From Gary... Be honest!!!

This picture is wonderful!!!  Why? Because it is honest. And honesty has always been a scarce commodity. People have a tendency to lie, cheat, steal, etc...  So, it's not surprising that even one of the greatest followers of Jesus might not be believed by his contemporaries. Paul puts it like this... 

Romans, Chapter 9 (WEB)

 1 I tell the truth in Christ. I am not lying, my conscience testifying with me in the Holy Spirit,  2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart.  3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brothers’ sake, my relatives according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service, and the promises;  5 of whom are the fathers, and from whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen. 

Paul's evangelization of the gentiles, undoubtedly led many Jews to believe that he no longer cared about them- they were wrong!!!! Paul was an honest man, and so was Jesus!!!

Matthew, Chapter 22 (WEB)

15  Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk.  16 They sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and teach the way of God in truth, no matter whom you teach, for you aren’t partial to anyone.  17 Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 

 18  But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test me, you hypocrites?   19  Show me the tax money.” 

They brought to him a denarius. 

  20  He asked them, “Whose is this image and inscription?” 

  21  They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 

Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 

  22  When they heard it, they marveled, and left him, and went away. 

Be real, be honest, but, do it with love!!!

From Gary... Bible Reading March 26

Bible Reading  

March 26

The World English Bible

Mar. 26

Leviticus 7, 8

Lev 7:1 " 'This is the law of the trespass offering. It is most holy.

Lev 7:2 In the place where they kill the burnt offering, he shall kill the trespass offering; and its blood he shall sprinkle around on the altar.

Lev 7:3 He shall offer all of its fat: the fat tail, and the fat that covers the innards,

Lev 7:4 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the cover on the liver, with the kidneys, shall he take away;

Lev 7:5 and the priest shall burn them on the altar for an offering made by fire to Yahweh: it is a trespass offering.

Lev 7:6 Every male among the priests may eat of it. It shall be eaten in a holy place. It is most holy.

Lev 7:7 " 'As is the sin offering, so is the trespass offering; there is one law for them. The priest who makes atonement with them shall have it.

Lev 7:8 The priest who offers any man's burnt offering, even the priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered.

Lev 7:9 Every meal offering that is baked in the oven, and all that is dressed in the pan, and on the griddle, shall be the priest's who offers it.

Lev 7:10 Every meal offering, mixed with oil or dry, belongs to all the sons of Aaron, one as well as another.

Lev 7:11 " 'This is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which one shall offer to Yahweh.

Lev 7:12 If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mixed with oil.

Lev 7:13 With cakes of leavened bread he shall offer his offering with the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving.

Lev 7:14 Of it he shall offer one out of each offering for a heave offering to Yahweh. It shall be the priest's who sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings.

Lev 7:15 The flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his offering. He shall not leave any of it until the morning.

Lev 7:16 " 'But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow, or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice; and on the next day what remains of it shall be eaten:

Lev 7:17 but what remains of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire.

Lev 7:18 If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed to him who offers it. It will be an abomination, and the soul who eats any of it will bear his iniquity.

Lev 7:19 " 'The flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned with fire. As for the flesh, everyone who is clean may eat it;

Lev 7:20 but the soul who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that belongs to Yahweh, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from his people.

Lev 7:21 When anyone touches any unclean thing, the uncleanness of man, or an unclean animal, or any unclean abomination, and eats some of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which belong to Yahweh, that soul shall be cut off from his people.' "

Lev 7:22 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 7:23 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'You shall eat no fat, of bull, or sheep, or goat.

Lev 7:24 The fat of that which dies of itself, and the fat of that which is torn of animals, may be used for any other service, but you shall in no way eat of it.

Lev 7:25 For whoever eats the fat of the animal, of which men offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh, even the soul who eats it shall be cut off from his people.

Lev 7:26 You shall not eat any blood, whether it is of bird or of animal, in any of your dwellings.

Lev 7:27 Whoever it is who eats any blood, that soul shall be cut off from his people.' "

Lev 7:28 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 7:29 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to Yahweh shall bring his offering to Yahweh out of the sacrifice of his peace offerings.

