How is Jesus different from other religious leaders and so-called deities of the world?

“Just consider how great He was”. Hebrews 7:4 (a)

Do you know no other person is even comparable to Christ? He is so great and unique in Himself.

1. No other claims on the table like Jesus’s claims.

No one ever had an audacity and confidence to claim oneself as God like Jesus did! Just think about this one point. Jesus said in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” When Jews heard this statements they picked up stones to stone Him because they understood Jesus claimed Himself as God. When He said ‘I and the Father are one”, what is he meant? He meant He and the Father are same in nature and essence. Jews didn’t like His claim. John 14:19 says Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Jesus was answering the question of Phillip who said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” In other words, Phillip wanted to see God. Jesus was saying to him He and Father are the same. Those who have seen Jesus has seen the Father God. It is that simple. Do you want to see God, take a long look at Jesus. Read the Bible, especially the four Gospels in the Bible that describes the work of Christ. No other religious leaders including Muhammad, Buddha or Joseph Smith never claimed themselves as God or equal to God. Jesus is unique and standing alone on this claim.

2. No other religious leaders claimed they lived in the past eternity

No other religious leaders ever claimed they lived before in the past. John 8:48-59 describes a conversation between Jesus and the Jews. Jews asked Jesus, “Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself to be? Jesus answered, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad. So the Jews said to him, “you are not fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, “Truly Truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” In other words, Jesus was claiming He was in existence even before the days of Abraham. (Abraham was lived about two thousand years before). This shows the pre-existence of Christ in the eternity past. Bible declares this about Jesus, ” He is before all things, and in him, all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:17)
All other religious leaders were just men who lived, got sick and died one day and never rose again. Their grave sites and closed tombs are still in this world to visit. None of them risen again from the dead proving victory over sin and death except Jesus Christ.

3. No other religious leaders claimed they are the truth and the life nor they claimed they are the only way to God.

No other religious leaders ever said they are the only one way, the truth and the life. Bible records what Jesus said in John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” All other religious leaders showed certain principles (like Buddha) or pointed to God (like Muhammed pointed to Allah. But the difference is Jesus said He is the way to God. He was not giving certain good principles or showing how you might be able to know God. He said He Himself is the only way to God. In other words, He stated He is the only one way (no other way to God the Father), He is the truth (means you will find the truth only in Jesus), and He is the life (means He is the source of life and source of real life can be found and enjoyed only in Him). Watch what Jesus said after this. He said, “no one comes to the Father but through Me.” In other words, you will never come to God the Father except through Jesus Christ. There is only one way to God the Father and that is Christ Jesus.

3. No other religious leaders claimed they never sinned or had no sin in them

No other religious leaders ever claimed or could ever claim that they never sinned, knew no sin or no sin inside them. But listen what the disciples of Jesus testified about Him. Peter said in 1 Peter 2:22 “He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth.” Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” And finally 1 John 3:5 says, “He (Jesus) appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin.” Jesus was unique and great in every sense of the word. Jesus is the only one person who lived a perfect and sinless life. Jesus challenged the followers with this question, “Which one of you convicts Me of sin?” (John 8:45-47). Yes, Jesus is the only person who lived a sinless life and that is why He became the perfect savior of human beings and Bible says in Hebrews 7:25, “Therefore, He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him.”

4. No other religious leaders said they came to give their life as a ransom for people’s sins.

No other religious leaders ever said their life was given as a ransom for people’s sin. Listen what Jesus said about the purpose of His incarnation and life. He said and the Bible says this in Matthew 20:28, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus came to give His life as a ransom for the sins of the people. John the Baptist said by looking at Jesus in chapter 1:29, ““Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” No other religious leaders were testified by others like this unique testimony. The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world! Great testimony about Jesus.

 

5. No other religious leaders promised eternal life in heaven like Jesus did. No one else warned about hell like Jesus either because He doesn’t want you to go to there.

