The beginnings of Christologyfrom Pheme Perkins, Reading the New Testament, Chapter 6. Asking "Who Is This Jesus?" Asking "Who Is This Jesus?"Even Jesus' own disciples found it difficult to answer the question of "who" Jesus is. We are told stories of doubts and disbelief among Jesus' relatives and fellow townspeople (e.g. Mk 3:21,31-35; 6:1-6; Jn 7:2-8). Enemies looked at Jesus' miracles and presumed that he was a magician in league with Satan (Mk 3:22-27). They suggested that his association with tax collectors and sinners, people who were known to have turned against the commandments of God, made his claim to speak for God dubious (e.g. Mt 11:19; Lk 15:1-2). Comments about his origins often appear to have been used against him (e.g. Mk 6:3; Jn 6:42). In the end one of Jesus' own disciples, Judas Iscariot, turned against him. In our own time, historians have suggested a number of approaches to answering the question of "who" Jesus is. Some emphasize the importance of his miracle working and exorcisms in drawing a crowd. Others look to the movements of resistance that sprung up at the death of Herod the Great around 4 B. C. and again before the outbreak of the Jewish revolt in the 60's A. D. They suggest that Jesus appealed to the independent peasantry of Galilee with his message of the rule of God and the reversal of all social orders and distinctions. Jesus would be reviving the old idea of an anointed leader or "king" of Israel, a person chosen directly by God, not a Hellenistic monarch like Herod. A variant of this view emphasizes the impoverishment and the outcast status of many of Jesus' followers. Jesus is the leader of a movement among the outcasts who had little hope of improving their lot or participating in the existing social order. He proclaimed that these persons are the beloved children of God and will soon experience God's salvation. Still other scholars picture Jesus in the mold of the ancient prophets. Jesus' prophetic word unmasks the injustice and departure from God's will of the present, warns of the judgment against those who do not heed it, and promises salvation to the faithful. All of these views can claim some support in the evidence from the New Testament and what we know of Palestine in Jesus' time. Their relative merits will be debated by Christian and non-Christian scholars alike. However, Jesus' disciples and believers who have come after them ask the question "Who is Jesus?" in another way. They are convinced that in Jesus God's saving power has come to humanity in a unique way. The question "Who is this Jesus?" is tied to the question of Jesus' role as an agent of salvation. Resurrection, Jesus and GodBelief in Jesus' resurrection points out some answers to the question of who Jesus is. Not only does resurrection imply vindication of Jesus' mission by God, it also places a special stamp on Jesus' life. Jesus is more than the righteous martyr for God, since God has exalted Jesus to the heavenly throne. Exaltation to God's throne suggests that Jesus has a special place in God's rule over the world. One might say that Jesus' mission did not end with death. It took on a new dimension with Jesus' exaltation to heavenly rule. We have also seen that the motifs of vindication and judgment were closely linked to resurrection symbols in Judaism. Not surprisingly the risen/exalted Jesus is understood by Christians as the one who will come in the future to exercise God's judgment. Paul alludes to an early creed in 1 Thess 1:9-10. His converts have turned from their false gods to the true God, and they wait for Jesus, God's Son, to come in judgment. In such images of Jesus' heavenly exaltation we see the young Christian community looking to Jesus for its salvation. You can see another example of how the exalted Jesus becomes the focus of Christian hope if you compare Mark 13:11 and Luke 21:15. When Luke recasts the Marcan promise of divine help for Christians who must testify in judicial proceedings about their belief, he speaks of Jesus rather than the Holy Spirit as the agent of divine assistance. This shift does not reflect any neglect of the Spirit's role on Luke's part, since the Spirit plays a critical role in guiding the young community in Acts. But it does show that the exalted Jesus was felt to exercise divine functions in guiding and protecting the community (also see Mt 28:20) . Although the New Testament does not directly affirm that Jesus is God, we see that the exaltation of the risen Jesus led Christians to give him divine functions. This development may have been eased by the fact {101} that some Jewish groups pictured angelic beings as the ones who would exercise such functions in regard to humanity. The mysterious "one like a Son of Man," i.e. "an angelic figure in human