The person of Jesus Christ

Question 1

three sections to persons of Jesus

Answer 1

1. son of God
2. teacher of wisdom
3. a liberator

Question 2

quote

Answer 2

-“christians have no problem accepting Christ as holy, as God. but they always have problems accepting him also as a human being at the same time” - Zeffirelli

Question 3

Jesus the Son of God

Answer 3

-title given to Jesus in the New Testament and by the early Church
-links to the Christian doctrine of the trinity and incarnation (God becomes human)
-Jesus calls God ‘Abba’ (Greek for Father) and heavenly voices calls Jesus ‘my son’ but Jesus doesn’t use the term ‘son’ himself

Question 4

Jesus the Son of God – human

Answer 4

-there are a number of problems if Jesus was fully human and divine
-example, Paul wrote that humans have a sinful corrupting nature, did Jesus therefore have this nature?

Question 5

Jesus the Son of God – Divine

Answer 5

-in order to save humanity from sin, Jesus had to be Divine as only God has that redemptive power
-problem: if Jesus was God, did Jesus really suffer on the cross and actually die from crucifixion? does this mean his resurrection wasn’t real?

Question 6

Churches responses

Answer 6

-Church of Chalcedon (AD 451) -Christ has two natures which come together in one person
-“truly God and truly man”

Question 7

possible solutions to Jesus’ nature

Answer 7

-Rahner (theologian) suggests a genuinely human consciousness must have an unknown future
-if Jesus had his father’s awareness of all time, he can hardly be called human
-solution= the onion
-onions have many layers of skin so maybe Jesus’ human self awareness was top layers and deeper layers were his divine consciousness

Question 8

challenges to this

Answer 8

-O’Collins challenges the possibility of answering these sorts of questions because understanding the inner experiences of Jesus’ life is very challenging as he left no writings
-“what did Jesus know about himself and his mission?.. he knew that he stood in a unique relationship to the Father and that as Son he had a mission of salvation for others”

Question 9

was Jesus just one of many?

Answer 9

-Hick recognised that if Jesus was only aware of God’s will and God’s willingness to act - no different from many others: Moses, Jeremiah, Muhammed, Guru Nanak etc.
-Hick concluded that Christianity without the incarnation becomes one of many religions that each perceive God in a different way
-christians reject the idea that Jesus’ moral guidance can be separated from his Divine nature
-C.S Lewis rejected anyone who accepted Jesus as a teacher but not the Son of God

Question 10

miracles

Answer 10

-Jesus’ power to walk on water, his power to drive out demons, to recreate sights, speech and even life are things only God can do = Jesus was God’s son
-Christians believe miracles happen today too through the Holy Spirit’s continued presence
-Hume (Essays on Miracles) argued that because we have no present day, direct experiences of miracles = not possible to say that Jesus walked on water

-miracles should be seen in a metaphorical or spiritual way rather than literal
-N.T Wright discusses how Jesus cures people from groups that have been excluded from society. Jesus is reuniting the socially excluded, ritually unclean, separated groups back into a relationship with God
-Wright’s interpretation – Jesus’ miracles show a greater authority than simple a power to alter the way the universe works

Question 11

deeper meaning of miracles – bleeding woman

Answer 11

-Jesus often overturned social norms
-he had women followers and women were mentioned a lot in the Gospels
-Jesus heals the woman through touch = scandalous at the time
-suggests an inclusive attitude towards women
-Mark 5

Question 12

deeper meaning of Miracles – healing the blind

Answer 12

-Jesus himself identifies his action as God working through him
-this miracle wasn’t automatically accepted
-the Pharisees investigated to find out whether the ‘blind’ man was actually blind
-investigations revealed the man was blind and can now see, the Pharisees still rejected it
-John 9

Question 13

deeper meaning of Miracles – resurrection

Answer 13

-For Paul, if Jesus wasn’t resurrected then all preaching would be in vain. sins would not have been washed clean and at death all would perish
-Wright suggests that the belief that Jesus rose from the dead was the reason why Jesus’ disciples regrouped and rapidly changed their traditional worship to focus on christ

