Wed Inspiration

Morning Inspiration with Pastor Merritt

What makes Jesus different? Why would you spend a year in four ancient books learning about the life of this one man? It is not just because of what He said. In fact, one scholar has computed that the words of Jesus compose 20% of the New Testament. That is the equivalent of about 12 thirty minute sermons. It is not what He said alone that compels us to spend this time with Jesus. It is what He did (died on the cross to save us from our sins, rising from the dead which no man has ever done, ascending into heaven to sit on the throne of the universe, coming in the person of the Holy Spirit to live in us and promising to return one day to bring everything under His rule.)

There is nobody like Jesus, never has been and never will be. Simply listen to the very first thing He ever said. Regardless of whatever else you believe about Jesus the common consensus is He is one of if not the greatest human being who ever lived. If He had a PR agent and he was promoting the very first sermon Jesus ever preached, back in the day it would have had to be held outdoors, because no building could have contained the crowds. Today, Twitter would have blown up. Every major network would have been clamoring for exclusive rights to broadcast it. The one question everyone would have been asking would be, “What will He say?” For those of you who hate long sermons you would have loved it. It was perhaps the shortest sermon ever preached and yet maybe the one with the most powerful message. Like all good sermons, not only could it be summarized in one sentence – it was one sentence.

“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (Matthew 4:17)