To some people, He’s richer than Bill Gates, smarter than Einstein, nicer than Mother Teresa - He’s God.

To others, he’s a false Messiah, a con-man or just another religious nutter.

Yet 2,000 years after his death, he’s still the most influential life ever - more than Plato, Henry Ford, Buddha, Moses, Mahommed or Confucius:

• He has over a billion followers worldwide
• His life-story is the best-seller every year
• His birth-date divides history: BC (before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini = ‘in the year of our Lord’)
• His birthday is celebrated every year at Christmas
• He is respected by almost all religions, not just Christianity

But who was Jesus of Nazareth?
1. Was He a great teacher?
He gave us classics like ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ and ‘Do to others what you would like them to do to you.’ ‘Come to me, all who are worn out and overloaded, and I will give you rest.’

One psychiatrist said that if you took all the best insights of the ages into how to have successful relationships, good mental health and a happy life, and boiled away all the excess words, you wouldn’t quite equal Christ’s sermon on Mt Olivet. Jesus said, ‘I have come so you could have life, and have it more abundantly.’

His words deal clearly with life’s huge questions: Does anyone love me - faults and all? What really matters in life? What happens when I die? How do I overcome my dark side? How should I treat others? How should I pray? What is God like?

His words about non-violence inspired Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and Desmond Tutu. His words on concern for the poor inspire the Salvation Army, World Vision, ADRA and others. His words have caused mini-revolutions in every generation by changing people’s lives, inspiring generosity and high ideals, and bringing out the best and highest in human life.

Jesus said, ‘My words will never pass away’. His words have passed into more languages, more books, proverbs, artworks, talks and songs than anyone else’s - they’ve just never passed away.