The person of Jesus Christ Flashcards
foundations
three sections to persons of Jesus
- son of God
- teacher of wisdom
- a liberator
quote
-“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
Jesus the Son of God
-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
Jesus the Son of God – human
-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?
Jesus the Son of God – Divine
-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?
Churches responses
-Church of Chalcedon (AD 451) -Christ has two natures which come together in one person
-“truly God and truly man”
possible solutions to Jesus’ nature
-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
challenges to this
-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”
was Jesus just one of many?
-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
miracles
-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
deeper meaning of miracles – bleeding woman
-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
deeper meaning of Miracles – healing the blind
-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
deeper meaning of Miracles – resurrection
-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
the resurrection
-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
Jesus as the teacher of wisdom
-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)
sermon on the mount
-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
Jesus’ moral teachings
-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
Jesus the Liberator
-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?
Jesus the Political and Social revolutionary
-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
was Jesus a Pacifist? - yes
-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”
was Jesus a Pacifist? - no
-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
