Is Jesus really necessary?

Jesus—opinions about Him are sharply divided; the paths people take in life diverge greatly, too, depending on what they believe to be true about Him.

Was He simply one of many founders of a religion, a social reformer, or an exemplary man willing to die for His cause? If so, He could be readily ignored. If, however, He is the Son of God, who came from Heaven to give us eternal life through the cross and His resurrection, then He becomes the most significant person ever to live. Rejecting Him would have the most devastating consequence possible at the end of our days, namely the loss of eternal life.

• Muslims turn solely to Allah and strongly oppose Jesus being the son of God. Therefore, they never pray to Jesus.

• Jehovah’s Witnesses exclusively direct their prayers to Jehovah; never to Jesus.

• The Canadian Parliament used to open with a prayer to Jesus. As a result of numerous protests, Jesus is no longer addressed in prayer, only God.

• The Pharisees and scribes—contemporaries of Jesus—turned against Him. They were offended at His claim to be the Son of God. They even accused Him of blasphemy when He called God His own Father, “making himself equal with God” (John 5:18). After this, they sought to take His life.

An unholy confusion surrounds the question, “To whom should we pray?” Fortunately, in God’s Word, the Bible, we find a very clear answer.

The Parana Bridge

I once stood at the shore of an extraordinarily wide river in Paraguay, the Parana. It originates in Brazil, is some 4,000 km long and, combined with the Rio Uruguay, forms the delta of the Rio de la Plata, with the massive flow rate of 18,000 m³/s—18,000 tonnes of water every second. Standing at the shore of the Parana River, you think you are standing in front of an enormous lake.

Now just imagine that God were on the opposite side of this immensely wide river, and we wanted to go to Him. The current is so strong that not even the best athlete would have the strength to swim across. Not only that, the abundant crocodiles would thwart every attempt to reach the other shore.

Similarly, there is no possible way we can make it on our own to God. So what does God do? He has a bridge built, and tells us, “I have made a bridge for you to reach me. There is only one bridge! If you want to come to me, you must use that bridge, called Jesus; there is no other option!”

Jesus is the only Saviour God has sent!

Jesus is the Saviour, sent by God the Father—that statement is verified often in the New Testament:

• “She (Mary) will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

• “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).

• “I (= Jesus) am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved (John 10:9).

• “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).

Especially provocative in today’s multi-religious society are the words of Jesus in John 14:6: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” But it is precisely this sort of unambiguous clarity which is the hallmark of Jesus.

Jesus is God!

Is Jesus the Son of God or not? That is the most important question of all time, since our eternal destiny depends on it. Not even the most distinguished scholar can answer that question for us, only God Himself in His Word. The following biblical statements (A1–A5) testify that Jesus is God:

A1: The power of Jesus: He forgives sins. Four men were determined to bring their lame friend to Jesus (Mark 2:1–12). There was no way to get to Jesus directly because of the huge crowd. So they made an opening in the roof and lowered the man down. Seeing this, Jesus said to him, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (v. 5). Some of the scribes witnessed this and wondered, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7) They had correctly concluded from the Scripture that only God could forgive sins. They should have logically deduced: He, who is right in front of us, must be God!

A2: The authority of Jesus: Jesus declared in John 5:19: “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” The second part of Jesus’ answer—the assertion that everything the Father does, the Son can do likewise—shows unmistakably that Jesus is God. For who can do everything God does? Only someone who is God Himself!

A3: The worship of Jesus: According to Scripture, only God can be worshipped—no angel, no person, not Mary either, and no saints (Revelation 22:8, 9)! Jesus is worshipped in manifold ways. This verifies, without a doubt, that He is God:

• The wise men from the east came to worship Jesus. “For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him … and they fell down and worshiped him” (Matthew 2:2, 11).

• While Stephen was being stoned he called out to Jesus, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). He was granted a glimpse into Heaven, and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

• When Thomas saw the risen Lord for the first time, he doubted if it really was Jesus. Yet once Thomas saw the nail marks in His hands and the scar on His side, he was convinced Jesus was God and worshipped Him: “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28).

