The things which qualified Jesus to be the promised Messiah are those qualities that no other man could possibly have. We will continue our look at these unique qualities by examining Jesus’ perfection.
The things which qualified Jesus to be the promised Messiah were not merely being born at the right time and being of the right family (although these are important), the truly unique qualities of Jesus as the Christ are those things which no other man could ever have. It is not a question of whether Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, but how anyone else could possibly be the Christ.
There are many causes of stress in life. Our lifestyles, jobs, family issues, health concerns, and other various factors contribute to a life filled with stress. As if the stress itself were not enough, the effects of stress on one’s health in all forms (including physical, emotional and spiritual) must be considered in the great danger excessive stress places upon one’s life. The ideal answer to such a problem would be a life without stress, a life without concern or conflict. Such a world is a utopia, however, and to desire for such a world is unrealistic in our fallen world.
Righteous living has always been a cornerstone of godly living. Ever since the Creation, God has had the expectation of man and woman that he and she both live according to His command. However, both man and woman failed – as every man and woman have since. So what is Jesus teaching when He declares:
For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:20 (NASU)
In Exodus we find the well known story of Israel’s freedom from slavery in Egypt. The story includes the call of Moses, his challenge to Pharaoh, and the Ten Plagues. In the midst of this story is an unusual phrase that is used to describe the attitude of Pharaoh. When confronted by Moses, the text describes several times that Pharaoh’s “heart was hardened” (Exo. 7:13, 22, 8:15, et al., NASU).