Lev 7:30 With his own hands he shall bring the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. He shall bring the fat with the breast, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before Yahweh.

Lev 7:31 The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons'.

Lev 7:32 The right thigh you shall give to the priest for a heave offering out of the sacrifices of your peace offerings.

Lev 7:33 He among the sons of Aaron who offers the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right thigh for a portion.

Lev 7:34 For the waved breast and the heaved thigh I have taken from the children of Israel out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as their portion forever from the children of Israel.' "

Lev 7:35 This is the anointing portion of Aaron, and the anointing portion of his sons, out of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister to Yahweh in the priest's office;

Lev 7:36 which Yahweh commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them. It is their portion forever throughout their generations.

Lev 7:37 This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meal offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecration, and of the sacrifice of peace offerings;

Lev 7:38 which Yahweh commanded Moses in Mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their offerings to Yahweh, in the wilderness of Sinai.

Lev 8:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 8:2 "Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread;

Lev 8:3 and assemble all the congregation at the door of the Tent of Meeting."

Lev 8:4 Moses did as Yahweh commanded him; and the congregation was assembled at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

Lev 8:5 Moses said to the congregation, "This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded to be done."

Lev 8:6 Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.

Lev 8:7 He put the coat on him, tied the sash on him, clothed him with the robe, put the ephod on him, and he tied the skillfully woven band of the ephod on him, and fastened it to him with it.

Lev 8:8 He placed the breastplate on him; and in the breastplate he put the Urim and the Thummim.

Lev 8:9 He set the turban on his head; and on the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown; as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Lev 8:10 Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and sanctified them.

Lev 8:11 He sprinkled it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its vessels, and the basin and its base, to sanctify them.

Lev 8:12 He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.

Lev 8:13 Moses brought Aaron's sons, and clothed them with coats, and tied sashes on them, and put headbands on them; as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Lev 8:14 He brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering.

Lev 8:15 He killed it; and Moses took the blood, and put it around on the horns of the altar with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar, and sanctified it, to make atonement for it.

Lev 8:16 He took all the fat that was on the innards, and the cover of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat; and Moses burned it on the altar.

Lev 8:17 But the bull, and its skin, and its flesh, and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp; as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Lev 8:18 He presented the ram of the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.

Lev 8:19 He killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood around on the altar.

Lev 8:20 He cut the ram into its pieces; and Moses burned the head, and the pieces, and the fat.

Lev 8:21 He washed the innards and the legs with water; and Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a pleasant aroma. It was an offering made by fire to Yahweh; as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Lev 8:22 He presented the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.

Lev 8:23 He killed it; and Moses took some of its blood, and put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot.

Lev 8:24 He brought Aaron's sons; and Moses put some of the blood on the tip of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot; and Moses sprinkled the blood around on the altar.

Lev 8:25 He took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the innards, and the cover of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right thigh;

Lev 8:26 and out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before Yahweh, he took one unleavened cake, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat, and on the right thigh.

Lev 8:27 He put all these in Aaron's hands and in his sons' hands, and waved them for a wave offering before Yahweh.

Lev 8:28 Moses took them from their hands, and burned them on the altar on the burnt offering. They were a consecration for a pleasant aroma. It was an offering made by fire to Yahweh.

Lev 8:29 Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before Yahweh. It was Moses' portion of the ram of consecration, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Lev 8:30 Moses took some of the anointing oil, and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, and on his sons, and on his sons' garments with him, and sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.

Lev 8:31 Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, "Boil the flesh at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of consecration, as I commanded, saying, 'Aaron and his sons shall eat it.'

Lev 8:32 What remains of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn with fire.

Lev 8:33 You shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting seven days, until the days of your consecration are fulfilled: for he shall consecrate you seven days.

Lev 8:34 What has been done this day, so Yahweh has commanded to do, to make atonement for you.

Lev 8:35 You shall stay at the door of the Tent of Meeting day and night seven days, and keep Yahweh's command, that you don't die: for so I am commanded."

Lev 8:36 Aaron and his sons did all the things which Yahweh commanded by Moses.

Mar. 25, 26

Mark 15

Mar 15:1 Immediately in the morning the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him up to Pilate.

