I have read several recent works of fiction that raise some interesting questions about Jesus. Cross Bones, by Kathy Reichs, examines the possibility that Jesus was not really raised from the dead, but rather lived to be an old man with a family who died on Masada in a Jewish revolt against the Romans. The Templar Legacy, by Steve Berry, also looks at the question of Jesus' resurrection, from the point of view of the ancient Templars, who tried to eradicate the Jews in the Holy Land in the Middle Ages. The Templars' secret, which has been hidden for ages, contains "proof" that Jesus did not rise from the dead, a notion that in the wrong hands could effectively wipe Christianity off the map. Finally, the Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown, confronts us with the question of Jesus' humanity. Christians typically emphasize Jesus' divinity, often to the detriment of Jesus' humanity. Brown asks whether it is possible that Jesus was married with children, a question that often makes Christians uncomfortable.
While I enjoy reading "junk novels" as I call them, because they get me away from the scholarly reading I do most of the time, I also enjoy reading these books because they make me question the things I already believe. I think this helps me grow in my faith and my ways of thinking about the world, as well as giving me an opportunity to articulate my positions better.
The Gospels tell us much about Jesus' life, ministry, and character. They tell us that Jesus could heal the sick (Mt 15:21-28), raise the dead (Jn 11:17-44), and take on the religious authorities (Lk 5:17-26). The Gospels tell us that Jesus was crucified, was raised from the dead, and appeared to people in the flesh after his resurrection. Finally, the Gospels tell us that Jesus God in the flesh, the Incarnation. And yet, questions about who Jesus is abound.
Why is it so difficult to get a clear picture of who Jesus is? The disciples never really understood, the people whom Jesus healed never quite got it, the authorities that killed Jesus certainly didn't understand. Even today, if you ask 10 Christians who they think Jesus is, you will receive 10 different answers. Who is Jesus? Why do you think so many people have such a hard time answering this question with certainty?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
32 comments:
I believe that it is so hard to get a concrete picture of Jesus because the concrete proof is not there. In today's world most people don't just accept things at face value. They must see proof. This need for proof however, is exactly the opposite of faith. Faith is just believing because someone says it is so. Take for example the story of Doubting Thomas. Jesus says to him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29 NIV). The issue is not who Jesus was, but instead, what he did for us.
And in remembering what Jesus did for us we discover who Jesus is, our Lord and Savior.
In my opinion most people aren't certain with themselevs when answering the question "Who is Jesus?", because sadly, most people don't know who Jesus is. In today's world, being a Christian, or a firm believer isn't really the "cool" thing to do. And lets' face it, in todays world, most everyone is only worried about fitting in with the rest of the world. This doesn't really leave much time for church, or a little Bible reading, or any other way thats supposed to help them know Jesus. No matter how bad or how much it needs to be, todays' world, sadly isn't about Jesus and I think that this is why most people can't really tell you who he is with certainty.
"Who is Jesus?" That is a very good question and in light of all that is happening in today's society, that won't be an easy question to find the answer for. Jesus is in your heart. Whether he truly ever walked the earth or was married or had children doesn't matter. Jesus stands for all the good things that we as christians hold on to in the face of all the evil that surrounds us on a daily basis. I agree totally with the firs commentor who stated that we need proof in everything we do. Why is it that we can listen to a total stranger on T.V. and take everything he/she says and believe every word, yet we have no faith in the fact that Jesus died for all mankind. This is something that each individual person is going to have to struggle with on their own. As with age comes wisdom, age also brings better understanding on which things in life you take at face value and which ones you pitch out with today's garbage. As we move through life I hope that Christians become the "in-crowd" again and for those people who are true Christians it won't matter either way. I sincerely hope that we don't use God, Jesus, and Christian as the winners or losers in a popularity contest. For those people who need proof of something...walk through the woods, look at a newborn baby, talk to someone who has overcome cancer, or just open the Bible, those are just a few places that you will find all the proof you need to believe that Jesus did in fact exsist. And if he didn't...it is still wonderful to think that there was one person who loved all enough to die so horribly so that all mankind might live.
