Did you see it when you turned on your computer this morning?
Did you see the notice prominently displayed on your home screen declaring that Jesus Christ is the greatest Person who ever lived . . . and that His life had a greater impact on the world than any other person in history?
If you didn’t see it on your computer screen, did you notice it on your cell phone? Or when you picked up your mail?
Interestingly, a similar notice was prominently displayed at the top of this morning’s home pages of the New York Times, The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. In fact, it was posted in several places on the home pages of The Freethinker – the voice of atheism since 1881, The Eloquent Atheist, and on the copyright page of god is not Great – the 2007 bestselling book by author and journalist Chrstopher Hitchens.
By now, you’ve probably guessed that each one of those items have a date on them.
The Most Influential Individual
If you were to ask the average person on the street to tell you within 500 years when Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius or even Abraham or Moses were born, they’d probably say they had no clue. But if you asked that same person to tell you within 10 years when Jesus was born, they’d probably say it was around 2,013 years ago . . . and they’d be right!
Jesus of Nazareth was born in a small Middle Eastern village as an obscure Jewish carpenter. He never held a political or military office. He never wrote a book. He never traveled extensively. He was put to death as a criminal after his most committed followers deserted him. Yet, the simple fact of the matter is that we measure time in relation to when he was born.
Every significant, and insignificant, person and event occurring before Jesus was born, we identify as BC – Before Christ. And every significant, and insignificant, person and event occurring after His birth, we identify as AD – Anno Domini, which is Latin for, “In the Year of our Lord.” Even the alternative designation of BCE and CE used by some modern authors, archeologists, museums and others not wanting to specifically acknowledge the implications of the dating formula must admit that the “Common Era” began with the birth of Christ.
Not Just A Great Leader
Great religious leaders point out the way their followers should take.
Jesus said, “I AM the way!”
Great religious leaders teach their followers the truth.
Jesus said, “I AM the truth!”
Great religious leaders show their followers how to find life.
Jesus said, “I AM the life!”
Jesus is the only credible person in history who ever claimed to be God . . . and the only person who ever lived who has convinced a significant portion of the world’s population that he actually is God!
The birth of Jesus of Nazareth is the pivotal event of history. The Creator of all entered time and space to become a man . .. in order to reconcile the world to Himself.
Merry Christmas!
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