THE DIFFERENCE

   And after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist to begin His ministry, what was there about Jesus that attracted so many people?
   Jesus had no special credentials, from an earthly point of view.  He was not educated at the finest schools in Jerusalem or in Rome.  He was not from an influential family.  Based on appearance, Jesus was (as we might say today) just an average Joe.  He looked and acted like everybody in society.
   When Jesus said, "Follow me", twelve men immediately left their jobs, followed and remained with Him for over three years.  Were these men not normal?  Did they lose their minds?  Why follow a man whom they had never seen before?
    As Jesus went forth teaching and preaching, hundreds of people believed in Jesus and they, too, became disciples of the Lord and told others about Him.
    At the same time, there were other people who did not like Jesus.  They did not like people talking about Him.  They did not enjoy hearing about this man from Nazareth healing sick people, raising the dead, walking on water, and feeding thousands from a boy's lunch basket. 
   Not only did these people not like Jesus, but they wanted to get rid of Him.  They wanted Him dead.
   Why seek the death penalty for a man who did not break any civil or religious law?  Does that kind of mentality even meet common sense?
   And after the death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord, thousands of people in Jerusalem fell on their knees and trusted in the name of Jesus for their salvation as the disciples and apostles preached in the city.
   As the disciples and apostles departed Jerusalem to take the good news of Christ to the world, thousands of people trusted in the name of Jesus for their salvation from a person they had never seen, never heard of before. 
   Over the past two thousands years, millions of people have trusted in the name of Jesus for our salvation from a person we have never seen.
   And across these same two thousand years, millions of Christians have been killed for no more than teaching and preaching the name of Jesus.
   Even today, millions of people hate the name of Jesus, a person they have never seen.  And out of these people who hate Jesus, they also hate us who speak and write about Him---many of whom are also church people!  Can you believe that?  It's true!  Many people in Christian churches and Christian religions do not trust in the name of Jesus for their salvation, yet they attend church on a regular basis and they even say they are Christians, but they do not like for us to speak or write about Jesus outside of church.
   What, then, is the difference about Jesus?  Why do so many people have faith in a person we have never seen?  Why do we believe the words that are written about Him in the Holy Bible?  Could it be that Jesus is not an average Joe?
   The difference between Jesus and us is the Holy Spirit.  It is the Holy Spirit who reveals the truth of Christ to our minds, for this difference is spiritual, not physical.  Even for people who hate the Lord and hate Christians, they know that Christ is real because of His revelation by the Holy Spirit:  for it is impossible to hate something or someone if it is not real. 
    People, therefore, reject Christ for their salvation because of pride.  They are proud of themselves and proud that they are above the idea that all of us are sinners.  They are proud of their churches and proud of their religions and they believe that their connection to a church or a religion is all they need to go to heaven when they die.  They trust in themselves and for their own good works, purging themselves of their sins through their acceptance of the traditions, rites, and rituals written in their minds by men.  They are believing in things they can physically see, not in the invisible Christ.
   As for the future, believers of Christ are looking for and anticipating His return:  a person we have never seen before! 
   Until then, we are going to continue speaking and writing about Him, "the author and finisher of our faith".  And when He comes, we will know Him and He will know us.  The invisible Christ will become visible, and even people who reject Him will also see Him.