• Of the disciples it is said, “And they worshiped him (= Jesus) and returned to Jerusalem with great joy” (Luke 24:52).

• According to Hebrews 1:6 the entire realm of angels worships Jesus: “Let all God’s angels worship him (Jesus).” Even all creatures in heaven and on earth praise and worship the lamb (= Jesus): “And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’” (Revelation 5:13).

A4: The eternal existence of Jesus and His work in creation: The Gospel of John starts out like this (John 1:1–3): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” The equality with God is made even clearer when we replace “the Word” with “Jesus”. We can do this since in verse 14 we are told that Jesus is the Word, therefore:

In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. Jesus was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Jesus, and without Jesus was not any thing made that was made.

A5: Additional verses that confirm the deity of Jesus:

Romans 9:5: “…Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.” The ‘amen’ reinforces the statement further.

I John 5:20: “… He is the true God and eternal life.” Jesus is thus God in person, and also eternal life in person!

Hebrews 1:8 (citing Psalm 45:6, which says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever” and is here directly applied to Jesus): “But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever … .’”

Revelation 1:8: Who is it that says of Himself in Revelation 1:8: “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty’”? It is our returning Lord, and without a doubt that is Jesus! This means that Jesus is “the Lord God”, and Jesus is “the Almighty”! Jesus is “the Alpha and the Omega”—He is the beginning and the end! In Revelation 15:3, too, in a song of praise to the glory of God, Jesus is proclaimed as the Almighty God: “And they sing ... the song of the Lamb, saying, ‘Great and amazing are your deeds, O  Lord God the Almighty!’”

Without Jesus, we don’t have God the Father!

Some think it is enough to believe in God the Father, and to pray to Him. Is that what the Bible teaches though? A few passages shed light on that question.

• “That all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him” (John 5:23).

• “No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also” (I John 2:23).

• “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18).

Without Jesus, we don’t have eternal life!

We can only get to God the Father and His heavenly kingdom through Jesus, our Lord. God himself decreed that we could only obtain eternal life through Jesus. That is why we read in Romans 3:25 (referring to the Lord Jesus Christ), “whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”

The New Testament emphasizes further:

• Jesus is the only way to the Father: “I (Jesus) am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

• Jesus is the only mediator between God, the Father, and us: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 2:5).

• Jesus is the only saviour: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Let us reaffirm: In order to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven we need Jesus! No other way is possible. The question in our title, “Is Jesus really necessary?“ can therefore be answered with a definite YES—He is absolutely essential! Not one of the other so-called ‘saviours’ fulfills the necessary qualifications except Jesus. He is the one and only Saviour of the world.

How do I cross the bridge?

Back to the Parana bridge mentioned earlier, imagine a hiker who comes across the walkway leading to this bridge, a banner over it proclaiming it as ‘Jesus’. He has heard that there are other bridges. So he sets off downriver and finds several other walkways with labels such as: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jehovah’s Witnesses ... . They all look as if crossing might be possible, yet after a few metres they each come to an end, and the other shore of the wide river remains out of reach. Then he finally decides to step onto the only actual bridge.

In John 16:9 Jesus talks about the greatest transgression, which so many commit, namely the sin that “they do not believe in me”. This reflects the exclusionary nature of the Kingdom of God. Yet you can overcome this, even today, if—figuratively speaking—you were to right now walk across the bridge called ‘Jesus’. This means that you turn to Him in prayer and become a follower of His. In your own words, say a prayer similar to this one, addressing the Saviour, Jesus:

“Lord Jesus Christ, I realize the lost situation I am in because until now I have lived and acted without you. I am deeply distressed about that and plead with you to help me. Please forgive all the wrong things I have done in my life. Till now, my way of life was wrong because I have lived for myself, but from now on I want to follow your path. I invite you to come into my life. Please give me a desire to read your Word and get to know ever more about you, and then help me put into practice what I learn. I thank you with my whole heart that you have freed me from all my sin and that because of you I can now be God’s child forever. Amen.”

