What Makes Jesus Different?
Why is Jesus Different From All the Others? |
There is another difference. Of them all, only Jesus died in your place. Did Mohammed claim to do this? Buddha? No. Only Jesus. Other moral leaders claimed to be “good,” to be worthy of following. But Jesus was more. When someone came trying to flatter Jesus, He spoke sharply to them. (See Mark. 10:18 or Luke 18:19.) “A man ran up and knelt before Him. ‘Good Teacher’ ...‘Why do you call Me good?’Jesus replied.‘No one is good except God alone.’”Jesus is saying, “If you really believe I am good, then you are calling me God. Is that what you mean to do?”For that is who He is.Only He could die for us as a perfect, sinless sacrifice to pay for our sins.
Yes, He was unique. While He lived the greatest theological minds of His time tried to trap Jesus into an inconsistency or a lie. They never could (Matt. 22:46). The greatest philosophical minds through the ages have examined the words of Jesus, and no one has yet caught Him in an inconsistency or lie. One who tried was Lee Strobel who, as an atheist, set out to prove that Christianity was a farce and Jesus was a liar. By reading the Bible himself, he came to another conclusion –that Jesus IS different from any other, that He is the Son of God and worthy of worship. I suggest you read the book he wrote about this experience, called The Case for Christ.
Others have tried instead to diminish Jesus by saying that He was merely a good guy. Perhaps He was even a great moral teacher, but that’s all. C.S. Lewis dashes this idea:
Lewis’ words are from Mere Christianity, another book worth reading. They are the source of the phrase, “Liar, Lunatic, or LORD!” Those are the choices we each have regarding Jesus.
What about you? Are you lost in moral relativism, willing to say Jesus is some good leader... but unwilling to say, “Jesus is God and Lord”? Or do you see the very real difference between Jesus and every othermoral leader who ever lived? “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
Yes, Jesus is different from any other–He is the only one who can save you.
Helpful Additional Resources:
How is Jesus different from other religious leaders? An article by Got Questions
The Uniqueness of Jesus: Jesus’ claim to be God, and his resurrection from the dead, set him apart from any other religious leader in history. A Video by the John 10:10 project
Who was Jesus? The implications of Jesus’ claim to be God are investigated. What did he mean when he called himself the “Son of Man” and the “fulfillment of prophecy”? A Video by the John 10:10 project
The Miracles of Jesus: The Gospels record that Jesus performed at least 40 separate miracles. What do they tell us about his true identity? A Video by the John 10:10 project
Messianic Prophecies: Dozens of prophecies that foretold details about the Messiah’s birth, ministry, death and resurrection are found throughout the Old Testament. Jesus fulfilled each of them A Video by the John 10:10 project
Jesus Death and Resurrection: Jesus’ death and resurrection were the ultimate proofs of his claim to deity. A Video by the John 10:10 project
The Empty Tomb: The reality of the empty tomb was confirmed by hundreds of eyewitnesses, Roman historical accounts, first century tradition and the rapid growth of the early Christian church. A Video by the John 10:10 project
Transformation: The resurrection of Jesus was also confirmed by the dramatic transformation of his closest disciples in the face of persecution by the Roman Empire. A Video by the John 10:10 project
Why is Jesus the only one qualified? Erwin Lutzer answers this question. A video by the One Minute Apologist