HE NOW BELIEVES

By Dr. M. R. Dowler

2016 marks the fiftieth anniversary of a modern cultural event. It was during an April 4, 1966 interview with a London newspaper that rock musician John Lennon arrogantly claimed that Christianity will eventually vanish and that his band The Beatles was “more popular than Jesus Christ.” Interestingly, the quote generated little reaction in England, but when Lennon’s remark was reprinted in the July 1966 issue of the US teen magazine Datebook, it became a major problem.

Reaction in the United States to the Lennon’s blasphemy was swift and stunning. Disc jockeys in Alabama launched a Beatles’ Boycott that spread across the country and many young people burned their Beatles albums. But consider the following timeline---Capitol Records released The Beatles seventh studio album Revolver on August 8, 1966; Capitol Records stock dropped like a rock the next day; and John Lennon was forced to apologize for his remarks on August 12^th, even though a day before Lennon’s wife was upset at the protests because she felt her husband was only expressing his opinion.

Jesus Christ is the central character in both testaments of the Bible. He is the center of the gospel message (1 Corinthians 15;1-4; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4; Galatians 1:7; Philippians 1:27), the very source and subject of the Good News. Theologically, the name Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name “Yeshua” meaning Savior (Matthew 1:21); Christ is the Greek word of the Hebrew title “Messiah” meaning anointed (John 1:41; 4:25; Acts 2:36). Simply stated, Jesus Christ is the anointed Savior of the world (John 3:16-17).

The Lord Jesus has never been popular in any culture or generation (John 1:11-12; Matthew 7:13-14). Nevertheless, Jesus alone is the source of eternal life (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). The Beatles came and went, relegated today to a mere footnote in history, and Jesus still lives! Tragically, John Lennon went out into eternity on December 8, 1980 at the hand of an assassin. Wherever John Lennon is today, I think to safe to say that he now believes that Jesus Christ is the Savior God and Sovereign Lord (Philippians 2:9-12) of all who accept Him. Think about it.