1 Timothy 1:15
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Every Christmas and Easter, American media go on a hunt for Jesus. During that twice-yearly bombardment of mock curiosity, major news magazines, TV and radio are briefly abuzz with the question of “Who was Jesus?” and its corollary, “What was His mission?” Answers from unbelieving scholars, unbelieving philosophers, unbelieving theologians, unbelieving journalists, unbelieving historians and unbelieving dogcatchers are plentiful. It turns out that Jesus was the first Marxist, the first capitalist, the first feminist, the first patriarchal oppressor, an enigma, an open book, a fraud, an utterly sincere loon, a cynical magician, a guileless peasant. And His mission? Why, to liberate poor people, or proclaim the end, or uphold the rights of women, or crush women, or cheat the masses, or commit suicide or raise a rebellion or emit witty and enigmatic epigrams or drive people crazy. In other words, He was whatever alternative explanation the unbeliever du jour prefers, rather than facing the old, boring and traditional explanation given by Paul above. The simple (and awesome) truth of Jesus is that He came into the world to save sinners. It’s only complicated if we want it to be.
By Mark Shea
Mark P. Shea is a Catholic author, blogger, and speaker.
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