likeness," ascends to the divine throne in Dan 7:14—15. Dan 12:1 speaks of Michael, the angelic prince of the people, coming at the time of judgment to deliver the righteous. The exalted Jesus could be seen to play the role of such heavenly figures. Heb 1:4—14 contains an argument based on a number of Old Testament quotations which shows that Jesus, the exalted Son, is higher than any angel. Thus an "angel Christology" cannot quite capture the special relationship that exists between Jesus and God. Jesus as Messiah, Son of God, Son of Man, LordAnother way of capturing the significance of "who Jesus is" was to use titles which pointed to various aspects of Jesus' role in salvation. There are a number of these expressions in the New Testament, but the most frequent are "messiah," "Son of God," "Son of Man," and "Lord." When New Testament writers use these expressions, they already have in mind the fact that Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of God. You may have noticed that Heb 1:4 says that the superiority of the exalted Jesus to the angels is grounded in the superiority of his name to theirs. The "name" which the author has in mind is "Son." God has not called any of the angels "Son" (Heb 1:5). Rom 1:3-4 is based on an old confessional formula in which the earthly Jesus is described as a descendant (= son) of David, while the risen Jesus is designated "Son of God." The expression "Lord" is also used to speak of Christian belief in Jesus (vv. 4,7) . We will not be concerned with how each of the four expressions was used by different writers. For our purposes it is enough to have some idea of what the various expressions meant within the context of first century Judaism and what it tells us when Jesus' followers used these titles to explain who Jesus is. It is important to remember that the earliest Christians did not have the gospel narratives to shape their understanding of Jesus. They depended upon the various miracle stories, controversies, parables and sayings that could easily be remembered and passed on by word of mouth. They also summed up what they believed to be true about Jesus in short formulas such as we find in Paul's letters (e.g. Rom 1:3-4; 1 Thess 1:9-10; 1 Cor 15:3-5) . MESSIAH. The word "messiah" is derived from the Hebrew masiah, "anointed one." It is translated into Greek as christos and so becomes the {102} basis of the "Christ," which we often think of as part of Jesus' name. Anointing of a king or a prophet indicated that that person had been chosen by God to protect or rule the people. Some Jewish writings in Jesus' time look for anointed figures, a king, a priest or prophet, to come as a leader of the people in the last days. Such expectations might be attached to the Davidic kingship, since the anointing of David by the prophet Samuel had shown that God had selected him to rule over the people in place of Saul (2 Sam 6:21). David is also described as "anointed" of God in 2 Sam 23:1-17 and in the Psalms (18:51; 89:39,52; 123:10,17). In Jesus" time the kings were not descended from David. The prophet Jeremiah had predicted the end of the pre-exilic Davidic line and the coming of a new ideal king, David (Jer 33:15; Ez 37:23-24). He does not speak of that king as "anointed," but we do find such expectations for an anointed king in Dan 9:25 and Psalms of Solomon 17:23,36. Essene writings speak of several anointed figures coming as God's agents in the last days. Luke 3:15 describes the people as wondering whether or not John the Baptist was such an "anointed" person. You can see from these examples that the expression "messiah" does not convey much information about a person. It merely indicates those who were felt to have a special role from God. The expectation of "anointed" figures in the last days did not specify whether such persons would be political leaders like the Davidic king, prophetic leaders like the Baptist, or anointed priests like the expectations for a renewed high priesthood that we have seen existed in this period. Because "messiah" could be applied to different types of leader, many scholars think that people might have easily referred to Jesus as "anointed" during his lifetime. He did preach that the rule of God was being realized in his own ministry. And if he had a role in bringing people to the rule of God, then one can easily see that Jesus would become the focus of such expectations. In addition, the crucifixion of Jesus as "king" suggests that such speculation may have been the basis for the charge against him, that he was a political danger to the state because he claimed to be the "anointed king" in the Davidic line. Mark 8:30-31 portrays Jesus himself as critical of the "messianic" claims attached to him because they do not embody the element of