Reasons Community June 11, 2017
Welcome to Reasons! June 11, 2017 Join us as we examine apologetics, worldview, science and faith topics through thought-provoking teaching, lively discussion, and a variety of media and formats. Whether you are seeking to be better equipped to answer tough questions about the Christian faith, or asking them yourself, we strive to engage, inform, encourage, and inspire clear thinking. Visit our website! reasons.community
Series Outline On Guard. Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision by Willian Lane Craig 1. What is Apologetics 2. What Difference Does it Make if God Exists? 3. Why Does Anything at All Exist? 4. Why Did the Universe Begin? 5. Why is the Universe Fine-tuned for Life? 6. Can We Be Good without God? 7. What about Suffering? 8. Who Was Jesus? 9. Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? 10. Is Jesus the Only Way to God?
What s Coming Up for Reasons 6/4 6/11 6/18 6/25 7/2 On Guard 8 Who Was Jesus? - Part 1 On Guard 8 Who Was Jesus? - Part 2 On Guard 9 Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? On Guard 10 Is Jesus the Only Way to God? No meeting 4 th of July weekend
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Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision 8. Who Was Jesus? Part 2
Who Was Jesus? What are the range of views? Mythology Not a real person Never actually existed Historical man Unique Son of God Fully God Savior of the world
The Jesus of Faith versus The Jesus of History
The Jesus of History The Jesus Movement Is our trust in the Gospel accounts of Jesus rational? Can we defend them to a skeptic? Looking at the historical record with the objective, neutral, and unfeeling eye of a historian of ancient times, is it rational to believe the Jesus of history is really the same Jesus we know in faith?
The Jesus of History The Jesus Movement Our goal is to make a reasoned case for: the radical personal claims of Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of God, and the Son of Man His resurrection from the dead and thus for our faith in Him as God, our Savior
Sources and Methods of Study Sources What sources do we have? Jesus of Nazareth is referred to in a range of ancient sources inside and outside the writings in the New Testament, including Christian, Roman and Jewish sources We have more information about Jesus than we do for most major figures of antiquity
Sources and Methods of Study Sources: Non-biblical, non-christian Thallus (52AD) quoted by Julius Africanus & others On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun. (Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18:1) Conclusions: Jesus lived, He was crucified, and there was an earthquake and darkness at the point of His crucifixion.
Conclusions: Jesus lived in Judea, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and had followers who were persecuted for their faith in Christ. Sources and Methods of Study Sources: Non-biblical, non-christian Tacitus (56-120AD) Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular.
Sources and Methods of Study Sources: Non-biblical, non-christian Mara Bar-Serapion (70AD) (refers to Jesus as wise king ) What benefit did the Athenians obtain by putting Socrates to death? Famine and plague came upon them as judgment for their crime. Or, the people of Samos for burning Pythagoras? In one moment their country was covered with sand. Or the Jews by murdering their wise king? After that their kingdom was abolished. God rightly avenged these men The wise king Lived on in the teachings he enacted. Conclusions: He was a wise and influential man who died for His beliefs. The Jewish leadership was somehow responsible for Jesus death. Jesus followers adopted His beliefs and lived their lives accordingly.
Sources and Methods of Study Sources: Non-biblical, non-christian Pliny the Younger (61-113AD) They (the Christians) were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food but food of an ordinary and innocent kind. Conclusions: The first Christians believed Jesus was GOD, the first Christians upheld a high moral code, and these early followers met regularly to worship Jesus.
Sources and Methods of Study Sources: Non-biblical, non-christian Suetonius (69-140AD) Because the Jews at Rome caused constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus (Christ), he (Claudius) expelled them from the city (Rome). (Life of Claudius, 25:4) expulsion took place in 49 AD Nero inflicted punishment on the Christians, a sect given to a new and mischievous religious belief. (Lives of the Caesars, 26.2) 64 AD fire, Nero Conclusions: Early Christians were committed to their belief Jesus was God and withstood the torment and punishment of the Roman Empire. Jesus had a curious and immediate impact on His followers, empowering them to die courageously for what they knew to be true.
