Christianity The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Christianity The Revelation of Jesus Christ CHRISTIANITY THE REVELATION OF
JESUS CHRIST
By OSCAR SMITH

Christianity is that system of religion revealed thru Christ, and taught by his inspired apostles. It was not handed down by tradition, neither was it the outgrowth of human philosophy. It was conceived in the mind of God, and executed in time in the wisdom and grace of God. It is a message of peace by the Prince of Peace, and, "according to the commandment of the eternal God. is made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith." (Romans 16:26.) In every century of the Christian dispensation, the gospel of Christ has been boldly challenged. Christ came into the world while the Roman empire was at its zenith of imperial splendor; and, when the apostles began preaching under the commission given by Christ, that the crucified Christ is the world's Redeemer, it seemed very preposterous to the proud Romans. In the Pantheon were a goodly company of renowned gods from every part of the Roman empire, but the Christians of the first century refused to place a statue of their persecuted Leader there, but instead, went before the world and boldly proclaimed Christ as the Savior of the world; and that claim has been maintained from that day to this.

Christ in Promise The first intimation of redemption was in the sentence which the Lord pronounced upon Satan: "And Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the held; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life; and I will put enmity be tween thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:14-15). The same idea is embraced in the promise to Abraham: "And Jehovah said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing; and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will 1 curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 12:1-3) This promise was renewed to Isaac, then to Jacob. (See Genesis 26:1-5; Genesis 28:10-14.) Speaking of these promises Paul says: "Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed, He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ." (Galatians 3:16.) Christ in Prophecy

One of the most remarkable prophecies concerning Christ reads as follows: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shilo come; and unto him shall the obedience of the people be." (Genesis 19:10.) To show how accurately this prophecy was fulfilled, Paul says: "For it is evident our Lord hath sprung out of Judah; as to which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priests." (Hebrews 7:11.) Again: "And there shall come forth a shoot of the stock of Jesse, and a branch of his roots shall bear fruit." ( Isaiah 11:1.) And again: "I have made a covenant with my chosen. I have sworn unto David my servant: Thy seed will I establish forever, and build up thy throne to all generations." (Psalms 89:3-4. |

Christ was to be born of a virgin. "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign: behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 3:14.)

Christ was to be born in Bethlehem. "But thou Bethlehem Ephratha, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel." (Micah 5:2) The time of his birth is given as follows: "And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never he destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof he left to another people; hut it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." (Daniel 2:44.) In the proceeding verses of the second chapter of Daniel, we have a prophetic vision of some of the most remarkable political occurrences that have ever taken place upon the earth. The rise and fall of four of the greatest empires of all history is vividly described. We learn from Daniel's own statement that Nebuchadnezzar was "the head of gold." The second kingdom was the Medo-Persian kingdom, the third the Macedonian empire, and the fourth the Roman empire. At the time of Christ's birth, the land of Judea was a Roman province. Hence, the stone which "was cut out of the mountain without hands." came in contact with the Roman government.

Life of Christ

We come now to the New Testament, and Christ is introduced to us as the most lovable character the world has ever seen. To know him makes life's adventures worth while. If you know him as he is pictured by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, you know him as he was and is. If you know him from the pen of the artist, you have never really known him: for in most instances the artist has given us erroneous descriptions of him.

There is a scene connected with his earthly pilgrimage to which I call attention. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. Accompanying him were many followers who were waving palm branches and shouting "Hosannas.." When they reached the walls of Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred with alarm and asked, "Who is this;" This question has come throbbing through the centuries from that day to this. It is being asked on every continent and on every island of our planet. It is a question that will never die. Who was this babe of Bethlehem, this carpenter of the obscure village of Nazareth, this teacher by the sea of Galilee, this preacher on the mountain and under the blue sky of Palestine?

Christ Was Not a Character of Fiction

It has been said that "no dramatist, whatever he may attempt, can draw taller men than himself." We may write essays upon Shakespeare, Washington and Dickens, but we have the cyclopedias before us. When Shakespeare wrote he created the characters of his plays, and he never created a greater character than himself.

Matthew was employed by the Roman government as a tax collector. Mark was the son of Mary whose house in Jerusalem became a favorite meeting place for the disciples of Christ. Luke was a physician, and John was a fisherman of Galilee. These four writers have given us a description of the tallest character the world has ever known. Can any one believe that they invented Christ? It is simple incredible that these four men thought out a character that philosophers like Socrates, Aristotle and Plato never dreamed of.

Christ was free from worldly ambition. He talked about a kingdom, but his kingdom was a kingdom of souls. It was an empire for the salvation of the fallen race of man. The Kingdom of Christ is as far above the monarchies of Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander and Caesar as the heavens are higher than the earth.

