Jesus Christ

By Rev. Phil Greetham
(edited version)

Jesus was born 2000 years ago. He was in all respects human and in all respects God. He had been sent into the world primarily as a way to counter the effects of sin which was causing every human being to be eternally separated from God.

Jesus was a Jew born sometime between 7 and 1 BC in a village called Bethlehem in Judea, Israel. He was conceived, not by a human father but as a miraculous act of God. Jesus gave moral and religious teaching to those who listened to him. He also performed miracles and soon gathered around himself a group of followers

Jesus was accused of blasphemy by the Jewish religious authorities. He had been accused of saying that he was equal to God. This is something that Jesus refused to deny. When he was around thirty years old, the Jewish religious authorities of the time were able to persuade the occupying Roman authorities to execute him. Just outside Jerusalem, one Friday afternoon he was crucified. This involved being nailed through the wrists and ankles to a wooden cross.

After his death he was carried to a stone tomb and sealed in it. On the Sunday morning, visitors to the tomb noticed that the tomb was empty and later on, in many separate incidences, Jesus was seen alive again. Forty days after that Sunday morning some of his friends saw him rise into the air and disappear. He had told them he was going to heaven but one day he would return to the earth.

Jesus's death has paid the price for a person's sin. The followers of Jesus are known as Christians. Christianity follows the teaching of Jesus Christ. Christianity teaches the confession of personal sin to God through Jesus. Christians believe in the person of Jesus and that His death on the cross was the price He paid for our sin. Following Jesus today means that the individual, although imperfect, is able to be spend the rest of their life and eternity with God.

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