- People call Jesus name in order to vent our anger or frustration: blasphemous - but people do not call out Buddha, Muhammad, Lenin, or Mao
- Talking about Jesus Christ is a conversation stopper; people feel uncomfortable - but people talk about other religious leaders to their heart's content
- "one solitary life"
- Eastern Europe, especially Russia, determined assault on Christianity, but it survived - 'perestroika' and 'glasnost' - in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Georgia, Romania, etc - 'one solitary life' continues to have an unparalleled impact on human affairs
- The Bible is called 'the book nobody know' and Jesus 'the man nobody knows'
- Yet, the society and the institution that Jesus founded has been so unlike Jesus - crusades, inquisition, persecution, etc
- People have suspicions that Jesus would expect some major changes in our lifestyle?
- Jesus himself said man loves darkness rather than the light because our deeds are evil and do not want them exposed
- Nobody rejects electricity because of its exposing nature
- Jesus is immensely attractive; embodies everything good; greatest humanitarian
- Candid look at our world reveals hatred, violence, cruelty, lust, starvation, greed, corruption, strife, etc
- All of humanity cries out for love, forgiveness, meaning, reconciliation, peace, and hope - these are the very issues Jesus spent His life addressing
- Jesus was a delightful company
- people walked miles with Him
- judges, soldiers, fishermen, prostitutes, tax collectors, doctors, etc
- Jesus cheerfully broke taboos
- Jesus won the adoration of the crowd, yet loved solitary and simplicity
- Jesus was an inspiration to the uneducated and intellectuals alike
- Jesus was intensely aware of God he called 'abba-father'
- "I do always those things that please God"
- Jesus made God real; Jesus made God accessible
- Life of Jesus shines as the ideal for all humanity
- Jesus was compassionate, sympathetic, graceful, joyful, revolutionary
- Jesus was unselfish and tireless for others
- Jesus' teachings were authoritative
- Jesus' powers were authoritative
- Jesus was a member of subject race under Roman occupation; yet, he appeared to be in complete control of his circumstances
- Jesus was the liberator; he freed people from guilt and low self-image
- Jesus healed people of spiritual sickness and physical illness
- Jesus released people fear and bondage
- He never freed a slave or enfranchised a woman, never traveled more than 200 miles, and yet, His teaching and attitudes were the inspiration of the great social reforms that righted injustices
- Jesus' love was universal
- Calendar changed with his birth; legal systems were based on his teachings; people learned to read due to Christians who taught people to read; social work were inspired by Jesus
- The Zealots were nationalists
- Sadducees were landowners and priests who had the most to lose and held the majority of the internal government 'Sanhedrin' that Romans allowed
- Pharisees practiced elaborate and ritualistic obedience and waited for the day of the Messiah, the deliverer
- Scribe-monks were in the desert writing Dead Sea Scrolls
- The people were impoverished but insanely proud of their ancestry
- Romans thought they were crazy on one hand but secretly envied Jews' austere faith, the Holy Book, reverent worship, upright lives
- With Jewish faith, the Greek language, and the Roman empire, the world was uniquely ready for the coming of Jesus
- 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel' (Mark 1:14-15)
- Repent: change the whole attitude and behavior
- assailed religious arrogance, social justice, and personal apathy
- Kingdom of God lies at the heart of what Jesus preached and taught
- Except for Sadducees, all other group of Jewish people were eagerly longing for the Kingdom of God
- Jesus said nothing about any military campaign; He concentrated on the more spiritual aspects
- Jesus had come to fulfill liberation, freedom (not from Roman occupation but from the bondage of death)
- J.B. Phillips, "happy are the" - contrast to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount
- We are called to live a life of generosity, modesty, and prayer
- Christians' real investment is in heaven
- There will be a new heaven and a new earth, where peace and justice will rule
- God's will in fact be done on earth as it is in heaven
- "already" but "not yet" aspect
- In the old days, God was "too holy"; God's standard was perfection
- Jesus called God - 'abba-father'
- you can search all of world's religion, and you will not find 'abba-father' as a name of any god
- Jesus made God intimate
- taught everyone that they can call God 'abba-father'
- at the center of Kingdom of God was a loving father
- God invites and welcomes us home
- Jesus taught of the supremacy of unconditional and universal love
- Old Judaism was centered around the temple, the Sabbath, and the law
- Jesus changed all that - to love God and to love the people
- God does not want servants; God wants sons and daughters in loving heavenly relationship
- 'agape' - total love for totally unworthy, undeserved
- Jesus taught us to 'respond' here and now
- quietly but firmly, Jesus equated entering the kingdom of God with becoming His disciple
- Jesus sent His disciples into town and villages on their own
- Jesus spoke about heaven and hell more than any other
- Jesus gave us a choice, and we must choose
- Decision is urgent and the time is now
- God's way of living, God's kingly rule, has come your way.
