Jesus came into the world to fulfill one of the most difficult missions any man could have undertaken in the face of the earth. He came to His own people but they received Him not. He waged a lone battle amidst outright criticism, slander, persecution and death threats.

He had to preach the message that He was the Son of God who could forgive sins, that He and the Father are one and before Abraham existed He did. No wonder He was repeatedly called a blasphemer (John 10:33). All through the ministry he had to encounter a hostile crowd but Jesus was never intimidated.   He healed the sick on the Sabbath days to declare that he was the Lord of the Sabbath and violated every tradition followed by the Pharisees, Sadducees and the scribes.

He stunned His disciples by talking to a woman alone at the well in Samaria, which was forbidden for the Rabbis and was a radical in action right through His entire ministry.

When He sat in table with sinners and the tax–collectors to teach about the Kingdom of God, they called Him a glutton and a winebibber (Matthew 11:19). They called Him a Samaritan and even accused Him of being possessed by a demon. They alleged that he exorcised demons, having the power of Beelzebub-the lord of the demons. By and large, He was famous for the miracles He did but was very unpopular for the things He said.

He cleansed the temple twice and threw out the vendors declaring that they made his Father’s house a den of thieves. He even prophesied against the temple that soon there would not be one stone upon the other and it would be destroyed.

He was charged for being an insurrectionist (Luke 23:2) and a rebel (Luke 23: 5), escaped stoning to death many times and once the angry crowd even wanted to push Him off a cliff. At the crucifixion, He was spat at, mocked, whipped and finally nailed to the cross between two thieves. Hanging on the cross in agony, the Champion of the world uttered, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

This world can never find a sequel to this man and His mission. Nothing could stop Him from fulfilling His Father’s mandate. He was a perfect example for all men and women, to keep going against all odds, when friends and loved ones forsake and enemies multiply. Here is a short poem which President Kennedy loved quoting but written by bullfighter Domingo Ortega and translated by Robert Graves.

“Bullfight critics ranked in rows

Crowd the enormous plaza full:

But only one is there, who knows –

And He’s the man who fights the bull”.

Jesus single-handedly took on satan, the world and sin to ensure salvation for mankind.