Who Do You Say That I Am?

The day after our youngest son’s wedding, we invited family over for a brunch at our house. In preparation for the brunch my wife, Donelle asked me to go to the grocery store and pick up a few items we needed. Going to the grocery store is not high on my list of preferred activities and quite often I don’t have a great attitude fulfilling that task. So that morning I drove the extremely long mile to Von’s to purchase what we needed, eggs, rolls, clementines, bananas, which they were completely out of, substituted for grapes, and real whipping cream. On one of my trips through the store searching out the needed items, I walked past the check out stand and saw a magazine, that caught my attention. Life Magazine had published an edition called “Jesus, Who Do You Say that I Am?” In that moment I did something a rarely do. I purchased something that was not on Donelle’s list. I purchased the magazine, from a grocery store checkout stand.

One of the many things I found fascinating about this publication was the chapter titles. The first chapter is: “The Carpenter’s Son, Who Changed Everything”. The last chapter: “He Is All Things To All Men”. In its conclusion, we read: “In such a meager sampling – a round of phone calls, a few sitdowns – such a wide range of opinion on, and use of, Jesus. One fact is overarching: Jesus today is not only present, He is potent.” (Jesus, pg. 92) Let me remind you, Life is not a Christian publication. It is currently owned by Dotdash Meridith, who some time ago took over the Time Warner assets. In other words, a publication that would definitely be considered non religious, has recognized both Jesus’ presence and potency in the world today. Do you realize how amazing that is?

Referencing Napoleon Bonaparte, the authors of the Life publication quoted Bonaparte’s observation of the uniqueness of Jesus’ influence. He observed that Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and Bonaparte himself had all built empires through the use of force. However, Jesus alone built his kingdom upon love and millions would die for him. Founding father, Thomas Jefferson wrote of his considering himself a Christian due to his adherence to Jesus’ doctrines in preference to all others. Many of the founding fathers of the United States shared Jefferson’s admiration for Jesus while some like Jefferson rejected the miraculous. More recently, Life quoted Dr. C. Everett Koop, former surgeon general of the United States, who observed that either Jesus is exactly who he said he was or was a deceiver and liar. Koop further believed that a person’s faith could assist in their healing process.

As Life observed, we live in a day and age that has been profoundly influenced by Jesus. The treasured values that we hold dearly, such as compassion for the weak and needy, equality for all people regardless of ethnicity, social standing or gender, all find their roots in what Jesus taught and demonstrated. So then, Jesus’ question addressed to his disciples is not merely a historical observation but very relevant for us today 2000 years after Jesus lived. Who do you say that I am?

The Fullness of Time

I grew up in the 1960’s, a decade that has had a great impact upon our culture. During the early years of my life a battle was taking place in the southern States as African Americans along with others worked to overcome Jim Crow laws that established segregation, leading to the Civil Rights Laws of the mid-60’s under the Johnson Administration. I remember a Friday afternoon in first grade, when my teacher went to the back of the classroom, sat down and began to cry. Then we heard the news that President Kennedy had been shot and killed in Dallas. A couple of days later we watched, when Jack Ruby, pushed through the crowd, stuck a revolver in the abdomen of Lee Harvey Oswald and pulled the trigger, killing the man accused of assassinating our President. We watched the President’s funeral on television. Several years later, my dad took me to sign up for Little League baseball, while we were there, we heard the news that Dr. King had been shot and killed while standing on a motel balcony in Memphis. Then two months later, I remember waking up to my clock radio, tuned to WLS in Chicago and hearing the news that Senator Bobby Kennedy had been shot while walking through the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles and would eventually die from his wounds. That summer several cities would erupt in riots, particularly Chicago during the Democratic National Convention.

I was a child during those events and had no history to understand that events of that type weren’t normal. The 1960’s impacted an entire generation and culture so that the decades of the 1970’s and following were quite different that the 1940’s and 1950’s.

The apostle Paul referred to another event that changed not just a generation and a culture, but has and continues to transform the world. In Galatians 4:4, Paul made a surprising statement, when he wrote the words “in the fullness of time”, why? In Greek, the term “pleroma”, translated “fullness” has the concept of conclusion, or completion. Something was completed and coming to an end. The word for time here is “chronos”, we get our word “chronology” from this word. Chronology literally means “the study of time”. We use “chronology” to refer to an ordered list of events, to communicate what happened before and after something. For the Greeks it was the normal word used for the ongoing march of time from past to the present and on to the future.