- "The kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power" (1 Cor 4:20)
- Salvation means God's wholeness; His rescue; His healing
- Jesus is wholesome; full of love and humor, of honesty and generosity
- Jesus says, "you need a doctor, and I have come to heal the sick"
- Jesus constantly reaches out with compassion
- Tremendous outbreak of demonic activity during Jesus' lifetime
- the presence of the best provoked the worst
- light of Jesus stimulated the darkness of evil
- Jesus recognized evil, wrestled with evil in the desert in 'temptations'
- demonization normally takes root after person has been involved in the occult
- demonization only shows itself spasmodically
- demonization responds to the command in the name of Jesus
- Jesus' greatest healing was rescuing people from sin
- Jesus healed the sick by forgiving them of their sins
- Jesus healed the very root of human sickness
- it transformed so many in the bible: Zacchaeus, Mary of Magdala, etc
- healing of body, healing from the malign influence of dark forces, healing from sin
- Jesus performed miracles
- every strand of material shows Jesus as someone who was different in His powers
- healing and resurrection
- can we believe them? it defies laws of nature
- People were filled with wonder and Jews attributed them to the devil
- Quadratus (124AD) - early Christians were confident of what Jesus did
- Justin Martyr (150AD)
- Jesus reveals a God who cares
- He cares so much for the poor, broken
- Jesus reveals as to who He claims He is
- miracles are pictures of what Jesus offers to do in the human heart
- opening the eyes of the blind
- dumb were able to speak
- deaf were able to hear
- lame were able to walk
- healing of paralyzed people
- turning water into wine: ordinary drudgery of living into high octane
- feeding of the multitudes
- raising of the dead
- Jesus wanted to make concrete the imaginations of spiritual revolution
- Miracles cause you to constantly and furiously think - doubt or faith
- come and see; come follow me
- miracle has an effect: it is a challenge to worldly powers
- His miracles were all implicit claims; so were his healings and restoration
- it was all 'God to the rescue' - like a superhero
- Jesus had the authority
- Jesus was the delegate of God
- Jesus received worship, accepted worship
- Peter and Paul refused worship
- Jesus was humble, full of love and service
- Jesus made promises so staggering that people thought he was crazy
- Jesus was a moral perfection
- either people loved him and were loyal to him or people hated him
- people yelled 'crucify him' despite the governor declaring him innocent
- John 3:19-20
- popularity of Jesus rocked the stability of the fragile peace with Rome
- Jesus' death was voluntary
- Jesus' death was foretold
- Jesus' death was vicarious -
- usual sacrifice is for forgiveness and repentance
- sharing the sacrifice with others
- in the same way, Jesus forgave us and shared his body with us
- Jesus' death was an example of supreme love
- a rescue from mortal danger
- a solution of complete fairness
- the heart of our problem is the problem of our hearts
- we are rebels, hostile, ungrateful, and self-centered
- we are physical and spiritual corpses
- we are out of touch with God, we do not realize the extent of our separation
- all we realize is the sense of deadness, alienation, loneliness, isolation, lack of meaning, inability of possessions or anything else to satisfy us
- we have wandered deep into wasteland and we are perishing there
- we are held in captivity by evil habits, false beliefs, occult practises, and all other foul things that spoil our world
- Jesus upheld the penalty we deserved and then endured it himself
- divine forgiveness because of Jesus
- finally, cross is a pledge of total acceptance
- God has a contract with each individual
- Jesus is the seal on the whole transaction
- it is the marriage certificate, birth certificate, naturalization papers, etc
- we have become children of God
- Romans 8:1 - no more condemnation
- when we encounter sheer generosity on a massive scale, we feel embarrassed
- God wants our eyes light up, and throw ourselves into the arms of God
- nothing in the hand I bring; simply to the cross I cling
- Jesus "is"
- Jesus is live
- Christian life is about experience
- we are 'enthusiasts"
- First, Jesus was man and the man was dead - in a horrible and very public manner on a Roman cross - thousands witnessed it
- Romans made sure Jesus was dead; Jews made sure the dead body was in the tomb before the Sabbath
- Soldier pierced Jesus' heart with a spear - water and blood came out
- Second, the tomb of Jesus was empty on Easter
- Resurrection of Jesus caused mayhem in Jerusalem and embarrassment to the Pontius Pilate and the Romans
- tomb of Jesus never became a site of pilgrimage
- Would disciples have endured torture and martyrdom otherwise? What for?
