THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST
Jesus’ authority is largely based of the recognition of his teachings,
meaning people actively follow what he said and did during his life. This is
recognised through scripture, where he is depicted in three ways:
Jesus as a Teacher of Wisdom and Morality
Jesus’ moral example and teacher is authoritative as he developed Jewish
ethics in a way people found enlightening.
Jesus’ moral teaching
Jesus was a teacher who provided guidance on how to apply the law
to moral problems. He has been frequently referred to as “Rabbi” in
the New Testament. (The Historical Jesus, Merz and Thiessen)
He spent time in synagogues and people expressed surprise at the
level of his literacy
He used moral education techniques with controversial stories, and
encouraged people to question their perspectives (The Good
Samaritan and calling the pious the impious ones)
Sermon on the Mount
Presents Jesus as the new Moses, and he morally reforms Hebrew
tradition by stating the new Law
The word “fulfilling” the previous law suggests two things (1)
returning the application of the law to how it had been in Moses’
time (2) anticipating the new Kingdom of God and the replacement
of the Torah, teaching as preparation of the new order
Forgiveness
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount called for repentance, or metanoia (a
radical change of someone’s character for the better) illustrated in
the Parable of the Tax Collector Zacchaeus
An example is the Parable of the Prodigal Son where Jesus
teaches how forgiveness is hard
Forgiveness is at the heart of the Lord’s Prayer, where it is
associated with starting afresh
Motive and inner purity
Jesus taught that morality was about building ones’ righteousness
and exceeding that of Jewish lawyers and the Pharisees.
Caring for the poor and lesser privileged (Matthew 24)
“If any of you is without sin, throw a stone at her” (John 8:13)
This requires rigorous analysis of motive: this involves resisting
one’s desires and setting the goal of moral life being achieved
through perfection, since we are made in God’s likeness
,Personal responsibility
Observing Sabbath is a form of social justice; everyone is entitled to
a day free from labour. However, Jesus highlighted how people kept
to their religious duties but ignored their duties to other people
“The sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind for
Sabbath” People should be morally in tune with what their
responsible to.
To illustrate, Jesus did miracles on Sabbath to cure the sick and was
seen as some form of blasphemy, but people continued to feed their
ox on the same day and went unpunished
Jesus wanted to show that:
i) Morality requires personal responsibility, not blind adherence
ii) Religious practices serve human needs
iii) Being holy is not just achieved in external acts, but a purity and
perfection of the mind
Jesus and his teachings on Women
He had many women as followers, and even empathised with less
virtuous women and prostitutes (Luke)
Jesus healed women through touch, which was considered
scandalous. (Jesus healing the bleeding woman, Luke)
Suggests he had an inclusive view, in contrast to the patriarchal
society he lived in
Jesus and his teachings on the Power and Wealth
He warned followers to not lord power over others, and saw children
as the greatest, as they do not assume superiority over each other
Identifies wealth as an obstacle of closeness to God
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
Wittgenstein and Jesus’ affirmation of life
Wittgenstein was taken by Tolstoy’s depiction of Jesus as a moral
authority in Gospel in Brief
He admired Jesus as Jesus embodied authentic human living; a
commitment to truth and courage to speak out against hypocrisy.
He decided that Jesus was the “living word” or the embodiment of
the external moral and inner spiritual life. This is the function of
language, to be a form of life and how to live morally.
Hick and Jesus’ teachings
The Myth of God Incarnate highlighted that Jesus was not a unique
figure with a unique role in salvation
, Hick concluded that Christianity without a God Incarnate becomes
any other religion that perceives God in a different way
Therefore, salvation becomes to personal mission to become more
other-centredness, or agape love
This pluralist message still retains almost all of Jesus’ characteristics
as a great moral teacher, or a metaphorical incarnation. He is still
unique as a religious teacher, as an exemplar transformation for a
man in touch with God.
Criticisms to Hick’s understanding
Other-centeredness is a distinctly Christian belief, like in comparison
to religions like Buddhist teaching which emphasises detachment
Eternal life has less meaning in Hick’s understanding
C.S Lewis rejected the separation of Jesus as a Teacher of Wisdom
and not also the Son of God, as if anyone just started teaching moral
lessons he would not be taken seriously “on level with a man who
says he is a poached egg”
Bonhoeffer holds that we meet God in human beings. Without
incarnation, there is no Body of Christ
Hitchens argued against Jesus as a moral teacher. He highlighted
the contradiction of only non-sinners being able to prosecute, as an
imperfect society could then not discern who to punish
Jesus as a Political revolutionary
Jesus tackled the social issues of his day and was a reformer. He
challenged political and social authorities. He was arrested by the
Sanhedrin, the Jewish council, and then handed over to Pontius Pilate, the
political authority, to be executed.
Challenge to political authority
SCF Brandon in his book Jesus and his Zealots stated that Jesus was
politically driven towards freedom fighting against the political
authority (Romans), but this aspect of his mission was toned down
in the Gospel
The term messiah has always had military overtones, and the Jews
have always been traditionally oppressed
Aslan views Jesus’ entrance to Jerusalem was a message to show he
was there to free Jews from bondage from the Romans, fulfilling
Zechariah’s prophecy
During the Civil War period in 1970s-90s Latin America, many
liberation theologists were inspired by the Zealot style
interpretation of Jesus and saw in his actions a bias to support the
poor and oppressed
Aslan also maintains that Jesus did not outwardly call for violence,
and there is evidence of his pacifism “Blessed are the
peacemakers!” (Matthew)