Jesus words and the Bible proves the fact that the eternal life in heaven is not based on your works. All other so-called religions are based on your good deeds and the people who adhere to their teachings are never sure if they would go to heaven. No assurance of heaven for them. It is just a matter of how many good things you did over the bad things. But Christ and the Bible give assurance of heaven if you call upon Jesus Christ in prayer for salvation. What Christ offers has nothing to do with your goodness or good works. It is everything to do with Christ and His offer of free salvation based on what He already accomplished for you on the cross- He paid all your debts, died, buried and risen again for your sins. Christianity is totally different from all other religions. In fact, Christianity is not a religion because religion is just a set of rules (do’s and don’ts) and it will never save you. Christianity is based on your personal trust and relationship on the only Savior (Jesus Christ) who accomplished what you cannot and will not do by yourself. He paid it all for you. Now you believe in Him and ask Him to save you. That is all you need to do. Bible is clear in its point that salvation and eternal life in heaven are not based on good works but we are saved and granted eternal life to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. Even our good works which are the result of God’s love and salvation are prepared by God in advance for us to do. In other words, good works are the fruits and results of God’s work in our life, a result of our salvation. Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Bible records what Jesus said in John 10:28, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand”. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” You see Jesus said in an authoritative voice, “I give them eternal life”. Who gives eternal life in heaven? Jesus Christ!
He said in John 3:16 how one can obtain eternal life in heaven. Listen his words very carefully. He said “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son (Christ), that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” These are the words of Jesus. Many Bible translations quoted the words of Jesus in red color to make sure you understand it came from Jesus’s mouth. It says “Whoever believes in Him (Jesus) shall not perish but have eternal life.” It doesn’t say whoever believes in Him and then do karma or good deeds have eternal life. Only one condition whoever put his or her belief and trust in Jesus Christ already was granted eternal life. The present tense verb ‘have’ means if you accept Christ as your savior (by accepting Him as your savior and asking Him to save you) you are granted eternal life immediately. And you have it now. It will not be taken away from you no matter what. The moment you accept Christ as your savior by confessing your sins and asking Him to save you, you are eternally secure. You will not perish which means you will not go to hell. Period! Think about it! This is the truth of the good news or Gospel. Jesus continued to say in John 3:17, God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him (Christ). Whoever believes in Him (Christ) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in Him stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:17-18). If you believe Him and ask Him to forgive your sins and save you, you will never be condemned for your wrongdoings or sins. You are eternally saved and granted eternal life in heaven. That is the salvation you need and such is the savior you need for your salvation and assurance of eternal life. No other religious leaders or deities can or will give you this promise and assurance of your eternal security. Jesus has the authority and power to save you from your sins, bondages and finally from the horrible place called hell. Nothing else but the blood of Christ which was shed for your sake can save you and grant you eternal life. Today may be the day you will never forget and you can have the assurance and joy of salvation and eternal security and eternal life, if you pray with me to accept Christ as your savior. I will give an opportunity to do the same down below. Please don’t forget to do that.

6. All other religious leaders are mere men and they never exercised authority over nature, people, demons, Satan or death.

As I mentioned above all other religious leaders are one hundred percent men. None of them were God or claimed to be God. But Bible attests and claim Jesus was one hundred percent man and one hundred percent, God. Only such hypostatic union can grant salvation for people and deliver from their sins. Only such a union can declare war with the kingdom of darkness (kingdom of Satan) and rescue people from it and transfer them to God’s kingdom of love. How do I know Jesus was 100% man and 100% God? Read the four Gospels in the Bible. You will see how soon Jesus switches from His human nature to His God nature. He got hungry but He blessed five loaves and two fishes and fed five thousand men. Women and children are not included in the count. The total number would have been over ten thousand. But after all of them ate and satisfied, they gathered the leftover food and filled twelve baskets. Jesus wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus and then the very next moment He commanded Lazarus to come forth. Lazarus though He was dead for four days with stinking smell came back to life. Another time He was sleeping in a boat as he was traveling with the disciples. Due to great waves and storms boat was about to sink. When they wake Jesus up, He commanded to the waves and storms, ‘Be still’ and the waves and storms immediately stopped. A woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years and had spent all her money to physicians but never got healed came and touched the border of Jesus cloth with full faith that if she just touches the end of his cloth, she would get healed. Jesus was walking with a huge multitude but when she touched the border of His cloth with faith in Him she was instantly healed. (Luke 8:43-48). You will come across many incidents of Jesus miraculously healing sick people, delivering the demon possessed from their bondage. Jesus had control over nature, people, sickness, demons, Satan and death. He was one hundred percent God and when He came into this world to rescue you and me He had to take the form of a one hundred percent man as well to pay for our sins once and for all. Only a Man-God could pay and deliver us from our sins and reconcile us to the Holy God. That was His mission. He accomplished this mission fully and completely on the cross of Calvary by His death, burial and resurrection. Philippians 2:6-11 says He was God and He became a man, became a servant, humbled Himself and suffered death, even death on a cross to save you and me and reconcile us to God the Father.