- total lack of fear and dynamic growth could not have arisen from deceit
- also, who would steal the body? when Romans were guarding the tomb
- Mary Magdalene first witnessed resurrected Jesus; John and Peter ran to the tomb with Peter coming in the tomb first; Peter saw and held up the linen that was covering the body of Jesus
- like chrysalis case when the butterfly has emerged
- dead skin of snake, etc
- Third, crowd of witnesses interacted with resurrected Jesus for full forty days
- disciples learned more about the kingdom of God
- disciples grew in confidence
- Fourth, the Christian church was born
- something started it off separate from Jewish tradition
- this new movement had no finances, no leadership, no experience, no education, no training
- Christian baptism practice started
- submersion into and out of the waters
- Lord's day became Sunday - the day of Resurrection - the first Easter day
- for some reason, Christianity grows and spreads - Jesus is alive
- Fifth, there was radical transformation in the lives of the followers
- in the bible and in the real world - even now
- there is widespread and fundamental misunderstanding of what Christianity is
- it is not once-a-week religious ritual or ceremony
- it is personal relationship with Jesus Christ
- First, you need to listen to the good news
- Second, you have to be curious
- Read and study on your own
- Pray
- Talk to people
- Have an open mind, try different methods
- Third, you need to count the cost of following him
- Jesus was very radical
- The choice is real and inescapable
- Think of the strength of Jesus, forgiveness, purpose, calm, peace, amazing companionship
- Fourth, you need to follow Jesus, completely
- It is like getting married to Jesus in this world of rampant pluralism and all kinds of spirituality - cults, other faiths, self-deification, idolatry
- This is exclusive commitment
- Jesus alone took responsibility for you; are you willing
- Fifth, you need to come as you are, you need to come home
- like a prodigal son coming back to the father
- You will find that decision that was so hard before you made it looked so obvious in retrospect
- that living a life of discipleship is fulfilling
- a prayer of surrender, repentance (turning away from the world) and faith (turning toward Jesus)
- Meditate - be open to doubt - practice remembrance
- New world and new you; new wine-skin and new wine
- it is not all about emotion: in due course there will be new joy, peace, power, fellowship, and confidence
- these are kingdom gifts, but they don't come all at once
- our salvation is handcrafted, custom-made
- Did Jesus anticipate the church?
- the way to Christ is a lonely and very personal journey
- but as soon as you walk through the narrow gate of repentance, you find yourself part of a joyful, jostling crowd
- Apostles were Jesus' delegates
- Matthew 16:17-19 Jesus says on this rock (Peter) I will build my church
- Church was anticipated to have a disciplinary role
- John 15 - tree and the branch
- John 17 - Jesus' prayer for the church
- church knows Jesus
- church glorifies Jesus (spotlighting Jesus)
- church keeps the Word
- church genuinely believes in Jesus
- church unites the people in identity of purpose, mutual love, and recognizable belonging
- church sustains the people's lives in the world
- church is joyful (governing emotion of Christians)
- church endures even when the going is tough (marathon)
- church prioritizes the disinherited, dispossessed
- church is holy (set apart; remnant)
- church takes action
- church is Jesus' home
- currently, church is like an army with many regiments
- no matter what our background and duties, we follow one General
- As a disciple
- we are chosen and called
- we must respond to the calling
- we spend time with Jesus
- we are to become 'little Christs'
- we learn from Jesus
- we share companionship, communion, prayer, worship, materials
- we follow
- we please Jesus
- Modern predilections make Jesus married to Mary Magdalene, that Jesus never died, that Jesus was homo-sexual, that Jesus was counter-culture rebel
- Did Jesus exist?
- Greco-Roman historians
- Tacitus, 115 AD - "popularly known as Christians" "Christ, had been executed when Tiberius was emperor by order of the procurator Pontius Pilate."
- Pliny the Younger, 112 AD - wrote of Christianity spreading like wildfire; wrote Christians lived an exemplary lives
- Samaritan historian Thallus, 52 AD - explains darkness that fell when Jesus died on the cross as an eclipse of the sun
- Syrian called Mara bar Serapion, 70s -
- Jewish evidence
- Flavius Josephus, 60s - 'Jesus, a wise man, if indeed on should call him a man'; also mentions miracles and resurrection
- Jesus a.k.a. Jeshua ben Panthera (from the virgin)
- Rotas-sator = opening words of Lord's prayer in Latin - palindrome
- AtO - alpha and omega -
- Professor Sukenik - 1945 - name of Jesus in marked tomb
CH 12 - JESUS: CAN WE TRUST THE GOSPELS?
- First, Gospel means good news
- it is not a biography of Jesus or a history of the times - it is a completely new genre
- Disciples proclaimed good news
- not about man, but what God has done for humanity
- Gospels show how early Christians preached about Jesus
- Mark was written first - he followed Peter and Paul
- written with breathless urgency and enthusiasm from the direct source, Simon Peter
- Matthew was written second - to help Jewish believers
- Matthew the tax-collector probably knew how to write and was meticulous as an accountant
- eyewitness testimony
- Luke wrote around the same time - he wrote to help gentile believers
- Luke contains the most memorable parables
- as a doctor, he cared for the outcast, helpless, women, and the under-privileged
- Luke wrote Part I, and Part II in Acts
- John was written later - cosmic gospel - alpha and omega
- then and now, people do not read; the bible is written down from a oral tradition
- apostles priority was not in writing a book but in making disciples
- why four gospels?
- no real answers
- there are four seasons and four points on a compass
- it is multiple perspective to a single event
- diversity of the Gospels makes it a rich in-depth resource
- there are multiple copies of the manuscript
- Can we trust bible?
- first, no book in all the world's literature have been subjected to such thorough and persistent scrutiny over the history
- second, there is a remarkable harmony in the bible
- third, gospel fits closely with secular evidence
