Why Jesus?

by Terri Kammerzell

Truth of Genesis Ministry Partner

Today is the start of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah, also known as the Jewish New Year, or the Feast of Trumpets. Did you know there are many Christians, especially Messianic Jews (Jewish people who believe in Jesus as the Messiah), who are inclined to believe that the Rapture will coincide with the blowing of the shofar (trumpet) at this holiday? There are a lot of interesting aspects to this belief, but I am not a theologian and am not going to attempt to weigh in on that, one way or another.
​
This I do know: Jesus, Who came once to die for all men (and women), will be coming back to claim those who have believed on Him. And I also know there will be a judgment day, and it would be a terrible thing to arrive at that day without having your name written in the book of life. Or, as Hebrews 10:31 puts it, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!” (HCSB).

Of all of my 49 Fun Facts, I think the answer to this one may have been just about the hardest one for my students to memorize, and yet, I have one student who, to this day—four years later—can recite this Fun Fact word for word. And to be honest, if he couldn’t recite any of the other 48, I am blessed to know I at least impressed this particularly important one on him:

Who is Jesus?
Fully God and fully man, Jesus is the Creator incarnate Who stepped down into creation to die on a cross to redeem us for eternity. His New Testament words repeatedly confirm the Creation account as told in Genesis.

When discussing or debating on the topic of origins, Creation apologists often point out the difference between observational science and historical science. Truth be told, there is no person on the planet who was around to see (observe) the forming of our universe, planet, or the first human beings. So, we rely on historical data to make determinations. For Christians, we know that there actually was Someone Who did observe the beginning: the Creator Himself. This is why His own words in verses such as Mark 10:6, which says “But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female” (HCSB), are so key to seeing that Jesus—fully God—confirmed the veracity of the historical account of Genesis. And this is why this Fun Fact is included in the set of 49.

But it wasn’t just Jesus’ words that confirmed Genesis. All throughout the Bible (God’s Word, inspired by Him), the writers had an obvious belief of the events of Genesis. They believed them to be historical, and that their impact was ongoing, with spiritual and theological consequences. In Psalm 8:3-4, David wrote, “When I observe Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You set in place, what is man that You remember him, the son of man that You look after him?” (HCSB). In Proverbs 3:19-20, Solomon wrote, “The Lord founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding. By His knowledge the watery depths broke open, and the clouds dripped with dew” (HCSB). In Amos 4:13, Amos wrote, “He is here: the One who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man, the One who makes the dawn out of darkness and strides on the heights of the earth. Yahweh, the God of Hosts, is His name” (HCSB). And John starts his gospel with, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created” (John 1:1-3 HCSB).

Indeed, the writers of the Scriptures knew and confirmed the Creation account of Genesis. They knew that God was there at the beginning and will be at the end. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the Almighty One. He is the Advocate, the Bread of Life, the Deliverer, the Good Shepherd, the Great High Priest, Faithful and True, the King of Kings, the Lamb of God, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Redeemer, the Rock, the Son of the Most High, Yeshua, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He is truth. And He is love.
That’s who Jesus is. But why do we need Him?

Those last two attributes for Him (truth and love) have a way of confounding people. Last week, in my post, “The Value of a Man,” I mentioned the culture we are living in, and how the message of the world tells us we can make all our own choices now: choose your own ethnicity, your own gender, your own age, your own value. But the sad truth is that message hasn’t just fallen on the ears of people who have never believed in God. It has fallen on the ears of many professing Christians. A message wrapped in a bow of love. Jesus is love. And love covers it all. You be you, love is love, and Jesus will love you no matter what. Jesus will love you no matter what, but the Bible also tells us that God will not be mocked. Paul says in Galatians 6:7, “Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap” (HCSB).  One way that we mock God is by knowingly or intentionally sinning, taking advantage of His promise of forgiveness. 1

Although the writers of the Old Testament confirmed the Creation account of Genesis and foretold the coming of the Messiah, many of the people around the time of Jesus’ birth misunderstood the prophecies. They were looking for a strong king and mighty warrior to save them. Many confused His second coming for His first and overlooked the humble Jewish Carpenter.
​
In the same way, many people today are overlooking the fact that Jesus is not just love. He is truth. Not only is He truth, but He taught truth. In Matthew 5-7, Jesus delivered the famous Sermon on the Mount, a collection of instructions not just for the people of that day, but for all His followers from that day until He comes again. He taught us how to pray, how to love, how to give. He told us of the promises of blessings. He told us how He had come to fulfill the Old Testament law. But He also taught against hatred, against murder, against lust, and against sexual immorality. And He ended by describing those who listened to His words: anyone who acts on them He described as “a sensible man,” and anyone who doesn’t as a “foolish man” (Matthew 7:24-26).

Jesus came because of His great love for us, and, as Paul said in Romans 5:8, “God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (HCSB). But Jesus was more than love. He didn’t accept us as sinners, condemned for all eternity. He didn’t condone our sin, and He still doesn’t today. He loved us enough to save us from our sin, from the terrible wrath of God, and from eternal damnation.

This is a story that started in Genesis. Death did not exist before Adam sinned. Romans 5:12 says, that “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned” (HCSB). God’s holiness and justness demanded a consequence for sin, and only Jesus could be that sacrifice. He was blameless, without sin. But just as importantly, He was a human, in the flesh, who could be our Kinsman Redeemer. That’s why it had to be Jesus. Love was the atonement for our sin, the substitution for our death penalty.

Love was not a license to sin. Let’s not misunderstand, lest we overlook His return, whether it coincides with Rosh Hashanah this year, another year, or not at all. Eventually, He will be coming, and no man knows the hour. The apostle Peter tells us “the Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 HCSB).

If you are a Christian who has wandered down the path of the world’s wisdom and bought into the compromise of sin, take heart. Like the church in Ephesus, repent: “You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first” (Revelation 2:4b-5a HCSB).

And if you have never placed your faith in the one true living God, today is the best day to do it. You can visit this website for step-by-step instructions and information to get you started on your relationship with Him.

Don’t just take my word for it! Visit YouFormedMe.com/people/jesus.html to read, watch, and listen to supporting research and commentary from scientists, doctors, theologians, and more!
This blog is from a special series of “Creation Fun Facts” by Terri Kammerzell, starting from June 10, 2020. Read the introduction at TruthOfGenesis.com/blogs/building-a-biblical-defense-of-creation.

1 In the Bible mockery is a behavior and attitude shown by the fool (Psalm 74:22), the wicked (Psalm 1:1), the enemy (Psalm 74:10), the hater of knowledge (Proverbs 1:22; 13:1), the proud (Psalm 119:51; Isaiah 37:17), and the unteachable (Proverbs 15:12). A mocker goes beyond mere lack of judgment to making a conscious decision for evil. Mockers are without a spirit of obedience, teachability, discernment, wisdom, worship, or faith. 1
  https://www.gotquestions.org/God-is-not-mocked.html