It is extremely difficult to fully understand who Jesus is. Almost all of the knowledge that we have of Jesus is either from the Bible or for people passing it down through the generations. There are things wrong with both sources. The Bible is what people live by and how they understand Jesus but no one knows if all of the information is true. Scholars debate on when books were written and if all of the events in the Bible actually occured. If scholars are unable to adequately figure out the Bible, how can we. The problem with the knowledge of Jesus being passed down through the generations is that bit and pieces of it are lost between the generation. A story might start out taking thirty minutes to tell but by the time it gets to the last person, it may only be about five. Even with this, most people have their beliefs about Jesus. It all depends on how strong their faith is. If a person has a weak faith, their beliefs of Jesus might change by hearing other people talking about Jesus but it they are a strong believer, their beliefs can not be changes by anyone. To ask me "who i think Jesus is" is a big question. I believe the information that I read in the Bible and the information the i hear at church but only time will really tell who Jesus is to me.
This is a good question that will probably never be answered. Who is Jesus? When you ask people that, you often get different answers. I agree with michael loadholdt when he says that it is so hard to get a concrete picture of Jesus because the concrete proof is not there. That is so true. In today's world people must have proof or see something for themselves to believe it. Hayden Kidd states an important statement when she says that most people don't have time to find out who Jesus is. They can depend on the Bible to provide an image on put people in the bible thought Jesus looked like.In my personal opinion, I think Jesus is my father. He has provided for throughtout the years, and when nobody else is there, he is there. He may not be there physically, but he's ther spiritually. I agree with rohland j when she states Jesus stands for all the good things that we as christians hold on to in the face of all the evil that surrounds us on a daily basis. That statement just adds more to my opinion stated earlier.
I once heard someone say that a person can have one of three opinions about Jesus: He is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. Nonetheless, no one can back up his or her opinion about Jesus with concrete, scientific data. Granted, we have very limited historical data about Jesus outside of the Bible. Because our society is so science/reason oriented, many people find it difficult to establish a clear definition of Jesus; most will not believe in something if they cannot rationalize it or understand it. However, I will have to agree with Michael in his assertion about faith. Perhaps we are not meant to fully understand Jesus from a logical standpoint. After all, if we could comprehend all of the Bible's mysteries, why would we need faith? While I cannot provide a scientific answer to Jesus' identity, I can provide an answer from my own experience. As a Christian, I have a relationship with Jesus. While I cannot comprehend Him, I know Him. What Jesus has done in my life is all the proof that I'll ever need of His position as Lord. Eventually, everyone has to make a decision about Jesus from the information at hand. We will likely never be able to paint a full picture of the historical Jesus. Faith is the only way to establish a true sense of who Jesus is.
Everyone has their own beliefs in who they think Jesus is, or what Jesus stands for. For the most part, Jesus is one of many bonds that all christians in this world share. He is in the hearts of millions and he is the one everyone believes in, mind and heart.So many people believe in Jesus and will never doubt the fact that he could come again. Jesus to me is a powerful word and an immaculate figure. Many have said he has helped their lives so much, but when something horrible happens in someones life, they ask Jesus "Why me?" Personally, I don't think Jesus is the one to blame if something goes bad in your life, because if it happened, then it was meant to happen for a reason. There are so many reasons why people would have different answers to who Jesus is. Some reasons I may have even said earlier in this comment. Many negative or positive things, but when it comes down to it, Who is Jesus, really? I don't think that the image or anything about Jesus is supposed to be clear to anyone. I guess it's just meant for us to try and figure out what to believe in, and stick with it.
People normally ask "Who is Jesus",but when you think about the things that we learn in our church homes help us outa little. But when we reach a certian level in our live we need to dig harder and find out more things about "Jesus". We have relize that some people do not belive in Jesus but we cant hepl that.Some people was not brought up in the church and people find their own sence of belife when they are out of their parents house. When some one ask a question about the way Jesus look we can only go by the pictures that are shown to us. No one can tell us how Jesus look. The question comes up if he was white or black who really can tell us Jesus skin color.But the issues that the last two people made I have to say that I would agree because the points that they all have made had a point..Yea the bible does talk about the healing and how he was able to help people.Some people may not belive in Jesus because the point was not proven to made true enough and some people learn from church but their is always more to the story. You can learn things from some of the minstery channels. Our world has a lot to do with religion.
