Read Mark 13-16
But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” – Mark 14:61-62 , NIV
The Lord Jesus up to this point had been unwilling to answer the ridiculous charges and false accusations that the Sanhedrin had been making against Him. But when the High Priest point blank asks if He is the Son of God, Jesus states clearly that He is and that one day He will be the judge of the whole world. It is unmistakable to miss the clarity of Jesus’ statements about Himself. He does not see Himself as a good religious teacher or one of many prophets, but He understands Himself to be God. He is of the same essence as the Almighty. He knows that this will infuriate the Jews so much that they will seek to kill Him in their desire to protect the reputation of God. They will, in killing Him, be bringing about the plan of God to save all those who would believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
We do not believe in Jesus, because His principles are superior to other religious teachers (even though they are). We believe in Jesus, because He is God and He was willing to experience death, so our sins could be removed from us. We believe in Christ as God and as our only hope of heaven and of reconciliation with God. We believe that Christ will come back to this earth again one day, when all those who will believe, have believed.
If you have not told God that you are ready to believe in Him, now is a good time to do that. Just pray this type of prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for coming to this world and living a perfect life and being willing to give up your perfect life for my sins. Thank you for being willing to take my sins so I could begin to have a direct connection with you. I want you to take my sins, mistakes, selfishness and rebelliousness and make me the kind of person you want me to be. Thank you again. Amen.
- Gil Stieglitz is the Executive Pastor at Adventure Christian Church