So when Paul wrote to the Galatians that in the fullness of time/chronos, he made a surprising statement, that time as we know it was changed, when God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law. Paul declared that with the birth of Christ the world was radically transformed.

This year is known as 2025, but why? Why not year 288 to count the years since the Declaration of Independence, or 236 since the ratification of the Constitution? Why is it 2025? The method of establishing years was established in the 6th Century when a Christian monk proposed numbering the years from the birth of Jesus, which was dated according to the year in which King Herod died, who was the King of Judea when Jesus was born. Modern scholars date Herod’s death sometime between 4 and 1 BC. The monk proposed this numbering system followed how the Romans numbered their years, according to the years of an emperor’s reign. In fact, after Benito Mussolini became premier of Italy in 1922, he changed the numbering system for Italy to the years of his rule. Particularly in southern Italy, you can still see evidences of that numbering system. In the 6th Century the practice of numbering the years from Jesus’ birth began, which explains why we are in 2025, but also the abbreviations of BC and AD. BC refers to before Christ, that is before his birth. AD is an abbreviation for a Latin phrase, “anno domini”, which translated means year/anno and of the Lord/domini, “year of the Lord”.

However, about 100 years ago Jewish scholars, not being Christian and desiring a more “religiously neutral” approach began using different terms, BCE and CE, which since the 1980’s have become more prevalent. However, even though these phrases do not refer to Jesus, they are not really religiously neutral and are actually as if not more theologically accurate than the traditional terms. Why?

The terms BC and AD refer to an event, “Jesus’ birth”, however the terms BCE, “Before Current Era” and CE, “Current Era” don’t refer to an event, but a period of time, an era. The current usage implies that before there was a “Current Era”, there was another “Era” before that, which is exactly what Paul stated in Galatians 4:4. Paul implies that before Jesus, it was before the fullness of time, one era. Now we live in an era, defined by the fullness of time. Without knowing or intending to, those espousing religious neutrality, actually are promoting a theologically correct terminology to how we count our years, because that is exactly what Jesus did. He started a new era, since the time of Jesus, he has been transforming the world. So much so, that we often do not realize how much Jesus has impacted our life and how different the world is today than it was when Jesus was born. We live in an era, in which British Historian Tom Holland states as: “Time has been Christianized.”

The Gates of Hades: Jesus’ Meaning

In Matthew 16 Jesus took his disciples to the district of Caesarea Philippi, there he posed two questions to his disciples. First, he asked, who the people said he was, to which they replied, John the Baptist, or one of the prophets, such as Elijah or Jeremiah. Then Jesus asked them the more important question; who they said he was. Simon responded and declared Jesus to be the Christ, Son of the Living God. At that response, Jesus told Simon that God had revealed that information to him; from then on he would be called Peter and prophesied that on this rock he, Jesus, would build his church against which the Gates of Hades would not prevail.

To us, Jesus’ reference to the Gates of Hades and the connection with their being in Caesarea Philippi might not be clear. The Gates of Hades was a cave located at Caesarea Philippi, which was thought to be the entrance to the underworld. In that cave sprang two springs which formed part of the headwaters of the Jordan River. It was believed that the gods of fertility dwelled there and into those springs, the ancient Romans would cast infants to secure a bountiful harvest. If the child disappeared, then it was believed that the sacrifice had been accepted, but if blood appeared in the water, then the sacrifice had been rejected and another child would need to be sacrificed. When Jesus declared his church would overwhelm the Gates of Hades, in effect he was saying that his church would overcome the pagan religion of the Romans and Greeks. With the preaching of the apostles, the Gospel of Jesus began to do just that.

The Emperor Julian, nephew of the Emperor Constantine, was just one illustration of the power of Jesus to transform the Roman Empire and the world. Julian had been raised a Christian, but as an adult returned to the ancient pagan religion of Rome. Traveling through Asia Minor he came upon a city in which the pagan temple was in disrepair and the priests spent their time getting drunk. Appalled, Julian chastised them for the condition of the temple, their behavior and for not taking care of the poor. He urged them to care for the poor as the Christians did. However, Julian’s response revealed how much Jesus’ message had changed him and the Roman world. The priests were acting as pagan priests had always acted; they got drunk and thought little of the poor who were despised in the ancient Greek and Roman world. Julian wanted the priests to act as if they were Christians. In other words, Jesus message had impacted not only those who believed in him, but had changed the standard of behavior for everyone, demonstrating a fulfillment of what he had declared back at Caesarea Philippi!