Mar 15:2 Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" He answered, "So you say."

Mar 15:3 The chief priests accused him of many things.

Mar 15:4 Pilate again asked him, "Have you no answer? See how many things they testify against you!"

Mar 15:5 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate marveled.

Mar 15:6 Now at the feast he used to release to them one prisoner, whom they asked of him.

Mar 15:7 There was one called Barabbas, bound with those who had made insurrection, men who in the insurrection had committed murder.

Mar 15:8 The multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do as he always did for them.

Mar 15:9 Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"

Mar 15:10 For he perceived that for envy the chief priests had delivered him up.

Mar 15:11 But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should release Barabbas to them instead.

Mar 15:12 Pilate again asked them, "What then should I do to him whom you call the King of the Jews?"

Mar 15:13 They cried out again, "Crucify him!"

Mar 15:14 Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they cried out exceedingly, "Crucify him!"

Mar 15:15 Pilate, wishing to please the multitude, released Barabbas to them, and handed over Jesus, when he had flogged him, to be crucified.

Mar 15:16 The soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they called together the whole cohort.

Mar 15:17 They clothed him with purple, and weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on him.

Mar 15:18 They began to salute him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

Mar 15:19 They struck his head with a reed, and spat on him, and bowing their knees, did homage to him.

Mar 15:20 When they had mocked him, they took the purple off of him, and put his own garments on him. They led him out to crucify him.

Mar 15:21 They compelled one passing by, coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, that he might bear his cross.

Mar 15:22 They brought him to the place called Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, "The place of a skull."

Mar 15:23 They offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he didn't take it.

Mar 15:24 Crucifying him, they parted his garments among them, casting lots on them, what each should take.

Mar 15:25 It was the third hour, and they crucified him.

Mar 15:26 The superscription of his accusation was written over him, "THE KING OF THE JEWS."

Mar 15:27 With him they crucified two robbers; one on his right hand, and one on his left.

Mar 15:28 The Scripture was fulfilled, which says, "He was numbered with transgressors."

Mar 15:29 Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying, "Ha! You who destroy the temple, and build it in three days,

Mar 15:30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!"

Mar 15:31 Likewise, also the chief priests mocking among themselves with the scribes said, "He saved others. He can't save himself.

Mar 15:32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe him." Those who were crucified with him insulted him.

Mar 15:33 When the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

Mar 15:34 At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is, being interpreted, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Mar 15:35 Some of those who stood by, when they heard it, said, "Behold, he is calling Elijah."

Mar 15:36 One ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Let him be. Let's see whether Elijah comes to take him down."

Mar 15:37 Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and gave up the spirit.

Mar 15:38 The veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom.

Mar 15:39 When the centurion, who stood by opposite him, saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"

Mar 15:40 There were also women watching from afar, among whom were both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;

Mar 15:41 who, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and served him; and many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

Mar 15:42 When evening had now come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

Mar 15:43 Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent council member who also himself was looking for the Kingdom of God, came. He boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for Jesus' body.

Mar 15:44 Pilate marveled if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead long.

Mar 15:45 When he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

Mar 15:46 He bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of a rock. He rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

Mar 15:47 Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses, saw where he was laid.

 

From Mark Copeland... "CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS" For Your Further Study

                   "CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS"

                    For Your Further Study

The evidences supporting the Christian faith are numerous and this study has only skimmed the surface.  For a more in depth study on this subject,
I recommend beginning with the following books:

1) EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT, Vol. I 

  (Josh McDowell, Here's Life Publishers, 

   San Bernadino, California, 1986, 388 pages)

2) THE NEW TESTAMENT DOCUMENTS: Are They Reliable?    (F. F. Bruce, Eerdmans Publishing Co., 

   Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1975, 120 pages)

These two books can be ordered from:

                        Florida College Bookstore
                        1-800-922-2390
                        119 Glen Arven Ave.
                        Temple Terrace, FL   33617

Jesus: Truly God and Truly Human by Brad Bromling, D.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=353

Jesus: Truly God and Truly Human

by	Brad Bromling, D.Min.