Werner Gitt, Ph.D.
Director and Professor (retd.)
www.wernergitt.de

Are You a Good Person?

Most people consider themselves to be good. Some say that they are very industrious and help others. Others claim that they have not done anything really bad, and, therefore, they consider themselves to be good people. But the question that you should ask is: Am I good enough to get into heaven?

You Can Find Out if You Are a Good Person!

You can easily find out by going through the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17).

1. I am the Lord your God…You shall have no other gods before me.

Does God have the first place in your life? Jesus said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37). This love comes before our love for our parents, brothers and sisters, and friends.

2. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

Maybe you have not made idols out of wood or stone, but perhaps you have created a false picture of God in your mind. False images of God block you from coming to the living God.

3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

Have you used God´s name in swearing or have you made fun of God? The Bible says: “The Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” (Exodus 20:7)

4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

Just as God completed creation in six days and rested on the seventh day, we also need a day in the week to rest. We should keep one day in the week to honor God.

5. Honor your father and your mother.

We do not honor our parents if we as children disobey them, talk negatively about them, do not respect them or care for them when they are old.

6. You shall not murder.

You may say that you have not disobeyed this commandment. Think about what Jesus said:

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.´ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ´Raca,´ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ´You fool!´ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matthäus 5,21-22)

John explains further:

“Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.” (I John 3:15)

For God a heart of hatred is just as bad as murder. We can disobey this commandment by having the wrong attitude in our heart.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

The Bible says that adulterers and sexually immoral persons will not enter the kingdom of God. (I Corinthians 6:9). Jesus said:

“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28)

Have you ever looked lustfully at a person of the opposite sex, or actually committed adultery?

8. You shall not steal.

Have you ever taken something from another person without permission (e.g. at work, in school, at home etc.)? Perhaps it was something small. The value of the stolen object is not decisive.

9. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

How often does one have to kill to become a murderer? Only once! In the same way, the person who lies once is a liar. Perhaps you do not consider deception and sneakiness to be serious sins. God views it differently. One single sin, no matter which one, is enough to separate you from God.

10. You shall not covet … anything that belongs to your neighbor.

We should never covet something that belongs to someone else: for example a house, car, money, and certainly not the husband or wife. We should not be jealous of another person´s lifestyle, but rather be satisfied with what we have. Have you kept this commandment?

Taking Stock

Who can claim to have kept all the commandments and is not guilty of breaking one of them? The Bible says:

“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

Do you recognize your condition? Do you admit that you have sinned and are guilty before God? Does the fact that you have sinned against God trouble you?

The Bible says that because of our evil behavior we have become enemies of God (Colossians 1:21) and God´s wrath remains on us (John 3:36). Many people think that God is so good that He will ignore our sins, but that is impossible.

Just imagine that a judge would close his eyes to criminal acts and rape. Would you consider him to be a good judge? No, he would be considered to be corrupt.

God can not be a corrupt judge. Therefore, He will punish all murderers, thieves, adulterers, liars, sorcerers, idol worshippers, blasphemers etc. in hell, the place of eternal damnation. (Revelation 21:8)

Real Love

God does not want you to be eternally lost. He is loving and compassionate. That is why He prepared a way for you to receive forgiveness for your guilt. He invites you to come to Him and to accept His gift of forgiveness and eternal life.

Just imagine you are standing in front of a judge because you have committed multiple offences. The evidence is unmistakable and you have been proven guilty. All your good works in the past cannot compensate for the charges and you are sentenced to pay a fine of 500,000 Euros or sit a prison term. You have only five cents and are not able to pay the fine.

Now imagine that the following happens: There is a stranger in the courtroom who has heard the entire court case. After hearing the sentence, he decides to take the punishment. He pays the fine, the court accepts it because the law has been fulfilled, and you are declared to be a free person. Wouldn´t that be wonderful?

That is exactly what God did for you 2000 years ago! The Bible says that God sent His Son Jesus Christ to this earth. Jesus had never sinned in His entire life. He was innocent, but He took our guilt and punishment when he died on the cross of Calvary. The Bible says:

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Jesus died on the cross for our sins. God accepted this sacrifice and raised Him from the dead. That is why Jesus can say:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

Do you understand how much God loves you? Do you recognize that you are guilty before God and that you need forgiveness? If your answer is “Yes”, do what God says in Acts 3:19:

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.”