Jesus is God. He is the son of God. Jesus is my personal savior. Jesus is the son of the virgin Mary and Joesph..... These all are answers to the question who is Jesus. I agree with Michael Loadholdt when he says this is a hard question to answer. Each person has there on definition of who Jesus is. Each person determines this by there own personal beliefs. I agree with Hayden Kidd they she states that most people don't know who Jesus is. I think that as a Christian it is part of my job to go out into the world and share the gospel. I should teach non believers about Jesus so that this statement wont be true. I think it is hard for some people to answer this question with certaintly because they feel like they need to have the politicaly correct answer. I agree with Shehilton when she says Jesus is her father. As a christian I also look to him as my father.
So if I went out and starting healing, preaching, and rambling on about christianity and its whole entirety, would you consider me your father? What if I died for everyones' sins? How would you explain that certain situation?
I agree somewhat with what people have said here. The thing is that for most people going to church is something that their parents forced them to do as a child, and unfortunately as children get older they don't take it serious enuogh to continue in their faith. Because of their lack of faith, and for a lot of people their lack of knowledge, puts them in a position where they are not able to answer the question of "who is Jesus?". However, for those that are very devout in their faith and knowledge of the Bible and Jesus it is hard to sometimes define who Jesus was because they worry about whether or not they are right. Lastly, the world has changed so much from Jesus's day and age when people were very into religion, going to church, praying, etc. However, today people don't care nearly as much - and one key result of how things have changed is the fact that today people always want proof. Faith is about believing with seeing and sometimes without understnding at that particular moment. A lot of people struggle with the idea of Jesus and religion because it really cant be proved. I leave everyone that believes this with this thought - most people have never seen one million dollars all at one time, however we are told that it exsist and therefore we believe. Noone alive today has ever seen Jesus in person, but if you can believe in that million dollars based on what you are told then why can't you believe in Jesus based on what you are taught in class and are preached to about in church?
I agree with most of the comments before me. It is simple nobody can answer "who is jesus?" with certainty is because nobody in this world has ever came in counter with jesus(that we know of). So when someone asks you who is Joe Jones it is kind of hard to answer them when you have never met him. Of course you can go on what other people tell you about him but that is all oral tradition. Another reason is that there are so many different perceptions of jesus how can one really know which idea to choose. It is very difficult to know who he is when people are telling you all different kind of things. People who witness car wrecks and saw the acciedent plain as day have trouble sometimes being sure if they still think what they think happened when four people are saying the story the opposite way of what they are saying. It is very difficult as humans to go against what they mojority of the group is going. It is hard for anyone to be a hundred percent sure of who jesus is.
I agree with some of the comments of others. One thing thowe is I don't beleave in question everything thing. It is good to wonder and go and find srictrure to back up what you bleave or to find truth. It can however go to far and when you question your faith to much you can loose your bleiths and then you will not really have any faith. If you are not sure in your heart about Jesus I bleave your going to hell.
For me it is not hard to picture Jesus the Bible give me a pretty clear picture. It speak of him as God and Man. That means he is both. It says he rised people that means he did it. Jesus came to the earth for one reason and one reason only to die for our sins. He died on the cross and rose from the dead 3 days later. If you don't bleave this there is no use in me wasting my breath saying any thing to you your hellbound anyway. It does not matter how many degrees you get at some man made college your still not going to know everything in the Bible. It is stupid to thing you can. Anohter thing is who cares if people can't answer all the questions about Jesus I know what I bleave and don't care what you or any body else thinks.
there are a lot of people that ask who is jesus. I don't fully understand but I know he's there because when I totaled my car two weeks ago after being on two wheels coming around a curve, hitting a small tree, fence and two telephone poles I knew that he was watching over me. I have that proof that there's a god and I don't need anything else to help me believe so
I believe that the reason of Jesus being critized is because there are not enough proof evidence to declare so. We dont know many things that happend in the past but we can use the media to interpret the past. The bible contains the gospels, who all of them describe the life of Jesus. I have to agree with Michael about how the important issues is what jesus did for humanity and not what he did with his life. For me Jesus represents God and he lives inside of everyone of us.
