In A Mirror Darkly

Those who say that Jesus was a good man, are partly correct. Jesus certainly was not a “nice” guy, he did not walk around the towns surrounding the region of Jerusalem patting children on the head and giving them tricks and treats; on the contrary he traveled to places and healed the sick of their diseases; lepers, born-blind men, lame men, the out-outcasts. To the religious ‘elite’, he called them a Brood of Vipers.

But does this make what Christians would claim correct: that Jesus was the ‘Son of God’? Have miracles happened outside of Jesus’ immediate proximity and/or before/after his life on Earth? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’ – miracles have happened, on more occasions than one. Moses and the Prophets, Peter and the Apostles, they have all done miracles. So what makes Jesus the Son of God?

The fact that the Scriptures testify to Jesus’ coming, from Genesis 3, to Moses, through the Prophets, to the end of Malachi; the Old Testament Scriptures are just one massive arrow pointing to this one Man, the coming of God Incarnate.

Our faith however, does not rest simply upon prophecy; it also rests upon the fact that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, lived a sinless life, which led to his death on a Cross. How does living a sinless life lead to his death on a Cross? Because He did what his Father wanted; Jesus lived a life wholeheartedly obedient to God the Father, learning perfection through his suffering on Earth and walked the path lit by God towards his death on the Cross. And there he offered himself as a sacrifice for the whole world, granting the forgiveness of sins, once and for all.

But here is the punch-line, since Jesus lived a sinless life, death could not hold him down in the grave, therefore Jesus was raised from the grip of death; He is alive and well, immortal now like never before – seated at the right hand of God.

And here is where those who say that Jesus was a good man are wrong. Jesus was not just a good man, He was a Righteous Man. He lived a righteous life on Earth, a sinless life with a Faith in God that He calls his Followers to have. The Christ, the Chosen One, the Son of God; Founder and Perfecter of the Faith of the saints calls all of humanity to be like him, to stop building our own little kingdoms of perishable materials and turn to God; to live under Jesus’ Kingdom, where there will be no mourning, weeping or tears.

“And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

… The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide.
… The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.

The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendour into it.

On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honour of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

The Man who healed the blind, the lame, the lepers and joined in fellowship with the outcasts of society, prostitutes, tax-collectors, mere fishermen, has a city of pure gold, as pure as glass. And He offers it freely to us, all of us, to live in eternally.

In the meantime however, the elect have been called to one mind and one purpose. You know who you are, God’s voice is not exactly hazy, our lives shall not be either:

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

Know your Allegiance; Proclaim your Faith; Rest in the Fellowship.