suffering that is central to his mission. Indeed, none of the "anointed" figures that were expected to serve as God's agent were expected to die even a martyr's death. The coming of the "anointed" was to bring an end to the evil and corrupt rulers that caused righteous persons to suffer and even to be martyred for their loyalty to God. The "anointed" was to gather the righteous of Israel and to bring about the "new covenant" with God, the people as God had intended it to be. {103} You can see that crucifying Jesus as one who claimed to be "anointed king" was a way in which his enemies could deny any claims that Jesus was God's agent for the last days. Without the resurrection, that strategy would have succeeded. Jesus' followers might have been able to continue following some of his teachings; they might have continued their fellowship with one another and outsiders; they might have spoken of Jesus as a righteous martyr, and they might even have hoped for a future manifestation of God's rule. But they could never have claimed that the crucified Jesus was God's "anointed one," sent to lead the people in the last days. With Jesus' resurrection, they not only spoke of Jesus whose life ended in crucifixion as "messiah," but they also expected that Jesus would play a role in the salvation of the "last days" when he appeared as judge (cf. Acts 3:20-21). Luke 24:26,46 show that Christians still felt compelled to explain how the "messiah" came to suffer. These verses suggest that they had to reread the scriptures to show that, contrary to what people had thought, suffering had been part of the destiny of the messiah in God's plan. SON OF MAN. The expression "Son of Man" is one of the most puzzling expressions in the gospels. We have seen that in Dan 7:14—15 a mythic story of "one like a Son of Man" pictures the heavenly defender of righteous Israel ascending to God's throne. In a section of 1 Enoch that may postdate the earliest use of "Son of Man" for Jesus, we see God seating the "Son of Man" on the throne at the time of judgment. Sinners are condemned and the righteous are exalted into heavenly glory. Some of the images of Jesus as "Son of Man" in the gospels clearly allude to the scenario of heavenly judgment (e. g. Mk 8:38; Mt 19:28; 25:31-32). To speak of Jesus as "Son of Man" in such a context is to attribute to him the role of God's heavenly agent in judgment. Unlike the expression "anointed," "Son of Man" does not appear to have been common in either Judaism or early Christianity. Dan 7 does not speak of the angelic figure as the Son of Man but as one like a "son of man." In other words, the visionary claims to have seen a heavenly being which had human form ascending to God's throne. The passages in 1 Enoch are metaphoric expansions on the Dan image. They do not suppose that the reader already expects a "Son of Man" to be the agent of divine judgment. The mysterious figure of judgment is referred to in a number of other ways in this section of 1 Enoch, such as "righteous and elect one" (1 Enoch 49:2-4) and "Lord's anointed" (48:10). 1 Enoch 71:14 identifies this figure with Enoch himself. However this section of 1 Enoch was apparently composed in the second half of the first century, too late to be evidence that "Son of Man" was being used among Jews generally as a designation for the ex- {104} pected messianic leader of the people. Some scholars even think that the concluding identification of the Son of Man with Enoch was a direct response to Christian claims about Jesus. We also find that the expression "Son of Man" is almost entirely limited to the gospels, where it is placed on the lips of Jesus. The only exceptions are in passages that draw upon the imagery of Dan to describe the exalted Jesus (Acts 7:56; Rev 1:13; 14:14). In some of the sayings of Jesus, there seems to be a distinction between Jesus and the "Son of Man" as a heavenly judge who will vindicate Jesus' own mission (e.g. Mk 8:38; 13:26; 14:62). Mt 16:28 identifies the "kingdom of God" (from Mk 9:1) as the kingdom of the Son of Man, who comes "with his angels in the glory of his Father" (16:27). This description apparently presumes that the reader will make the necessary identification of Jesus with the coming Son of Man. Although it is possible to trace the images of a heavenly "Son of Man" back to the interpretation of Dan 7, we have not discovered any evidence that the expression referred to an individual, whether heavenly or human, in a way that would make it an intelligible identification for people to have used to describe Jesus. Scholars have turned to the Aramaic which Jesus spoke to see what else the expression might have meant. In the Aramaic of the first century bar 'enas can be used either as a generic, "a human being, a mortal," or