Jesus and Christianity
Who is Jesus?
Jesus was a real man who lived in Israel about 2000 years ago. But Jesus was no ordinary man. He was, and still is, the Son of God. While he lived on Earth, Jesus taught people about God’s love and did amazing miracles. In around the year AD 33, he died on a cross and came back to life, before returning to Heaven. The story of Jesus is written in the Bible.
To understand Jesus and why he lived on Earth, it may help to first understand God. God is the Creator of the universe and all that is in it.
Who is God? What is sin?
When God created the world, everything was perfect. He made a beautiful world and placed people in it — people with free choice and who he loved very much. But those first humans, Adam and Eve, made a big mistake. They didn’t trust God and didn’t follow his one instruction. This action was called ‘sin’. Because God is perfect, this sin separated people from God. Sin darkened the world and from then on, life on Earth was no longer as it should be.
People started being unkind to one another, selfish and hurtful. Pain and sickness became part of life. All of the bad things in life are a result of sin. And the consequence of all sin is death, which means separation from God forever.
Because God loved the people he created so much, he wanted to repair the relationship and offer people forgiveness. He wanted people — his children — to experience the life he originally created for them. God wanted to save us from death and swap it for life. A good life. An everlasting life with him in Heaven.
“God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die” (John chapter 3, verse 16, CEV).
God sent Jesus — his Son — to repair the broken relationship. Jesus is God in the flesh. One of the names of Jesus is “Immanuel”, which means “God with us”. God, here on Earth, with us.
At Christmas, we celebrate Jesus coming into the world as a baby. He was God but he was also human. This was the first step of God’s plan to restore his relationship with his children.
What did Jesus do on Earth?
Once Jesus was an adult, he began a public ministry. He talked to people in many cities and towns about God’s love and God’s way of life. Jesus wanted everyone to know his love for them. He sat down, talked to and cared for people of all ages and backgrounds. He welcomed people with generosity and kindness. He healed people from sicknesses, journeyed alongside them in their pain and gave them hope.
After a few years of his ministry, Jesus died on a cross to take on the punishment for all of humanity’s sin. Jesus knew this was part of God’s plan. Everything anyone had ever done or would ever do wrong was put to death on the cross. Jesus died to save us from the sin that separates us from God.
Thankfully, that isn’t the end of the story. On the third day after Jesus was laid in a tomb, he came back to life. This shows that he has power over all sin, all sadness and death.
This is what we now remember as ‘Easter’.
What can Jesus mean for my life?
During his time on Earth, Jesus said: “A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came to give life — life that is full and good.” (John chapter 10, verse 10, ERV)
This means that Jesus wants to take our hurt – ts, the things that weigh us down and steal our joy – a, and exchange them for God’s peace, unconditional love, goodness, hope and joy. Through Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection (coming back to life), we can have a meaningful relationship with God the Father, our Creator. There is more to life than fleeting good feelings, and God wants you to experience it.
What is a Christian?
The word “Christ” is often used after the name of Jesus: Jesus Christ. In Greek (the language in which the Bible stories about Jesus were originally written), “Christ” means “Anointed O ne”. It refers to the fact that Jesus is both human and divine (God’s Son).
Anyone who follows Jesus Christ can call themselves a “Christian”.
“So you will be saved, if you honestly say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death. God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this and tell it to others” (Romans chapter 10, verses 9-10, CEV).
When we recognise our imperfections and things we’ve done wrong, and ask for Jesus’ help, we are ‘saved’. This act of ‘salvation’ is why we are called The Salvation Army.
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