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by Bill Seng

Reason 7) Jesus

If Jesus believed the Scriptures and he is God, what else do you need to know? Of course, this is a belief that if you do not agree with it you will find that particular statement to be absurd. But let’s think about it on this level: If we were uncertain as to whether or not Jesus was God, but believed in his moral teachings, wouldn’t the Bible be the book to turn to if you wanted to learn more about who he was and what his teachings were? Ironically, you would even need both the New and Old Testament to understand Jesus and his teachings in their fullest context because Jesus’ teachings were directly related to the Old Testament, and in most ways were the same. There might not be a way to convince the non-believer that Jesus is God but can anyone honestly say that Jesus’ life and teachings were in any way inferior to any other teacher? This question is worthy of investigation.

Jesus did not ignore key realities that are acknowledged by the average person but are sometimes neglected by the religious guru. He says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Some religions look at death and other such tragedies as being illusions. Jesus saw them as occasions that were worthy to be mourned over. Jesus himself even mourned on one recorded occasion (although it is disputed as to why he mourned).

Jesus was a leader that saw the value of humility. He says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” For a person who does not believe in God, this again would be an absurd promise. To those who believe it makes perfect sense that God would reward those who are obedient to him with a grand inheritance. But from a worldly perspective, is humility ever beneficial? I would say that there are more than enough examples of up and coming stars on a variety of stages that have experienced horrible ends because of their pride. Humility is the silent virtue.

He acknowledged that desire is not a problem. Yes, covetousness is a sin, but Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” He acknowledges that there are legitimate desires that are good and that God has a plan to fulfill those desires. This establishes the religion of Jesus as a missional religion. One of the most unique teachings of Jesus is, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” What teacher tells his disciples that they will be blessed as they are persecuted for their righteous behavior? There are religions that teach the nobility in dying for a cause, killing for a cause, or persecuting others for a cause, but not for being persecuted for living righteously. This is a teaching that is clearly unique to the religion of Jesus.

The three characteristics that really summarize the personality of Jesus are humility, integrity, and assertiveness. Although he was one that had much he could boast about, he regarded himself no higher than the people around him. Although he had been tempted, at times, to become a king here on earth, he refused such offers and did not exploit his power. That is integrity. But what most impresses me about Jesus as a person is his assertiveness.

Most people view him as “Jesus, meek and mild.” Even the acclaimed Bible miniseries portrays Jesus as a soft-spoken intellectual. The Jesus I read about in the Bible, though, stands with both feet solidly planted in the truth. Other religious gurus might have found it meaningless to engage his opposition in a confrontational manner. They would have viewed it as better to let them wander off in ignorance. Other religious leaders would have promoted the idea of smiting his horrid foes. Not Jesus. He stood his ground, answered their questions, and called them to the floor when he noticed that they were speaking in contradiction, hypocrisy, and playing intellectual word games. When the heat was on, Jesus died. He died for what he believed in; he died to fulfill his mission; he died as a righteous man on behalf of unrighteous men; he died so that other people might live.

I could go on and on about why Jesus is a huge reason why I read my Bible. For now, let it suffice that Jesus walked the walk and talked the talk. For any man to walk the path the way that Jesus did would require divinity because his accusers could not find any fault in him. The character of Jesus is so different than the prophets of other religions that just about every religion invented since Jesus had to incorporate him into their teachings in one way or another. If such man told you that he believes the words of the Bible, would you not turn to it as your source of all wisdom?