The Confirmation of Christ
by Sammy Tippit

There was a man in the New Testament who had great purpose in life: to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. He preached repentance and baptized multitudes in the Jordan River. Then he was cast into prison. While there, he sent two of his disciples to inquire about Jesus. They asked Jesus directly, "Are you the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them" (Matthew 11:3-5).

The response of Jesus was quite clear. He was not only absolute moral purity. He not only claimed to be God. His very works confirmed His character and claims. Today, as then, Jesus' works defy us to write Him off as some sort of lunatic or even as one of the great moral leaders of the world, for no one has ever done what Jesus did. With one word from His lips the winds ceased, the seas were stilled, the lame walked, the blind saw, and the dead came back to life. This is not the work of a crazy man. Nor was it the work of merely a great man. Only one conclusion can possibly be drawn. His work was- and is-the work of the God-Man.

However, the works of Christ are not the greatest confirmation that He is worthy of our worship. He kept telling His disciples that He had to go to Jerusalem and die. He said He would rise from the dead on the third day. And it happened exactly as He said it would. Herein lies the greatest of the confirming works of Jesus.

Many great leaders have sincerely loved and served their people. But Jesus was, and is, different from all other leaders in history. First, He did not die just for friends and family. He died for friends, family, and foes. He loved with a supernatural love.

I once had a friend in college for whom I thought there was no hope. One day he would act like a Christian, and the next day, he would blaspheme God. He once knelt and challenged God. "God," he cried out, "if there be a God, then strike me dead." Immediately he came to my dormitory room to convince me that there was no God. I honestly felt there was no hope for that guy. One day, several years later, I ran into my friend. He told me, "I don't know how Jesus could have loved and died for someone like me. But I'm so thankful He did. I've given my heart to Him, and now I love and follow Him."

We were all rebels when Jesus loved us. Many leaders have given their lives for their friends. But only Jesus had the capacity to love all men. He is the lover of our souls when there is nothing lovely in our souls. When we embrace the old rugged cross by faith, our hearts are turned from rebellion to worship.

Jesus differs from all other leaders in history in another way: He was resurrected from the dead. Other great leaders have lived and died for their people, but Jesus conquered death itself and now offers life to whomever believes in Him. I recall standing one wintry evening in Red Square in Moscow in front of the tomb of Lenin. Thousands of people gather there daily to view the body of Lenin, which has been preserved by the Soviet Union. As I stood in front of that tomb, I recalled the words of Jesus when He said, "I am the resurrection and the life." I had a private worship service right there in Red Square. I knew that Jesus was not just another name among the great names of history. His is the name above all names. He stands out in human history as Immanuel, God with us.

And He is certainly with us. He has conquered man's worst enemies: death, hell, and the devil. He alone is worthy of our worship.

When Thomas, the doubting disciple of Jesus, understood that Jesus was truly risen from the dead, he cried out, "My Lord and my God." When Saul, the hater of Christians, beheld the resurrected Christ, he became Paul, the bond servant of Jesus. When we recognize Jesus as the Servant-King and the God-Man, we will likewise bow in humble submission and reverence to Him as our Lord and our God.