Whoever confesses his sin and turns to God will receive forgiveness from his sin. Turn from your sin and put your trust in Jesus.

Real Faith

Many people “believe” that Jesus exists, but they have not accepted Him as their Savior. There is a big difference between believing in your head and real faith.

What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ? It means that you trust Jesus just as a parachutist jumps from an airplane in an altitude of 5,000 meters, and has complete trust in his parachute.

Faith in Jesus is similar to parachute jumping – it is a step of faith. Decide to live your life with Jesus instead of a life in sin. Ask Jesus to forgive your sin, to come into your life and to lead you through life.

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

If you would like to take this step, the following prayer can become your own personal prayer:

“Lord Jesus, thank-you for dying on the cross for my sin. I realize that I need you. Please forgive my sin. I am sorry for my sin. Lord Jesus, today I am deciding to accept you. From this moment on my life belongs to you. I ask you to come into my life. I trust you. Take over the control of my life. The Bible says that whoever accepts you becomes God´s child. I believe that. Thank-you for coming into my life and that I can be your child. Amen.”

It is not important that the prayer is perfectly formulated. It is important that you really mean it. A decision for Jesus takes place in your heart.

After you accept Jesus into your life, God will change you from the inside out. You will think and feel differently. God will give you new strength for your life. Read in your Bible everyday and obey God´s Word. We would be happy to hear from you!

Perhaps you still have some unanswered questions. But remember: You don´t have to understand all the functions of a parachute in order to be able to use it. In an emergency it is better to grab the parachute before taking a parachuting course. You may decided too late and be unprepared for eternity. Do not delay making your decision to trust Jesus. You don´t know how much time you still have to make this decision.

Living Waters Publications

Who has changed the world the most?

Have you ever thought about which person in history has had the greatest influence on the lives of other people? We will search for the one person who has left the deepest impression on human history. Where should for look for such a one? To answer these questions, we will first consider the work of people from different fields.

Would it be one of the great explorers? Among these, the Italian Christopher Columbus (c. 1451–1506) stands out. He was looking for a new sea passage to the East Indies by sailing westwards. In the process, he discovered a part of the earth hitherto unknown to Europeans: America! Millions found a new home here, so that their lives were profoundly altered.

Or consider the inventors. Our modern world was especially revolutionised through one invention—that of the computer. In 1938, the German civil engineer Konrad Zuse (1910–1995) made the world’s first functioning programmable computer. This device has since made a triumphant penetration into all branches of science and administration, thereby significantly transforming the world.

Might our search find its object among the great revolution­aries? In 1917, Lenin (1870–1924) sparked a revolution in Russia and founded the Soviet Union. At the end of World War 2, it reached its greatest extent, covering 22.4 million km2, a seventh of the entire world’s area. The plazas in all of its cities had prominent Lenin memorials. He was the omnipresent ‘God of the Soviet Union’. The idea of communism was meant to conquer the entire world.

From the day of his burial in the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow in January 1924, guards were posted there day and night, rotating hourly. Thousands passed by the glass sarcophagus every day. Brides and grooms went to the mausoleum for their wedding, instead of holding it at a church. But from Wednesday October 6, 1993, the Lenin Mausoleum—the pilgrimage site of commu­nism—was no longer guarded. A report by the Itar-Tass news agency simply stated: “The country’s number one guard post has been closed due to a change in ritual.” The mausoleum has been closed since November 1993.

An ideology had collapsed, one that led to the greatest mass murder and persecution/murder of Christians of all time. The power politics emanating from the former Soviet Union recorded well over 140 million victims. The suffering that communism brought upon the entire world is immeasurable. Russian writer Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky (1821–1881) rightly said, “Those who think they are doing justice by denying Christ will end up drowning the world in blood.”