Christ never expressed a doubt on any subject. The widest of the earth are always in doubt. Among the last words of Socrates are the following: "But the hour of separation has come. I go to die; you to live. But which of us is destined to an improved being is concealed from every one except God." Jesus in dying said to the thief: "Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise." Great men travel all over the world and sometimes spend fortunes in search of knowledge. Christ was born and reared in the land of Palestine, a country about one hundred andforty miles long, and forty miles wide, and seldom went beyond its narrow limits; yet it is said, " never man spake like this man."

Christ taught a code of morals superior to anything the world had ever seen. Read the story of Christ's conversation with the woman at Jacob's well. Jesus in passing through Samaria stopped at Jacob's well to rest while his disciples went into the village to buy food. While they were gone, a sinful Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water. Christ talked with her and told her the very secrets of her life. Was not this the Messiah? Picture in your minds a Jew of Christ's day talking with a fallen woman of Samaria! Who can read that story and not be made to realize that Jesus was and is the Messiah of prophecy.

Another example demands our attention here. It was early in the morning. Christ had just entered the Temple in Jerusalem. The scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a fallen woman. They said: "Teacher, this woman hath been taken in adultery in the very act. . . . But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground. But when they continued asking him. he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground. And they, when they heard it, went out one by one, beginning from the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, the woman where she was, in the midst. And Jesus lifted up himself, and said unto her. Woman, where are they? did no man condemn thee? and she said. No man, Lord. And Jesus said, neither do I condemn thee: go thy way; from henceforth sin no more." (John 8:2-11.) That period of about five hundred years preceding the birth of Christ, is known as "the golden age of thought." It was the age of poets, artists and philosophers. It was the age that heard the thundering eloquence of Demosthenes, and awe the temple of Jupiter fresh from the hands of Phidias. But with all of its artists and gifted men, woman, who was created to be the helpmate of man, was in all pagan lands, and even among the Jews, a slave to the passion and the tyranny of man. In savage lands, she was more of a beast of burden than a companion for man. From the time that Mary held in her arms the infant-King in the star-lit manger of Bethlehem, her march has been onward and upward. It has been the aim and glory of Christianity to emancipate woman from the degradation of Paganism, and make her the amiable companion of men. Today, if man can look through the microscope and estimate the relative positions of the heavenly bodies, woman can do the same thing. In the school room, woman can divide honors with the man. Nor does she stop there. She sweeps on until her feet press the golden circle of the infinite, where few men have ever gone. The Law of Moses Abolished

There are two grand divisions in the Bible. The Old Testament and the New Testament. Is the New Testament a continuation of the Old Testament? A Scriptural answer of this question will help us greatly in reaching a correct conclusion with reference to our duty under the mediation of Christ. Both Testaments came by divine authority. The Old Testament was given to only a small portion of the human family. Only two classes were to participate in its privileges and honors. When God appeared to Abraham commanding him to circumcise the male children he said: "He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant." (Genesis 17:13.) When God led Moses to the summit of Mount Sinai and gave through him the law of the ten commandments he said: "I am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." (Exodus 20:2). Thus we find that the law of Moses was given to a people who had been in bondage in the land of Egypt.

Christ was born under the law. "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." (Galatians 4:4-5.) Paul teaches that every person under the law was bound by the law. (See Romans 7:4-6.) The law was to be kept by the Jews until Christ should come. "What then is the law? It was added because of transgressions till the seed should come to whom the promise hath been made; and it was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator." (Galatians 3:19.) Verse sixteen of this chapter declares that the "seed is Christ." Christ not only kept the law himself, but required others to keep it. "Then spake Jesus to the multitudes and to his disciples, saying. The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat: all things therefore whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe: but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not." (Matthew 23:1-3.) The apostles with the gospel of Christ in their hearts, and the light of heaven shining along their pathway, made a number of statements with reference to the old covenant worthy of our consideration just here.

(a) The law was only a shadow of good things to come. "Now if he (Christ) were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are those who offer the gifts according to the law: who serve that which is a copy and shadow of the heavenly things even as Moses is warned of God when he is about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern that was showed thee in the mount." (Hebrews 8:4-5.)

(b) The law could not produce righteousness. In contrasting the law and the gospel Paul says: "I do not make void the grace of God: for if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for naught." (Galatians 2:21).

(c) The law could not produce perfection. "For the law made nothing perfect and a bringing in thereupon of a better hope, through which we draw nigh unto God." (Hebrews 7:19.)

(d) The law could not give life. "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could make alive, verily righteousness would have been of the law." (Galatians 3:21.)

