Conclusion
After investigating both the Old and New Testaments, Bernis was convinced that Jesus Christ fulfilled over 300 messianic prophecies written hundreds of years before he existed.
He also understood that the Jewish leaders who rejected Jesus disregarded all the prophecies about the Messiah being a suffering servant. They wanted deliverance from Roman oppression, not forgiveness of their sin.
Bernis also realized that only God is capable of bringing a dead person back from the dead. He accepted the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection as historical, and a verification of his claims.
You may ask, why was it necessary for God to become a man and take upon Himself the penalty for our sins? Can’t an all-powerful, loving God just forgive us without judging our sins. Why does he demand justice?
Imagine entering a courtroom and you are guilty of murder. As you approach the bench, you realize that the judge is your father. Knowing that he loves you, you immediately begin to plead, “Dad, just let me go!”
With tears in his eyes he responds, “I love you, son, but I’m a judge. I can’t simply let you go.”
Presenting the evidence against you, he bangs the gavel down and declares you guilty. Justice cannot be compromised, at least not by a judge. But because he loves you, he steps down from the bench, takes off the robe, and offers to pay the penalty for you. And in fact, he takes your place in the electric chair.
This is the picture painted by the New Testament. God stepped down into human history, in the person of Jesus Christ, and was crucified on the cross for us. Jesus is not a third-party whipping boy being punished for our sins, but rather he is God himself.
In reality, God had two choices: to punish us for our sin, us or to receive the punishment himself. In Christ, he chose the latter.
In other words, God’s perfect justice is completely satisfied by the death of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. All of our sins—no matter how bad they are or have been—are completely paid for by the blood of Christ. Paul writes,
“…yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” (Colossians 1:22a NLT).
Finally, Bernis became a Messianic Jew, accepting Jesus Christ as the Messiah of Israel, as well as his own personal Savior and Lord. He writes,
“Embracing Yeshua is the most Jewish thing I have ever done. In fact, it is the most important thing I have ever done. The same God who changed my life…still has the power to change lives today. His love is transforming the lives of Jew and Gentile alike, all over the world.”
“God created you with a divine destiny to fulfill, and the only way to come into that destiny is to say yes to God and surrender yourself completely to Him.”
If you would like to learn more about the evidence for Jesus of Nazareth as well as what the promise of eternal life he offers, click this link.