The Gospel Explained By Paul In Romans

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he explains what the good news, or gospel really is. He does so by correcting an assumption that the religious Jews had made about Abraham. The religious Jews of Paul’s day attached a special value to Abraham’s believing God as recorded in Genesis 15. Due to Abraham’s belief in what God had promised him, God declared Abraham to be righteous. The Jewish leaders of Paul’s day taught that Abraham’s belief in God’s promise could be considered an action that established his righteousness. This is why they did not consider Abraham to be different from his physical descendants through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob, who received the Mosaic law and were taught to obey it. Even though Abraham never lived under the Mosaic law, nor was circumcised when he was declared righteous, the first century Jews considered him righteous due to his efforts. It was this belief that Paul was correcting in Romans 4, when he demonstrated that if the Jewish teaching were true, then God’s promise to Abraham was empty, and no grace was involved, because in effect Abraham had earned righteousness through believing God.

Paul explained that the Mosaic law, actually any law, establishes legality, transgression as Paul expressed it, because where there is no law, there exists no transgression, no illegality. On the other hand, obeying the law does not establish righteousness, any more than a government rewards it citizens who live legally. In Luke 17:7-10, Jesus shed light on the subject, when he explained to the disciples that a master who returns from a trip does not reward or even thank his servants who prepare his meal and serve him before they eat. There is no added reward for doing what is our responsibility in the first place.

Paul’s point was that being declared righteous was not and is not the result of living obediently or doing good works, but rather the result of believing and trusting God to do what he has promised. In Abraham’s case it was believing God would fulfill his promise to him regarding a son; to us it is believing Jesus will forgive us when we repent from our transgressions. Paul’s explanation in Romans 4 demonstrates how Christianity is unique among religions and is truly based on God’s undeserved grace to those who seek His forgiveness and not upon obeying laws or practicing religious rituals.

Why Jesus Teaches Us To Forgive

Have you ever considered the wisdom of Jesus’ instruction to pray for those who have hurt you and continue to make life difficult for you? By this Jesus didn’t mean that we pray that God would judge them or protect us, but rather that God would bless the very individuals who have hurt us. Recently, my wife went through a frightening situation. Her response was to pray that God would bless the perpetrators. Her example helped me to understand the purpose of Jesus’ words to forgive.

Scripture teaches us that God has no desire to condemn anyone, he desires all individuals to come to a point of repentance in their life. Jesus understood and teaches us that individuals turn to God due to God’s kindness toward them. How is God’s kindness extended and demonstrated to someone who lives life out of anger and hurt? One way is for someone who has been hurt by that individual to show kindness to them by asking that God would bless them and show kindness to them. This is similar to Jesus’ prayer when he asked that God would forgive the soldiers who were crucifying him. When Jesus died, these battle hardened soldiers saw that Jesus truly was a man from God. When seen in this light, Jesus’ words to pray for those who persecute us make perfect sense and align with God’s heart toward mankind. In this way, Jesus also invites us to participate in seeing people healed from their own hurts and reconciled with God himself.

Misguided Assumptions about Man and God

Our assumptions on a topic naturally lead to our conclusions about that same topic. This is what Paul was getting at when he summed up his thoughts regarding God’s forgiveness of man’s unrighteousness and ungodliness. The Jews of Paul’s day, as do most everyone today, believed that the way to be acceptable before God was by obeying the commands of Moses, summarized in the 10 commandments. Today, most people do not refer to the 10 commandments, but they make the same assumption, which is: if your good works are greater than your failings, you will be acceptable to God, or at least that is the hope.

In Romans 3, Paul explained the error and misunderstanding of that approach, that assumption. Paul demonstrated that the purpose of the 10 commandments, in particular and the law of Moses in general, was never to provide a means of justification before God. In fact, that belief was a misguided assumption. Rather the purpose of the Mosaic law was to demonstrate guilt, not to God, but to man himself. The law was a means of putting man in a dilemma. If man was not able to justify himself by obedience to the law, then how could he ever be forgiven? Paul answered that question by explaining what Jesus accomplished. When Jesus, being God himself in the flesh, died he bore the full weight of the consequences of all of mankind’s unrighteousness and ungodliness, so that any individual who placed his or her trust in Jesus would be forgiven. By God bearing the consequences of man’s sin Himself, he remained righteous when he also justified man.

