Peter s Declaration about Jesus

Transcription

1 WHO IS JESUS?

2 Who do you say that I am? Jesus compels a choice Mk 8:27-30 Peter s Declaration about Jesus 27 Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, Who do people say that I am? 28 And they answered him, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets. 29 He asked them, But who do you say that I am? Peter answered him, You are the Messiah. 30 And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

3 The Jesus Possibilities Here is a table of Christological heresies. A heresy is a religious belief that is opposed to the orthodox doctrines of the Church Heresy Humanity Divinity Docetism Not human Fully divine Apollinarism Human Body Divine Spirit Eutychianism Fusion of natures to produce a new thing Nestorianism Separate Humanity Separate Divinity Adoptionism Exceptional Humanity Honorary Divinity Ebionism Fully Human Not Divine Orthodoxy Distinctly human Distinctly divine

4 Who is Jesus? The Hebrew name Jesus means God saves Jesus is the Son, the second divine person of the triune (3 in 1) God In the Incarnation (becoming a flesh and bone human) God shared our sufferings, death, became like us in all things but sin Jesus became our brother, but did not cease to be God at the same time Jesus reveals to us who God really is and the true ideal of man

5 Fully God and Fully Human Jesus was not partially God, partially human. The orthodox view is that Jesus was fully God, fully human This is called the hypostatic union one personality of Christ in which his two natures are united. In Jesus, God really became one of us and thus our brother; nevertheless, he did not cease to be God at the same time and thus our Lord. The Council of Chalcedon in the year 451 taught that the divinity and the humanity in the one person Jesus Christ are united together without division or confusion Distinctly human, distinctly divine Charcoal briquette analogy: where does one substance begin and where does it end?

6 Jesus body, mind, soul Did Jesus have a soul, a mind, and a body just as we do? Yes. Jesus worked with human hands, he thought with a human mind. He acted with a human will, and with a human heart he loved The humanity of Jesus is complete and includes also the fact that Jesus possessed a soul and developed psychologically and spiritually. In this soul dwelled his human identity and his special self-consciousness. Jesus knew about his unity with his heavenly Father in the Holy Spirit, by whom he allowed himself to be guided in every situation of his life.

7 Docetism Docetism is the heresy that Jesus looked like a human but actually wasn't one Important in Gnosticism, Docetism teaches that Christ's body was not human but either a phantasm or of real but celestial substance, and that therefore his sufferings were only apparent. Not human, fully divine e.g. Superman

8 Apollionarism Christ had a human body and a human sensitive soul, but no human rational mind, the Divine Logos taking the place of this last. Human body, divine spirit

9 Nestorianism Nestorianism is the heresy that Jesus had two divided natures or two different persons one human and one divine e.g. The Hulk Both a green-skinned, hulking and muscular humanoid possessing a vast degree of physical strength, and his alter ego Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, a physically weak, socially withdrawn, and emotionally reserved physicist, the two existing as independent personalities and resenting of the other. Separate humanity, separate divinity

10 Eutychianism (monophysitism) Derived from the ideas of Eutyches of Constantinople (c. 380 c. 456) The belief that Jesus had one nature that was the fusion of the human and divine natures so that the human nature was completely absorbed into the divine nature. e.g. Spider-Man Fusion of human and divine natures to produce a new nature

11 Ebionism The heresy that the denies deity of Jesus. Ebionites believed Jesus was Messiah and will return to save the world but denied that he was divine and his virgin birth. Ebionites insisted on the necessity of following Jewish law and rites. e.g. Batman Not divine, fully human

12 Without division or confusion The Church grappled for a long time with the problem of how to express the relation between the divinity and humanity in Jesus Christ. Divinity and humanity are not in competition with each other, which would make Jesus only partially God and only partially man. Nor is it true that the divine and human in Jesus are confused. Contrary to all these heresies, the Church has adhered to the belief that Jesus Christ is at the same time true God and true man in one Person. The famous formula, without division or confusion (Council of Chalcedon) does not attempt to explain something that is too sublime for human understanding, but rather draws the boundaries, so to speak, of the faith. It indicates the line along which the mystery of the person of Jesus Christ can be investigated.

