The Story of Jesus
Edited, original author unknown
via Forest Hills Faith Builder, February 10, 2008
Let's face it, Jesus was a troublemaker. He caused such an uproar when He was born, that King Herod slaughtered a lot of innocent children trying to kill Him. King Herod's rampage caused His parents so much stress that they fled to Egypt to save His life.
Later Jesus was scolded by His mother for being unruly and disobedient.
Over the years, people who followed Jesus were always in trouble. John the Baptist was beheaded for hanging out with Him.
There was the time that Jesus burst into the Temple and started a row and raised havoc with the moneychangers. Jesus was constantly arguing with the rulers and teachers. He got into trouble with the law and was arrested. He was tried, convicted, and crucified.
People who joined His crowd were all the time in difficulty. He ruined Saul's military career. Paul and Silas, two of His followers, were jailed for causing an uproar. John was exiled to Patmos for being faithful to Him.
He has been run out of courthouses, schools, and other public places. He causes trouble in politics and government. People have been thrown to lions, burned at the stake, boiled in oil, beheaded, and hung for following Him. Even today people who join His group and proclaim His message are subject to getting into trouble.
In spite of all of this, one author, Dr. James Allen Frances, describes the life of Jesus this way:
He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in still another village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty years old. Then for three years He was a poor itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held public office. He never had a family nor owned a house. He never went to college. He never traveled more than 200 miles from the place where He was born.
Jesus did none of the things one usually associates with greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. He was only thirty-three when public opinion turned against Him. His friends deserted Him.
He was turned over to His enemies and went through a mock trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. When He was dying, His executioners gambled for His clothing, the only property He had on earth.
When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed tomb because of the pity of a friend.
Two thousand years have passed, and today He is still the central figure of the human race. He still will not be relegated to a particular niche of our experience nor will He compromise His principals for the sake of political correctness. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on earth as much as that one solitary Life.
He is Immanuel, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. He is the Plumb Line, the Rock of Ages, the Lily of the Valley, and the Bright and Morning Star.
Jesus' followers have a long history of standing up and speaking out and talking back.
"Then they called them (Peter and John) in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, 'Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.'" Acts 4:18-20.
Today Jesus will come into our lives through obedience to His gospel for the purpose of saving us from the power of sin and evil. He is the Light of the world that will never be extinguished.