Many scientists have traversed this planet. Einstein, Planck, Heisenberg, Newton, Darwin, Pavlov, Mendeleyev are just some examples we could name. Darwin helped the theory of evolution to break through. This notion was enthusiastically received by many because it was thought the world could now be explained without God. It has since been refuted by the natural laws of information[1], so it should now be regarded as an error-of-the-century fallacy.

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) is regarded today as the greatest scientist of the 20th century. Irish poet George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) invited him to London for the premiere of one of his plays. On that occasion he delivered the following eulogy on Einstein:

Napoleon and other great men of his type, they were makers of empires,

But there is an order of men who get beyond that.

They are not makers of empires, but they are makers of universes,

And when they have made those universes, their hands are unstained by the blood of any human being on earth.

Ptolemy made a universe that lasted 1400 years .

Newton also made a universe which has lasted 300 years. 

Einstein has made a universe, and I can’t tell you how long that will last.

Finally, let us contemplate the philosophers. We here encounter a formidable list of names: Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, Locke, Hegel, Nietzsche, and more. Marx is credited with saying: “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.” In the countries of the former Soviet bloc, his ideas were elevated to be the basis for the state, economy and society. After the collapse of commu­nism, the extent of their destructive influence became apparent—in the state and the economy, but also in the souls of the people.

Let’s take stock for a moment:

All of the people mentioned above have changed the world. Some did so in a very positive way and others in an extremely negative way. But of all who have ever walked this earth, who has changed the world the most? Who gets the super gold medal, one not followed by any silver or bronze award? First, let’s name the criteria by which we will judge:

• Who has brought the greatest and most far-reaching help to people?

• Whose statements have never gone out of date, and his teaching is still highly relevant today?

• Who has personally intervened for each one of us?

• Whose work is effective for each of us today?

• Who has so deeply impacted my own life that I, as author, would write the text you are reading? Columbus? Goethe? Copernicus?

With the bar set so high, only one remains. He is the one we now want to hear about. His CV—as will be seen—is clearly not exceptional. Nevertheless, this person is the only one whose impact reaches directly into all of our lives. Who could this person be?

An anonymous writer sketched this man’s life something like this:

• He was born in a remote village as the child of a craftsman’s wife. He grew up In another village and worked in a small workshop, until he was thirty years old. Then he wandered the countryside for three years, telling people what he thought was important.

• He did none of the things we normally associate with greatness and recognition.

• He was only thirty-three years old when public opinion turned against him. That was surprising, because he helped a lot of people.

• His friends ran away from him.

• He was handed over to his enemies, and had to endure a mock trial.

• He was sentenced to death, although no one could prove him guilty.

• He was nailed alive to a cross between two robbers.

• While he was dying, his executioners rolled dice for his clothes, which were his only earthly possessions.

• When he was dead, they placed him in a borrowed grave. A friend provided it for him out of pity.

Who is this man

with this particular biography?

• Twenty centuries have now passed, and to this day he remains the central figure of humanity and the engine of its advancement.

• All the armies that ever marched and all the fleets that ever sailed have not accomplished what he did in three years.

• All the parliaments that have ever met, and all the kings that have ever reigned, put together, have not influenced the lives of the people of this planet as much as this unique man.

That is Jesus!

Let us now focus on the question: So who is this Jesus?

More than 60,000 biographies have been written about him. No person in world history has been portrayed as often. Napoleon apparently said of him: “People will talk about him [= Jesus] forever, and people will die for him. No one will speak of me [= Napoleon] anymore, and no one will die for me.”

No one had to die for Jesus. He never demanded it of anyone, but nonetheless countless thousands of people throughout history have voluntarily gone to their deaths because they did not want to deny him—and this continues to our day. People were compelled to die for Napoleon, but now no one goes to their death for him.

1. Jesus is the Son of God

At his baptism, a voice sounded from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). If the voice speaks of his Son, then the One who speaks the words must be his Father. This voice came from heaven—it came from God himself! And on the Mount of Transfiguration, God speaks out of the cloud: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him” (Mark 9:7).

When Jesus was interrogated before the council of elders, the high priest asked him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God” (Matthew 26:63). Jesus professed to this in His response: “You have said so” (Matthew 26:64).

