The Life of Jesus

Intergenerational SeminarySession #7

Nicene Creed

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,the only Son of God,eternally begotten of the Father,God from God, Light from Light,true God from true God,begotten, not made,of one Being with the Father.

Significance of Jesus

• Jesus reveals God• Jesus is the bearer of salvation• Jesus defines the shape of the

redeemed life

How does the Bible describe Jesus?

• Messiah• Son of God• Son of Man• Lord• God

Christological Terms: Messiah

• Greek christos = Hebrew mashiah (anointed one)– Anointing was a public sign of having

been chosen by God for the task of kingship

– Contemporary Jewish expectation: victorious messiah who would overthrow Roman domination

– Jesus didn’t view himself as that sort of messiah• Didn’t permit his followers to describe Him as

“messiah” (“messianic secret” of Mark)

Christological Terms: Son of God

• Could refer to– Israel: “Israel is my firstborn son .. Let my son go

that he may worship you.” (Exodus 4:22)– King: “I will be a father to him, and he shall be a

son to me.” (2 Samuel 2:14)– Angel: “One day the sons of God came to

present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also was among them.” (Job 1:6)

• Paul refers to believes as sons of God (but only by adoption)

• In Johannine letters, Jesus is “son” (huios) but believers are “children” (tekna)

Sonship

• Intimately connected with the father

• Could speak for the father (legally)

Christological Terms: Son of Man

• Affirmation of humanity of Christ• Also

– Form address to prophet Ezekiel– Eschatological figure who signals the end

of the age (Daniel 7:13-14)– Contrast between lowly human nature

and permanence of God (Numbers 23:19, Psalm 8:14)

Christological Terms: Lord• Greek Lord (kyrios) is the term used in

the Septuagint for YHWH– Thus reserved for God

Christological Terms: God• Instances of Jesus being called “God”

– “The Word was God” (John 1:1)– Confession of Doubting Thomas (John

20:28)– Psalm addressed to Jesus as God (Hebrews

1:8)• Jesus also referred to in functional

terms reflective of God– Savior of humanity– Is worshipped– Reveals God: “Anyone who has seen me

has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

Low and High Christologies

• Low (bottom-up)– Emphasize Christ’s human nature

• High (top-down)– Emphasize Christ’s divine nature

Who does the Bible say Jesus was?

• Earliest source: Pauline/Deutero-Pauline letters– 1 Corinthians 8: “There is one God – the

Father, from who are all things and we to him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things and we through him.”

– Philippians 2: “At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow.”

– Colossians 1: Creator = Redeemer

• A theology, not “a face”

Christology of Mark• Messianic secret

– Jesus silences every group• The demons (1:23-25, 34; 3:11-12)• Those healed (1:40-44; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26)• The disciples (8:30; 9:9)

• Divine aspects (“Son of God” only used twice)– Jesus is seen as omniscient (2:8; 5:32, 39; 6:48; 8:17; 9:4, 33;

11:2, 14; 12:9; 13:12) – Omnipotent over demons, illness, death, and the natural

elements

• Human aspects (“Son of Man” used 13 times)– Compassion (1:41; 6:34; 8:2)– Indignation (3:5; 9:19; 10:14)– Anger (1:43; 3:5)– Fatigue (4:38)– Admits limitations regarding miracles (6:5-6) and knowledge

(13:32)

Christology of Matthew• Emphasis on Jesus being the fulfillment

of OT prophecy– Expands on Mark, emphasizing Jesus as

Messiah

Mark 8:27-30

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.’ And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Matthew 16:13-20

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Mark 6:45-52

When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea. He intended to pass them by. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Matthew 14:22-33

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’

Christology of Luke• Lays the groundwork for Jesus’ divinity

– Magnificat, Benedictus– Song of Simeon when Jesus is presented in

the temple– Boy Jesus in the temple

• Specific areas of focus– Social justice– Jerusalem

Christology of John

• I am– The light of the world– The bread of life– The way, the truth, and the life– The resurrection and the life– The good shepherd.

• I and the Father are one.• Whoever has seen me has seen

God.

Did Jesus believe He was God?

Liar, Lunatic, or Lord(Josh McDowell)

• Liar: Jesus knew He wasn’t the Messiah

• Lunatic: Jesus was deluded into thinking He was the Messiah

• Lord: Jesus was the Messiah• Assumptions

– Jesus claimed to be the Messiah• What did Jesus say, and what did the early

Christian community have Him say?

– Can you be wrong, and yet not be a liar or a lunatic?

Wright’s Argument

• “As part of his human vocation, grasped in faith, sustained in prayer, tested I confrontation, agonized over in further prayer and doubt, and implemented in action, he believed he had to do and be, for Israel and the world, that which according to scripture only YHWH himself could do and be.”

Borg’s argument

• Claiming to be the Son of God is really a sign of mental illness– Unless you really are

• Christological affirmations are signs of how the community felt about Jesus, not how Jesus viewed Himself

Early heresies

• Jesus was the regular son of Mary and Joseph (Ebionitism)

• Jesus was divine and only appeared human (Docetism)

• Jesus was a creature ultimately “adopted” by God (Arianism)– Homoousios, not homoiousios, in the

Nicene Creed (381 CE)

Council of Chalcedon (451 CE)

• Affirmed two natures of Christ– Acknowledged many interpretations– Christ was one person in two natures

(divine and human) "without confusion, without change, without division and without separation."

Competing Visions

• Borg: Jewish mystic– Spirit person– Healer– Wisdom teacher– Social prophet– Movement founder

• Emphasis on the message

• Wright– Jewish prophet

announcing God’s kingdom was breaking in to Israel’s history in and through his own presence and work

• Emphasis on the person

Upcoming Schedule• NEXT Wednesday, August 3, 7 PM

– NO SEMINARY, and NO BOOK CLUB

• Wednesday, August 10, 7 PM– The Death of Jesus

• Wednesday, August 17, 7 PM– The Resurrection of Jesus

• Wednesday, August 24, 7 PM– Who is Jesus for Us Today?