Question 14

the resurrection

Answer 14

-discloses God in a new and starting way = focusing on suffering, new life and unconditional love
-certainty in the future Kingdom of God (heaven)
-full and final revelation of Jesus
-miracle
-reveals the glorified transformed being after death
-the weak can mediate God’s revelation

Question 15

Jesus as the teacher of wisdom

Answer 15

-Jesus’ teaching set a moral example - role model
-he advocated; repentance, forgiveness, spiritual purity, love for others, healing of the sick etc.
-“Jesus was a great moral teacher” - Dawkins
-sometimes seen as a Rabbi: a term of respect used for educated teachers who interpreted the law
-Jesus clearly could read and spent a lot of time preaching in the synagogues
-used controversial or surprising stories, designed to get his followers to think about their preconceptions
-Jesus practiced what he preached (orthopraxis)
-teachings remain relevant today (New Testament)

Question 16

sermon on the mount

Answer 16

-Matthew’s Gospel - The Sermon on the Mount
-contains most of Jesus’s main teachings
-started with the Beatitudes (blessed are); the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the merciful, the pure in heart etc.
-taught by Jesus, intentions were more important than outcomes (deontological)
-Jesus’ Golden Rule - “do unto others…” links in with idea of treating other as you want to be treated

Question 17

Jesus’ moral teachings

Answer 17

-five main moral teachings:
1.agape (unconditional love) – not physical, sexual, emotional, it is without condition – “love thy neighbour” – established by St. Paul in response to all the problems in Christian communities – agape is more subjective and applies to individual situations/new demands – developed by Fletcher
2. justice, mercy and forgiveness – must treat others fairly and ‘fight’ for equality of others, forgiveness should come first and we should not judge others without looking at our own shortcomings first – John 8 “if anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her”
3.service and humility – put others first and acting in the service of other out of agape, not for reward or praise, should never think of ourselves as better than others – John 13, Jesus teaches Christians to serve one another
4.honesty and integrity – need to have a consistent good behaviour and set a good example to others
5.spirituality not materialism – need to be genuine in your love of God and concentrate on your spiritual life – “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter heaven” Matthew

Question 18

Jesus the Liberator

Answer 18

-Jesus wanted to set the people free from social convention, religious restriction, political domination
-seen as a religious revolutionary:
-someone who challenged the established religious authorities, institutions and rules with a radically different spiritual message that sought to break down the division between God and people
-arguments with the Pharisees and Scribes over religious laws, arrested by Supreme Court of Justice, handed to Pontius for execution
-seen as a reformer seeking political and social revolution:
-liberating the people of Israel from Roman occupation
-zealots = groups leading open conflict
-Jesus’ followers had suspicious names = Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot (‘dagger man’)
-understanding of Jesus by followers changed over time, trying to hide Jesus’ revolution?

Question 19

Jesus the Political and Social revolutionary

Answer 19

-when Jesus was arrested he was labelled the King of the Jews and put to death for a civic crime, NOT a religious one
-many of Jesus’ actions can be seen to be clearly orchestrated as a political move
-example, when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and the crowd laid cloaks in remembrance of King Jehu and laid palm branches to symbolise the Maccabees who liberated Israel two centuries earlier
-many scholars believe it was carefully planned by Jesus to fulfil Zechariah’s prophecy and to send a message that the Messiah had come to set Israel free

Question 19

was Jesus a Pacifist? - yes

Answer 19

-in the sermon on the mount he says - ‘blessed are the peacemakers”
-refused to take up military power when tempted in the wilderness (Luke 4)
-he stopped weapons being used to prevent his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane -“those who take up the sword will die by the sword”

Question 20

was Jesus a Pacifist? - no

Answer 20

-Jesus was active in challenging negative impacts of oppression
-he spent time with many who were oppressed
-confronted authority and demonstrated righteous anger when driving out the money changers from the Temple
-also crucified next to bandits, Romans saw him as one too? - social banditry first step to violence to overthrow the people in power that oppressed the masses