Anyway, Steven Tyler thanks his producer, director, fans and his "higher power."
Over the past several years, many people have been willing to accept that there is a Deity, a Creator, a God. The debate that follows is what kind of God He is. Once the subject of Jesus is introduced, the debate usually rises in temperature, or is ended under the guise of "let's quit while we can still be friends."
Almost 2,000 years after His death, the name Jesus invokes a wide range of emotions, from joy, to fear, to anger, to hate, to love, to curiosity. While many try to argue the validity of the facts surrounding His life, few can argue the fact that His life has impacted the world in a way that no other has. Sure, most people have heard of Cleopatra, but those who speak passionately about her, pro or con, are usually history or anthropology scholars. Passionate discussion about Jesus transcends class, occupation and educational level.
So what is it about Jesus that invokes such powerful discussion and emotion. There are several things. First, there is the spiritual aspect of Jesus. Scripture (the Bible) teaches that Jesus was both God and Man. He was God in the flesh. It was as if God put on a suit of flesh and dwelt with us.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Matthew 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Matthew 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
Why did God come to earth in the form of a man (Jesus)? He came to die. That's right! He came to die. Jesus didn't come to earth to be a great teacher, he came to die. Why? Because that was the only way He could save His people from their sins.
Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. Romans 3:23 says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So all people have sinned and all deserve to die for their sin. But, Romans 6:23 also says the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:8 says God commends His love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This was a cause Jesus was committed to.
Here's Jesus' determination about His death on the cross for our sins, in His own words:
John 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
John 14:1-4 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also. 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
Another point of the Life and Death of Jesus concerns whether or not He was resurrected from the dead, as the Bible records. A recent documentary shown on one of the cable documentary channels claimed to find the bones of Jesus. If those bones were in fact, the bones of Jesus, then the resurrection would be a falsehood, a lie. However, those bones were not located where Christ would have been buried had he died on the cross.
On the other hand, there is an empty tomb near Jerusalem where Jesus' body was temporarily lain until He was resurrected. The resurrection is not only recorded in the Bible, its importance is outlined in Romans 5:10, "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."
Hebrews 7:25 says Jesus "Ever lives to make intercession for us." Hebrews 12:2 says He does all this intercession (pleading our cases for us before God) as He is set "At the right hand of the Father."
That is the premise of true Christianity, how Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day, according to the scriptures.
What God wants from us is to beleive it. (John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.")
