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Jesus the Christ

Who is Jesus? God who loves you. Be sure that I didn't design this website because I've been holy all my life or that somehow now that I love Christ I am holy. No, I am in as much need of a savior as I ever have been. So I am one who takes Christ seriously, but I don't take myself that seriously. No matter what argument is posed, be sure that Jesus Christ is real and you can have a relationship with him, regardless of your past. The next few paragraphs describe the message of Christ and how to be saved. Afterwards, some more in-depth text is offered about Jesus the Christ.

God gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but will have everlasting life (Joh 3:16). God demonstrated his love to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ came and died for us (Rom 5:8).

All of us have sinned and fall majorly short of the holiness God accepts (Rom 3:23). Are all best efforts to do good things will fade like a leaf because our iniquities have taken us away like a wind (Isa 64:6).
 
Because sin entered the world through man, death entered the world for all man because all have sinned (Rom 5:12). We sin as we are tempted and drawn away by our own lusts and desires; when enticed, they give way to sin and sin has brought death (Jas 1:14-16).
 
So there's nothing we can do to earn salvation (Tit 3:5). Salvation is offered through faith and given by grace (Eph 2:8-9). The paycheck of sin is death, but the God has given a gift through Christ Jesus if we allow him to be our Lord (Rom 6:23). Those that receive him he gives the right to become heirs and children of God (Joh 1:12)!
 
 
The Sanctuary at Vision of Glory
Lutheran Church, Plymouth

A Historical Jesus

Jesus is an unavoidable figure in history. Whether a scholar debates or reassures his existence, his impact on the world is unmatched. Seldom does there come to be such figures as that of Jesus, who is still followed by a consistent entourage of supporters, critics, and promoters. This small text will answer a few questions inspired by the reading of Mark Allan Powell’s, Jesus as a Figure in History. The world may side with various beliefs and approaches when interpreting Jesus, but he remains talked about to great degrees: reason enough for deep inquiry.

The historical study of Jesus looks at the man from a variety of sources widely viewed as factual. The Bible indeed is one of those most credible of sources and upheld as the authority by followers of Christ. However, there are other sources that can be used to view Jesus in an unbiased fashion. What do secular texts during his time period say about him? What did other people think about him? By relying only on the Bible, we may narrowly give an incomplete account of his existence. As the bible also tells, one book can’t contain all the works that he did. The historical study of Jesus is to attempt to give the most inclusive and accurate account of the experience of the world’s interaction with Jesus.
 
One reason that this endeavor is so difficult is because Jesus’ actions, words, and works are deeply engulfed in the supernatural. Many try to explain his miracles with assumptions that they were mere unexplained scientific mysteries at that time. Arguments have been made that the miraculous accounts are offered as explanations to otherwise impossible acts to explain at that time; whereas now we have scientific explanations. Jesus made religious claims that were followed by supernatural happenings, which are still hard to explain even by current scientific means and so often are abandoned as misreported or fiction.
 
Another reason that the quest to study Jesus as only a historical figure proves to be so difficult is that the many people who study Jesus most always have an agenda for so doing. For the believer, they love him. As Powell stated, “most scholars who study Jesus are likely to have personal investment in the outcome of their work” (1998, p. 3). It’s hard to remain objective with that mindset, though some have done very well with their research. Some scholars are outspoken in their desire to overthrow the religious figure and others are outspoken for their academic support for him. This does not always invalidate research, but it calls for careful examination. Though difficult to conduct research without a bias, agendas can offer a new approach and interpretation of the facts that can lead to a deeper or a new look at the evidence.
 
No person studies a subject without caring about it in one light or another. I remember the movie Ghostbusters. Dr. Peter Venkman had Ph.D.’s in psychology and parapsychology. His subjects always tended to be female college students. His data reflected his favor towards his subjects. His colleagues, Egon Spengler and Ray Stance, had a strong passion to prove the existence of the supernatural, but lacked the hard evidence. The University they attended pulled the plug on their funding because they were unable to bring measurable, satisfactory results that would justify the continued funding of their group’s activities. I know studying ghosts is much different than studying Jesus, but this is a harsh reality in the scientific community. Research takes time and money. Investors demand demonstrated results in a timely manner. This also contributes to the type of passion used in some agendas for the study of Jesus.
 
