It’s All In The Presentation

Today may seem like any other Wednesday to much of the world’s population but if you are a geek, then today is practically a national holiday.  You have been waiting for today to arrive with great anticipation.  You have heard all of the pundits talk about today as if it were judgement day or something.   And you have arranged your schedule to make sure that you are near your computer at 10:00 AM PDT.

For those of you who are not geeks, I guess I should explain what all of the excitement is about.  Today is the day that Apple announces their newest iPhone product.  Last week, all across the country, tech reporters and influential media gurus opened their mail to the invitation to today’s event.  (btw….Apple, mine got lost in the mail, you might want to send the next one Fed Ex or something.)  Bags were packed, flights were taken, and today at 10 am on the west coast Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, will take the stage to announce to the masses the next generation of iPhone and possibly even spill the beans on a mini-iPad or something.

The Apple announcements aren’t  quite the same since the death of Steve Jobs but the company that brought us “One More Thing” still entertains and attracts a crowd when they hold one of these press conferences.  As a company, Apple has perfected the product announcement press conference.  They have turned what was a routine press release into an international event complete with up-tempo music, keynote presentations, and of course,  a room full of writers just clamouring to extol the virtues of the latest greatest Apple product.

All around the world people will be tuning in to their favorite tech blogs to watch a “live blog” of the event as it happens.  All of the television networks will have stories in their evening news broadcast about the product being announced and you will not be able to tune into a 24 hour news channel without hearing some tech guru talk about how great this product is going to be and how it is sure to revolutionize the mobile phone industry.  (btw….I’m still waiting for CNN to confirm my time slot, their phones must be down or something.)

Most companies around the world would cut off the right arm of their CEO on national television to obtain the amount of free publicity that Apple gets from just announcing an announcement.  That’s right, the announcement isn’t scheduled to take place until today but the media buzz has been gaining momentum for several months now.    You may not like their products (I am a fan) but you have to admit that this single company produces more hype from the announcement of an event to announce a new or updated product than most of the other companies in the tech industry get from an actually releasing a new product.  All thanks to the “P.T. Barnum” of the product announcement, Steve Jobs.

As I sat waiting all week for the upcoming event (yep, I’m hooked just like the rest of the geeks) I could not help but think, “Would Jesus have had a ‘Apple style’ press conference to announce His gospel?”  The answer is undoubtedly, No!  That wasn’t God’s plan.

He could have planned a grand spectacular entrance, but He was born in a stable.  (even though a choir of Angels aren’t a bad way to say Happy Birthday)  He could have created the most stunning keynote presentation ever made.  One that would have made Steve Jobs look like Steve Erkel but He chose to speak to just a few while sitting in the grass.  He chose to speak to others while standing in a boat.  And He chose to speak to the multitudes while standing on a hill-side.

Jesus could have paraded in to town with bands playing the rock and roll music of the day.  Instead He chose to ride a donkey.  He could have performed a miracle and climbed down off the cross.  He chose to die.

God’s plan was for His Son, Jesus Christ to come into this world as an ordinary man, not a rock star.  While He was here, He chose 12 ordinary men to teach and train to spread His Word.  He then chose to die on the cross so that you and I can live.  No lights, no music, no fancy graphics; just a single man hanging on a cross.

But He was not finished, God was not finished, the work was not finished.  On that third day there should have been a rock concert, but there wasn’t.  There should have been an audience, but no one was there.  There should have been some fanfare, some hoopla, something to mark this momentous occasion.  But there wasn’t, there was no rock and roll; only a rolled away rock.  There was no screaming fans, just some tearful women.

The greatest event in the history of the world had just taken place and no one was there.  No press announcement, no invitations, no live blogcast of the event.  There was no superstar, no CEO, no celebrity endorsements; the tomb was empty.

Apple may put on a good show today, but there is no way that they can top that!

Do you get as excited about Jesus as our society gets about an Apple announcement?

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ALWAYS!