The assumption that we can somehow make ourselves righteous before God through our own efforts does not lead to being forgiven. Rather it leads to pride in our own accomplishments, which is by definition unrighteous and ungodly. An errant assumption about ourselves, God’s laws and even God himself, actually leads people away from God rather than to him. Paul explained the truth to the Romans so that they would have the opportunity to draw close to God rather than distance themselves from him. While it is a good thing to do what is right and moral, those actions do not make us righteous and moral, when we assume that they do, our good and moral actions lead us into pride in what we’ve accomplished. We see this in the Pharisees and religious Jews of Jesus’ day. These men obeyed the law of Moses, but were not righteous, they were actually proud of the way they lived. Their pride led them to being in opposition to Jesus. Paul understood his own dilemma Romans 7, when he wrote a question we should all ask ourselves: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” While we still seek to live good and moral lives, we still need a Savior to deliver us from ourselves.

Understanding True Christianity: More Than Just Good Works

Many people have misunderstood what it means to be a Christian. Some assume being a Christian is to live the best way that you can, so that the good you’ve done is greater than the bad. Sometimes this is equated with being “religious”. Paul’s letter to the Romans reveals that in fact the belief that your good works can outweigh your bad is actually what it means to be religious, but it is not what it means to be a Christian. In Romans chapter 2, Paul directed his words to the religious Jews who were part of the young Roman church. They believed the way to God was by following the law of Moses (being religious) and being circumcised as the sign of following the Mosaic law. These religious Jews had the same view as many do today. If our morality outweighs our immorality, then we will be acceptable to God. Paul revealed that no one can please God in this manner, because they just become hypocrites, as Paul revealed the religious Jews were in Rome. They taught others not to steal, but in some ways they stole. They taught others not to commit adultery, but desired what others had. They taught others not to rob temples, but dishonored God. Paul’s description of the religious Jews is the same plight of anyone who seeks to use their morality as the basis for becoming pleasing to God. Paul’s point? Everyone fails. Something else is necessary. They need a change of heart, that only God can effect through faith in Jesus’ offer of forgiveness. Paul referred to this as having a circumcised heart, whether one was circumcised in the flesh or not.

So it doesn’t matter what your ethnicity is, what your theology is, what church you frequent. What matters is whether you’ve trusted Jesus to forgive you and allowed him to transform your heart. This is why Jesus warns us not to judge another’s heart. While we can determine whether a behavior is right or wrong, we are utterly incapable of discerning another person’s heart. Only God can do that. We live in a world that is very confused about God and Jesus, but the bigger question is are we confused about them too?

What About God’s Wrath?

The topic of God’s wrath has at times caused some to question the goodness of God. Some come to the conclusion that God’s wrath and his love for mankind cannot co-exist. That conclusion did not seem to be a problem for Paul as he wrote his letter to the Romans. In his first chapter, Paul wrote that the “wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18)” Taking the statement by itself it is easy to associate Paul’s words with some form of God’s punishment. However, that conclusion would ignore what Paul had previously written in Romans 1:16-17. In those verses he had previously declared that the Gospel of Jesus is the power of God to save men from unrighteousness to righteousness.

The Gospel reveals God’s declaration of war against unrighteousness. His intent is to transform men, not punish them. In this way unrighteousness in men is destroyed like a disease is overcome through a powerful treatment. Understanding Paul’s reference to God’s wrath in verse 18 in the light of what he had just written about the Gospel in 16-17, reveals that Paul was not referring to God’s punishing men, but to his intent on saving them from unrighteousness, including self-righteousness, and ungodliness. When God saves an individual, he does more than change his behavior; he changes his heart. The Gospel is not a self-help program, anymore than a diseased organ can be cured by a behavioral change, outside help is needed. The proclaimed Gospel is the power of God to overpower unrighteousness and ungodliness that lurks, hidden within the human heart. Therefore, Paul’s reference to God’s wrath is a description of the Gospel overcoming the ills in humanity.

