Anthropology shows that most people around the world believe in the existence of God. However, the belief that God exists does not answer the most important questions about life. Why we were created, how are we are supposed to live and what happens after we die? People throughout history have tried to answer these questions, but their efforts have resulted in numerous contradictory theories. The truth is that nobody can figure out what God is thinking unless He speaks to us directly. I am convinced Jesus is the handwritten letter from heaven that reveals the specific thoughts of God. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). These four reasons to trust in Jesus help to settle any doubt that He is God.
You Can Trust in Jesus Because of His Teachings
Even the most hardened skeptics must concede that Jesus was a brilliant teacher. He was a master storyteller who made challenging concepts easy to understand. However, the power of His teachings extends well beyond just technique. Jesus introduced revolutionary concepts that are still being practiced today by people who don’t even believe in Him, such as turn the other cheek and treat others the way you want to be treated. Unfortunately, there have been many people with delusions of deity over the centuries. However, the teachings of Jesus don’t sound like the words from a person who needed psychiatric help. When we study the words of Jesus, we find that He was nothing short of an ethical genius.
The people were amazed that Jesus had so much wisdom without having received any formal training. People tend to place confidence in teachers based on their level of education. However, Jesus wanted the people to understand that His teachings had great insights because they came directly from God. He told the crowds, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me” (John 7:16). Also, the scribes always taught based on the authority of Scripture, but Jesus often appealed to Himself as the authority of His teachings. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also” (Matthew 5:38–39).
Anybody who wanted to know if His teachings really came from God had one way to find out—try them on for size and watch what happens. He told the people, “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:17). First-century eyewitnesses had never seen or heard anybody teach with such insight, wisdom, and authority, and no teacher has come close ever since.
You Can Trust in Jesus Because of His Lifestyle
Imagine during the next presidential campaign the two candidates square off during a nationally televised debate. After a series of policy discussions, the debate gets heated as the candidates question each other’s moral character. How would the crowd respond if one of the candidates claimed to have lived a perfectly moral life? The audience would likely throw tomatoes at the candidate, who would probably lose the election in a landslide. We need to interview only a few people from the candidate’s past to uncover many interesting moral failures.
However, I find it fascinating that no tomatoes were thrown at Jesus when He made the same claim. One day Jesus stood among a group of people, including some of His enemies, and asked the most astonishing question. “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” (John 8:46). Amazingly, nobody stepped forward to make an honest claim that Jesus had sinned. Instead, even His enemies in the crowd remained silent. The way Jesus lived should garner the admiration of every truth seeker. He did not allow the cultural customs and prejudices to deter Him from loving people, associate with Samaritans, and respect the dignity of women. Jesus lived a perfectly moral life.
You Can Trust in Jesus Because of the Way He Died
What a person truly values will come to the surface during their final moments before dying. Jesus did not have a peaceful experience with family and friends in a comfortable environment before taking His last breath. He was gruesomely beaten and abused, both physically and psychologically, for several hours before being slammed against a wooden cross. The Roman soldiers stood around and mocked Jesus as He hung naked and unrecognizable. I don’t know about you, but if something like that even came close to happening to me, I would probably curse my enemies.
However, words can’t describe the moral capacity to love that Jesus showed on the cross. When everything was on the line and Jesus experienced His moment of crisis, He practiced what He preached by extending the most profound gesture of love the world has ever seen. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). When people understand the magnitude of Christ’s love He demonstrated toward His enemies while dying on the cross, those who really want to know God must respond as the centurion officer who witnessed these events unfold: “Surely He was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54).
You Can Trust in Jesus Because of the Resurrection
Jesus had many impressive qualities, but nothing was more significant than His bodily resurrection from the dead. The resurrection of Christ stands alone as the most powerful and conclusive piece of evidence that affirms the credibility of Jesus. He promised eternal life to anyone who believes in Him and backed it up with an historical resurrection from the dead. Paul was so confident in the veracity of the resurrection that he hinged the entire Christian faith on that one singular event. “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). In short, the historical resurrection of Christ from the dead served to vindicate His claims that He is the way, the truth, and the life.
To underscore the truthfulness of this historical event, consider what happened after the disciples saw Jesus risen from the dead. James, the younger brother of Jesus, did not believe his brother was the Messiah until after he saw the risen Christ. Thomas was not willing to believe anymore until after he saw Jesus risen. Peter, who just days earlier had denied knowing Jesus because he was terrified at the prospect of being persecuted, transformed into a bold preacher of the gospel. In fact, all of the disciples became faithful missionaries for the remainder of their lives after seeing Christ risen from the dead. The disciples did not die martyrs’ deaths based on what they believed. Instead, they were willing to die based on what they claimed to have seen—the dead Christ risen!
There’s lots of chaos in the wold, so how do we know that Jesus is trustworthy? These four reasons to trust in Jesus are more than convincing. His teachings were revolutionary. He lived a sinless life. He died loving His enemies. And, of course, He rose from the dead.
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