Friday 24 February 2012

This Man



Imagine you’re a person of authority in a Court of Law.

The judge, the final arbiter, whatever you say happens.

And they bring to you a man. He is fairly ordinary looking and they accuse Him of saying He is the Son of God. And this is blasphemy according to the Law and He should be put to death.

Before you make such a momentous decision on the man’s life, you decide to do some investigations.

You check and you find that this man has been around for about three years or so. He has been travelling up and down the land, and He has indeed said several times that He is the Son of God. He preaches to people and He tells them to repent from their sins and to follow the Way of the Lord.

So you wonder about this and you think “Well, maybe if I can prove that this man is mad, I could let Him off. I could tell the people that He is insane, and they should let Him go, and I could warn Him not to repeat what He says because it would get Him into deep trouble”.

So you check on the man’s sanity and you find that indeed He is not mad at all. Many people can testify to the fact that he has preached in the temples, and He has debated with religious elders, and shows no sign of being mentally insane whatsoever. Indeed, He is very wise.

And you also find that this man seems to have some supernatural powers because He has healed many people up and down the country. The blind can see, the deaf can hear, the dumb can talk and the lame can walk. And there’s plenty of evidence for what He has done. There’s even a Roman Officer who can testify that He has healed. What better evidence do you want?

And also, you understand, that apparently He has raised people from the dead. Now that’s very strange. No one has ever done that before. But again there’s plenty of evidence of that. There’s the family of a man called Lazarus who apparently had died and had been entombed for a few days yet Jesus raised him from the dead and raised other people from the dead.

And when He preaches He says to people “Your Faith has saved you” whatever that means. And He heals them.

He doesn’t charge at all for what He is doing. He just wants people to repent and follow the Lord.

So you wonder whether He’s some sort of trickster, some sort of charlatan. So you order your soldiers to beat Him up and to rough Him a bit to see whether He admits to being a liar, a cheat.

Your soldiers torture Him, beat Him up, they put a crown of thorns on His head because He claims to being a King of some sort. But after all that the man still does not say anything in His defence.

So you give up. You think, “Well, He is one of their people. He is not one of us. So what’s it to do with me if they want to kill Him.”

So you give orders for Him to be put to death.

Your soldiers put a Cross on His back and ask Him to carry it all the way to the place where He is nailed to that Cross and left there to die.

And just before He dies He asks God in Heaven, to forgive these people, because they don’t know what they are doing.

What’s more strange is that three days later this very man is Himself raised from the dead.  And a lot of people see Him and can testify to his Resurrection.

Now I wonder. Is this enough evidence that this man is really the Son of God?

Because it is for me.

24 comments:

  1. I love how you make us think!
    Blessings for a nice weekend,
    Doreen

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you Doreen and Barb.

    May you have a blessed Lent.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Victor,

    It is all very clear when you write it out in your usual compelling way. Why doesn't everyone believe? Maybe some people just don't WANT to believe the evidence. They close their minds and refuse even to consider it. I've had times like that. I was so fortunate people prayed for me and my heart was softened so I could become more receptive and then starting considering...

    God bless!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is very moving, Victor. Thank you. Your words really drive home how "This Man" truly was the Son of God. Beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello Sue and Mary,

    Thank you for writing in. The thing is ... the evidence about Jesus has always been there - before He came on this earth, when He came and after He left. People don't believe, or don't want to believe, because His message is not comfortable to their selfish lifestyles.

    God bless you and your families.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You write very movingly but without any convoluted pretense, Loved this, Thank you!
    God bless, Gigi

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you Gigi. I hope you enjoy my FREE E books you can download from my Blog.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great post my friend.

    I often feel bad for Pilate. I wonder how hard that process was for him. It imagine that there was a part of him that wanted to believe.

    But your question at the end is a great one. What else do people need to believe?

    We keep asking God for signs ... and He must be shaking His head up there, saying "But I gave you the greatest one I could think of! What more do you need?"

    A perfect post to reflect on at the start of Lent.

    God Bless.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I believe it!!
    Like CS Lewis said, "Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic or the son of God."

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you Michael and Momto8,

    Sadly, people today still find it hard to believe. What is a greater sin is that they also lead others into not believing.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yes, they do lead others to not believe and I agree that this is a more serious sin. I've never quite understood WHY some people don't want others to believe. The U.S. and much of the world are so secularized now that I worry about my daughter and the other children of today. Even when they DO believe in God they are often made to feel ashamed for it. Up until this year my daughter simply assumed that everyone believed in the God who created them. Now she often asks me why a lot of people don't believe in God, including some children she knows. These children were taught that it's foolish to believe in God. Very sad. One could understand if it was due to lack of knowledge but this is less common than years ago and many times it's deliberate on the parents' part.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mary,

    What you say is sad, but it is true all the same.