One day Jesus asked His friends, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” (Matthew 16:13). They gave a variety of answers: “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (vs. 14). Different people saw different things in Jesus. Herod heard about the miracles Jesus was performing and decided that He must be John the Baptist (whom he beheaded) raised from the dead (Mark 6:14). Others saw something in Jesus’ disposition that led them to believe He was the incarnation of the prophet Jeremiah (maybe they had seen Jesus weep and remembered how Jeremiah wept over the fall of Jerusalem). Still others had seen enough of Jesus to conclude He was the embodiment of one of the ancient prophets, although they were not sure which. This variety of answersreflects a level of confusion that seems surprising to us 2,000 years later. After all, they had the living, breathing, human person of Jesus to behold, and yet they still were confused. In the decades and centuries since, that confusion has not abated. A plethora of Christologies has been devised. Although there is great variety among them, generally they fall into three main categories: (1) Jesus was truly human, but not truly God; (2) Jesus was truly God, but not truly human; and (3) Jesus was both truly human and truly God.

EARLY HERESIES

In the second century, groups arose in the church that championed the first two categories. On the one hand, the Ebionites taught that Jesus was only a man who became the Christ by His perfect observance of the Law of Moses. On the other hand, the Docetics taught that Jesus was truly God in the flesh, but not really a human being; He only “seemed” to be a man. Both positions were opposed by the early church because neither was in agreement with the New Testament. The Ebionite heresy contradicted passages like John 1:1-14 and John 20:28, which emphasize the deity of Jesus. The Docetics’ position contradicted passages like Hebrews 4:15 and 1 John 1:1-3, which emphasize the humanity of Jesus.

EARLY CONFESSIONS

Although these positions were rejected as heresies, they did not die completely. Nor did their rejection result in complete unanimity of opinion about the identity of Jesus. Confusion over how Jesus could be truly God and truly human at the same time persisted. The Catholic Church struggled with this question, which subsequently became the focus of some of its Ecumenical Councils. In A.D. 325 the Council of Nicea issued its creed, which stated:

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten of his Father, of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father. By whom all things were made, both which be in heaven and in earth. Who for us men and for our salvation came down [from heaven] and was incarnate and was made man. He suffered and the third day he rose again, and ascended to heaven. And he shall come again to judge both the quick and the dead... (Percival, 1899, p. 3).

So, it was the Council’s conviction that Jesus was both “very God” and “made man.” But how can the same person be both God and man? Nicea had not adequately answered this. It remained to be addressed by the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451). The 150 members of the Council declared that Jesus was one person with two natures.

...we teach with one voice that the Son [of God] and our Lord Jesus Christ is to be confessed as one and the same [Person], that he is perfect in Godhead and perfect in manhood, very God and very man, of a reasonable soul and [human] body consisting, consubstantial with the Father as touching his Godhead, and consubstantial with us as touching his manhood.... This one and the same Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son [of God] must be confessed in two natures, unconfusedly, immutably, indivisibly, inseparably [united], and that without the distinction of natures being taken away by such union... (Percival, 1899, pp. 264-265).

It is significant to note that the Council chose to clarify the meaning of the two natures in negative terms. In a sense, they, “put up four fences (without confusion, without change, without division, without separation) and said: The mystery lies within this area” (Runia, 1984, pp. 12-13). Although this confession did not really answer the question as to how Jesus could have both natures at the same time, it respected both aspects of Jesus’ identity and stood as the fundamental statement of Christology for Catholics and Protestants alike for many centuries.

THE IMPACT OF SKEPTICISM

With the rise of skepticism and deism, this ancient creed came under fire. Beginning with Hermann S. Reimarus (1694-1768), scholars began to suggest that the “historical Jesus” was a very different person from the “Christ of faith” described in the Gospels (and subsequent human creeds). Reimarus made a “sharp distinction between the intention of Jesus during his life and the intention of his disciples after his death” (see Borg, 1994, p. 42). Reimarus believed that Jesus’ intentions (rebellion against Rome) were thwarted by His death and that the disciples invented the resurrection story and deified their Teacher as a way of keeping His movement alive.

