The Person of Jesus Christ

Jesus’s authority is seen in his teachings and in the example he has set, as well as in his relationship with God. The different aspects of Jesus’ authority, and questions of where this has come from, has allowed Jesus to be considered an authority even by non-Christians.

Two divergent ways of looking at the person of Jesus is the Jesus of history, and the Christ of faith. E.P. Sanders claimed that faith claims are different to those made in the realm of reason. Jesus did act within history and his teachings on hope for the outcasts did make him different to his contemporaries but not unique. By entering the realms of theology, we might confuse history with faith.

Conversely, Rudolf Bultmann argued that the Christ of faith was more important than the Jesus of history. Bultmann says we can know ‘almost nothing’ of the historical Jesus and instead, we should demythologise the Bible .

A final way of identifying Jesus is as ‘black Messiah. James Cone identifies the origins of this title for Jesus as historical- in line with the suffering and oppression of black people. The wooden cross resonates, he says, with the ‘lynching tree’. Jesus’ suffering was in unity with the oppressed.

Exercise: Which of the identities, above, do you think is the most helpful way of understanding Jesus? Do you think it is helpful to consider Jesus from so many perspectives?

Jesus Christ’s Authority as the Son of God

In this role, Jesus is seen to have come to bring salvation and to carry out God’s will on Earth. This identity is evidence in Jesus’ apparent knowledge of God, his miracles and his resurrection.

Two ways of approaching a study of Christ in the Biblical text are ‘Christology from above’ and ‘Christology from below’. The first focuses on Jesus’ divinity (‘from above’) and is known as high Christology. This reading relies on faith and cannot be proven. The second, ‘Christology from below’, focuses on Jesus’ example and message and people’s response to this. This is known as ‘low Christology’. A low Christology approach might even view Jesus’ miracles as parables.

Exercise: Do you think Jesus thought/ knew he was the Son of God? Use Exodus 3:14, John 14:6 and John 14:28 to help inform your answer.

Exercise: Remind yourself of (or research now) the heretical views of Nestorius, Apollinarius and the Docetic Christians. Which of these views, if any, do you think is most coherent and why?

Both high and low Christologies view some miracles as signs of salvation. For example, the healing of the man born blind in John 9:1-41 is more focused more on his awareness of Jesus as saviour, than on the actual process of his sight being restored. Another example is Jesus’ walking on water in Mark 6:47-52 which seems to mirror God’s hovering over the chaotic waters in the moment of creation of the world – implying salvation being extended to all.

Jesus’ resurrection differed to that taught by the Pharisees. The Pharisees taught the raising of the righteous before God; whereas Jesus’ resurrection was to be experienced by many over a long period, marking the start of a new era and a change of humankind’s relationship with God. Wolfhart Pannenberg described Jesus’ resurrection as the decisive moment in history.

Exercise: Read the case of ‘doubting Thomas’ in John 20:27-28. In what sense can the resurrection be seen to give authority to proclaim Jesus as the son of God?

Jesus Christ’s Authority as a Teacher of Wisdom

In this role, Jesus is seen to develop Jewish ethics. Jesus’ teachings include those on repentance and forgiveness, inner purity and moral motivation contained in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible).

Exercise: Look up Matthew 5:17-48 and Luke 15:11-32. Identify Jesus’ teachings, their implications, and what they imply about Jesus’ identity. Compare with Leviticus 18 (part of the Torah).

Wittgenstein said that Jesus affirmed living authentically, embodying both the spiritual and the moral. Jesus expresses his moral message through actions, parables and short sayings.

Exercise: Jesus is sometimes seen as the ‘new Moses’ establishing a New Israel, for example in the writings of N.T. Wright, former Bishop of Durham. How might Matthew 5:17 support this idea?

Jesus’ teachings on forgiveness are at the heart of his teachings on the arrival of the Kingdom of God. Examples include the story of Zacchaeus and Jesus’ Parable of the Lost Son. The importance of forgiveness is also seen in Jesus’ teaching of the Lord’s Prayer.

