Christian views of Jesus
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Christian views of Jesus vary somewhat among different Christian denominations, but almost all Christians base their beliefs around what they hold to be Jesus' teachings, and believe that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah), the saviour of mankind foretold in the Old Testament. Most further believe him to be the Son of God, and the incarnation of God himself.
Belief in the
Apart from the role of Jesus as the Messiah, the vast majority of Christians also regard belief in his divinity to be a significant part of Christianity. According to mainstream Christian theology after it was systematized in the first centuries AD, Jesus is conceptualized as a member of the Trinity, who along with the Father and the Holy Spirit are thought to be three "persons" with one metaphysical substance, that complete unity being God. See Trinity; Nicene creed. Some, although a minority in Christianity, do not subscribe to this view in part or at all, such as: Unitarians, Oneness Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Mormons. More specifically, Mormonism refers to this hierarchy as the Godhead and believes that they are three distinct persons unified in will and mind, but not in body; Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus is the first creation of God, a distinct being, and the Holy Spirit is God's impersonal active force.
Some denominations have developed other metaphysical conceptualizations of Jesus, including the idea that Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are one "person" with three or more manifestations (see Modalism) or are distinct not just in "person" but in metaphysical essence, and unified only in "will" or "mind". Many of these doctrines were rejected as heresies by the Ecumenical councils of Christianity, and some modern variants (for example, Mormonism and the Jehovah's Witnesses) are at times excluded from the umbrella of Christianity, particularly by Evangelicals, though they often call themselves Christian. See Christology, Mormonism and Christianity.
Christians see many passages in the Gospels and other parts of the New Testament as debating the divinity of Jesus Christ. Raymond E. Brown discussed the issue in Does the NT call Jesus God?
Life
Birth and childhood
Of the four Gospels, the Nativity (birth) is mentioned only in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke. Both infancy accounts support the doctrine of the Virgin Birth, in which Jesus was miraculously conceived in his mother's womb by the Holy Spirit, when his mother was still a virgin.
According to these accounts, Jesus was born while Joseph and Mary, Joseph's betrothed, were visiting Bethlehem from their native Nazareth. Mary is also commonly referred to as "the Virgin Mary" or, as Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox call her, "the Mother of God" (see Theotokos).
Details of the two accounts appear to be at variance with each other. For example, Luke reports that the parents lived at Nazareth, but, according to Matthew, they settled in Nazareth after their return from Egypt, an event that Luke does not mention. Matthew further explained that Joseph and Mary fled with the baby Jesus to Egypt after they had been warned by an angel of the Massacre of the Innocents.
A few verses in the Gospels mention Jesus' "brothers". Some Christians argue it is not necessarily the case that "brother" must mean "child of same father and same mother". Indeed, half-brothers are called "brother" in very many human cultures throughout history and to the present day. Thus, they speculate that Joseph was likely much older than Mary, a widower with children at the time of his betrothal to Mary, with their planned marriage being primarily a social arrangement to ensure Mary was economically provided for. This is supported by the observation that Joseph is not mentioned later in the Gospels, presumably due to his death. Some biblical scholars, particularly those who are Roman Catholic, go further, saying that in both Hebrew and Aramaic, the word for "brother" is also used to refer to cousins.
Aside from a brief description of Jesus in the temple at the age of 12 in the second chapter of Luke, the New Testament tells little more about Jesus' childhood or young adulthood (See also Child Jesus). However, by the time he reached his 30s, the gospels all report that he had become known as a religious teacher.
The ministry and message of Jesus
Although the synoptic gospels focus mainly on the last year of Jesus' ministry, the Gospel of John indicates that his ministry spanned at least three Passovers from the time he was baptised by John the Baptist until his crucifixion. In his ministry, Jesus travelled as a wandering rabbi and performed miracles and exorcisms.
Jesus advocated universal love between people, and adherence to the will of God. Some believe His message to have been that universal love is a more direct fulfilling of God's will, rather than observing the laws which were contained in the Hebrew Bible, see also Law and Gospel. Very often, Jesus conveyed his message through the use of parables.
Some of his teachings are paradoxical. He taught that the first would be last, and the last first; also that "anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matt 16:25); and that non-violence should be used to combat violence. He said that he gives peace to those who believe in him, yet he warned that he was bringing strife to the world, setting family members against one another (due to disagreement regarding belief in him). The use of paradox is a recognised form of attempting to break through established forms of thinking to allow new insight. For example, the use of koans in some branches of Buddhism, which seek to transcend harmful or false ways of thinking, is similar.
He preached an apocalyptic message, saying that the end of the current world would come unexpectedly; as such, he called on his followers to be ever alert and faithful. See also Olivet Discourse.
The early fathers of the church further expanded on his message, and much of the rest of the New Testament is concerned with the meaning of Jesus' death and resurrection, and its implications for humanity. One idea that has remained constant throughout Christian theology is the idea that humanity was redeemed, saved, or given an opportunity to achieve salvation through Jesus' death. "Jesus died for our sins" is a common Christian aphorism. See also Substitutionary atonement.