as an indefinite expression, "someone." Some of the sayings of Jesus appear to have used this generic expression (e.g. Mk 2:10). We also find the expression used in passion predictions, where it may have been put on the lips of Jesus by the evangelist (Lk 9:22; contrast Mt 16:21, "he"). Luke 17:24—25 contrasts the heavenly drama of the coming of the "Son of Man" in judgment with the suffering which he must endure. As you can see from the imagery surrounding the expression "Son of Man," the combination of "Son of Man" with suffering (Mk 8:31; Lk 9:22) is every bit as strange as speaking of a "suffering messiah." Some scholars have tried to link use of the expression "Son of Man" in connection with vindication for the suffering righteous of Dan 7:19 to Jesus' own interpretation of the suffering servant theme found in passages such as Is 42:1; 43:10; 49:6; 52:13; 53:11. They suggest that Jesus used the Daniel metaphor. The combination of these motifs is evident in the sayings about the suffering Son of Man, but it is difficult to show that that interpretation was already part of Jesus' teaching. It may have been part of the process of reinterpreting the scriptures to explain the "messianic suffering" of Jesus after the resurrection. Other scholars, admitting that we do not have enough evidence to fill in the links that would account for Christian use of this expression, suggest that we view the interpretations of Jesus as "Son {105} of Man" as developments that were attached to Jesus' use of the generic expression bar 'enas in his sayings. SON OF GOD. Mindful of the monotheistic context of Judaism, we are not surprised to find that the expression "Son of God" is not necessarily a direct affirmation of Jesus' divinity. Within Judaism the expression "son(s) of God" might mean angels (e.g. Gen 6:2; Job 1:6; Ps 29:1; Dan 3:25). It might mean Israel as "God's son" (Ex 4:22; Deut 14:1; Hos 11:1; Wis 18:13). It might be a title of adoption for the king (Ps 2:7; 2 Sam 7:14). Or it can even be used for the righteous individual (Sir 4:10; Wis 2:18) . However, we do not find the expression in Palestinian Judaism for a "messianic" king, that is, for a person whom God will send to lead the people in the last days. The expression does appear in some Qumran texts for a Davidic king (e.g. 4QFlor 1-2 i 10), but the text does not speak of that king as "anointed" and could refer to any Jewish king. But we do know from the formulas that Paul quotes in 1 Thess 1:10 and Rom 1:3-4 that the expression "Son of God" had been used to express belief in Jesus' exaltation with God from a very early period. The imagery of Ps 2:7 played a role in the conviction that God had designated Jesus "Son" as we can see from Heb 1:5. The gospel narratives picture God naming Jesus "Son" at the baptism (e.g. Mk 1:11) and the transfiguration (e.g. Mk 9:7) . The expression "Son of God" played an important role in early Christianity. It could describe Jesus' special obedience to God's will by using "Son of God" in the sense of the righteous one who suffers. It could express Jesus' exaltation in heaven by using "Son of God" in the sense of the king "adopted" by God to rule over the people. It could express the special character of Jesus' relationship with God, by using "Son of God" to express the idea of being chosen as it had been used for the special relationship between God and Israel. And because "son(s) of God" could also refer to the chosen people, the expression was used for Christians too. Jesus is "God's own Son" but through baptism every Christian is adopted as a "son of God" (e.g. Rom 8:14-17) . LORD. One of the most common titles for Jesus in the New Testament is "Lord." Where "son of God" could express the new relationship of the Christian to God, "Lord" could be used to express the relationship between the Christian and the exalted Jesus. Christians are all "servants" of the one Lord. The ethical consequences of this expression were very important in the Christian communities. Not only was the Christian obedient to the "Lord," the Christian was also told that being servants of the one Lord meant that no one could claim to be superior to others. Paul {106} describes Christians as those who call on the name of "our Lord Jesus Christ" in every place (1 Cor 1:2). Although men and women are different, "in the Lord" they are dependent upon each other (1 Cor 11:11-12). People in the church have to use different talents in serving the Lord (1 Cor 12:4-11). Christian masters are told to be just in their treatment of slaves, since they know that they have a "Lord" and master in heaven (Eph 6:9) . Of course, the expression "the Lord" does not always refer to human beings who have power over others. If it did, it would hardly have come to be such an important