“The problem is that evil resides in places that laws and regulatory agencies cannot touch. It resides in he human heart, which only the Spirit of God can touch and bring healing to. Jesus’ final prayer command (deliver us from evil) touches the issue of evil in the human heart. It is a recognition that only the Spirit of God can protect us from evil that has invaded every area of human existence – the community, schools, and even the nuclear family.” (Outrageous Prayer, pg. 154)

The Brotherhood of Christianity

Mary Magdalene’s encounter with Jesus, on the morning of his resurrection, displays the emotion that Mary felt in those moments. She was crying, distraught over the disappearance of Jesus’ body. However, when Jesus called her name, she knew it was him and clung to him, so much so that Jesus asked her to stop, because she had more important business. That business was to announce Jesus’ resurrection to his brothers, the disciples, and tell them he was going to his Father and their Father and to his God and their God. The way Jesus phrased Mary’s commission demonstrated his connection with the disciples. He didn’t refer to them as “disciples”, but as “brothers”. He didn’t refer to God only as his Father and God, but also their Father and God. This is a confirmation of what Jesus had said earlier in John 15 when he told the disciples that he did not call them servants, but his friends, here he goes even further and refers to them as his brothers.

Jesus’ words reveal the uniqueness of Christianity. In no other belief system is God viewed as His followers’ brother or Father. Jesus identified himself as the disciples’ brother and identified God as their Father. Jesus’ words reveal that Christianity isn’t so much a religion, as it is a brotherhood. Jesus implied this when he taught the disciples in Matthew 23:8-12 that they were to view each other as brothers. They were not to refer to each other as “Father”, “Rabbi”, or “Teacher”. Jesus said this in response to how the Scribes and Pharisees acted. Being a brotherhood, there is no place in Christianity for one individual to rise above another, just as in a family it is inappropriate for one sibling to rise above another. In Christianity no classes exist, there is no priestly class, as there was in the Old Testament, because according to the New Testament, all followers of Jesus are priests. No one has an advantage more than another with God. No one has more access to God than another. All followers of Jesus are priests, meaning all have equal advantage, all have equal access. Jesus gave us the example. If Jesus identified himself as his disciples’ brother, then how much more should Christians see one another as brothers and sisters.

“When we have the possibility of referring to someone as ‘Father’, we are placed in a unique and privileged position. How we refer to someone reveals the closeness of our relationship with them. The more formal the name, the more distant the relationship and vice versa.” (Outrageous Prayer, page 22)

https://www.amazon.com/Outrageous-Prayer-Praying-Jesus-Prayed- ebook/dp/B09RW88FZC

The Irony of Jesus’ Leadership

It is fascinating to see how much irony is found in the Bible. In Matthew 20, Jesus had just informed his followers that he would be crucified. To say the least that was not good news or a positive message. However, right after Jesus’ statement two of his followers, James and John, along with their mother, approached Jesus to request what they thought were the two most important and powerful positions in Jesus’ Kingdom, to be at his right and left when he came into his Kingdom. Jesus told them they didn’t know what they were asking. They sure didn’t. They thought they were asking for positions of power and prestige. He asked them if they were willing and able to drink from the cup he was about to drink; they said they were. Even though they said they were willing, Jesus said that those positions were reserved for those prepared by the Father. Jesus entered into his Kingdom when he was crucified, so in effect these two brothers were asking to be crucified on Jesus’ right and left. Those two spots would be filled by two convicted thieves.

Afterwards the other 10, making the same assumption that the brothers made, were offended because of what the brothers had asked for. Jesus explained to them greatness in his Kingdom, contrasting it with how leadership and authority is exercised in the world. In the world, leaders use power and authority to make sure their followers comply with their commands. The threat of punishment or loss makes sure that followers in the world’s system comply, not so in the Kingdom of Jesus. In Jesus’ Kingdom servants and slaves are the leaders, just like Jesus, who although he was the Son of God identified himself as a servant. Now this is also different from the world’s way. In the world, no one chooses to be a slave, they are forced to be one. However, in Jesus’ Kingdom, Jesus instructed his followers to voluntarily choose to be a slave. That raises an important question. Why would anyone voluntarily choose or aspire to slavery? Actually it is for the same reason that Jesus did, for love. Jesus informed his followers that there is no greater love than for one to lay down his life for his friends. Jesus chose to be identified as a slave because of love. His followers aspire to be slaves because of their love for others. The world does not see this as greatness, but in Jesus Kingdom it is. This one story reveals how different Jesus’ Kingdom is from the way that the world operates. It also explains why in the first century, the message of Jesus was so offensive to those in positions of power and affluence, but appealed to the slaves and powerless. For those following Jesus, there exists a daily decision to determine according to whose values one will live, the world’s or Jesus’.