In the introduction I explained that this book is not a polemic. It’s not primarily a book on Christian apologetics, though I do address certain challenges to the reliability and accuracy of the New Testament. I also expressed my conviction that the Bible is its own apologetic because if one reads it with an open heart he will ultimately see that it’s inspired—that it truly is the Word of God and that Jesus is the Son of God. Along these lines, John Piper describes how Scripture is “self-authenticating;”
It would seem strange if God revealed himself in his Son Jesus Christ and inspired the record of that revelation in the Bible, but did not provide a way for ordinary people to know it. Stated most simply, the common path to sure knowledge of the real Jesus is this: Jesus, as he is revealed in the Bible, has a glory—an excellence, a spiritual beauty—that can be seen as self-evidently true. It is like seeing the sun and knowing that it is light and not dark, or like tasting honey and knowing that it is sweet and not sour. There is no long chain of reasoning from premises to conclusions. There is a direct apprehension that this person is true and his glory is the glory of God.1
In these pages I have sought to introduce you to the true Jesus of the Gospels. Like no other books of Scripture, the Gospels take us into the life of Jesus where we see His teachings and His actions as if we are eyewitnesses. The epistles interpret these messages and their theological significance, but the Gospels present Jesus speaking for Himself and interacting with His disciples, the religious authorities, and others. In fact, when we read the Gospels we’re more than eyewitnesses—we are in a sense a part of the story, and we’re in Jesus’ presence because His message applies to us as well. We’re not simply reading about Him—we’re virtually walking with Him and sitting at His feet. The Gospel, explains Lynn Cohick, “invites us to enter into, to walk alongside, to get our own feet dusty as the story unfolds. It connects . . . Jesus’ teachings and Jesus’ deeds, and it invites us to come along.”2
The Gospels alone transport us to Jesus’ world and reveal His distinctiveness. No other human being in history compares to Him in any important way—He is manifestly God in the flesh. This conclusion is unavoidable if you read the Gospels because they give us the real Jesus. Christianity is all about Jesus Himself, not just His teachings and wondrous acts. It is grounded in His person. Jesus does infinitely more than teach moral lessons. He is the message. “It must be obvious to any thoughtful reader of the Gospels,” writes Kenneth Scott Latourette, “that Jesus regarded himself and his message as inseparable. . . . If you take away the things Jesus said about himself, directly or indirectly, his teaching loses virtually all of its impact.”3
Yes, when you read the Gospels, you will know Jesus is the Son of God because His divine reality jumps off the pages in a way that’s difficult to describe. This isn’t a cop-out; Christianity’s truth claims stand up to rigorous scrutiny, but that’s an entirely separate point. No mere human writer could have fabricated such a being, and if you immerse yourselves in these writings, putting your cynicism aside, you too will recognize you are reading about God’s only Son—and if you open your mind you will come to know Him. Please take the time to read the Gospels from beginning to end and see if you come away with a greater appreciation for His uniqueness, His deity, His humanity, and His glory.
Again, Piper poignantly expresses the point: “I do not ask you to pray for a special whisper from God to decide if Jesus is real. Rather I ask you to look at the Jesus of the Bible. Look at him. Don’t close your eyes and hope for a word of confirmation. Keep your eyes open and fill them with the full portrait of Jesus provided in the Bible.”4
Does any great figure in history or fiction possess a fraction of His qualities—this curious mixture of paradoxical attributes—what Jonathan Edwards calls “an admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies”?5 Is there a single idealized historical or fictional figure who is portrayed as supremely powerful yet incomparably humble? As morally exacting but merciful? As equal with God—the exact imprint of His nature—yet perfectly obedient to the Father? As divine and yet utterly human? As unfathomably complex, but simply and intimately personal?6 Indeed, Jesus is described in Scripture as both a lion and a lamb,7 and He demonstrates the qualities of each.
As we’ve seen, Jesus’ diverse qualities are tied to His diverse callings—even in the unfolding of both aspects of the kingdom of God. In His incarnation He ushered in the kingdom, but this aspect of it was altogether unconventional. During His life on earth He had no physical kingdom. He had no standing armies. He conquered no territory. He had no castle. He didn’t even have a place He could call home. He died a humiliating death, but in so doing, He conquered Satan, sin, and death itself, and on His return He will establish a permanent kingdom where He will be sovereign in every respect—not just in our hearts.
It’s true that the intertestamental Jews did not anticipate that their Messiah would first be a Suffering Servant. But it’s also highly doubtful that the human mind could have ever conceived of a figure with such “diverse excellencies,” or of a salvation plan in which the God of the universe would become a human being and die for our sins. At first blush it seems so strange, but with years of reflection and meditation, I have come to believe it’s the best, and probably the only, possible salvation scheme to reconcile and satisfy God’s perfect justice and His infinite love, grace, and mercy. Perhaps, in his infinite wisdom, God could have devised another salvation plan to accomplish those purposes, but two things are clear: if another plan could have avoided the suffering of His Son, surely He would have chosen it; and He chose to send His Son, and faith in Him is the only way to salvation.