title for Jesus. In the Old Testament, "the Lord" is used to refer to God. The New Testament continues to use "the Lord" to mean God as well as to refer to Jesus. There are some passages in which we cannot tell which is meant. A very early hymn which Paul quotes in Phil 2:6-11 speaks of the exalted Christ receiving the name "Lord." Since all the powers of heaven and earth are subject to Christ as Lord, it clearly means that Christ has divine authority. We can trace the use of "Lord" as a title back to the earliest Aramaic-speaking Christians. One of their prayers or confessions of faith was marana tha, meaning "Our Lord, come!" Paul preserves this prayer in 1 Cor 16:22. Gentile Christians were also familiar with the use of the Greek word for "Lord," kyrios, as a title used to address a god or goddess. Paul reflects this practice when he refers to the "so-called gods and lords" in 1 Cor 8:5. He contrasts this view with the confession that there is one God, the Father and source of all things, and one Lord, Jesus Christ (v. 6). In both a Jewish and Gentile environment, then, calling Jesus "Lord" indicated di-. vine status. You can see that the passage in 1 Cor 8:6 preserves the monotheistic character of Judaism by making clear that the Jesus whom Christians confess as "Lord" is an agent of God, not a separate divinity like the many "gods and lords" that the Corinthians had worshiped before they became Christians. The language of "Father" and "Son" was also used to preserve the distinction between Jesus and God. It would take several more centuries for Christians to find a way of expressing the divinity of Jesus in a way that preserved belief in one God. Greek philosophical terms would be used for the task, but the New Testament language of Father, Son and Spirit maintains the links between the earliest Christian beliefs and the doctrines of the incarnation and the Trinity in these later formulations. Jesus in Worship: Acclamation and HymnWe are familiar with the titles for Jesus from the gospels and the letters of Paul. But before the gospels or the letters were written, Christians {107} were using these titles to express their faith. Paul's letters make it very clear that Christian worship was the place where such expressions were used. Remember the expression marana tha, "Our Lord, come!" You can see that that is an exclamation or a prayer for the coming of the Lord. Paul mentions it in 1 Cor 16:22. When we look at Paul's description of the Lord's Supper, or Eucharist, in 1 Cor 11, we find Paul telling the Corinthians that the Supper is a memorial of Christ's death until he comes (1 Cor 11:26). Therefore, many scholars think that the prayer for the return of the Lord was also part of that service along with the "holy kiss" between members of the church that is mentioned in 1 Cor 16:20. 1 Cor 12:3, which is also trying to explain how worship of Christ is different from the idol worship that the Corinthians had known, refers to saying "Christ is Lord" in the Spirit. An acclamation that Christ is Lord may have occurred in other contexts of worship. The Spirit also inspires the newly baptized Christians to call on God as "Abba," Father. When they do so they are expressing their new status as adopted children of God (e.g. Rom 8:15-16; Gal 4:6). Of course, they are also recognizing that Jesus, the Son of God, made that new reality possible. Many of the short formulas which Paul uses in his letters (e.g. 1 Cor 8:6; Rom 1:3-4; 1 Thess 1:9-10) were probably also familiar to his readers from their use in worship. Early Christian Hymns We also find in the New Testament longer passages, which we designate as "hymns," though we do not know whether they were sung or recited. Their language and form set them apart from the surrounding material even though the New Testament authors are using these hymns to illustrate points about Jesus. They have not copied them simply to provide information about hymns that should be used. In these hymns we see early Christians finding new ways of expressing the uniqueness of Jesus. Our earliest example of such a hymn, Phil 2:6-11, stresses Jesus' willingness to abandon divine status in order to be obedient to God. If you remember the story of Adam in Gen, you can see that this hymn makes Christ the opposite of Adam. He doesn't try to "be like God," which Adam and Eve thought they could do by eating of the tree of "knowledge of good and evil." He is not disobedient at all. Instead, Christ is even willing to give up "being like God" and suffer the humiliating death on the cross: [Christ Jesus], who, though he was in the form of God, did not think being equal to God something to be grasped but emptied himself, {108} taking the form of a slave, born in human likeness. Therefore God has highly