While faith in Jesus' sacrificial death and resurrection is sufficient for salvation within the Christian doctrine, -and as explained by Jesus, Himself in the famous passage, , good works are certainly expected as evidence of the convert's salvation. (E.g., James 2:18, in which the writer says that he will show his faith by his works; Revelations 3:2, which asks the reader to "strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die," implying that bad works might lead to a loss of salvation; and, most importantly, words from Jesus, Himself, in John 13:15, which claim that His life is an example or role model for followers, and the very strong claim in John 14:12, in which Jesus states that followers who believe in Him can do the works that Jesus does and even "greater works," in fact, a scripture that has provoked much debate on the role of miracles and healing in current times. See also Antinomianism)
However, the idea of "salvation" has been interpreted in many ways, and a wide spectrum of Christian viewpoints exist and have existed throughout history up to the present day.
Some especially notable events in the ministry of Jesus, recounted in the Gospels, include:
- When Jesus was asked what is the most important commandment in the Mosaic Law, Jesus answered that the greatest commandment is "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind" (Mark 12:29-30, echoing Deut. 6:5, the Shema), and at the same time he said that the commandment "You must love your neighbor as yourself" (found in Lev. 19:18) is as important.
- Jesus asked his disciples "Who do you say [I] am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "You are a blessed man!... So now I say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my community. And the gates of hell can never overpower it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
- Seeing merchants doing money-changing at the Temple in Jerusalem, he used a whip to drive out the animals being bought and sold by the merchants, released the doves, and overturned the tables to scatter the money-changers' coins.
- On the Thursday evening before Good Friday, Jesus shared a Passover meal with his disciples—the Last Supper. During the meal, he gave bread to his disciples, saying, "Take it and eat. This is my body", and then gave them a cup of wine, saying, "Drink from this, all of you, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Many Christian denominations take this as the institution of the sacrament of Communion, or the Eucharist.
Some contemporary scholars focus on Jesus' parables, a type of teaching story found in the three synoptic gospels.Arrest, trial, and crucifixion
According to the Gospels, Jesus, riding a colt, entered Jerusalem on a Sunday—celebrated now as Palm Sunday—and was greeted by throngs of people waving palm branches, and shouting "Hosanna", or "Save, we pray".
On Thursday of that week, he shared the Last Supper, and afterward took a walk to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he felt overwhelming sadness and anguish, and said "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Nevertheless, let it be as you, not I, would have it." Then, a little while later, he said, "If this cup cannot pass by, but I must drink it, your will be done!"
Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles, who had left in the middle of the Last Supper, had in the meantime betrayed Jesus by informing the Jewish authorities of his location. The authorities had decided to arrest Jesus, since some of them had come to consider him a threat to their power due to his growing popularity, his new interpretations of scripture, and his revelations of their hypocrisy. Judas and a group of men armed with swords and clubs then appeared, and Judas helped to identify Jesus by kissing him, a signal pre-arranged with them. Although one of the bystanders (Simon Peter, according to John) drew a sword, cutting off the ear of one of the armed men, Jesus rebuked the follower, saying, "Put your sword back, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword." Then the disciples deserted him and ran away, apart from Peter, who followed at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest (there he would disown Jesus three times). Jesus was brought before the Jewish authorities, and, after implying the affirmative when asked if he was the son of God, was handed over to Pontius Pilate, the local governor (of Iudaea Province) in the occupying Roman government.
Pilate asked Jesus whether he considered himself the "king of the Jews", which could have been considered sedition. Jesus replied, "It is you who say it." Pilate then allowed a crowd that had gathered to decide whether Jesus or Barabbas should be released. The crowd decided to release Barrabas. Pilate, attempting to placate the crowd, had Jesus scourged, and some Roman soldiers fashioned a crown out of thorns and placed it on Jesus' head. The crowd demanded that Jesus be crucified, and Pilate relented.
That same day, having carried his own cross, Jesus was crucified on Golgotha, with a sign reading (in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek) "Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews" placed on the cross upon the direction of Pilate. According to the Gospel of Luke, as he was crucified, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do." As he hung on the cross, he was mocked by passers-by, and, according to the Gospel of John, was visited by his mother and others, then died; his death was confirmed by a Roman soldier piercing his side with a spear. Christian legend states that the soldier's name was Longinus, although the Gospels do not mention his name.