Liberal scholarship of the last 200 years has largely adopted as paradigmatic this distinction between the “historical Jesus” and the “Christ of Christian faith.” The claim is that the historical Jesus may be discovered in a fragmentary way by subjecting the Gospels to the rigors of the historical-critical method (see Brantley, 1994). The Christ of the Christian faith is the version of Jesus presented by the New Testament writers and the confessions of Christendom. Much of the recent discussion in Christology, then, centers on whether one should shape one’s understanding of Jesus by the Christ of faith or the Jesus of history.

Often, liberal scholars begin with the Jesus of history and move from there to decide what of the Christ of faith is worthy of belief (e.g., Edward Schillebeeckx, Piet Schoonenberg, Hans Kung, John A.T. Robinson, et al.). Typically the answer is, “not much.” This is also the presupposition behind the work of the Jesus Seminar (see Bromling, 1994), as well as works from a variety of authors (Marcus Borg, Barbara Thiering, Geza Vermes, John Dominic Crossan, et al.). A.N. Wilson’s popular book,Jesus: A Life, is typical. In it, he opened with this line: “The Jesus of history and the Christ of Faith are two separate beings, with very different stories” (1992, p. vii). Wilson rejected the latter, and wrote an entire book describing the former. His historical Jesus, however, “is a pale and distorted version of the real thing” (Wright, 1992, p. 63). Wilson described the Jesus of history as “the great apocalyptic prophet, the visionary teacher, the widely popular healer and exorcist” Whose life was a “total failure” and Whose “mission, whatever its original purpose may have been, ended on the Cross” (Wright, 1992, pp. 167-168). Wilson contended that Jesus never would have approved of Christianity; on the contrary, had Jesus known what would be done in His name, He probably would have wished He never had been born (pp. 255-256).

By way of summary, two hundred years of liberal scholastic inquiry into the question of the identity of Jesus have resulted, essentially, in a revival of the Ebionite heresy. The new portraits depict a Jesus Who is no more than a man and Who was nothing like the Christ preached by Paul and worshipped for nearly two millennia by faithful Christians. This is the price one pays for rejecting the verbal inspiration of Scripture.

COMING TO PETER’S CONCLUSION

Returning to Caesarea, however, we hear Jesus ask a second (and more personal) question: “But, who do you say that I am?” To this Peter boldly replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:15-16). In this one confession, Peter expressed two aspects of His Master’s identity. First, he said Jesus was the Messiah predicted by the ancient Jewish prophets (“Christ” is the Greek word for Messiah, meaning “anointed” by God). Second, he said Jesus possessed the divine nature. “Son of ” was the idiomatic way of saying that a person possessed the nature or traits of another person or thing. For instance, because Joses was an encouragement to others, the apostles called him Barnabas, which means “Son of Encouragement” (Acts 4:36). So, when Peter said Jesus was the “Son of God,” he was saying that Jesus had the very same nature as God. That was a powerful statement. Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God resulted in His death (John 5:18; Matthew 26:63-65). And it was upon this fundamental confession of the unique God/man nature of Jesus that the church was built (Matthew 16:18).

What led Peter to make that confession? The answer is found in Jesus’ reply: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is heaven” (vs. 17). Peter’s view of Jesus was based upon information provided by God, rather than upon the uncertain ideas of people. That information came to Peter in the form of Old Testament prophesies that he was beginning to see fulfilled in Jesus, and that were being confirmed by the miracles Jesus was performing. The same information has been preserved for all ages in the four Gospels, and will lead us to the same conclusion if we give it a fair hearing.

FULFILLED PROPHECY

Unlike most people who have their biographies written after they are dead, much of Jesus’ life was reported hundreds of years before He was born. Over three hundred prophecies relating to the Lord were made in the Old Testament (Lockyer, 1973, p. 21). This number is astounding in itself. From Genesis to Malachi, the story of Jesus is foretold in minute detail (see Luke 24:27). Not only are the major facets of His life predicted, but seemingly trivial things (such as that menwould gamble for His clothing—Psalm 22:18) also are foretold by the prophets. His family lineage and birthplace were predicted (cf. Genesis 21:12; Galatians 3:16; Matthew 1:1; 2:1; Micah 5:2). He died and was raised—exactly as had been predicted hundreds of years before (Isaiah 53; Psalm 16:8-11). By the word of prophecy He even was called Jehovah—the special name reserved only for God (Isaiah 40:3). The fulfillment of these prophecies by Jesus of Nazareth is powerful evidence that He was exactly Who Peter claimed He was.