I really agree with ben on this blog. You really can not anwser the question, Who is Juses? Because no one knows in this present day. There are so many stories for us to believe, about his idenity. I believe the Bible, with the stories of Gospels. I have had some cases in my life were jesus had let me know that he is real. As to me i really am not a very religious person but i do believe in God and his crucifiction. It seems like the more you study the bible and the stories, it seems to get you not believeing that he was alive and true.
I agree with Tara about the statement that everyone has a different opinion about who Jesus is. It can be proven that Jesus is the son of God and out savior, but there are always going to be people who disregaurd the facts. I agree with Jenny about the fact that we can watch TV and take literally everyword that he says and not believe what the Bible tells us and the proof that it entails. I believe that the proof of Jesus is undeniable and that Jesus is in you heart. In my heart, there is no denying that Jesus is our Savior and is always with us.
To me Jesus is God's son and whos birthmother is Mary. He grew up to be a great man and died for our sins. To me he also died on the cross and rose again. I think that many people have a hard time pin pointing who Jesus is because now a days people are being taught to think out side the box and ask questions. So with that frame of mind they start to question what they have grown up with.
Also, all the different books and movies that bring up topics about this also put more questions into peoples heads. But to me i do stop and consider what i see and read that questions what i have grown up believing. I get confused and then i have to just stop and tell myself that it doesnt go along with everything else. That what i have seen/heard isnt what really happened but that what i know is right. Somtimes i take what i have heard/seen and take small parts and apply it to my ideas and use it to expand my knowledge.
Its all about how people process what they hear and see to what they know. So times the stories are soo crazy one might have to just believe but some times you have to stand strong on your beliefs.
I dont think that anyone really knows who Jesus is or what he looks like. Yes we go to church and get this picture of this old guy with a beard and stuff pounded into our heads.. or atleast I did. I think part of the reason why there is such a contraversy on who Jesus is and what he looks like is because there is not one set teaching that everyone learns as a child or when we go to church. I know I believe that Jesus was real, but I also question all the stuff thats in the Da Vinci code. I definitely am not the greatest Christian, but i do believe in God and Jesus and all that stuff. Who is to really say that all the stuff in the Bible happened or that Jesus really was like he was portrayed. A lot of that is that there is no true evidence. There is no solid proof. People in today's society for the most part really need that rock hard evidence to believe. No one will ever know what Jesus looked like or who he really was. You have to rely on your faith... we have to quit relying on science and stuff thats proven.... thats part of Christianity... Belief
who is jesus. Perhaps the reason why people have difficulities answering this question is because we all think Jesus is who we learn about in our own churches and in our understanding of the bible. Like you said, if we ask 10 christians who jesus is, we will get 10 different answers. When you read the Gospels, each Gospel will say something different about jesus so it is hard to distinguish which is right. As you read the comments, you get the true understanding that no one really knows who jesus is because we all have different answers and logic behind out answer.
i believe it is quite common for people tho assume their beliefs are correct.. i personally feel like i have a fairly good grasp of the concept that jesus was both human and divine.. but i could be way-off as well.. i also think it is possible that evil forces could be behind some of this information which makes us skeptical.. temptation isn't the only form of negativity thrust into our lives by satan.. i feel as though anything that provokes negative or even questionable thoughts about christianity are meant to do just that.. i think it's up to christians to protect their thoughts, while remaining open-minded.. this concept is almost contradictory, but yet, seems to be the only reasonable way to handle it..
I think that jesus was a man just like us. God said that jesus was him but in flesh like us. So to me if he had kids and married that is not a problem to me. Some people try to make him sound like us when others try to make him totally the opposite. As holy as can be. So the thought of god having sex, kills people. No one really knows who jesus really was because we are not from his time.
