Why does the Apostle so vigorously state that Jesus existed? Because John defends against Christ-deniers, a heresy that stated Jesus was not the Christ and another one was to come.
If Jesus is not the Christ, what is the implication for us believers? First, the Apostles and other eyewitnesses were mistaken despite all the wondrous miracles they saw. In this view, the original disciples foolishly gave their lives believing that Jesus was the Promised One.
Second, Isaiah 53 means another person (the different Christ) will die for the sins of mankind. In this view, Jesus’ death is merely unfortunate because he also was mistaken after predicting his death as a sacrifice for sin.
This view flies in the face of all the prophecy perfectly fitted to Jesus’ first coming. Isaiah 7:14 predicts his virgin birth proclaiming he will be God with us. Isaiah 61:1 listed the mission of the Christ which Jesus fulfilled through his teaching and healing ministry. Also, Isaiah 53 is too specific to be considered for someone else. Verse 7 applies to Jesus’ silence before his accusers at his trial before the Sanhedrin. Verse 9 speaks of being put in a rich man’s grave as well as describing his sinlessness. Too much prophecy applies to Jesus for us to deny he was the Christ.
If Jesus was not the Christ, we believers would be utterly without hope. We have placed our faith in the wrong person. But thankfully, this is not true because John defends against the Christ-deniers. He illustrates how Jesus did come and was beheld by eyewitnesses. Later in 1 John, he shows how we are to test the spirits to see if they are of God. Anyone who denies “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” is not of God.
Believers, we today have a secure hope because Jesus is who he says he is and because of the faithful defense the early Christians gave for this belief. We know we are going to heaven because Jesus, in fact, did die for our sins and God forgives us on his account. May we all continue the defense of Jesus our early brothers in the faith gave on our behalf and also persevere in it until our Lord calls us home.
Why we should persevere through trials.