When studying the history of Jesus we must attempt to look at all historical documents. We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, but other secular, historical documents contain useful data even though they are not inspired scripture. We must take a look at how others viewed Jesus in their secular view as well as the revealed truth about him through the Holy Spirit.
 
Historians are interested in the evidence about Jesus for many different reasons. Some historians desire academic support for the figure they are close to because of their faith. Some historians desire academic support against this figure they detest and the religion his followers have managed to cultivate. Powell says that some historians wish to make connections and common ground between the religious community and the secular community (1998, p. 12). Still others would wish to strengthen their faith by allowing some healthy skepticism to challenge their belief. This tends to focus on the reasons for their faith and encourage the “integrity” of their confession. For a variety of reasons, historians have plenty of passion for the looking in to the affairs of the historical Jesus.
 
There has come to be three quests for this historical Jesus. These approaches are labeled as the Lives of Jesus, New Quest, and Third Quest. They have come out of the enlightenment period of our history, which took place around the eighteenth century. The enlightenment period caused Western thought to remain skeptical of any claim that could not be verified by reasonable evidence. Prior to the enlightenment, many gospel harmonies were constructed to put the four gospels’ events in a side by side chronological order to better understand their account for the life of Jesus. Following the enlightenment, the Lives of Jesus quest surfaced among scholars. This is the first of two more scholarly approaches or quests that will follow.
 
The Life of Jesus quest took biographical positions beyond the gospel harmonies. The Life of Jesus biographies came in one of three ways. One way was to look at Jesus according to a hypothesis. The interpretation of the gospels would consistently reflect a skew towards the point of the hypothesis. Powell cited the examples of “Jesus was a social reformer” and “Jesus was a religious mystic” (1998, p. 13). All the material would be connected and explained in light of one of the chosen hypothesis.
 
The second way a Life of Jesus biography differed from the harmonies of the gospel was that it abandoned anything in the gospel that did not support the hypothesis. The gospel was at the mercy of whatever standards the critic used to include or exclude gospel material. The third way the biographies could differ from the harmonious gospels was to inject the critic’s own stories to fill in any gaps in the gospel. Powell gave examples that these gaps had to do with “motivations, goals, or self-understanding” (1998, p. 13). These Life of Jesus biographies were not specifically true to the gospel records.
 
The new quest was founded on the notion that any theological statement about Jesus must be based on historical evidence. The reason for this statement in Ernst Kasemann’s 1953 lecture was in response to the many fallacies in the Life of Jesus biographies. Kasemann stated that without a historical record, anything can be stated about Jesus and Jesus can be construed to support any claim. Powell believes that it is likely that Kasemann and his colleagues held this position in response to what was going on at that time in Germany , by the Nazis. They used Jesus to support their hatred against Jews when Jesus was in fact a Jew. This new quest was strengthened by archaeological findings and subsequent writings by other scholars who took very factual looks at historical evidence without adding psychological analysis or other critical opinions.
 
The third quest is researching the historical Jesus as a prophet of death and final destiny. This quest follows Jesus even to his root in Judaism. This quest was both coined and introduced by N.T. Wright in 1992. There are many complaints among scholars regarding Wright’s terminology and placement of what research has a third quest position and what does not. They say the lines gray and Wright’s view suggests research outside his class is somewhat archaic and hasn’t made this maturing step. This third quest views an eschatological, death and final destiny minded, Jesus.
Sources for the historical study of Jesus come in wide packages. The Bible is an obvious component. Next in comparison is any ancient writing that references him. Powell stated that even the slightest mention can become “significant in surprising ways” (1998, p. 32). Understandings are also drawn from archaeological findings, which provide great reconstructions of Jesus’ life and times. There are very wide writings and evidences surrounding Jesus’ life and contribute to our understanding of this amazing Son of God.
 
Reference

Powell, M. A. (1998). Jesus as a figure in history. London : Westminster John Knox Press.