True Christians are not those fascinated by the empty tomb of Jesus. Those who believe in Jesus because of the proof of His resurrection, are not Christians. True believers are not necessarily convinced by an empty tomb of Jesus. They believe in what Jesus taught, more than the regalia that He wore at the time of burial, or His racial outlook.
The unbelievers get fixated on the miracles of Jesus, rather than on what Jesus taught. The idea of whether Jesus was white or black does not concern true believers, but non-believers. The fundamental question ought to be what does believing in Jesus mean? There are fakers out in the world, just as fakers existed during the time of Jesus, and during the dispensation of the apostles.
One hopes that the testimony of the empty tomb convinces many people to accept Christ. Jesus Himself, stated the position of unbelievers when He was here. Nonbelievers cannot believe, even if there was clear evidence. It is not about the evidence that makes a person believe. It is a question of conviction, as motivated by the Spirit, unseen physically.
“Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.’ He answered, ‘A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.” (Matthew 12:38-41 NIV).
In Jesus, we have answers to the problems of humanity. Problems remain, even after approximately two thousand years since Jesus’s appearance on earth. The existence of problems clearly testifies humanity’s unbelief. The empty tomb has convinced even the unbelievers, who are unwilling to apply what He taught.
After the clear proof of Jesus’s resurrection, the unbelievers came up with the caricature of a Jesus, rather than the actual one. Here below, is the description of Jesus whose message enables humanity to connect with God. Understandably, it is a daunting task to help anyone out of confusion.
The recorded Scriptures show Jesus confronting the Jewish legal experts, who were unable to accept that Jesus was the Christ. Identifying Jesus as the Christ is as important as examining everything He taught, whether acceptable or not. The mission of Jesus was to show humanity, the way towards the Father.
Everything that Jesus taught was as perfectly important as God’s word is important. Jesus never taught anything that was untrue. His biological existence was according to the Books of prophecies, foretelling His birth in Bethlehem of Judea. Nevertheless, Jesus existed even before Abraham came to be (John 8:58).
In His physical existence, Jesus was the Son of Men. But in His Spiritual condition, Jesus was God’s Son. The only difference between humans and Jesus is that Jesus is not subject to the corruption that befell our ancestor, Adam. In His physical condition, Jesus was the son of Joseph and Mary, although not of the seed of Adamic humanity.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17 NIV).
All human beings are God’s children. But this Scripture reveals that Jesus was the only begotten Son? This means Jesus was the only Son with God’s seed in Him, at the time. The rest of humanity had been dead, meaning God’s Spirit had been removed from them, after Adam’s sin. All biological descendants of Adam had been cut off from being God’s children.
The only point at which ordinary humans, revert to being God’s children is after redemption. The process of redemption starts with accepting Jesus as providing the way out of the labyrinth. In other words, this requires taking Jesus’s words as the only authentic information, ahead of everything else.
In their sinful condition, humans cannot see God, even though God exists eternally. Only Jesus knew God, as Jesus never got entangled into sinfulness, like Adam. In Jesus, we have the original condition of humanity. This is perfectly illustrated in the prodigal son parable. See [The Prodigal Son Parable and the mystery of men].
People knew Jesus from the time of birth. But Jesus had all along been with His Father in Heaven. An interesting revelation is that it is impossible for spiritual beings to directly communicate with physical beings. Throughout the ages, before Christ, humans communicated with God, through the prophets. Rather than God communicating directly with men.
Spirit beings can communicate with humans through dreams, or in ways that are mysterious to ordinary humans. In our physical condition, we are as sinful as unable to directly communicate with our Father, as Jesus did. The miracle of Jesus is simply for the purpose of our redemption. The death of Jesus on the cross was necessitated by our sinful condition.
The value of Jesus, leading to our redemption, is in accepting Him as our personal Savior. This means taking His words authentically and applying them in our conduct. There is nothing said by Jesus, deserving alteration from its original content. In their sinful condition, humans are dead, meaning that they are cut off from their original source of living.