13 Jesus identity Either/or We must give an either/or answer: Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters (Matt. 12:30) Jesus does not allow for the middleground answer that many of us give today, i.e. I don t think he s God, but he s a very inspiring religious teacher This domesticated picture of Jesus, is not the one painted by the Gospels writers

14 Giving it all to Him Jesus asked, Who do you say I am? he did not ask, What do you think about my teaching? What impression am I making on people? The Gospels are about Jesus identity he speaks and acts in the person of God, forgiving sins, calming the sea, healing disease, raising the dead he is a lot more than a spiritual teacher! He is God himself! Luke 14:26 Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple Jesus would-be followers need to put Him (God) before all else!

15 Jesus is the Lord Mark 10:32 [The disciples] were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid You can be intrigued, captivated, interested by a spiritual teacher but amazed and afraid? Awe and fear are the two standard responses to God (Yahweh) in the Old Testament Jesus was God in the Flesh, Yahweh moving among his people

16 Four signs of the Messiah The ancient Israelites expected Yahweh to accomplish four great things: 1. Gather and Shepherd his People 2. Purify the Holy Temple in Jerusalem 3. Overcome the enemies of Israel 4. Reign as the Lord of the nations Jesus accomplishes all these things but in the most unexpected ways, so when he says The Kingdom of God is at hand he is referring to himself

17 Gathering the People In the Old Testament Yahweh gathers a people together the Jews are His chosen people who will show the nations of the world who God is Jesus practices open table fellowship (Yahweh is gathering prostitutes, sinners, tax collectors, sick, forgotten to his table) Jesus heals people (The sick were seen as cursed and could not worship with the rest of the community - Jesus is Yahweh restoring them to the community i.e. communion) Jesus upsets social conventions Men didn t speak to women openly, touching a dead body made you ritually unclean, tells his disciples to take the lowest places at banquet tables

18 Purifying the Temple The Temple in Jerusalem was the centre of religious, liturgical, social, cultural life The Temple is the place where Yahweh was worshipped. The Jews were to show the world what right worship was all about The prophet Ezekiel tells of how God s glory left the Temple. Israel s false worship of other gods has corrupted the Temple but God s glory would return when the Temple was purified and water would flow out of its side

19 Purifying the Temple Jesus drives the moneychangers out of the temple, turns over the tables, promises to tear down and rebuild the temple in three days Jesus pronounces judgment on old Temple, establishes himself as new place of right praise Matthew 12:6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. Rebuilding the temple in three days is a reference to his body: Jesus is the pure Temple At the crucifixion, a Roman soldier pierces Jesus side and blood and water flow out this is the side of the Temple that Ezekiel spoke of (Jn: 19:34)

20 Purifying the Temple St. Paul in second letter to Corinthians But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. The Church holds Christ The treasure in clay jars Christ operating in the Church cleanses and purifies the Church from corruption, scandal

21 The Davidic Warrior Yahweh fights against Israel s enemies in the Old Testament Israel s enemies include Egypt, Philistines, Assyrians and Babylonians, Greeks, Romans Jesus comes to fight, but what a strange warrior he was

22 David Warrior - Christmas Christmas story is filled with this theme: Quirinias governor of Syria, Caesar Augustus is the emperor of the world Best protected in the ancient world? Caesar Jesus arrives unprotected in a cave or stable Most powerful in ancient world? Caesar Jesus comes a baby, wrapped up in swaddling clothes, vulnerable Best fed in ancient world? Caesar Augustus Jesus? He is not fed, becomes food for the world Jesus crib is a manger - trough Best army in the ancient world? Caesar Jesus A heavenly host of angels appears over Bethlehem when Jesus is born (heavenly host is an army of angels)

23 David Warrior - Easter The Cross is the final battle, the climax of the battle all forms of human dysfunction, hatred, denial, betrayal, cruelty, stupidity, institutional injustice, all human darkness comes out to meet him Jesus interrupts violence, vengeance with forgiveness Father, forgive them, they know not what they do Taking away sin is how he fights

24 Reigning as Lord of the nations The first Christians saw the Risen Jesus They went to Rome, the centre of the world then, to proclaim this message During this time it was customary to say in Greek, Kaiser Kyrios which meant, Caesar is Lord -- Paul, in all his letters, says Iesous Kyrios Marks first line of his Gospel, The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God -- The phrase good news was used to announce Caesar s military victories, Son of God was the title reserved for Caesar To proclaim this message in the heart of the empire, Rome, was very dangerous From Rome, the good news of Jesus Christ has spread to the world Caesar has no successor today, St. Peter does, the Pope