The GOAT
In the sports world, is Tom Brady the greatest football player of all time? Is Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player of all time? Is it Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus who is the greatest golfer of all time? Is it Wayne Gretzky in hockey, Babe Ruth in baseball, and Pele in soccer?
In the music world, who tops Elvis as the greatest of all time? Is it Michael Jackson or Paul McCartney or Prince? Maybe it is Frank Sinatra or Neil Diamond. Or, maybe you think it is a group—the Beatles, the Beach Boys, or the Temptations.
There will always be new names added to the various lists of the Greatest of All Time. As time goes on, new names will be added who have not even been born yet. There will never be consensus on the Greatest of All Time in any category for all time. However, there is One for the Whom the title fits perfectly—Jesus.
He is the G. O.A. T. He left His mark on time—BC is all time Before Christ, AD is all time since—Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord. He left His mark on history. The reformation and the holy wars were a testament to the religious fervor of people. He left His mark on government. The United States of America is the greatest country on the face of the earth and was built on the principles of Jesus.
He was the greatest communicator. David wrote wonderful poems. Solomon spoke powerful proverbs. Socrates held crowds spellbound with his philosophy. Shakespeare’s plays have entertained people for centuries. But, no one commanded a crowd the way that Jesus did.
His claims about Himself have never been proven wrong. He claimed the right to be worshipped as the “Son of God”, the “Lord of the Sabbath”, and the “Son of Man”. His claims make Him the greatest Man or the greatest lunatic of all time!
There are at least 300 prophecies about Jesus that have all been proven to have been true. He performed 37 specific recorded miracles witnessed by many different people from many different backgrounds. Some of them were believers. Others were not. Still others became believers because of them.
While all of these things declare that Jesus is the GOAT, there is another way that He is the goat. Leviticus 16 established for the Jews their observance of the Day of Atonement. On that day, two goats were chosen. By the casting of lots, one goat was chosen to be sacrificed while the other goat was sent into the wilderness as a visual aid that the sins of the people were sent away. He was the scapegoat for the sins of the world. That makes Him truly the G. O. A. T.!!!
— Mike Johnson
