Jesus

• Jesus' authority

  • Jesus is divine because he is the son of God - he is fully God, fully human.
  • Teacher of wisdom
  • Liberator
  • 'do this in memory of me' - command
  • performs miracles, eg. the calming of the sea
• Jesus as liberator

  • gave us freedom in salvation
  • freed the woman with the flow of blood
  • he saved the poor
  • healed the blind and lepers
  • performs miracles
  • he has a special relationship with the poor and marginalised
  • he inspired the underdogs of society
• Jesus as unique

  • Sanders - God's grace makes Jesus substantially different but that is not enough to make him unique
  • Macquarrie - believes every life is unique, although the Christ-Event played a part in human existence therefore is significant
• Jesus as the Son of God

  • 'Son of God' does not imply divinity, angels are sons of God and are not divine
  • Jesus thought of himself as God's son, implying a very special relationship to God - Raymond Brown
  • Jesus is God's son by incarnation
  • For Jews it meant someone who was specially chosen by God with angelic aspects
  • Jesus did not label himself as this, some think it was to avoid unnecessary attention from the religious authorities
• The Resurrection of Jesus

  • Gospel gives evidence to prove his body was not stolen from the tomb
  • shows death is not the end for humans
  • died for our salvation
  • Jesus' resurrection, not his life, was a decisive moment in history which revealed him as God's son - Pannenberg
  • some suggest it should not be taken literally
• Jesus as a political leader

  • through his crucifixion, he battled politics and influenced others
  • opposed social laws, eg. the woman with the flow of blood
  • powerful due to being the Son of God, thus reputable
  • he spoke of the Kingdom of God, suggesting the authority was going to be taken away from those with earthly authority
  • he made tax collectors turn away from the government and follow him instead
  • he publicly entered Jerusalem on a donkey, suggesting he would bring about peace where the government could not
• Jesus as a teacher of wisdom

  • he is God as well as human
  • he had access to God
  • his experience of the world was different to ours
  • “people should not forgive an action just once or just 7 times, but 77 times” - Jesus