Introduction

As was mentioned in the Bible Monday Meme from June 17th, people know less about the Jesus of the bible because they are more concerned with their own invention of our savior. In this article, I’m going to show two realities of Jesus as found in the scriptures.

Jesus was Never Saved!

This may come as a shock to some, but although Jesus was baptized, He wasn’t saved! Let’s look at His baptism in Matthew 3.

John the Baptizer was sent ahead of Jesus to make way for the coming Messiah (vs. 1-4). His presence was prophesied by Isaiah (Isa. 40:3) and by Malachi (Mal. 4:5-6; fulfilled in Lk. 1:13-17).

When Jesus came unto the scene, here’s how that played out: Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. (Matthew 3:13-15)

Why was Jesus baptized? To fulfill all righteousness! As the psalmist wrote, My tongue shall speak of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness. (Psalms 119:172) Plain and simple! There are those, however, who struggle with the notion of Jesus not being saved. The problem with that is, if He was saved, He had to have been lost first.

We know that Jesus lived a sinless life. The apostle Peter wrote, “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness–by whose stripes you were healed. (1 Peter 2:22-24)

The apostle Paul confirms this when he wrote, For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21) And so did the writer of Hebrews, For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

The bottom line is that Jesus was baptized to set the example, For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: (1 Peter 2:21) Think of it this way, if Jesus commanded everyone to be baptized (Mt. 28:19; Mk. 16:16), you would expect Him to be baptized as well. If He wasn’t people would challenge that notion and say, “Why should I be baptized if He wasn’t? If He’s the example…”

Jesus was Never a Christian!

This is another truth that some people can’t fathom. Some would say that either Paul or Peter created the idea of “Christians” given that they were the two main apostles in the New Testament: especially in the book of Acts.

Jesus was a Jew from His birth to His death, even in the resurrection as well. However, He was never a Christian and that’s because the idea of ‘Christian’ stems from the word, ‘Christ’. The word simply means, “follower of Christ”.

Luke wrote, And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. (Acts 11:26)

Going back to the Old Testament, this was prophesied by Jeremiah, “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah- not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

This foretold the coming of the church age when both Jew (house of Judah) and Gentile (house of Israel) would come together in harmony. For this, then, they would need a new name, The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the LORD will name. (Isaiah 62:2) With Jesus as head of the church (Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22-23) because He purchased it with His own blood (Acts 20:28).

Conclusion

I realize that the title of this article is clickbait, and I apologize for that. The truth is that neither of these “harsh truths” should come as a surprise to any of us. If you are a true New Testament Christian, then this should be common knowledge to you.

If not, then I suggest studying more of the scriptures to get a full understanding. As Paul wrote to Timothy, Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV) If you need any assistance with this, feel free to leave a comment below.