As you read through the Gospels, I respectfully urge you not only to open yourself up to Christ revealing Himself as God in the flesh, but also to be mindful of how Jesus completes the story of the Bible beginning in Genesis and how He consummates salvation history. The New Testament reveals Christ as the fulfillment of the hopes and promises of the Old Testament Law and the prophets.8 “All the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory” (2 Cor. 1:20).
In one sense Jesus changed nothing; in another He changed everything. His incarnation, life, and death were planned and promised from the beginning. Nothing in the course of history changed His divine mission. But as part of that mission He fulfilled all the Old Testament promises and prophecies, and He brought to fruition God’s promise to Abraham that He’d make a nation out of him through which He’d bless all nations. Yes, He changes everything for those who believe in Him. The Bible is a miraculous work of unity because it is God’s revelation of His perfectly unified salvation plan for human beings He created in His image. Jesus is the perfect answer for every question raised in the Old Testament. He is the perfect fulfillment of every prophecy recorded in the Old Testament. He is the perfect Servant and King, and He is our perfect salvation, if we will just trust in Him.
Finally, Christ’s offer of salvation is not exclusive, but the path He offers to salvation is. He is the exclusive path. Therefore, no one in the end can remain neutral. If you don’t decide to trust Him, then you have made your decision. It may be hard to contemplate a change in lifestyle or to accept truths that popular culture rejects and ridicules. Like Adam, however, we are all sinners and we all will die. There is no escaping it. As such, we all need forgiveness—no matter how much our pride might impede our clarity and our willingness to come to terms with this.
But there is a remedy for hopelessness—the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which makes possible our own resurrection. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:3–4). As Paul writes, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thess. 4:13).
Remember always that Jesus’ resurrection was an actual historical event, and it means everything for us. Because He lives, those who trust in Him will also be resurrected to eternal life. Christ’s resurrection leads to our resurrection and our eternal communion with the Lord.9 “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:20–22). “As sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:21).
Let’s return to Jesus’ vital question: “Who do you say that I am?” He asks us not as a group but individually. And so, who do you say He is? I say He’s the living Son of God who has died for my sins so that through faith in Him I can have eternal life. How about you? If you are not yet sure—and even if you are—I ask you again to read the Gospels and see the glory of Jesus unfold before your eyes. In one of his revival addresses, American evangelist R. A. Torrey puts this message to his listeners quite bluntly:
Men and women, Christ is a Saviour. God offers Him to you; you take Him and it is done. Feeling or no feeling, will you take Him tonight?
No one has a good reason for not coming to Christ. There are a thousand reasons why you ought to come. Every year that you have lived has brought you one year nearer to eternity, and is a reason for coming to Christ tonight; every year that you have still to live and that might be a year of service is a reason for coming to Christ tonight. Every saved friend you have is a reason for coming to Christ tonight, that you may spend eternity with him in Heaven. Every unsaved friend that you have is a reason why you should come to Christ tonight, that you may bring him with you. Every thorn in the Savior’s crown, every nail in the Savior’s hands and feet, every stroke laid upon the Savior’s back, when He was wounded for your transgressions and bruised for your iniquities, and the chastisement of your peace was laid upon Him, is a reason for accepting Christ tonight. Will you do it? Oh, there is an awful risk in delay.10
The same point comes across in this short anecdote:
Once I heard this story concerning King Edward VII of England. He and his queen were out walking late one afternoon when suddenly she stumbled and sprained an ankle. In great pain, and with considerable difficulty, she limped along, holding to her husband’s shoulder. At dusk, they approached the home of a humble man. The king knocked on the door. “Who’s there?” came the query.
“It is Edward. It is the king. Let me in.”
The man on the inside shouted back, “Enough of your pranks now. Be off. . . .”
The king, not being accustomed to such language, was shocked. He hardly knew what to do, but he knocked a second time. The cottager inquired, “What do you want?”
“I tell you it is the king! It is Edward, your king. Let me in.”
In anger the man shouted, “I’ll teach you to torment an honest man trying to get his sleep.” He threw open the door in disgust, only to see that indeed it was his king! With profuse apologies the laborer invited the royal visitors in and sent for help to attend his queen.
Years later, when the Britisher was too old to work, he would spend much time rocking on the porch and visiting with neighbors. He took great delight in reviewing that experience, always concluding with the same words: “And to think, to think, I almost didn’t let him in! To think I almost didn’t let him in!”
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20).
Not until you open your heart and let Jesus in will you know what God is like.11
Indeed, He is knocking at your door and I pray that you let Him in, for God wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:1). He wants no one to perish (2 Peter 3:9). Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ will be saved (John 3:16; Romans 10:9–10).
Are you still waiting? Wait no more.