Imagine our world, if Jesus had not left after His resurrection. How would our surroundings be different?
Imagine our triumphant Savior - His body physically tangible, visibly marred with scars, and perfectly renewed all at once - marching into the Jerusalem Temple with eleven elated disciples following His heels. The dumbfounded religious leaders depart in shame, as the Gospel of the One who holds true authority is proclaimed. Would “Christianity” still exist as a common label, or would the movement simply be known as Judaism in its fulfillment?
Imagine our modern landscape, in this scenario where the immortal King faithfully guards Israel over two millennia and teaches other nations the way of His peace (the United States, of course, would be His favorite student…). Skeptical atheists, commanding no more attention than proponents of a flat earth, expose their blindness as they deny the Son of God broadcasted from television. Could a “relationship with Christ” be reduced to spiritualized jargon, if one has personally visited the risen Lord during a Christmas vacation, or had their online posts retweeted by their Redeemer?
Such an alternate history would be awesome, in the truest sense of the word, and it’s this sort of earthly kingdom (minus my modern flavor) that Jesus’ disciples once envisioned. Along with so many other Israelites, the twelve desired a warrior king to drive out foreign oppressors and return the nation to its golden years. However, Jesus shared to his followers an even greater plan-- for them and for us today.