Sources and Methods of Study Sources: Non-biblical, non-christian Lucian of Samosata (115-200 A.D.) The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account.you see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them; and then it was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take quite on faith, with the result that they despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property. (Lucian, The Death of Peregrine. 11-13) Conclusions: Jesus taught about repentance and about the family of God. These teachings were quickly adopted by Jesus followers and exhibited to the world around them.
Sources and Methods of Study Sources: Non-biblical, Jewish Josephus (37-101AD) The Antiquities of the Jews 93 AD Now around this time lived Jesus, a wise man. For he was a worker of amazing deeds and was a teacher of people who gladly accept the truth. He won over both many Jews and many Greeks. Pilate, when he heard him accused by the leading men among us, condemned him to the cross, (but) those who had first loved him did not cease (doing so). To this day the tribe of Christians named after him has not disappeared Neutral reconstruction John Meier, A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus Conclusions: Jesus lived in Palestine, was a wise man and a teacher, worked amazing deeds, was accused by the Jews, crucified under Pilate and had followers called Christians.
Sources and Methods of Study Sources: Non-biblical, hostile secular & Jewish Compilation of what can be learned from non-biblical sources: Jesus was born and lived in Palestine. He was born, supposedly, to a virgin and had an earthly father who was a carpenter. He was a teacher who taught that through repentance and belief, all followers would become brothers and sisters. He led the Jews away from their beliefs. He was a wise man who claimed to be God and the Messiah. He had unusual magical powers and performed miraculous deeds. He healed the lame. He accurately predicted the future. He was persecuted by the Jews for what He said, betrayed by Judah Iskarioto. He was beaten with rods, forced to drink vinegar and wear a crown of thorns. He was crucified on the eve of the Passover and this crucifixion occurred under the direction of Pontius Pilate, during the time of Tiberius. On the day of His crucifixion, the sky grew dark and there was an earthquake. Afterward, He was buried in a tomb and the tomb was later found to be empty. He appeared to His disciples resurrected from the grave and showed them His wounds. These disciples then told others Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven. Jesus disciples and followers upheld a high moral code. One of them was named Matthai. The disciples were also persecuted for their faith but were martyred without changing their claims. They met regularly to worship Jesus, even after His death.
Sources and Methods of Study Sources The most important historical sources on Jesus have been collected into what we call The New Testament
Sources and Methods of Study Methods If we want to do a good historical study what sort of sources would we want? Do the New Testament materials match that? Treating them just like any other collection of ancient documents
Sources and Methods of Study Methods From the objective, neutral, and unfeeling eye of a historian of ancient times, to exclude the writings in the New Testament (because it s also a Christian holy book ) would be a crazy method of study, because the New Testament contains the earliest primary sources, closest to Jesus.
Sources and Methods of Study Burden of Proof Should we assume the gospels are reliable unless proven unreliable or unreliable unless proven reliable? Skeptical scholars almost always assume that the gospels are guilty until proven innocent
Sources and Methods of Study Burden of Proof Five reasons to reject the skeptical assumption that the gospels are guilty until proven innocent:
Sources and Methods Burden of Proof 1. There was insufficient time for legendary influences to erase the core historical facts. All historians agree that the gospels were written down and circulated during the first generation after the events, while the eyewitnesses were still alive. Historians have found it takes time for legends to accumulate, and even two generations is too short a time span to allow legendary tendencies to wipe out the hard core of historical facts. In order for the gospels to be legendary at their core, more generations would be needed between the events they record and the date of their composition.
Sources and Methods Burden of Proof 2. The gospels are not analogous to folk tales or contemporary urban legends. The gospels are about real people who actually lived, real events that actually occurred, and real places that actually existed. For example, in his history book Antiquities, the first century Romano-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus refers to Pontius Pilate, Joseph Caiaphas, John the Baptist, and well as Jesus. The gospels are not folk tales about a non-historical figure like Paul Bunyan or Pecos Bill.
Sources and Methods Burden of Proof 3. The Jewish transmission of sacred traditions was highly developed and reliable. In an oral culture like that of first-century Israel, the ability to memorize and retain large tracts of oral tradition was a highly prized and highly developed skill. From the earliest age children in the home, elementary school, and the synagogue were taught to memorize faithfully sacred tradition. The disciples would have exercised similar care with the teachings of Jesus.
