"I have seen two things which cannot reconcile. A man dead without question, and that same man alive again. I pursue Him, the Nazarene, to ferret the truth."
~Clavius~ From The Film Risen
In the Movie Risen, the Roman Tribunus Clavius is tasked with locating the body of Christ after His resurection. He had seen the Messiah crucified on a cross, but now sought proof to satisfy not only the Jewish authorities of the day, but his own curiosity as well. Who was this Nazarene who, only days before, had been the subject of such hatred at the hands of the Jewish authorities? For if He truly was Gods promised Messiah, would His own people not recognize this? Ironically, there are sects of modern day Judaism who STILL await the coming of the promised Messiah! Who is this Nazarene? For were there not indications while he walked among us that He would ultimately die at the hands of the Jewish authorities?
Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again"
Matthew 20: 17-19 NKJV
This Nazarene, this man so hated by some, had become the hope of so many. Some out of curiosity, others out of obedience to that which was promised by God through the prophet Isaiah so long ago.
He is despised and rejected by men, A man of sorrows and aquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has born our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53: 3-6 NKJV
And the search continues for some to this day. Despite the evidence presented to them by scripture, they struggle to believe. For it is by faith that we who know Him in our hearts have accepted Him and the free gift He has provided to all mankind. Not just to Jews, but to all the world. I find it funny how there are those who are so willing to accept other religion as fact, yet struggle when it comes to Jesus. However, despite their reluctance to believe, He still awaits that moment their hearts will turn to Him. This is not the vengeful, punishing God that we have been told of so often by our pastors and church leaders. For these men have done us a great disservice. I believe that it is this belief today that keeps those who still search for Jesus from accepting what He has gien them. That He gave Himself willingly for the forgiveness of all sins past, present and future. If you feel that you are among the only ones who cannot accept this Jesus, I present to you the apostle Thomas.
Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
John 20: 27-29 NKJV
This man Thomas, who walked with Jesus daily, who heard His own predictions of His ultimate betrayal, death and resurection, still doubted when his Lord returned. For it was only when the evidence was placed in front of him that Thomas again believed. As the scriptures tell us, blessed are those of us today who have not seen and yet believe in this man, this Nazarene.
~Scott~
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