Josie W.- Jesus is known around the world by many people, but no one really knows who He is. Jesus in my opinion is my Savior and Lord. Through him all things were made, including me. I am grateful for the power of his Holy Spirit. Many people view him in many different ways, but that is their belief. My belief is that is lived, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again and ascended into heaven. He is powerful, almighty, and most of all I glorify his name. Jesus is so many different things; therefore, you cannot just say exactly WHO he is. We can believe, however, that he is in our presence. We have the choice to believe in the Scriptures, we have the choice to not believe. That is all personal choice. To me, Jesus is a great friend who I can run to and talk to with total confidentiality. He knows me and loves me for who I am, as he does everyone else on this earth. But, like I said and like many other bloggers mentioned, Jesus is in our mind. We have no proof, but if we believe then he is real. He lived once upon a time in flesh and now he is in spirit. Jesus is so many different things, and there are so many different opinions on him.
well in my opinion i think that jesus do but then again he doesnt choose people the isrealites it think he has choosed because they are good people and they work hard and back when you heard stories you always heard about the isrealites doing something good winning wars and doing right by people so yes when it comes down to it i do blieve that god choose people.
This is a difficult question to answer. Jesus is seen in a different way to everybody. Although He is described in the Gospels, people still question what Jesus looks like, and exactly who he is. Jesus is our savior, God's son, and we should follow him. He died on the cross and rose from the dead for us and our sins. I have a certain image of Jesus in my mind: it is the stained glass window at the altar of my church.I see Jesus one way, and other people see him differently.
When reading what other people put you can tell that your right about the ten different answer to the question. I think that is the answer Jesus is different to everyone in different ways. I believe that is what makes his lives and death so important in history. Because there is no set in stone of his life people take what they need and make it work for them. Because we are so different as humans we all need something a little different to hold on to and the mystery of Jesus give us all what we need in are own way.
"Josie W.- Jesus is known around the world by many people, but no one really knows who He is. Jesus in my opinion is my Savior and Lord. Through him all things were made, including me. I am grateful for the power of his Holy Spirit. Many people view him in many different ways, but that is their belief. My belief is that is lived, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again and ascended into heaven."
I am with and behind this all of the way. People today try to hard to over look everything and try oh so hard to make things more challeging then what they really are. If we as a people take the word for what it is and not what if could be the world just might get some order.And we all can try to get back on one accorde
I think the reason why people don't really know who jesus is because there so many different stories about God and his life. So many people believe that Jesus is the son of God, and others believed that God and Jesus are the same. Its really funny because people all have there own interpertaion of the bible. Thus the reason why there are so many different donations for one Religion. If you were to ask me I believe God and Jesus are whats inside of you. When you are born you know from a baby when there is danger around. God sets your body up with those natural things so that you can survive as a baby. Like I said somepeople might not believe or agree with what I am saying, but this is what I believe thats way he gave us a mind so that we can think about whats wrong and what right. So if you ask anyone on the street who is God he or she will give you there own personal belief.
I agree with robert on this one, so many people have a different understanding of who Jesus really is.For example, most people believe in what they were taught by there parents or a story that makes sense to them. Everybody does not think the same and people have different opinions on what they believe. In this case your going to get a lot of different answers. For me god was the choosen one that set examples that should be followed and practiced to obtain eternal life. Many people my not agree with me, but this is just the way I feel about god.
I think that it is hard to get a solid picture of who Jesus is, is because as you have said the disciples never really understood, the people whom Jesus healed never quite got it, the authorities that killed Jesus certainly didn't understand and this is what we have to go by. What these people said about Jesus. The gosepls do not totaly agree on who Jesus was and what happened. I dont know why anyone now a days thinks they have a better idea, but yet this is how most people believe they know Jesus. I agree with Rohland J that Jesus to true beleivers is in their heart and all the other stuff doesnt matter. I also agree with marvin, that God said that jesus was him but in flesh like us. And I think it doesn't really matter if Jesus was divine or not. That doesn't take away from everything that he did on earth.
It is hard to get a clear picture of Jesus because we have never physically seen Him. It is easier to believe in something or someone we have seen. In today's world, it is even harder to get people to believe in Jesus becuase He lived so long ago. People have to have physical proof nowadays. Jesus is God's son who came to earth to save us from sin. I know that is the typical Sunday School answer but sometimes it is as simple as that to describe who Jesus is. People try to make something so easy as believing in Jesus and make it complicated. People have trouble answering who Jesus is because there are so many different religions with their own view of Jesus that people do not know what to believe. They are confuse because they hear one opinion on Jesus and the next one they hear is the total opposite of the first.
Post a Comment