Sources and Methods Burden of Proof 4. There were significant restraints on the embellishment of traditions about Jesus, such as the presence of eyewitnesses and the apostles supervision. Eyewitnesses to Jesus were still around and could be asked about what Jesus had said and done. The oral history about Jesus remained under the supervision of the original apostles. These factors would act as a natural check on tendencies to elaborate the facts in a direction contrary to the one preserved by those who had known Jesus.
Sources and Methods Burden of Proof 5. The gospel writers have a proven track record of historical reliability. Where the gospel writers can be checked, discrepancies are the exception, not the norm. For example, historians have investigated the gospel writer Luke s Acts (part of a single work divided up in the New Testament into the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles) for the accuracy of its historical and geographic detail: Luke s accuracy is consistently excellent, from the sailings of the Alexandrian corn fleet to the coastal terrain of the Mediterranean islands to the peculiar titles of local officials.
Sources and Methods of Study Burden of Proof Five reasons to reject the skeptical assumption that the gospels are guilty until proven innocent: 1. There was insufficient time for legendary influences to erase the core historical facts 2. The gospels are not analogous to folk tales or contemporary urban legends 3. The Jewish transmission of sacred traditions was highly developed and reliable 4. There were significant restraints on the embellishment of traditions about Jesus, such as the presence of eyewitnesses and the apostles supervision 5. The gospel writers have a proven track record of historical reliability
Sources and Methods of Study Criteria of Authenticity Scholars have developed criteria of authenticity that provide signs of historical credibility A story in the gospels exhibiting one of these signs is, all things being equal, more likely to be historical than it would have been without it
Sources and Methods of Study Criteria of Authenticity A list of some of the most important: 1. Historical fit: The incident fits in with known historical facts of the time and place. 2. Independent, early sources: The incident is related in multiple sources, which are near to the time when the incident is said to have occurred and which don t rely on each other or on a common source. 3. Embarrassment: The incident is awkward or counterproductive for the early Christian church.
Sources and Methods of Study Criteria of Authenticity A list of some of the most important: 4. Dissimilarity: The incident is unlike earlier Jewish ideas and/ or unlike later Christian ideas. 5. Semitisms: Traces of Hebrew or Aramaic language (spoken by Jesus countrymen) appear in the story. 6. Coherence: The incident fits in with facts already established about Jesus.
Sources and Methods of Study Criteria of Authenticity Things to note: 1. The criteria of authenticity are positive signs of historical credibility. They can increase the probability some incident is true, but they cannot be used to deny an incident If an incident is not embarrassing, it does not mean it didn t happen. Many skeptical scholars (such as the Jesus Seminar and Bart Ehrman) misuse the criteria by applying them negatively, assuming an incident is false unless it meets several of the criteria of authenticity. 2. The criteria apply to specific incidents, not to a whole book
The Jesus Seminar Eighty-two percent of the words ascribed to Jesus in the gospels were not actually spoken by him Results published in The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus Participants voted with colored beads on the authenticity of each word attributed to Jesus by the gospel writers
COLORED BEAD VOTING PROCEDURE Red: Jesus undoubtedly said this or something very like it Pink: Jesus probably said something like this. Gray: Jesus did not say this, but the ideas contained in it are close to his own Black: Jesus did not say this; it represents the perspective or content of a later or different tradition
AN EXAMPLE: THE LORD S PRAYER: Luke 11:2-4 When you pray, you should say: Father, your name be revered. Impose your imperial rule. Provide us with the bread we need day by day Forgive our sins, since we too forgive everyone in debt to us And please don t subject us to test after test. (5G, 325, cf. Mt. version, 148)
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be?
