HE WON’T GO AWAY
You can ignore Jesus—but He will not go away.
History itself refuses to cooperate with indifference. Jesus of Nazareth did not drift onto the scene like a myth, nor fade out like a legend. He entered the world in real time, under real rulers, in a real place.
Luke anchors His life to the reign of Caesar Augustus and the governorship of Quirinius (Luke 2:1-2). Later, the cross is fixed firmly in history beneath Pontius Pilate (Luke 3:1; Matthew 27:2). Christianity does not begin with an idea, but with an event.
Even those who rejected Him could not deny that He lived. Tacitus, the Roman historian, records His execution. Josephus, the Jewish historian, acknowledges His influence and following. The Talmud speaks of Him—hostile, yes, but confirming His existence all the same. Attempts to dismiss Jesus never erase Him; they only circle back to Him again. He will not go away.
And He did not merely exist. He spoke with an authority that startled fishermen, unsettled scholars, and enraged rulers. He forgave sins outright (Mark 2:5-7). He claimed authority over the Sabbath (Mark 2:28). He spoke of God as His Father in a way that implied equality (John 5:18). He accepted worship without correction (Matthew 14:33). These are not the claims of a harmless moral teacher. They are astonishing claims—claims that demand either rejection or surrender.
What is striking is that time has not softened them. Two thousand years have passed, empires have risen and collapsed, philosophies have bloomed and withered, and still His words press in on the conscience. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35). The world keeps proving Him right.
Many have tried to silence Him by redefining Him—teacher, mystic, revolutionary, poet of love. But Jesus resists reduction. He stands in the Gospels as He always has: merciful and uncompromising; gentle and unyielding; humble, yet claiming cosmic authority. He speaks as one who does not seek permission. And that, more than anything, is why He unsettles us still.
The resurrection only sharpens the problem. A crucified man should stay buried. Rome was good at executions. Crosses were final. Yet the tomb was empty, the witnesses multiplied, and frightened disciples became fearless proclaimers.
Something happened that refuses to be explained away. “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32). Deny it if one must—but it will not go away.
And perhaps that is the mercy in it. A Jesus who fades would be no help to us. A Christ who dissolves into metaphor could not save. We need a Savior who steps into history, bears witness to truth, carries sin into death, and emerges victorious. We need a Jesus who keeps confronting us—calling, pressing, inviting.
You can ignore Him for a season. You can postpone the question. You can push Him to the margins of culture and conscience. But He remains—written into history, proclaimed in Scripture, alive by the power of God. He still asks the same question He once asked His disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15).
He won’t go away—because truth doesn’t.
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Lord Jesus, You stand in history and before our hearts. Give us eyes to see You as You are and courage to respond honestly to Your claims. Draw us not into argument alone, but into truth, repentance, and life. Amen.
BDD
