Jesus Christ is certainly a unique individual. Prophets wrote over 300 prophecies proclaiming incredible details about His life. Some of the prophecies were written several hundred years prior to His birth! His birth itself was certainly unique. He was born in a supernatural way. “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). His life was supernatural because He was without sin. “He was manifested to take away our sins, and in him is no sin” (I John 3:5). His ministry was supernatural. He healed the sick, made the lame to walk, opened blinded eyes, caused the deaf to hear and the mute to speak, and even raised some from the dead. His death was supernatural too.
In some respects, Jesus died the death of an ordinary criminal of His day. Yet, according to the Scriptures, His death was far from ordinary:
- He bare our sins in His own body on the tree (I Peter 2:24 AV).
- He, Who knew no sin, became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21 AV).
- The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6 AV).
- God commendeth [showed] His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8 AV).
You see, all of us are sinners. We know so in our own hearts! When we think to ourselves, “I should not have done that,” we are aware of our own sinfulness. We know so based on our evaluation of others! None are perfect, that is for certain. We can also know that based on the Scriptures themselves:
- For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23 AV).
- There is none righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10 AV).
- There is none that doeth good [none good enough to go to heaven on their own], no not one (Romans 3:12 AV).
- Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God (Romans 3:19 AV).
- All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way (Isaiah 53:6 AV).
But Jesus never sinned. He lived a perfect life!
- Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21 AV).
- Jesus “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15 AV).
- Jesus “is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26 AV).
- Jesus “did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he
- threatened not” (1 Peter 2:22-23a AV) “In him [Jesus] is no sin” (1 John 3:5 AV).
No ordinary man can do that. Jesus is the perfect Son of God and also God the Son! He is like no one else who ever lived. Because He is God in the flesh, He is solitaire in His uniqueness. The Virgin Mary cannot compare. Popes, priests, pastors, and other ministers cannot compare either. No church can compare. No religion can either!
He is the God-man who gave His own life as a payment for our sins. He died for our sins. He took our punishment. He satisfied the righteous demands of God’s absolute holiness.
He is also the One Who was raised from the dead. His resurrection proves in no uncertain terms that He was far more than an ordinary man. He was in fact Diety. He had authority over death, hell, and the grave itself. And His offer of eternal life to every sinner who believes and receives is a valid offer as a result.
He alone can provide salvation to the sinner. For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Can anything be more clear than that? My works will not save me. My baptism, church membership, catechism and its subsequent confirmation, communion, and any other of my good works, cannot do for me what Jesus Christ did for me. If I have to rely on Jesus plus anything else, then I am saying that Jesus did not do enough for me. Is that true? Did Jesus not do enough for me on the cross? Do I have to add to what Jesus did? Of course not.
Jesus alone can save the sinner. It is by grace, which means it is unmerited, or undeserved. It is through faith, which means that it is my responsibility to believe what the Scriptures clearly teach and as a result trust Jesus Christ to be my ONLY Savior. It is the gift of God, which means that God will give it to me if I will trust in Jesus Christ alone!
Do you realize that there is eternal life in no other? For there is “none other name under heaven, given among men where by we must be saved.”