Everybody Ought To Know

Behold the Lamb of God (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today Christians all over the world are  celebrating Palm Sunday, the commemoration of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, just a few days before He was crucified. Every year my church puts on an Easter Cantata to portray this historic event. This year the theme  was "Everybody ought to know" based on the chorus by that name. And as I watched the old, familiar events played out before me, I thought what a wonderful way to present the Savior to those who know, as well as, those who don't know Him.


So, let me ask you, do you know who Jesus is? In case you don't know, Jesus is:


1. The Savior of the world. 


He came to this earth as a little babe, born to a virgin named Mary, who was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. However, Jesus was not conceived through the union of Mary and Joseph. The Bible says, "Behold , a virgin shall be with child , and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is , God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:  And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS." ( Matthew 1 : 23 - 25).  Isaiah 33: 22 says,  "For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us."


2. The spotless lamb of God.


"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith , Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1 : 29).  In the Old Testament, God commanded the children of Israel to sacrifice a lamb as an atonement for their sins. But the lamb always had to be without spot or blemish.  "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats" ( Exodus 12 : 5). After the children of Israel were delivered out of Egypt, God instructed them to keep a passover feast in celebration of this event. This was held on the fourteenth day of the first month. Fast forward to the New Testament and we see Jesus prophesying to His disciples that He would be betrayed around the time of the passover. And while the disciples prepared for the passover, the scribes and pharisees were plotting to kill Jesus. Only Jesus, because He was born without sin and lived a sinless life, was worthy to became the passover lamb.


He is seated at the right hand of God the Father 


"The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool (Matthew 22:44). After Jesus died and was buried, He rose on the third day and later ascended into heaven. "And it came to pass , while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven" ( Luke 24 : 51). And how do we know He is seated on God's right hand. First, David prophesied it in the quote from Matthew and Jesus stated it boldly when He was being tried by the high priest. "Jesus said , I am : and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven" (Mark 14: 62). " So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right handof God" (Mark 16: 19).


He is coming again


Jesus told His disciples, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am , there ye may be also" (John 14 : 3). "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn , and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matthew 24 : 30). "Behold , he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen" (Revelations 1 : 7). When Jesus came the first time He came as a helpless little baby lying in a manger. When He comes the next time, He is coming as ruler and judge.


Yes, everybody ought to know what Jesus means to us as believers. We do not boast idly about Him or our relationship with Him. Everything we know of Jesus is authenticated in Scripture, and this is why the pageant we put on at our church each year, the Scriptures we read, the hymns we sing never grow stale to me, because they solidify my knowledge of my Savior and the hope I have in Him.