Khrietuonyü Noudi
Since the earliest of times, man has generally always believed that there must be a God who created everything that exists. And ever since human civilization began, human beings have been literally obsessed with the concept and idea of salvation. Every early civilization had its own ideas and perceptions about the concept of salvation. Thus, every society came to have its own notions and explanations about a so-called ‘salvation’. General ideas like ‘if I do these things and avoid these things, I will get salvation’; ‘if I do good things to others while alive, I will be rewarded by God after my death’; ‘I will go to heaven after death if I live a good and honest life but I will be in hell after death if I live a dishonest or sinful life’ etc, etc have been a part and parcel of every societal thought and belief since the earliest of times.
Since the earliest of times, man had done everything they considered essential and necessary to please their Gods. Luxurious and flamboyant sacrifices were offered to the so-called Gods. Indeed we have numerous records from around the world where even human sacrifices were made to the Gods. Even in India, child infanticide was practiced by the Hindus for centuries. It was also the religious belief of the Hindus for centuries that a wife had to be burnt alive in the funeral pyre of her husband.
Down the centuries, many had also believed that there must be a true God somewhere and they actually stepped out of their homes to search for this so-called truth. Here, we can mention the example of Gautama Buddha who lived in India some 600 years before the birth of Christ. Gautama Buddha was born into a well-to-do family but as he grew up, he became disillusioned with his surroundings and the miseries of life. He finally discarded everything that he had (including his wife and family) and set out in search of the so-called truth. Later on, he declared that he had attained enlightenment and truth and he started traveling and preaching his new religion and this was how Buddhism was born. Even today, there are many who follow this Buddhism religion which was founded by Gautama Buddha some 2600 years ago.
Moses is believed to have lived some 1300 years before the birth of Christ and he is believed by many to be the author of the first five books of the Old Testament. These five books namely Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (or for that matter any other book of the Old Testament) were probably read only by the Jews before the coming of Christ. Indeed, the laws of Moses governed every aspect of Jewish life for centuries before Christ and it continued to do so even after Christ.
However, after Jesus Christ came into the scene of the world and made his mark in the annals of human history, the Old Testament came into the focus of the whole world because Jesus claimed to be the messiah that was prophesied by the prophets of the Old Testament. During his lifetime itself, when the Jewish religious leaders accused him of violating the laws of Moses, Jesus answered back that he had come not to break the laws of Moses but rather to fulfill them.
It is indeed awe-inspiring to know that the creator of the universe mitigated himself into becoming a hapless fetus in the womb of a virgin, be born as the son of a carpenter and ultimately allowed himself to be crucified on a Roman cross. And in the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, some of the most poignant questions that man could ever ask were answered once and for all. Some of these questions could be:
1) Why man became separated from God?
2) Why and how man has fallen short of the glory of God?
3) Why God (in the person of Jesus) had to die on a Roman cross to make man realize his self-centeredness, wickedness, shortcomings and sins?
4) Why death has to be the ultimate reality that we all face on earth?
By being born through the Virgin Mary and by allowing himself to be crucified on a Roman cross, Jesus made himself an undeniable part and parcel of human history. By these accounts, nobody can ever doubt that there ever was a man called Jesus who lived in Palestine some 2000 years ago. I believe that Jesus could have been born into the Eden gardens itself and allowed himself to be murdered by Adam and Eve. But if this was the case, the world would have never come to know God and his plans and intentions for man. I also believe that Jesus could have straightaway descended upon the temple of Jerusalem and started preaching instead of being born through the Virgin Mary and having to wait for 30 long years before starting his ministry on earth. But if this was the case, we would have never known for sure whether Jesus was really a historical figure or just a mythological character.
So why did God use history to reveal the message of salvation to man? I guess this is so because we are so stubborn, so self-centered, so wicked in the sight of God, so difficult to teach and so difficult to learn.
For the Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists, Christianity may be just another religion. But for all those who really believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, Christianity is not just a religion. It is something much bigger, higher and deeper than religion. Indeed, for true believers of the gospel, it would be a great error and fallacy on our parts if we are to equate Christianity as just another religion. For me also, Christianity is not a religion. Rather it is a realization, an eye-opening experience and encounter and the establishment of a relationship with an ever-present and everlasting living God.
From the many accounts and stories in the old testaments itself, it becomes clear that God wants the whole world to know him and that it was always His intention that the message of salvation was to spread to the ends of the world starting from Israel. Here it is interesting to note that during the times of Jesus, man was yet to know that the earth is actually a sphere which revolves round the sun. During this time, the world did not know that the earth is a sphere and that the so-called middles east region was geographically the centre of the world. This means that, even at this time when man did not know these facts, God knew that Israel situated in the Middle East region was the geographical centre of the world and that it was the most convenient place from where the gospel of salvation could spread to all the continents of the world.