7. No other religious leaders have an empty tomb showing they are not there in the tomb. But Jesus does.

Above all the resurrection of Jesus Christ sets Him apart from all other religious leaders or deities. Every other major religious leaders grave site can be visited by the followers. You can name these religious superheroes of the world one by one. But there is only one person who ever lived in this world claimed that He will rise again after 3 days of his crucifixion and indeed did as He said and His tomb is still empty. Scholars agree there are strong evidences of empty tomb. D.H. Daalen said, “It is extremely difficult to object to the empty tomb on historical grounds; those who deny it do so on the basis of theological or philosophical assumptions.” Pilate, the Roman ruler, gave orders for the grave to be made secure. He said place a guard; go, make the tomb as secure as you may know how. After the burial, they rolled a huge stone against the entrance of the tomb. A guard, a huge stone that apparently cannot be moved and thirdly the tomb was secured by the Roman seal. Matthew 27:66 says, “And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.” This seal is a sign that the tomb of Jesus was under the power, control, and authority of the then superpower of the world – the Roman Empire. If anyone breaks the seal of the Roman seal, he would be under the punishment of death. Why did they make the tomb secure this fashion? Because of Jesus’s prior claim several times that He would rise again after three days. They couldn’t make the tomb more secure than they did. A guard was placed to watch the tomb of Jesus in addition to Roman Seal and a huge stone was placed in front of the tomb. If the guard was a Roman guard then that means it was 16 men. Each man was responsible for their allotted sphere of space around the area of the tomb. A Roman guard could not sleep without being beaten, burned and killed when working as a guard. If slept not only he but also all the other 16 men would face the death penalty. Such is the severity of the job. Bible says on the third day when Mary and few other women, and then the scared and fearful disciples hearing the news about the resurrection of Christ came to the tomb, the big stone was already moved and Jesus rose from the death.

8. Who moved the big stone in front of the tomb of Jesus and what happened to the guards and Roman seal?

Who moved the huge stone? What happened to the Roman seal and what happened to the guard who was watching the tomb? Roman Government won’t move the stone or move the body because it was their decision as well to crucify Jesus. They won’t do it? The guards won’t do it because they would be acting against the Roman government and that means their death sentences. The disciples of Jesus won’t do it. Because their leader, Jesus, was crucified by the Jews and the Roman rulers and these poor disciples were so afraid. The Bible says in John 20:19 the disciples were together and afraid and their doors were locked because of their fear of the Jews. They couldn’t even go outside and walk freely. They won’t have the courage to go to the tomb where the Roman guards are watching the tomb.
The question is who moved the stone? How the tomb of Jesus became empty? Nobody can give an answer to this question, right? However, Bible gives the answer to this question in Matthew 28:2-8, “And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.”

Did you read the account above slowly and carefully? These are the order of things happened on the resurrection morning.

• A severe earthquake had occurred for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
• The appearance of the angel was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow.
• The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men- In other words, they couldn’t do anything.
• The angel said to the women “do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He Has risen, Just as he said.
• Come, see the place where He was lying.
• Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead
• He (Jesus) going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him.
• They left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples

The truth is this – God raised Christ from the death because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him. Bible declares this in Acts 2:24, “But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” Peter boldly declared this truth in front of the Jews and other people and in that single preaching three thousand people believed and accepted Christ as their Savior. Once a fearful disciple, even in front of slave girl, the one who denied Jesus three times. Where did he get the boldness and courage to speak like this? What was the reason for the courage and boldness of all disciples? Because they were the first hand witnesses of Christ’s resurrection. If you read the book of Acts in the Bible, you will be amazed to discover the secret of how these afraid, scared disciples got boldness in preaching about Christ. Resurrection of Jesus Christ was the reason for their boldness.

As I mentioned above, no other comparable claims from any other so called religious leaders can be documented in the above fashion. The claims of Jesus and Bible are unique. God loves you and want to save you and bring you into fellowship with Him by cleansing you from all your sins, iniquities and transgressions. He loves you so much that He gave His only begotten son to die for your sake, for your sins on the cross. This is the good news of the Gospel. It doesn’t matter what background you are from. You may be poor, rich, unhealthy, sick, girl, boy, man, woman, professional, non professional. Or you are born in a Hindu family, Muslim family, Buddhist family, or you  are coming from another religious background. Bible is not asking you to change your religion. You see, the religion will  not save or get you ‘moksha’. You need to  know who Jesus is and what He has uniquely achieved for you and for your future. Simply you need the Savior who is powerful enough to save you and protect you here on this earth and  take you to heaven when you die. That savior is Lord Jesus Christ. You an come home to living God in and through Christ with a simple prayer. Will you pray after me?

“God, I come to you in prayer. I accept Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. I believe Jesus died, buried and risen from my sins. Please forgive  my sins and make me your child. Thank you for saving me. Amen”.

If you prayed this prayer, I declare with the authority of the Bible and the living God, you just now became a child of God. You are granted eternal life in heaven and all your sins – past, present and future are forgiven.  Please locate a Bible teaching and preaching church in your area and start attending to grow in the Lord and Bible. Kindly visit www.teachbible.org and go to contact/prayer  tab and send me a note. I will be thrilled to hear from you. Thank you.