    There is a wave across the world these days intent on leading people away from God. Learned people are often seen on TV and in the press and media expounding on their ideas and beliefs that there really is no God.

    In a confused world where everyone is scared of something or other ... financial situation, loss of jobs, lack of funds, loss of homes etc ... people look up to someone for a lead, and for anything to believe in. So the idea that there's really no God and that we should do our best to look after ourselves, even to the detriment of others, becomes a feasible solution to best protect and insulate onesself and one's family from possible or inevitable financial insecurity.

    Why believe in an unseen and unknown God and rely on His help when all you have to do is look after yourself and yours as best you can because no one else will look after you. The theory that the ideal way to shine is by blowing out someone else's candle becomes both practicable and attractive.

    You're right that as parents we worry about our children. What chance do they have in such a fast changing world in moral degradation?

    I know many parents with such fears.

    My answer is to hand over our children to God. With every ounce of Faith we can muster we pray: "Dear God. I'll do my best to teach them the right way. I offer them to You for your care, your protection and your love. As you have loved and protected me, please do so for my children."

    Mary, God will listen and will answer this prayer. Many priests have advised so.

    I know what you mean about children being made ashamed and look stupid if they believe in God. With our love and teaching as well as good example they will soon learn to stand up and defend their Faith and their love of God.

    May He bless and protect you and your family always.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love how clean your thought process is here. It is so easy for us to get the basic idea of what happened convoluted after 2000 years of cultural examination.

    God Bless.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thank you Dance for your kind words. And for visiting me here.

    God bless you.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thank you so much Colleen. May God bless you always.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Victor, I'm glad you've joined Sabbath Moments.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thank you, Victor, for your well thought out comment on the situation we are facing in the world today. Recently, a young boy proudly told my daughter he was an atheist and that there's no such thing as God and I had to explain to her why some people do not believe in God. In this child's case I simply told her that he didn't know any better and his parents likely taught him that it was silly to believe in God because they didn't believe themselves. I know God must pour special graces on children who are taught not to believe but it's still hard to fathom that a parent would want to so firmly impress such a thing on a child.

    Your advice to hand our children over to God is excellent, Victor. No doubt He will hear our prayers for them and answer them.

    God bless :)

    P.S. (I ordered your latest book on my Kindle and am looking forward to laughing over Theodore's antics! Thanks, Victor!)

    ReplyDelete
  18. It's very sad Mary when parents specifically tell their children that God does not exist. In UK State schools they teach children all religions. They tell them what each religion stands for and what it believes.

    When parents tell their children that God does not exist they undermine the teaching profession since many religions believe in the existance of God. The child is confused as to whether to believe his parents or his teachers. And if he believes his parents, why should he believe his teachers when they teach other subjects !!!

    The devil must be really laughing.

    Thank you Mary for buying "Theodore" on Kindle. Right now I am writing three books at the same time ... my brain hurts !!! I hope they'll be ready for publication in early Summer.

    God bless you Mary.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I've listened to this video twice and on both occasions it moved me to write stuff that I normally would not have written.

    I hear YA Victor #1, go ahead and blame me for some of your silly writing Victor cause after all, it is Lent. (lol)

    God Bless.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Easter Blessings to you and your family. Thank you for your kind comments.

      God bless.

      Delete
  20. Hi Victor! I just love your faith, and how you share it with all of us. What great blessings the Lord has bestowed on you that you can so eloquently write about the truth of Christ's Kingship. And your faith has lifted so many here!

    I am so grateful to have met you through our blogs Victor. And may God continue to bless all your endeavors, especially at the Easter time.
    Ceil

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ceil, you are so kind and generous in your praise. I am very grateful. This Blog started as an extension of my website www.holyvisions.co.uk and that itself was started because someone encouraged me that it would advertise my first book "Visions". It all then rolled off from there. The website grew and attracts readers worldwide; and the Blog too attracts friends, like you, who continue to support and encourage me.

      I am grateful and appreciative of such support, And especially the prayers so greatly needed when my health was not at its best.

      Thank you Ceil for your friendship. May God bless you and your family this Easter and always.

      Delete
  21. Thank you Colleen for your return visit. It is much appreciated.

    I wish you and your family a Blessed and Peaceful Easter.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete

I PRAY FOR ALL WHO COMMENT HERE.

God bless you.