Questions about Jesus: 3. What good has Jesus done for the world?

Imagine a world without Christ…

What good has Jesus done for the world?

It is hard to imagine our world if Jesus had not come. However, in the purposes and plan of God, it was never going to happen. God who is beyond time saw His Son Jesus as slain before the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13 v. 8)  So in creating all things, God knew that we would rebel against Him, and that in the fullness of time Jesus would come to die and rise again as an atoning sacrifice for our sin. In His 33 years Jesus went about doing good. He ministered to and met the needs of the people He met. He does the same today, on the basis of His finished work. He reconciles people to God, giving those who trust Him eternal life and the joy of living with Him through good and tough times.

The spin-offs from Jesus are themselves amazing. How different would be the architecture of the world, with no churches or cathedrals. The literature of our world would be much poorer. Books such as ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ by Charles Dickens, ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ by CS Lewis, ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ by Harriet Beecher Stowe, with a host of others contain themes of one dying in place of another, or the impact of Jesus on the lives of people today. Their influence on society has been immense.

The music of the world would be unrecognizable if Jesus had not been born. Not only would we never have heard Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’ or Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, but we would have been  bereft of thousands of hymns such as ‘Amazing grace’ and ‘Abide with me’.

Art lovers of the world would find art galleries quite bare. So much of the world’s art has concentrated on the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Holman Hunt’s paintings ‘The Light of the World’ and ‘The Shadow of the Cross’ and Rembrant’s ‘The Return of the Prodigal Son’ are some of the greatest works in the world. Sculptures of Jesus and His cross are scattered across the world, and not only in churches.

For two thousand years, multitudes of people have given their lives, often in far flung, difficult parts of the world, to serve and meet the needs of the poor and disadvantaged. Their motive has been their trust in Jesus and a desire to follow Him. Many of the great social reforms of our own land were led by people who had come to know God and as a result gave their energies to serving Him by alleviating the suffering of others.

However, I would want to stress that, most importantly, if Jesus had not come there would be no way for human beings to be forgiven for all their wrong. If Jesus had not come, we could not know peace with God; there would be no way of going to heaven.

However, Jesus was born. He did live. He died and rose again. The impact of His life has continued to grow, and His birthday is still the greatest celebration in our calendar.

Go to: Why did Jesus die on the cross?