MIRACULOUS CONFIRMATION

In addition, it is important to recall that Jesus backed up His claims by working miracles. Although God empowered other people to perform miracles, Jesus’ miracles were different. Their works confirmed that they were servants of God; Jesus’ works proved He was one with God (John 10:37-38). The Gospel of John records several of those amazing works. John tells us why: “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31).

While imprisoned, John sent some of his followers to Jesus to ask, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3). Jesus responded: “Go tell John...the blind receive their sight and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached unto them” (Matthew 11:4-5). Over seven hundred years earlier, the prophet Isaiah predicted that those very things would be done by the Messiah (see Isaiah 35:5-6; 61:1). Jesus wasn’t merely saying, “Look at all the good things I am doing.” He was saying, “Look, I am doing exactly what the Coming One is supposed to do!”

Although not eager to admit it, Jesus’ critics were often brought face-to-face with the truth that no one could do what He did unless God was with Him (John 3:2). One example of this is seen in John 9, where it is recorded that Jesus gave sight to a man who had been born blind. Some of Christ’s enemies tried to deny that a miracle had occurred, but they were unsuccessful. Then they tried to draw attention away from the miracle by attacking Jesus’ character. They said to the man whom Jesus healed: “Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner” (John 9:24). This plan did not succeed either. Notice how the man answered them:

Why this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God hears not sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears Him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing (John 9:30-33).

His point was the very thing the Pharisees were unwilling to accept—Jesus’ miraculous works supported His claim to be the Son of God! It is not surprising, then, that the man accepted Jesus as his Lord.

THE RESURRECTION

Just as He promised, Jesus came forth from the tomb three days after His brutal crucifixion (Matthew 16:21; 27:63; 28:1-8). That He had been raised from the dead was witnessed by many different types of people: the soldiers who guarded His tomb; the women who came early in the morning to anoint Him with spices; eleven apostles; and more than 500 other witnesses (1 Corinthians 15:4-8). Seeing the living, breathing Jesus again was concrete proof that He was all He claimed to be. Little wonder, then, that when Thomas saw the resurrected Jesus heexclaimed: “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Christ’s resurrection was the central point of Peter and Paul’s preaching (see Acts 2:23-36; 3:15; 17:31; etc.). The reason is obvious—it was by the resurrection that Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power” (Romans 1:4).

The evidence for the deity of Christ is both sufficient and compelling. There is a temptation, however, to emphasize the Lord’s deity to the exclusion of His humanity. In a sense, the modern church can become guilty of practical Doceticism. In other words, Christians can become so focused upon establishing that Jesus is the Son of God that they fail to acknowledge that He also is the Son of Man. Yet, time and again Jesus applied that term to Himself (e.g., Matthew 1:20; 9:6; et al.). As a human, He learned (Hebrews 5:8), became hungry (Matthew 4:2), experienced thirst (John 19:28), grew tired (John 4:6), and slept (Matthew 8:24). He felt anger (Mark 3:5), frustration (Mark 9:19), joy (John 15:11), and sadness (John 11:35). He was “in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15), and significantly, He was able to die (Mark 15:44). These human traits are as important to our understanding of the person of Jesus as are the traits He shared with deity.

CONCLUSION

Who is Jesus of Nazareth? Clearly, He is both the Son of God and the Son of Man. Like the ancient creeds tried to explain, Jesus is both truly God and truly human. We must avoid not only the error of the ancient Ebionites and modern liberals of seeing Jesus as merely a man, but we also must be on guard against the Docetic over-emphasis of Jesus’ deity. How can one person be both truly God and truly human? This is something we have not been called to understand fully—only to confess confidently.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:1-3,14).

REFERENCES

Borg, Marcus (1994), “Profiles in Scholarly Courage: Early Days of New Testament Criticism,” Bible Review, 10[5]:40-45, October.

Brantley, Garry K. (1994), “Biblical Miracles: Fact or Fiction?,” Reason & Revelation, 14:33-38, May.

