(This post is a follow-up to “The Messiah”)

From what I have read, he did not meet the criteria in the Old Testament (as you guys call it).  I have talked to deeply religious christians about this, and they can quote me Scripture all day long; however, since the Bible and Jesus are the most important things in their lives, you would think they would have done research on the historical origins of the Bible and the historic evidence of Jesus during the years of 1-60 AD, but I found in every single case without exception the same attitude of "I know nothing, and I do not want to know".  One nurse I work with told me, "I do not need evidence; I just believe."  Why do you think they call it blind faith?!

If you really think the New Testament is truly the word of God and not manmade, that means it all would make perfect sense, and there would not be any inconsistencies, and the more you learn, the more you will find out nothing is more obvious.

Plus, if we are right, then you guys are worshiping falsely and, therefore, are doomed under your own belief system.  The whole thing, in my opinion, comes down to our God-given gift of reason and common sense.

How would you respond if Muslims and Mormons told you they are the only way to God, and if you do not buy into it, you are doomed?

Can we not just respect each other?  If you know something I don’t and have historic proof and real evidence and not just blind faith, I would love to see it!

Sincerely,
Of A Friendly Faith

Dear Of A Friendly Faith,

It is an absolute travesty that no one has ever given you a better reason for believing in Jesus than blind faith.  We here at AYP believe that Jesus is the Christ because of the evidence – not in spite of it!  To save space, we are going to point you toward a couple of previous posts to read.  For information on the authenticity of the Bible and its divine origins, we recommend reading our posts “Who Wrote The Bible?” and perusing our evidences section of the AskYourPreacher archives.  God meant it when He told us to “come and reason together” with Him (Isa 1:18).  The more you dig into it, the more staggering the evidence is that the Bible was written by God.

The same goes for Jesus.  When the apostles first began preaching Jesus as the Christ, they did it to Jews who knew their Bibles.  The biggest stumbling block for every Jew was that Jesus died on a cross – something none of them believed would ever happen to the Messiah (Gal 5:11).  However, the apostles proved that the Bible did teach that the Messiah would have to suffer (Acts 26:22-23).  The apostles quoted verses like Ps 16:10 (used by Peter in Acts 2:25-31) and Isa 53:5-11 (used by Philip in Acts 8:32-35).  The Old Testament taught that the Messiah would suffer and die on a cross, and Jesus did that very thing.  We highly recommend reading The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel for further details on the evidence that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah.  Hopefully this gives you some evidence to whet your appetite; please feel free to continue to correspond with us as further questions arise.

God, I think, had predestined Judas' path from the foundation of the world.  Afterward, he hung himself.  Why is he called a traitor?  How else would Jesus have died on the cross for our sins?  This is hard to digest.   Help.

Sincerely,
Flummoxed

Dear Flummoxed,

There is a difference between knowing what someone will do and making them do it.  If you see a baseball player hit a ball high into the air, you know that it will eventually come down – and you might even be able to predict fairly accurately where it will land.  Wisdom and experience allow us to predict quite a few things… now imagine how accurately God can predict things (Pr 2:6)!

Judas had a choice just like all of us do (Deu 30:19).  Jesus died for the sins of the whole world (Jhn 3:16) – even Judas could have taken advantage of it.  Jesus warned Judas of the consequences of betraying Him at the Last Supper (Matt 26:24-25).  Even as Judas betrayed Jesus to the mob, Jesus pleaded with him (Lk 22:48).  If Judas had no choice, then Jesus’ admonitions make no sense.

If Judas hadn’t betrayed Christ, God would have still caused His plan to come together… just like Mordecai said in Esther 4:14, “Deliverance would have arisen from another place”.  If Judas had done the right thing, God’s plan wouldn’t have been stopped.

While on earth in human form, did Jesus know everything?

Sincerely,
Smarty Pants

Dear Smarty Pants,

No, Jesus didn’t know everything while here on Earth.  When Jesus was a child, He grew and learned things just like every other child (Lk 2:52).  When discussing the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus specifically said that He wasn’t aware when the Father would destroy that city (Matt 24:36).  When He was in His physical body, Jesus suffered and dealt with every weakness and struggle that we do (Heb 4:15)… including not always knowing what would happen next.

I have been studying the topics of repentance and restitution.  It is clear that God expected restitution in the Old Testament – Deu 22:19, 22:29 Neh 5:10-11, Lev 24:18, Ex 21:32, Ex 22 to name a few, but I find only one scripture in the New Testament (Luke 19:8-9 about Zaccheus).  And he was not under the New Covenant at the time.  So I am not sure it really proves God's will on restitution today.  What is the New Testament teaching on restitution?  If someone repents of stealing, cheating, destroying others’ property, etc., are they required to right the wrong to the degree that they can?  Or as the one sinned against, are we to "turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, hand over the other cloak", forgive and not ask restitution?

Sincerely,
Pay Back

Dear Pay Back,

If christians are sinned against, we should turn the other cheek and go the extra mile (Matt 5:39-42).  When a christian repents of stealing, cheating, etc., first and foremost, he must steal no more (Eph 4:28).  However, repentance involves more than just stopping a behavior – repentance is a change of mindset.  As you mentioned, Zacchaeus epitomized that heart of repentance (Lk 19:7-9).  The Bible never specifically says how much a christian should do to make restitution… and it would be unwise to make specific rules where the Lord hasn’t.  Many concepts in the Bible are a matter of principle and not a specific rule.  As we try to imitate Christ (1 Cor 11:1), issues like these often come down to simply asking the question, “What would Jesus do?”  Genuine repentance leads to a desire to rectify our wrongs whenever such means are possible.

Where in the Bible does it say God’s ways are not our ways (if it does)?  Also, where does it say God does not ask for more than we can give?  I'm not good at English, so Scriptures that are similar would work if the questions aren’t clear enough.  Thank you very much.

Sincerely,
Verse Searcher

Dear Verse Searcher,

The first verse you are looking for is Isaiah 55:8-9.  That particular verse stands as a constant reminder that God has unique wisdom and insight into life’s purpose.

The second verse is found in 2 Corinthians 8:12.  The context of that passage is dealing with financial giving, but the principle would apply to every area of life.

Hope that helps.