John 6:66–69; 9:17, 24–25, 31–33, 35–38; 20:27–29

Bible Studies for Life
Chair and Armstrong Professor of Religion, Department of Religion, Samford University

What’s so different about Jesus?
John 6:66–69; 9:17, 24–25, 31–33, 35–38; 20:27–29
Why bother about Jesus? What relevance does the life and death of a fairly “nice man” who lived 2,000 years ago have for life in the 21st century with all its advances in medicine, technology and science? In an age of religious pluralism, surely the message of Christianity is just one of many means by which we can come to know the true meaning of life and the way to God. What’s so different about Jesus?

Consider Jesus’ Teachings (6:66–69)
The early disciples came to the conclusion that they couldn’t live without Jesus. They understood from their own experience that they needed Him to be their Savior. Similarily we are only too well aware of our inner struggles with sinful desires, which lead us to manifest attitudes, and even engage in actions, of which we are utterly ashamed. That’s why the message of Jesus is one of good news because it declares to us that God is willing to accept us just as we are; completely forgive us of all that we have thought, said and done; and make us feel clean once again. It was that message that came to James and John, those “sons of thunder” who had such great difficulty in controlling their tempers. The love of Christ met them in their need and changed them into men who were filled with love and understanding for others. Jesus is able to take our lives, spoiled by sin, and transform them so that they begin to shine with a light that comes from His own character. He changes lives because He is alive and active. He is somebody who is interested in us, even though we feel that we have failed so often. He enjoys our company and is always available to hear our prayers for help.

Consider Jesus’ Miracles (9:17, 24–25, 31–33, 35–38)
The miracles in and of themselves did not always lead to faith when Jesus lived in Palestine. This story shows how the religious leaders of the day refused to accept that the man who claimed to have been healed of blindness had actually been blind in the first place. We may not have ever witnessed a miracle of this scale within our own lives. This man, however, had an experience that we can all identify with — an encounter with Jesus that transforms our way of thinking and attitude toward life. In one way or another, all Christians can declare, “I was blind … but now I see.”

Consider Jesus’ Resurrection (20:27–29)
Thomas was confused about the events of that first Easter. His Lord was dead. His dreams had come to an abrupt end, and then his friends were telling him that Jesus was alive. In the context of death and dying, he needed a firm foundation for his faith. Many religions offer religious experiences, moments of peace in the midst of the turmoil of life. However, the uniqueness of the claims of Christianity is not only that it works but also that it is true. The One who proclaimed the message of God’s love at Calvary is alive. There can be no doubt in the mind of anyone who takes historical evidence seriously that Jesus actually lived and died in Palestine under the governorship of Pontius Pilate, which ended in A.D. 36.  As well as the internal evidence of the four Gospels, we have plenty of external, unbiased historical witnesses from Roman and Jewish sources. Not only is the evidence for His life and death reliable but there is also plenty of evidence that He rose from the grave — His grave was empty and no one was able to produce the body to disprove the message that was sweeping through Jerusalem. His disciples, who had been full of fear following His death, suddenly became willing to die for something they knew to be true because literally thousands of them had been eyewitnesses to His resurrection. The weight of the evidence adds up to a very powerful reason why we should bother about Jesus. If He lived a perfect life, died a special death and rose again, then He is who He claimed to be — the Son of God, who created us and will one day judge us as we give an account to Him as to how we have lived on this earth. Yet, like Thomas, we need to encounter Him for ourselves and come to that point where, in worship, we confess Him as our “Lord and our God.”