
to be the Life, thus claiming to be
the source of all life both here and hereafter |
|
|
to be the only One who can assure you
access to God the Father. |
"Verily,
verily I say unto you, 'He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life' "
John 6:47
In this
statement Jesus claims
|
|
that believing in Him is the only
condition of eternal salvation (An astounding claim) |
|
|
that salvation will only be given to
those who are able and willing to trust Him and Him alone to save them. |
"I
am the Bread of Life; he that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and he that
believeth on Me shall never thirst." John 6:35
In this
statement Jesus claims
|
|
to be the all sufficient source and
satisfier of life on this earth and in all eternity |
|
|
to be able and willing to spare any
person the eternal unquenchable thirst of hell if that person will come to
Him. |
"All
authority is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." Matthew 28:18
In this
verse Jesus claims
|
|
to be the Sovereign and Ruler of the
universe |
|
|
to be God since only God has this
authority and power. |
"All
[people] should honor the Son as they honor the Father." John 5:23
(Pure
blasphemy if He is not God come in the flesh)
In this
statement Jesus claims
|
|
that Jesus |
|
|
that He Himself is God because only
God is to receive worship. |
"I
am the Light of the world." John 9:5
In this
statement Jesus claims
|
|
to be the only One who can shed light
upon the perplexing questions about man's origin, identity, purpose, and
destiny |
|
|
to be the only one who can give the
light of hope and salvation to this spiritually blind world. |
I am
the Door, by Me if any man enter in He shall be saved." John 10:9
In this
statement Jesus claims
|
|
to be the one and only door of
salvation from hell |
|
|
to be willing to save any person who
will seek salvation from Him alone. |
In view
of these claims any thinking person is forced to conclude one of three things
about Jesus
|
|
1. He was a liar |
|
|
2. He was a lunatic, or |
|
|
3. He is Lord of heaven and earth. |
Which is
He? You must decide.
You cannot
remain neutral; since Jesus
______
*See Josh McDowell, "Evidence that Demands a verdict",
CCCI, copyright 1972, Pages 107-112.
Consider the
Most Important Claim
of Jesus
"It
is finished!" John 19:30
In this
last statement of victory, cried out from the cross at the moment of His death,
Jesus claims
|
|
that He had completely finished
paying the horrible sin debt of mankind with His own blood. |
|
|
(See 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18, Isaiah
53:4-6, Ephesians 1:7) |
On the
basis of
|
|
The Apostle Paul concludes ...
that salvation is now offered to us as a free gift since |
"For the
wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
our Lord."
Romans 6:23
|
|
The Apostle Peter concludes
... that our sins can now be forgiven through repentance and faith. |
" Repent ...
and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." Acts 3:19
"Whosoever
believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." Acts 10:43
|
|
The Writer of Hebrews
concludes that salvation requires |
- no more sacrifices (such as the mass) Hebrews 10:10,11,12,14,18;9:12
- no more human mediators (such as popes,
priests, saints, etc.) Hebrews 4:14-16, 7:24-28, 10:11; 1 Timothy 2:5
- no more "works of merit" Ephesians
2:8-9; Titus 3:5
Consider the
Most Astounding Claim
of Jesus
"After
three days I will rise again." Matthew 27:63
"From
that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples how He must ...suffer
many things ...and be killed, and be raised again the third day."
Matthew 16:21
In this
statement recorded over 10 times in the gospels before His death, Jesus
|
|
that He would be killed |
|
|
that He would lie dead, and |
|
|
that He would rise up from the dead
the third day. |
"I
will rise again"
This
claim, whether true or false, would resolve forever the identity of the man
Jesus of Nazareth.
If
Jesus
However,
if Jesus
Would
not such a resurrection verify every word and claim that Jesus spoke upon the
earth?
Jesus
If He
were a fraud, this statement would have been the greatest blunder of His life.
A quick look in the tomb on the third day would expose His life of deception.
If His
body remained dead and decaying in the tomb on the third day, the faith of even
the most ardent disciple would be immediately destroyed.
In this
statement Jesus
In
view of the extreme importance of the resurrection upon the identity and
truthfulness of the One who claimed to be the Lord of all, we need to ask a
question about the resurrection----
Did Jesus
Notice 6 proofs of the resurrection to help you decide.
1.
God's Word, the Bible, says He did.
"And
the angel answered and said unto the women, 'Fear not, for I know that ye seek
Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen, as He said.'"
Matthew 28:5-6
2. The
transformed lives of the disciples prove it.
Men
who 3 days before were so frightened and cowardly that they denied Him and "all
forsook Him and fled" (Matthew 26:56), became so courageous for His
name that they were willing to die telling the world of His resurrection. (Read
Peter's sermon in Acts 2) Would these men have been willing to be mocked,
beaten, imprisoned, and killed for a man who said He would rise from the dead,
but did not? You decide.
3. The
empty tomb proves the resurrection.
What
happened to the body of Jesus
|
|
The disciples could not have
stolen the body-it was guarded by a troop of Roman soldiers for whom
negligence meant death. |
|
|
The enemies of |
4. The
behavior of
|
|
For hundreds of years after |
|
|
The crack Roman guard troop charged
with sealing and watching the tomb was paid by the Jews to say that |
|
|
Could simple frightened disciples
sneak past the guards, break the seal, move the rock, remove the body without
moving the grave clothes and get away without being noticed? You decide. |
5. The
appearances of Jesus
|
|
"...He rose again the third day
according to the scriptures: And that |
|
|
He was seen of Cephas, then of the
twelve: After that, |
|
|
He was seen of above five hundred
brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some
are fallen asleep. After that, |
|
|
He was seen of James; then of all the
apostles. And last of all |
|
|
He was seen of me also, as of one born
out of due time. -- 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. |
6. The
transformed lives of
The
transformation of drunkards, harlots, profane cursers, drug pushers and users,
the violent, the perverted, the immoral, the corrupt, even the most vile
sinners, into pure, clean, joyful, honest, upright people who love Jesus
YOU
MUST DECIDE
Dear
friend the choice is yours.
|
|
You can reject Him and be eternally
condemned. |
"...he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of
the only begotten Son of God." John 3:18
|
|
Or, you can admit to Him that you are
a lost sinner and ask Him to forgive and save you. He promised He would. |
"...him that cometh to me I will in
no wise cast out." John 6:37
Why
not take Him at His word?
"Come unto Me, all ye who labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:20
"He that believeth on Me hath
everlasting life." John 6:47
Why
not ask Him now?
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Many
other free Bible tracts are available for your help and study. Visit, call or
write:
Sunday Services, 8:30 am; 9:45 am; 11:00 am; 6:00 pm Bim Rowley
Pastor, 282-0804.
Originally
written in 1984. edited, formatted, cpl99c18