What Is the Big Deal about Jesus?

Lots of religions have a god.  Some have several gods or even many.  In the United States, most people say they believe in God (88%).*  What's the big deal about Jesus?

I remember when I was young(er) thinking that Jesus was a pretty nice guy.  He helped the sick (Mt 9:20-31). He fed them (Mt 14:15-21).  He took care of his friends (Luke 8:22-25).  He talked about loving God others (Mt 22:35-40).  But, Jesus as God?  Really?  How does that even work?!

When we look at the Bible, especially the New Testament, we see two things.  Jesus recognized as the Messiah & The Son of God (or Man).  The Messiah, or Savior, was the person that the Jewish people thought God would send to save them from oppression.

At the time, the Romans were in charge.  The Jews were expecting that the Messiah would no only save them from the Romans be all other oppressors in the future.

Jesus is also referred to as "The Son of God" and "The Son of Man."  Both of these titles could be used to describe the Messiah.  It also indicated someone with a special connection with God.

Christ the Pantocrator at Mt Sinai

Ultimately, the people, who were with Jesus and watched him do these amazing, miraculous, things, came to think that he was more than a mere man.  When he was executed by the Romans, his friend, his followers, his disciples thought it was the end.  They left mourning their friend and disappointed that they had put their faith in the wrong person.  Then, Jesus came back.

This is no zombie movie.  Nor, was Jesus someone who was revived by some kind of ancient CPR.  Jesus defeated death.  Friends and family saw him as well as 500 other people (1 Cor 15:3-6).  He came to let them know that they had not failed.  It was not the end.  It was the beginning, and it is still going on over 2000 years later.

Jesus told his followers they needed to teach other people the lessons he taught them.  These were lessons about loving God, loving each other, and taking care of each other.  They are really the opposite of what the world tells us we need to do to succeed.

The world tells us things like it is good to get money at any cost, to have as many things as possible, to have sex with as many people as possible whether we love them or not.  The funny thing is that even if we have all of that, we still feel empty inside.  Life has no meaning beyond maintaining what we have.

By following the way of Jesus, being his student or disciple, we have a life that is full of love and full of meaning.  We can feel like we are making the world a better place.  We are helping to make the world the way it was meant to be where we love one another and take care of each other.

Part of the reason that Jesus is considered the Son of God is that Jesus acted and taught the way God would if God were human.  Eventually, leaders in the Christian church concluded that it was because Jesus was God.  And, that's what the big deal about Jesus is.


* Religions.PewForum.org