Who Is Jesus?
Who is Jesus?
People’s opinions about who Jesus is are about as varied as the people themselves, it seems to me. That may be because the Bible is a book that many people own, but not many actually read. I have read (somewhere) that the Bible is at the top in book sales, while it is one of the least read books. A sad thing. How do people know who Jesus is if they don’t read his book?
People’s opinions about who Jesus is are about as varied as the people themselves, it seems to me. That may be because the Bible is a book that many people own, but not many actually read. I have read (somewhere) that the Bible is at the top in book sales, while it is one of the least read books. A sad thing. How do people know who Jesus is if they don’t read his book?
At Boundless: The Line, Motte Brown has a blog entry called “The Real Jesus.” It is a review of an article at Slate called “Jesus Christ: Choose Your Own Savior” by Chris Suellentrop. These both have very interesting thoughts about people and knowing who Jesus is. Suellentrop sounds like the Ironic Secular Public Voice of today as he lists some of the most popular images of Jesus, such as “Manly Jesus,” “Warrior Jesus,” “Blue-State Jesus,” and “Party Jesus.” But in his conclusion, he abandons irony and sounds like a believer. He says,
On the road to Damascus, Paul encountered the risen Jesus, the so-called Living Jesus, the Christ of faith. That's the Jesus that most Christians seek to know and to understand.
I am reading Shane Claiborne’s book The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical. He tells a story about how he and his friend Brooke went to Calcutta to help Mother Teresa one summer, so that they could find real Christianity. They found it in the loving care of the destitute and dying. He says that when Mother Teresa died, a reporter asked him if he thought her spirit would live on. He answered,
“To be honest, Mother Teresa died a long time ago, when she gave her life to Jesus. The joy and compassion and love that the world finds so magnetic are only Jesus, and that is eternal.”
On the road to Damascus, Paul encountered the risen Jesus, the so-called Living Jesus, the Christ of faith. That's the Jesus that most Christians seek to know and to understand.
I am reading Shane Claiborne’s book The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical. He tells a story about how he and his friend Brooke went to Calcutta to help Mother Teresa one summer, so that they could find real Christianity. They found it in the loving care of the destitute and dying. He says that when Mother Teresa died, a reporter asked him if he thought her spirit would live on. He answered,
“To be honest, Mother Teresa died a long time ago, when she gave her life to Jesus. The joy and compassion and love that the world finds so magnetic are only Jesus, and that is eternal.”
Who is Jesus? He is eternal love.
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3 comments:
1 John 4:9-11
9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Jesus is God's love for us, in that he is our substitute. Our sins deserve God's wrath, but He sent a substitute to bear our sin and suffer in our place. This is how we know what love is, Romans 5:8 says, "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus is my substitute.
Also, it makes me think of what Peter said when Christ asked him, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter said, "you are the Christ the Son of the Living God." Then Jesus said flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but by my Father in heaven.
Or John the Baptist said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29
And Jesus said, that He is "I Am" John 8:58
Sorry this was long! Good topic!
Thanks, RLC--very good comment! He is love, our substitute,the son of God, the Lamb of God, the great I Am.
Man, this is a good post and good comment from rlc! We Christians should talk about Jesus more and more and more and more and more ...
Jesus is our Lord, our Savior, and our Friend.
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