Jesus – Who Is He?

This is Part 1 of 2 of Lesson 1: Who Was Jesus (Click here to go back to the introduction to this study)

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…

John 14:6 NLT

Jesus is truly unique amongst all the great religious leaders this world has seen. Some of these elements are common to other teachers, but in combination He stands alone. Below I’ll dwell on just a sampler of the many facets we’ll deal with this quarter:

1. Jesus shows us what true love is:

Renowned Christian journalist Philip Yancey put it well:

…in truth, love has never been a normal way of describing what happens between human beings and their God. Not once does the Qur’an apply the word love to God. Aristotle stated bluntly, “It would be eccentric for anyone to claim that he loved Zeus” – or that Zeus loved a human being, for that matter. In dazzling contrast, the Christian Bible affirms, “God is love”, and cites love as the main reason Jesus came to earth…

Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew, p267

Let’s go back to the most famous verse of the Bible – an ‘oldie’ but a ‘goodie’:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. john 3:16 (NKJV)

Those of you following this blog will by now be familiar with a text I keep quoting in relation to Jesus’ wish for us:

…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10 (NKJV)

2. Jesus’ teachings have a unique perspective, and are a wonderful blueprint for our lives. How the world would be different if all adhered to these principles:

But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you… Luke 6:27 (NKJV)

Much more on this later in the quarter, but finally:

3. Jesus was unique in proclaiming his own divinity, but yet having such a sensible and exemplary life devoted to His loving concern for humanity, that it is difficult to write him off as a self-deluded cult leader.

In this regard, it is interesting to understand the viewpoint of other religions on Jesus. The following is from Wikpedia:

…The two largest world religions, Christianity and Islam, consider Jesus to have been an important holy figure. In Christianity, Jesus is generally thought to have divine attributes as the son of God and the Messiah. In Islam, Jesus is considered one of God’s most important prophets. Most other religions’ views on him range from considering him simply a man (mainstream Judaism) to an enlightened teacher (Buddhism). Others see him as an ordinary human being but one of the most merciful, influental and wise people in history, if he existed at all (Freethought), (Atheism), (Agnosticism), (Humanism).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_perspectives_on_Jesus

So, how do we sort out these competing claims? Well, C.S. Lewis helps to whittle down the options by striking out the case for Jesus merely being an ‘enlightened teacher’ or one of the ‘most wise persons in history’. Consider the following logic:

“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic . . . or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”—C. S. Lewis, “The Shocking Alternative,” in Mere Christianity (New York: McMillan-Collier, 1960), p. 56

And it is true, when you consider the number of statements that Jesus made about Himself:

But [Jesus] kept silent and answered nothing. again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” Mark 14:61-62 (NKJV)

And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:28,29 (NKJV)

Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” Matt 27:11 (NKJV)

These are big claims, and to make them if they are not true disqualifies someone as a ‘wise man’ or ‘enlightened’. As someone has summarised, there are only three alternatives:

1. Jesus’ claims were false and He knew this – hence He was a liar
2. Jesus’ claims were false but He was self deluded and believed them true – hence He was a lunatic
3. Jesus’ claims are true – therefore He really is God.

Hence the three categories: liar, lunatic, Lord.

Well this is just a broad brush overview of our topic – and as usual would love to hear your own perspective on these matters.

Click here to go to the last part of the study this week: Revealed By The Father.