A Jesus You Can’t Ignore

The story of Jesus starts rather humbly and quietly with nearly no resources or riches. I don’t care how many of today’s preachers want to justify their monster mansions and a slew of sports cars, but you can’t find the precedence in the pages of Scripture.
Jesus’ childhood home was likely about the same size as a parking space.
I read last week about the sizes of the bank accounts belonging to today’s starting NFL quarterbacks, all of them, even the lousy ones. There is something out of sorts in the realm of the way we reward humanity.
The Son of God was born into a poor, rural, peasant family to parents who were likely teenagers. Jesus never married. He never traveled more than a few hundred miles from home.
He never went to college. He never owned a company or made much money. He never wrote a book. He never owned a house.
He never held a political office. He never fought in a war. He spent roughly 90 percent of His life in obscurity doing basic carpentry with His step-dad Joseph.
When Jesus finally went public, His three years of public ministry included lots of harassment, constant slander, and vicious attacks trying to wrongly paint Him as a demon-possessed alcoholic whose mother had enjoyed so many men that His paternity remained a mystery.
For someone with no electricity, no station wagon, no television or radio shows, no personal show contract, no book deal, no money hidden away in a Swiss bank account, no entourage other than a motley crew of humble Apostles, no Facebook or Twitter account, and candy bar named after Him, Jesus Christ somehow became the most towering figure in all of human history.
He accomplished all of this in 36 months of itinerant ministry, walking around and preaching mainly to rural folks, including illiterate peasants, sickly individuals and the outcasts and dregs of society. Jesus didn’t even have Fox News to back Him up.
Like it or not, you can’t ignore Jesus. The Bible, which records Jesus’ teaching and life, is the best-selling book in the history of the world.
Governments have tried to burn it, ban it, bury it and belittle it, but it is the most translated book in the history of the world because Christianity has always been about educating people and translating documents into languages that people can read for themselves.
It was a devoted believer named Johannes Gutenberg that invented the printing press specifically so the Bible could be the first book ever widely published. More books have been written about Jesus than anyone who has ever lived.
The arts, music, and literature have always had its roots in bringing Jesus to the masses. Pop-culture references to Jesus appear in everything from movies to television shows. His face shows up frequently on everything from t-shirts to stickers. His cross may also be the most popular form of jewelry, worn by everyone from modest holy nuns to immodest Hollywood divas.
Love Him or not, the Lord determines dignity. No one has ever inspired more good than Jesus.
Since the decree went forth at the First Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 that hospitals were to be opened to care for the body wherever churches were opened to care for the soul, Christians have been about caring. Because believers are convinced of their citizenship in Heaven, they have gone where most humans fear to tread here on Earth.
Christians are working hard in the midst of war-torn, persecuted, plague-filled places because their future is so secure that they can let it all hang out in their present. And as for the cause of fighting for women’s rights, nobody has ever done more than Jesus.
In a day when women were mostly illiterate and considered the property of their husbands, Jesus turned the world upside down by having a friendship with sisters Mary and Martha, forgiving and teaching Mary Magdalene and the Samaritan woman at the well, and including women in His inner circle of disciples. Jesus also appeared to women as the first witnesses of His resurrection.
Since Jesus was technically adopted by Joseph and grew up to care for the widow, orphan, and outcast, Christians have always had a heart for the poor and powerless. Limit God if you try, but Jesus still determines history.
Someone was trying to downplay the Lord’s influence by explaining that there has been a push to replace the B.C. and A.D. labels with B.C.E and C.E., meaning “before common era” and “common era,” respectively.
I laughed and shared that the change is only simply one of semantics. Check the facts. A.D. 100 is the same as 100 C.E. and all that changes is the label.
The advocates of the switch from B.C. /A.D. to B.C.E. /C.E. say that the newer designations are better in that they are devoid of religious connotation and thus prevent offending other cultures and religions that may not see Jesus as “Lord.” The irony, of course, is that what distinguishes B.C.E from C.E. is still the life and times of Jesus Christ. When will our world ever learn that you can’t ignore Jesus?
Nations, causes, and leaders have come and gone. But for more than two thousand years the church of Jesus Christ has spread from one nation to the nations, from the language of Hebrew to thousands of languages, and from one generation to generation after generation.
Jesus Christ founded His Kingdom of God not upon force, but upon love, and at this hour millions of men and women would die for Him in a second. As a matter of fact, there are too many persecuted believers who are. This is because confession must lead to concession.
If Jesus is Lord then He is the undisputed leader and it becomes my privilege and honor to serve Him. In so many ways, even those who deny His power still are benefiting from His blessings.
When the Bible challenges us to fix our eyes on Jesus, it may be stating the obvious. Jesus is everywhere in just about everything. You almost have to be more intentional to close your eyes rather than see our Lord for who He really is.
Maybe today is the right time to look and see the Lord. Count the many ways that Christianity has impacted this world for the better and instead of trying to foolishly shut it down, you might just want to become one of its brightest lights. Jesus Christ is one light that won’t ever go out.
 
ED. NOTE: The author is the senior pastor of The Lighthouse Church, 1248 Route 9 South, Court House.