exalted him, Unlike Adam and Adam's descendants, Jesus is the one "without sin" (2 Cor 5:21). There is no reason for him to suffer the death he does, which is the penalty for human sin. But, the hymn asserts, because Jesus showed such obedience, Jesus is entitled to exaltation. He can be worshiped as "Lord." The short formula in 1 Cor 8:6 hinted that the Lord Jesus was somehow identified with the power through which God brought all things into being. Other New Testament hymns use this idea that Jesus embodies God's wisdom or word, the power by which God created all things, to fill out the hint that Jesus had surrendered "being like God" in order to save humanity through his obedient death. The pattern of these hymns often shifts from the humiliation/exaltation of Jesus, to speaking of Jesus as an "image," "radiance" or "likeness" of God (words used to describe God's creative wisdom or word in some Jewish philosophers of the first century). Heb l:2b-4 has all the elements of this type of hymn: (a) the Son is God's creative wisdom, which is of divine nature and which upholds the world; (b) the Son died for the sins of humanity; (c) the Son is exalted at the right hand of God above all the angels, with a "greater name" than any other powers in the universe. The hymns in Col 1:15-20 and in John l:l,3-4,(5?),9(?),10-12,14a, c, 16 omit the exaltation. They focus on the identification of Christ with God's eternal wisdom and on the redemption which Christ has brought to humanity. Redemption involves descent into the world in John's hymn. However, that coming is already prepared by the fact that God's word/wisdom is active in the world as its light and life. Redemption is pictured as revelation, accepting the "light" visible in the incarnate Son. Col 1:15-20 focuses almost entirely on the heavenly reality of Christ. Verses 15-17 describe the "first-born" of God as agent of creation. Verses 18-20 speak of the reconciliation of all things to God in Christ's body, the {109} church. Only the final verse mentions Christ's death on the cross as the means by which reconciliation takes place. While the various titles used of Jesus have been shaped by the conviction that Jesus is exalted at God's right hand, the acclamations and hymns make it even clearer that the early Christians found Jesus to be more than just a holy person or righteous teacher or great healer or martyr. Jesus is not just "with God" as a reward for his righteous suffering like the martyrs or the suffering righteous person of Wis 2. Instead, Jesus embodies God's own power in creating and maintaining the world, in ruling over the world as "Lord" and as Savior or Judge of humanity. The community's experiences of the Spirit drawing persons into a new relationship with God which was expressed in their calling upon God as "Abba" or hailing Jesus as Lord played an important role in shaping these beliefs. Jesus and God Though the risen Jesus is imagined as an exalted, heavenly figure and worshiped as a manifestation of God, the early Christians would have insisted that Jesus is not "God" in the sense in which the Father is God. They know that Jesus is also a human being who really experienced suffering and death. Neither God in the Jewish tradition nor the gods of the pagan cults could be said to "die." Archaic myths sometimes spoke of a god or goddess being held captive by death and later liberated, often only for a time. Such myths explained the apparent death of nature in winter and its return to life in the spring. But these myths were not part of the early understanding of Jesus' death and resurrection/exaltation. (Later Christians sometimes appealed to the ancient myths to prove that God had also prepared the pagans to receive the truth of Christianity.) Some of the hymns and formulas antedate the letters of Paul. They must have been used among persons who were also contemporaries of Jesus. Paul himself had met Peter, James and probably others who had known Jesus during his lifetime. He knows that the Jesus whom Christians worship as "Lord" is a real human person just as surely as he knows that God is the invisible, eternal Creator of everything that exists (cf. Rom 1:20) . If you read through the New Testament carefully, you will notice that Jesus is rarely spoken of as "God." The most direct example, John 20:28, occurs as an acclamation or gesture of worship. The fourth gospel is acutely aware of charges made against Christians for blasphemy because they made Jesus, a human being, God (e.g. Jn 5:18). The author uses the imagery of Father/Son to explain that Jesus is not a rival god but the faithful emissary of the Father. What Jesus does is what God does. Jesus' powers to judge and give life have been given him by the Father (Jn 5:19-30). The {110} Philippians