The recent death of singer Michael Jackson sent the media buzzing – but just how good was he? Was he the greatest pop star ever? That’s probably over the top, as surely Elvis would take this accolade, but of his generation surely he was head and shoulders above all others? As well as being an extraordinarily gifted singer-songwriter, he was no mean dancer – the ‘moonwalk’ was just one of his many dance move innovations. If Elvis was the greatest pop star ever and Jackson the greatest of his generation, who is the greatest human being alive today?

Many readers will remember the great boast of heavy weight boxer, Muhammad Ali (‘floats like a butterfly – stings like a bee!’). Wherever he went to fight he would drop his massive jaw and bellow ‘I am the greatest!’ in reference to his fighting abilities. His fists and moves regularly backed up his claim; it really was no idle bellow. Ali once boasted, ‘Take a picture of me around the world and ask people “who is this?” and most will be able to reply “Muhammad Ali”’. Today however, Ali is far from being ‘the greatest’; the years, along with Parkinson’s disease have taken a massive toll on him, such that today my wife could beat him in a boxing ring!

The man of the millennium

At the turn of the millennium, many polls were run in order to discover ‘the man of the millennium’. Who was the greatest person of the past two-thousand years of human history? The result was so overwhelming that pollsters had to add the rider ‘apart from…’ because one name towered above and beyond all the rest. He was the greatest then – He remains the greatest human being alive today; His name is Jesus Christ.

So profound was the effect of His time on our planet that one anonymous writer put it this way:

All the armies that ever marched; all the navies that ever sailed; all the Kings who ever reigned and all the parliaments that ever sat, put together; have not affected the life of man upon this planet as has that one solitary life.

This is no overstatement; so awesome was His life that human history is divided into two-halves; before and after His coming. Michael Jackson will never achieve that degree of fame. There are perhaps two objections that need to be dealt with in stating Jesus is the greatest human being alive today; firstly, He was not human and secondly, He’s dead.

A real man?

Firstly, was He human? Absolutely! Every bit as human as you and I. The fact that He is also eternally God the Son does not diminish His humanity to any degree at all. Jesus became ‘one of us’ two-thousand years ago – after an eternity as the second Person of the Triune God, He left the glory of heaven and became fully human, but remained fully God, one person (Jesus Christ) yet two natures.

Why is He the greatest? Well, He is great in His very person; but to you and I He is the greatest ever because of what He has done for each and every one of us. Michael Jackson would all too often make the wild and ludicrous statement whilst staring into a TV camera, head gently swaying from side to side, ‘I just want you to know that I love you all so very much!’

 But what has he ever done for me?!

Jesus said He loved us many times – and then proved it by His greatest deed. It was such a deed that because of it every human being can benefit, from Adam to the latest child being born right now. He meets my deepest need. Michael Jackson could entertain me, Muhammad Ali could defend me in a fight but only Jesus can save me from the dire consequences of my sinful life and land me safely in heaven for eternity.
Why did Jesus become ‘one of us’? Because ‘all of us’ have sinned and are heading for judgement.  In becoming one of us, Jesus lived a pure perfect life pleasing to God (read about it in the gospels) then He died in the place of us all – taking the punishment of eternal death that we all deserve. ‘Greater love has no-one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:13). Michael Jackson said he loved us all – Jesus Christ proved He loved us all; He dealt with our greatest problem.  What an awesome person – He is the greatest ever, the greatest living human being!

Dead or alive?

So, let’s examine the second objection that ‘Jesus is dead’. Yes, He was dead but He rose from among the dead after three days, never to die again. Death keeps hold of sinners but Jesus never sinned and so death had to let Him go free. When Jesus appeared to the last surviving disciple, a man named John, around sixty years after His resurrection, He identifies Himself in this very particular way, ‘I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!’ (Rev 1:18).

Human beings like Michael Jackson and Muhammad Ali rise to greatness, then fade and fall and die. They were great for a time. Jesus was, is, and always will be the greatest, for all people, for all time.

Andy Christofides is the minister of St Mellons Baptist Church, Cardiff.