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The Profound Mystery

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

This is the final Posting of this book, Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed.  After all we have shared together regarding the life and death of Jesus, it seems proper to ask – and attempt to answer – one final question.

The question is this:  Why did Jesus come to die?

Popular theologian and author, John Piper, has answered this question in his book, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die (2006). He has stated the following:

The most important questions anyone can ask are: Why was Jesus Christ crucified? Why did he suffer so much? What has this to do with me? Finally, who sent him to his death? The answer to the last question is that God did. Jesus was God’s Son. The suffering was unsurpassed, but the whole message of the Bible leads to this answer.

The central issue of Jesus’ death is not the cause, but the meaning. What did God achieve for sinners like us in sending his Son to die?

Continue reading “Afterword”

Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

You might well be wondering: “What difference does all this make?” “Does it really matter when or where Jesus was born, when or where he died, or how he was killed?”

I admit that the mysteries I have presented about the life of Jesus are – for the most part – not “salvation” issues. It is entirely possible for you to achieve salvation in Jesus while clinging to your pre-conceived notions and assumptions about His life. After all, the truth is sometimes very hard to determine. Scholars and theologians have argued for centuries about the interpretations of Scripture, about archaeological findings, about ancient writings, and about eyewitness testimony as they have sought to establish the truth about the life of Jesus.

But even though truth is often elusive, I believe it is worth seeking – whenever and however we can.  

If you are reading this, then you have endured a rather detailed examination of many unique – and sometimes controversial – mysteries in the life of Jesus.  We have examined mysteries related to the when and where of His birth, the when and where of His death, and the when and where of His resurrection and ascensions (plural!). In addition, we have peeled back history, religious tradition, and Scripture to examine the mystery of how Jesus really died.

Continue reading “Epilogue”