What was your most boring subject in high school? Well, mine was history, with apologies to any history teachers who might be reading this. History just seemed like an endless list of dates and names of people who were long gone. In high school, I just didn’t see the point of it all. It seemed irrelevant to my life. How could people who had died thousands of years ago affect my life today? It didn’t seem possible, it didn’t seem worth my time.
Many people today feel the same way about Jesus, a historical person who lived on the other side of the world some 2000 years ago and died at the early age of 33. That’s ancient history. The college textbook “Western Civilization” has this to say about Jesus:
“Jesus’ message was basically simple. He reassured his fellow Jews that he did not plan to undermine their traditional religion. … Jesus found himself denounced on many sides and … Pilate ordered his crucifixion. … A few loyal followers of Jesus spread the story that Jesus had overcome death and had been resurrected. He was then … hailed as the savior-God.”
If you’re a college student studying history, you wouldn’t think too much of Jesus would you? Just a Jew who had a few new ideas, didn’t amount to much or gain much of a following until some deluded followers became convinced he rose from the dead. The problem is, the things you’re learning about Jesus in school, whether high school or college are simply not true. There is more wrong in the quotes I’ve read you from that respected college text than is right. But with education like this, it’s not surprising that many people think that Jesus doesn’t matter to them, to their lives or to their families.
If you’d like to further your education about the most important person who ever lived in the history of this planet, listen up to my message series entitled “Why Jesus Matters.” In it, we’re going to be looking at why someone who lived and died 2000 years ago matters today, in 2005, for you and your family. Why should Jesus affect our lives? What is the big deal about Jesus? Isn’t He just like countless other religious leaders who have come and gone? Can Jesus really make a difference in your life, everyday, every hour, every minute? This series will help you deal with some of your own questions about Jesus, as well as prepare you to talk to others about why Jesus matters.
To hear more about this topic, listen to my March 6, 2005 message entitled Why Jesus’ Life Matters