Who is Jesus?
Does it really matter who Jesus is?
For many people, Christianity is not about Jesus, it is about a lifestyle. They say "Christianity is about treating others as you would want to be treated. It is about love." So why the fuss about a man who lived 2000 years ago?
Let me remind you of one of the quotes we read last week.
Sholem Asch - Jewish author
"Jesus Christ is to me the outstanding personality of all time, all history, both as Son of God and as Son of Man. Everything he ever said or did has value for us today and that is something you can say of no other man, dead or alive. There is no easy middle ground to stroll upon. You either accept Jesus or reject him."
Here is the nub – as he says, you either accept of reject Jesus.
But on what grounds?
What is Faith?
On a number of occasions I have had people say to me – “I wish I had your faith” – But what is faith?
Bono once said –
“Explaining belief has always been difficult. How do you explain a love and logic at the heart of the universe when the world is so out of whack? Explaining faith is impossible… vision over visibility… instinct over intellect… a songwriter plays a chord with the faith that he will hear the next one in his head”
Some people think of faith as wishful thinking. Having faith is being able to live in a world which is not real, believing things that are not true.
So when it comes to faith in Jesus, are we looking to wishful thinking, or do we believe in something for which there is good evidence?
Today we need evidence for everything - Evidence for successful schools and successful hospitals– league tables. We love programmes like CSI and Autopsy – evidence.
What is the evidence for Jesus?
We have evidence from a number of Historians around at the time of Jesus – people who wouldn't call themselves Christians and so don't have a vested interest.
- Tacitus (Roman Historian – AD115)
“Nero set up as the culprits and punished with the utmost cruelty a class hated for their abominations who are commonly called Christians. Christus, from whom their name is derived, was executed at the hands of Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius. Checked for the moment, this pernicious superstition again broke out, not only in Judaea, the source of the evil, but even in Rome”
- Josephus (Jewish Historian – written AD 93-94) –
“At this time there was a wise man called Jesus. And his conduct was good and he was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and from the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die.
And those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive. Accordingly he was perhaps the Messiah of whom the prophets have recounted wonders”
- The writings on a Bone Box found in Jerusalem that would have originated in AD40-50
“Jesus, let him who rests here arise!”
Not to mention the writings of Pliny the Younger, Thallus, Philo and others.
The evidence for the historic Jesus from those who would not call themselves Christians is strong.
The New Testament
The evidence from within the New Testament is stronger still…
But can we trust the NT to be reliable?
Some people say, like Chinese whispers, there is no way we can trust the NT. How do we know it has not been changed when the originals were written such a long time ago.
F.F. Bruce, a professor in Christian Theologian did some work and wrote a book about the New Testament Documents. The comparison with other early documents is striking.
Take Theucydides – the earliest copies we have were written 1300 year after the original. We have 8 of these copies.
Or Caesars Gallic Wars – the earliest copy we have was written 900 years after the original. We have 10 of these copies.
No classical scholar doubts the authenticity of these works, in spite of the large time gap and the relatively few copies of the manuscripts.
Looking at the NT, the earliest fragments we have were written 60-80 years after the originals. The earliest complete manuscript was written 300 years after the original. The numbers are astounding. We have 5000 Greek, 10000 Latin and 9300 others!
F.F.Bruce – when commenting in his book on the reliability of the NT summarised this subject well by quoting Sir Frederic Kenyon, a leading scholar in the area.
“The interval between the dates of original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes so small as to be almost negligible, and the last foundation of any doubt that the scriptures have come down to us largely as written has now been removed. Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the New Testament may now be regarded as finally established.”
So we know from the evidence outside and inside the New Testament that Jesus existed. But who is he?
When Martin Scorsese wrote the “Last temptation of Christ” he said he was doing it to show that Jesus was fully human. But few people doubt that today.
The bible speaks of him having a human body. He got tired, he got hungry.
John 4:6 – “Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about midday.”
He had human emotions – he got angry, he loved, he was sad.
Mark 11:15-17 “On reading Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves”
He went through human experiences – he was tempted, he learned, he worked, he obeyed his parents.
Mark 1:13 – “he was in the desert for forty days, being tempted by Satan.”
The question at hand is was he only a human being.
Billy Connolly once said – “I can’t believe in Christianity, but I think Jesus was a wonderful teacher”
As we are following the evidence, what evidence is their to suggest that Jesus was anything more than just a good teacher or moral leader?
As we shall see, there is a great deal of evidence that might lead is to see that Jesus was and is the unique Son of God.
What did He say about himself?
Some people say he never claimed to be God. Well, it is true that he never said the words “I am God” – but he said many things that show that Jesus knew and indeed claimed to be God himself.
So much of what Jesus said was centred on himself.
So many today are looking for significance, satisfaction in life - Jesus said “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35)
So many are looking for direction, a light in the darkness of life - Jesus said “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12)
So many live in fear of death and dying, often because people don’t know what happens after we die - Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25-26)
So many today are asking about the meaning of life. What is the way? Jesus said “I am the way the truth and the life” (John 14:6)
A child once drew a picture and his mother asked what he was doing. The child said, “I am drawing a picture of God”. The mother said, “Don’t be silly. You can’t draw a picture of God. No-one knows what God looks like.” The child replied, “Well, they will when I have finished!”