While hanging on the cross, the Gospel of Mark has Jesus asking, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Many readers find this theologically perplexing, believing that God left him to die on the cross. According to a common interpretation of the scriptures, God the Father was turning away from Jesus at this time because He was suffering in the place of sinners. Others recognise this as an exact quotation of the first verse of Psalm 22, a common way at the time to refer to an entire Psalm. That Psalm begins with cries of despair, but ends on a note of hope and trust in God's triumph and deliverance. It also contains several details that have been taken to apply to Jesus' crucifixion, such as the soldiers casting lots for Jesus' garments and leaving his bones unbroken. Still, others of a long-held tradition see Jesus' words as the ultimate climax of Jesus' entering into the human condition; his exclamation here evinces his full experience and solidarity with humanity, even the experience of alienation from God.#redirect Yet, others consider "why hast thou forsaken me" to be a mistranslation of the original Aramaic: they argue that a better translation is "for this I was kept" or "why hast thou let me to live?".#redirect Jesus' final words in Luke 23:46 are "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."
The Gospel of John, on the other hand, describes Jesus' final words as, "It is finished" upon his death. Also, the account in John does not mention Jesus asking for the "bitter cup" to be taken away from him while praying in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before, but has him accepting it as being purposed by his Father during the confrontation with those arresting him (John 18:11). Although, it does include his praying to God to watch over his followers.
Resurrection, Ascension, and Second Coming
According to the New Testament, he was raised from the dead by God on the third day following his crucifixion and appeared to his disciples; the Acts of the Apostles reports that forty days later he ascended bodily into Heaven and retains since then both of his natures, divine and human. Paul's letters to the Romans, Ephesians and Colossians, as well as the letter to the Hebrews (traditionally attributed to Paul) claim that Jesus presently exercises all authority in heaven and on earth for the sake of the Church, until all of the earth is made subject to his rule through the preaching of the Gospel, see also the Great Commission. Based on the New Testament, Christians believe that Jesus will return from heaven at the end of the age, to judge the living and the dead, and fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy.
In many sects of the Latter Day Saint movement (Mormonism), it is believed that Jesus appeared in the Western Hemisphere after his resurrection and taught some early Americans, whom The Book of Mormon says were of Israelite descent. It is also believed that, because the Book of Mormon refers to "other lost sheep," when Christ left America he may have visited other civillizations in different parts of the world, although it is not mentioned where.
Miracles performed
Main article: Miracles of Jesus
Miracles performed by Jesus, according to the Gospels, include:
- Turning water into wine for a wedding feast.
- Curing a sick child who was near death.
- Curing a lame man, a man with a virulent skin disease, a paralyzed man.
- Feeding a crowd of five thousand using only fives loaves of bread and two fish.
- Walking on water to reach his disciples who were in a boat (and enabling Peter to walk on water, also).
- Giving sight to a man born blind.
- Bringing a man (Lazarus) who had been dead for four days back to life.
- Appearing to Peter, James, and John in a transfigured state, with unearthly, brilliant white clothes, and with Elijah and Moses.
Quotes
Main article: Jesus' sayings according to the Christian Bible
Well-known quotations attributed to Jesus in the Gospels include:
- The Beatitudes ([Matthew 5:3-12])
- The Lord's Prayer ([Matthew 6:9-13])
- "No one can be the slave of two masters... You cannot be the slave of both God and mammon." ([Matthew 6:24]) (Discourse on ostentation)
- "Do not judge, and you will not be judged." ([Matthew 7:1])
- "Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls in front of pigs..." ([Matthew 7:6])
- "Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find." ([Matthew 7:7])
- "Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to destruction is wide and spacious, and many take it." ([Matthew 7:13])
- "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword... A person's enemies will be the members of his own household." ([Matthew 10:34])
- "Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (the Sole Satisfier - [Matthew 11:28])
- "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven." ([matthew 19:24])
- "Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God." ([Matthew 22:21])
- "The spirit is willing enough, but human nature is weak." ([Matthew 26:41])
- "Love your enemies, do good to those who treat you badly. To anyone who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek as well". ([Luke 6:27])
- "Why do you observe the splinter in your brother's eye and never notice the great log in your own?" ([Luke 6:41])
- "I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the light of life." ([John 8:12])
- "I am the Way; I am Truth and Life. No one can come to the Father except through me." ([John 14:6])
- "Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give to you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you." ([John 14:27])
Christology
Christology is that part of Christian theology that studies and defines who Jesus Christ is. It is generally less concerned with the minor details of his life; rather it deals with who he was, the Incarnation, and the major events of his life (his birth, death, and resurrection), and the nature of miracles.
Christology may also cover questions concerning the Trinity, and what, if anything, Christ accomplished for the rest of humanity. There are almost as many Christological views as there are variants of Christianity. The different Christological views of various Christian sects have led to declarations of faith by ecumenical councils, accusations of heresy, and subsequent religious persecution.
See also
- Islamic view of Jesus
- Judaism's view of Jesus
- List of Jesus-related articles
- New Testament view on Jesus' life
- Religious perspectives on Jesus
External links
- Gibson, Mel, "[The Passion Of The Christ]". ISBN 0788605887
- "[Prophecies of Jesus Christ as Messiah]". GodAndScience.org.
- Domínguez, J., "[Prophecies of the Old Testament Fulfilled in Jesus]". Jan. 26, 2004. (Public domain text)
- "[The Gospel of Jesus Christ]". BiblePlus.
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