Jesus’ teachings on social responsibility were evident in his teachings on the Sabbath which was an important religious law that he felt was being misused. The Sabbath entitled everyone to one day free from work a week. However, some used this as an excuse to avoid social responsibility. Indeed, 39 different definitions and examples of work to be avoided had been constructed, which led to focus on the religious duty rather than duty to humanity. Jesus demonstrated the need to be responsible for your fellow human by setting the example himself – he broke the Sabbath rules and allowed his disciples to pick corn on the Sabbath. Overall, Jesus’ message was that religious practices should serve human needs.

Exercise: Find and write down the quote that supports this teaching in Mark 2:27.

Exercise: Do you agree that morality should not just be ‘blind obedience’? Are there any moral laws to which we should be obedient?

Jesus Christ’s Authority as a Liberator

In this role, Jesus is seen to challenge political and religious authorities. Jesus as liberator includes of the marginalised and of the poor. This is evident in Jesus’ challenge both to political and religious authority.

S.G.F. Brandon argues in Jesus and the Zealots that Jesus was politically-driven and more of a freedom-fighter than the pacifist that later writers like to make him out to be. Jesus shows a bias to the ‘preferential option for the poor’ and ‘the underside of history’.

Exercise: Define ‘preferential option for the poor’ and ‘the underside of history’. Find scriptural evidence that supports Jesus’ bias towards these two groups.

Exercise: Look up Mark 5:24-34 and Luke 10:25-37. What can these passages tell you about Jesus’ role as a liberator? Is this the only side to Jesus shown in the passages or are allusions also made to his role as Son of God and teacher of wisdom?

Gustavo Gutiérrez Merino considered that seeing Jesus as ‘liberator’ made him ‘really engaged’ in the world, allowing us to move away from the Bible as being full of fiction characters. Jesus’ mission was not so much national Zealot, as saviour of all human societies – not just Israel. He showed ‘preferential option for the poor’, setting the example for others to follow.

Camillo Torres Restrepo is an example of a Catholic Priest who left the priesthood to take up arms in active resistance against the government.

Exercise: Do you think violence can be justified within Christian moral teaching?

Many parables detail the help of outcasts. These include the sexually impure, tax collectors, diseased and the uneducated.

Exercise: What is the meaning of the Greek word ‘hamartoloi’?

Exercise: Look up two miracles that show Jesus helping outcasts. Choose an image to represent each of these. (You might start at Mark chapter 2, or chapter 5).

Exercise: What teaching is found in Matthew 20:16? Can you think of how this teaching could be practically implemented today? What implication does this have for living ‘the Christian life’?

Essay Skills

Types of questions

Questions on this topic might focus on Jesus Christ’s authority as the Son of God, as teacher of wisdom or liberator. Whichever it asks, candidates should always use aspects of the others in evaluation. Some examples of questions you might be asked are these:

Q. “Jesus was no more than a teacher of wisdom.” Discuss.

A. Consider in your answer, the views of Bultmann and Hick that we need to demythologise the Bible, leaving us with an authentic teacher of wisdom. Add in critique considering if anything would then Jesus apart from other teachers of wisdom and the view that the resurrection is a defining moment.

Q. To what extent was Jesus more than a liberator?

A. Compare ideas of his spiritual leadership with his political leadership.

Q. “Jesus thought he was divine.” Discuss.

A. Compare evidence where Jesus talks about sin and death with authority with evidence of his humanity in Gethsemane and doctrines of Jesus being ‘fully human’.

Q. To what extent would it be fair to say Jesus’ relationship with God was ‘very special’ rather than ‘truly unique’?

A. Consider Sanders’ view that uniqueness cannot be verified historically and Macquarrie’s suggestion that the question of uniqueness should be left alone. Compare with ideas about poignancy of Jesus’ resurrection – the Christ-Event.

Exercise: Analyse this question: To what extent was Jesus only a teacher of wisdom?