Had\u00a0Jesus of Nazareth\u00a0been a Roman or a Greek, certainly his contemporaries would have left behind statues in his honor.\u00a0 However, because the Jews had a strict understanding of idolatry, their\u00a0interpretation of the Mosaic Law did not allow them to make any images whatsoever of any human person. It would have been interesting if we had been left something that would illustrate the physical attributes of Jesus.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0accounts\u00a0written by the Evangelists\u00a0depict Jesus’ great capacity for physical activity.\u00a0 The long hours spent\u00a0at hard work in the carpenter shop had\u00a0prepared him well for the grueling task of his \u00a0ministry.<\/p>\n
He walked many miles under the blazing Middle Eastern sun in order to preach the Kingdom of God.\u00a0 He slept many nights under the stars and he spent much of that time in the bliss of silent prayer.\u00a0 He found little time to eat because of the multitudes\u00a0seeking\u00a0his\u00a0healing touch, and yet when he did find time to rest, he slept so profoundly that not even a terrible storm could awaken him.<\/p>\n
His body was strong and so was his soul.\u00a0 During the hours of tribulation in \u00a0Gethsemane, he\u00a0persevered in profound prayer while the apostles slept.\u00a0 When Joseph of Arimathea requested his body for burial, Pilate was surprised to discover that\u00a0Jesus had died so quickly.<\/p>\n
Jesus did not display his divinity\u00a0in the manner of\u00a0the mythical figures of Greek and Roman literature.\u00a0 He did not fly\u00a0from place to place as\u00a0though he were some sort of\u00a0superman. Amazingly, in him the supernatural and the natural were interwoven.\u00a0 His divinity seemed so simple and normal.<\/p>\n
No mysterious beams of light, flashes of lightning,\u00a0or peals of thunder\u00a0occurred\u00a0as he performed his\u00a0miracles.\u00a0 Instead, it was enough for him to touch, or be touched.<\/p>\n
Only once did he show the magnificence of his divinity before a select group of apostles.\u00a0 Even then, the experience was brief, simple, and discreet.<\/p>\n
Aside from his physical attributes, Jesus knew exactly what he wanted.\u00a0 He was one with his mission.\u00a0 Everything that he did\u00a0proceeded from\u00a0his\u00a0passionate desire to fulfill the will of the Father.<\/p>\n
Unlike the\u00a0complicated\u00a0discourse of many philosophers and religious leaders,\u00a0his teaching is simple and easy enough for everyone to understand.\u00a0 The message is so clear and precise that his words are irresistible to all those who listen. <\/em><\/p>\n Tacitus (54-119 A.D.), Suetonius (75-160 A.D.), and Pliny the Younger (61-115 A.D.) of the ancient Roman Empire all give written historical testimony about the existence of Jesus.\u00a0 Jewish thinkers Philo (died after 40 A.D.) and more importantly Flavius Josephus (born 37 A.D.) also give written historical testimony about Jesus and his work.\u00a0 Keep in mind that that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled 1,093 prophecies of the Old Testament.<\/p>\n When we consider all that Jesus said and did, we are faced with the dilemma that C.S. Lewis wrote about in his book Mere Christianity<\/em>: either Jesus is a liar, a lunatic, or he is who he says that he is: Jesus the Christ.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Had\u00a0Jesus of Nazareth\u00a0been a Roman or a Greek, certainly his contemporaries would have left behind statues in his honor.\u00a0 However, because the Jews had a strict understanding of idolatry, their\u00a0interpretation of the Mosaic Law did not allow them to make any images whatsoever of any human person. It would have been interesting if we had…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":382,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,11,12,83],"tags":[17,16],"class_list":["post-59915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apologetics","category-catholic-spirituality","category-evangelization","category-jesus","tag-gospels","tag-jesus"],"yoast_head":"\n