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims We will look at three of Jesus explicit claims to divinity: The Messiah = the Anointed One = the Christ The unique Son of God = Son of the Blessed One The Son of Man Then we will then look at several implicit claims to divinity made by Jesus, in his: preaching of the Kingdom of God style and content of his teaching exorcisms claim to forgive sins miracles role as Judge
Messiah: Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: Messiah From the Hebrew for the Anointed One Greek: Christos or Christ In Jesus day, the Messiah was hoped for as: A descendant of King David who would become King over Israel and all the nations, and Would be a spiritual shepherd of Israel Jesus did not become a king over Israel and all nations. How did he get the title Messiah associated with his name? (Jesus the Christ = the Messiah)
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: Messiah Peter s Confession (Mark 8:27-29): 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? And they answered him, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets. He asked them, But who do you say that I am? Peter answered him, You are the Messiah. Independent source: John 6:69 NRSV: Peter says We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: Messiah Jesus answer to John the Baptist in prison (Matt. 11: 2 6; Luke 7: 19 23) John asks Jesus, Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another? Jesus answer to John is a blend of prophecies from Isaiah 35: 5 6; 26: 19; 61: 1 (the last of which explicitly mentions being God s Anointed One) Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: Messiah Jesus answer to John the Baptist in prison (Matt. 11: 2 6; Luke 7: 19 23) Dead Sea Scrolls 4Q521: [ For the hea]vens and the earth shall listen to his Messiah [and all t]hat is in them shall not turn away from the commandments of the holy ones. He will honor the pious upon the th[ro]ne of the eternal kingdom, setting prisoners free, opening the eyes of the blind, raising up those who are bo[wed down.] And the Lord shall do glorious things which have not been done, just as he said. For he will heal the injured, he shall make alive the dead, he shall proclaim good news to the afflicted. Criteria of embarrassment, historical fit, and coherence with other authentic material, coupled with its presence in a very early source, give good grounds for seeing this incident as historical
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: Messiah Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mark 11: 1 11; John 12: 12 19) seated upon a donkey a dramatic, provocative assertion of his messianic status. He is deliberately fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9: Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: Messiah Jesus action in the temple (Mark 11: 15 17). Jesus disrupted commercial activities in the temple, fulfilling the last sentence of Zechariah s prophecy of Israel s saving king: And there shall no longer be traders in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day. (Zech. 14: 21).
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: Messiah Jesus trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin (Mark 14: 61 65) Jesus had made a prophecy about the temple s destruction (Mark 14: 58; John 2: 19), which the Jewish authorities sought to turn against Him. In Jewish literature of Jesus day, God is identified as the one who built the temple and who threatens to destroy it. In the Dead Sea Scrolls the Messiah is called the Son of God, who will build the temple (4Q174). At the trial Jesus is accused: We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands. When Jesus does not answer, the high priest demands of Jesus, Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One? Jesus said, I am (Mark 14: 61, 62a). This accusation shows that Jesus was on trial for His messianic claims.
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: Messiah Jesus crucifixion as King of the Jews (Mark 15:26, John 19:19) Jesus claim to be the Messiah (= a descendant of King David who would become King over Israel and all the nations) could be represented to the Roman authorities as treasonous, providing them justification to execute Jesus. Independent sources testify that the plaque nailed to the cross over Jesus head recording the charge against Him read, The King of the Jews (Mark 15:26; John 19:19). The criterion of dissimilarity also supports the authenticity of the charge, for the King of the Jews was never a title used for Jesus by the early church.
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: Son of God Parable of the Wicked Tenants and the Vineyard (Mark 12: 1 9) : The parable, told by Jesus to Jewish religious leaders: The vineyard symbolizes Israel (Isa. 5: 1 7), the owner is God, the tenants are the Jewish religious leaders, and the servants are prophets sent by God. The tenants beat and reject the owner s servants. Finally, the owner decides that he has one left to send: his only, beloved son. They will respect my son, he says. But instead, the tenants kill the son because he is the heir to the vineyard. The parable (also in the earliest apocryphal gospel, the Gospel of Thomas) tells us Jesus thought of Himself as God s only Son, distinct from all the prophets, God s final messenger, and even the heir of Israel itself!
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: Son of God No one knows the Father but the Son (Matthew 11:27): Matthew 11:25a, 27: Jesus said, I thank you, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Has been shown to go back to an original Aramaic version. Unlikely that early Christians invented this saying because it says that the Son is unknowable, which would exclude even Jesus followers from knowing him. But the conviction of the post-easter church is that we can know the Son (Phil. 3: 8 11). Tells us Jesus thought of Himself as the exclusive Son of God and the only revelation of God the Father to mankind.
