The Savior You Need – April 1, 2020

“Yes, Lord,” [Martha] replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
John 11:27

The Savior You Need

In the midst of mourning the loss of her brother Lazarus, Martha answered life’s most important question: “Who is Jesus?” Knowing the answer to that question is the difference between eternal life and eternal death, and Martha’s beautiful confession is the correct answer.

It is sad, then, that most responses to that question are wrong. Ask people today who Jesus is and, at best, you will hear that Jesus is a wise teacher who met a tragic end. There are probably as many different versions of who Jesus is as there are people answering the question.

Isn’t that a good thing though? In an age where you can personalize everything from your smartphone to your happy meal, why should religion be any different? The modern take on religion is that it is impossible to know anything with certainty. Therefore, you make your own truth, and everyone’s beliefs are really just opinions. What you believe about Jesus is just as true as what anyone else does, even if your beliefs contradict each other.

But can there really be different opinions about who Jesus is? Not according to Martha. Jesus is the Messiah—a Hebrew word that means “the Anointed One.” This word tells us Jesus’ job. Jesus is the specific One, chosen by God, to cover sinners with his perfection and wash their sins away in his blood. His blood can do that only because he is the Son of God.

Jesus is both God and man in the same person. He has to be. The Messiah has to be fully human to live under God’s law, obey it perfectly in our place, and die the death we deserve. He has to be true God so that his life and his death count for all people of all time.

All that content is packed into Martha’s confession. Notice her use of the word “the.” Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. That is exclusive. Jesus is not one option among many; he is the One and the Only. Thank God! Jesus is the exact Savior you need.

Prayer:
Jesus, help me to always confess that you are the Messiah, the Son of God. Amen.