(e) The law was abolished when Christ died. "But if the ministration of death, written and engraven on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look stedfastly upon the face of Moses for the glory of his face; which glory was passing away: how shall not rather the ministration of the spirit he with glory? For if the ministration of condemnation hath glory, much rather doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For verily that which hath been made glorious hath not been made glorious in this respect, by reason of the glory which surpasseth. For if that which passeth away was with glory, much more that which remaineth is in glory." (2 Corinthians 3:7-11.) The first covenant was taken away. "Then hath he said. Lo, I am come to do thy will. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second." (Hebrews 10:9))

( f) The old covenant was nailed to the cross. "Having blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us: and he hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross." (Colossians 2:1-1) (g) Not under the law. "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace." (Romans 6:14); and John says: "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17.).

Christianity Revealed In the closing chapters of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John we have a description of the saddest hours of all history. Jesus knew that the hour of his deepest humiliation had come, and that from that moment until the utterance of the agonizing cry with which he expired, nothing remained for him on earth but the torture of physical pain and the poignancy of mental anguish. Hence, he went into the garden of Gethsemane to brace his body, to nerve his soul by prayer to meet the hour when Satan should wreak his worst upon the innocent and holy. After the agony in the garden, we read of the arrest, the trials, the march to Calvary: another stroke of the inspired pen and the Christ hangs upon the cross a bleeding victim for the sins of the whole world. It is the passion play of the soul; the actors live again and perform their part in tragic splendor. When they began to crucify Christ it was noon. The sun should have been shining with all of his power, but suddenly the face of the heavens became black, the earth began to quake, and rocks rolled from their places in the everlasting hills to the valley below. No wonder some went away saying, "Surely this was the Son of God." An old Testament prophet, looking down the steps of time to the day when Christ would be offered, declared: "And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." ( Isaiah 53:9) "And when even was come, there came a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: this man went to Pilate, and asked for, the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded it to he given up. And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out of the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed." (Matthew 27:57-60.)

Remembering that Christ had said that after three days he would appear alive the authorities placed a guard around the tomb. Time passed. On the morning of the third day, an angelic vision terrified the soldiers and they became as dead men. Christ came from the grave unfurling the banner of immortality above the tomb, and appeared to some women and told them to hasten back to the apostles and tell them that he would go before them into their own beloved Galilee.

Just before the ascension, Jesus met his disciples on a mountain in Galilee and gave to them a world-wide and age-lasting commission. It is a commission that comprehends all nations and all ages. It is the accumulated wisdom and power of forty centuries. It is Christ's farewell message to the sinful race. Let us observe the circumstances under which it was given. Stand with Jesus and the apostles upon the mountain in the land of his nativity. The hour of his departure has come. In heaven all eyes are upon him. He speaks. It is the same voice that awoke sleeping Lazarus and calmed the tempestuous billows of lake Galilee. He moves his hand and draws the curtain that enwraps unborn ages. Hear his farewell message: "Go ye therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."(Matthew 28:10-20) The development of this commission under the apostles embraces the law of remission of sins for all men and all ages. It is that which Peter describes as follows: "And we have the word of prophecy made more sure: whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts." (2 Peter 1:19). The expression "the day dawn", refers to the full light of the New Testament. Christ is the star spoken of. "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright, the morning star." (Revelation 22:16.) The gospel was revealed to the apostles by the Holy Spirit. Jesus says: "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he shall guide you into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, these shall he speak: and he shall declare unto you the things that are to come." (John 16:13) On Pentecost in Jerusalem the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, and they began preaching the remission of sins in the name of the Lord Jesus. Speaking of the revelation of the gospel Paul says: "But unto us God revealed them through the Spirit." (1 Corinthians 2:10.) Again: "Which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men, as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit." (Ephesians 3:5). And again: "For I made known to you, brethren, as touching the gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after man. For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ."(Galatians 1:11-12.) James calls it "the perfect law of liberty"(James 1:25); and Jude exhorts the saints to "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints." (Jude 1:3.)

We look and the past rises before us in majestic grandeur. We see Adam driven from the garden of Eden, Noah and his family saved from the flood, Joseph on the banks of the Nile, Moses on the summit of Mount Sinai, Nebuchadnezzar plundering Jerusalem; by the rivers of Babylon the Jews sat down and wept when they remembered Jerusalem; Alexander conquers the world; Brutus commits suicide, and Augustus becomes universal emperor of the world. Passing over a long period of time we read of the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. We hear the scratch of the pen and the Declaration of Independence is here, the Constitution has come, a new nation is born and the world is amazed. The year 1799 is draped in mourning and Washington is laid to rest. We see Napoleon on the field of Waterloo where the star of his empire like a meteor fell. We hear the roar of cannon, the marshaling of armies and the American conflict begins. Lee surrenders to Grant and the nation rejoices. We come to 1865 and hear the hiss of the assassin's bullet; Lincoln falls and the world stands aghast. Then last, but not least came the great world-war. You may combine all these events and they sink into insignificance, when compared to the work accomplished by Christ in revealing to the world a gospel which offers the remission of sins, and a home in that incomparable city which "hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."