Apologetics: Debunking Deconstruction – Why Doesn’t Jesus Still Walk with Us Today?

One question that I’ve heard raised about the validity of God and salvation is, “If God was so serious about salvation, why doesn’t He still walk amongst us today?” It’s a fair enough question. After all, Immanuel means “God with us.” So why doesn’t He? Is there a good reason why He’s not walking around, still preaching or is proof that God is a phony?

To answer this question, let’s first take a look at when Jesus came, and check out people’s response to Jesus when He was on Earth. Jesus came at a very important time in history in which Latin and Greek were the dominant languages, with Greek being like our English as an international trade language. Furthermore, the Romans had taken over pretty much the entirety of the known world, building sophisticated roads to connect the empire, making travel easier than you might think. However, not everyone was thrilled by the Roman occupation. The Jews in particular were very against it, as anyone would be after several centuries of various exiles and occupations. They were looking for the prophesied Messiah, however, the Messiah they were looking for wasn’t necessarily a spiritual messiah, but a political one, who would drive the Romans out and reestablish the Davidic dynasty.

This created the perfect conditions for God to send His son. The roads and language would make news of Christ easier for everyone in the ancient world to hear about and the Jews hope for a Messiah would mean that they were on the lookout for one. It was perfect for the ushering in of a new era, one that lasts to this day.

Now to look at what Jesus’ reception was when He was on Earth. Already, thanks to the work of His cousin, John the Baptist, people were already anticipating Christ’s coming and as I mentioned before, they were primarily thinking that He would be the dude that kicked out the Romans. However, Jesus soon proved them wrong, showing that He wasn’t there to lead a political overthrow, but was there to offer salvation. That alone turned off a lot of people, but even many of those who were around for some of the spiritual stuff (particularly the miracles) left after a while, not wanting to change their lifestyles or not wanting to be associated with a guy who was being accused of blasphemy. Only a few really stayed around Jesus, with that following growing after His death.

Because of this, consider if Jesus still walked the Earth today. Sure, English is like the new Greek, travel is quicker, information is easier to access, but people are not looking for a Messiah as they were in the ancient world and who’s to say that we would be any less skeptical than we were two thousand years ago? If anything, we would probably be even more skeptical, especially as it seems that a new cult, spiritual guru, false teacher, etc. pops up once a month. Just look at the most recent example of this, Abdullah Hashem, the weirdo who started the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light and went viral for saying he’s the only legitimate pope (in other words…a nutcase.) If Jesus was still around today, we would probably think Him to be like this guy – a psycho – just like many of the people of Judea did.

Another reason why it’s a good thing that Jesus isn’t walking around today is that if we had, beyond a reason of a legitimate doubt that He was truly God incarnate, we wouldn’t be turning to Him out of want for reconciliation and relationship with God, but out of sheer, visceral fear of destruction. In that case, Christianity would be no better than a religion like Islam or any other fear-driven cult. It would get rid of one of the many things that makes Christianity such an amazing and unique religion, which is the allowance and ability to doubt and look for answers. This then gives us freedom of choice.

The last reason why it’s a good thing that Jesus isn’t still with us right now in the flesh is because that’s Judgement Day. When that happens, you don’t get a second chance. You’re either a Christian or you’re not and if you’re in the latter group, good luck. Your destination is not going to be pretty, but you will have chosen it.

However, does that mean that since Jesus died, that we’re totally separated from Him? Nope. He still gave us the Holy Spirit so we can know Him in this life.

Until next time,

M.J.