Jesus

• Zeffirelli (Italian state senator 1926): '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'
• Jesus the son of god


  This was the title given to Jesus in the NT and by the early church
• Jesus the son of god


  • Links to the christian doctrine of the trinity and incarnation (god becomes human)
  • Jesus calls god 'abba' (greek for father) and heavenly voices call Jesus 'my son' but Jesus does not use the term 'son' himself
• Jesus as human


  • There are a number of problems if Jesus was fully human and divine
  • Eg Paul wrote that humans have a sinful corrupting nature - so did Jesus have this nature?
• Jesus as 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 was not real?
• What the churches say about Jesus

  • The church of Chalcedon in AD 451 = christ has two natures which come together in one person
  • "Truly god and truly man"
• Theologian Karl Rahner's solution


  The onion - Jesus' human self awareness was top layers and deeper layers were his divine consciousness
• Gerald O'Collins challenges the possibility of answering these sorts of questions because understanding the inner experiences of Jesus' life is very challenging particularly 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 has a mission of salvation for others
• If Jesus was only aware of gods will and gods willingness to act

  No different from many others: Moses, Jeremiah, Muhammed, guru Nanak, St Francis etc
• Hicks conclusion is 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: 'A man who is merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic- on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the devil of hell'
• Jesus' miracles


  • Jesus' power to walk on water, his power to drive out demons, to recreate sight, speech and even life are only things that god can do = Jesus was gods son
  • Christians believe miracles happen today too through the Holy Spirit's continued presence
• Hume's essays on miracles argued that because we have no present day, direct experiences of miracles = not possible to say that Jesus walked on water
• Maybe these miracles should be seen in a metaphorical or spiritual way rather than literal
• More important to ask: what were the gospel writers doing when reporting the miracles?
• N.T Wright's interpretation of Jesus' miracles

  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
• Deeper meaning of miracles

  • 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
• Jesus himself identifies his action as god working through him
• 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
• Resurrection


  • For Paul, if Jesus was not 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' disciples regrouped and rapidly changed their traditional worship to focus on christ
  • Discloses god in a new and startling 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 we will be glorified and transformed
  • The weak can mediate god's revelation (can understand gods message)
• Jesus the teacher of wisdom

  • Jesus' teachings set a moral example - role model
  • He advocated: Repentance, Forgivness, Spiritual purity, Love for others, Healing of the sick, Looking out for outcasts, vulnerable and dispossessed, The message of good news: salvation from sin and reborn to eternal life
• Jesus was a great moral teacher - Dawkins interview in the guardian 2011
• Jesus as a rabbi


  • A term of respect used for educated teachers who interpreted the law
  • Jesus clearly could read and spend a lot of time preaching in the synagogues
  • He used controversial or surprising stories, designed to get his listeners to think about their preconceptions
• Sermon on the mount

  • Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who are persecuted for righteousness
• Sermon on the mount

  • Taught by Jesus, intentions more important than outcomes = deontological
  • Jesus' golden rule (Matthew 7:12) "do unto others…" links in with the idea of treating others as you want to be treated
• Agape (unconditional love)


  • This is not physical, sexual, emotional but without condition
  • Eg "love thy neighbour", "Love your enemies as yourself"
  • Agape was established by St Paul in response to all the fighting and problems in christian communities
  • Agape is more subjective and applies to individual situations / new demands
  • The idea of agape has been more recently developed by Joseph Fletcher into 'situation ethics'
• Justice, mercy and forgiveness


  • We should treat other 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 8:3-10 - "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" again he stooped down and wrote in the ground"
• Service and humility


  Put others first and acting in the service of others out of agape. This is not for reward or praise. We should never think of ourselves as better than others
• John 13:3-6 - "Now that I, your lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also should was one another feet". (Jesus teaches christians to serve one another)
• Honesty and integrity


  You need to have a consistent good behaviour and set a good example to others which includes telling the truth and being true to yourself
• Spirituality not materialism


  • You need to be genuine in your love of god and concentrate on your spiritual life. We should not put importance on worldly goods, making us greedy and selfish
  • "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
  • Often 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 the people
• Jesus had arguments with the pharisees and scribes over religious laws, arrested by the supreme court of justice in Jerusalem (the Sanhedrin) and was handed over to Pontius pilate for execution
• Jesus as a reformer seeking political and social revolution


  • Liberating the people of Israel from roman occupation (time of poverty, assassinations, murders and open military rebellions)
  • One of the groups leading the open conflict = zealots
  • Some of Jesus followers had suspicious names = Simon the Zeler and judas Iscariot (iscarri = 'dagger man' was another name for zealot
• The way Jesus was understood by his followers changed over time. Perhaps early church tried to hide Jesus' revolutionary tendencies to evade persecution
• 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 also be seen to be clearly orchestrated as a political move
  • Eg 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 this was carefully orchestrated by Jesus and his followers to fulfil Zechariah's prophecy and to send a message that the long awaited messiah had come to set Isreal free
• Was Jesus a pacifist?

  • Yes - In sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7) he says "blessed are the peacemakers", Refused to take up military power when tempted in the wilderness (Luke 4:5-7), He stopped weapons being used to prevent his arrest in the garden of gethsemane (Luke 22:49-51) "those who take up the sword will die by the sword"
  • Maybe not - Jesus was active in challenging negative impacts of oppression, He spent time with many who were oppressed (sick and outcasts), Confronted authority and demonstrated righteous anger when driving out the money changers from the temple (no-one was hurt), He was also crucified next to bandits so maybe the romans saw him as one too