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: Son of God No one knows not even the Son (Mark 13: 32; Matt 24:36) Mark 13:26, 32: Jesus tells Peter, James, John and Andrew of the end times and his return: they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (NRSV) Unlikely that this saying could be the later product of Christian theology, because it ascribes ignorance to the Son (criteria of embarrassment)
Son of Man: Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: Son of Man This was Jesus favorite self-description. Found over 80 times in the gospels and only once in the New Testament outside the gospels (Acts 7: 56) Thus Jesus as the Son of Man was not a title that arose in later Christianity and was then written back into the traditions about Jesus. On the basis of the criteria of independent sources and of dissimilarity, we can say with confidence that Jesus called Himself the Son of Man.
Son of Man: Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: Son of Man Phrase may come from the divine-human figure prophesized in Daniel 7:13-14 (RSV): I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Son of Man: Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: Son of Man The idea of the Son of Man being a divine-human figure is present in other Jewish writings outside the Bible: For example: 1 Enoch 48:3-6 describes a preexistent Son of Man who shall depose the kings from their thrones and kingdoms. (1 Enoch 46:5) and shall sit upon the thrones of glory (1 Enoch 69:29) The point is such ideas about the Son of Man and found in Daniel 7 and 1 Enoch were present in first century Judaism and therefore potentially in Jesus mind.
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: All Three Titles Jesus trial confession (Mark 14: 60 64): Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you? But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One? Jesus said, I am; and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision? All of them condemned him as deserving death. (NRSV)
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Explicit Claims: All Three Titles Jesus trial confession (Mark 14: 60 64): This quote illustrates how in Jesus self-understanding all the diverse claims Messiah, Son of God, Son of Man blend together, thereby taking on connotations that outstrip any single title out of context.
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Implicit Claims Implicit claims to divinity in Jesus self-understanding Jesus : preaching of the Kingdom of God style and content of his teaching exorcisms claim to forgive sins miracles role as Judge
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Implicit Claims: Kingdom of God A centerpiece of Jesus preaching was the coming of the Kingdom of God. What role did Jesus imply he would play in the kingdom? In Matthew 19:28 (cf Luke 22:28-30), we read: Peter said in reply, Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have? Jesus said to them, Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Claim is likely authentic, because it implies an earthly kingdom that did not immediately appear, and it also envisioned a throne for Judas Iscariot, present among the 12.
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Implicit Claims: Teaching The style and content of Jesus teaching Most rabbi s style of teaching was to quote extensively from other authorities who then provided the basis for their own teaching. Jesus style was to speak only on his own authority, beginning his teachings with: Truly, I Say to You Thus Matthew comments, When Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. (Matthew 7:28-29).
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Implicit Claims: Teaching The style and content of Jesus teaching. Jesus would also at times adjust the content of divine law purely on his own authority. For example when teaching on divorce, It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce. But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Matthew 5:31-32 NRSV) Jesus in other words, assumed an authority over Torah that no Pharisee or Old Testament prophet ever assumed the authority to set it aside.
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Implicit Claims: Exorcisms Jesus believed he had the power to cast out demons. In Luke 11:20, Jesus says But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. (NRSV) Implies: 1. Jesus claimed divine authority over the spiritual forces of evil. 2. Jesus believed that in Himself the Kingdom of God had come.
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Implicit Claims: Forgiving Sins Jesus claimed the power to forgive sins: Mark 2: 3-7 NRSV: Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven. Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy Who can forgive sins but God alone?
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Implicit Claims: Forgiving Sins Jesus claimed the power to forgive sins: Luke 7: 44-49 NRSV: (Jesus, speaking to a Pharisee who invited him to dinner): Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven... Then he said to her, Your sins are forgiven. But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, Who is this who even forgives sins?
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Implicit Claims: Miracles Jesus had the power to heal people and even to raise the dead. The miracle stories are so widely represented in all the gospels that the consensus of New Testament scholarship is that he did perform miracles (whatever the mechanism) Jesus miracles were taken as signs of the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God.
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Jesus Implicit Claims: Role as Judge Jesus said that people s attitudes toward Himself would be a determining factor in how God will judge them: Luke: 12:8-9 NRSV: everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Conclusion Jesus of Nazareth s self-understanding was that he was: the Messiah, the Christ God s only Son Daniel s Son of Man to whom all dominion and authority would be given As such, he had the power: To speak with divine authority, changing divine laws handed down from Moses To overcome the forces of spiritual darkness To forgive sins To work miracles He believed that acknowledgement of Him was necessary to be acknowledged before the angels of God
Who Did Jesus Claim To Be? Conclusion This Jesus of Nazareth was: condemned by the Jewish Sanhedrin as a blasphemer of God, and condemned by the Romans as a traitor claiming, as the Jewish Messiah, to be King of the Jews He was crucified by the Romans, he died and was buried But the story continues next week..
