2004 Soap Box Archives

Easter 04/09/04

With the advent of Mel Gibson’s blockbuster film “The Passion 0f The
Christ” which depicted the last twelve hours of Jesus Christ’s life, it
seems that the entertainment business has awakened to the fact that
Jesus is the most famous figure of all times.

Some of the reaction takes the form of inane discussions by the usual
talking heads that seem to have little if any knowledge of Jesus, what
He is, who He is and the reason He came to earth.

Others turn into television specials most of which seem to be just
about as much in the dark as the aforementioned talking head variety;
in other words they just don’t get it.

They explore his place in human history, his short thirty three year
life span, his teachings and his death on the cross, which is all well
and good, but they seem to sidestep or leave out all together the true
meaning of the life of Jesus.

First of all let’s state the facts.

1. The Virgin Birth
Jesus’ coming was foretold over and over again in the Old Testament
from the very first book of the bible, Genesis, where the Scripture
says that God would put enmity between the woman and the serpent,
Satan, and between the woman’s offspring and Satan’s offspring; that
the woman’s offspring would crush the head of the serpent and that the
serpent would strike the heel of the offspring. The one and only
virgin birth ever to take place was Jesus’. Mary conceived of the Holy
Spirit, no human being had anything at all to do with it and therefore
Jesus was born without the curse of sin which man had borne since the
fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He came into this world
sinless and left it the same way. There are many other scriptures in
the Old Testament concerning the coming of Jesus, from where he would
be born to the manner of his death.

2. Who was he?

Jesus was the only begotten son of Almighty God, a fact testified to by
none other than God himself in a voice from heaven as John the Baptist
baptized Jesus saying this is my son whom I love, with him I am well
pleased. Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead and did all manner of
miracles by the authority of his heavenly father. He was crucified on
a cross and was raised from the dead and was seen by many people after
his resurrection.

3. What was his mission on earth?

Jesus came to earth to break the yoke of sin that Adam and Eve’s fall
had brought upon mankind, to give the free gift of eternal life to all
who would believe in him.

John 3:16 - for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten
son that whosoever would believe in him would not perish but have
everlasting life.

I truly believe that one of the biggest enemies of the Gospel message
is the simplicity of it. You can’t earn it, you can never be good
enough to deserve it, yet Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, came to
earth and suffered unimaginable pain and anguish to offer salvation to
everyone. I’m glad to see all the newfound interest in Jesus Christ,
but I only wish that the folks in the media would tell the whole story,
and it’s a beautiful story.

The facts about Jesus are eternal; they can’t be changed or
intellectualized away. They can’t be altered to fit the current mores
of the world. Jesus Christ lived, died, rose from the dead and is
coming back to set his kingdom up on this very earth. It will happen
just as God’s word says it will.

I hope you and yours have a wonderful Easter.

Pray for our troops.

What do you think?

God Bless America,

Charlie Daniels