hymn makes a similar point by emphasizing the contrast between Jesus' obedience and Adam's disobedience. Jesus did not consider "being divine" something to be "grabbed," "held on to" or "exploited for his own advantage," (the Greek word harpagmos in verse 6 can carry all of these connotations) . Christology as a special topic in Christian theology emerges when Christians began to work out explanations for who Jesus is and what Jesus' relationship to God is in a systematic fashion. The New Testament authors do not engage in such explanations. They present us with their emerging convictions about Jesus in a number of different images and literary forms. Often, as we have seen, these images have their roots in different Jewish traditions. Some are based on beliefs about God's agents of salvation, both human and angelic. Others, like the identification of Jesus with God's word/wisdom active in creation, come from more philosophical reflection on how God can be said to be active in the world when God is so far above that world and so different from anything in it. Many of these Jewish traditions had to be given a new meaning when applied to Jesus. It was not easy to see how the "messiah" could be identified with a crucified person. Nor was it easy to see how a human being who had recently lived and died could be said to be God's creative wisdom. Often the various images occur in different places in the New Testament traditions. They are not put together in a single account of who Jesus is. Stories and the Identity of JesusSeveral weeks ago, one of my students was interviewing me for the school paper. She said that the editors of the paper had told her that they wanted "stories," idiosyncracies, etc. as part of the articles on different faculty members. I referred her to some former students. The editors of the paper recognized something important about how we identify people. We don't always look for titles, lists of accomplishments, social position, family etc. Often we are most interested in people when someone else tells us a story about them. You already know that much of our material about Jesus was preserved in stories and sayings that people repeated to one another. Miracle stories identify Jesus as a sort of "divine man." He is able to exercise exceptional powers over demons, over the forces of nature, and to heal. Many of the stories carried an additional message about Jesus' healing. A person was said to be healed because of his or her faith in Jesus. Or a miracle is presented as a sign of forgiveness of sins. Jesus' treatment of the {111} demons shows their power over human life, but Jesus is greater than they are. Jesus' sayings and parables not only show us Jesus as a teacher, they also ask us to compare Jesus with other teachers. The sayings which are part of a debate contrast Jesus' answers with the false views or even the inability to answer of his opponents. Sometimes Jesus' teaching invites comparison with similar themes in the Old Testament. Jesus may affirm what is in the Old Testament. He may present it in an intensified form. Or he may consider it insufficient or subordinate to some other expression of the will of God. The evangelists frequently remind their readers that Jesus' teaching was different than that of others. Mark 1:27 mentions Jesus' teaching in the context of an exorcism. The reader is to see the same power in Jesus' words as in his deeds. Mt 7:28-29 concludes the Sermon on the Mount with the observation that Jesus' teaching caused amazement because it had an authority different from that of the scribes. Luke 4:22 has the people praise Jesus' teaching and wonder at the "gracious words which came from his mouth." Since the Scripture quote about which Jesus had spoken begins with the prophet saying the Spirit of God rests upon him (v. 18), Luke's reader is to understand that Jesus has spoken in the power of the Spirit. These brief examples show how stories carry important messages about who Jesus is, which are not easily represented in titles, creeds or hymns. We have concentrated on the shorter stories which people repeated to one another. However, each of the evangelists has also told the story about Jesus from a unique perspective. Study of how each gospel is structured and which themes about Jesus it develops helps us to present the picture of Jesus that is given in each of the gospels. Just as you may find that two people disagree about the way in which a particular character is presented in a book or a movie, so scholars have different views of what the "Christology" of each of the gospel writers is. Often a gospel presents us with a number of puzzles that we have to fit together. Mark, for example, begins with an emphasis on Jesus' powerful miracles, but also has Jesus tell