Jesus is saying, in effect – If you want to know what God is like, look at me!
Jesus claim to be able to forgive sins is well known. On one occasion, at the beginning of Mark’s account he said to a man who was paralysed “Son, your sins are forgiven”. The religious leaders responded by accusing him of Blasphemy. They said “Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Jesus went on to heal the man proving he had forgiven him. He forgave people’s sins.
Another extraordinary claim that Jesus made was that he would one day judge the world. He said he would return and “Sit on his throne in heavenly glory”. All the nations would gather before him and he would pass judgement on them. Some would receive and inheritance prepared for them since the creation of the world and eternal life, some would suffer the punishment of separation from God forever.
Effectively Jesus said he would decide what happens to as at the end of time. For a mere human to make a claim would be madness, unless he was more than a human – unless he was almighty God.
Jesus made some other claims that were far more direct, and very important for us as we think about who he really was.
He claimed to be the Messiah. (Mark 4)
The woman said, ‘I know that the Messiah is coming. When he comes he will explain everything to us’.
Jesus said, ‘I who speak to you am he’
He claimed to be the Son of God (John 3)
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”
He claimed to be God. (John 10)
“… we are not stoning you for any of these”, said the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God”
Well, we can see very clearly that Jesus made a whole lot of claims about himself. But what is the evidence?
His Teaching.
Jesus’ teaching is widely acknowledged to be the greatest teaching that anyone who has ever spoken. Many other world religions recognise Jesus teaching as being remarkable. He drew crowds with his words. People the world over try and base their lives on the Sermon on the Mount. Many of the laws of the west, and in our own country are (or were) based on his teachings.
His works.
Jesus spoke of the miracles and acts he performed as evidence for who he was. Can you imagine being around him. Turning water into wine. Healing the sick, raising the dead, calming storms with a word, defeating evil powers and bringing people to their right mind.
But it wasn’t just his miracles. His love for those who were outsiders – the sick, prostitutes. His respect for women, his welcoming of children. All marked him out. And ultimately his love, on the cross to be able to say “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing” about those who killed him.
His Character.
He exemplified supreme love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. We are told he was a man in whom his enemies could find no fault.
Old Testament prophecy.
We can read over 300 prophecies, written hundreds or even thousands of years before Jesus that he fulfilled, 29 in a single day - the day he died.
Some may say he was a clever con-man. The problem is, the sheer volume of the prophecies and the nature of some of them – he had no control over them. His place of birth, the manner of his death, the place of his burial,
He defeated death.
This is one of the most well known, and often challenged claims about Jesus life – was he raised from the dead.
What is the evidence?
- His absence from the tomb
Some say he wasn’t dead, he only fainted or swooned. Jesus had been flogged by Roman soldiers (The passion), he had been hung on the cross for 6 hours. The soldiers were professional executioners – they would never have taken his body down unless they were convinced he was dead. And how could he move a stone weighting probably 1.5 tonnes in that state?
Furthermore we are told a spear was forced into his side, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. Without going into grim detail, any doctor will tell you that the blood separates out after death into clot and serum.
Was the body stolen by the disciples? Psychologically they were in a state. Their leader had died and they would be depressed and disheartened. Besides which, they were all willing to die for the claim that he had risen from the dead. If they knew he hadn’t they would have been willing to die for a lie.
The authorities wouldn’t have stolen it. If they had they would have brought the body out when the claim went around that he was still alive!
- His appearance to the disciples
We are told that he followers saw him in the flesh – in fact at one point 550 people saw him.
Were they hallucinating?
Unlikely – they were not particularly highly imaginative, highly strung and nervous characters. They were burly fishermen. Jesus appeared to his disciples on 11 occasion over 6 weeks. This is most certainly not a pattern of hallucination, let alone how did it happen to 550 people all at once.
- It’s effect.
Off the back of this experience of meeting the risen Christ the church grew at an amazing rate. Even today, countless millions attest to the fact the Jesus is not dead, he was raised from the dead and that we can still know him – not in a physical way, as we know one another, but in no less real a way. We can speak to him.
Therefore as Lord Darlington said,
“In its favour as living truth there exists such overwhelming evidence, positive and negative, factual and circumstantial, that no intelligent jury in the world could fail to bring in a verdict that the resurrection is true”.
So as close in summary, CS Lewis once said this –
“We are faced with a frightening alternative. The man we are talking about was [and is] just what he said or else a lunatic or something worse. Now it seems to me obvious that he was neither a lunatic nor a fiend; and consequently, however strange or terrifying it may seem, I have to accept the view that he was and is God. God has landed in this enemy occupied world in human form.”
We are left with a question – who do we think Jesus is? The evidence is there and is overwhelming.
With thanks to Alpha International. All Alpha talks are based around the outline in the Alpha Course Manual. For more information go to Alpha.org