In his teachings, Jesus did not mention any historical names from outside the history of Israel. However, we can clearly relate some of his utterances to some great historical figures. Jesus asked what a man can profit even if he gains the whole world if he loses his own soul. For me, I can relate this utterance of Jesus to Alexander the Great. Alexander lived some 320 years before the birth of Jesus and he tried to make a name for himself by conquering the whole world. He set out from his home in Macedonia and marched towards the east conquering many Asian kingdoms one after the other till he came to India. It was in India that his soldiers refused to march further and revolted against him. Alexander finally passed away while returning back to his home from India. History calls Alexander the Great. But in the philosophy of Christ, I would rather call him Alexander the Fool because trying to conquer the whole world by murdering and bloodshed is sheer foolishness in the sight of God.
Jesus also said that a blind man cannot lead a blind man. I can also relate this utterance of Jesus to Gautama Buddha who lived in India some 600 years before him and propounded the Buddhism religion which went on to amass huge followings. In the sight of Jesus, Buddha was only a mere mortal and thus, he was just like a blind man trying to lead some other blind men and they were sure to fall into a dark pit. And the irony of Buddhism is that Buddha who claimed to have attained truth and enlightenment died at the age of 80 years after consuming pork meat. And if someone is following a God who died after consuming pork meat, no other man could be blinder than them.
Our experiences are our greatest teachers and human beings have learnt some of their greatest lessons from some of their greatest mistakes. It was after witnessing first hand the horror and agony of wars that a man founded the Red Cross mission to render healing and comfort to those affected during wartimes. It was also the horrors of the First and the Second World Wars that brought about the creation of the League of Nations and the UNO respectively to prevent future wars and to make efforts to solve all international disputes through peaceful means without resorting to wars.
Likewise, in the story of Jesus also, many could not figure out the real meanings of the events till Jesus was finally resurrected from the grave. It is said that when Jesus started preaching, even his own brothers did not believe him. The twelve disciples of Jesus spent about three years with him and heard him speak with authority about the Kingdom of God. They also saw Jesus perform miracles after miracles but they could not understand him completely and when He was arrested, they all fled away. Likewise when Jesus was tried, condemned and crucified on a Roman cross, all the disciples were disillusioned because they could not comprehend all that had taken place. However, it was the resurrection of Jesus that answered all their questions and cleared all their doubts and they became prepared to even die for him.
A theory which broke out after the resurrection of Jesus Christ was that Jesus did not rise from the grave but that his own disciples stole his body and started to proclaim that He had risen from the death. But if this was really the case, why was it that the disciples were ready to even die for their lies. We all know that it would be worthless to die for something which we know is not true. But the disciples actually did die preaching the gospel to the nations of the world as commanded by Jesus himself. It is said that Peter considered himself not worthy enough to die like Jesus on a cross and therefore, he was crucified on a cross upside down. It is also said that Paul was beheaded and Thomas was speared to death in India in the present Tamil Nadu region. All these are enough evidences to prove that the disciples had seen Jesus rose from the death and been taken to heaven.
Jesus started his ministry only when he was about 30 years old and his ministry lasted only for about three years. But what he said and what he did during these three years times have gone on to turn the whole world upside down. Indeed, it may not be possible to prove scientifically that Jesus rose from the death. But for an ardent believer, the evidences are all too overwhelming and astounding to be set aside.
If Christianity is all about attending church, saying our prayers regularly, reading the bible daily and paying our tithes, then I doubt that I am a good Christian. This is so because I am a big failure and a big zero when it comes to most of these things. However, if Christianity is a realization about the true nature of God and the wickedness and self centeredness of man, then I can say that I am a Christian because I have come to realize some of the most fundamental and universal truths through the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. As a young boy and teenager, I grew up admiring and idolizing some iconic personalities like Elvis Presley, Bruce Lee, A.Z.Phizo etc. But now, as I come of age, I have come to realize that the only person worth admiring, worth imitating, worth thinking about, worth speaking about, worth worshipping, worth investing upon, worth living for and worth dying for is Jesus Christ.
Therefore, whether we view it from the historical perspective, from the political perspective or from the perspective of religion, it is ample clear that Jesus was exactly who he claimed to be. Thus, in this write-up, I might have written many things and touched upon many topics, but the conclusion is only one, and that is:‘JESUS CHRIST IS GOD’