Bromling, Brad T. (1994), “A Look at the Jesus Seminar,” Reason & Revelation, 14:81-87, November.

Lockyer, Herbert (1973), All the Messianic Prophecies of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).

Percival, Henry R., ed. (1899), “The Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Undivided Church,” in The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1973 reprint).

Runia, Klaas (1984) The Present-Day Christological Debate (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press).

Wilson, A.N. (1992), Jesus: A Life (New York: Fawcett Columbine).

Wright, N.T. (1992), Who Was Jesus? (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).

From Jim McGuiggan... Taking up the cross (4)

Taking up the cross (4)

When Christ calls his disciples to take up their crosses he is calling them to identify with him, his agenda and his method; we don't have crosses that are independent of his. In him each believer as a part of his "body" is born crucified. It is his death andresurrection we unite with (Romans 6:3-7) and it's on his cross that we are crucified (Galatians 2:20 and 6:14) and it's in him that we live (resurrected life) because he's the one who lives in us (Galatians 2:20). When Jesus says to them they are to take up their crosses he is saying they are to deny themselves and their agendas and embrace his in a personal commitment to him, his agenda and method.

Christ's crucifixion can be looked at from many perspectives, including historical events beyond his human capacities and evil people with their fears and evil agendas. At the emotional level and in some respects Jesus was deeply reluctant to embrace the cross but that agonisedreluctance was smothered by his devotion to the Holy Father and the Father's purposes; so we hear his "Nevertheless, not my will but yours."

The NT will not allow us to believe that Jesus was nothing but a victim. It's true that he was another human caught up in the schemes of corrupt government and religion but the Christ wasn't passive in his going to the cross—he went after it as if the world's life depended on it, which is exactly the case.

The cross of Jesus Christ was not a capitulation to the power-brokers and the political masters of the day. It was one man (who was God being a man)—one man standing up in defiance against the world-spirit that expressed itself in corrupt and corrupting powers, religious and secular. It was one man standing up for a world of slaves who could not because they would not and would not because they could not save themselves. The cross of Jesus was not a whimpering, cowering acceptance of whatever the overlords were handing out; it was the conscious choosing of the worst thing corrupt powers could do to him that he might expose their impotence (see Colossians 2:15).

As much as they hated the Romans, Jewish leaders in all the sects learned to live in compliance with Rome. Rome allowed and even encouraged freedom of religion when it suited Rome's purposes, so it pleased the Sadducees and the Pharisees to maintain the status quo as long as they could, especially when they (within limitations) ruled the Jewish people. Pay your taxes, keep the peace (that is, accept Rome's domination) and Rome left you alone; who, then, would want these hard-line nationalists of the Galilean areas and their messiahs? Such people were threats to the peace and power of those who gladly settled for Roman dominance as long as they got the cucumbers and meat pots (see Exodus 16:3 and Numbers 11:4-5). Isn't that what was behind their scurrilous remark, "We have no king but Caesar"? And wasn't that the fear we hear expressed at the conference in John 11:47-48 where they planned to railroad a man they knew to be guilty only of undoing the curse and turning people to God? To save themselves they'd bury him! DidRome do more? Did they plunder more towns and kill more people? No doubt, but in principle, had they done anything different from what these Jewish leaders were plotting and finally carried out?

In the movie, Judgement at Nuremberg, one of the Nazi characters, speaking of the horrors that had transpired under Hitler, said to the chief-justice after the trial, "I didn't think it would go this far." The judge said, "It went that far when you railroaded the first man you knew to be innocent."

It isn't the destiny of every Christian to die a violent death while standing against the world-spirit but it is the destiny of every Christian—as a part of the body of Jesus Christ—to refuse to live in compliance with the corruption of the world. It is the business of every Christian to insist that the cross of Christ is the full assessment and condemnation of all that motivates and drives this world of ours. It is the calling of every Christian to pursue a life of Jesus-style righteousness until he comes. Make no mistake about it; the cross of Jesus was no exhibition of someone meekly walking off into oblivion. It was his attack on a world and its prince (John 12:31) and it is to be continued in that community that claims to be "the body of Christ".

 ©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, theabidingword.com