Discussion
What s Coming Up for Reasons 6/4 6/11 6/18 6/25 On Guard 8 Who Was Jesus? On Guard 9 Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? On Guard 10 Is Jesus the Only Way to God? TBD See you next week!
Backup
The Jesus of History The Jesus Movement Think of how seemingly obscure Jesus was He was a poor street preacher/teacher He had only a 3 year public ministry Then died by Roman crucifixion Yet within 20 years of his death, ancient sources describe a Jesus movement spreading within and outside the Roman Empire, its followers sincerely regarding and worshiping Jesus as God incarnate What happened historically to explain this?
Sources and Methods of Study Sources Jesus did not leave behind any writings of his own. But that s not unusual for historical figures (e.g. we only know of Socrates through the writings of his pupil Plato) In the same way, we are dependent on the records of the followers of Jesus for His life and teaching But how do we know the writings about Jesus are accurate? Maybe his disciples made stuff up! We ll scrutinize writings on Jesus with the same historical criteria we use for other ancient writings. (e.g. Thucydides Peloponnesian War, or the Annals of Tacitus.)
Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, Who do people say that I am? They told Him, saying, John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets. And He continued by questioning them, But who do you say that I am? Peter answered and said to Him, You are the Messiah. - Mark 8:27-29 NASB
Historical documents tell us that He existed, affirmed by those who would have the most to gain by proving He never did (Romans, Jews) Lived in Roman-ruled 1 st -century Palestine, where the Jews had not been a free people for 600 years and expected a long-prophesied prophet/king (the Messiah ) to free them He began a 3-year ministry as a rabbi & apparent wonder-worker at age 30 Caused consternation among religious leadership of the Jews; He is killed by the Romans under the charge of insurrection Who Was Jesus?
Jewish Jesus Himself stated that salvation comes from the Jews (Jn 4:22) Jesus claimed to be the Messiah (Gr. Christ ) promised by Jewish prophecy He faithfully observed the religious practices and beliefs of the Jews, and directed His mission almost exclusively toward them He taught from the Old Testament repeatedly, authoritatively interpreting (and RE-interpreting) Jewish religious concepts He established a priesthood based on the Old Testament
Even Christ s enemies referred to Him as a rabbi a teacher who would have memorized the Old Testament and taught with authority while interpreting it in a specific way Gathered disciples, followers who would follow Him, learn His specific way of teaching, and even imitate His way of life ***Jesus taught in His OWN name, not in the name of another. What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him (Mk 1:27) Rabbi
Called magician or worker of wonders by those who did not believe in Him Jesus must therefore have been doing things that were unable to be explained, unlike a normal rabbi, priest, etc. Miracles Writings about miracles appeared while it was still possible to interview/see the eyewitnesses, including those it seemed impossible to have involved if it were just a scheme of some sort
God? Jesus claimed to be the Son of God in a way that meant that He was God. He also claimed the power to forgive sins, which was reserved to God alone in the Jewish understanding This claim makes it impossible to call Him just a good teacher. As C.S. Lewis put it, there are only three responses possible to such a claim: Jesus was 1) a liar, 2) a lunatic, or 3) the real thing His Jewish enemies convicted Him of blasphemy
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Discussion Questions If God is essential to moral truth, then how is it possible for the millions and millions of people who don't believe in God to behave morally and ethically? Is something good because God wills it? Or does God will something because it is good? How would you respond to each of the following assertions? Moral values like justice, mercy, love, just exist without any foundation. Whatever contributes to human flourishing is good, and whatever detracts from it is bad. Our moral beliefs have been ingrained into us by evolution and social conditioning. Is it necessary to believe in God for one to be bound by objective morality?
What s Coming Up for Reasons 5/7 5/14 On Guard 6 Can We Be Good Without God? On Guard 7 What About Suffering? 5/21 5/28 Special Topic: Experience in Turkey Memorial Day Weekend no meeting (David & Lesli) See you next week!