2. Jesus is the Creator

The Bible begins with the words: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The word for God here is the Hebrew ‘elohim’, which is a plural noun. The cre­ation account itself makes it clear that God, the Father, is not the sole agent in creation: “Let us make man” (Genesis 1:26). In the New Testament the ‘who’ regarding creation is more precisely unfolded. Thus, according to 1 Corinthians 8:6, Jesus Christ is clearly involved in the work of creation: “Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we exist.”

Hebrews 1:2 says: “… through whom [= Jesus] also he [= God] created the world”. The beginning of the Gospel of John also documents that everything has its origin in Jesus: “All things were made through him [= the Word = Jesus], and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). In Colossians 1:16–17 we read further about Jesus’ creatorship: “For by him [= Jesus Christ] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” In our visible, material world, there is nothing that was not created through Jesus. The huge cosmos with its millions upon millions of galaxies is included here, as well as the finest details making up a living cell, or the structural composition of an atom.

But Jesus is not only the Creator, He is also the Sustainer of this world. Everything has its continuance in Him. The world has not been left to itself after its creation, but through His powerful Word He also sustains and maintains it. So we do not need to fear a cosmic catastrophe from a collision of stars, or the burning out and cooling down of the sun. Jesus sustains the world until His return.

As Creator, Jesus is thus also the Lord over all things: He both devised and instituted the laws of nature. Therefore, He can also override them as needed. We then call such actions miracles:

Stilling of the storm (Mark 4:35–41): While Jesus was travel­ling on a boat with the disciples on the Sea of Galilee, a violent storm arose. He was asleep on board, but the disciples saw themselves near death. When they woke Jesus, His short rebuke of the wind and waves was enough for them to immediately fall silent. He has power over the laws of nature.

Raising of Lazarus (John 11:1–45): From the perspective of Mary and Martha, Jesus came to Bethany too late to heal the sick Lazarus. Lazarus had already died, but for Jesus there is no being late. He issued the two commands, “Take away the stone”, and “Lazarus, come out”. That was enough to bring the dead Lazarus back to life.

3. Jesus is the unique one

Of all who ever passed through this world, Jesus is the unique and incomparable one, whom no one can imitate.

He is the only God; none of the gods claimed by various religions has visited our world as He did. In John 5:19 Jesus says, “For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” This statement by Jesus that He can do all that the Father does unmistakably shows that Jesus is God. For who can do all that God does? Only the one who is Himself God! Through my believing in this Jesus, God has met me!

He is the only one whose biography was made known centuries in advance. He is the only one of whom His birthplace, His nature and His works, and the circumstances and details of His death, were precisely foretold and also set down in writing.

He is the only one who remained without sin (1 John 3:5).

He is the only one who conquered death through His resur­rection, so that now it is true: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54b–55).

He is the only one who gave Himself over to death out of love for us: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

He is the only ruler whose kingdom will be everlasting: “... his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him” (Daniel 7:27b).

He is the only one who has revealed to us how world history will end one day. His coming again will be the conclusion. And then it will be confirmed that I have made the right decision in this life.

He is the only one who shows us the way to heaven. In John 14:6, He says in very unequivocal fashion: “I am the [only] way, and the [only] truth, and the [eternal] life; no one comes to the Father [to heaven] except through me.” Numerous other verses also speak with this unmistakable clarity, of which we select only two examples here:

“Whoever believes in the Son [of God] has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son [of God] shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36).

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name [but Jesus] under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Who has changed

the world the most?

The question we asked at the beginning can now be easily answered. With His words: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” Jesus indicates that His message of salvation is addressed to all people worldwide. Everyone is invited: “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37). Now all that matters is that we entrust our lives to this Lord in faith, and consistently walk with Him. I explain how you can do this in a very practical way at wernergitt.de/turning.

No one, other than Jesus alone, has done greater things for us human beings—thereby He has not only changed me, but has also changed our world the most.

Director and Professor (retired)

Dr Werner Gitt Ph.D.

Information scientist

wernergitt.com