God the Son, Mentor's Guide, MG10

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G O D T H E S O N

Jesus, the Messiah and Lord of All He Rose and Will Return

Welcome to the Mentor’s Guide for Lesson 4, Jesus, the Messiah and Lord of All: He Rose and Will Return . Undoubtedly the most critical doctrine in all of Christian belief is the resurrection. On this grand fact, that our Lord Jesus is alive, that the tomb is empty, that Satan, sin, and death have been defeated through his death on the cross, the totality of Christian profession and practice hinge. Indeed, if the resurrection is not true, Christianity could very well be the greatest hoax ever perpetrated upon the human race. Bruce Demarest in our textbook Jesus Christ: The God-Man eloquently affirms what Christians throughout the ages have been willing to live and die for: Throughout the centuries men have tried to honor their heroes by erecting lavish monuments: the massive pyramids of Egypt, built as resting places for the Egyptian pharaohs; the glistening Taj Mahal, the tomb of an Indian emperor and his favorite wife; Lenin’s Tomb in Red Square, the place where the body of the Marxist leader is preserved by some mysterious process; the burial vault at Mt. Vernon, the site of President Washington’s interred body. In its stark simplicity Jesus’ grave can’t compare with these costly crypts. But the tomb of Jesus excels in the most important respect. It lies empty! He is not there! At the heart of the Christian faith is the claim that Jesus Christ on the third day rose from the dead and is alive forevermore. The Apostle’s Creed confesses in simple words, “I believe in Jesus Christ . . . who . . . the third day rose from the dead.” No other world religion has dared to make such a confession–be it Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam, or Mormonism. (Demarest, p. 113). No single lesson can ever be so arrogant as to expect to detail comprehensively the wonders of the resurrection, the ascension, and Christ’s glorious return in its outline. Our aim in this lesson, therefore, is to establish their biblical confession clearly and concisely, and then encourage the students to make this study their lifelong quest . In one sense, the center of the Christian’s entire hope is encompassed in the questions and issues which this lesson covers. Modesty and humility are undoubtedly the best way in which to handle these great and mysterious revelations of the glorious resurrection and grand appearing to come of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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