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From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: In studying the great figures of history my professor is teaching that while Jesus went about doing good, He couldn’t come close to the great and talented philosophers and masterminds. Educators show their ignorance when they talk like this. Why do they relentlessly attack the Christian religion by attacking Christ? – S.D.

A: What do Socrates, Bach, and Shakespeare have in common? They are remembered as bigger than life, but they are dead and in the grave and can do nothing for you. Walk into the great cathedrals with spires that pierce the sky, and you will see paintings and sculptures memorializing robust men who are still revered, and kind women who reach down to the lowly in compassion. But they, too, lie silent in death; they can do nothing for you.

Sadly, artists too often have depicted Jesus as feeble, weak, and dead — still hanging on the cross. This is not the truth; for the One who is depicted hanging lifeless and broken on the cross is instead full of the breath of life, full of glory. He emptied His life on the cross so that He could fill us with the gift of eternal life by His resurrection.

Christ’s birth was no ordinary birth — it was marked by celestial wonders; His life was no ordinary life, for it was marked by many signs and miracles. His death was no ordinary death, for it was distinguished by great compassion, geological disturbances, and solar irregularities.

Such a life couldn’t long be contained in a grave, even though it was sealed in a prison of stone. Every important event in Jesus’ life was described many centuries before He came in the flesh, and when Jesus came, He fulfilled every prophecy. Glory to His Name!

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

©2021 Billy Graham Literary Trust. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

(c)2021 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.