both demons and humans that they are to be silent. The second half of Mark emphasizes the necessity for the Son of Man to suffer. The disciples in Mark become almost as hostile to this teaching as Jesus' enemies in the gospel are to other parts of his teaching. At the end of the gospel, the women run away from the tomb frightened and don't tell anyone. No one doubts that an important part of Mark's Christology is that Jesus is the "suffering Son of Man." But how are the powerful miracles to be fitted in? Some scholars have argued that Mark wanted to oppose the image of Jesus that would come from emphasis on {112} the miracles, that of a "divine man," because it did not make room for the necessity of suffering. Others see the miracles as reassurance to a suffering community. Even though Jesus had to suffer and even though Christians have to follow Jesus in suffering, Jesus does have the power to save us. We have a hint that that is how Matthew understood the story of Jesus calming the sea. Mt 14:22-27 is based on the story in Mk 6:45-52. But Mark's story ends with the disciples not understanding anything about Jesus. The miracle did not increase their faith. Matthew substitutes a story about Peter walking on water for the Marcan ending (Mt 14:28-32). When Peter's faith in Jesus wavers, he begins to sink. Jesus rescues Peter and reprimands him for his "little faith." Then when Jesus enters the boat the disciples worship him as "Son of God." Matthew's version of the story is clearly aimed at teaching Christians that they must have faith in Jesus to save them from whatever trials they suffer. They should not be persons of "little faith," since the Jesus they worship is really "Son of God." You can see that Matthew has used one of the titles for Jesus in a gesture of worship. This gesture also links the miracle story to the confession that Jesus is "Son of God." Matthew has shifted the ending of the story that he found in Mark in order to make it clear that these beliefs in Jesus should also have a message for the church of his day. They will be saved if they continue to trust in Jesus. SummaryWe have explored a number of ways in which the early Christians began to express their belief that Jesus has a special relationship with God which no other human being can have. In theological terms the word "Christology" is used to refer to explanation of who Jesus is in relationship to God. The New Testament does not use the abstract categories of the theologians. It uses the titles and images of its Jewish background. It also tells stories about Jesus which identify who he is. Jesus is not confused with God the Father. But Jesus is "next to God." Not even the angels are as close to God. The New Testament insists that Jesus shares the powers of God in a special way. But the whole point of Jesus' divine power is to make salvation possible. Jesus can forgive sin, can give life and can act as judge. Therefore, those who believe in Jesus are to be confident that they will be saved. In many different ways, the New Testament tells its readers that Jesus is much more than a good, loving and wise human being. Jesus is God coming to save humanity. {113} Study QuestionsFacts You Should Know 1. How does the New Testament distinguish the sense in which Jesus is spoken of as divine from the "one God" of its monotheistic creed? 2. Be able to explain the meaning of the four titles "messiah," "Son of Man," "Son of God" and "Lord" within the context of first century Ju daism. 3. How is belief in Jesus' resurrection as exaltation tied to the use of the titles "Son of Man" and "Lord"? 4. Give examples of how the title "Lord" was used in early Christian worship. 5. How did early Christian hymns associate Jesus with divine powers? Things To Do1. Look up the short formulas that express Christian belief in some of Paul's letters (e.g. Rom 1:3-4; 1 Thess 1:9-10; 1 Cor 15:3-5). List the beliefs about Jesus and God which are found in those formulas. 2. Look up the "hymns" about Jesus in Phil 2:6-11; Heb 1:1—4; Col 1:15-20 and Jn l:l,3-5,9-12,14ac,16. How does each hymn express the "before" of Jesus' existence, the turning point of obedient death and the final exaltation of Jesus? 3. Use a concordance to find examples of the three uses of "Son of Man" in Mark: (a) heavenly figure, coming judge; (b) suffering Son of Man; (c) "son of man" as an indefinite expression for any human being. Things To Think About1. Try writing your own "Christological hymn." What are the crucial elements in the "before," obedience and exaltation of Jesus for you? 2. If you had to make up short prayers or formulas for Christian wor ship what titles or phrases would you use to express the reality of who Jesus is? (Do not limit yourself to those found in the New Testament.) |