As God’s children, humans are as capable of creating or changing anything as God is capable of. In other words, the term miracle does not exist in the vocabulary of God’s children. Jesus, revealed our potential powers, saying that nothing would be impossible, with faith as little as a mustard seed. It takes only those who believe, to appreciate what He said.
Most of what Jesus taught was not of this world. The limitations experienced by physical humans are of this world. Nevertheless, having attained the status of being God’s child, one becomes capable of doing even greater things than done by Jesus.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:12-14 NIV).
Believing in Jesus does not necessarily imply only believing in His physical existence. It also implies believing in His Spiritual condition, as representing Godliness. As long as believing in Jesus, Christians are as capable as Jesus was capable. One is an unbeliever when assuming being incapable, unlike Jesus.
While miraculous to ordinary humans, the empty tomb is not miraculous to true Christians. Belief in Jesus enables being unafraid of death, anymore. The physical body of Jesus was not Jesus, who had been with His Father, even before being born by Mary. Having received the Holy Spirit, true believers become God’s children, as to be in that condition as Jesus was.
Those of this world could not recognize Jesus, because they associated His beingness with this world. What they saw was a fellow, as ordinary as themselves. But Jesus was superior and unrelated to this world. The status of being the Son of God is probably misunderstood by most people.
This is particularly so, with those having studied Theology, imagining God’s greatness. It is impossible for ordinary humans to accept being like God. The light is too bright to countenance with humans. In their sinful conditions, humans are engulfed in darkness. They cannot appreciate God’s brightness; let alone, directly communicating with God.
But there is no falsehood in that, if God is a Creator, His children can also potentially be Creators. In other words, there is nothing that God does, which His own children cannot do. Incapable as humans are, in their sinful condition, Jesus showed the way out of that condition. This starts with believing everything taught by Jesus, without any shadow of a doubt.
When appreciating the pronouncement of being God’s child, one ceases to behave like those of this world. It is unnecessary to succumb to what those of this world assume one to be. It is impossible for Christians to change without Jesus, who walked the walk of humanity. Only Jesus appreciates everything about humanity.
As newly begotten children of God, we are susceptible to stupidity, cancelling our restored relationship with our Father. As our advocate, Jesus defends us before God. No one else understands the condition of humanity, better than Jesus. Only pride stands in the way, towards our defender.
“So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich, and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness, and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:16-20 NIV).
Nothing makes it impossible for humans to become God-like, except pride. It is impossible for proud people to even accept being proud. Rather than accepting, they are only comfortable when labelling others as being proud.
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 18:10-14 NIV).
True believers are not fascinated by an empty tomb, because of their superior knowledge. That superior knowledge is made possible by humility. However, the state of humility causes people not to take true Christians seriously. Humble people are rarely taken seriously by those comparing humans, according to their profile and perceived physical status.
The consideration of physical status is what James warned against. It is the real source of humanity’s sinful condition. Each human was created in God’s image. Being unaware of that condition does not make one inferior. Any person labelling others as inferior labels God as inferior.
My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favouritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (James 2:1-4 NIV).
Our humanness needs to be passionately crushed when taking the teachings of Jesus seriously. Any human being, regardless of status, is as equal as the other person. There is no need to label anyone superior or inferior. That is the only way that humans can come out of that labyrinth of sinfulness.
This is possible when accepting Jesus as the only source of information, towards safety (Matthew 23:8-12). When taking Jesus’s words verbatim, and applying what He taught, it is impossible to be fascinated by miracles. All humans ought to accept Jesus, without condition. The limiting factor is pride.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilization, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, bringing relief to those having witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions––leading to the current economic and social decay. In a simple conversational tone, most Zimbabweans should find the book as a long-awaited providential oasis of hope.
The Print copy is now available at Amazon.com for $13.99
Also available as an e-copy at Lulu.com for $6.99
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