Jesus' Public Relations Slogan: ... My Works Testify of Me

We live in an era where the Bible (i.e., Christianity) is under tremendous attack, and its teachings seen by some as outdated, the subjective and creative product of men's mind from a distant time, impractical, and irrelevant in today's society. One needs to look only at the claimsmade in the book "The Da Vinci Code" and that made by those who allege to have found the bones of Jesus in a tomb in Jerusalem to get a glimpse of this reality. A number of these attacks or criticisms are so outlandish and baseless that to mention them would be a waste of ink. Some of these assaults on Christianity, when looked at closely, appear retaliatory in nature, fictitious, figments of their authors' imagination, but masquerading as non-fiction or scholarly works. Since its birth in the first century of our era, Christianity has been the target of countless of attacks, under various forms. Many more will come as the days of the history of this world dwindle down. Such is the fate of Christianity. However, it has and will withstand them, even though there will be many "casualties" along the way (those who lose their faith, or have been barred from it as a result of these attacks). Science, in many circles, has silenced and supplanted Scriptures. Many who look to the Bible as authoritative on contemporary moral and social issues are at times regarded as religious fanatics and irrational. Yet, it is on those same "questionable" biblical texts that Jesus himself stakes all of his claims and the future of his kingdom. It is within the pages of this "suspicious" book one can find the evidence for his claims. It is these very ancient texts that are central for faith (Jn 5: 39). It is to this book that Jesusasks all to look into in order to see the picture of himself that he went to great lengths to leave behind. It is this book that contains a record of his works, of which he is eternally proud, and confidently stated, .,."For the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me" (v. 36) To many of the unbelieving Jews of Jerusalem, he restated this notion, "I told you, and ye believe not: the works that I do in my father's name, they bear witness of me" (10: 25). His public relations reply to John the Baptist's disciples was only a modification of that given to the religious leaders, "Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard..." (Lk 7: 22).